999, indeed. I never heard of such a number for a house.
Yes?
Forgive my boldness, sir, but wooden leg or no wooden leg...
you are this child's last surviving relative.
Her father named you as guardian in his will.
I don't dispute that.
I merely point out that this house is a shrine to paleontology.
There is no corner in it for a small girl, or her nurse.
We require two rooms, that is all. Some of these stones can go to a museum.
My fossils? In a public museum?
This has got nothing to do with fossils.
If you don't want the child, you should say it straight out.
- She'd be miserable here. - My parents are dead.
I'd be miserable anywhere.
Smilodon popularis.
Why don't you just stick a knife in my heart?
They're all magnets for dust, and that big cat was plain unpleasant.
It's a sabre-toothed tiger, Nana.
It's lovely.
Gum, a skeleton!
Bye!
I keep a pack of women in this house...
and there isn't one of them about anywhere...
when they are wanted!
Oh, darling Gum!
- We weren't expecting you! - Ship sank. Iceberg.
If you don't mind my asking, sir, what have you got in the bag?
- Ah, a surprise. - Let's hope it's not a fossil.
The world is full of entrancements, woman! Not all of them made of stone!
- A baby? - Found it.
Floating on a lifebelt.
Both parents drowned, awful bloody shame.
A baby! Came in just like that, what will people say?
Have you no regard for your great-niece's reputation?
I'll put a notice in the Times!
"Professor Matthew Brown adopts entirely unrelated child!"
- But, Gum... - I thought women liked babies!
They like babies that are in good order! Babies with names.
Well, I thought perhaps Pauline.
And surnames.
Fossil!
It's not as though we've got an empty room to put her in!
You don't mind, do you?
Gum, I came here with nothing, once.
That's the spirit.
Where are you actually going?
Siberia. I'll bring you back a souvenir!
No, not another one?
Red Cross hospital, outside Vladivostok.
Mother died when it was born.
What about the father?
Salt mines, worked to death. Awful bloody end.
They called her Petrova. Needs feeding up a bit.
It's to be hoped this one has brains...
for it's easy to see who's going to be Miss Plain in my nursery.
"Dearest Niece, another small fossil from your great-uncle Matthew.
Daughter of a dancer, mother has no money and no time for her offspring.
She sends a pair of ballet shoes, enclosed."
He says: "I regret not delivering the child myself...
but I ran into a friend about to leave for the Galapagos.
There's enough money in the bank to last you for 5 years.
P. S: Child's name Posy. Unfortunate, but true."
Ballet shoes indeed. A change of clothes would be more useful.
Or a feeding bottle.
"To the little Fossils"?
"Turquoise for Pauline, pearls for Petrova...
coral for Posy."
Make the most of it.
It's the last we'll hear of him for quite some time.
I bet Gum had a car.
Only a man with a car would have bought a house at the far end...
of the longest road in London.
Garnie says he used to come and go in taxis.
I wish we could.
I'd be happy if they let us get the bus.
The Professor may have had his faults, Petrova...
might I remind you he had but a single leg?
You 3 have got a full pair each...
so you can save the penny and walk, and be thankful.
The Rockefeller family we are not.
At least you get to go to school.
I still have to do lessons with Garnie...
and take an extra walk at lunchtime every day.
If I have to look at the dolls houses in the museum one more time...
...I shall be sick. - That's enough, Miss Madam.
All over my outdoor shoes. Then I shan't be able to go anywhere.
We've had more fuss from Miss Posy about her education.
Cromwell House is out of the question, isn't it?
It's not just that I can't send Posy to Cromwell House.
I'm having to take the other two away.
I'll have to give notice to Clara. There's no money left.
Nothing in the bank at all.
- I'm so sorry. - Why are you apologising?
- It's not news. - Isn't it?
You've been looking through Situations Vacant in the papers.
I didn't think you'd notice.
I brought you up. I notice everything.
The trouble is, Nana...
unless somebody advertises for a paleontologist's assistant...
I'm not qualified for anything!
There's a way round everything, if you stop and think.
- I've finished my fractions. - Already?
They were the hardest in the book!
She'll have to sit there quietly with her magazine.
You can't be setting anymore sums.
You've got to go to Selfridge's and get those eiderdowns.
