Reds Page #7

We felt very silly, but we wanted to do it.

And it's gonna be good.

We're gonna work together.

We're gonna spend

all our time together.

That's why we took a lease

on this place,

so we wouldn't have to go back

to the city.

Does this mean that we have to cheat?

Or is this a free

and independent marriage?

- Gene.

- You're a lying Irish whore from Portland

and you used me

to get Jack Reed to marry you.

No, I didn't.

I just want us to be friends, Gene.

Oh, how genteel. That would be a

good role for you, wouldn't it?

"There's Louise with Jack and Gene.

"He's crazy about her,

but Jack doesn't know.

"Poor Jack. Poor Gene.

What a heartbreaker she is."

What a heartbreaker you are, Louise.

I'm sorry. I'm...

Where is he?

Washington.

Well, Mrs. Reed,

I'll do whatever you say.

What do you want me to do?

Wish us well?

I wish you well.

You and Jack.

Jack!

Oh, God.

I'm not sure whether she had an affair

with Eugene O'Neill or not

during this time.

And nobody seemed to know. Or...

It was nobody's business, anyway, so...

I don't know what that situation was.

The report was that

she and Reed and O'Neill

had a mnage trois.

Jack, what... What is...

Oh, God! I swear...

...that we love America!

We love her mountains, her forests...

There were mutinies

in the French army,

there were mutinies

in various parts of the front.

And then, in 1917, the troops,

poorly armed,

poorly equipped, poorly clothed,

went back to Russia

to talk it out with the czar.

And when they got through,

there wasn't any czar.

Revolution in Russia.

This was the spring of 1917.

And I became so excited

that I zigzag-jumped the benches

as we walked out of the park.

Oh, I was so happy as a young boy.

Revolution, the people take over,

down with the czar!

Naturally, I was happy.

Well, haven't you made the politics

a little nebulous here?

- What do you mean "nebulous"?

- Unclear...

- How can you say they're unclear?

- Well, they're unclear to me. I...

Why am I necessarily attempting

to define the politics

of a specific group of people?

It isn't what I said.

I think it's a vast oversimplification.

Oh, it's just an opinion.

You know,

if you made carbons of these,

I could take them on the train with me.

Wilson, of course,

was elected on the platform of

"Keep us out of war" in 1916.

But in 1917, Wilson reversed himself

and declared war against Germany.

The mission at that time was to make

the world safe for democracy.

Reed said,

"This is a war for democracy?

Where is the goddamn democracy?"

If men really disapproved of war, dear,

we'd have stopped wars years ago.

Men like wars. Always have.

So they all went and got little uniforms,

went to war.

- My country is at war!

- Yes.

And so today, I, too, am at war!

My name is Jack Reed,

I'm from New York.

This is not my war, and I'm not gonna

have anything to do with it!

All right. All right.

All right, folks.

There was a lot of anti-war feeling,

of course.

We had no one against the war.

There wasn't a soul against the war.

Well, I'm not talking about saying it

to the workers any other way.

How do we move them?

Right. How do we organize them?

The Socialist Party...

The Socialist Party of America

is nothing to sneeze at.

You think the Socialist Party

is going to take a position?

You boys are Reds, aren't you?

The Socialist Party is useless.

Jack, is that right?

Now, that's the truth. Jack?

The United States is at war.

Your friends are talking to you.

If the workers of the world act together,

they can stop the war. And I'm not...

This one even pisses red.

You ran around saving the world

until your kidney acted up again.

Very intelligent.

And you're gonna keep running around

making speeches

until you wind up

in the hospital. Brilliant.

And then,

you're gonna lose your kidney. Perfect.

Harry, how much is the government

paying you to keep me quiet?

- Very funny. Keep laughing.

- Yeah.

That hurt, didn't it?

Listen, I'm gonna tell you something.

You're not gonna be able to keep doing

what you've been doing.

This is a serious condition.

It could kill you.

Harry, look, I want to know if...

Could this thing interfere

with having children?

- Yes. You cannot have sex if you die.

- No, come on, Harry. Seriously.

Are you thinking about having children?

Not at the moment,

but I want to be able to...

Is Louise talking about it?

No.

Well, just because

she isn't talking about it

it doesn't mean

she isn't thinking about it.

Don't worry. You don't make babies

with your kidneys.

Look, I'm gonna send you home

to Louise.

Tell her to keep you there,

put you in bed,

give you lots of liquids.

I'm gonna write it all down.

Look, Louise doesn't know about

this. And I don't want her to, okay?

- Fine.

- So, can you give me my bill here?

- I don't want it sent to the house.

- Do you have any money?

Not at the moment.

Then why the hell

should I give you a bill? Go home.

It is my belief that socialism and peace

are inseparable.

And I reiterate that the Socialist Party

will stand firmly behind

its resolution to oppose

American involvement in this war!

Mr. Chairman, Louis Fraina,

Local Boston.

The chair recognizes

the delegate from Boston.

And I still want to know

what specific action

we are going to take against the war.

Your resolution is all very nice,

but will it stop even one boy from

being killed? I don't think so.

...stigmatized as unpatriotic.

The task that confronts us is difficult.

Let us hope

that we can handle it properly.

What's that supposed to mean?

Stupid!

I'd like to know if the Socialist Party

is gonna fight conscription or not.

- That's what I'd like to know.

- Will the delegate identify himself?

I am not a delegate, Mr. Chairman.

My name is John Reed,

I write for the magazine The Masses,

and I want to know if the Socialist Party

is gonna organize demonstrations...

I'm sorry, Mr. Reed.

You have no credentials here.

Now, this floor is reserved

for delegates, not journalists.

Mr. Chairman,

is the Socialist Party prepared

- to take a position on the draft or not?

- Hey, shut up!

I'm sorry, Mr. Reed.

You have no credentials.

Let him speak, will you?

Mr. Reed,

you're getting into party politics, eh?

I'm just trying to be a journalist.

Mr. Chairman...

So is Trotsky.

Let us see what happens in Russia.

Why don't you join the Socialist Party?

We need good people like you.

Big things are happening in Russia.

As appalling as it may seem

to see socialists supporting bloodshed,

I can understand the necessity

of supporting one's government

during times of war.

The task that confronts us is a giant!

In that,

we must continue our opposition!

- We have to give this dog a name.

- Well, she has a name.

What's the matter with her name?

- I can't find anything in this house.

- I'm not going to call a dog "Dog."

I suppose if she were a baby,

you'd wanna call her "Person."

Not really.

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