Jack the Bear (1993) Movie Script
Frankenstein! Frankenstein!
Frankenstein! Frankenstein!
Bring him down to the village,
and let's make it home.
I thought I knew all about monsters.
I used to watch them late at night
on Dad's TVshow.
After we moved to Oakland, he stopped
doing kids'shows, because he was different now.
Everything was different.
Now he was Al Gory,
monster of ceremonies at Midnight Shriek
Oh, Al?
What?
Oh, it's you again
So, anyway, before we dig in
to our second feature...
I have to pay a visit
to my aging mother
She would've
wanted me to have this
It was on real late,
way past my bedtime.
Dad didn't let me stay up to see it, so I used
to wait for Mrs. Sampson to fall asleep...
Hold it Hold it
I think that was a good one
and sneak
into his bedroom to watch.
But then I'd get scared,
alone in his room at night...
and I wouldn't know why.
I didn't know yet what
I was going to learn that year:
That monsters are real.
Whoa
We had
sort ofjust picked up and left Syracuse...
crossing the country,
finding a house...
the three of us taking care
of all the grown-up stuff together.
Here I'll get that
- Who is it?
- I got that
Come on, Dylan
I guess it
could've been strange being in a new place.
Can your dad
come out and play?
But it didn't take long for Dad to become
a celebrity among the kids on our block.
When's the monster
coming out?
There's no such thing as monsters
You all know that, don't you?
Monsters exist
only in ourselves
They live in the darkest chambers
of our hearts
They never actually
come out into the world...
unless, of course, a metal light appears
in the sky, but when's the last time you saw that?
So why don't we try and be adults
about this and run along home, okay?
- Hey, what's that?
- Mr. Leary!
- What?
- Look Look
- Look.
- There it is.
He was always
a madman for playing with kids.
Mom used to say that was because
he was reallyjust a kid himself.
Mr. Leary, what's this strange power
you have over our children?
I'm the perfect monster
And the house we found
in Oakland was perfect for playing anything...
especially the flashlight game.
Come on, Dylan In the closet
But it was different now,
the way he played with us.
It was like he had to do it.
After the heartbreak had happened,
sometimes I wondered...
if Dad didn't need our games
more than we did.
Okay. Right. That's right.
This is gonna be your bass note, okay?
Ready?
Where's "C"? Right Great
Great Now again
Sorry, Mom
Right
Very, very nice, Jackie.
- Hey, Jackie
- Hey
Mom?
Mom died last winter.
Dylan, don't wake Dad
Dylan and I were
still learning things you need to know...
when you move to a new house.
Like in our case:
Don't play in the backyard.
If you get caught
in there, they eat you
Out front, there was a whole
neighborhood to get to know.
Split the difference, okay?
Put the ball right there, okay?
Like Mr. Festinger, who always
yelled at his son Edward for being retarded.
Edward!
Edward, what did I tell you
about your eyes and the ball?
Never take your eyes off the ball
All right You almost caught it
You almost caught that one Come on Let's go
And Dexter, who lived next door.
My mom might be sleeping
His parents were really his grandparents...
because his real parents had split
from each other and from him...
and probably from everything.
Guess what We got company
Let's go to my room
Of course,
his grandparents weren't doing much better.
Did I tell you
he was a fighting Seabee?
No one else on our street would
let their kids play at the Mitchell's.
Come on Let's go
Them that are over there
That's them over there
See? Over there
Get 'em Get 'em Get 'em
Hey, Zombie That's right
I'm talkin' to you
The next time your dog
defecates on my lawn, he's dead, pal
Goddamn son of a...
And then there was Norman the Zombie...
who mangled one ofhis legs
in a terrible accident as a teenager...
when he crashed his T-Bird
into an ice cream truck.
He'd fixed up the car
and kept it on blocks in his driveway...
washing it every day.
You know, inside that cane
is a sword
- I've seen it
- And he attacked Mr Festinger one night with a tree branch
Hit him
right over the head with it
He also blinded his own dog
with a rock
You ever look at it?
Looks like a dead marble
- Oh, God!
- He's coming for us
Get down. Get down, Dig!
Get down. Dig! Dig!
Dig, he's comin'!
Is Norman gonna get us?
He's not gonna get us
He killed his parents You ever
seen 'em over there in a long time?
- I've never seen 'em
- You used to, walkin'around behind the curtains.
I'm not going to go look
That's for sure
Maybe we should.
- I'll get it.
- No. I wanna do it myself.
- Well, don't fall
- Okay, kids Get to bed
- See? I can reach it.
- Don't give Ms Sampson a heart attack
- What's up, Jackie Bear?
- Uh, nothin'
We're gonna have a lot of fun
at the studio tomorrow
But as for now, it's off to work
Buyin'a new car doesn't have to give you
a headache, not if you go to East Bay Dodge.
Ah My old friend,
Psycho Ward Cleaver
Put that thing down, Psycho,
and we'll go for a test drive
You know, Psycho, this
beautiful Dodge Challenger is loaded
- Air-conditioning Power
steering Blood bucket seats - Ooh!
Michael, wait up Michael
Quiet Quiet
Shh, shh-shh
- What do we do now?
- Let's go
- We got it?
- Come on
What are you doing? What
are you doing? What are you doing?
- Norman is gonna kill you
- Spray anywhere
Jackie, wake up
We gotta go downstairs
He said
he'd cut his foot investigating a noise...
outside his house.
I couldn't figure out
why he didn't tell Dad the rest.
He must not have too many good friends
if he had to come to us
in his time of need
He has a sword in that cane
Really?
Yeah And he attacked Mr Festinger
one night with a tree branch
Really?
Wonder why
he didn't use his sword
I guess that's when it all started.
I just didn't realize till later
that the trouble wasn't only with Norman.
Uh-oh Me spill
Who let this brat
into my crypt?
Spaghetti Bolognese? Now, how do you
expect me to clean up this mess?
This oughta do the trick
Don't move, Dylan
Hang in there Okay Cut
Camera one, lock it off
All right You can move now
- Peggy, take his clothes off.
- Come here
- Hi, Peggy
- Here you go, Jack Hang onto that
One day you're gonna like the girls doin'this.
Jack, don't you wanna be in the commercial?
No way
I have friends that watch this show
- Give me the clothes, Peggy Put 'em right here
- Yep
- John, can I see you for a second?
- Now, Gordon?
- John, can I see you for a second?
- Now, Gordon?
Right now
Do you mind?
All right
Well, let's take five
What? What?
You canceling the show?
No, no I love the show
I love the commercials I love everything
- You gonna give me more bread?
- Look.
I've been fightin'as hard as I can for you,
but they're pinnin'me to the mat.
It seems they have a problem with
your Psycho Ward Cleaver character
They think he's in bad taste
- Why? Because he has multiple head wounds?
- Who knows?
So just think of another character
Is this a suggestion
or a nonnegotiable demand?
It's a...
It's just a phone call
- They make a phone call, and you roll over
- Don't worry
Your dad can always
calm Gordon down
- You're layin' down on me
- Course I am
What? These people say "Shit,"
and you say, "What color?"
All right Give me the jug Peggy, run out
and round up a bucket of dog vomit
We'll throw it on the rug
All right Come on
Mom always said
Dad bristled when he got mad.
And some people
made him madder than others.
Grandma! Grandma!
- Grandma! Grandma!
- Hi. Ooh, look at him!
Maybe that's
where the trouble really came from.
- Look who's here
- Oh, my goodness golly.
Ooh-ooh-ooh!
- Hi
- Come on
How are you? Hi, John
- Whoa Look at that!
- Hey For you
Long ago in Hollywood, Mom's parents...
were put on a blacklist
they kept for Communists.
Though no one ever proved they carried
the cards, which is the way you could tell.
- Lincoln Steffens Thank you, Grandma
- You're welcome
A great man, Jack
Someone stays with you and your brother
while your dad's at work?
- Mrs Sampson
- Uh-huh
- An older woman?
- Uh-huh
I could tell he was
tryin'to get me to rat on Dad...
the way his friends
ratted on him long ago.
Fishing with red bait for something
he could hold against Dad to his grave.
Is he laying off the sauce?
Uh-huh
You know, it doesn't
help make things better, John... only worse
Couldn't resist, could you, Syd?
Tsk
- Didn't help your marriage much
- Sydney
- Is this why you came here?
- No I came to see my grandchildren
Then what are you doin'
talkin' to me?
You leave the children with strangers.
What's even worse... on their own.
I pay a responsible woman
to look after them.