Petrova, darling, would you go? You're only reading.
- Good afternoon. - I like your car!
How are you finding the acceleration?
Terrific. Nought to 40 in about 3 minutes.
- Is your mother at home? - We haven't got a mother.
It's all right, you don't have to say you're sorry.
How do you do? I've just come about the room.
Do come in.
Forgive me, I was trying to clean a fireplace.
I don't know how long I'd stay.
I've only just got back from Kuala Lumpur.
Well, there's no minimum agreement.
This is nice.
I could put photographs on here.
Good afternoon.
- Have you come about the rooms? - With particular regard to shelves.
And smoking.
I'm Dr. Smith. This is Dr. Jakes.
Do come in.
Rather smart.
Just as I expected.
Come in.
Nana said you might need this.
Oh, how kind!
Thank you, my dear.
We've both had lengthy careers in academia.
- It adds up to quite a lot of books. - Most of them hers.
I specialise in Shakespeare. Dr. Smith is a mathematician.
Where do you go to school, child?
We don't. Garnie, our guardian, teaches us from home.
Good God! That must be dull.
Although it is quite an adventure, having relatives by accident.
And such a unique name!
Fossil? I suppose it is.
I always found Smith such a beast of a moniker.
Try doing anything remarkable with that.
And heredity is such a burden. If I made the name Jakes worthwhile...
people would think it was because of my grandfather.
Who knows what you three might achieve!
You ought to try and do something for your country.
"Fossil" would look splendid in the History books.
What do you think she meant by "History books"?
I'm not sure.
I suppose they meant giving some sort of service to our country.
We ought to make a vow.
- A vow? - To our country?
A promise. To ourselves. Like this.
Put your hands on mine.
We three Fossils vow...
to put out name in the History books.
Because it is uniquely ours and ours alone.
And no-one can say it's because of our grandfathers.
We vow.
- Posy! - Ow!
Why do you do that?
What's that?
I shall be out every day from 8 till 19:30.
I bathe 3 times a week and I never eat breakfast.
Sprung floor! Was this a ballroom?
Not while I've been living here!
Do you like to dance too, dear?
Perfect!
Come along. The more the merrier!
Tango!
Come here, little one. It's gonna be fun.
Well, Miss Brown, I will take this room on one condition.
Oh, please, just let them audition!
I've been on the staff for years and I cannot recommend the place enough.
But I can't afford the fees, Miss Dane!
Madame Fidolia is a refugee from Russia!
The Revolution did for her. She'd been such a favorite of the Czar.
She has a history of taking on girls from impoverished homes.
She trains them for nothing...
then takes 10% of their earnings when they work.
They'd be sent out to work?
As soon as they're old enough to have a licence!
But I don't want the children going on the stage!
And I'm quite sure that Nana doesn't either.
Whilst I don't care for Miss Dane casting aspersions on this home...
you might say that Posy is bound to dance anyway...
given that she came with her own little ballet slippers.
Pauline does nothing but look in mirrors and recite...
and as for Petrova, all she thinks about is aeroplanes and engine parts.
I've been trying to turn her into a lady for 10 years and got nowhere.
- So if this Madame Folderol... - Fidolia.
...proves willing to try...
I would let her.
Miss Brown. We request a consultation.
Now?
The fact of the matter is, my dear, we very much doubt...
whether you are qualified to teach those children.
But I'm very well grounded in Natural Science.
And I've got my School Certificate!
I did consider the school at the top of the road, but...
You can't send them there! They'll get lice.
- My opinion entirely. - And frightful accents.
Which wouldn't help their chances in the theatre at all.
My dear, life can be a surprising affair...
as Dr. Smith and I found out.
We both felt that we should retire...
but find we are unsuited to a life of idleness.
And more to the point, we miss our teaching.
We should very much like to coach the girls.
All-round education, specialising in Mathematics and Literature.
They will be prepared to take their school certificate and matriculation.
No charge, hours to suit.
What do you think?
I don't know what to think.
Do you want your charges educated?
And do you want them trained to earn a living?
I want both.
The world isn't kind to girls who can't support themselves.
Careful!
Come on!
Bear legs in the street!
- Do they look smart, Nana? - No, but they look neat.
