Seven Days in May Page #2

...and we all go down the drain

waving the American flag.

I'd prefer that to a Pearl Harbor,

when we went down the drain...

I did not address the Senator.

I was talking to the witness.

I'm suggesting there hasn't been

a piece of paper written...

...in the history of mankind that could

serve as a deterrent to a Pearl Harbor.

I wonder why we haven't learned

that lesson by now.

Every 20 years or so we have

to pick ourselves up bleeding...

...and pay for that mistake.

I might add, Senator...

...those mistakes are delivered to us COD

by peace-loving men...

...and bought and paid for

with the lives of other men.

Men in uniform.

Have we ever forgotten to thank you?

I wasn't soliciting your appreciation,

Senator Clark, only your memory.

With all due respect, Senator, might I elicit

one small admission on your part?

That the State of the Union is such

that the current administration...

Thank you.

Well, they listened,

but I'm not sure they heard.

Your testimony was the most effective

defense of a position I've ever heard.

Coming from you, Jiggs,

that's fulsome praise indeed.

That forces me to invite you for a drink,

in the name of gratitude.

In the name of military protocol,

you force me to accept.

- Your first appointment is at 2:00, General.

- Thank you.

Incidentally, Jiggs.

The alert on Sunday, nobody from the Hill.

No congressmen.

This one must be deep and dark,

straight down the line.

I noticed that nobody from Congress

was on the list.

Hello, Colonel. Hot poop

from all around the globe.

All properly decoded in 4.0 fashion,

and respectively submitted...

...by yours truly,

Lieutenant Junior Grade Dorsey Grayson.

Give this one a reading.

"Last call annual Preakness pool."

Top secret code, too.

"$10 already deposited with Murdock.

"Give lengths your pick will win.

"Deadline:
17:00, Saturday.

Post time:
1:00, Sunday, 18 May."

Scott, where'd this come from?

General Scott's aid, you know,

Colonel Murdock.

He gave me that message

at 07:
25 this morning.

Did you get that name, Colonel?

General Scott.

Yeah, I'm so disillusioned,

I could sit down and cry.

My hero turns out to be a bookie.

Say, who'd this go to?

Nothing but the cream.

Commander Vandenburg,

Missile Center, California.

Commander...

Strategic Air Command, Omaha.

Vice-Admiral Farley C. Barnswell,

Commanding Sixth League, Gibraltar.

St. Pat, Pearl Harbor and...

...Commander First Airborne Corps Unit,

United States Army, Fort Bragg, sir.

They must have a sure thing.

Colonel, look at this.

Barnswell doesn't think so.

Just proves that sometimes even

an admiral can't cough up $10 for a bet.

Hiya, Jiggs.

How are you, Mutt?

Just fine. Good to see you.

You look great. Where are you stationed?

I haven't given a straight answer to that

in four months.

But with your clearance, you know already.

Hell, you probably got me my orders.

I'm Exec of ECOMCON, Jiggs.

ECOMCON?

Yes. Site Y.

Don't blame me for your orders.

Come on in.

You live at the base at Site Y?

Nobody could live at that hellhole.

It's bad enough when the old man

keeps me there four or five days at a time.

Mabel and I have a house in El Paso.

I'll give you the number. If you ever get

down that way, we can open a bottle.

Listen, I have to go to a party tonight.

If you're free it might be fun for you.

Jiggs, I'd love to but I just can't.

How long will you stay?

Just till the old man briefs Scott.

I think you know him. Colonel Broderick?

Broderick.

Good officer, don't you think?

For certain armies.

The kind that goose step.

You don't find a happy medium

in this man's army.

That's for sure.

Say, how many men are there

in your outfit now?

Are you up to strength yet?

Sure we are. We got the full t.o.

A hundred officers, 3,600 enlisted.

The last of them came in six weeks ago.

You know, it's funny.

What?

We seem to spend more time training

for seizure than for prevention.

Like the Commies already had the stuff

and we had to get it back.

- Colonel Henderson?

- Yes.

Colonel Broderick's waiting for you.

The sergeant at the desk will show you

where to go.

Jiggs, it's wonderful seeing you.

When you get to El Paso,

that's the number. You call.

You bet I will.

And, Mutt, stop growing, will you?

Casey, I hope you didn't discuss

Sunday's alert with Colonel Henderson.

I needn't remind you that it's top secret.

If you needn't remind me,

why do you bring it up?

I see no reason for humor.

I made a note of it, or was it to place a bet

on the Preakness pool with General Scott?

How did you find out about that?

Well, you got Grayson all lathered up

about racehorses.

That kid better learn to keep

his mouth shut.

Don't jump the kid.

How was he to know

the nation's security...

...rests on Admiral Barnswell's

parting with $10?

That was the General's personal business.

What are you getting so hot about?

You're right. It's not important.

Operator, have you got a listing

for ECOMCON?

E-C-O-M-C-O-N.

You don't? Thank you very much.

ECOMCON and horse racing.

What the hell's going on here?

Can you explain why the good General

walks into a Senate hearing...

...like he's St. George

and the administration's a dragon?

Simmer down, Paul.

I mean it. Your boss did everything

but draw a sword.

They asked, he answered.

You guys are getting sensitive.

Little too sensitive if you ask me.

- Good evening, Senator.

- Good evening, Colonel.

It's as simple as this.

The President trusts Russia.

The American people don't.

They don't believe the Russians

will take the bombs apart on July 1...

...and neither do I.

Senator, do you think that the President's

position is so unreasonable?

If Russia reneges or cheats,

we'd find out immediately.

The deal is off. There'd be no danger.

Now, doesn't that make sense?

Let's hear the view of someone

more knowledgeable...

...as to the Soviet Union's capacity

to destroy us. Colonel Casey?

As a military officer,

I steer clear of politics.

Let's forget that you're a military officer.

You also happen to be a citizen.

Well, then I'll have to take the Fifth.

Colonel, do you like the treaty

or don't you?

Oh, Senator. Pardon me.

I want you to meet

the Indian Ambassador's wife.

Just a moment.

We're discussing the treaty.

I want you to hear

the Pentagon's viewpoint.

Go ahead, Colonel.

The treaty isn't viewed very favorably.

Neither are income taxes,

but we pay them.

But you make me think that fruit salad

on your chest is for neutrality...

...evasiveness and fence-straddling.

On the contrary, they're standard awards...

...for cocktail courage

and dinner-table heroism.

I thought you'd invented them.

Excuse me, Paul.

Ellie. I didn't know you were back in town.

You never looked.

You surprised me tonight, Colonel Casey.

The voice of reason coming out

of a military man?

I've got a lot of hidden talents.

Oh, I suspected that right along.

Ever since my ex-lover introduced us.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes