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00:00♪
00:03Mail's here!
00:04♪
00:11What do we got?
00:13Mr. B., are you in any trouble?
00:15Of course not.
00:16You know, I've been in the family for a long time.
00:18If you was to get in any trouble,
00:20I want you to know you could come to me for money.
00:23Thanks, Hazel, but I don't need any money.
00:25You sure?
00:26Of course I'm sure.
00:28Financially, this is the best year I've ever had.
00:30Well, then how come you ain't paid the premium
00:32on your insurance policy?
00:34I did.
00:35Well, this is the second notice.
00:36You can't afford to let your insurance policy lapse.
00:39Hazel, I paid the premium.
00:41Now, that notice and my check
00:42promptly crossed in the mail.
00:43Oh, I should have known better.
00:46Yes, you should have.
00:48You really had a terrific year this year, Mr. B.?
00:50Yes, Hazel, I did.
00:52Oh.
00:53Mr. B.,
00:54you sure you put some money in your savings account?
00:56Yes, Hazel, I did.
00:58Oh, Mr. B.?
00:59What?
01:00If you had such a terrific year financially
01:02and you're putting money in your savings account,
01:05how come you haven't given me a raise?
01:07♪♪
01:26And you'll notice each apartment has its own patio.
01:54Swimming pool.
01:56Nine-hole golf course.
01:58It almost makes me sorry I'm not old enough to sign up.
02:02Well, we won't have any trouble selling these.
02:04The local clubs have already sent in
02:05over 300 applications.
02:08Well, Mr. Sutherland, I want you to know
02:09that it's exciting even to be a part of this project.
02:12I only wish I could get my mother interested
02:14in some of your senior citizen activities.
02:16Why can't you?
02:17Well, she's made up her mind.
02:18Her life is over and I can't persuade her it isn't.
02:21Well, perhaps I could.
02:22I'd be glad to try.
02:23Would you?
02:24Well, yes.
02:25Next Wednesday, mother's coming over
02:27to our place for dinner.
02:28Could you join us?
02:29Oh, I'd be delighted.
02:30Even if you can't convince her,
02:31I'll promise you one of the best home-cooked meals
02:33you've ever eaten.
02:35Harry's got to go to the coast on business
02:37and he's asked me to go with him.
02:38Oh, how nice, dear, you'll have a marvelous time.
02:41But don't be ridiculous, I can't go.
02:43I'm much too worried about mother.
02:45Why?
02:46I don't mean there's anything wrong with her physically.
02:48I insisted that she have a complete examination
02:50a couple of weeks ago and the doctor says she's fine.
02:52Healthier than I am, as a matter of fact.
02:54It's her attitude.
02:56Oh, thank you, Hazel.
02:58How thoughtful.
03:01Go on, dear, I'm listening.
03:04Well, your mother's had a difficult adjustment
03:07to make moving out of that big house
03:09into a tiny apartment.
03:10It's only natural.
03:13She just sits.
03:15She's lost all interest in life.
03:19Hazel, we'll serve ourselves, thank you.
03:21Aye.
03:23Go on, dear.
03:26Well, today I gave up my own activities
03:30to ask her to take a ride with me
03:31and she turned me down flat.
03:33She will not even go shopping.
03:35Well, maybe there's nothing she wants to buy.
03:37Hazel, if you don't mind, this is a family affair.
03:41Yeah, I know.
03:42That's why I want to give you a little advice.
03:44You know what your mother needs?
03:46Is a new romance.
03:47A romance, Hazel, don't be ridiculous.
03:50At her age.
03:51Oh, sure, one of the happiest couples I ever knew
03:54got married in their 80s.
03:57Hey, I got an idea.
03:58Do you think your mother'd go bowling with me some night?
04:01No, I most certainly do not.
04:03Plus, we got a nice old bachelor.
04:06No, he wouldn't do.
04:08Well, never mind, Miss Thompson.