Petrova, will you at least try and smile?
I swear the face on that child could stop a clock.
There it is.
Should we knock, do you suppose?
Posy!
So rude!
The Fossil sisters?
- How do you do? I'm Pauline. - No.
All my pupils, morning or night, before or after class...
whenever we meet, they say "Madame"...
and curtsy!
So...
Madame.
Which is Petrova?
- Me. - You are Russian?
Yes.
You speak Russian?
But you feel Russian?
Actually she's always said she couldn't feel more British.
You are the first compatriot of mine to come to my academy.
I will make wonderful artiste of you.
You must be Posy.
Madame.
5, 6, 7, 8!
And smile. Smile!
You don't see Shirley Temple with a gloomy face.
- Moment. - Madame.
To centre, if you please.
I think polka, Mrs. Davies.
Stockinette vests, buff, two each.
Royal blue cotton rompers, two each...
white tarlatan ballet dresses, two each...
white knickers, all frills, two each.
Two black sateen elocution overalls per child!
How are we going to make it all by Monday?
I don't care if we have to sew all night.
This is the biggest chance these girls have ever had.
We go up there and dance every year.
There's no point making me into a wonderful artiste.
I already know what I really want to be.
Racing driver?
I want to fly planes like Amy Johnson.
A very laudable ambition.
It's not because she's fashionable and in all the magazines.
It's not even because I love engines. It's...
the idea that there are roads in the sky.
Ways around the world that no-one has discovered.
Roads in the sky?
Until I can do that, I'd like to work with cars.
That's good.
Because I've just bought a garage.
A garage?
It's going to be tough going for the first few months...
and I'll need some help from time to time.
All right.
When you said you were going to make a drink...
I thought you meant a cup of cocoa!
Oh, be a sport.
Look, I've even got a jar of maraschino cherries.
I absolutely promise not to get you tight!
This is the way they used to mix them at the Ritz...
when I was in Miss Rosebud's Bouncing Babes.
You drank cocktails when you were a Bouncing Babe?
Oh, I was practically 19.
Miss Rosebud had to bind my bosoms flat.
Otherwise they bounced rather more than was approved of.
The girls will be happy, won't they?
Oh, my darling! You don't even need to ask.
Hurry up, Pauline!
Need a hand?
You are kind. But they won't take long.
You know, when I was at school...
shoe-cleaning was a punishment.
The matron would say:
"Clean them till they shine like mirrors.
It'll give you time to reflect on your misdeeds."
There was a fire in that room, and I always quite enjoyed it.
Well, Mr. Simpson, you are a gentleman.
Leave that to me. Got a bit of a knack with tap shoes.
I'll let... I'll let you get on then.
Thank you.
I sometimes think heaven sent those lodgers to this house.
Not a moment too soon, if you ask me.
We need to get that wiring mended.
And you're looking very thin.
I've always been thin!
And you're going gray.
I am not!
I've just got the odd silver hair.
I'm starting to rehearse my m'audition in a week.
What is a m'audition, anyway?
It's what you have to show managers.
It means "my audition", but...
over the years it's run into one, out of habit.
Typical Academy.
Always got to be a special word for everything.
Anyone who goes up for any audition, anywhere...
has to sing, dance and recite!
It doesn't matter which school you train at, it's what you have to do.
I'm dreading my next birthday.
I'll have to get a licence, and tap-dance on a stage.
I don't want to tap-dance either.
But I think I'd like to act.
How long will it be till these fit?
- Other hole in my elocution drawers. - It's massive!
Right, today's French acting class is cancelled.
Anyone involved in the Choral Speaking Championships...
please go and wait in Studio One.
Posy Fossil, Madame would like a word.
Winifred Bagnall and Pauline Fossil, stay here and speak to me.
You'd better not be in bother.
Petrova...
...haven't you got anywhere to go? - No. Not now.
Well, dear, wait outside while I have a word with these two.
Yes, Miss Jay.
There's an audition tomorrow at the Prince's Theatre.
You are both to be there, punctually, at noon.
And...
I want you to style your hair like this.
Is it for Alice in Wonderland?
Girls going for Alice always wear a ribbon.
I wish it wasn't the Prince's though. It's such a mean management.
One ought to get six, but it's more likely four.
