The Singapore Grip (2020) s01e04 Episode Script

Singapore is reeling from another night of heavy bombing.
Meanwhile our boys have been heading up country
to meet the Japanese threat head-on.
Work is underway securing the nation's bridges.
Yes! Singapore's defenses are looking stronger than ever.
In brighter news, a Singapore institution is celebrating it's 50th Jubilee.
Blackett & Webb is one of the the nation's premier rubber suppliers.
And we can't wait to see what they will come up with
to celebrate this glorious birthday.
Of course the Japanese do have a foothold in Malaya now.
It's no point denying it.
ButI can't think they'll be able to make much progress.
I feel so terrible about that appalling lapse the other evening.
Oh! I don't know that it's
How could I've possibly come out openly like that in front of everyone.
- I don't know what came over me. - It certainly clarified the situation.
And I suppose Walter would ever speak to me again.
Which is
awkward as technically we're supposed to be running a company together.
I'm sure he would get over it.
Isn't there some way you can get rid of him?
Well, hardly my dear.
Old Mr.Webb left him half the company.
Pay him off!
Buy him out!
I think we have to proceed a little more circumspectly than that.
Since everything at the company has ground to a halt
he seems obsessed with the Jubilee celebrations.
Hardly the time for it I say.
But he seems to think that
it'll be a boost for everyone's morale.
I wrote to Mrs.Blackett as well
and Joan of course.
Oh. I wouldn't hold my breath for a reply from her.
No.
I don't want anything to do with him ever again.
I don't want to see those stupid glasses sitting on that stupid nose.
In the long run I'm sure there would be no hard feelings.
Why don't you put your mind to
how we can reduce its voting rights in the company.
Alright?
It's over a week since we last heard.
Well he never was very much of a correspondent darling and
he is fighting up in the jungle.
Oh. Don't say that!
He'll have more important things to do than sending a postcode.
You know how sensitive Charlie is?
Can't you speak to General Percival and
ask him to transfer Charlie back to Singapore?
Couldn't very well ask something like that.
I could possibly ask him to move Charlie closer to the enemy.
I can hardly ask him moved in the opposite direction.
But there's terrible fighting going on.
There are hundreds of wounded men arriving back everyday!
He is a soldier, dear! His job. What he's there for!
Possibly not want to do his blessed job.
So you won't speak to Percival?
Percival has enough on his plate as it is, Sylvia.
That's an end of it.
I hope he's alright.
Charlie isn't it?
Do I know you?
Jim Erhendorf. I used to go out with your niece.
Oh, yes. Uhmwhat can I do for you?
Brigadier asked me to come up here and brief you.
Brief away.
Wellum
is there somewhere we can go?
I do hope I'm not the only one in costume.
I'm sure you won't be.
Damned hot and itchy, this thing.
Oh. Youyou mean the devil? Is that it?
No! I'm inflation.
What's he asked you to be come as?
I don't know. Hejust wrote to me saying,
would I come to the rehearsal?
I was surprised to hear from afterumyou know
the thing.
It's rather strange of Walter.
Persisting with this Jubilee business.
People have more on their minds than faith in,
"Blackett & Webb was founded in 1892".
Hmm.
Oh! My word
Got to hand it to you, old boy. I didn't think you had it in you.
- What? - Giving Joan the old hee-hoo like that.
I know.
I don't know what came over me.
Hmm. At least they stopped going on about bloody bridesmaids all day long.
Suppose I must be in the dog house?
Then don't maul me old chap.
Father caught me trying to slip
a packet of Johnny's into the display of the great gifts of rubber.
Thought he was going to spontaneously combust.
Whwhat are you supposed to be?
Me!?
I'm crippling overheads. Can't you tell?
- Oh God! At least give us water! - Ah!
We've been here all day long
Hello? The DaSouza sisters in distress by the look of things.
Time for a knight in shining armor unless I'm very much mistaken.
Ehh
Hello.
You know where your father is?
Can't you hear him shouting? He is in a really filthy mood.
What do you mean, "The glory of the Empire Boat hasn't arrived"?
Where the bloody hell is it?
I'll be talking to your superiors. You can count on that!
Hello.
Did youum, get my letter?
Yes.
I burnt it.
Oh! What bloody idiot has done this?
It's 1892 not 1852!
In 1852, there wasn't a single bloody rubber tree in the whole of Malay.
Poor Mr.Webb wasn't even a twinkle in his father's eye.
Do I have to do everything myself?
