Leatherheads Page #3

- No?

He certainly looks like

the retrieving type.

- Do you work here, Dodge?

- No, CC, I came to talk to you.

Yes, well, I'm afraid we're going to dinner.

Come, let's find a real valet, shall we?

I have $20,000 that says

you might want to talk.

So if I understand you

correctly, Mr Connelly,

it's your intention to

legitimise professional football?

- That's right.

- Well, let me say straight off,

there's no such beast

as professional football.

There's only miners and farmers and

shell-shocked veterans of the Great War,

smashing each other's skulls together

in a million turnip fields

from Duluth to East Jesus.

Now I ask you, how do you

intend to legitimise that?

By keeping it alive,

by investing in a team.

Well, you see, there's the catch.

I'm not interested in investing.

I'm more of a 20-percenter. New

talent, new ideas interest me.

Professional football does

not attract new talent,

and investing in a professional

football team is not a new idea.

Dodge,

we had some laughs a few years ago.

- You had some laughs.

- Yes.

Yes, I guess I did.

- So...

- Okay.

How about this for a new idea?

Carter Rutherford leaves Princeton

to play for the Duluth Bulldogs.

- What?

- Hear me out.

Carter, you're a pretty

remarkable guy, aren't you?

- I just play football.

- You don't have to be modest with me.

I know your story.

How you put your education on hold to

serve your country, to fight in the war.

I was just doing what

I thought was right.

The President gave you

a medal for bravery.

I was just in the right

place at the right time.

That's not what the papers said. They

called you the hero of the Argonne.

Then, when you went back to school, you

turned out to be a football hero, too.

- Mr Connelly, I'm just a guy...

- Carter.

Do kids chase you down

the hallway at school?

Sometimes.

Follow you around? Ask

you for an autograph?

It happens, yeah, but you can't

take that stuff too seriously.

You feel like sometimes everybody

wants something from you?

And how are you compensated for living your

life under that kind of public scrutiny?

By paying tuition to Princeton.

Let me ask you a question.

Do you like playing football?

I love playing football.

Good. You got one more year and

that's it. That's all she wrote.

What are you gonna do then?

Actually, I've already been

accepted to Yale Law School.

I have a position waiting for

me at Hager, Danes and Upton

when I get my law degree.

It turns out, I'm not too bad a

student, when I put my mind to it.

You... That's good. It's good.

And all of that will be waiting

for you, no question about it.

But the world's full of good lawyers.

In football, there's only

one Carter Rutherford.

You don't need any more teaching

to be what you are out on the field.

You ought to be playing football, and

you ought to be rewarded for your talent.

Makes sense. Sort of.

So did bloodletting at the time.

You're very passionate, Mr Connelly.

What exactly do you have in mind?

Carter Rutherford takes a temporary

leave from Princeton to play for Duluth,

and in exchange he is

guaranteed $5,000 a game.

Let's you and I have

another drink, Mr Connelly.

You're the boss.

Why don't you two run along,

conduct your interview,

whilst Mr Connelly and

I thrash out your future?

Come on, Carter.

Carter Rutherford wouldn't sit

on a bench for that kind of money.

Did I say 5? I meant 10.

I assume you'll be paying

this out of the gate receipts?

- That's right.

- Of course, I'll want it in the form

of a guarantee. Plus I get

a percentage of the overages.

Of course. In the neighbourhood of 5%.

I was thinking a little more uptown.

- 10?

- 25.

I'll understand if you

decline. Most teams would.

Most, but not all.

Sudsy? Listen up.

Carter Rutherford's gonna be playing

for the Duluth Bulldogs starting Sunday.

We're... What? No, just listen. We're

taking a Pullman to Duluth tonight.

We're gonna get there in the

morning. Round up everybody you can.

Get the word around. I want a nice

welcoming committee when we pull in.

What? Just trust me. Thanks, pal.

Harvey, change of plans. I'm taking a

train with these knuckleheads to Duluth.

What? No, I haven't been

drinking! It's a long story.

Just give me a few days. Hey,

how'd it go with Mack Steiner?

So don't use his name.

Believe me, Harvey, by the end of the

week, this kid will cook his own goose.

I got to go.

Hey, what are you doing?

Sorry.

You know, truth be told, I

was a better baseball player.

But college baseball isn't too popular.

What about the war? Where'd

all that courage come from?

I don't know about courage.

A platoon of German

soldiers surrendered to you.

Quite a few have made

a lot out of much less.

Let's talk about something else.

Like, how did Miss Lexie

Littleton get so curious

- she worked her way up a newspaper room?

- Not really the homemaker type.

Depends on the home, I guess.

This is me.

- An eventful day, Mr Bullet.

- Good night, Lexie.

Bright and early, Bullet.

You got a big day ahead.

Hey, Lexie,

you think I did the right

thing about this Duluth deal?

I think you did the right

thing about the Duluth deal.

Well, I'm glad.

I'm happy you're glad.

Good night.

I'm glad you're glad.

You've got a lot of moxie!

I didn't know it was your

berth. I would have armed myself.

I'm calling the porter.

- I'm not decent.

- Well, there's an understatement!

Neither are you.

- You looked?

- I glanced.

- Need help with that hook?

- No.

- Good evening.

- Yes, it is.

You know, this may seem a little awkward

coming from the man who only

promotes the man of your dreams,

but I've had a little thought.

- Perhaps it can wait till tomorrow?

- Probably, but that's not my style.

You see, Miss Littleton,

Carter is very important to me.

I want to make sure you treat

him fairly in your newspaper.

- I resent the implication that I wouldn't.

- Lexie,

Carter is good for the

country. He's a war hero.

Good for the Tribune, they

sell newspapers. Good for me.

- Good for you.

- Lexie...

I'm having a conversation

with a rather beautiful woman,

and she and I were wondering if

you'd care to join us for a nightcap?

- Good night, CC.

- Good night, Lexie.

- What?

- I think I'll sleep up here tonight.

You most certainly will not!

Really?

"Believe me, Harvey, by the end of the

week, this kid will cook his own goose."

- You were spying on me!

- I was observing.

- So, you want to play dirty?

- Maybe later. I'm a little tired right now.

So here we are.

- Not sure what the next move is.

- It happens.

- It's the first time for me.

- They all say that.

- I'm sure you snore.

- Attagirl!

Listen, I'm sorry if what

I said today upset you.

Don't be.

- Which part?

- The "kick in the head" part.

It's forgotten.

- I'm sorry if what I said today upset you.

- Don't be.

- Which part?

- The "tallest midget" part.

What about the "I know you" part?

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