The Singapore Grip (2020) s01e03 Episode Script

1
Japan has taken the plunge into the sea of war,
matching the cunning and insane recklessness of Hitler himself,
Japan hurls the United States into the fight between freedom and the forces of evil.
Pearl Harbor was the target
when waves of planes swept over her just before dawn.
Singapore, Britain's coveted stronghold is the deepest thorn in Japan's flesh.
It's capture would be the white man's notice to quit in the far East.
Singapore must be held at all costs.
Never mind Mohamed, I'll walk from here.
I'm afraid Guthrey's head office went up last night.
Did it indeed?
Terrible shame
still.
Still what?
Well you know
until the wind.
Sure I don't know what you mean.
Irerepresent 'Committee for International Understanding'.
International understanding is always good.
Hard to believe it will be Christmas in a couple of weeks.
Have you made your killing daddy?
Well
as you know I bought the rubber.
In fact my godowns are bulging with tons and tons of it at this time.
No killing yet.
They brought in this thing called a "Restriction Scheme".
They give you coupons for which to find the amount of rubber you're allowed to sell.
In my casea lot less than what I have.
What are you going to do?
Unfortunately the small hurl is on the mainland
don't really understand, what's going on.
It's been easy to get them to part with their coupon.
Eventually we've amassed enough to go forward and sell.
So everything's alright?
I expect it will turn out alright in the end.
How is young Matthew doing?
Still delirious I'm afraid.
And that Vera Chang's been hanging around the Mayfair.
Well
we'll see about that.
- Say, is that my tie? - Yeah!
Also your trousers. I took the liberty, you don't mind?
Do you?
It is my old school tie.
No, no, no.
It doesn't matter in the least.
We have to win this semi-final today.
People du la Francece très important.
This is Charlie. My partenaire.
The decisive question:
Is he drunk?
Rough or smooth?
You mean as we say in France, "Pile ou face".
Pile.
Aha! It is pile.
We'll take the end with our back to the sun.
Good afternoon.
Naturally an air-raid is likely to have a rather disturbing effect on the your pet.
So in the unlikely event of another air-raid,
to calm them down, it's best to issue them as soon as it starts,
with Potassium Bromide.
Out!
Out.
One tablet for Pekingese and up to three tablets for a larger animal
like our friend here.
- Mine, mine, mine, mine, mine. - No, yours.
- No mine. - Mine, mine, mine, mine, mine.
Game, set and match.
We are in the finalque de ça?
Speak for yourself I'm afraid François.
I have to go and join my Regiment tomorrowup on the Slim River.
Jap's get across that bridge, we are done for.
We will postpone, until you return.
I can't really say I'm expecting to return.
And finally you should get them used to get seeing you in a gas-mask,
because when your dog sees you wearing one,
the change in your appearance and the effect on your voice,
they very well frighten them.
Let me show you what I mean.
Now
let us see
Hello?
Oh! Yes.
Nownow it turns they are rather disturbed
now you see I take it offand there you see, they stop. Hello my dear fellow.
Charlie was extremelyfataliste.
He said he did not expect to return from Malaya.
Oh.
I suppose he was drunk.
No. I have never seen him so sober.
Hm.
My lord! What have we here?
Hm?
- I say it's a bit thick. - What does it say?
You've been described to me as a lover of dogs.
I take the liberty of leaving you mine.
Be so kind as to have him destroyed.
Oh.
The enclosed should cover the mortuary expenses.
Thank you so much. He was a faithful friend.
Blither! Didn't even give us his name.
Le condition humaine.
What?
The human condition.
His name is 'The human condition'.
Oh.
Oh! No! Dondon'tleave me alone.
Oh! Whywhy you putting me in a net?
No, no, no. Dondon't pull me over-board. Don't
Good grief! There. François help me. Help me!
Help me, François. It's alright, it's alright.
It's alright. Old chap you.
You just had a bad dream.
Oh! Major it's you.
Yes. EhFrançois is heading to Penang for couple of days.
- He came to say goodbye. - Whatno!
To see a friend of mine who can maybe bail me. Lend me some money.
Oh. Isee.
- You have to drink it all. It's good for you. - Thank you.
AhMiss Chiang, I
you knowI don't mind.
Butehstrictly speakingyou shouldn't really be here.
I know Major Archer, but I can't leave until I'm sure he's feeling better.
It's going to be okay.
- I thought I was on a ship. - Oh!?
The Japanese have brought out so many tanks.
They will be Malaya like Carter's little liver pills.
No! No, sir. That can't be true.
Uh
Erringport, my dear fellow. What can I do for you?
Well I was wondering, sirnow that we've entered the war
whether there might be a chance for me to move out country?
Can't see a blessed reason why not?
Assuming your chaps have no objection.
What are you saying Jack?
He can see if there is any truth in this Jap tanks nonsense.