- What the hell else do you want me to do?
- Don't use that tone
- You're talking about your own children's welfare, for God's sakes
- John
- John, listen We all want the same thing
- I'm not gonna discuss this
Fine. You keep drinking,
you lose this job like you lost the others...
and we'll go to court
and take those kids.
Tell you what, Syd:
Over my dead body How's that?
That's when
you can have my boys
They left that night.
Dad? Aren't you
gonna take Dylan to school?
It's Dylan's first day
Dylan, let's go!
- What are you doing?
- My shoes
Dylan
Dylan! Do you want the dogs?
I want Daddy
- Daddy's asleep
- I want Daddy take me to school
Daddy! Daddy!
Come on Come on
We live around here
I want Daddy
Where's Mommy?
"Where's Mommy?"
Listen, Dylan
- You have to go in there, okay?
- No
They'll be nice
You have to You have to go
Okay? Come on
I'll pick you up later
Now, go You have to go
Go
Japanese poetry is a drama.
It's about life and death.
- It's...
- Um, sorry I'm late I had to...
It's okay. Have a seat.
That's right. No desks. Join us.
- You have a desk
- Table
- Wanna sit at it?
- No, sir
No "sir" either
The name's Vince
Hi, Jack
I know about your mom
So We have a lot
of things for each of you to try
Besides the electrical experiments
and the herb garden
there's a "learning to communicate
your feelings" workshop I'll be teaching
Oh, Jesus!
Ohh
That's very nice.
There you go.
Hold onto my hand.
Throw your ball. Throw your ball.
Throw your ball!
- Can I help you?
- Yeah
Actually, uh, I was supposed
to drop off my son today
I was detained, and, uh, I just came by
to see if he was okay
- How old is he?
- He's three It's his first day
Okay. Take it easy.
Ifhe's doing all right,
maybe you should let him be.
It might be harder ifhe sees you.
He's a good kid
I'm gonna go
Get back in here.
- Is there a fire?
- No
It's that lady in there
The kid came home and found her
She's barely alive There must be
a square yard of pill bottles in that place
- Dexter, is your mom sick?
- No
She's just not moving
I knew right away, when I saw Dexter
coming home from school with his lunch pail.
He looked like an angel or a girl...
his face all soft
and rosy and sweet.
My mom's dead
Did you hear
about Dexter's mom?
Yeah
Dylan, no! Dylan
You wearin' those
to school or what?
The weeks went by, and fall came...
with cold mornings,
like in Syracuse.
Things had started to change. There was
even a girl at school who started talking to me.
Hi, Jack
Hi, Karen
She was what my dad
called 'a long drink of water. '
I wanted to tell you that I really liked
what you wrote for the poets' corner
I thought it showed great sensitivity
- It did?
- Yeah
Thanks
I figured I was really lame, because I knew...
there was something I should do about
the situation, and I didn't know what it was.
Would you like to come to my house
for some Hungarian goulash
Friday night
at about 6:30 pm?
Sure
Oh
Great
- Yes! She said yes!
- All right
- So I told her goulash
- Great I'll make my famous goulash
- Really?
- Of course
Maybe we should invite somebody, so it's not just
her surrounded by three men What do you think?
- Who?
- I don't know Maybe Peggy
I know it was stupid,
but I found myself wishing...
Mom could somehow fly back
into the world.
It's up to you, Jack
Whatever you want
- Yeah No That'd be great
- Great This is great
- Should I button it?
- We're casual tonight, right?
- So you're saying I shouldn't button it?
- It looks good like that
- Only you need a sweater It's raining
- I don't have any sweaters!
- What time is it?
- You got plenty of sweaters.
- Dad, I have to leave
- Relax. Try on a sweater.
- Nothing goes!
- This goes
I have to get out of here I'm taking this
- That's good. It's clear. It doesn't clash.
- I'm going, okay? Good-bye
Don't you want me to iron that for you?
Aren't you interested in what I'm gonna wear?
What am I gonna wear?
- Would you like a V8 juice?
- V8 juice? Sure
- You must beJack.
- You must be Mrs Morris
- Karen should be right down
- Okay
I was afraid
they were gonna ask about my family...
and I'd have to tell them about Mom.
There you go, Jack.
Thank you
And then they'd have
to say, 'We're sorry to hear about that. '
And then I'd have to say,
'That's all right. You didn't know. '
And then there'd be that awful silence
where there'd be nothing else to say.
- So, Jack, tell us about your...
- Hi, Jack.
Hi
- What happened here?
- Nobody knows
They just showed up one day
Hi, Dad This is Karen
- Oh, how are you, Karen?
- Hi, Mr Leary
It's very nice
to meet you, Karen
Peggy Etinger, this is my son Jack Leary
and his friend Karen Morris
- Hi
- Karen, this is my friend Peggy Etinger and my son Dylan
Dylan, this is your brother's friend
Karen Morris, and your brother, who you know
Jack, this is your brother Dylan, who
you know, and my friend Peggy Etinger
Does anybody know who's playin' in there?
That's Glenn Miller
Okay Here we go It's time you kids
learned classical music Very nice
- Thank you, Peggy
- You're welcome
At last
the goulash you've all been waiting for
- I want my goulash! I want my goulash!
- I'll serve
I'll do it Thank you, my dear
You may have your goulash
All right You do...
the goulash I do the wine
- The goulash!
- Great year for Welch's
- Tasty goulash Eat that all up
- For you
- Excuse me Pardon me
- So, Mr Leary, Jack tells me you used to have a kids' show
He told you that, eh?
Thank you very much
- Miss Etinger, a little goulash?
- Come on, Dad
All right
You broke my arm
Hi, boys and girls
Are you here for kids' stuff?
Well, hold your horses
and tie up your dragonflies
because today
we're gonna talk about colors!
Red, green, blue,
orange, chartreuse!
- Dad was really on.
- 'Goulash, John? '
'Don't mind if I do-yash. '
- Heart
- Heart Yeah
Don't call clubs
Don't call clubs
Don't call clubs Karen
Karen, look at my eyes Look at me
Don't call clubs
Don't call clubs
- Don't call clubs Don't call clubs Don't call clubs
- Clubs!
Don't call clubs!
Oh, clubs! Ohh
Oh, no Clubs
She called clubs
No clubs
- That ain't a club. No.
- He was like an artist.
Only what he was creating
was the perfect evening.
She called...
She called clubs
- She called clubs.
And it was all for Karen and me.
- In the closet There's a secret passageway
- Coming!
- Where are you?
- Come on Let's go
As we come...
Where are you?
Are you in here? No?
Ha! Back off
Up the stairs we come
Someday, if I ever get that far...
maybe I'll be able
to do the same thing for my son.
Where the hell are those kids?
- It was great meetin' you I'm glad you came
- It's so nice to meet you
- All right
- Nice to meet you
- It was nice to meet you too
- Bye
See you later Okay
- Good night, Dad
- Good night
- You want me to drive you? You want a ride?
- No Good night
Good night, Dad.
I was being sincere
It really was a lovely evening
I hope there will be more
Do you wanna come in?
Well
good night
Good night
- I don't know
what it was... maybe the rain...
but after that night, everything
just started falling into place.
All right.
We got 'em. We got 'em.
The Oakland A's made it to the Series,
and we sat glued to the set for all seven games.
- Two down
- Two down!
- And here we are...
- Oh, no! It's Pete Rose, Dad!
- No sweat. No sweat.
- And on that last fly ball...
- Come on! Come on!
- We were on our feet, because we were champs.
- Whoa, yes! Yes!
- Play ball!
Yes! Yes!
A's, A's, A's, A's, A's, A's, A's, A's!
Whoo!
A's, A's!
See, Jack? We bring luck
wherever we go
A's, A's, A's, A's!
Whoa, Cookie Monster!
Whoa, Cookie Monster!
One bag of cookies
One bag One bag
- Daddy!
- Okay Okay Let me...
I'm gonna let you
in on a little secret: My tongue grows.
So from time to time
I have to nip a little off
like this
Ah Blech!
There
That's much better, don't you think?
Jack!
Jack!
Jack!
Hey, Dexter
You like television?
Dad always went all out for Halloween.
But later that night,
he went too far.
Come on, Jackie. Open the door.
What are you tryin'to tell me?
You're too old to run around in a costume?
- How do you think that makes me feel?
- So don't wear one then
- No one's making you
- I like wearing one.
- Well, good
- Jackie, come on. It's Halloween.
You can wear a costume
and still be dignified. Look at me.
