01x09 - The Bronte Story

[bunniefuu]

[elegant music]

- Letter to Loretta.

Starring Loretta Young.

And welcome to Ms.Young's living room.

I'm your announcer, Bob Wilson.

And I'm very proud to
present the star of our show,

Ms. Loretta Young.

[audience clapping]

- Hello, I received an awfully cute letter

last week from a little girl,

and it's a very fun one too.

"Dear Mrs. Young", she says,
"I'm glad you're on television

because I get to stay
up late Sunday night.

I wish I didn't have to take
a nap though on a [murmurs].

Please send me a picture.

What is that shiny thing on the wall?

And who is clapping their hands

every time you walk into the living room?

How many kids you got?

Nobody claps for Mommy.

Goodbye.

And don't forget now, lots of love,

Betty Jane Herman."

Well, lots of love to you too, honey.

Now, first of all,

that shiny thing on
the wall is an antique,

and it's called a sunburst.

It was a Christmas present
to us from my mother.

Next, there is no connection between

that clapping noise and my three children,

although, they can make more noise

than that anytime they
put their minds to it.

And now about this living room.

Well, it's a copy of my
own living room at home.

And I have about 75 friends here,

who bring my living room
right into yours each week.

Magic, isn't it?

How about it fellas, say
hello to Betty Jane, huh?

[audience clapping]

Oh, isn't that a nice sound?

Know what I'd like you to do?

Share it with your mommy.

Believe me, there's nothing
like a little applause

to brighten up the house on a moody day.

Our letter this week,

I believe is, well it's too
personal to read in detail.

But I would like to sum it up

because it's a serious situation.

It's from a woman, 32 years old,

who is planning to abandon her plan

to marry a very nice
man from what she says.

Because her father, a
well to do retired lawyer,

has decided that he couldn't be happy

with his only daughter
away from him and married.

Well, perhaps it would
help these three people

concerned if I recall
another such situation.

A father at retirement age

and one of his famous
daughters, Charlotte Brontë,

and her suitor.

In Haworth, Yorkshire,
England exactly 100 years ago.

[eerie music]

- I declare Charlotte, I
don't know whatever your Papa

is going to say about rugs and
drapes in the fitting room.

- Oh, he'll change his mind, Mary.

He must.

- And that dress!

- Yes, it really looks
like Paris, doesn't it?

- It's so elegant and so sophisticated!

But Charlotte, it's so red!

- Oh Mary, why should everyone think

of red as a shameful color?

It's so warm and full of light!

That's why I chose red for the draperies.

- Charlotte Brontë,
whatever has come over you?

You're not the same person at all.

- I know, isn't it wonderful?

Mary, let's try these in the hall.

Do you like this one?

Or is this better?

- I don't know now.

Let me see again.

- Here

- Goodbye Mr. Brontë,
I've enjoyed the visit.

Oh, good morning Mrs.[mumbles].

- Good morning Reverend Nicholls.

- Do you approve, Reverend Nicholls?

- It's beautiful beyond words Miss Brontë.

- What of the color?

- It's most becoming, Ms. Brontë.

- [Mr. Brontë] What is becoming?

What are you discussing Charlotte?

- Why, Papa we were discussing
the carpet and the draperies,

the samples arrived from
London just this morning.

- I told you my decision concerning that.

You will send them back immediately.

There will be no covering
of the flesh in this house.

- But there's nothing
sinful about being warm.

And indeed I shall send them back.

And besides Papa, you'll
feel quite differently

about it once you become
accustomed to them.

- I shall not discuss the
matter with you Charlotte,

you will immediately return them.

What is that?

That garment you are wearing?

- It's a dress, Papa.

Paris creation.

- A creation of the devil.

- But you don't understand,
it's the latest fashion.

- It's scarlet, as scarlet as shame.

Go to your room immediately and remove it.

- Please Papa, you must listen.

I don't intend to wear
it outside of the house.

I just wanted to

- Isn't it enough that I've been shamed

of all the world by a drunken son,

- Please

- My one remaining child flaunts herself

in a gown of scarlet like a jezebel.

- Please, Papa, please.

- Shameless!

Go to your room and burn
that garment of Satan.

Go!

Do you hear me?

Obey at once!

Charlotte!

Come back here!

Don't dare to leave the
house dressed like that.

Mr. Nicholls, go after her at once.

She's out of her mind.

- I think that's entirely
possible Mr. Brontë.

- I think I better go on home.

[eerie dramatic music]

[quiet sobbing]

- Charlotte, my dear.

- Arthur, Arthur!

[loud sobbing]

- Very brave, I was proud of you.

- Arthur, how could you say that?

I failed again.

Now Arthur, I'm always going to fail.

- No, you're going to win.

Bit by bit and step by
step because you have to,

for your own soul.

- Why does he treat me like he does?

Why?

