Cradle Will Rock Page #9

A headache? Only people with brains

have headaches.

Why can't you paint

another face over it?

Would you prefer Stalin?

I don't.

I was kicked out of the Communist

Party for disagreeing with him,

but if you want,

I'll paint Stalin.

- You're not being very cooperative.

- I am too!

I told you that I would paint Abraham

Lincoln surrounded by freed slaves...

to counterbalance Lenin,

and you rejected the idea.

- Why Lenin?

- He's a revolutionary leader,

like your Washington

and, uh, jefferson.

Hey, there's an idea.

Paintjefferson.

- That's not a bad idea. What do you say?

- That's not a bad idea at all.

- What do you say?

- That's ridiculous!

I said Abraham Lincoln

to balance Lenin, but Lenin stays.

This is not our revolution, Diego. This

is the United States. It's not Russia.

Um-hmm, and I am Diego Rivera,

not Frederick Remington.

You understand that it is

entirely inappropriate...

to feature a Communist leader

in the lobby of a Rockefeller building?

No. I believe nothing in art is

inappropriate. I paint what I see.

We're going to have to insist

that the face be removed.

Absolutely not!

Look, you son of a b*tch, we're trying

to be nice! This is betrayal!

- Betrayal?

- Yes! There was no indication in your sketches...

you would be featuring

Communist leaders in the mural!

You were hired on the basis

of said sketches!

And you've changed them.

It's not fair!

Lenin stays!

How the hell do we open

without a cue-to-cue?

Actors are called early.

We'll cue-to-cue in the morning.

There's 175 cues to go!

- Perhaps if you cut some cues...

- jack, there's a call from Hallie Flanagan's office!

Not now, Augusta, I'm in

the middle of an argument.

You were singing flat.

Why can't you admit it?

- Stop yelling!

- You were a quarter tone flat the entire last strain!

All you had to do

was listen to the trumpet!

He didn't mean it.

He's very tense.

It's always this way

during cue-to-cues.

Union rules say we get a 12-hour break.

I'll see you at noon.

- Come on, Olive.

- Augusta!

You oughta be dressed by now.

He's yelling at us.

We can't see what we're doing.

- The actors need flashlights.

- Tell them to light a match!

My God! Stop!

Really f***ing necessary to have eight

f***ing lighting cues for a single entrance?

It's an important entrance,

and I'm the f***ing director!

- Yes, of a f***ing disaster!

- Augusta!

I have to take my kids to a free clinic in the

morning. Tell Mr. Welles I'll be in at 11:30.

I'm staying here tonight.

Do you hear me?

I hate you!

And you can sleep alone tonight!

I'll finally get some rest

instead of listening to you complain!

- I'm leaving. I'm leaving.

- You can't leave.

- You're the producer.

- That's right.

And as the producer, I can fire whomever

I please, and I am f***ing fired.

You'll come crawling back

like a b*tch on heat to his master!

I'm glad he didn't get to me.

I can't remember my lines.

I'm stricken

with a cerebral malaise.

No. God, cut it.

God! just forget it! Go home!

Forget it!

God!

First he kills all my deals with Italy.

Now he's telling me how to run

my business! I will not budge!

Well, let him call, the crippled

son of a b*tch. Let him call!

Jiminyjesus!

The bastards!

Get this damn thing off of me.

Roosevelt's gonna call.

- Oh, it's good. You look adorable.

- I don't want to look adorable.

- I want to look angry.

- We'll make a stunning pair.

- I need to let it out.

- Can you get it ready by tomorrow?

- Oui, madame.

- The bastard wants me to join with the rest of Little Steel...

- in acknowledging the union.

- How terrible.

- Yes, it is terrible.

- It's worse than a strike.

- No, it's not worse than a strike.

- I know so little.

Gray, dear, that awful woman

came by and left two packages.

Woman? Packages?

- Oh, Carlo, can you grab the packages?

- Nyet. Merci.

Mr. Mathers, sir, two parcels were left

for you from one Margherita Sarfatti.

Thank you, Paul.

Out!

- What is in them?

- Oh-ho, so nosy.

- Oh, pray tell.

- Mmm, perhaps... it's a surprise.

Suppose it were a gift.

- What? From Sarfatti?

- Purchased through her.

- For you.

- Oh, how interesting.

Yes. So...

mind your business.

- Did you see the papers today?

- No.

It was like Cradle Will Rock

was on the front page.

- They're having a strike.

- Who?

- A steel strike. Mathers Steel.

- Really?

I'm telling you, the same themes,

the same words almost.

- It's a dangerous play you're in.

- It's a great role.

- I'm lucky, huh?

- Hmm.

Just don't want

to blow it.

It's too important.

Daddy, are we going

to lose our room?

No, Chance.

Why do you say that?

Joey told me.

Michael O'Brien's family

lost their apartment.

He doesn't go to school

anymore.

Daddy's got a job,

so, uh, we're gonna be fine.

Michael O'Brien's father had a job,

and then he lost it and they were poor.

Well, we're poor,

but we're gonna be fine.

We should say some prayers

just to be safe, though. All right?

- john?

- Yeah.

- Am I horrible?

- Huh?

In the play.

Am I horrible?

No, you're not horrible.

- Am I not good?

- No, you're good.

But I'm not great.

No, you're great.

At times.

It's hard to be great.

Some actors can be great all the time.

It's your first role.

You try hard.

Listen.

You're better off

than you were.

Your play is horrible, indulgent,

masturbatory nonsense.

You don't really

believe that, do you?

You hear what you

want to hear.

If you'd slept a little more,

you might have had a shot.

- Garbage.

- It's not the end of the world.

- I saw a rat today.

- Where?

In here.

- You know who stopped by?

- No.

Your mama.

- She was pretty shocked about how we were living.

- She would be.

- I think she wants to help.

- No.

Aldo, we could really use the money.

I don't want

my family's money.

So the kids can go hungry just because

of your pride, your politics.

- You want chubby little Fascists?

- No! How can you say that?

But I don't want to wait in soup lines

with them. I don't want...

What would that teach them

if we take my parents' money?

That it's all right to believe

in something or have pride,

but if you're just a little bit

uncomfortable or hungry, sell it.

Aldo, there are

rats in here.

Paul Edwards couldn't reach

Jack Houseman last night.

- He's trying today.

- Keep on top of that.

We have to reassurejack that we

will find a way to do his show.

- They're chomping at the bit for you.

- Twenty percent cuts, Harry.

- I had no warning.

- It's temporary, a stopgap.

A cash-flow problem.

We'll get the 20% back, Hallie.

- Can I hold you to that?

- Yes.

- Who testified last night?

- Hazel Huffman. A real nutcase.

She got good headlines, though most of

the press is so bored of this committee...

they just bite the bait

and print the highlights.

- They'll all be coming back for you, thought, Hallie.

- I'm honored.

Not to put any pressure on you,

but a good showing today would help.

By order of the federal government,

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