I don't see why he shouldn't join Heath's staff in KL.
Good idea! We better ring side sea.
- Clear it with Percival would you, Jack? - Right right away, sir.
- Well thank you, sir. - Not at all. Delighted to do our allies a good turn.
You go straight up to KL and report directly to General Heath.
Thank you, sir I will.
Quite envious I see for a spot of action.
I've been recalled to London for some reason.
Chong tell me you are much better. Splendid!
I suppose I am.
How long was I
Ohhyou were delirious for two or three days.
Yes II don't think you had any idea what was going on.
Uhssswhat was going on?
Oh. Quite a bit for an actual fact ah
For one thing we were at war with the Japanese.
What!?
Um
the night you took illSunday theythey bombed Singapore.
Bombed Singapore!?
- Ah..bddhardly any damage. - Yesbut
And they landed three separate forces to the Siam and one in Kota Bharu.
- What!? - Oh. No, no, no. Our chaps have it completely under control.
Oh. It's going frightfully well.
There's been no more bombing here and up north.
Things could hardly be going better.
The Japs have been what they couldn't chew.
There's umwhen the Prince of Wales and the Repulse were sunk this morning
- bbut - Our most modern battleship, our fastest cruiser?
Almost 2,000 men were saved.
How many weren't saved?
Uh.
Best part of a thousand.
Oh. Look here old man the
the doctor said when coming out of a fever like you've had,
chap has a tendency to be a bit depressed.
- He told me not to give you any bad news. - Hmm.
Huh! Hmmyeah I knowImade a bit of a hash of it.
Oh! Ha, ha. Whoa!
Enter two drowned rats.
Oh. Who was it who said we won't need an umbrella?
Good God! What's that?
Some blither left him tied to my gate pipe.
Well, I've have him put down if I were you, before he give us all rabies.
Does it have an name?
François christened him, 'The human condition'.
- His little joke. - Oh. Well now, young Webb. You're looking a 100% better.
Lost a bit of weight perhaps.
Yes I
Good. good. I thought it was time we had a bit of a conversation
about what's going to happen to you.
- I don't - No! Hang on just a jiffy.
You will have your chance to have your say in a moment.
- Okay. - Now
Ever since your poor father passed on I've
I've rather felt responsible for you. I hope you don't mind?
And I've been keeping a bit of an eye on you.
Hasn't escaped my notice that you've taken a bit of a shine did you?
I can't say I blame you, my lad.
Between you and I, half the young men in Singapore are of your persuasion.
But Walter, I
And I don't want to speak out of turn
but I think she has a bit of a soft spot for you.
Am I right, my dear?
Well! That being the case.
I think there's really only one course of action.
And we all know of that is that is, huh?
Huh? I've said my party piece.
Well I.
I don't know what to say. Of course I'm very fond of Joan.
But the thought never crossed my mind. I
I mean.perhaps I've the wrong end of the stick.
- Off you go, Cheong! - Yes, sir.
You don't mind if I take this wet dress off, do you daddy?
Well, I don't mind of course. I don't.
But there are others presentall men of the world.
You don't mind, do you Major?
Eh? Hmmnonot at all. Not at all.
I'm feeling a bit chilly.
You don't mind if I slip into bed beside Matthew, do you daddy?
Just till the rain stops.
Well nowI don't know huh.
you ever heard of such a thing Major?
Well young lady,
what do you think your mother would say if she could see you now?
Mr.Blackett has been kind enough to send the car for you.
A letter from Miss Blackett.
Dear dear Miss Chiang,
Thank you so much for everything.
We do appreciate how helpful you been to the Webbs
since you were first invited to the Mayfair
and it's been a great pleasure to see you
giving a new home to so many of my old clothes.
My father and I wish you the best of luck in all your future endeavors.
Thank you.
We don't want to see you again.
The Slim River is just north of KL, from here.
I'll be safe as houses.
Why can't you get a nice staff job?
You know I don't want to get a paperwork alty.
Don't you worry.
Everything will be fine.
Look after yourself Charlie.
Attention! Attention!
À tous attention!
Les Japonais!
Japanese! Japanese in the air! The Japanese!
Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!
My shoe!
Well, I must say congratulations, old fruit.
- What do you mean? - You and Joan!
I gather you've decided to tie the knot.
Ihuhno. We haven't quite.
Your father certainly said he thought it might be a good idea.
- But I don't think any definite decision has been made. - Oh!?
What are all these endless conversations about bridesmaids?
- I don't know. - At least this puts the kibosh up on our plans to share that Chinese Philly.
- I thought I - It's damn expensive for the rest of us.
I told you ages ago Monty. It's not my cup of tea. I'm not interested.
Huh. Of course you're not if you getting hitched to old Joan.
Uhhdo we absolutely have to go to this thing?
Major was very insistent.
