The Harvey Girls

"While the Harvey system

neither demands nor expects...

"...the impossible from any employee,

it does insist upon honest...

"...excellent, hygienic, cleanly,

prompt and cheerful service at all times."

Yes, siree, Bob.

And he means every word of it.

You've been with him a long time.

I've been cooking in Harvey Houses

for the last 14 years.

You must be well-done by now.

Madame! You say your coffee is weak?

Give it to me.

I'll put it on the chair and let it rest awhile.

Just call me "Conscientious Connie,"

the queen of the waitresses!

I'm sorry, Miss Bliss.

That's all right, Ethel.

There's one thing you girls

have yet to learn:

A Harvey girl is more than a waitress.

Wherever a Harvey House appears,

civilization is not far behind.

You girls are the symbol and the promise

of the order that is to come.

The restaurant we're opening in Sandrock

is the first the town has ever had.

Its success depends upon

how you conduct yourselves.

Now, how about some lunch?

It's lovely. I'm hungry.

- Here, let me help you.

- Thank you.

Have you ever eaten

a Chillicothe sandwich, Deborah?

- Chillicothe? What's that?

- It's a secret recipe of my Aunt Melvina's.

Won her two blue ribbons

and three husbands.

- Try it to see if you like it.

- No, thanks. I'm full.

- Would you like to try it?

- Why, yes. Thank you very much.

I always wanted to taste

a Chillicothe sandwich.

Tastes just like chicken.

You have to try another

before you can tell the difference.

Thank you. I hope I'm not depriving you.

If General Custer had our provisions,

he'd still be standing.

I've wanted to meet you ever since

we got on the train at Kansas City.

My name is Susan Bradley. I'm from Ohio.

- We're Harvey girls.

- What's that, a college?

No. We're waitresses.

We're going to Sandrock

to open a restaurant.

Sandrock! That's where I'm going.

- Is that your home?

- No.

- Are you visiting?

- No.

- Going to work?

- Then why on earth are you going?

To get married.

- Does he live in Sandrock?

- Yes, he owns a big ranch there.

- What's his name?

- His name is H.H. Hartsey, Esquire.

Is he tall and handsome,

and does he have raven-black hair?

And flashing blue eyes?

I like brown eyes.

- His are brown.

- You said they were blue.

Well, they are. I mean, one of them is.

I mean...

Well, to tell you the truth,

I haven't met him yet.

- How did you catch him?

- I answered a matrimonial ad in the paper.

Well, really!

I once sent my picture

to a lonely hearts club...

...but it came back marked,

"We're not that lonely!"

Well, I think it's wonderful.

I think it's wonderful, too.

When I answered the ad, he wrote back.

Thank you very much.

- What wonderful curlicues.

- And commas after everything.

This is the first one.

- Would you like to hear a little of it?

- Yes, indeed. Please.

"There is a dream here, in this great land,

that not everybody sees.

"Mountains and sunlight,

and the cleanest wind in the world...

"...waiting for a man and a woman

with a little vision."

What was so wrong with Ohio?

There was nothing wrong with Ohio.

It was just so old-fashioned.

There were several men in that town

I could have married, I suppose.

Only, it's so smug and sure of itself

and so settled...

...that I wanted a chance

to do something different...

...to see something different,

a whole new world opening up.

And, after all, the Constitution guarantees

the pursuit of happiness...

...but it's up to me to do the pursuing.

So that's why I answered the ad,

and that's why I'm on this train.

I think you did the right thing.

- Would you like to see my wedding dress?

- Yes.

I must say, I admire your spirit.

Most girls would have come out here

and gotten married in a navy blue suit.

That must be Sandrock!

Mrs. H.H. Hartsey, Esquire.

Mighty nice looking sign

you're putting up there, Mr. Adams.

You being the manager of the place...

...I suppose you're optimistic enough

to think it's going to stay there.

There are a lot of them

around the country, Judge...

...and I haven't heard of any of them

failing to stay put.

It's a pity you'll be disillusioned so soon.

- Hi, Judge.

- Hi, boys.

- How are you, Judge?

- Good day, Judge.

Hello, John Henry.

Hey, Mike, where's the boss?

Right over there.

Trent, I want to talk to you.

There's a lady singing.

- That's a good number.

- Terry taught it to me.

- Good work, Terry.

- Thanks.

- It's really Em's voice that puts them over.

- My voice? He's so young.

Trent, I got to talk to you.

What is stopping you, Sam?

The lady's finished her song.

- Hey, boss.

- Yeah?

- Is he good for a drink?

- Has he had it?

- Yeah.

- He's good.

Now, look here, Trent,

I've wasted all the time I've got to waste.

Got a match?

Mighty nice looking place you got here.

Next year, we plan to put up lace curtains.

Not if you have to shut down, you won't.

Who's going to shut us down? You?

You know what I mean.

You can't laugh off the new Harvey outfit.

Have you ever seen a restaurant?

They serve food.

Next, the church will open up again.

Mark my words.

Are you boys admiring each other's eyes

or reading each other's epitaphs?

Em, the Judge is losing his grip.

He's afraid of a place that sells vittles.

Vittles and a pack of calf-faced girls.

Those girls can fill up a town

faster than law officers.

- You listen to the Judge, Ned.

- This is my business.

Let's get one thing straight:

We're not partners.

You run the town, I'll run the Alhambra.

You'll get your usual cut.

But not just as much.

He's right. Look what happened at Larrup.

The men married the waitresses faster

than they could replace them.

They did?

It's so quiet, you'd think it was

New England instead of New Mexico.

- Nice women can ruin a town, right?

- And how.

- The house will buy you a drink.

- That's a little better.

- Where's Trent?

- He's over there, at the bar.

Hey, Ned!

It's all due to you.

- How can I ever thank you?

- What?

- My bride's coming in on the noon train.

- You're married, Hartsey?

I ain't, but I will be.

She's come all the way out here

from Ohio to marry me.

And here's the fellow what's done it.

It was him. He writ the letters for me.

He courted her for me on paper.

Hartsey, maybe you'd better hightail it

to the desert.

- I'll meet her and send her back to Ohio.

- It's like a blind date for life.

You don't know what you're doing.

You can't tell by letters.

She probably weighs 200 pounds.

That's all right.

This calls for a celebration.

Hey, everybody.

Hartsey will be married this afternoon.

I'll treat to champagne.

Here's to H.H. Hartsey

and his rosy happiness...

...coming in on the Atchison, Topeka

and the Santa Fe.

Do you hear that whistle down the line?

I figure that it's engine number forty-nine,

She's the only one that'll sound that way.

On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe!

See the ol' smoke risin' round the bend,

I reckon that she knows she's gonna meet a friend,

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