Ah!
Good of you to come.
I really do appreciate.
Although I'm sorry to say, not enough people have turned up to do a proper rehearsal.
Hhow do you get all this built?
Oh! Labor is easy enough to come back.
I much rather be here doing this than
risking having bombs dropped on at the docks.
Now, I've a very important role for you to play in the parade, young man.
The whole theme of the Jubilee is
continuity in prosperity
and I want you to play
continuity.
I'd also like you to say a few words to open up proceedings.
Shouldn't you get Mont to open it?
I wouldn't rely on Monty to open a beer bottle.
Something that your father would've done.
Well then of courseI'll be delighted.
Splendid! NowI'm rather pleased with this one.
This octopus represents Singapore herself.
Showing how her prosperity benefits the whole region.
Each of it's arms will be wrapped around a girl representing,
Saigon, Hong Kong, Shanghaiall the places that we trade with.
Walter? Do you honestly think that
this is the right moment to be doing something like this?
Bombs have been falling on Singapore for weeks now.
Because I do.
I don't think there's ever been a more necessary moment to do.
Nowyou will sit over here.
Uhwe have a crown for you somewhere.
- Well I - No, no. Don't thank me. I insist.
Business may have ground to a halt,
but in the very least we can make it clear to everybody
just how much more we have to offer than those Japs.
The fact of the matter is
they'll most probably attack tonight.
Christ! That's all we needed.
The men haven't slept for three days.
When we are not fighting, they were dropping bloody bombs on us.
Lost 250 men in the last three weeks.
I barely got enough men to hold the line.
According to our Chinese informants
there's a long column of Japanese heading south,
and/or they have no choice but to travel through the pass here.
Is there ever been any more abject fucking!?
It is actually worse than you think.
Brigadier Simpson volunteered to bring in a 6,000 sappers up here to build proper defenses.
And General Percival refused.
Why?
He said it would be bad for morale.
Yeah.
Anyway the Brigadier wanted to stress the
exceptional importance of this matter.
If they get across the Slim River bridge
there is nothing between them and Kuala Lumpur.
There's nothing between them and Singapore, the truth be known.
They get into Singapore and still we be pointing at the sea in the wrong direction.
- You got it. - Any chance of moving them around?
No.
Then we will explode the Slim River bridge,
if we fall, that will slow them down a few weeks.
- I understand it's been discussed right now. - Marvelous!
You know what it is like in the jungle?
God!
I've been tryin' to get them to send me out here for weeks.
The noise at night
the thing is unbelievable.
The silence in the day.
And you're in the bottom of the ocean.
You know Rainer Rilke's poem?
About the panther in his cage.
I don't recall it. No.
It goes,
To him to see if his cage has a thousand bars
behind a thousand bars,
no world at all.
It's like these bloody repertoires.
No thank you.
There you are!
Where have you've been?
They threw me out.
Told me not to come back.
Who?
Mr.Blackett's chauffeur.
It doesn't matter in the least.
But youare looking so well.
I was afraid you were going to kick the bucket.
I've missed you.
Yes? My silk worms have been hungry.
You have silkworms?
No! No, Singapore is too hot for silkworms.
It's from an old Chinese song.
About a woman who is separated from her lover.
Is theresomewhere we can go?
I mean fora cup of tea or something.
I live near here.
Oh! Well that would be
But first I have to visit a friend who is dying.
He is in the dying house.
Will you come with me?
Yes. Of course.
What's a dying house?
It's bad luck for somebody to die at home.
So when someone is dying they are taken to the dying house.
Sounds a bitI don't knowheartless.
Yes. It is the custom and the people who are dying accept it.
And my friend, he has no family.
His children disappeared in the civil war.
And does he? Thiswhat did he do?
He has a small parcel of land in Johore with a few rubber trees.
That must be in myah
Are you sure I wouldn't rather just.wait here for you.
Come.
Please wait here a moment.
My friend spends all his spare time and money looking after the poor.
He's a good man.
You have to look at him tonight though?
In Shanghai, he recruited me into the resistance against the Japanese occupation.
- I didn't know you had - Oh. I only helped in small ways.
They move them down as they get closer to dying.
It's bad luck for someone to die above you.
You could argue, it's quite bad luck to be here in the first place.
Yes. But they are all accepting their fate.
I tell him, you are in the rubber business.
And you are the son of Blackett & Webb.
That's right.
Umhe says, I'm sorry
Blackett & Webb swindle him and all the other smallholders.