04:10I'll think of something.
04:14Now, now, Deidre, Deidre, George and I
04:16will look after her while you're gone.
04:18We'll see that she's kept busy and happy
04:20and you go on out to the coast with Harry
04:22and have a marvelous time.
04:24Your mother will be perfectly all right.
04:26My word of honor.
04:28No, thank you, dear.
04:30And the university has promised us a minimum
04:32of eight lecturers a year.
04:35Eight, hmm?
04:36Of course, we plan a curriculum of adult education.
04:39Oh, that sounds great.
04:40Doesn't it, mother?
04:41Very interesting.
04:43Do you play an instrument, Mrs. Baxter?
04:45The Senior Citizens Orchestra is planning to-
04:47I'm afraid I'm totally without talent, Mr. Sutherland.
04:51It's been a very pleasant evening,
04:52but I really must be getting along.
04:54Oh, mother, it's so early.
04:55Not for me.
04:56Please don't leave your guest.
04:58Mr. Sutherland, it's been a pleasure to meet you.
05:00I wish you and George good luck with your venture.
05:04Harold, you want to get Grandma's curling purse?
05:07Sure!
05:08I'll just run out and say goodnight to him.
05:11I'm sorry.
05:12She was a little more difficult tonight than usual.
05:14Yes, I haven't felt so rebuffed since I was 17.
05:17Oh.
05:19Gee, Miss Baxter, you didn't have a kind word
05:21for him all evening.
05:22Boy, if a good-looking fellow like that
05:24asked me to go square dancing-
05:26Square dancing.
05:27Senior citizens.
05:28The very words depress me.
05:30Besides, the children put him up to it, I could tell.
05:33I haven't been so humiliated since my mother
05:36arranged a date for me when I was 17.
05:38Oh, come on now.
05:39You can't sit around the house all the time
05:41just feeling sorry for yourself.
05:43Why not?
05:44If that's what I want to do.
05:46No, it's all my fault.
05:48I never should have let Deirdre talk me
05:50into selling my house.
05:52Do you remember my garden, Hazel?
05:53Nobody had finer roses than I did.
05:56Oh, say, I sure do remember it.
05:59That was a real showplace.
06:01Half an acre.
06:02And I took care of it all by myself.
06:05Oh, there's something vital about a garden.
06:08Planning how it's going to look.
06:10Buying the plants and the seeds.
06:12Preparing the earth.
06:14Oh, there's nothing as wonderful as the smell
06:17of freshly turned earth in the spring.
06:19Say, I got an idea.
06:21You know, Mr. Griffin bought that old mill a place.
06:23And he's been having trouble finding a gardener to suit.
06:26And I met him the other day,
06:28and he asked me if I knew anybody.
06:29So why don't you take that job?
06:31It pays $90 a month.
06:33All you have to do is to get some high school boys
06:35to do the heavy work.
06:36Hazel.
06:37The lawn's in terrible shape,
06:38and the trees ain't been pruned for years.
06:41In three months, you could have that old place
06:43looking just like your garden used to.
06:45But, but, Hazel, Mr. Griffin wouldn't hire me.
06:48You see that pinky, Mrs. Baxter?
06:50I can wrap Mr. Griffin right around it and tie a bow.
06:54Besides, he ain't gonna ask who I got.
06:56I'll just tell him I got a gardener,
06:58and he'll let it go at that.
07:00But what would George say?
07:02And Deirdre, you know what,
07:04I mean, you know how correct she is.
07:06She'd think I was out of my mind.
07:08Well, they ain't children no more, you know, Mrs. Baxter.
07:11You ain't got no more responsibility to them.
07:13They gotta lead their own lives.
07:15And you gotta lead yours.
07:17Ain't you all excited about the idea
07:19of bringing that old garden back to life?
07:21It's an absolutely insane idea, but...
07:24Now you're talking.
07:26We wouldn't have to tell them.
