Grey Gardens

What are you doing down there? Just standing there?

- Just filming the main room. - Whiskers!

Well, did you know that Whiskers has disappeared?

- A cat got out. l'm trying to get him in. - Has he? Ah.

Yeah, we don't know how he got out. l think he got out in that hole there.

- No, l knew they were coming, and l -- - l think he got out in that hole.

- He can jump up there. - l knew they were coming and --

Yeah. No, he got out in that hole, Edie.

l put them all out. You told me to.

No, dearie, he got out in the hole, babe.

"Take the cats out," you said.

- Did you hear what l said, woman? - What?

He got out in this hole here. That was the noise we heard.

That raccoon did that to my new wall. lsn't that terrible?

They'll have the whole house down soon.

Yeah, we'll be raided again.

We'll be raided again by the village of East Hampton.

You know, they can get you in East Hampton...

for wearing red shoes on a Thursday and all that sort of thing.

I don't know whether you know that. l mean, do you know that?

They can get you for almost anything.

- It's the MaysIes! - Hi, Edie.

- The gentIemen caIIers. - I saw your car.

- One of my cats just got out. - Edie, you look fantastic.

David, you look absolutely terrific. Honestly.

You've got light -- You've got light blue on.

Well, Al, you're still -- Mother says you're very conservative.

Brooks, everything looks wonderful.

- Thank you. - Absolutely wonderful.

This is the best thing to wear for the day. You understand.

- Yeah. - Because l don't like women in skirts...

and the best thing is to wear panty hose or some pants...

under a short skirt, l think.

Then you have the pants under the skirt...

and then you can pull the stockings up over the pants, underneath the skirt.

- Uh-huh. - And you can always take off the skirt and use it as a cape.

So l think this is the best costume for the day.

Okay.

l have to think these things up, you know.

Mother wanted me to come out in a kimono, so we had quite a fight.

So what did you do, photograph Brooks cutting right down here?

- Yeah, l've been through the jungle. - Oh, for goodness sakes.

What do you want to do now? Where do you want to go? Upstairs?

Do you want to go up and photograph it from the top porch?

- Okay. That's good. - Okay.

They're gonna photograph from the top now, Brooks.

lt's a beautiful garden back here.

Did you see the wall garden?

- Oh, you mean the patio. You mean this. - Yeah.

That's a Spanish wall garden over there, you know.

- Oh, yes. - The Hills put that in.

They imported everything from Rome.

Mrs. Hill, she was a famous horticulturist.

That was one of the famous gardens of America.

Brooks, next summer, if we're all living...

l think a vegetable garden would be a good thing in here.

You don't get enough sunlight in here.

Yeah, Mother says she doesn't mind if you have to cut down some privet for the garden.

- Would be nice. - Yeah.

Because food's going up. We heard that on the radio last night.

Do you think my costume looked all right for Brooks? l think he was a little amazed.

- He's probably seen it before. - No, no. This is the revolutionary costume.

l never wear this in East Hampton.

He seems okay. He seems like he can handle it.

You can't be too careful. Know what l mean?

That was the original living room.

You know, people go back to a kitchen now.

Though the washing machine was always put in the maids' dining room.

You know, the washtubs are in the maids' dining room.

Let's go up.

lt's very difficult to keep the line between the past and the present.

Do you know what l mean? lt's awfully difficult.

That is a beautiful ocean today, isn't it?

What color would you say that was? Sort of sapphire?

l've never seen anything like that ocean.

The 50 years l've been here --

The best in 50 years.

Oh, Edie, are you around?

- Oh, Edie! - l haven't been out of this damn horrible place...

in two years.

God, if you knew how l felt. l'm ready to kill.

Well, they're not going to take you to the beach.

- Brooks wants his -- his check, Mother darling. - All right, give me the --

- He's at the door. - l told you l should do it now.

Twenty-four bucks for three cuttings. Just a minute.

l told you -- better bring the pen.

l locked all the cats away.

Don't be so mean. They don't wanna be locked away.

The poor little kitties. You know kitties adore sun.

l suppose l won't get out of here till she dies or l die.

- Who's she? The cat? - l don't know when l'm gonna get out of here.

- Why do you want to get out? Another place'd be much worse. - 'Cause l don't like it.

- Any place will be much worse. - Here.

- Any place on Earth. - Yeah, but l like freedom.

Well, you can't get it, darling. You're being supported.

- You can't get any freedom when you're being supported. - Yeah, but --

- You can't? - No, you can't.

