harry makes his slide very fast. he passes the marks made by the other boys, and his shovel takes him onto the thin ice at the bend of the river. the ice breaks, and harry disappears into the water.
george jumps into the water and grabs harry. as he starts to pull him out he yells:
five or six boys are coming toward camera, arm in arm, whistling. their attention is drawn to an elaborate horsedrawn carriage proceeding down the other side of the street.
george comes in and crosses to an old-fashioned cigar lighter on the counter. he shuts his eyes and makes a wish:
george behind soda fountain. he is putting on his apron.
george comes out into main room. as he puts on his cap he sees a sweet caporals ad which says:
george runs down the street until he comes opposite a two- story building with a sign on it reading: "bailey building and loan association." he stops. potter's carriage is waiting at the entrance. suddenly he runs up the stairs.
george's father is seated behind his desk, nervously drawing swirls on a pad. he looks tired and worried. he is a gentle man in his forties, an idealist, stubborn only for other people's rights. nearby, in a throne-like wheelchair, behind which stands the goon who furnishes the motive power, sits henry f. potter, his squarish derby hat on his head. the following dialogue is fast and heated, as though the argument had been in process for some time.
it is late afternoon. a young man is looking over an assortment of luggage. across the counter stands joe hepner, the proprietor of the store – he is showing a suitcase.
the place is practically the same except that it is now full of school kids having sodas, etc. a juke box and many little tables have been added. it has become the hangout of the local small fry. there are now three kids jerking sodas. gower is a different man now – sober, shaven and good-humored. he is behind the counter when george comes in. gower's face lights up when he sees george.
as george crosses the street. he spots ernie and his cab, and bert the motor cop, parked alongside.
on violet's back as she goes. as she crosses the street, an elderly man turns to look at her and is almost hit by a car that pulls up with screeching brakes.
pop bailey is seated at the dinner table. mrs. bailey and annie, the cook, look up toward the vibrating ceiling. there are sounds of terrific banging and scuffling upstairs. annie pounds on the ceiling with a broom.
the dining room. harry and his mother come out of the kitchen, harry carrying a pie in each hand and balancing one on his head. camera pans with them as they cross.
characteristic activity; a number of people waiting for the train. uncle billy is seated on a baggage wagon eating peanuts as george paces up and down in front of him.
the train comes to a stop, and harry is among the first to get off, followed by an attractive girl about the same age as he is. george rushes into the shot, and as the brothers embrace:
violet is locking up for the night. a couple of men are crowding around her, each one bent on taking her out. there is laughter, kidding and pawing. she looks up and sees george standing there.
potter seated behind his desk, his goon alongside him. standing in front of the desk is a distinguished-looking man, obviously the president of the bank. he is mopping his brow with his handkerchief.
george is crossing the street, heading for the offices of the building and loan.
cousin tilly is at her switchboard, and cousin eustace standing beside her. carter is still waiting in the doorway to his office. suddenly the door opens and george comes striding out. he goes directly to the safe and starts searching, but doesn't find the money. then he goes to the cash drawer in the counter, and looks through it.
uncle billy and george are retracing the former's steps through the snow, looking everywhere for the missing money. they pause for a moment on the sidewalk.
george's car comes along the empty street, through the falling snow, suddenly swerves and crashes into a tree near the sidewalk of a house. george gets out to look at the damage, and savagely kicks at the open door of the car, trying to shut it. the noise brings the owner of the house running out.
this is the same empty street where george's car swerved into the tree near the sidewalk. george and clarence come into shot and up to the spot where george had left his car smashed against the tree. george looks around, but his car is nowhere to be seen, and the tree is undamaged.
george is stopped momentarily by the appearance of the house. windows are broken, the porch sags, one section of the roof has fallen, doors and shutters hang askew on their hinges. like a doomed man, george approaches the house.
george runs up the path to the front door of the house and raps on the door. he rings the bell and taps on the glass, when his attention is caught by a sign on the wall reading: "ma bailey's boarding house."
george and clarence approach the tree from which the "bailey park" sign once hung. now it is just outside a cemetery, with graves where the houses used to be.
the same part of the bridge where george was standing before clarence jumped in. the wind is blowing as it has all through this sequence. george comes running into shot. he is frantically looking for clarence.
the three children are at the top of the stairs. they are in their pajamas.