07:27Not till it was too late to stop me, would we?
07:30Oh, well, I wouldn't want to do nothing behind their backs.
07:33Just till we see how it works out.
07:35I guess it wouldn't be any harm.
07:38Hazel, I can't.
07:40Why not?
07:41Every gardener supplies his own tools.
07:43I'd have to have a mower and an edger and pruning shears.
07:47Why, it wouldn't be worth it just for one job.
07:49It would run into hundreds of dollars.
07:51I got some money in the bank.
07:53You have that much faith in me?
07:56Oh, I could get you all the customers you could handle.
07:58You know, good gardeners are hard to find.
08:00You'd put up your life savings.
08:02What have I got to lose?
08:04You got a thumb as green as St. Patrick's Day.
08:07Hazel, I don't need your money,
08:08but I can't tell you how much
08:10I appreciate your offering it.
08:12Oh, go on.
08:14Mrs. Baxter, you're a part of the family.
08:16I'll do it.
08:17But remember, not one word until I tell you.
08:20Can I even tell Missy?
08:21Oh, you know she'd tell George.
08:23George would feel he had to tell Deirdre.
08:25Oh, all right, okay.
08:26I won't even tell Missy.
08:27♪
08:33And eight sacks of fertilizer.
08:37Anything else, ladies?
08:38I still think you ought to take the big mower.
08:41The small one will do for a while, Hazel.
08:43Beside, I'm running short of cash.
08:45Well, the way I'm lining up customers,
08:47the small one won't work fast enough.
08:49I still have to buy topsoil.
08:51Well, all right, we'll just let it go the way it is, then.
08:54Your name and address.
08:57The Busy Bee Gardening Service.
08:59Ain't that great?
09:01B-double-E, you know, as in buzz.
09:03♪
09:04Your business address?
09:06Well, you can give your home address.
09:08That'll be all right, won't it?
09:09Certainly, as long as I know where to send the bill.
09:11Uh-huh.
09:12Apartment 603, Westlake Towers.
09:15Hmm?
09:16Now, why would you like to have
09:17all these things delivered?
09:20Oh...
09:21Hazel...
09:233070 Marshall Road.
09:26After 10 o'clock tomorrow morning.
09:28But, Miss Baxter...
09:29There's no room in my apartment.
09:31And George will be gone by then.
09:33Uh, yeah, but...
09:33Now, if you would just sign right there, please.
09:35You have to take things one at a time, Hazel.
09:38But, Miss Baxter...
09:39Uh, thank you.
09:43Hazel...
09:45How am I going to transport all this equipment
09:47from place to place?
09:49I can't take it in the back of my car.
09:51And George won't want me to use
09:52his station wagon indefinitely.
09:54He ain't gonna want you to use it definitely.
09:57I won't even ask to borrow George's station wagon.
10:00We'll go right over to Rutherford & Sons
10:02and see what kind of a deal we can make
10:04on a pickup truck.
10:05♪
10:21It, uh, handles as easily as any car I ever had.
10:25Yeah, it rides real slow.
10:30Would you like to drive it around the block a few times
10:32before you go in?
10:34I'd like to drive it clear to Timbuktu.
10:37Miss Baxter, why don't you come in and have dinner with us?
10:40And then after Mr. B's had a good meal,
10:42we'll sit him down in his easy chair.
10:44Not tonight, Hazel.
10:45I have a hard day ahead of me tomorrow.
10:48Well, I gotta tell him, Miss Baxter,
10:50because I couldn't sleep a wink if I didn't.
10:56Well, all right, Hazel, if you feel you must, go ahead.
10:59You have my permission.
11:01Just explain it to him the way you explained it to me.
11:04♪
11:09Hi, Hazel, did you have a nice time on your day off?
11:11Oh, sure, I always have a good time, Fort, you know that.
11:15Where's your mother?
11:16She went downtown to meet Dad.
11:18Can we have some French toast for dinner?