- Trick or treat
- Trick or treat
All right, Mr Adult The candy cauldron's
right here by the door
If you run out, there's more
in the cupboard by the fridge
If you run out of that,
there's always the change jar
Okay, Charles Let's go and leave
your brother to reflect on his lost childhood
Here you go
Hold that bag
Come on now
Do not fall
- My little brother's a clown
- Where is he?
Hi, Jack Trick or treat
Hi, Katie
Hello, Edward
We saw your dad down the street.
He's dressed like a big rabbit.
- I know
- Well, bye
Hi, Mike
- You recognize me?
- Sure
Man, you're full of it
You real... You recognize me?
- Bye, Michael
- What? Okay, okay Wait
- What are you supposed to be?
- Me?
- You
- Myself
You're... You're
gettin' strange, man
- Hello?
- Hello, sir It's Jack Leary Is Karen there?
Uh, no, she's not here
She went to the party with her friends
- What party?
- Big Halloween party
- Oh
- Want me to tell her you called?
- No That's okay
- You sure?
- Thank you
- Okay
Trick or treat, Jack
Trick or treat, Jack
Dexter, where'd you get the...
Thanks
How'd I do?
Wow Huh?
Not a bad haul, considering I had to lug
your brother halfway around the neighborhood
- Dad
- Jackie, where would Dexter get a Nazi uniform?
- Norman gave it to him
- He probably was dressed as a bus driver
- Yeah, but, Dad, he went like this
- Don't do that in this house
What are we gonna do about it?
That's Mrs Sampson
Dad
How you doin', Norman?
What? Are you out
trick-or-treatin'?
No. I'm taking this opportunity
to collect contributions...
for state assembly
candidate Elder Maclntyre.
Mr Maclntyre is
a former law enforcement officer
I know who he is
Because
I grew up on this street
- Excuse me?
- When I was a kid, you didn't see them around.
- They kept their distance.
- "They"?
The niggers and theJews
Ohh. 'They. '
Mr Maclntyre can help us
but he needs our help
- Anything you could spare
would be greatly appreciated
Halloween is my favorite holiday
I love seein' their costumes
- What did you go as?
- A bunny
Well, all right
Excuse me, sir
- Mrs Sampson
- Hi, Jackie
Hi, Mrs. Sampson.
As one white man
to another
I moved across the street
from a goddamned nazi
Oh, my God!
"Niggers and Jews"
Excuse me, Mrs Sampson
- You're notJewish, are you?
- No I'm a Jehovah's Witness
- Sorry about this, Mrs Sampson
- Don't worry, honey.
Nothing you can do about it
Elder Maclntyre
Milltown...
Dad showed Invasion of the Body
Snatchers that night, his favorite movie.
He said it was really about all the stupid people
who worried that Communists...
were gonna
take over the country.
And all the towns around us It's a
malignant disease spreading through the country
I don't wanna alarm you
but check out
what this movie is really about.
Pods from outer space?
Some small town
called Santa Rita?
This is your town
He was drunk, not pretending.
I could tell by his half-closed eyes
and the slow way he moved.
Look again at that man across the street,
watering his lawn
- Go to two
- Two's off the set.
Or that woman
climbing out of her Pontiac
Carrying her grocery bags
- How big is that nose?
- Dad, don't do this
Who are these people moving in?
Niggers?
Jews? Commie bastards?
Shit
You turn around,
and one day, there they are
If you don't wanna
think about it, don't...
but if you're smart...
- Oh, my God
- you'll join me
and candidate
for assembly
Elder Maclntyre...
- Cut him off
- Anything you can spare...
- Cut him off now
- will be greatly appreciated
Thank you
for your kind attention.
Sieg heil.
Get ready
to send them out
He was really big up close.
I knew it was wrong, but I thought
of dragging him over to Festinger's lawn.
I figured I'd leave a trail...
or someone coming out
of their house to get their paper...
would look over and see me.
If I could do it all over again,
I would've rolled him there if I had to.
Absolutely.
Dad
Where was I?
Dad?
Martini, like Daddy
The vet said poison,
and we were the prime suspects.
No matter where Cheyenne was poisoned,
stumbling around, coughing his guts out...
it was our front yard
he finally crashed on.
- What the heck do you want me to do, Jackie?
- Tell him we didn't do it
- He doesn't think we did it
- Dad, after last night?
Uh, Norman, hi
Uh I came over here
to apologize to you
I did a very mean-spirited thing
on my show last night
I don't know if you saw it.
I was drunk
I know that's no excuse
I don't know
what you're talking about
I didn't kill your dog, Norman
I'm sorry that somebody did
I didn't poison your dog,
Norman
If you knew me better,
you'd know it's not my style
I'd have shot him
For those of you
whose brains aren't totally withered...
here's a startling demonstration.
My old friend
Psycho Ward Cleaver will do the honors
Take 'em away, Psycho
- Not enough blood
- That's plenty
Hey, I finally found The Beast
with a Million Eyes.
Ooh We'll put it on Friday night
with Mr. Sardonicus.
- Okay
- John
John?
- I think you need some time off
- What?
You need a break
Last night was too much, John
- Do I get to decide how long a break I need?
- No
So you're firing me? Is that
what you're saying? You're firing me?
- Don't press it, John
- Well, I wanna press it I think I should press it
I'll take a week off
What turned your motor on?
Look, Jack I think it would be best
if we began seeing other people
I mean, we can still be friends
I'm just too young to tie myself
to one guy, Jack
Where did you hear this?
On television?
It's just the way I feel
I didn't know why
Dad stopped going to work.
I asked him ifhe was looking for a newjob,
and he wouldn't even talk about it.
It wasn't like he had
changed in any way.
- I don't know. Maybe
we werejust growing apart.
- So what's the story?
- No story
Did you see any other fathers
acting like seals?
- Somebody had to do it
- Could you ever just stop for, like, one minute?
I need to know if you plan on
being Bozo the Clown your whole life
Listen to this Who's the father
and who's the son here?
I don't know
- Open the goddamn door, Dylan
- It's locked.
I know it's locked
You locked it Now unlock it
- I don't know how.
- Then turn off the goddamn water
- I don't know how.
- Turn those goddamn knobs
- I don't know how.
- Goddamn it!
Goddamn it!
- I said, come on!
- No!
No!
No, Jack No! No!
No, Jack! Please, no!
Now, you stay there!
Stay there!
Jack!
Thank you, Jack
I was beginning
to wonder if the awful reprisals...
we expected from Norman
weren't coming instead from ourselves...
from the darkest chambers,
as Dad said, of our hearts.
I'll pay you a nickel to watch my brother a while
Uh-huh
Jack the Bear had real long hair
Takes some steps
Ain't gettin' nowhereJack the Bear
Jack the Bear!
Yes! He is Jack...
Surprise! Happy birthday!
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Hey, Jackie
What's the matter? Hmm?
- They all saw me singing
- So?
- Well, they're laughing about it
- Oh, no, they aren't
They're laughing because
they're at a party They're happy
- Jackie Bear
- Don't touch me
Get out of my room
Get out of my room now!
Get out!
- Where's Dylan?
- He's gone
Where?
- Where?
- There, in the street
My brother doesn't
go in the street
Look, man, my brother is my responsibility
Now, where the hell is he?
Does this mean
I don't get to keep the nickel?
You want to die?
Talk! Talk! Talk!
- Norman
- Norman what? Norman what?
- Come on! Tell me now!
- He took him in a car
Norman's car's
right there, idiot!
It doesn't even have a motor!
Hey!
- What car?
- Another car A white car
You're supposed
to be watching him!
He's your brother
Please get off of me
- I'll get off you if you swear that you won't run away
- I swear!
- I'll kill you if you run away!
- I swear
Hey!
Ow!
Where's my brother?
I need the police
It's an emergency
I need them to come
to my house right now
It was like a dream...
where your legs keep moving,
but you can't get anywhere.
I knew I should be finding him,
but I didn't know where...
or who to ask,
or what to do.
- What's the trouble, Jack?
- Norman kidnapped my brother
Dexter saw it,
but he wouldn't tell me what happened
What? Hey, Dexter!
Get over here!
Get over here
- Tell me, boy, or I'll whale you!
- Ow!
Hey, Mitchell,
what the hell are you doing?
- None of your business. Shut up!
- Don't tell me to shut up
I'll put your head through the window
of that ugly camper Don't tell me to shut up
- It's none of your business!
- Anything that happens on this block is my business!
- What're you hittin' the kid for?
