shep! shep, are you all right?
here, give me your arm! i'll get you out of here! hang on there, shep! get a hold - just hold tight, old fella.
well, the old guerre is finie.
what are ya gonna do now, shep?
and then what?
ah, we haven't decided.
thank you, sir.
hello, bill! hiya, francis!
well, i see you got yours.
paris!
how 'bout a cocktail?
i beg your pardon. but, if i'm not too inquisitive, would you mind telling me what is that you're drinking?
teeth?
hey, it's teeth!
it's a nice expression.
well, what did he want you to hold his teeth for?
would you like to come along?
oh, of course.
let's go back.
oh, there she is.
well, what did he say?
what did he look like?
well, why do you think he was in the war?
what makes you think he was a flyer?
his eyes? you can tell a flyer better by his ears.
martini!
nikki?!
her name is nikki. she holds men's teeth. she sits at the bar and she drinks champagne.
oh, hello, frink.
who sits at his table, staring into space, holding his unread menu in his lap.
startled, rises and stares at nikki as she approaches.
hello. won't you sit down?
hello, shep. hello, nikki. what will you have to drink?
there's a lot of things wrong with this one. what were you doing at the bar at claridge's anyway?
but what?
why don't you have it turned around?
well, in what respect does it kind of help?
well, we'll let that pass.
shep went off to sharpen his skates.
how'd you happen to get bumped?
oh, poor dear. didn't you see it?
did it hurt?
well, i guess we can't hold that against her.
that's right. michelangelo painted adam with a navel.
have you got a husband or anything?
a mother?
why not in a long time?
francis used to fly with us in the 94th. the best shot in the squadron. brought down twelve planes. used to call him "sudden death." he lost interest after his teammate got killed. he's lonesome is all.
he carries a chiming watch on account of he's always falling asleep in the daytime.
oh, westminster, canterbury, and whittington.
oh, montana state or somewhere. idaho or nebraska or the carlisle indians or something. didn't you never read about bill? bronko bill -- the alabama flash?
hey, bill! bill! come back here!
hey! what's the idea -- runnin' down my friend like that? here!
never mind. look where you're going in the future now. you just watch out where you're going!
now listen, come on out here, you old fool. whoa, whoa.
now, listen, you ought to be ashamed of yourself. you old fool! you know what you'll do? you'll kill yourself one of these days. now, come on, get out of here. now, listen--
you all right now, brother?
all right. now, you just keep your horse, see? you got your money.
hey, listen, bill, you're all- american, see? you're two all- americans! the lady's convinced you're the whole team. you don't have to tackle any more horses. how 'bout that? drink your drink.
well, where are you going?
i think she's the kind that sits down on phonograph records.
what did i tell you?
well, we got maxim's, only it's too early. we've got florida, perroquet, pigalle, le rat mort, moulin rouge, bal tabarin.
said he was only four years old once.
said his aunt had on a very low-neck dress.
i wonder what's doing in portugal tonight.
recite what?
whose poetry?
you write poetry?
say, i wonder if there's anything intoxicating in that.
your behavior, sir, is unseemly, unethical, indelicate and lousy. have i made myself clear?
you'll have to watch out for him, nikki. he's just a licentious old man.
do you want to go home, nikki? i'll take you home. where do you live?
i saw her first.
who's gonna pilot this craft?
got your safety belts buckled?
hold her nose! she's headed for the hangar!
bail out, boys! she's gonna crash!
we should've brought our parachutes!
all set?
there we are.
oh! eighty-eight! here we are!
yeah! and chairs and tables and floors and ceilings and everything.
hey, don't be handlin' her things. put 'em down.
leave 'em alone.
what time are you anywhere?
hello, yourself.
turtles?
nice work, boys. it's turtles.
sure we'll excuse you. i'll clear everybody out of here. come on, you fellas. nikki wants to go to bed.
good night, nikki.
peers at them skeptically, hands on his hips.
you fellas think you're gonna park here?
now seated, watches this coolly as he takes out a cigarette and lights it.
nikki? are you rich?
well, just how rich is your mother?
watches them, amused, from the front door.
you're gonna stay here, huh?