- l think you're not free when you're not being supported. - You have to toe the mark.

- lt's awful both ways. - Well, you don't look it.

You look very young for 56 years of age.

Don't you remember what you told me --

- l'd just like a couple of days on the beach, that's all. - What was it you told me?

- Twenty-four bucks. - You don't have to scream that out.

When are you gonna learn, Edie? You're in this world, you know.

You're not out of the world.

Let's see if l can remember the date. ls it the 12th today?

- Well, there are certain compensations, l guess. - ls it the 12th today?

The old woman, she has to remember everything, you know that.

l think this is correct.

Brooks Hiers. H-l-E-R-S.

- Oh, l didn't think it was necessary. - Yes.

Why didn't you let me do this in the house for? Why did you make me do it here?

Mother, you don't have enough clothes on.

Well, l hope -- l'm gonna get naked in just a minute, so you better watch out.

- That's what l'm afraid of. - Yeah, for what? Now, why?

- l haven't got any warts on me. - But the movie, the movie.

- l haven't got any warts on me. - That isn't the point, Mother darling.

Well, you know where you got, being like that.

No husband, no babies, nothing.

l can't help it. l like to wear certain things.

- ls that H-Y-E-R? H-Y? - She likes everything without girdles.

- H-Y, Edie, or H-l? - H-Y-E-R-S.

- H-Y? - Yeah.

She and Marjorie don't believe in wearing girdles.

l haven't worn a girdle since l was 12 years old. Here you are.

Mother has certain ideas about, uh --

- l certainly have certain ideas about living a long time. - About clothes.

That's what l got ideas about.

lt's very hard to live nowadays. Living is very difficult.

"The Libra husband is not an easy man to please.

The monotony of domesticity is not to his liking...

but he is a passionate man and a respecter of tradition."

All l have to do is find this Libra man.

"The Libra husband is reasonable.

He is a born judge...

and no other zodiacal type...

can... order his life...

with so much wisdom."

My God! That's all l need -- order.

That's all l need -- an ordered life.

You know, a manager.

But he's got to be a Libran.

Hello.

Yeah?

- That sounds like Jerry. - Oh, is that Jerry? For goodness sakes.

What are you doing?

Jerry, you're Aquarius, aren't you?

- Yeah. - That's what l saw when l met you, Jerry.

- Remember l said The Marble Faun, and it was terrible. - Yeah.

Terrible, the tragedy connected...

with The Marble Faun.

You know, l call Jerry "The Marble Faun."

Nathaniel Hawthorne.

- Yeah. - Yeah.

Do you have that book here, Edie?

l haven't been able to find it.

lf you run across it, l'd like to read it.

lt's very deep. l don't know whether you -- Well, l guess you're up to it.

They used to have it on all the, uh --

l think it was on the high school reading list. The Marbl\e Faun.

"The Libra husband does not seek divorce...

unless the conditions of his life...

are not adjustable."

l don't believe in divorce at all.

- l think divorce -- - Was your mother divorced or no?

- No. - Separated.

Yes, and then my father got a -- got a fake Mexican divorce...

and he... did have, you know, what he called another wife.

But we didn't recognize it. lt wasn't recognized by the Catholic Church.

They don't recognize it, you know.

Say, are you bossing me around, Edie? All afternoon?

- l think that's terrific. - Oh, Edie, it's not the best one.

This is the worst one of my wedding pictures.

The others look worse.

l was gonna be a singer, you know. A professional singer.

When l met Mr. Beale, the jig was up.

Do you remember this?

- May l see that, please? - The villain of the piece.

"To my best friend and most delightful comrade...

to my only sweetheart and wonderful wife...

l tender this likeness of her husband.

Phelan Beale, 1 929."

- So we did love each other. - Did l laugh when l read that.

Aren't kids terrible? l just roared.

When the people don't speak, they never get divorced.

- You just can't tell. - l've been a very happy woman all my life.

Shall l tell them about Gould?

Gould was mother's accompanist.

He was a boogie-woogie composer who had the most terrific style.

He was the most brilliant man l've ever met.

That's including Mr. Beale and Mr. Bouvier.

Completely brilliant.

This is cute, Mother.

l like that very much. Don't you, David?

You said Michelle Beale stole this, didn't you, Edie?

l never did. She'd never do that.

See how fat l was, Edie?

Did l look like a good mother?

Was l a good mother?

- lt looks like it. - What? Looks like it.