Ahhbut I meanAuxiliary Fire Service is not really up my street.
Come one.
Goodthere's thatthis
Ah!
There you are!
The thing is Major, II won't be joining you today. Yeah, I got a bit of a migraine.
Sorry.
Uhnext time.
Ahstand at ease everyone. I'm just going to explain the basics to Matthew here.
We have two types of hoses.
This is a delivery hose which relays water to the fire.
And this is a suction hose which draws water from an open source.
- Is that clear? - I think so.
The hose has two ends.
The branch here: Don't call it a nozzle, but couplings. Male and female. Hm?
Nigel?
Give us a demonstration on how the hose unreels.
He's rather good at it, young Langfield.
Best be prepared for the big Japanese attack
although I can't think it will ever be needed.
It's not as easy as it looks.
I haven't seen Miss Chiang around these last few days.
You wouldn't know where she might be?
Walter had her moved out when you were ill.
Oh.
- Why? - He didn't say.
He allowed to do that? Thought this is my house.
Well it did seem a little unfair.
She really devoted herself to looking after you when your fever was at it's height.
- Did she? - Yes.
Went ever to so much trouble.
I don't really know that much about her.
Well she says, her mother was a Russian princess.
And her father, Chinese tea merchant.
But it's true for all I know. Oh well
She was brought up in Harbin, the Manchuria. Went there myself in '37.
Crawling with refugees from the revolution, like her parents.
How humble guise tea be?
And her father set off to restore his fortunes in China
leaving her with some American missionaries,
which is how she learned English.
Then her father died apparently.
But she somehow managed to get to Shanghai
where there was some trouble
I think involving a Japanese General.
But youyou don't know where she is now?
I did have an address for her somewhere.
Oh!
Do you think you could?
It's just over there.
There you go.
I'lleh
I'll wait a few minutes.
- No need to. - Ah! Nothing else to do.
I'm here to see Sir Shenton Thomas.
Thank you.
Ah! Blackett.
Very good of you to come.
Not at all, Governor. What can I do for you?
- You'll have a drink I hope? - Ah! Yes. I'll take a beer.
Do sit down.
Oh!
Yes.
Cheers.
I thought you might be the man to ask, Blackett.
Well I.
If the Japanese manage to establish themselves on the Malay Peninsula
which seems highly likely I'm afraid,
how do you think the various native communities will respond?
I believe they'll wait to see who gains the upper hand
and then ally themselves with the winner.
I see.
With the possible exception of the Chinese of course,
who will have good reason to hate the Japs.
- You take a pessimistic view? - Realistic I hope.
I'm much obliged to you Blackett.
Well I didumm
want to consult you on something other.
Ohh yes?
Due to various circumstances I find myself holding a considerable amount of rubber.
I was wondering if you could advise me on the best way of conveying it to our military.
Shipping suddenly seems impossible to come by.
I thought you couldum
Uhhthat is a bit of an imposer.
I'm anxious of course to do all I can for the war effort.
Quite.
- Leave it with me. I'll give it some thought. - Thank you.
No hurry.
I'll show you out.
How'suh, the fighting going in the north?
Nothing definite.
- Military tends to keep its cards close to its chest. - Yes of course.
Main thing is we get to the ledge before the Japanese.
The ledge?
It's the only defensible proposition on the roads through the northern mountains.
If the Japanese take it,
I don't think we'd be able to hold the Northern Territory
or Penang for that matter.
She wasn't in. I'll try again tomorrow.
It's a complete catastrophe.
You have no idea how badly things are going, François.
Sobecause of Brooke-Popham's hopeless, hopeless indecision,
the Japanese, they reached the ledge way before we did.
And then General Murray-Lyon, he radios it from Jitra for permission to retreat.
General Heathhe doesn't realize how serious the situation was.
And he refuses permission.
Reinforcements were sent to Jitra
just as General Heath reviews the situation,
come to his senses and orders the retreat.
Uh, the soldiers running away collide with the soldiers coming to reinforce them, so
Ummmeurtre.
I'm afraid it's a perfect illustration of what I call:
Ehrendorf's Second Law.
Which is?
In human affairs things tend inevitably to go wrong.
I see.
Still
at least I got away from Joan Blackett.
Oh! Yes.
I understand now she's engaged to Mr.Webb.
- She is? - So I understand.
You alright?
Hmm?
What's that revolver doing?
Oh.
It's just a paper-weight.
Oh!
If you marry someone really beautiful,
do you think that's an advantage
in the long run?
Well I'm hardly the
Monty was round here yesterday said,
all they talk about their house now, is bridesmaids and who wants to
make the wedding cake.
I see.
- I haven't even asked her to marry me, have it? - Certainly not in my presence.
You've never have been married. Have you, Major?
Wellah
I suppose not.
Can't say I haven't regretted it sometimes.
Really?
