Cradle Will Rock Page #11

and instructed me to give you

this check as payment in full.

This is it? Now what?

You paint over Lenin's face?

You gonna put Hearst's face on it? Or

Hitler? Paint over the war, the soldiers?

Turn them into jolly, drunken

English fox hunters?

A little bucolic

pastoral scene...

of men on horses

chasing after a little fox?

Listen, folks, can I have

your attention, please?

Folks!

Due to cutbacks, we will not

be hiring at the present time.

To save you time and aggravation,

we suggest you drop off

your applications and go home...

or to the park.

We're very sorry.

Mrs. Flanagan,

how many people do you figure...

you had as audience

in the United States for these plays?

The recorded figure,

Congressman Dies, was something like...

- 25 million people.

- In other words, you have reached...

approximately 25% of our population

with your plays.

Something like that.

Yes.

Now... you wrote for

Theater Arts Monthly,

November 1931,

did you not?

- Yes, I did.

- I quote this from that same article.

"Start dramatic groups in unions,

in fraternal organizations,

in social clubs, in company unions,

in Y. M. C. A. 's.

Dot the land from coast to coast.

Don't expect profit in money.

These theaters exist

to awaken the workers. "

May I interrupt?

Please notice that that is a quotation.

A quotation, yes.

But these are your words I'm quoting.

"The workers'theaters intend to remake a

social structure without the help of money.

And this ambition alone

invests their undertaking...

with a certain

Marlowesque madness. "

You are quoting from this Marlowe.

Is he a Communist?

- I'm very sorry. I was quoting

from Christopher Marlowe.

Tell us who this Marlowe is so we can

get the proper reference,

because that is all

we want to do.

Put in the record that he was the greatest

dramatist in the period of Shakespeare,

immediately preceding

Shakespeare.

Of course, we had what some people call

Communists back in the days of Greek theater.

- If you say so.

- And I believe Mr. Euripides...

was guilty of teaching

class-consciousness also, wasn't he?

I believe it was alleged against

all the Greek dramatists.

So we cannot say

when it began.

Wasn't it alleged also of Ibsen and

against practically every great playwright?

I think so.

- Countess, we need a piano.

- Piano?

- In case the theater we find doesn't have one.

- Good thinking.

Here's ten dollars.

That should cover the rental.

Marc, tell the countess

where she might find a piano.

- Um...

- Mr. Welles, will you...

We most assuredly will be performing

The Cradle Will Rock tonight!

- What theater?

- We are currently negotiating with three theaters.

We'll let you know

within the hour.

Why can't we go in?

This is private property!

It's not open to the public!

- We want to see the painting.

- The lobby is closed.

- Let us in!

- Down with Rockefeller!

The paint'll come through.

- Must hit.

- Chip.

- Chip?

- Nelson?

Nelson?

Hi. Your masquerade party

starts in an hour.

- You wanted me to remind you.

- Claire! Not now.

Thank you.

Chip?

Sol, do we have

a pneumatic drill?

- You're Larry Foreman.

- Ex-foreman.

I've been looking

all over town for you.

How's the union returns,

Mr. Mister.

Oh, damn.

What is it?

- "They haven't come to a decision yet. "

- We can do this!

Has anyone asked the W. P. A.

if this is okay?

Hallie is in Washington testifying.

Will, bring the guitar out front.

- I'm not gonna do it.

- jack,

we've got trouble with the musicians

and the actors unions.

- They won't sanction a performance elsewhere.

- What?

The actors union and the musicians union

are forbidding their members to perform.

Mathers Steel

will not be intimidated. james!

Just a second.

Where the hell is my wife?

I last seen her at Maxine Elliot's

theater downtown, sir.

- You left her there?

- She dismissed me, sir.

- Bring the car around.

- Yes, sir.

Are we clear? That's right.

Whatever it takes.

- Madame Sarfatti to see you, sir.

- Show her in.

- Carlo, a little privacy, please.

- Hmm?

- Why don't you go clean the toilets or something?

- I clean nothing.

- Gray, such a pleasure to see you.

- Buona sera.

- I mean, it is a great pleasure to...

- We have met before.

- I don't think so.

- Carlo, out!

- Your wig, sir.

- Out! Everybody, out! Out!

Oh, Gray, Gray.

Did you receive the package?

Yes, I did.

- You did not open it?

- Uh, no, I haven't.

Well...

And Mr. Hearst,

did he receive his package?

- Yes, yes, he did.

- Did it please him?

Oh, yes, very much.

So when do you sail?

Tonight.

Your payment, madam.

Thank you, thank you.

And Mussolini thanks you.

We... I... We are

going to miss you.

You did not tell me

what you feel.

- About you?

- About the painting. You open it,

but you say nothing.

Oh, uh... I...

I love it.

It's, uh...

It's a masterpiece.

- Yes. Yes.

- Is it da Vinci?

And where will you

hang her?

Uh, here in the study.

Uh, over the fireplace.

- Ah.

- Hmm?

Oh, what a shame

to let the classics slip away.

He won't even

reconsider, right?

- What's going on?

- Actor's Equity says no.

- We can't do the show.

- We can't do the show.

- Equity says.

- Did you ever love me?

How are we gonna

do the show without musicians?

- The show's off.

- We can't do the show.

- We're not dead yet.

- Our unions won't let us do the show.

- What reason did they give?

- I say stop, you say go. You're an evil man, jack.

- Excuse me, jack.

- It means we can't do the show.

It means it's over.

It's over, everybody.

Time to go home. Let's go, Olive.

This show's a disaster.

- Excuse me.

- Not now, George.

- What if we do it anyway?

- And be kicked out of the union?

Not be able to work?

I can't risk that.

- We thought so too. It's...

- Excuse me!

- What?

- I found a theater.

The Venice, 59th and 7 th.

The owner wants a hundred bucks.

- Tell him no.

- What?

- It's over, George!

- Jack! Jack!

I found a piano!

Where am I going?

We're not doing the show.

We've been censured.

Well.

I found a piano. There's a crowd out

there. Why not do it in the street?

We have a theater. It's the actors.

They've been forbidden.

Well.

Why not let Marc do it?

By himself,

all the characters, yeah.

- He did it for us.

- I know, but it's not gonna be any good.

- What's not gonna be any good?

- Besides, he's in the union.

Marc,

are you in the...

musicians union?

No. Why?

You have established the precedent

of exhibiting a play...

that champions the cause

of public ownership of utilities.

You said you thought that was

proper and you had a right to do that.

- I think so.

- And if the same play proved that the public ownership...

of railroads was a good thing,

you would do it too, would you not?

Absolutely. And the test is,

is it a good play...

And if someone came with a play

showing that the public ownership...

of all the lands

in the United States,

and it was a good play,

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