Seven Days in May Page #3

And how is the staunch General Scott?

And his lovely wife?

He keeps busy.

So I read. There's a sizeable portion

of the citizenry...

...who says that he's the savior

of the western world.

He does his job, Ellie.

Well, take care of him, Jiggs.

See that he rests on the seventh day.

I'll try.

That marvelous military stoicism.

The iron mask.

Is that for quenching a torch

or washing a wound?

Well, let me put it to you this way,

Jiggs, darling.

What the hell business is it of yours?

- I want that.

- No, you don't.

Now, you listen to me.

Now, what is it? Is it just Scott?

It's Scott. It's that and everything.

It's my whole damned life.

You're not the first dame to ever wind up

on the bottom of the deck.

It happens every day. What matters is

how a person lives with it.

Stop playing the part

of the anguished drunk...

...digging olives out of martinis and

boring everybody with tragic stories.

You know, sober, Ellie, you're a bright,

beautiful dame.

Good to have around.

Will you drive me home, Jiggs?

Whenever you say.

I'll get my coat.

Good night, Stew.

Thank you for a very nice party.

Thanks for coming, Senator.

Pleasure having you.

I hope you forgive

my little outburst tonight.

It's a combination of deep concerns

and dry martinis. A dangerous combo.

I've been reamed by experts, Senator.

Grey Thunderbird.

I was simply trying to get you to say

what I happen to know you believe in.

You work for the one man

who commands confidence...

...and could possibly lead us

out of this mess.

You just remember:

There are plenty of us up on the Hill

who stand right alongside of you.

We've all got to stay on the alert

these days, Casey.

Specially on Sunday, right?

Thank you.

There you are.

Something's come up. I've got to drive out

to Fort Myer to see the General.

May I call a cab for you?

No, thank you. I'll manage.

I'm sorry, Ellie, but this is very important.

All right, Jiggs, but just in case

someone forgets to mention it...

...you're a great crutch.

It's too bad you're only available

20 minutes at a time.

You can't tell. Sometimes the country

can spare me for a whole evening.

Give me a rain check, I'll prove it.

Tuck it somewhere safe

where you won't forget it.

Good night, Ellie.

Good night, Jiggs.

- Hi, Jack.

- Hi, Jiggs.

Colonel Broderick's with him.

Well, well, well.

If it isn't my favorite jarhead himself,

Jiggs Casey.

Hello, Broderick. I thought you'd be

in Okinawa, or maybe worse.

Not me, Casey boy, not me.

Still protecting the great unwashed?

I thought you'd be

a civil liberties lawyer by now.

You might make it yet.

By the way, Casey, my boy,

I hear you're doing a fine job...

...as Director for the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

- Hello, Jiggs.

- Good morning, sir.

How was the party last night?

Well, you missed a good one.

Anyone there I know?

Paul Girard from the White House and

Senator Prentice were the ranking guests.

There must have been a hassle

over the treaty.

There was, sir.

- Prentice uphold our side all right?

- He was pretty candid.

Also quite complimentary about you.

By the way, Ellie Holbrook was there.

Nice seeing her again.

- Let's get on with it, Jiggs.

- Yes, sir.

These are from January's All Red Alert, sir.

Pearl Harbor, 12 minutes

after the threat warning.

Twelve minutes and over 80 percent

of the fleet sitting there like overfed ducks.

Next.

Wright Field, 22 minutes into the alert.

This one really gives me an ache in the gut.

Half of those aircraft aren't even scrambled

let alone off the ground.

Over Mount Thunder.

- The President's in the middle helicopter.

- Right out in the open.

Thirty-four minutes into the alert.

Canned sound indicates possibility

of hostile action by the Soviet Union.

There are 30 more shots, sir.

Each one of them more fouled up

than the others.

Let's hope Sunday's alert

will be different, sir.

It damn well better be.

Wouldn't it help

if you changed your mind...

About what, Jiggs?

Inviting the congressional people

to observe the alert.

It wouldn't hurt us if a congressman

or a senator...

...saw how effectively we can work

when we have to.

Nobody from the Hill is

to know a thing about this.

Yes, sir.

Yes?

9:
20, sir. They're waiting for you

in the conference room.

I've even persuaded the President

to come down without the press.

- No newspapermen?

- None.

Get to bed late, sir?

Got to bed too early.

Slept from 8:
00 to 8:00. Too much sleep.

I may never wake up.

Stay close, Jiggs.

I'll want to see you after this meeting.

Colonel Murdock said you've heard

about our Preakness pool.

Yes, sir.

I'd appreciate it if you'd keep it to yourself.

All I want is the right horse.

Admiral Barnswell's reply. I'd appreciate it

if you'd keep that in confidence, too.

Of course, sir.

I see the Navy wasn't here today.

Admiral Palmer couldn't make it.

We'll brief him later.

Speaking of the Navy, that reminds me.

That young J.G. In All Service Radio.

Grayson, sir?

He's a bit of a gossip, isn't he?

He means well.

Well, I'm off to New York

and the AVO Convention.

If you get a chance, listen in.

I'd like to know what you think.

- Certainly, sir. Good luck.

- Thank you.

Hey, Colonel, get a load of this.

What is it, Grayson?

A transfer.

Pearl Harbor?

Yes, I think I got some kind

of guardian angel around here.

Good old Pearl Harbor.

By the way, Barnswell was the only one

to poop out of the Chairman's racing form.

All the others came through

with their IOUs.

Ladies and gentlemen, you have heard me

in my nightly newscasts.

You know where I stand.

I'm not a lover of communists, socialists,

or intellectual bleeding hearts.

I happen to have only one interest...

... and that is symbolized by the red,

white and blue of our glorious flag.

Now I'm going to give you the one man...

... who not only speaks for that flag,

but has fought for it with distinction...

... and now represents it with honor.

Four-star general, winner of

the Congressional Medal of Honor...

... and two Distinguished Service Crosses,

a hero of war...

... a stalwart protector of the peace.

Ladies and gentlemen...

... the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,

General James Mattoon Scott!

We want Scott! We want Scott!

Ladies and gentlemen,

members of the American Veterans Order.

I would like to thank Mr. MacPherson

for his most laudatory comments.

You're very generous, Harold.

Perhaps patriotism is old-fashioned.

Perhaps love of country is outdated.

Perhaps even a minute degree of sentiment

to one's motherland is considered pass.

But God help us,

and God help our country...

... if the cynics, the one-worlders,

the intellectual dilettantes...

... ever persuade us that these things

have passed us by...

... because, ladies and gentlemen...

... patriotism, loyalty, sentiment,

they are the United States of America!

In my lifetime, I have seen 1,000 ways

a man can die.

And I know that in this country,

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