They might squeeze five.
Five what? Shillings?
Pounds. Per week.
Don't you need any money at home?
You will attend no further classes with your sisters and Miss Dane.
You will no longer study tap-dancing, no longer study character dancing...
you will no longer study singing, musical comedy, or mime.
In future, you will receive instruction only in classical ballet.
And all that instruction will come from me.
You are the first child in the history of the Academy...
to come entirely under my personal supervision.
You have the potential...
to be a truly remarkable dancer.
- As remarkable as you? - Oh, my child.
Much, much more remarkable than me.
But Sylvia, she needs an attractive frock with a full flared skirt...
in order to show her dancing to advantage!
Can't she just wear a practice dress? Or go in her jersey and skirt?
Darling, are you mad? She has to look quite perfectly turned out...
otherwise she simply will not stand a chance!
Pauline, performance comes from within!
When I watch you reciting Puck, I don't see Pauline Fossil, schoolgirl!
I see a queer, mercurial woodland creature!
- In a jersey and skirt. - Eirene, that is unhelpful!
I still don't see what's wrong with cotton.
- They're from the summer before last! - She's outgrown them all!
- Round the bust. - Shut up, Posy!
Be quiet, Posy! And less of the bust chat, thank you.
I'll be quiet! But not until I've said that I think it's very unfair...
that in the middle of all this fuss about Pauline's frock...
and Pauline's audition...
not one person's said they're pleased about Madame's plans for me!
Posy, that's absolutely...
Bit of a flap on?
It's a flap about money.
And Garnie says we shouldn't discuss that sort of thing.
Easily done...
when there's plenty about.
Have you ever been poor?
Dreadfully poor.
Have you ever been in a pawn shop?
More than once, by the time I was your age.
There's one just off the Earl's Court Road.
Nana says people borrow money there, in exchange for items of value.
She said it's a facility for the desperate.
Are you desperate?
Are things really so bad?
And we do have items of value.
What I propose is this.
I will personally advance you the sum of four pounds and ten shillings...
in exchange for custody of the necklaces.
And Garnie will not be told of this arrangement.
And if she asks any questions, I shall say I've had a windfall.
Pauline will then use the advance to purchase...
an appropriate m'audition frock...
and will then buy the necklaces back in small instalments...
always provided she gets the part.
No matter how long the process takes, no interest will be charged.
You can't escape
It's in your memory
By morning
Night and noon
She will leave you And then
Come back again
A pretty girl Is just like a pretty tune
She is very good.
She's the best all round student the Academy's ever had!
I've a hole underneath the right arm of my frock.
I had to change my position for the attitude at the end.
Little fair girl in black, what's your name?
Pauline Fossil!
Come down to centre stage.
Would you like to sing first, or would you like to recite?
I'll recite.
Puck, "A Midsummer Night's Dream".
"I am that merry wanderer of the night.
I jest to Oberon and make him smile.
When I a fat and bead-fed horse beguiles...
neighing in likeness of a filly foal.
Sometimes lurk I in a gossip's bowl...
in very likeness of a roasted crab.
And when she drinks, against her lips I bob...
and on her wither'd dewlap pours the ale."
Will all playing cards, Dormice and dancing Frog Footmen...
make your way directly to the stage!
Any Mock Turtles, wait in the wings till called.
Well done! Well done! Both of you!
Now...
Pauline is to play Alice.
And Winifred will be engaged as understudy.
When I finished my dance, people clapped!
Nobody clapped her. There was just silence!
Dance is important, but Pauline looks right for Alice.
She looks right for everything! She always will!
Pretty face...
blonde hair...
It's got nothing whatsoever to do with talent and it's so unfair!
Winifred! Winifred!
I will not take housekeeping money from you, Pauline.
What would the authorities think of me? Making a...
Thank you.
Making a profit from an orphan!
Besides, the law states that a working child must save!
Only one third of her earnings.
One third of four pounds is 26 shillings and 8 pence.
Even after 8 shillings has gone to the Academy...
that would leave 2 pounds 5 shillings and 4 pence for the house.
There's no need to blind me with accountancy!
Garnie, we know we're poor!
- I don't know how they found out. - Listening at doors, I don't doubt.
Naughty, sneaky habit. I'm assuming this is Mr. Simpson's.