11:19You mean they ain't gonna be here?
11:21Uh-uh, Mr. Sutherland's taking them out
11:23to see the new houses he's putting up
11:24for the senior citizens.
11:26Oh, what time are they coming home?
11:28They said that they'd be real late and not to worry.
11:31Oh, boy.
11:34What's a senior citizen?
11:35Somebody my age who ought to be old enough
11:38to know better than to get herself mixed up
11:40in something that ain't none of her business.
11:42♪
11:47Oh, Harold, now you go on, finish your milk,
11:49and go out and play.
11:50I want to ask Dad for 50 cents.
11:52Well, I'll lend it to you.
11:53You just go get it out of the kitchen drawer.
11:55Uh-uh, Dad ought to be waking up pretty soon.
11:58Well, he slept this long.
11:59I just assumed he'd sleep till noon.
12:02Harold, you go on out and play.
12:04I got some private business I gotta talk over with you folks.
12:07Why do, Pa?
12:08Well, it's nothing that would interest you, sport.
12:11You're honest.
12:12Then why do you care if I listen?
12:13Harold, will you please go out and play?
12:16Okay, thanks for lending me the money.
12:18♪
12:28Morning, Hazel.
12:28♪
12:33Hello?
12:35Who?
12:36It's the what here?
12:39The gardener?
12:40I don't know, you must have the wrong number.
12:42Coffee ready, Hazel?
12:43Oh, yes, sir.
12:44Mrs. Baxter will be sleeping in late this morning,
12:46and I'll have it.
12:47I'll get it, Mr. B.
12:48Go on, more juices on the table.
12:50Hang on a moment, please.
12:51Go on, Mr. B.
12:52Don't let it get cold.
12:54I'll be right with you in a minute.
12:56Mr. B., this is kind of personal.
12:59How do you know that?
13:00You don't even know who's calling yet.
13:02♪
13:04Uh, sorry to keep you waiting.
13:08Uh, yes, sir?
13:11Well, uh, not right now.
13:13Can I take a message?
13:15Well, uh, it all depends on what's what done.
13:19Well, I can't give you an estimate over the phone.
13:23Well, uh, it, it all depends on what's what done.
13:26Well, I can't, I can't give you an estimate over the phone.
13:35♪
13:45Hey, hey, wait a minute.
13:47Hold on there.
13:48Hey, wait a minute. Hold on there.
13:51What is all that stuff?
13:53Thank you very much. Yeah, well, I'll have to call you back.
14:00Hazel, what's all the noise about?
14:09Hey, you can't leave it here. I can't get my car out of the garage.
14:15Hazel, you know anything about this?
14:17The man said Mrs. Baxter ordered it.
14:19Well, it's kind of a long story, Mr. B.
14:22What in the world would Dorothy want with all this stuff?
14:24Well, it's hard to explain, you know, unless I start at the beginning.
14:28Hazel, leave it where it is. I haven't had my coffee.
14:31Well, I could have explained it to you last night if you'd come home at a decent hour.
14:42I'm sorry to be late.
14:48Mother!
14:57Mother, what in the name of creation are you doing in there?
15:01Oh, you got the sign painted. Ain't that terrific, Mr. B?
15:04Will someone please tell me what this is all about?
15:06Now, George, don't get excited.
15:08George, what's wrong?
15:09I don't know what's wrong. I can't get them to tell me.
15:12Well, let's all go in and have a cup of coffee.
15:14I want to know what's going on right now.
15:16Well, uh, well, Mr. Griffin told me he needed a gardener.
15:19And I didn't have anything else to do.
15:21So she took the job.
15:24You... you took the job as Mr. Griffin's gardener?
15:28Dorothy, did you hear what they both said?
15:30My mother is Mr. Griffin's gardener.
15:32Darling, now don't get excited. Let's go inside and talk this over quietly.
15:39I don't care. I know I can do it. Can't I, Hazel?