- You got your nose in everybody's business.
- This is my family.
- What the hell's going on here?
- Leave the kid alone.
- My brother was kidnapped!
Are you the person who called?
- I was in the house, and he's supposed to be watching him
- Tell him what you saw!
- He was kidnapped by Norman Strick
- There's the father
White car.
Sir?
I'm sorry to have to tell you, but we believe
one of your sons has been kidnapped.
Norman Strick,
that son of a bitch, took Dylan away in a car.
Dexter, tell him what Norman did.
I just need some information from you, sir.
We'll start the search...
Sir?
Look, who is this man
who took him away?
His name is Norman Strick
He lives right over there.
How are you doin', son?
It was getting to be his bedtime.
All I could think was that Norman was just
gonna pull up any second with Dylan...
just pull up outside
with an ice cream cone.
No!
Mr. Festinger
thought he'd died and gone to heaven.
He threatened me once
with a tree branch
The man belongs in an institution
I think he's a nazi
He was the real poisoner of Cheyenne.
Why didn't Norman steal Edward?
Ten seconds, John.
Nine, eight, seven, six...
five, four...
John, you're on.
Yesterday at 5:00 pm
my son
was taken by this man
His name is Norman Strick.
He's in his late 20s
Walks with a cane
He was...
He took him
in a white car
My name is DetectiveJohn Marker
with the Oakland Police Department
We're asking your help
in locating this missing child
His name is Dylan Leary.
He's three and a half years old.
Dad?
We're at a crossroads
Can you feel it?
It's dark down there...
and there are things
nobody...
wants to meet in the dark
Whether we'll come out
on the other side
hating everything
and everybody...
I don't know
The same argument
over and over and over again!
- It's like a broken record!
- I feel like I'm raising three children and not two.
I'm a child, is that it?
I don't provide for this family?
- I don't bring my money home?
- You're not listening to me!
I don't give you a good life here? Huh?
What are you talking about?
- I can't take it.
- You can't take it anymore? Then get the hell out!
Hello
Yes, this is Mr Leary
An accident?
Is she okay?
Where is she?
Is she... Is she okay?
Well, tell me if she's okay.
Is she okay?
Tell me if my wife is okay!
Is she okay?
Is she okay?
Jack! Jack!
They found Dylan He's alive
Excuse me! Excuse me
I'm looking for my son
He was lost, he was found, he's small
He's down that way
to your right, Mr Leary
Buddy Hi, buddy
Are we allowed
to kiss him?
Yeah Kiss him
They found him
in the woods by the Piedmont Reservoir.
Not molested, the doctor said.
Just abandoned,
left to die in the mud by a creek.
I, myself,
would have died of terror...
alone in the woods,
in the night, in the rain...
with monsters all around.
Norman had disappeared
off the face of the Earth...
and Dylan had stopped talking...
From the trauma, they said.
After three days
and still no words...
the doctors decided
maybe he should come home...
where familiar objects
might give him security.
We're home
- Hi
- Hey, partner
Oh! Look at that
- Well, here I am Where cookies?
- Here are the cookies!
Who's that? Is that Big Bird? No.
Who's that? Is that Cookie Monster?
Me want cookie!
Is that Cookie, huh, Dylan?
And now observe as I...
I don't wanna call you Vince! I feel like
you're a teacher if I call you Mr Buccini!
You have every right
to be upset, Jack
Then please just leave me alone,
and stop persecuting me!
I couldn't get back
into the whole school thing.
The place is a mental institution.
But what I didn't understand
is how could a person like me...
who's always been loved,
hate so much?
John
- I'm so sorry, John
- Yeah
- Are you okay?
- I'm okay.
How's the baby?
Hi, sweetheart
You remember Grandma?
We've been sleeping
together in here
It broke
That oughta do it
Goddamn it
Goddamn it!
Dylan, I'm not mad at you, honey
I'm mad at the bed
- Don't make him afraid of his own bed, John
- Shut up!
Dylan Come to Daddy
John!
John.
Come on.
That's not gonna solve anything.
Where is he?
Where is your son?
- Where is he?
- For God's sake, John!
They're responsible!
They raised him! They're guilty!
Go out of here! He's gone away
He's gone somewhere else
Jackie
My heart's beginning to beat
with the monster's heart
Everything in L.A.
Was big and bright, except their house.
It was small and dark,
and Grandpa smelled like it...
or it smelled like him.
Now, tell me why you did that
- To get away from your bishop
- Ah, but look
You have to be on your guard
every minute, Jack
The other guy always has a trick
up his sleeve
Checkmate
Tell me why you did that.
You don't know why?
You just moved
without thinking?
Maybe you should
let me win once
Let you win? Why?
What would that accomplish?
I don't know
I'll teach you to win, Jack
I won't let you win
That would be wrong
You'd regret that later on
You know,
what you moved into
is called the Devil's Crossroads
I would take this piece,
and you've got yourself blocked here...
Dad would let me win!
I'm sure he would
He wouldn't be obvious about it,
but I'd probably know he was doing it
He'd make a big deal out of it
He'd protest the game
He'd yell and moan about it
He'd tell everyone he was robbed
and demand a rematch
It would go on for days
Then I'd like to play chess
and I would have learned
the Devil's Crossroads because of him
I'm sorry, Elizabeth
Just tell me
what I gotta do, Gordon
Just tell me
what you want me to do, and I'll do it
You want to change the show, we'll change it.
We'll make it a kiddie show.
- No
- We'll make it light We'll make it bright
- No No!
- Why not?
- We'll make it a talk show
- No!
- We'll show cartoons
- John, no
- I'll make it a cooking show
- No!
- Why not?
- Because I don't trust you, that's why
- You have to trust me
- Why?
Because I can't lose my kids
Can he pick up the ticket
at the airport?
Yes, he's flown before
That's right
L- E-A-R-Y One way
Dylan, I'm going to Dad
I'm gonna get him
I'm gonna come back for you, okay?
You'll be okay here
while I'm gone
Okay?
- Thanks
- No problem
Dad!
Growling]
Shit
Dad?
Jack? You in there?
Jackie?
Jackie?
- Hmm?
- Jack, you in there?
Home run, Jack
Jack
- No, no! No!
- I just want to talk to you
Oh! No!
Help! Somebody help!
Where are you going, Jack?
I just want to talk to you
Don't you want to talk to me?
Get the fuck away from him now!
You touch my son, and I'll kill you!
You hear me?
- Okay
- Dad! Daddy!
Jackie!
Jack!
No! No!
Jack
Better get this in writing
What am I doing?
I don't know
I kept wondering
what Mom would say if she saw Dad...
cleaning up the house and trying to make
things great for Dylan's homecoming...
but I didn't have much faith
in what he could do anymore.
Mmm
Mmm
And now we return
to those kings of horror
Abbott and Costello
Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch...
Chick!
- Chick!
Even though he was doing better...
- Chick!
- It's just that I knew now...
there was more than one kind
of monster in the world.
- Hi, Mr Leary
- Hey, Dylan Come on
- Hi
- When's the monster coming out?
There's no such things as monsters
You all know that
We know
They're only in our hearts
They don't
actually come out into the world.
Not unless a metal light
appears in the sky, right?
No, not even then
We'll think of a new game, okay?
Okay?
"Once there was a little bunny
who wanted to run away
"So he said to his mother,
'I am running away'
'If you run away, '
said his mother... '
"Run away, 'said his mother.
"I will run after you
for you are my little bunny. '
"If you run after me, '
said the little bunny...
"I will become a rock...
'on the mountain
high above you. '
"If you become a rock
on the mountain, 'said his mother...
"'I'll become a mountain climber
and climb to where you are'
- "'Lf you become a mountain
climber and climb to me'
"said the little bunny
"'I will be a bird
"and fly away from you'
"'If you become a bird
and fly away from me'
"said his mother
'I will be a tree
that you can come home to"'
What's the name
of that song, Dylan?
She sang it to us
every night
Don't you remember?
Tell me the name
of Mommy's favorite song, Dylan
He doesn't remember, Jack.
It was too long ago
He was too little
- I miss Mommy
- I know
I miss her so much
Me too
And I don't know
what's gonna happen to us
- We're gonna be all right
- No, we're not!
Nothing's all right!
Then we're gonna
make it all right
Shh, shh, shh
Shh Daddy's here
Daddy's here
Shh, shh
Cry for your mother, Jackie
Cry for her
Jack the Bear?
Dylan Dylan
Say it again
What did you say? Say it again
- Say it again
- Jack the Bear
Jack the Bear
Jack the Bear
Frankenstein! Frankenstein!