He says the European inspectors don't do their job.
There are only 20 in the whole of Malaya,
and they write in their reports
what the controller of rubber tells them and cheat the smallholders.
It's quite true, sir.
Smallholders produce half country's rubber.
Butinspectors fiddle figures.
It's not fair, sir.
It is disgusting.
Quite true, sir.
Would you tell them Vera that
that I'm new here and I'm most interested in what they have to say
which I certainly don't disbelief.
I intend to look into the matter as soon as I can.
If what they're saying is true,
then I shall do everything my power to put things right.
No, Blackett. I'm afraid I'm not going to be able to help you.
You see Sir Shenton,
I thought if we recruited a dedicated labor force under military supervision
it would take next to no time to ship this rubber
which is urgently needed for the war effort from the docks.
I'm sure a word from you to the War Council is all it would take.
You speak of finding a new labor force
when in fact I'm spending a good deal of my time
trying to stop the military from
commandeering what's left of the current remnants of private label.
I'm willing to pay double the usual wage.
I'm entirely sympathetic to your difficulties, Walter.
You must understand that just at the moment
our community has other more pressing needs.
- Civil defense for a start. - II would
If you would just excuse me.
I have one of two things to attend to.
Will you come back for a pot of tea?
I'm really sorry I won't be able to oblige you this evening.
I'm late already.
What are you doing on Thursday afternoon?
WellI.
Are you free?
I think so. Yes.
I'll meet you outside the 'Great World' at 5:00 o'clock.
Alright?
Very much look forward to it. I do.
It's a complete ghost-town.
I've never seen the docks so empty.
Come.
- Any luck? - Hopeless.
You know sitting there in that ridiculous great palace
I had a good mind to say to him,
"Who do you think pays for all this"?
And then I suppose that wouldn't have done us any good.
Sorry, daddy.
These people are so bloody unimaginative!
I can't even trade while we wait for the Japanese to invade,
which of course is preposterous!
Couldn't you get together with the other companies and
present a sort of united front?
Really wouldn't want Langfeld to find out
I've been stupid enough to buy up all these thousands of tons of rubber.
If you got it so, one would ever think you'd been stupid.
Yesbut
why would they want to help me make a profit?
Hm?
Let me have a think about this.
Maybe there's a way to get Langfeld onside after all.
Ah! Langfeld.
May I order you the other half?
As a matter of fact I wanted to have a word with you about something.
Well thenum
it's a large gin and tonic.
The thing is, I think the time may have come to evacuate our womenfolk.
- I couldn't agree more. - They don't want to go, Of course.
No.
I thought if we could arrange for
Sylvia and Kate to travel with Mrs.Langfeld to
Sydneyperhaps, where we both have branches?
Oh. Good idea.
Good idea.
- I'm afraid things here can only get worse. - Yes.
What exactly do the RAF think they are doing?
Waiting for spare parts. It appears.
Yes.
Umwhy don't you join us for dinner? This evening.
Nothing formal.
Out of the life of me, I can't understand,
why I'm not allowed to safely escort them to Australia?
I've told you before, Monty
my application for an exit permit for you has been refused.
- Women and children only. - Couldn't you try again, dear?
I've tried three times already.
They do seem to know their mind.
Yes. Some spiteful little Jack in office hoping they will get bombed.
I don't think we've got time to think about that kind of thing, Monty.
The colonial office is too busy swindling small holders and
putting a stop to any kind of a local initiative.
Well I don't know about that.
I mean that's exactly the sort of propaganda the nationalists are always spouting.
No. The job of the colonial office is to keep all the natives working on the estate.
Produce all the raw materials we need.
Poppycock!
Look at all the grants they get from Westminster.
Yes. Grants to buy equipment from Britain to build.
Bridges and railways constructed by local labors for British profit.
Can't even buy nail out here that's not made in Britain.
Uh! Anyone can quote isolated facts.
But it doesn't
Don't worry Nigel,
Matthew hasn't the first idea about what things are really like out here.
How much do I you think I weigh?
- Um - Go on.
Have a guess.
After you.
I'm surprised this place is still open.
- The war you mean? - Yes.
You don't know what the Japanese are like, Matthew.
I've seen them in action.
But they're never going to make it down here. Are they?
Yes they will.
Well if they do, I'll look after you. Don't worry.
May what.
Here they come.
They're coming.
- Ready? - Ready.
- Take positions. - Ready.
- Positions. - Get up.
Here they come.