And if you excuse me saying...
I think you ought to take what Pauline's offered.
I wanted Pauline to save for the future!
All kinds of things might happen in the future.
The Professor might come back, in the future.
Your health might come back on its own in the future.
You inherited that chest from your father. Look what happened to him.
She'll accept 30 shillings a week.
And off upstairs, the lot of you...
or you'll be feeling the back of my hairbrush!
Sylvia...
what matters most is the life the girls have now.
And it wouldn't amount to much if it didn't have you in it.
Now there's money coming in, there are things that you can see to.
You can go and see a specialist, for a start.
Petrova?
Do you think I can do it?
Do what?
Play Alice.
Winifred was better than me in the audition.
And it's a massive part.
You can't lose your nerve. We need the money.
Stop!
You're nothing but a pack of playing cards!
Bravo!
Really?
I'll see you back at home.
- You're wearing the necklaces. - Mr. Simpson brought them down.
He didn't want Garnie to be suspicious.
Well done. Very good.
- What did you really think? - Amazing.
- Marvellous. - Did you see us in the crowd?
Get that on your way out, would you, Winifred?
I'll see to it. Button up that gabardine.
I see Pauline left her wrap in the wings again.
Could you remind her to wear it over her costume at all times...
unless she's actually on the stage?
Most certainly. She knows the rules.
Miss Brown?
She's worn out with all the excitement.
Should we let her sleep?
Well done!
I'm not a complete novice.
What happened to your wife and child?
There was a...
...a typhoid epidemic. - I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to pry.
I sometimes feel that I'd like to talk about it.
Then I find it's better if I don't.
- Goodnight. - Goodnight.
They've announced a month of extra matinees.
And next week Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret Rose are coming.
And will they be calling for tea in your dressing room afterwards?
I hope not. I'm always so tired after shows.
Posy, would you run downstairs and fetch my handkerchief?
No, I will not!
Is something the matter with your arms and legs?
No. I just need to save my strength.
It's going to be a bit difficult when we're all working, isn't it, Petrova?
- Yes. - All of us giving out orders at once.
I think you're both absolutely vile!
Door slamming. That's a new one.
Wretched bills!
Harley Street, please.
Bravo!
Jolly well done! Bravo!
Three curtain calls again!
Compliments of Mr. French, but would Miss Fossil go back for her wrap?
You will keep leaving it in the wings!
Let Winifred get it!
It's the least she can do sitting in my dressing room night after night.
If everybody had their rights, young lady...
it would be you sitting in Winifred's dressing room night after night!
- How can you even say that? - What is this appalling commotion?
As you know, sir, Pauline left her wrap in the wings again.
I have reprimanded her, but she will not fetch it.
Oh, fetch it yourselves if you want it fetched!
- Pauline! - That is enough.
Rules are not made for little girls to break!
- What's your name again? Winifred... - Winifred Bagnall, sir.
I'm Pauline's understudy.
Yes. Well, I think it's high time your positions were reversed.
From tomorrow, Winifred will play the part of Alice.
Pauline, will you please tell me what's happened?
Why don't you just mind your own business?
Garnie's been to see a specialist.
He asked to see her again. I found a letter all about it.
I know we shouldn't snoop, but they never tells us anything!
It said she's got...
inflammation of the lungs, that she should move to a milder climate.
But you're working now, and the extra matinees are just about to start!
We could send her to Bournemouth, or Brighton, for a bit.
Pauline?
I was so selfish. All I could think about was proving myself...
making everybody see that I was talented.
But you are talented.
I have to be.
You have to be, Posy has to be.
Posy is.
Don't you ever worry that all the three of us has is each other...
and what we are, what we can do?
Our talents?
No.
Don't you think it's true?
I daren't think it's true.
"Epaulement", child. When the right leg is extended behind...
the left shoulder must move back.
1, 2, 3, 4. Pas-de-bourré.
Reach.
- Petrova! - Coming.
We three Fossils vow to put our name in the History books.
Because it is uniquely ours and ours alone.
And no-one can say it's because of our grandfathers.
We also vow to earn some money to help Garnie...
and support ourselves until Gum comes home.
Amen.
Amen?
Amen? We aren't in church!