Bring him down to the village,
and let's make it home.
I thought I knew all about monsters.
I used to watch them late at night
on Dad's TVshow.
After we moved to Oakland, he stopped
doing kids'shows, because he was different now.
Everything was different.
Now he was Al Gory,
monster of ceremonies at Midnight Shriek
Oh, Al?
What?
Oh, it's you again
So, anyway, before we dig in
to our second feature...
I have to pay a visit
to my aging mother
She would've
wanted me to have this
It was on real late,
way past my bedtime.
Dad didn't let me stay up to see it, so I used
to wait for Mrs. Sampson to fall asleep...
Hold it Hold it
I think that was a good one
and sneak
into his bedroom to watch.
But then I'd get scared,
alone in his room at night...
and I wouldn't know why.
I didn't know yet what
I was going to learn that year:
That monsters are real.
Whoa
We had
sort ofjust picked up and left Syracuse...
crossing the country,
finding a house...
the three of us taking care
of all the grown-up stuff together.
Here I'll get that
- Who is it?
- I got that
Come on, Dylan
I guess it
could've been strange being in a new place.
Can your dad
come out and play?
But it didn't take long for Dad to become
a celebrity among the kids on our block.
When's the monster
coming out?
There's no such thing as monsters
You all know that, don't you?
Monsters exist
only in ourselves
They live in the darkest chambers
of our hearts
They never actually
come out into the world...
unless, of course, a metal light appears
in the sky, but when's the last time you saw that?
So why don't we try and be adults
about this and run along home, okay?
- Hey, what's that?
- Mr. Leary!
- What?
- Look Look
- Look.
- There it is.
He was always
a madman for playing with kids.
Mom used to say that was because
he was reallyjust a kid himself.
Mr. Leary, what's this strange power
you have over our children?
I'm the perfect monster
And the house we found
in Oakland was perfect for playing anything...
especially the flashlight game.
Come on, Dylan In the closet
But it was different now,
the way he played with us.
It was like he had to do it.
After the heartbreak had happened,
sometimes I wondered...
if Dad didn't need our games
more than we did.
Okay. Right. That's right.
This is gonna be your bass note, okay?
Ready?
Where's "C"? Right Great
Great Now again
Sorry, Mom
Right
Very, very nice, Jackie.
- Hey, Jackie
- Hey
Mom?
Mom died last winter.
Dylan, don't wake Dad
Dylan and I were
still learning things you need to know...
when you move to a new house.
Like in our case:
Don't play in the backyard.
If you get caught
in there, they eat you
Out front, there was a whole
neighborhood to get to know.
Split the difference, okay?
Put the ball right there, okay?
Like Mr. Festinger, who always
yelled at his son Edward for being retarded.
Edward!
Edward, what did I tell you
about your eyes and the ball?
Never take your eyes off the ball
All right You almost caught it
You almost caught that one Come on Let's go
And Dexter, who lived next door.
My mom might be sleeping
His parents were really his grandparents...
because his real parents had split
from each other and from him...
and probably from everything.
Guess what We got company
Let's go to my room
Of course,
his grandparents weren't doing much better.
Did I tell you
he was a fighting Seabee?
No one else on our street would
let their kids play at the Mitchell's.
Come on Let's go
Them that are over there
That's them over there
See? Over there
Get 'em Get 'em Get 'em
Hey, Zombie That's right
I'm talkin' to you
The next time your dog
defecates on my lawn, he's dead, pal
Goddamn son of a...
And then there was Norman the Zombie...
who mangled one ofhis legs
in a terrible accident as a teenager...
when he crashed his T-Bird
into an ice cream truck.
He'd fixed up the car
and kept it on blocks in his driveway...
washing it every day.
You know, inside that cane
is a sword
- I've seen it
- And he attacked Mr Festinger one night with a tree branch
Hit him
right over the head with it
He also blinded his own dog
with a rock
You ever look at it?
Looks like a dead marble
- Oh, God!
- He's coming for us
Get down. Get down, Dig!
Get down. Dig! Dig!
Dig, he's comin'!
Is Norman gonna get us?
He's not gonna get us
He killed his parents You ever
seen 'em over there in a long time?
- I've never seen 'em
- You used to, walkin'around behind the curtains.
I'm not going to go look
That's for sure
Maybe we should.
- I'll get it.
- No. I wanna do it myself.
- Well, don't fall
- Okay, kids Get to bed
- See? I can reach it.
- Don't give Ms Sampson a heart attack
- What's up, Jackie Bear?
- Uh, nothin'
We're gonna have a lot of fun
at the studio tomorrow
But as for now, it's off to work
Buyin'a new car doesn't have to give you
a headache, not if you go to East Bay Dodge.
Ah My old friend,
Psycho Ward Cleaver
Put that thing down, Psycho,
and we'll go for a test drive
You know, Psycho, this
beautiful Dodge Challenger is loaded
- Air-conditioning Power
steering Blood bucket seats - Ooh!
Michael, wait up Michael
Quiet Quiet
Shh, shh-shh
- What do we do now?
- Let's go
- We got it?
- Come on
What are you doing? What
are you doing? What are you doing?
- Norman is gonna kill you
- Spray anywhere
Jackie, wake up
We gotta go downstairs
He said
he'd cut his foot investigating a noise...
outside his house.
I couldn't figure out
why he didn't tell Dad the rest.
He must not have too many good friends
if he had to come to us
in his time of need
He has a sword in that cane
Really?
Yeah And he attacked Mr Festinger
one night with a tree branch
Really?
Wonder why
he didn't use his sword
I guess that's when it all started.
I just didn't realize till later
that the trouble wasn't only with Norman.
Uh-oh Me spill
Who let this brat
into my crypt?
Spaghetti Bolognese? Now, how do you
expect me to clean up this mess?
This oughta do the trick
Don't move, Dylan
Hang in there Okay Cut
Camera one, lock it off
All right You can move now
- Peggy, take his clothes off.
- Come here
- Hi, Peggy
- Here you go, Jack Hang onto that
One day you're gonna like the girls doin'this.
Jack, don't you wanna be in the commercial?
No way
I have friends that watch this show
- Give me the clothes, Peggy Put 'em right here
- Yep
- John, can I see you for a second?
- Now, Gordon?
- John, can I see you for a second?
- Now, Gordon?
Right now
Do you mind?
All right
Well, let's take five
What? What?
You canceling the show?
No, no I love the show
I love the commercials I love everything
- You gonna give me more bread?
- Look.
I've been fightin'as hard as I can for you,
but they're pinnin'me to the mat.
It seems they have a problem with
your Psycho Ward Cleaver character
They think he's in bad taste
- Why? Because he has multiple head wounds?
- Who knows?
So just think of another character
Is this a suggestion
or a nonnegotiable demand?
It's a...
It's just a phone call
- They make a phone call, and you roll over
- Don't worry
Your dad can always
calm Gordon down
- You're layin' down on me
- Course I am
What? These people say "Shit,"
and you say, "What color?"
All right Give me the jug Peggy, run out
and round up a bucket of dog vomit
We'll throw it on the rug
All right Come on
Mom always said
Dad bristled when he got mad.
And some people
made him madder than others.
Grandma! Grandma!
- Grandma! Grandma!
- Hi. Ooh, look at him!
Maybe that's
where the trouble really came from.
- Look who's here
- Oh, my goodness golly.
Ooh-ooh-ooh!
- Hi
- Come on
How are you? Hi, John
- Whoa Look at that!
- Hey For you
Long ago in Hollywood, Mom's parents...
were put on a blacklist
they kept for Communists.
Though no one ever proved they carried
the cards, which is the way you could tell.
- Lincoln Steffens Thank you, Grandma
- You're welcome
A great man, Jack
Someone stays with you and your brother
while your dad's at work?
- Mrs Sampson
- Uh-huh
- An older woman?
- Uh-huh
I could tell he was
tryin'to get me to rat on Dad...
the way his friends
ratted on him long ago.
Fishing with red bait for something
he could hold against Dad to his grave.
Is he laying off the sauce?
Uh-huh
You know, it doesn't
help make things better, John... only worse
Couldn't resist, could you, Syd?
Tsk
- Didn't help your marriage much
- Sydney
- Is this why you came here?
- No I came to see my grandchildren
Then what are you doin'
talkin' to me?
You leave the children with strangers.
What's even worse... on their own.
I pay a responsible woman
to look after them.
- What the hell else do you want me to do?