turns, shuts off the lights, opens the front door and exits the darkened room, closing the door behind him.
good morning, nikki.
despite your practically innumerable faults, we adore you. we've decided to adopt you.
well, what do you want me to do about it? burst into tears?
make you laugh and play.
hurray!
well! here comes that licentious old man. who invited him?
how can you tell?
let's see. hold out your hands.
no, turn them over.
say, that's pretty good.
let's see if you can hold this.
say, that's great.
steady as a rock!
well, i guess that'll keep his hands out of mischief for a while.
now, let's see. where were we before we were so rudely interrupted?
that's right. we were talkin' about nikki's legs. and havin' a fine time, too.
well, what's the matter with your toes?
oh, dear, oh, dear.
well, why not?
well, cheerio, fellas. i'm off.
see ya later.
perhaps we'd better stay here a while till it clears up.
i think so. would you like something to drink?
deux picon citrons.
very refreshing. make you laugh and play.
don't we all?
well, shep has that tic under his eye, you know. takes a lot of drinks to keep that quiet.
shep could never stand a long course of treatment. drinking's the only corrective so far as he's concerned. he's found out the tic doesn't work when he's tight. so he stays tight.
in the war.
well, it's not very romantic.
well, you see, a tic is a nervous habit.
lice under his bandages.
he had the devil of a time. he nearly lost his mind. so you'll have to excuse him a little.
well, don't let him know it.
not ever. not in his dark glasses anyway.
he'll have to be - reborn.
well, how are you going to end? how am i going to end? how is anyone going to end? how's your picon citron go?
not now. a long time ago, perhaps, when i was a little boy.
in minnesota. on a farm.
i think so.
ohhh, thorn-apple trees in blossom. the smell of burning leaves in the fall. the sound of horses' hoofs on the road. did you ever dig up an indian mound or uncover a nest of baby field mice? or explore old trunks in an attic? listen to the moaning of the telephone wires in the winter wind? see a gypsy caravan?
that's right.
would you like another picon citron before you go? the rain is lifting.
oh, poets, painters, philosophers--
no cocoanut. poets, painters, philosophers, musicians.
there's chopin.
and there's balzac. and there's hlose and ablard.
no, nikki. not ablise and loard. hlose and ablard.
well, they're buried here in the same sepulchre side by side.
they were the world's most famous lovers. there's the tomb.
well, ablard was a scholastic philosopher--
whatever that is. he gained a footing in a certain household as tutor to a maiden called hlose. and employed his unlimited opportunities for the purpose of-- well, betrayal. not, however, unmixed with real love. he carried her off to brittany.
well, her uncle was furious. he blamed ablard for the whole thing. he conceived a terrible revenge.
he broke into ablard's apartment one night and perpetrated upon him the most brutal punishment.
the lovers were forced to live their lives apart. but when they died, they were buried here side by side. there's a story that little heart- shaped stones are supposed to grow around the tomb.
and lovers come and find them and exchange them with each other. and, so long as you keep the stone from the tomb of hlose and ablard, no harm can come to your true love.
isn't that a quaint legend?
all right, nikki. only we have to leave soon. they close up the place.
that's right, nikki.
and, now, we'll have to go.
doesn't matter.
to pay my respects to an old comrade.
it's getting dark.
hlose and ablard? a name for your turtles? so that's what you were looking for. i might have known how it would end.
she doesn't know any better? well, whether she does or not, i'm going a long ways away from nikki. nikki and her turtles.
i need more than a drink. i need a lot of geography between me and that girl.
anywheres. so long as it's a long way from nikki. you know -- that girl does things to me. i've got to get away.
say .  i wonder what is happening in portugal tonight.
well, hello. what are you all doing down here?
well, that's darn decent of you.
yeah, right by a window.
well, i'm afraid you won't have time for a drink. we're gonna start in a minute. you'll have to get off.
hey! he's blowing the whistle. hey, we're gonna start.
and you, too?
that's right. who cares?
have a drink.
good for ya. make ya lay hard-shelled eggs.
nikki? the man says your compartment's ready.
can you imagine that ungrateful old trollop? she wouldn't let them help her undress.
