Malta Story Page #5

Cease firing. Friendly aircraft

approaching from the northwest.

(Cheering)

Hello, Red Guests. This is Red Host.

Follow me, please. Over.

Number 17, number 6.

Number 3.

TANNOY:
Number 47.

Follow number 3.

Follow number 17.

TANNOY:
Number 22.

Number 15.

Number 5.

Number 38.

Number 12.

Number 16.

Number 22.

Man your guns. Stand by for enemy attack.

All right, sir.

TANNOY:
Number 41.

Number 27.

Number 11.

Number 19.

- Aircraft due north, sir.

- Can't be the Spits.

No, it's not Spitfires.

Sir, 40-plus bandits approaching.

- How many Spits have we got there?

- 31 rearmed and refuelled, sir.

- Get 'em up.

- Scramble.

Come on, Willy. Your farewell party.

We can't miss this.

CONTROLLER:
Fighter Squadron, scramble.

Fighter Squadron, scramble.

TANNOY:
Number 52.

(Machine-gun fire)

(Distant machine-gun fire)

(Planes roar overhead)

(Ship's hooter)

Then, of course,

as soon as any food does come, I go - ha!

- Ah, well. Goodbye, Payne. I wish you luck.

- Goodbye.

Keep this fellow Frank in his place.

Don't think because he hasn't got as loud a

voice as mine you can boss him. He's tough.

I'm used to tough admirals.

Don't forget us, Willy.

''Malta, my dear sir, is in my thoughts,

sleeping or waking.''

- You know who said that?

- No, I'm afraid not.

Horatio Nelson.

You're very ignorant, Frank.

I'll read him up between raids.

- And, Frank?

- Yes?

Keep your chin up. The convoy

will be through to you in a few days.

Keep hitting 'em, my boys.

(High-pitched whistle)

JOAN:
My mother always used to say

you shouldn't bathe after a heavy meal.

At least that's one thing

we don't have to worry about.

Look, Peter, don't wait for us.

I shall be hours yet.

- You and Maria go. We'll see you later.

- Oh, OK. We'll move on.

What did you do that for?

Darling, have a heart.

They want to be by themselves.

Peter...it is known

one must take no notice of Mother.

That's what you all say.

If she says no, I cannot marry you,

then I will marry you all the same.

Do you think she will say no?

Perhaps not.

But she will put her head so and say...

but and but and but.

One must take no notice, you see.

Because we know, don't we,

that nothing will happen.

I dare say they are a pretty pair,

but I'm not sure it's a good thing.

He's talking about marrying her.

Came and asked my permission yesterday.

- What did you say? - I said to

think it over when he cooled off a bit.

I can't stop him, but if he goes on,

I shall tell him what I think.

- Which is?

- You have to travel light in war.

Now, look, darling, I don't mean us.

We've had all this out before.

John, do you still want to marry me?

Yes, Joan. Yes, of course I do.

But I want to marry you in England,

where we belong.

I want our families to be there

and I want our friends...

The bride, who was given

away by her father,

wore a Renaissance-style gown

of ivory satin. - And why not?

Isn't that a better way

to make a start than...

out here in the middle

of a permanent air raid?

Never knowing which one of us

is going to be killed next.

Maybe. I never was much of a girl

for the trimmings myself.

Trimmings?

I don't give a darn about

the wedding breakfast.

At least I don't want my wife to be starved.

WIRELESS:
You're short of food.

The ships that were to have

brought food for your children

are at the bottom of

the Mediterranean.

Please help us, but above all,

help yourselves, by surrendering now.

That's the end of our

afternoon talk to Malta.

The orchestra will now play the Maltilla.

(Door opens)

- Good afternoon, Mr Ross.

WIRELESS:
Maltilla

Good afternoon, Mrs Gonzar.

- Give me this.

- Thank you.

You may know why

I've come here this afternoon.

I may.

I want to marry Maria.

I wanted to ask your permission.

I am glad you should ask,

but there is no need.

Maria is a woman now and knows her own mind.

Yes, but I wanted to talk to you.

You are a good man.

It is not because of you that...

Yes?

Maria has never been outside this island.

Your home is a thousand miles away.

When the war is ended, will

you take her there?

Of course.

And if it does not end...

if Malta is taken by the enemy?

You shouldn't listen to that.

It's just propaganda.

When they said they would drop

7,000 tons of bombs on us in a month,

it was called propaganda.

But it was true, Mr Ross.

Wherever I went I would take Maria with me.

You would like to take her, Mr Ross...

..but war destroys many hopes...many plans.

But, Mrs Gonzar, don't you see,

one can't live like that.

You might as well say

that a man shouldn't get married

because he may be run over by a bus

the next day or struck by lightning.

Ah, yes, when you are young

you feel the lightning cannot harm you.

It's very rare to be struck by lightning.

And if it does strike...

one's done one's best by not being afraid.

You may be right, Mr Ross.

And if you are not, you should be.

But I am older than you

and perhaps no longer brave.

We have all said that Malta will never

surrender, and that is true, Mr Ross.

But we must not say these brave things

without facing what they mean.

It may mean to starve to death...

..to see loved ones die...as I have done.

Don't you hate us?

Hate you?

The British...for being here.

For bringing all this on you.

I do not hate anybody.

I am Maltese.

We Maltese do not like war, but it has

always been our fate and our destiny.

If there is to be war and we must be on

a side, yours is the side we would choose.

Mr Ross...I cannot stop you

from marrying Maria.

I wouldn't if I could.

But I ask you to wait

for just a little while.

But if we wait...

Yes?

You're quite right, of course.

It would be better for Maria to wait.

He was picked up down at the foot of the

cliff by some of our British ackack boys.

He spun a yarn about being a Maltese

who'd escaped from Sicily.

They found his radio transmitter

and arrested him.

He'd obviously been put ashore

from a submarine.

He speaks perfect Maltese, yet he says now

that he's an Italian named Ricardi.

I have my doubts about that.

I think he probably is Maltese.

- Have you any idea what he's after?

- No, sir. I haven't talked to him much yet.

This'll tell you.

(Reads) Essential that full-scale attacks

are resumed against convoys.

I rely on you to provide maximum effort.

Well, sir, that'd be very nice of them,

if they'd give us something to do it with.

Well, don't worry, this time they have.

This convoy left Gib for Malta

at 21.00 hours last night.

It's the biggest yet.

With two aircraft carriers

and every available escort vessel.

14 merchant ships and, what matters most,

a large oil tanker - the Ohio.

If it gets through, then we shall go a

long way towards scuppering Rommel.

If it doesn't...

I don't know what your pal with the

radio set thought he could do from here,

but I do know they'll do everything on earth

to stop that convoy.

Why were you sent here?

Look, I've plenty of time.

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