Hell's House

Jimmy!

- What do you want, Ma? - Will you take those things off the line?

I've got to take back Mrs. Miller's wash. All right, Mom.

- Jimmy! - Boooo!

I didn't scare you, did I Mom?

Full off tricks. Just like your father was, ain't ya?

You ain't too big to be spanked, young man!

I'll teach you!

For frightening me!

Well, Ma, you haven't lost your punch, have ya?

You'd better run along. I got a lot of work to do.

Mom!

Mom! Mom!

Mom! It's me, Jimmy.

Oh, Mom, it's me... Mom!

Mom!

Mom! Mom!

Oh, Mother! Oh, Mother!

Eeny, meeny, miny, moe.

Catch a nigger...

Hello, son. Who are you lookin' for?

- The Clarks. - All right. Well, my name's Clark.

- Are you Uncle Henry? - Uncle Henry?

- Yeah, are you Lucy's boy? - Yes, sir, I'm Jimmy.

Well, that's funny. How'd you get so far away from home?

It's in the letter.

Go on in.

How is your mother?

She's... dead.

What?

Lucy dead?

It's all right, my boy.

Sit down.

I'll go tell your Aunt Emmie.

My poor sister...

And that poor boy.

Jimmy!

- Don't cry, Aunt Emma. - Now Emmie, don't make it harder for the boy.

Oh, my spinach!

That's Mr. Kelly.

Mr. Kelly's our boarder.

Hiya, Countess!

Well, I knew your dark past would catch up on you someday.

No, Mr. Kelly! This is my nephew, Jimmy Mason.

Oh, hello, Jimmy. Glad to see you.

Say, if I knew you were gonna be here for dinner

I'd have stopped at the City Hall Square and shot a buffalo or an alderman or something.

Say, I won't be here at dinner tonight.

No, I'm steppin' out. With who? His Honor, the Mayor.

That's a break for you, Jimmy. You can have my spinach.

Well, over the river and skip the gutter.

Be seeing you, folks.

Be seeing you.

Jimmy, will you take the suitcase into the dining room?

You're gonna sleep on the couch.

I suppose you're awful tired after riding around all day. - Yes, mam.

Hiya, Peggy! Say, how do you look gorgeous! I've been to a conference...

- I've been waiting for you for over an hour! - I've been to a conference!

Conference! Let me tell you. This can't last forever. Do you expect me to marry you?

- Listen, honey, when we're married... - If we're married!

And I'm not at all sure I want to marry a man who keeps me waiting around like this.

Look!

Frank Gebhardt, editor of the Morning Times. Great guy, Frank.

You know him intimately, no doubt.

Do I know him? Say, we're like this!

Hi, Frank!

How do you do?

How are you?

- Do I know that man I just spoke to? - No, Mr. Gebhardt.

What's his idea in calling me Frank?

Well, you may know him like this, but he's not speaking to you.

That's nothing, honey. He's so nearsighted many a time he passes up his own mother.

Listen, I know a new spaghetti joint you're going to be crazy about.

Come on, honey, we'll step right in the car and I'll drive you right down there...

Is he asleep?

I always wanted a boy around the house.

Outside of you, of course.

First thing tomorrow I'll take him around to school.

No, I don't want you to do that.

I don't want you to be late for...

You haven't lost your job again?

This morning.

What are we going to do now?

We've another mouth to feed.

We've always pulled through before, haven't we?

Maybe I'll get a better job.

Tell you what I'll do. I'll..

I'll run down and get a newspaper now and look through the want ads.

Don't worry, honey. Everything'll be all right.

Now watch, Jimmy. Watch closely this time.

Oh, it's the music in my soul, Jimmy. I'm so full of it I leak.

When I come in the door Rudy Vallee goes right out the window.

Do you know Rudy Vallee?

Do I know Rudy Vallee? Do I know him?

The megaphone was my idea.

Well, I gotta be going.

Here you are, Jimmy. There's a dollar. That'll help you open a couple of banks.

- Thanks, Mr. Kelly. Mr. Kelly! - Yeah?

- Could I talk to you for a moment? - Sure, grab your hat and make it snappy.

