The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry

Down at the bottom of this hill is Corinth,

not very different from a lot of other towns you know.

The folks that live here - well, we're people like yourselves.

This statue facing the square is General Melville Quincey.

1845 to 1910.

The Quinceys were our most important family once

until, like a lot of others, they lost their money in the Depression.

They lived down this street,

Lettie, Hester and their brother, Harry.

They were the last of the Quinceys.

This is the Warren Mill.

Most of the town works here.

Now, don't let it frighten you, even if it does look like a prison.

Harry Quincey worked here from nine to five.

Day in, day out.

Good morning.

- Good morning, Helen. - Wanna see something?

It's dazzling.

It's a genuine blue-white, 1/5 of a carat.

I'm engaged to Biff Wagner.

To that child?

Why, he's nearly twenty.

Oh, yes, so he is.

Well, now, if you'll excuse me, I'll just finish my patterns.

Don't hurry. I hear Mr. Warren got in this morning.

Brought out his New York fashion expert to go through the plan.

Now maybe we'll have puppy dogs and palm-tree patterns and snazzy colors.

Snazzy?

That means stuff with in a zing in it, Uncle Harry.

- Must you always call me 'Uncle' Harry? - I keep forgetting.

I don't mind when the small fry do it, but when a whole generation goes up around me

and still calls me 'uncle', I feel that I'm coming apart at the joints.

Why, you're not old at all, Uncle Harry.

- I mean Harry. - Thank you.

You won't forget to congratulate Biff at lunchtime, will you?

No, I won't, if you'll just let me finish my patterns.

Okay.

And here, Deborah, is where we design our new patterns.

There's really not much of a trick to it.

We just sort of repeat our old patterns with a few little changes here and there.

We turned out ten million yards of this one last year.

Oh! I hope I didn't make you spoil your rosebud.

Oh, that's all right. A little Chinese white will fix that.

- I'm Deborah Brown with the New York office. - How do you do?

Oh, this is Harry. He sort of keeps track of our patterns here.

Harry Melville Quincey.

The Melville's after that Civil War general in the town square.

- I didn't see the general. - Only the birds do these days.

Well, shall we take a look at the dying vats?

Oh, and I wanna show you the new roading shed, too.

We bring the freight cars right into the plant now.

Wait a minute, John.

I'd like to ask Mr. Quincey how he gets the inspiration for these patterns.

Oh, well. That's, uh... That's really quite simple.

Now, uh... Take a pattern like this, for example.

Well, I start off and I draw a line.

Then I draw another line.

Then another. And so on, so on, so on.

That's all there is to it, actually.

Oh, good afternoon, Mr. Quincey. And how's Lettie?

Oh, she's much better. Thank you, Mrs. Nelson.

- Oh, that's good. And Hester? - She's fine. Thanks, Mrs. Follinsbee.

- Good afternoon. - Goodbye.

I'd hate to pay that Lettie's doctors' bills.

There's always something or other the matter with her.

- You're late, Harry. - As the poet said,

Home is where you go, and they have to let you in.

- What's happened, Hester? - It's that girl.

Acting as if it were her own kitchen.

I've been fighting with her all afternoon trying to get my pie out of my own stove.

Well, it's Nona's job running the kitchen. How's Lettie?

How would she be?

Playing Robinson Crusoe on her chaiselongue as usual, as if it was a desert island.

Well, the doctor said she should look after herself.

Four years ago! Not a peep out of her heart since.

If it was her heart...

- May I come in? - Please do, darling Harry.

Phew, it's hot in here. Why don't you open a window and let some air in?

Plants need the heat.

You'll turn into one yourself if you don't watch out.

Ugh. There's nothing the matter with me.

I saw Dr. Adams today. He said you were doing splendidly.

It's nothing, really. Just my foolish heart.

- Did you have a nice day? - I reached my 6,000th rosebud.

Poor Harry. I wish you didn't have to work in that dreadful old factory.

This time of year we used to go to Maine.

- Do you remember? - Oh, the mill's all right.

- Will you get up for dinner? - Yes, of course.

- Feel strong enough? - Yes, I must get up.

My fella Hugo wants to take me to a picture show. I'll wash if someone dries.

- Let Hugo dry. - Being a milkman, he hates water.

The toast's like leather, Nonie.

- They had a fine picture last week. - I hate those pictures about Indians.

Joe, he could see two or three of those a day.

That's about all Joe, your dear dead husband, ever did.

That and go to the club for ale.

Dr. Adams made Joe drink ale. There's vitamins in ale.