- Don't use that tone
- You're talking about your own children's welfare, for God's sakes
- John
- John, listen We all want the same thing
- I'm not gonna discuss this
Fine. You keep drinking,
you lose this job like you lost the others...
and we'll go to court
and take those kids.
Tell you what, Syd:
Over my dead body How's that?
That's when
you can have my boys
They left that night.
Dad? Aren't you
gonna take Dylan to school?
It's Dylan's first day
Dylan, let's go!
- What are you doing?
- My shoes
Dylan
Dylan! Do you want the dogs?
I want Daddy
- Daddy's asleep
- I want Daddy take me to school
Daddy! Daddy!
Come on Come on
We live around here
I want Daddy
Where's Mommy?
"Where's Mommy?"
Listen, Dylan
- You have to go in there, okay?
- No
They'll be nice
You have to You have to go
Okay? Come on
I'll pick you up later
Now, go You have to go
Go
Japanese poetry is a drama.
It's about life and death.
- It's...
- Um, sorry I'm late I had to...
It's okay. Have a seat.
That's right. No desks. Join us.
- You have a desk
- Table
- Wanna sit at it?
- No, sir
No "sir" either
The name's Vince
Hi, Jack
I know about your mom
So We have a lot
of things for each of you to try
Besides the electrical experiments
and the herb garden
there's a "learning to communicate
your feelings" workshop I'll be teaching
Oh, Jesus!
Ohh
That's very nice.
There you go.
Hold onto my hand.
Throw your ball. Throw your ball.
Throw your ball!
- Can I help you?
- Yeah
Actually, uh, I was supposed
to drop off my son today
I was detained, and, uh, I just came by
to see if he was okay
- How old is he?
- He's three It's his first day
Okay. Take it easy.
Ifhe's doing all right,
maybe you should let him be.
It might be harder ifhe sees you.
He's a good kid
I'm gonna go
Get back in here.
- Is there a fire?
- No
It's that lady in there
The kid came home and found her
She's barely alive There must be
a square yard of pill bottles in that place
- Dexter, is your mom sick?
- No
She's just not moving
I knew right away, when I saw Dexter
coming home from school with his lunch pail.
He looked like an angel or a girl...
his face all soft
and rosy and sweet.
My mom's dead
Did you hear
about Dexter's mom?
Yeah
Dylan, no! Dylan
You wearin' those
to school or what?
The weeks went by, and fall came...
with cold mornings,
like in Syracuse.
Things had started to change. There was
even a girl at school who started talking to me.
Hi, Jack
Hi, Karen
She was what my dad
called 'a long drink of water. '
I wanted to tell you that I really liked
what you wrote for the poets' corner
I thought it showed great sensitivity
- It did?
- Yeah
Thanks
I figured I was really lame, because I knew...
there was something I should do about
the situation, and I didn't know what it was.
Would you like to come to my house
for some Hungarian goulash
Friday night
at about 6:30 pm?
Sure
Oh
Great
- Yes! She said yes!
- All right
- So I told her goulash
- Great I'll make my famous goulash
- Really?
- Of course
Maybe we should invite somebody, so it's not just
her surrounded by three men What do you think?
- Who?
- I don't know Maybe Peggy
I know it was stupid,
but I found myself wishing...
Mom could somehow fly back
into the world.
It's up to you, Jack
Whatever you want
- Yeah No That'd be great
- Great This is great
- Should I button it?
- We're casual tonight, right?
- So you're saying I shouldn't button it?
- It looks good like that
- Only you need a sweater It's raining
- I don't have any sweaters!
- What time is it?
- You got plenty of sweaters.
- Dad, I have to leave
- Relax. Try on a sweater.
- Nothing goes!
- This goes
I have to get out of here I'm taking this
- That's good. It's clear. It doesn't clash.
- I'm going, okay? Good-bye
Don't you want me to iron that for you?
Aren't you interested in what I'm gonna wear?
What am I gonna wear?
- Would you like a V8 juice?
- V8 juice? Sure
- You must beJack.
- You must be Mrs Morris
- Karen should be right down
- Okay
I was afraid
they were gonna ask about my family...
and I'd have to tell them about Mom.
There you go, Jack.
Thank you
And then they'd have
to say, 'We're sorry to hear about that. '
And then I'd have to say,
'That's all right. You didn't know. '
And then there'd be that awful silence
where there'd be nothing else to say.
- So, Jack, tell us about your...
- Hi, Jack.
Hi
- What happened here?
- Nobody knows
They just showed up one day
Hi, Dad This is Karen
- Oh, how are you, Karen?
- Hi, Mr Leary
It's very nice
to meet you, Karen
Peggy Etinger, this is my son Jack Leary
and his friend Karen Morris
- Hi
- Karen, this is my friend Peggy Etinger and my son Dylan
Dylan, this is your brother's friend
Karen Morris, and your brother, who you know
Jack, this is your brother Dylan, who
you know, and my friend Peggy Etinger
Does anybody know who's playin' in there?
That's Glenn Miller
Okay Here we go It's time you kids
learned classical music Very nice
- Thank you, Peggy
- You're welcome
At last
the goulash you've all been waiting for
- I want my goulash! I want my goulash!
- I'll serve
I'll do it Thank you, my dear
You may have your goulash
All right You do...
the goulash I do the wine
- The goulash!
- Great year for Welch's
- Tasty goulash Eat that all up
- For you
- Excuse me Pardon me
- So, Mr Leary, Jack tells me you used to have a kids' show
He told you that, eh?
Thank you very much
- Miss Etinger, a little goulash?
- Come on, Dad
All right
You broke my arm
Hi, boys and girls
Are you here for kids' stuff?
Well, hold your horses
and tie up your dragonflies
because today
we're gonna talk about colors!
Red, green, blue,
orange, chartreuse!
- Dad was really on.
- 'Goulash, John? '
'Don't mind if I do-yash. '
- Heart
- Heart Yeah
Don't call clubs
Don't call clubs
Don't call clubs Karen
Karen, look at my eyes Look at me
Don't call clubs
Don't call clubs
- Don't call clubs Don't call clubs Don't call clubs
- Clubs!
Don't call clubs!
Oh, clubs! Ohh
Oh, no Clubs
She called clubs
No clubs
- That ain't a club. No.
- He was like an artist.
Only what he was creating
was the perfect evening.
She called...
She called clubs
- She called clubs.
And it was all for Karen and me.
- In the closet There's a secret passageway
- Coming!
- Where are you?
- Come on Let's go
As we come...
Where are you?
Are you in here? No?
Ha! Back off
Up the stairs we come
Someday, if I ever get that far...
maybe I'll be able
to do the same thing for my son.
Where the hell are those kids?
- It was great meetin' you I'm glad you came
- It's so nice to meet you
- All right
- Nice to meet you
- It was nice to meet you too
- Bye
See you later Okay
- Good night, Dad
- Good night
- You want me to drive you? You want a ride?
- No Good night
Good night, Dad.
I was being sincere
It really was a lovely evening
I hope there will be more
Do you wanna come in?
Well
good night
Good night
- I don't know
what it was... maybe the rain...
but after that night, everything
just started falling into place.
All right.
We got 'em. We got 'em.
The Oakland A's made it to the Series,
and we sat glued to the set for all seven games.
- Two down
- Two down!
- And here we are...
- Oh, no! It's Pete Rose, Dad!
- No sweat. No sweat.
- And on that last fly ball...
- Come on! Come on!
- We were on our feet, because we were champs.
- Whoa, yes! Yes!
- Play ball!
Yes! Yes!
A's, A's, A's, A's, A's, A's, A's, A's!
Whoo!
A's, A's!
See, Jack? We bring luck
wherever we go
A's, A's, A's, A's!
Whoa, Cookie Monster!
Whoa, Cookie Monster!
One bag of cookies
One bag One bag
- Daddy!
- Okay Okay Let me...
I'm gonna let you
in on a little secret: My tongue grows.
So from time to time
I have to nip a little off
like this
Ah Blech!
There
That's much better, don't you think?
Jack!
Jack!
Jack!
Hey, Dexter
You like television?
Dad always went all out for Halloween.
But later that night,
he went too far.
Come on, Jackie. Open the door.
What are you tryin'to tell me?
You're too old to run around in a costume?
- How do you think that makes me feel?
- So don't wear one then
- No one's making you
- I like wearing one.
- Well, good
- Jackie, come on. It's Halloween.
You can wear a costume
and still be dignified. Look at me.