We do the vow every birthday and every Christmas...
and we've never said Amen, ever.
I haven't had any work since Alice!
We need help, and I don't care where it comes from.
- Well, it looks like Amen then. - Amen.
Yes, amen.
Come on!
And you lost!
Well done.
Get yourself back there, and don't get any broken teeth.
I was cricket captain, but my sport was lacrosse.
Come on. Give us another shot.
Oh, she'll be thrilled!
But you've already given her a sovereign...
and I could have made a cake myself!
You do more than enough already.
How old would he be now? Your son?
Getting on for...
eleven.
Come on, birthday girl!
Sylvia!
Thank the Lord I found you!
There's an audition. "Midsummer Night's Dream", West End...
directed by Sir Donald Houghton.
They want to see Pauline and Petrova tomorrow morning at ten o'clock.
- Shakespeare? - Oh, dear.
Petrova and the iambic pentameter are not soul mates.
It's no good.
It doesn't fit you either. You've gone the same way as your sister.
Round the you-know-what.
That's enough from you. Your turn will come.
We need a new dress each.
It will look good if we're dressed the same...
and Nana can make them both.
- Out of what, may I ask? Scotch mist? - There's no money, Pauline!
How much does a piece of material cost?
More than we've got, that's how much.
- Then we just can't go. - We have to go!
We have to get these jobs.
I suppose there's always my birthday sovereign.
We needn't have bothered. I look awful anyway.
It's only a stye.
When we take the patch off, the borax will have worked.
There won't even be a suggestion of a swelling.
Little dark girl with the red eye.
What's your name?
Petrova Fossil.
What part have you come to try for?
Mustard-seed.
Come down to the front of the stage, please.
Whenever you're ready.
- Do you want me to sing or recite? - There's no need to sing.
This isn't a musical.
"Henry IV", Act III, Scene 2, The Boy.
Isn't that prose?
Yes.
Very well. Go on.
"As young as I am..."
"As young as I am...
I have observed these three swashers.
- I am but boy to them all three..." - Thank you. That's enough.
No!
Please, you must let her finish.
I said "That's enough" because I'd heard enough.
She has got the part.
She has a decent accent, and we must cast these parts today.
And...
there are no other candidates for Mustard-seed.
Yes, sir. Pauline?
Mr. French?
- I take it she's your sister? - Yes.
Well, we won't bother hearing you. You can both go.
You're hired.
Run along and fetch your coats before I change my mind!
- Thank you. - Thank you.
We got them! We got them!
Am I too late?
We'd been in Eastbourne, to father's sanatorium.
I didn't get the message till today. I was being seen for Mustard-seed.
They cast me.
They thought nobody else was coming.
You could try for the ballet of the fairies, after lunch.
I wouldn't get into a ballet of goblins looking the way I do today!
And my dress has gone underneath the other arm!
You can borrow my frock! Or Pauline's. Can't she?
The trouble with you is that you're a martyr to your conscience.
And the trouble with you is that you haven't got one!
Look, this is Winifred in the ballet of the fairies.
"I'm the best all-round student this Academy has ever had.
Even though I've got a frankly enormous bottom...
and I'm going to spend most of Act II behind a tree."
Posy Fossil, you are a heartless monster.
You noticed!
I brought you up. I notice everything!
Right. We'll start with Cue 19a, which is Oberon's line...
"I am invisible and I will overhear their conference..."
Pauline!
Bravo!
Do you still hate the idea of working?
Well, I always wanted to fly!
And I will purge thy mortal grossness so...
that thou shalt like an airy spirit go!
Peaseblossom, Cobweb, Moth and Mustard-seed!
Ready!
And I!
Give me the line again?
And I.
Again.
And I?
Oh, please. Am I asking for the moon?
All I want you to give me are two sharp, clearly differentiated notes.
As soon as you would care to do so.
And I!
This is not the moment to be funny.
I'm afraid I have no further time to waste on you.
If your work does not improve...
I shall take the part away.
Petrova?
Whatever's happened?
I'm going to get the sack.
I'll practice with you. The doctors will help!
- I'll still get the sack! - Darling...
there is nothing in this world worth getting so upset about.
Yes, there is! You're ill! You need a rest and a holiday and...
