The West Point Story Page #7

After I've had him a while,

we'll own a hunk of the mint.

He doesn't want a hunk of the mint.

I do.

And to get it, you're willing

to upset this boy's life.

All his hopes, plans, happiness.

And you brought me along to help you.

- I've got your future to think of.

- Not mine, you haven't.

Of all the miserable, rotten,

contemptible tricks.

Even for you, this is a new low.

- Oh, now, sweetheart...

- Don't "sweetheart" me.

This time, I thought

you might be on the level.

Well, you're hopeless.

Making you one of the crowd

hasn't changed you a single bit.

I'd stick around if I thought I could

stop you from ruining that boy's life.

But I can't compete with movie stars.

- Let's go inside and talk it over.

- No.

I'm going inside, and tomorrow

I'm going back to New York.

Go back to your barracks

before you're late.

If you don't, they'll throw you out...

...and you won't get your boy,

nor your hunk of the mint.

Oh, Eve.

Mr. Bixby.

Yes?

What are you doing

out of your room after taps?

Have you a pass?

All right.

"All right"?

He shouldn't be saying "all right."

He hasn't got a pass.

At ease, Mr. Bixby.

Mr. Bixby, we've got trouble.

My girl is walking out on me

and you've got trouble.

You gave your word.

You said "all right" when you came in,

and you had no right to say it.

You weren't authorized

to be out after taps.

So I said "all right." What are you

gonna do, shoot me at sunrise?

I don't get up that early.

Mr. Bixby, not so long ago,

I heard you talking about your theater.

Its discipline and traditions.

Well, at West Point, we have ours too.

The heart of it is the honor system.

You give your word, we take it.

But by what you did tonight,

you dismissed it as unimportant.

Now, that may not mean anything to you.

Now, look, son.

There was no intention of hurting anybody.

But you did, you hurt us.

We vouched for you. We went out

on a limb for you and you sawed it off.

You mean to say that you two

personally vouched for me?

That's right, Tom and I.

By special permission, Mr. Bixby...

...you were allowed to become a member

of the corps of cadets.

That's a privilege

rarely granted to an outsider.

But you were absent without authority

and you lied about it.

That's unforgivable up here,

and we can't let you get away with it.

Nobody knows better than we do...

...how much you've done for our show,

and we appreciate it.

But since you can't live here

as we live here...

...then we can't have you.

West Point has no need for you.

I see what you mean.

Sir...

...Cadet Bixby reports himself

late from hop without authority.

Okay, Mr. Bixby.

There he is.

Elwin Bixby, walking punishment tours.

He's on the level.

We have a way of knowing up here.

Look, Eve...

...we need him

almost as much as he needs you.

If you walk out on him,

you walk out on us too.

How about it?

Hey, Bix.

I think she's gonna stay.

All right. Okay, fine, take five.

Hal, I wanna talk to you.

Up to here, show's good and solid.

A lot of good entertainment.

But I think, right about this time,

we need a change of pace.

Now, audiences don't only see and hear.

They feel.

Really feel, and that's where

we're letting them down.

Now, they should hear your songs.

They should feel what West Point means.

Its history, its tradition, its great men.

- You wanna do that in one number?

- They can't shoot us for trying.

We've got the material,

the songs and the poems.

I'll tell you what we'll do.

We'll open with the glee club

singing "The Corps."

The corps, the corps

The corps

To the long gray line of West Point,

to its gallant companies.

The corps bareheaded, salute it

With eyes up thanking our God

That we of the corps are treading

Where they of the corps have trod

In the beginning, as in all things,

it was only a dream.

But the dreamers had names,

like Washington...

...Hamilton, Jefferson.

They stood on a point of land

on the west bank of the Hudson...

...and planned that this fortress

that guarded our newborn nation...

...should become our military academy.

The corps was founded...

...and the father of our country

became the father of a legend.

A tradition.

What made this dream become

the magnificent reality that is West Point?

Duty, honor, country

For a cadet to become an officer,

he must have an understanding of duty.

Duty

He must have respect for honor.

Honor

But for all his duty and all his honor...

...a soldier fights not only because

he is told to fight...

...but because

there is something to fight for.

His country.

Country

Duty, honor, country.

This is why the dream materialized

into the stone and steel...

...and spirit that is West Point.

A dream that can be measured

by the names of its giants...

...striding through the pages

of American history.

Giants whose voices rang so loud

that the entire world trembled...

...yet who once were cadets,

marching nervously across the plain.

Cadets like Lee, Grant...

...Pershing, MacArthur,

Wainwright, Arnold...

...Patton, Bradley, Eisenhower.

And thousands of others who left

this point on the Hudson...

...to end their earthly lives

in the dirt and mud of foreign lands.

Men who didn't want wars

and didn't make wars.

But simply fought them...

...because they had the understanding

and the courage to want a free America.

Because, like Washington,

Hamilton, Jefferson...

...they believed in a dream

that is West Point.

A legend, a tradition,

one of the great guardians of human liberty.

Please, God, may we always keep faith

with them, as they have with us.

For duty, for honor, for country.

Let duty be well performed

Honor be ever untarn'

Country be ever armed

West Point

By thee

Fine, fine.

Couldn't ask that you do it any better.

It was fine, thanks.

Just a minute, Mr. Dumbjohn.

- Mr. Gilbert, do your duty.

- On-stage, Mr. Dooley, on-stage.

Come on, boys. What goes, what goes?

Take me into your confidence. What is it?

Mr. Bixby, every year up here

after graduation parade...

...the plebes are recognized

by all the upperclassmen.

But since you won't be here,

we'd like to recognize you now.

You've taken everything

we could give you.

And you were great.

So from now on,

you're no longer Mr. Dumbjohn.

You're just plain Bix.

We're proud to know you.

Proud to know you, Bix.

Shake hands, boys.

Good boy.

Wait a minute. Wait a minute, fellas.

I've got a speech too.

Bix, in deep appreciation

for everything you've done...

...the fellas in the cast

have whipped up this little token.

It's something

you'll hold dear to your heart...

...because of your deep affection

for all that it implies.

Oh, no, no, no.

Lookie here, now, lookie here.

Well, I'm very happy to see

you got one large enough.

From here in,

I won't be able to blow my top.

Come on, now, Bix, don't let the shine on

that brass hat put a halo around your head.

Yeah, mighty pretty, mighty pretty.

But I would just like to call

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