- Trick or treat
- Trick or treat
All right, Mr Adult The candy cauldron's
right here by the door
If you run out, there's more
in the cupboard by the fridge
If you run out of that,
there's always the change jar
Okay, Charles Let's go and leave
your brother to reflect on his lost childhood
Here you go
Hold that bag
Come on now
Do not fall
- My little brother's a clown
- Where is he?
Hi, Jack Trick or treat
Hi, Katie
Hello, Edward
We saw your dad down the street.
He's dressed like a big rabbit.
- I know
- Well, bye
Hi, Mike
- You recognize me?
- Sure
Man, you're full of it
You real... You recognize me?
- Bye, Michael
- What? Okay, okay Wait
- What are you supposed to be?
- Me?
- You
- Myself
You're... You're
gettin' strange, man
- Hello?
- Hello, sir It's Jack Leary Is Karen there?
Uh, no, she's not here
She went to the party with her friends
- What party?
- Big Halloween party
- Oh
- Want me to tell her you called?
- No That's okay
- You sure?
- Thank you
- Okay
Trick or treat, Jack
Trick or treat, Jack
Dexter, where'd you get the...
Thanks
How'd I do?
Wow Huh?
Not a bad haul, considering I had to lug
your brother halfway around the neighborhood
- Dad
- Jackie, where would Dexter get a Nazi uniform?
- Norman gave it to him
- He probably was dressed as a bus driver
- Yeah, but, Dad, he went like this
- Don't do that in this house
What are we gonna do about it?
That's Mrs Sampson
Dad
How you doin', Norman?
What? Are you out
trick-or-treatin'?
No. I'm taking this opportunity
to collect contributions...
for state assembly
candidate Elder Maclntyre.
Mr Maclntyre is
a former law enforcement officer
I know who he is
Because
I grew up on this street
- Excuse me?
- When I was a kid, you didn't see them around.
- They kept their distance.
- "They"?
The niggers and theJews
Ohh. 'They. '
Mr Maclntyre can help us
but he needs our help
- Anything you could spare
would be greatly appreciated
Halloween is my favorite holiday
I love seein' their costumes
- What did you go as?
- A bunny
Well, all right
Excuse me, sir
- Mrs Sampson
- Hi, Jackie
Hi, Mrs. Sampson.
As one white man
to another
I moved across the street
from a goddamned nazi
Oh, my God!
"Niggers and Jews"
Excuse me, Mrs Sampson
- You're notJewish, are you?
- No I'm a Jehovah's Witness
- Sorry about this, Mrs Sampson
- Don't worry, honey.
Nothing you can do about it
Elder Maclntyre
Milltown...
Dad showed Invasion of the Body
Snatchers that night, his favorite movie.
He said it was really about all the stupid people
who worried that Communists...
were gonna
take over the country.
And all the towns around us It's a
malignant disease spreading through the country
I don't wanna alarm you
but check out
what this movie is really about.
Pods from outer space?
Some small town
called Santa Rita?
This is your town
He was drunk, not pretending.
I could tell by his half-closed eyes
and the slow way he moved.
Look again at that man across the street,
watering his lawn
- Go to two
- Two's off the set.
Or that woman
climbing out of her Pontiac
Carrying her grocery bags
- How big is that nose?
- Dad, don't do this
Who are these people moving in?
Niggers?
Jews? Commie bastards?
Shit
You turn around,
and one day, there they are
If you don't wanna
think about it, don't...
but if you're smart...
- Oh, my God
- you'll join me
and candidate
for assembly
Elder Maclntyre...
- Cut him off
- Anything you can spare...
- Cut him off now
- will be greatly appreciated
Thank you
for your kind attention.
Sieg heil.
Get ready
to send them out
He was really big up close.
I knew it was wrong, but I thought
of dragging him over to Festinger's lawn.
I figured I'd leave a trail...
or someone coming out
of their house to get their paper...
would look over and see me.
If I could do it all over again,
I would've rolled him there if I had to.
Absolutely.
Dad
Where was I?
Dad?
Martini, like Daddy
The vet said poison,
and we were the prime suspects.
No matter where Cheyenne was poisoned,
stumbling around, coughing his guts out...
it was our front yard
he finally crashed on.
- What the heck do you want me to do, Jackie?
- Tell him we didn't do it
- He doesn't think we did it
- Dad, after last night?
Uh, Norman, hi
Uh I came over here
to apologize to you
I did a very mean-spirited thing
on my show last night
I don't know if you saw it.
I was drunk
I know that's no excuse
I don't know
what you're talking about
I didn't kill your dog, Norman
I'm sorry that somebody did
I didn't poison your dog,
Norman
If you knew me better,
you'd know it's not my style
I'd have shot him
For those of you
whose brains aren't totally withered...
here's a startling demonstration.
My old friend
Psycho Ward Cleaver will do the honors
Take 'em away, Psycho
- Not enough blood
- That's plenty
Hey, I finally found The Beast
with a Million Eyes.
Ooh We'll put it on Friday night
with Mr. Sardonicus.
- Okay
- John
John?
- I think you need some time off
- What?
You need a break
Last night was too much, John
- Do I get to decide how long a break I need?
- No
So you're firing me? Is that
what you're saying? You're firing me?
- Don't press it, John
- Well, I wanna press it I think I should press it
I'll take a week off
What turned your motor on?
Look, Jack I think it would be best
if we began seeing other people
I mean, we can still be friends
I'm just too young to tie myself
to one guy, Jack
Where did you hear this?
On television?
It's just the way I feel
I didn't know why
Dad stopped going to work.
I asked him ifhe was looking for a newjob,
and he wouldn't even talk about it.
It wasn't like he had
changed in any way.
- I don't know. Maybe
we werejust growing apart.
- So what's the story?
- No story
Did you see any other fathers
acting like seals?
- Somebody had to do it
- Could you ever just stop for, like, one minute?
I need to know if you plan on
being Bozo the Clown your whole life
Listen to this Who's the father
and who's the son here?
I don't know
- Open the goddamn door, Dylan
- It's locked.
I know it's locked
You locked it Now unlock it
- I don't know how.
- Then turn off the goddamn water
- I don't know how.
- Turn those goddamn knobs
- I don't know how.
- Goddamn it!
Goddamn it!
- I said, come on!
- No!
No!
No, Jack No! No!
No, Jack! Please, no!
Now, you stay there!
Stay there!
Jack!
Thank you, Jack
I was beginning
to wonder if the awful reprisals...
we expected from Norman
weren't coming instead from ourselves...
from the darkest chambers,
as Dad said, of our hearts.
I'll pay you a nickel to watch my brother a while
Uh-huh
Jack the Bear had real long hair
Takes some steps
Ain't gettin' nowhereJack the Bear
Jack the Bear!
Yes! He is Jack...
Surprise! Happy birthday!
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Hey, Jackie
What's the matter? Hmm?
- They all saw me singing
- So?
- Well, they're laughing about it
- Oh, no, they aren't
They're laughing because
they're at a party They're happy
- Jackie Bear
- Don't touch me
Get out of my room
Get out of my room now!
Get out!
- Where's Dylan?
- He's gone
Where?
- Where?
- There, in the street
My brother doesn't
go in the street
Look, man, my brother is my responsibility
Now, where the hell is he?
Does this mean
I don't get to keep the nickel?
You want to die?
Talk! Talk! Talk!
- Norman
- Norman what? Norman what?
- Come on! Tell me now!
- He took him in a car
Norman's car's
right there, idiot!
It doesn't even have a motor!
Hey!
- What car?
- Another car A white car
You're supposed
to be watching him!
He's your brother
Please get off of me
- I'll get off you if you swear that you won't run away
- I swear!
- I'll kill you if you run away!
- I swear
Hey!
Ow!
Where's my brother?
I need the police
It's an emergency
I need them to come
to my house right now
It was like a dream...
where your legs keep moving,
but you can't get anywhere.
I knew I should be finding him,
but I didn't know where...
or who to ask,
or what to do.
- What's the trouble, Jack?
- Norman kidnapped my brother
Dexter saw it,
but he wouldn't tell me what happened
What? Hey, Dexter!
Get over here!
Get over here
- Tell me, boy, or I'll whale you!
- Ow!
Hey, Mitchell,
what the hell are you doing?
- None of your business. Shut up!
- Don't tell me to shut up
I'll put your head through the window
of that ugly camper Don't tell me to shut up
- It's none of your business!
- Anything that happens on this block is my business!
- What're you hittin' the kid for?
- You got your nose in everybody's business.
- This is my family.