You need a rest and a holiday and you can't have one if I get the sack!
I don't know where on Earth you got such a silly idea.
I can assure you there is nothing whatever the matter with my health!
Do you hear me? I'm not having you upset like this.
I'm going to Sir Donald and giving in your notice.
- No! - Don't!
I just feel so stupid when I'm on the stage.
What do you mean, you feel stupid?
I mean I feel like myself!
We have to help her.
So now I actually have to be in character all the time.
Meals and lessons...
and everything.
There's a hole in the exhaust.
The wardrobe mistress will kill me if I get oil on this.
- Has it helped though? - Well...
I don't feel human anymore.
I don't know how you stand it.
I stand it because we're saving up.
Garnie isn't well.
She's got trouble with her lungs.
Pauline and I want her to have a holiday.
She likes hotels with tea and orchestras...
but we'll doubtless have to settle for two weeks in a tent.
You're a very generous girl, Petrova.
Mustard-seed! You're supposed to call me Mustard-seed!
So when do you open, Mustard-seed?
Tuesday. Still...
at least it'll be over by Christmas.
Thank God that's over.
Sir Donald's doing "Richard IIl" next.
He hasn't cast the Princess In The Tower yet.
Do you think I should write to him, and ask him to audition us?
Don't even think of doing that to me!
I wouldn't be doing anything to you!
We'd both be doing something for poor Garnie.
This is nothing to do with Garnie.
We've got enough money for a holiday.
It's all about you. You and your acting.
Do you think you're the only one that knows their heart's desire?
You're going to have to forget your heart's desire!
There aren't any 14-year-old aviators!
Pauline, you can make me sing and you can make me dance.
You can shove me out onto the stage...
and not care that I'm useless and I'm hating it inside.
I put up with it because we have to earn our living.
But if you keep pushing me, then I will break!
Theo? Is everything all right?
Just a minute!
Nana can smell something strange.
Must be my new perfume! Coty Chypre. Isn't it divine?
No, it's another stench entirely. Something more like a scorching dog.
Oh, I'm sorry.
It's me.
I've been giving myself a permanent wave.
Nana, fetch soft soap.
And the brandy from the medicine chest.
It's stopped breaking off now.
It's just a bit short.
Oh, Lord.
Serves me right for trying to turn the clock back.
Why do you want to turn the clock back?
I'd got to the point where chaps had just stopped looking.
You know what it's like.
One enters a room and makes no more impression than a draught.
I suppose so.
It was so different when I was young.
I mean, there weren't many men, because of the beastly war.
Some of them actually had bits missing...
and those that were intact were often rather mad.
But they would wait for one at the Stage Door or...
ask one out for drinks.
Then when one appeared there would be such a lightening of their faces...
as though they'd felt this surge of possibility.
And I used to feel it, too.
Don't you any more?
I'd had to start telling myself there was no shame in being an old maid.
Well, anyway...
the other day I had the first tiny flicker of hope in an age...
and next thing I knew, I was in the chemist's...
with my hand round a bottle of Empress Waving Compound.
- Where did it come from? - It's imported from New York.
No, I meant the hope.
It's a chap.
I've known him for ages.
He's awfully quiet, but he has the most speaking eyes and...
he looked at me and I got the sense he was going to ask me something.
Good luck!
Record-breaking aviator Amy Johnson...
finally touched ground on Brltish soil this week...
after hertriumphant flight from Cape Town, in South Africa.
Though clouds and wind added to the dangers of the journey...
Amy has proved once again that by sheer skill and determination...
there's no difficulty that can't be overcome.
Petrova...
what do you think of Theo?
- Theo Dane? - Yes.
Would you say she was a nice sort of person? Is she kind?
Well, she wears a lot of perfume.
Coty Chypre, it rubs off on everything.
I could probably bear that.
Well, goodbye, Amy, and very best of luck.
Thanks so much. I can surely hope I shall do.
Come on! You're being slow. Come on!
Oh, no!
What are you doing?
We're going to tie Posy to a tree and scalp her!
Afternoon.
I parked in the lane.
I'm awfully sorry to surprise you, but there's news from London.
It's all right. It's good news.
Help me!
I can't believe I'm going for a screen test!
I don't know anything about Charles the Second's sister Henrietta.