Why does he always defeat me in the end?

Why must I always bend
and break every time

I try to stand up to it?

- Because you've always been afraid.

- Afraid?

Oh, Arthur, of my own father?

- No, afraid of yourself, of independence,

afraid to stand before the world and say,

"Here I am world. This is me.

Not something that my father's molded

but what I've made myself to be.

The responsibilities' mine."

- Well, I suppose I have run away.

I guess we all did.

Branwell in his way, and Emily
and Anna die in their books.

Arthur did you know that we never even

admitted to Papa that we wrote?

And Papa for his part,

he's never read one thing we've written.

He just pretends the books don't exist.

- Why don't you prove it to him?

Give him Jane Eyre to read.

- Oh Arthur!

I can just imagine what would happen.

Why, the very timbers of
the house would rattle.

Well they would, you know they would.

Oh Arthur, I'm so grateful for you.

Oh, what did I ever do before I had you?

- And now that you do have me,

when are you going do something about it?

- You mean tell Papa?

Arthur, why not you,
why don't you tell him?

After all, it is your place to ask him

for his blessing, isn't it?

- No, because I want you for a wife.

Not a piece of fiction from a novel.

- Would you be with me, I
mean, could we go together?

- Could you tell him then?

- Yes, I think so.

Oh, I know he'll not approve.

And what if he refuses again?

You know he never listens to me.

He treats me as if I were a child.

- Charlotte.

You're not a child.

- I know I'm not.

All right, all right Arthur, come on.

[elegant music]

Father, there's something I must tell you.

It's very important.

- Father is it?

It's usually Papa, it
must be important indeed.

- Oh it is Father, I mean Papa.

- I am sure, however, that it is not

so important that it cannot
wait until you have changed

into a dress becoming a lady.

And until we can speak of it privately.

But you see Papa,

- I can see that you
are again demonstrating

a remarkable disinclination to behave

as a beautiful daughter.

- No.

- [Mr. Brontë] Once
more I ask you to retire

to your room and change that dress.

- Father.

Mr. Nicholls has something he
wants to say to you, Father.

- Well, Mr. Nicholls.

I'm sorry that you should
have been a witness

to such scenes as have taken
place here this afternoon.

I trust you forgive us.

- Mr. Brontë.

Charlotte and I would like
your consent of our marriage.

- Indeed.

Well now, let's see.

This matter has come up before, I think.

Twice before, to be exact.

- Yes, sir.

But this time she's accepted me.

- I see.

So a red dress can
change a woman entirely.

- I'm afraid not entirely, sir.

- [Mr. Brontë] What'd you say?

- Nothing, sir.

May we have your blessing?

- Well, now bless me, I don't know.

We'd have to think this over,

I must discuss it with
Charlotte of course.

- I think it only fair to tell you sir,

that I intend to marry her in any event.

- Seems a remarkable attitude

for you to take Mr. Nicholls,

as my confidant, my trusted friend.

- As your confidant,
and as your friend, sir,

I respect your feelings.

As a man, I expect to devote my life

to making Charlotte happy.

- I see.

Yes, well, I suppose I can't quarrel with

that sentiment very well.

Very well Mr. Nicholls, if
this be my daughter's wish.

- [Charlotte] Papa.

Papa, as you know, I've written a book,

and it's called Jane Eyre.

I would like you to read it.

- Jane Eyre, well I
must read it, of course.

And now if you'll excuse me,

I have some writing of my own to do.

[dramatic music]

- Oh, I declare Charlotte, if I wasn't

so happy for you, I'd be jealous.

- Oh Mary.

- Not even a London bride could have

a more magnificent array of gifts.

- Mary.

- Oh!

- Look!

- How lovely!

And from such fearfully famous people!

Look, even Mr. Zachary himself.

- Yeah.

- You must be the happiest bride,

and the proudest that
the sun ever shone upon.

- I am Mary, I am.

Come now, we must hurry.

Just a minute, I'll get Papa.

- One moment please.

- [Charlotte] Papa?

- What is it Charlotte?

Come in.

- So what time do [mumbles]

But Papa, you're not dressed.

- I'm afraid you have to
go without me, Charlotte.

These week's perils come over me.

And I haven't the strength for anything.

- But you should have told me.

I didn't know you were ill.

I'll send for the doctor at once.

- No, no, no, it's nothing
that a doctor can help.

All bodies wear out, that's all.

- Nonsense Papa, you're
going to live forever.

- Believe that if it's any
comfort to you, Charlotte.

In any case, this is not
an illness of the body.

But of the heart.

Oh please, Papa, please.

Oh well, it's no great matter.

Life has not been so kind to me

that I should dread to leave it.

- [Mary] Charlotte,
we're going to be late.

- Yes, Mary, yes I'm coming.

Are you sure you won't change your mind?