you know, she's not very pretty. but when she was a little girl, her mother always said she had the nicest hair-ribbons.
she got one tooth turned around, she can't see very far, and she's always speaking out of turn. otherwise, she's a mighty fine piece of architecture.
in whose green hat?
hold on there! where you goin'?
nikki!
say, what's the idea?
nikki, you all right? what is this tough trying to do to you anyway?
frink, you'd better get out of here right away before something happens to you.
oh, i see. you wanna argue about it. if you don't clear out of here right now, you're liable to get hurt.
hold everything, bill!
silly drunks, did you say?
wait a minute. i'll take care of him.
will you be all right now, nikki?
grab hold of that fella and drag him out of here.
here, francis. do your stuff.
frink, don't you know better than to try a stunt like that?
well, you apologize to nikki in the morning. and don't you ever get out of line again. the next time, it might be different.
wake up, ya big sissy. here, drink this. it'll make you laugh and play like any old thing.
it's wednesday.
the twentieth.
you mean to say you don't know what month this is?
well, it's june. the merry month of june.
you're in lisbon, portugal.
say, what's the matter with you, shep? don't you really know where you are or what day it is?
say, this is getting serious.
well, it's serious when you don't know where you're at. what's gonna become of you?
i just told you, lisbon. come on, now, pull yourself together, shep. we gotta get organized for the bull-fight.
sure. a portuguese bull-fight.
'fraid so.
somebody'll have to shoot him.
what are you all gonna have?
make you leap like a tuna.
make you bark like a fox.
make you laugh and play.
hey! vermouth!
hey, drink your drinks! we'll miss the parade!
nikki, here's a present for you.
what kind of present?
vanilla?
is it true the bull is blind when he charges?
sit still and behave yourself.
bill! come back here!
bill!
take it easy! take it easy!
too bad. you were doing fine.
no, bill. why?
goodbye, bill.
they've just put him to sleep.
why, thank you, nikki. there's nothing you can do. you'd better go back to the hotel. put nikki in a taxi. we'll wait here.
tell them -- that it seemed like a good idea - at the time.
sounds like old times.
not a bad idea. what say, annie oakley? like to fire off a gun at something?
what'll we shoot at?
look out, ball!
well, let's see you shoot something.
oh, no, no, no, nikki.
listen, nikki, on your right shoulder. now, put your hand out there and hold up-- no, don't cover up the site. no, no, no, that's right. now just hold it evenly--
you can do better than that. show him up.
look out! why, you fool. don't you know better than that?
pointing a loaded gun at nikki?
put down that gun!
put down that gun!
oh, so that's how it is. i thought we taught you how to behave.
i don't think so. i'll give you three to put down that gun. it'll be just too bad if you don't.
one .
two .
francis?
we've got to get out of here. come on, shep. come on.
that's the last of francis, i'm afraid. we'll never see him again.
don't worry about, francis. he'll take care of himself. let's get out of here. let's walk.
did you see the way francis poured lead into that fellow?
fast? chain lightning!
those slugs went right past my ear. if i'd've moved an inch, i would've caught one of them myself.
what's the matter with you, shep? i've never known you so quiet before.
what is it?
he's been shot!
shep, why didn't you say you were hurt?
oh, shep, shep, don't say that. you'll be all right. we'll get you to a hospital.
stop! stop!
we're gonna make a safe landing again, shep.
shep? - shep?! - shep!
a letter. a letter to shep's mother.
certainly not.
no, nikki.
no.
long, long time ago. before the war.
shep lambert spent his life in the war. he had nothing more to give. he had died once. and he was ready to die again.
and bill talbot was a big success in the hospital in his new blue shorts. maybe he'll tackle the angel gabriel and - be a big success again.
maybe francis will forget to wind his chiming watch one day and go on sleeping. till the end. it doesn't matter now. without them, nothing matters. we only had each other. comradeship was all we had left. and now that's gone, too.
that's right. i'm alone now.
why, nikki. you're sweet.
why, nikki, you kept it. you didn't forget.
no harm can come to our true love? oh, nikki, you've become very dear to me. i want to help you. can't i do something for you, too? what do you want? what can i get you?