15:42Oh, sure you can, Miss B.
15:44Before you get finished, this sign is going to be famous.
15:51She did her own work in her yard for years, George. You didn't see anything wrong in that.
15:55But that's different.
15:56What's so different about it? Because she's going to get paid for it?
15:59No, she... yes, as a matter of fact, it is different.
16:02Because she doesn't need the money.
16:03Well, what's the use of working if you don't get paid for it?
16:06George, there's a certain satisfaction in knowing that what you do has market value.
16:10Money isn't my main object in working either, but...
16:13Oh, that's different.
16:15Well, what's different about it? Interior decorating is for the inside and gardening is for the outside.
16:21It's practically the same thing. It's just making places nicer for people to live in.
16:26George, this morning, for the first time in years, I could hardly wait to get out of bed.
16:31I was so eager to start the day.
16:34All right, Mother, all right. Now, if this is what you want, fine.
16:37I don't know what's going to happen when Deidre gets back, but all right.
16:41But if that's what you want her to do, good luck.
16:43Atta boy, Mr. B.
16:45My mother a gardener.
16:48Mr. Griffin's gardener.
16:56He didn't make as much of a fuss as I thought he would.
16:59Oh, he wants you to be happy, Mother.
17:01Oh, everything's working out fine.
17:04We got nothing to worry about.
17:07Until Miss Thompson comes back in town.
17:11THE END
17:17Yes?
17:18Your sister's on the phone, Mr. Baxter.
17:21Thanks.
17:25Deidre, when did you get back in town?
17:27Late last night.
17:28George, I've been calling Mother all morning.
17:31Yeah, well, she isn't in much these days.
17:34Did you have a nice trip?
17:35Fine, thanks, but I want to know about Mother. How is she?
17:38Well, she's just splendid, Deidre.
17:42Remarkably well, as a matter of fact.
17:44Look, why don't you and Harry stop by for dinner this evening?
17:48I'll ask Mother, too, and then you can see for yourself.
17:51Oh, I don't think Harry can make it, and goodness knows I've got a million things to do, but all right.
17:57I'll see you this evening.
17:58Good. Nice to have you home, sis.
18:00Thanks, dear.
18:01George, you're sure Mother's all right?
18:03You're not keeping anything from me.
18:05Deidre, Mother's fine. Now, will you stop fussing? See you later.
18:16Here we go. Whoa, Missy! Ain't that a doozy?
18:20It'll do twice the work in half the time.
18:22Gee, it looks as though it might be fun. Do you mind if I try it?
18:25Go ahead, Hazel. The only thing is, keep it going straight and overlap your path a little each time.
18:30Then, will you start it?
18:31Yes.
18:32Then you'll have to weed that flower bed, and we'll have to do the Andrews Place before dark.
19:00Oh, boy! More fun than the donkey ride at the carnival. Come on, you want to try it?
19:24I can't wait.
19:30Here she comes, Miss Baxter.
19:52I won't say a word till I see the whites of her eyes.
19:55Deidre, dear, what a nice surprise. Did you and Harry have a pleasant trip?
19:59Hi, Miss Thompson. Fancy seeing you here.
20:01Mother, what are you doing on this lawnmower?
20:04Now, Deidre.
20:05I demand to know this instant. What are you doing?
20:07It's rather obvious, isn't it, dear? I'm going to mow the lawn.
20:10She's trying it out. You know how it is with something new.
20:13But this is the Brewster's house. I don't even understand what you're doing here.
20:17I'm working.
20:19I knew you weren't well enough to be left alone. I never should have gone off and left you.
20:23Hazel, help me get her into the car before the Brewsters see her.
20:27Deidre, I can't leave now. The Brewsters are paying me $120 a month.
20:32Paying you? She's their new gardener.
20:35Mother!
20:37It's a great deal of money, and they're entitled to a full day's work.
20:40Now, run along like a good girl, please.