And a young man like you probably should be thinking about getting married.
Yes. That's what I've been thinking.
Ahh! I haven't seen her for days.
I suppose I should go round there and ask her properly.
Make aformal proposal.
I think you should. Or at any rate
let the Blackett's know one way or the other.
Hello my boy!
Abdul said you wanted a word.
Afraid I can only spare you a few minutes.
Snow downed out today! Fire away.
Well
Iuh
Yes?
Iuh
Iuh
I wanted to come back to this policy of re-planting mature rubber trees.
I mean I understand about the excess profits tax but,
surely with the war effort and everything, isn't it a matter of principle?
We need to plan these new high yielding trees. It's what all our competitors are doing.
We fall behind now, in five years the Dutch will have put us out of business.
Walter, with the Japs on our doorstep
surely we should be producing every scrap of rubber we can.
Supposing we did. And as it happens I'll go down as bulging with rubber right now.
Soperhaps you could tell me how you propose to ship it?
Hmm?
Yes. Well I really must run. Duty calls.
Getting on alright with Joan I hope.
Uhummthat's that's what I wanted to
Come to dinner this evening. And bring the Major. No need to dress. Totally informal.
I'm looking for Miss Vera Chiang. She left an address.
- Where can I find her? - No. Sorry. No, sir.
- Excuse me. Is this Vera Chiang's address? - I think she has moved.
Excuse me? Do you know this address? - Sorry.
Come.
Thought I might find you here, daddy.
You weren't joking when you said you bought a lot of rubber.
Hmm.
Governor's going to put his mind to having me help get rid of it.
Well that's good.
Uh, I felt like saying,
I've spent decades building up this business.
How can your staff shards have been so incompetent
as to let the Japanese sink your ships and land with virtually no opposition?
I'm sure they will sort something out.
Yes, so we need this marriage to happen as soon as possible.
You know I was talking to him this afternoon.
I don't think he has any idea of the realities we have to deal with.
I don't want him pulling against me.
So you're going to have to take him in handand be very firm.
I sometimes want to snatch those glasses off his nose.
Give them a good polish. Put them back on and say,
"Can you at least see me properly now"?
I don't feel I can ask a time.
Wellhe's coming to dinner this evening.
I have a feeling, he's finally going to speak up.
- Ah! François. - Hmm.
You alright?
This? This is nothing. Uh
- I had to bring someone out from the burning building. - Good heavens!
- You were in the thick of it then? - Aha. Yes. You could say so.
But the Major tells me you have been over the Blackett's house to propose the marriage?
Uhwell yes.
Sh..she wasn't in.
Hmm.
Soof course she is a nice Elsie English girl. Delicious.
So you weren't able to make your proposal?
No.
Going to have to try sometime this evening.
Oh! Good. So dîner chez Blackett will be less dull than usual.
- Cheers. - Uhcheers.
You see it was necessary to pick up the beam with the bare hands.
Or the poor fellow would not have been able to escape.
I'm so worried about my brother Charlie.
He only went up country three days ago. We've heard nothing from him.
He will be alright my dear.
He never was in much of a want to be in touch.
I can't help but worry, Walter. He is my brother after all.
- Cheers. - Cheers.
Refill.
Excuse us.
- Long time no see. - Yes.
You..ayou look beautiful.
Poor Monty is in a terrible state.
They keep trying to call him up for the FMS volunteers.
He has told them over and over.
He can't go. He's doing essential war work.
And I mean, if people are forcing him to join,
how can you call yourself a volunteer?
Good lord!
I do believe François is wearing new clothes.
Wellyes.
You never guess what they're trying to do.
- Yes, I - Shove me into the bloody volunteers!
- Joan was just - No idea how sticky that being. And Penang!?
When you could make more of a mess of things if they try.
I'm sure things are not as bad as they seem,
now shall we go through and eat? Monty. Come.
If we could all go through.
The only means I could find to travel the final 80 kilometers
to Kuala Lumpur was no truck carrying rubber.
Maybe one of your drivers?
And the Chinese driver and I sit on a plank across the cab.
The engine between us,
every time he accelerate,
the flash of flame from the engine!
Oh, there was no door on my side.
So when he turnsaaaI am in danger to fall out in to the jungle!
The radiator is splashing boiling water every
- Monty tells me - Hmm?
He says there's been a lot of discussion lately about Joan's wedding.
Sorry if this sounds a bit odd.
It seem to me all of a sudden this was the kind of evening
when we ought to be honest and express about our inner most feelings.
It's strange, a lot of you sitting at this table knew my father
much better than I didand I think of you know,
I hope you don't mind asmy closest friends.
SoI just wanted to say,
and I assure you I really mean it.
I should have spoken much soon.
Of course to avoid any misunderstanding.
I'm very very fond
of Joan.
ButI don't
but I don't really want to marry her.
I think that's everything.