I must go and I don't
want to leave you alone.

- No, no, you go along
to your pleasure, child.

I must get used to being alone.

- [Mary] Charlotte, darling?

- Yes, Mary, I'm coming.

I'll be back soon, Father.

Papa, don't be lonely.

[elegant music]

Tomorrow?

- Tomorrow.

- Papa?

Oh, Papa, you musn't feel badly.

- You caught me in my sorrow, my dear.

I shouldn't have let you do that.

- But there's nothing
to be sorrowful about.

I talked it over with Arthur,

and we're going to stay
here in this house with you.

- Well, that would be very nice.

But it won't be the same thing, of course.

No, no, that's not what I was thinking of.

- What were you thinking of?

- I was wishing that I might
have the chance to try again.

Just for a little while.

What if I were to say, Charlotte,

"Carpet and curtain this
house however you may wish.

Wear what you please,
write what you please."

What then, my dear?

- You mean I can change
these dreary rooms?

- Yes, if you wish to, Charlotte.

- Oh, Papa, what a lovely wedding gift.

Oh, thank you.

Thank you for both Arthur and me.

Now let me see.

I think yes, I think the
velour on those windows

and for the carpet in here.

Oh Papa, this is going to be so much fun.

Oh thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Papa.

[loud slamming]

[melancholy music]

- Good morning, Mary.

What's that lovely thing you're carrying?

Whatever is it for?

Here, let me help you with it.

- Ooh, don't you dare touch
this gown, Arthur Nicholls.

What are you doing here anyway?

Don't you know it's bad luck to see

the bride before the wedding?

- Right, superstition.

And besides, I'm here
on official business.

Would you present this to her majesty

and inform her of my presence?

- Much good it'll do you.

It's only an hour till time to the service

and she'll never see you
on her wedding morning.

- She'll see me.

- Arthur!

Oh Arthur, they're lovely!

Oh my dear, what must heaven be like?

- Very like this, I should think.

- Charlotte.

- Yes Papa?

- I've changed my mind.

There'll be no wedding today.

- What ever do you mean?

- Just what I said.

I've wrestled with my
conscience all night,

and my mind is made up.

This marriage is not
in your best interests.

I will not permit.

- But Papa, you can't do this.

- I can and I will.

- But the guests!

They're all gathering at the church.

- Send them word to go home.

- And the presents Papa!

- Return them!

- Father please!

You don't know what you're doing!

- I'll not discuss it further, Charlotte.

Where are you going, Mr. Nicholls?

- To Charlotte, Mr. Brontë.

Have you any objections?

Charlotte.

- Arthur, help me, help me,
help me, Arthur help me.

I can't darling, I can't,
this is the lonely place.

No one can help you now but yourself.

- Please.

Please, I can't.

- You must.

- How, Arthur?

- By doing what's right.

- How?

I don't know what's right anymore.

I don't know.

Words that the Scripture tells us,

honor our parents, and I try.

But it does tell us that, doesn't it?

- Yes, but don't we honor them less

rather than more when we encourage them

in the way of selfishness?

- What does that mean?

- Charlotte, you know the prayer.

Forgive us the sins we cause and others.

- Yeah, yes I do.

Selfishness is a sin Charlotte.

Can you, in good conscience,

continue to encourage your father in it?

- No, no, I can't.

- Then you must go to him and tell him so.

- Could you go with me?

- No, dearest.

You must do this by yourself.

Everyone must learn to
walk alone Charlotte,

before they can walk with someone else.

- Please.

- I love you, dearest.

- Arthur!

Where are you going?

- I'm going to pray for strength for you.

[dramatic music]

- You are not going to stop me, Papa.

It is my wedding day.

- I told you Charlotte,
that my mind was made up.

I'll not give my consent.

- Well, then we shall
have to do without it.

- Ridiculous.

What'll the people say
if I were not present

at your wedding?

You'd disgrace me before the world.

- Better disgrace their
Papa, and in your heart.

- I've heard enough of this nonsense.

You stop behaving like a spoiled child

and go immediately to your room!

- No, no, I will not
let you do this to me.

For both our sakes.

- Charlotte!

I'm acting in your best
interests, and you know it.

You're not going to disobey me in

so serious a matter as
this and you know that too.

- Papa.

[elegant music]

Arthur.

I've come this far alone.

May we walk to the church together?

[triumphant music]

- Anyone who knows the Brontë story,

and so many people do,
knows too that we've taken

some liberties with the accounting

of this one incident in Charlotte's life.

Not so much as the answer
to this letter tonight,

but as food for further thought.

Later, of course, Charlotte's father

gave his blessing to her marriage.

And I imagine that was because none of us,

young or old, or sick or well is ever made

truly happy at the price of
unhappiness to those we love.

And oh my, it's a wise person who realizes

that before it's too late.

Well, good night.

[triumphant music]