20:42I'll take her over to the Baxter's. You know, she ain't calm enough to take the wheel.
20:46Good idea, Hazel. See you later, dear, at George's.
20:57I know that people often get a bit eccentric in their old age.
21:02It's nothing to be ashamed of. It happens in the best of families.
21:06But I don't understand how you and George could have allowed this to happen.
21:10Well, when George gets home, Deidre, we'll let him explain it to you.
21:14My poor, frail, delicate little mother doing menial labor.
21:20People will think we're not willing to support her.
21:23People are not going to think anything of the kind, Deidre.
21:26Dorothy, the Brewsters are friends of mine.
21:29I'm supposed to go there for tea next week.
21:31How am I going to have tea with them when my mother is outside, knee-deep in peat moss,
21:38making a public spectacle of herself?
21:41Don't think of it, Deidre. Just don't think of it.
21:44Dorothy, I've worked so hard in order to help Harry.
21:48You know that social position doesn't mean a thing to me.
21:51But I have worked so hard to help Harry.
21:53And now everything is just ruined. It's ruined!
21:56I'll never be able to hold my head up again.
21:59Deidre, you just take a nice little nap and you'll feel a lot better.
22:08Oh, here you are, missy. Would you give it to her to put at the back of her neck?
22:12I don't know why it is, but whenever she looks at me, she goes into a tizzy.
22:16Well, after all this calms down, I'll explain it to you.
22:19Well, I was just doing what I thought...
22:21Oh, George, I'm so glad to see Deidre's here.
22:24Hazel.
22:25Mother.
22:26Dorothy, wait till you hear Mr. Sutherland.
22:29I do hope I'm not imposing.
22:31Oh, no, we're delighted. Wait till you hear.
22:34Mr. Sutherland has asked me to submit a bid for the landscaping for the senior citizen's project.
22:40Oh, that's terrific.
22:41Oh, that's wonderful news, Mother.
22:43Oh, I may not get the job, but just being asked to do it is one of the most exciting things that's ever happened to me.
22:49Well, if what I saw today is any indication, you'll get the job and we'll be mighty lucky we have you.
22:54George, may I speak to you a moment, please?
22:57Oh, sis. Mr. Sutherland, this is my sister, Deidre Thompson.
23:00How do you do? George, I simply have... Sutherland?
23:03Yes, Ralph Sutherland.
23:05Oh. Oh, well, Mr. Sutherland, I believe we have mutual friends. The Vandolfsons?
23:10Oh, yes. Van and I went to school together. It's a great pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Thompson.
23:14Thank you. Of course, I don't know them well, but we have met here and there, and I've heard Mr. Vandolfson speak of you.
23:21Yes, he put up some of the capital for my senior citizen's project.
23:24And Mother's going to do all the landscaping.
23:26Isn't that wonderful news, Deidre? Landscaping? I don't understand.
23:30Your mother's a mighty talented woman, Mrs. Thompson. You must be very proud of her.
23:34Oh, I am. I am.
23:37Most women her age would be content to sit around and do nothing, but not my mother.
23:42Do you mind if we all sit down someplace?
23:47Mrs. Thompson, if you can spare her for the evening, your mother and I will be running along.
23:51We have some business to talk over.
23:54He's taking me to dinner at the Starlight Room.
23:57All right, children. Good night. Have a good time.
23:59We intend to.
24:02Good night, my darlings.
24:04Good night.
24:08George, did you see that? Mother was actually flirting.
24:14He's a very attractive man, Deidre.
24:16I'll say. He's the answer to a maiden's prayer.
24:19But flirting at her age?
24:22Well, she ain't much older than I am. I got news for you, Miss Thompson.
24:26Flirting is like riding a bicycle. Once you learn it, you never forget.
24:31You can flirt at night, you know, if you just keep your nerve.
24:36Boy, I wish she had a younger brother. I could do with a new romance myself.
25:06This has been a Screen Gems film production.