Take aim.
Fall back!
Bring as much ammunition as you can and fall back.
That conversation we had in the dying house, made me realize
Th..they were not as polite as perhaps they should've been.
No. Nothey had every right to be angry.
That made me think
if you're rich, how is it possible to live a just life?
Well
surely the important thing is your intentions.
Yes.
But if you're part of a competitive society
don't you necessarily become rich against other people who are poorer than you are.
All these people for example.
Are they struggling as a direct result of my prosperity?
On the other hand if it wasn't for your father's prosperity,
I might as well be dead.
Oh. Wellof course.
Complicated isn't it?
What was that about?
I don't know.
That be the 'Singapore Grip'?
He says it's time to go. Curfew.
Where should we go?
It looks like as if we'll have to go back to my room.
Here we are!
- It's - It is what it is.
This is mine.
Please come in.
I don't see how you can expect me to travel
when Charlie's still missing in action.
Well, I'm afraid your whereabouts isn't going to make a difference
in that particular situation, my dear.
And I'm sorry but I really must insist.
And I don't understand why I've to travel with that dreadful woman.
Well that's for my benefit, dear.
You are a lot happier if you know you weren't on your own.
But I can't stand her.
She's a great admirer of yours.
I can't bear that woman!
I know, dear.
But for once what Blackett is saying makes a great deal of sense.
One th
Oh! Oh! Oh my goodness!
Stray Jap bomb I think.
Nothing to worry about. I've trained for this sort of thing.
But there is a fire so we do need to evacuate the house.
Actuallyit's a very simple mechanism.
No wait!
You know I'm also happy with the way you like to do this in the west.
Like a collision between two drunk rickshaw drivers at a funky crossroads?
Right.
This is most extremely kind of you.
Not at all. It's the least we could do.
Good lord. Yes.
Oh. We've plenty of room here after all.
This way.
What was that?
What?
That thing you just did.
That was the 'Singapore Grip'.
Orders have finally come through.
We need to get this explosives laid down now.
- Erhendorf? - Sir.
We've lost touch with the forward line. Not a peep.
I need you to get up there find out what's going on with the A&D company.
Yes, sir. Right away.
What the!?
Ah! God!
Move! Open the gate!
Open the gate!
The Japs are here!
The Japs are here! Dammit! Open the gate!
Move it! Move it!
François! More water. Plenty. Have a look.
Bad luck about your Jubilee.
What do you mean?
Well Ieh
IuhasI assume you will have to call it off.
No. Not a bit of it.
Vital for morale. The Governor said.
Are you calling yours off?
The wars isn't with companies.
Iuh, yes of course. I had forgotten.
We were on the scene quite a bit before you, I believe.
Eat.
What are these?
- Baked beans. - Oh! Yes. Of course.
Thisthis sort of slippery stuff?
Chicken blood. Chinese delicacy.
Really?
And these?
It's another Chinese delicacy. White mice.
- White? - White mice. Yes. Poached.
- Po? - It's very good.
- Taste. - I will.
You know, Matthew. You don't think I'm a good cook?
Of course I do.
Hmm. It's tastes rather tasty.
Yes! It is! Isn't it?
Actually
there is something rather serious I need to discuss with you.
What?
In a couple of days,
Mrs.Blackett and Kate are being evacuated to Australia.
I think it's time we made arrangements for you to leave.
AndMs.Blackett? Is she not leaving?
Well no. I don't think so.
Then I will not go either.
You told me you are in the resistance.
You must be on some list. They will be looking for you.
Yes.
But who says they will find me?
Uh? I rather not take the risk.
Is this your decision?
WellSolomon,
well, I think we've done our bit.
You and I
and
poor old Webb of course.
Still miss him no end.
Erhyes. Hmm.
And IuhI think our work will be in good hands
when the youngsters take over from us.
Not that
my boy Monty has ever shown any interest in the business.
He's moreum
well his interests
But Joan
is hard headed as the best. Hmhmm.
Your Nigel is a good lad. Isn't he?
A funny thing
the other day someone in the club I can't remember who
they said to me,
"Blackettyou should marry your girl to that Langfeld boy".
That would give Guthrie's and Sime Darby, something to think about.
So what do you say, Solomon?
We could both do a good deal no less.
What is it Blackett?
You having trouble getting rid of her?
Let me tell you.
No boy of mine would look twice at that bitch in a hundred years.
Over my dead body.
You've made my day, Blackett!
That's the best thing I've heard in ages.