Where's my gooseberry pie?

Gooseberries aren't good for Mr. Harry. Much too much acid.

- Oh, come now... - But you remember last year...

- Mr. Harry knows what's best for himself. - I've been looking forward to my pie all day.

Standing on my feet all afternoon, baking. Never any thanks from anyone.

It's like turning off a radio when Hester stops talking.

It's not that I don't want Mr. Harry to have gooseberry pie.

Even if it isn't good for him.

But Miss Hester is always sneaking into the kitchen and cooking, and I don't like it.

She bakes awfully good pies, though.

Here you are, Harry. It's fine, juicy berries.

- Soggy, you mean. - Oh, Nona.

I can't have it, Mr. Harry. You shouldn't eat soggy pie. And all that acid.

You're just doing this to turn my brother against me.

- You're all against me. - Oh, Hester, don't dramatize so.

You! What kind of a sister are you?

Not even lifting a finger to defend me from the servant.

Huh-huh. You'll do very well for yourself.

And besides, if Nona left, we'd be in a fix.

I'm only trying to keep some standard of comfort for Harry in his own house.

Aren't you the thoughtful sister?

No-one else but you must buy his clothes and do his room and keep him comfortable.

I'm only doing my duty to my brother.

And if you can't, you go into that green, dark den of yours

until Harry comes home and makes you come out.

You're just a spoiled, selfish woman, you...

Maybe, dear, you'd be better off living somewhere else.

You'd only excite yourself into a nervous breakdown here.

Nobody cares for me.

All the time I put in planning the meals and doing the housework

while you just sit among those horrible plants and read poetry!

Hester, please.

Please.

Hello? Who?

Mrs. Brooks.

Oh, yes, I'll tell her.

Mrs. Brooks says she can make it for bridge after all. She found a sitter for the baby.

Oh, dear. And I've already told Dr. Adams not to come.

I could play if you need a fourth.

Well, as a matter of fact, I can't make it.

I forgot it is one of your bridge evenings, Lettie.

Oh. Are you working tonight?

I'm going out.

Is there anything wrong with Harry going out?

Nobody suggested there was.

I'm showing someone the town.

Someone?

- Miss Brown, from our New York office. - A girl?

A Miss Brown would be a girl, Hester.

That'll be nice for you, Harry. Where do you intend to take this Miss Brown?

Oh, I don't know. I haven't given it very much thought.

Well, don't forget the house George Washington slept in on Elm Street.

Visitors always enjoy that.

Now, that's a good idea, Lettie. I'll do that.

Washington's house...

Come on, Nellie, hit that ball!

Deborah!

Oh, Deborah!

Come on down here!

I wish we could have a soda or something, Deborah.

But you know, Joan has to get to bed early so she can go to school in the morning.

It was nice of you to bring me home, John. I love softball anyhow.

Wonderful team, the Warren Tigers. They played like clockwork tonight, didn't they?

I wanna play with them when I grow up.

- Well, good night. - Good night.

Wait a minute! Harry's stuck.

Oh, I forgot you were there, Harry.

Oh, I'm all right.

- Good night. - Good night.

It was nice of you to take me, Harry.

At times I wondered who was taking whom.

- What time is it? - It's late. It's almost ten.

And you call that late?

Why, in New York, life is just beginning.

The barman at 21 is opening his second bottle of kimmel,

the dance band at the Rainbow Room is unpacking its instruments,

and the last taxi driver has just avoided picking you up.

And you say it's late?

Well, I'm afraid I can't offer you very much in the way of nightlife in this town.

Not even the George Washington house you mentioned?

Not this late. Even ghosts turn in early in Corinth.

I don't feel like sleeping just yet.

Didn't notice you had a sky here.

It's the same one you had in New York.

Oh, there's no sky in New York. The bright lights killed it off.

I haven't seen a big fat star in ten years.

Well, we can offer you quite a few of those here.

There's Mars up there, that big fat fella.

And over there is Venus.

Venus. It's like meeting an old friend.

My father used to show me Venus when I was a little girl.

My father didn't approve stargazing.

Dad used to say they were polished every night before being hung.

I wanted to do that someday.

Be a star polisher?

Some of my best childhood friends wanted to be star polishers.

Well, I must confess I had some such plans myself.

Which one is Saturn?

There it is. Up there.

Where are the rings?

Well, you can't see them with the naked eye.

Harry. You're beginning to sound indecent.

Well, I only meant that you have to have quite a powerful telescope to see the rings.