- What the hell's going on here?
- Leave the kid alone.
- My brother was kidnapped!
Are you the person who called?
- I was in the house, and he's supposed to be watching him
- Tell him what you saw!
- He was kidnapped by Norman Strick
- There's the father
White car.
Sir?
I'm sorry to have to tell you, but we believe
one of your sons has been kidnapped.
Norman Strick,
that son of a bitch, took Dylan away in a car.
Dexter, tell him what Norman did.
I just need some information from you, sir.
We'll start the search...
Sir?
Look, who is this man
who took him away?
His name is Norman Strick
He lives right over there.
How are you doin', son?
It was getting to be his bedtime.
All I could think was that Norman was just
gonna pull up any second with Dylan...
just pull up outside
with an ice cream cone.
No!
Mr. Festinger
thought he'd died and gone to heaven.
He threatened me once
with a tree branch
The man belongs in an institution
I think he's a nazi
He was the real poisoner of Cheyenne.
Why didn't Norman steal Edward?
Ten seconds, John.
Nine, eight, seven, six...
five, four...
John, you're on.
Yesterday at 5:00 pm
my son
was taken by this man
His name is Norman Strick.
He's in his late 20s
Walks with a cane
He was...
He took him
in a white car
My name is DetectiveJohn Marker
with the Oakland Police Department
We're asking your help
in locating this missing child
His name is Dylan Leary.
He's three and a half years old.
Dad?
We're at a crossroads
Can you feel it?
It's dark down there...
and there are things
nobody...
wants to meet in the dark
Whether we'll come out
on the other side
hating everything
and everybody...
I don't know
The same argument
over and over and over again!
- It's like a broken record!
- I feel like I'm raising three children and not two.
I'm a child, is that it?
I don't provide for this family?
- I don't bring my money home?
- You're not listening to me!
I don't give you a good life here? Huh?
What are you talking about?
- I can't take it.
- You can't take it anymore? Then get the hell out!
Hello
Yes, this is Mr Leary
An accident?
Is she okay?
Where is she?
Is she... Is she okay?
Well, tell me if she's okay.
Is she okay?
Tell me if my wife is okay!
Is she okay?
Is she okay?
Jack! Jack!
They found Dylan He's alive
Excuse me! Excuse me
I'm looking for my son
He was lost, he was found, he's small
He's down that way
to your right, Mr Leary
Buddy Hi, buddy
Are we allowed
to kiss him?
Yeah Kiss him
They found him
in the woods by the Piedmont Reservoir.
Not molested, the doctor said.
Just abandoned,
left to die in the mud by a creek.
I, myself,
would have died of terror...
alone in the woods,
in the night, in the rain...
with monsters all around.
Norman had disappeared
off the face of the Earth...
and Dylan had stopped talking...
From the trauma, they said.
After three days
and still no words...
the doctors decided
maybe he should come home...
where familiar objects
might give him security.
We're home
- Hi
- Hey, partner
Oh! Look at that
- Well, here I am Where cookies?
- Here are the cookies!
Who's that? Is that Big Bird? No.
Who's that? Is that Cookie Monster?
Me want cookie!
Is that Cookie, huh, Dylan?
And now observe as I...
I don't wanna call you Vince! I feel like
you're a teacher if I call you Mr Buccini!
You have every right
to be upset, Jack
Then please just leave me alone,
and stop persecuting me!
I couldn't get back
into the whole school thing.
The place is a mental institution.
But what I didn't understand
is how could a person like me...
who's always been loved,
hate so much?
John
- I'm so sorry, John
- Yeah
- Are you okay?
- I'm okay.
How's the baby?
Hi, sweetheart
You remember Grandma?
We've been sleeping
together in here
It broke
That oughta do it
Goddamn it
Goddamn it!
Dylan, I'm not mad at you, honey
I'm mad at the bed
- Don't make him afraid of his own bed, John
- Shut up!
Dylan Come to Daddy
John!
John.
Come on.
That's not gonna solve anything.
Where is he?
Where is your son?
- Where is he?
- For God's sake, John!
They're responsible!
They raised him! They're guilty!
Go out of here! He's gone away
He's gone somewhere else
Jackie
My heart's beginning to beat
with the monster's heart
Everything in L.A.
Was big and bright, except their house.
It was small and dark,
and Grandpa smelled like it...
or it smelled like him.
Now, tell me why you did that
- To get away from your bishop
- Ah, but look
You have to be on your guard
every minute, Jack
The other guy always has a trick
up his sleeve
Checkmate
Tell me why you did that.
You don't know why?
You just moved
without thinking?
Maybe you should
let me win once
Let you win? Why?
What would that accomplish?
I don't know
I'll teach you to win, Jack
I won't let you win
That would be wrong
You'd regret that later on
You know,
what you moved into
is called the Devil's Crossroads
I would take this piece,
and you've got yourself blocked here...
Dad would let me win!
I'm sure he would
He wouldn't be obvious about it,
but I'd probably know he was doing it
He'd make a big deal out of it
He'd protest the game
He'd yell and moan about it
He'd tell everyone he was robbed
and demand a rematch
It would go on for days
Then I'd like to play chess
and I would have learned
the Devil's Crossroads because of him
I'm sorry, Elizabeth
Just tell me
what I gotta do, Gordon
Just tell me
what you want me to do, and I'll do it
You want to change the show, we'll change it.
We'll make it a kiddie show.
- No
- We'll make it light We'll make it bright
- No No!
- Why not?
- We'll make it a talk show
- No!
- We'll show cartoons
- John, no
- I'll make it a cooking show
- No!
- Why not?
- Because I don't trust you, that's why
- You have to trust me
- Why?
Because I can't lose my kids
Can he pick up the ticket
at the airport?
Yes, he's flown before
That's right
L- E-A-R-Y One way
Dylan, I'm going to Dad
I'm gonna get him
I'm gonna come back for you, okay?
You'll be okay here
while I'm gone
Okay?
- Thanks
- No problem
Dad!
Growling]
Shit
Dad?
Jack? You in there?
Jackie?
Jackie?
- Hmm?
- Jack, you in there?
Home run, Jack
Jack
- No, no! No!
- I just want to talk to you
Oh! No!
Help! Somebody help!
Where are you going, Jack?
I just want to talk to you
Don't you want to talk to me?
Get the fuck away from him now!
You touch my son, and I'll kill you!
You hear me?
- Okay
- Dad! Daddy!
Jackie!
Jack!
No! No!
Jack
Better get this in writing
What am I doing?
I don't know
I kept wondering
what Mom would say if she saw Dad...
cleaning up the house and trying to make
things great for Dylan's homecoming...
but I didn't have much faith
in what he could do anymore.
Mmm
Mmm
And now we return
to those kings of horror
Abbott and Costello
Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch...
Chick!
- Chick!
Even though he was doing better...
- Chick!
- It's just that I knew now...
there was more than one kind
of monster in the world.
- Hi, Mr Leary
- Hey, Dylan Come on
- Hi
- When's the monster coming out?
There's no such things as monsters
You all know that
We know
They're only in our hearts
They don't
actually come out into the world.
Not unless a metal light
appears in the sky, right?
No, not even then
We'll think of a new game, okay?
Okay?
"Once there was a little bunny
who wanted to run away
"So he said to his mother,
'I am running away'
'If you run away, '
said his mother... '
"Run away, 'said his mother.
"I will run after you
for you are my little bunny. '
"If you run after me, '
said the little bunny...
"I will become a rock...
'on the mountain
high above you. '
"If you become a rock
on the mountain, 'said his mother...
"'I'll become a mountain climber
and climb to where you are'
- "'Lf you become a mountain
climber and climb to me'
"said the little bunny
"'I will be a bird
"and fly away from you'
"'If you become a bird
and fly away from me'
"said his mother
'I will be a tree
that you can come home to"'
What's the name
of that song, Dylan?
She sang it to us
every night
Don't you remember?
Tell me the name
of Mommy's favorite song, Dylan
He doesn't remember, Jack.
It was too long ago
He was too little
- I miss Mommy
- I know
I miss her so much
Me too
And I don't know
what's gonna happen to us
- We're gonna be all right
- No, we're not!
Nothing's all right!
Then we're gonna
make it all right
Shh, shh, shh
Shh Daddy's here
Daddy's here
Shh, shh
Cry for your mother, Jackie
Cry for her
Jack the Bear?
Dylan Dylan
Say it again
What did you say? Say it again
- Say it again
- Jack the Bear
Jack the Bear
Jack the Bear