Aunt Emma! I'm gonna walk down the street with Mr. Kelly.

All right, son.

Well, what's on your mind, Jimmy?

Well, you see, Mr. Kelly, it's like this.

Hiya, Red.

- You know, Red Gray, the football player. - Was that Red Gray?

- Sure. - Hiya, Kelly.

Hiya, boys.

- What were you saying, Jim? - Well, you know Uncle Harry and Aunt Emma...

- Hey, Kelly! - Yeah?

Go ahead, Jimmy, what were you going to tell me?

- Well... - How are you, Kelly?

Hiya, Commissioner.

Guess you know nearly everybody, Mr. Kelly.

Well, I'll tell you, Jimmy. I've got a lot of connections.

That's just the reason I wanted to talk to you. You see...

Well, well, well.

Jimmy, here's one for the book.

Remember we went to that fortune teller this afternoon?

Remember?

Y-yeah.

Oh, did you?

And he said we'd be walking down the street just like this.

Remember, Jimmy?

Yeah.

And he said we'd ran into the most beautiful girl in all the world.

He was right up to that point, wasn't he?

Yeah.

And he said huh...

Well, he said a lot of things that happened, remember?

- Yeah, a lot of things. - For instance.

Let's see, for instance he said uh...

He said uh...

Well, he said I'd ask her to go dancing, remember?

Yeah.

Did he say where?

I don't know. Did he say where, Jim?

Sure he did. He said we'd go to the Rosalind Dance Palace.

Oh, that was the place.

- All right. - What?

Oh, I get it. I catch on to you. You're the girl he was talking about all the time.

Who is this person?

This is Mr...

Peggy, I want you to meet a pal of mine, Jimmy Mason.

Hello, Jimmy.

You were only kidding. You knew her all the time.

Know her? Say, I've known her since she was that big.

Come on in while I leave these things. I'll take them, Peggy.

Come on, Jimmy.

- Sit down, Jimmy. - Thanks.

- Turn on the radio. - Sure.

- Not bad, eh, Jimmy? - Say, she's a swell girl.

Hey, you oughta read the story in here by Erle Cowan.

- You know him too? - Oh, sure, we're like that.

Say, have I shown you this trick that I do?

- I don't think so. - I know I didn't.

Watch this very closely.

This is great. Wait till you see this one.

How do you like that, Jim. It's marvelous, Mr. Kelly.

Jimmy, weren't you trying to tell me something?

Oh, that. I was...

Why, Jimmy, how nice! Getting up on me.

Well, they always do it in the movies.

Take Mr. Kelly to the movies sometime, won't you, Jimmy?

I would've gotten up, if it hadn't been for that sore knee of mine.

Oh, well, if you got a sore knee, you can't dance.

What do you think of a man who asks a girl to go dancing and then has a sore knee?

Did your mother let you associate with people like that?

She died. Last week.

Oh, Jimmy!

I'm sorry. I wouldn't have... That's all right.

Atta boy, Jimmy. The old chin up all the time.

Ma would've liked you. Mr. Kelly, too.

Jimmy, I want you to promise me something. Yes, mam?

Anytime you feel lonesome will you come and see me?

- Could I? - Any time you want.

Sure, thanks. I sure will.

Hey, Jim, when you get through cutting me out with my girl

how about going back to your aunt and uncle?

Hello?

What?

I can't understand you.

Oh... I guess it's for you.

Hello?

Hello? Hello?

I called you up to say that I've got everything under control.

Everything is exactly as if you were right here.

Right here!

What? Hello!

Say, what's the matter with you? You're... Hello! Hello!

Sorry, babe, but that was important.

I'll be back as soon as I can. If I can't make it, I'll phone.

Never mind. I'll know if you're coming. Yeah? How do you know?

I'll call up that fortune teller.

Oh... all right. So long, darling.

Say, I guess I'd better be going too.

Just thought of something, and it's getting late...

Well, good night.- Good night, Jimmy.

- Remember you're coming to see me again. - Well, good night. I had a very good time.

Oh... why don't you answer, Kelly? What's the matter?

At it again, huh?