I don't even know what she looks like.
Well, let's just hope she had a pimple on her nose!
Rat!
Take the dishes down to the tap and get them swilled.
- I guess I dry. - You always dry. That's easy.
- May I smoke? - Of course.
Mr. Simpson, would you mind awfully if I had one?
I'm sorry. I didn't know you indulged.
I don't.
At least, I never have before.
I suppose, with the girls and everything...
I don't really get to go to places where I would.
Thank you.
Nana did wonder if I ought to have the odd one.
She thinks it helps to break up chest congestion.
But honestly! The thought of sitting alone in the kitchen, in the dark...
dragging away on my solitary fag...
It made such a tragic picture I simply couldn't bear to.
Oh, Lord, I do feel a fool.
Quick, take it away before the girls get back.
What time do we need to leave tomorrow?
Nine should do it. We'll be at Shepperton by noon.
We could perhaps have tea out afterwards...
on the way back to London.
I'm afraid I must be home by four.
I have an appointment...
with Theo.
We can't let you be late.
Pauline Fossil, Screen Test. Mr. Sholsky.
So, Pauline Fossil. How old are you?
I'm nearly 16.
And you want to be in movies?
I don't know... I don't know much about them.
But you want to be an actress?
No. I need to be an actress.
Hold it!
Theo just asked for tea in her room. For her and Mr. Simpson.
Just leave it outside!
There you are...
Earl's Court 428?
That's simply wonderful.
Oh, I'm sorry. I said that's wonderful news.
Come on, Pauline, to your marks.
Okay, people, we are going again. Clear the set, please. Clear the set.
And...
Scene 84. Take 1.
Action!
Write to me, while I am gone.
- I will try. - Not "I will try".
- But "I will". - I will.
- Cut! - Cut.
You will what, Pauline?
Bake him a cake? Knit him a sweater?
Look, your brother here is asking for an emotional lifeline, okay?
That's great. Fantastic, Leo.
- Can we take it again? - Scene 84. Take 2.
Not "I will try". But "I will".
- I will. - Cut!
Take 3!
- I will. - Cut!
Can we talk? Excuse me.
You've got 10 days on this picture. This is our 7th.
And you've yet to show me that you're not made of wood.
We do too many takes, I can't concentrate.
I can build myself up to it in the theatre. I can be a character.
Honey, honey, this is motion pictures now, okay?
Look, you've got everything to learn, and that's fine...
but you've got to give me something real.
What's real to you, Pauline? What matters most to you in the world?
Acting?
If that is a truthful answer, there's no hope for you.
Scene 84. Take 4.
Action.
Write to me while I am gone.
I will try.
Not "I will try". But "I will".
I will.
And cut! Print!
- Fantastic. You did it! - I just thought about my sisters.
How awful it must be to live your life alone.
That was wonderful.
Okay, let's move on.
Coty Chypre?
Come on.
Have you never wanted anything?
Well...
when the war broke out, I thought I'd like to drive an ambulance.
But of course, I didn't do anything about it. I had you.
Madame, please may I change my shoes before we start my accendo?
These were my mother's. They fit me now.
Small bones...
high arches.
- Like you. - She was just like me.
She loved ballet more than anything.
I know that because it was the thing she chose.
1, 2, 3, 4...
5, 6, 7, and second.
1, 2, 3...
Energy, Petrova, energy! Bored dancers are boring! Arabesque!
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6...
Number 3 for you, Pauline. You're in with Dandini.
Can't I share with Petrova?
She's on the fourth floor with the others in the chorus. Off you pop.
- Hello, Petrova. - Hello, Winifred.
Soon a gown of shimmering tulle
And cape of silk we will unspool!
Hollywood never called for Pauline, then.
The film isn't out yet, Winifred!
A pumpkin coach we will create
Has Hollywood called for you?
It's not all gloom.
I've got an audition for the Ovaltines. On the radio.
But first, to show what magic means I call upon
The jumping beans!
"A King in Exile", world premiere!
Cue for gigantic panic over frocks!
- What do you think of that? - Beautiful.
What can you see Pauline in, John?
That shiny stuff that rustles? Taffeta?
- I'm too old for a party dress! - I see her in powder blue velvet.
With a lace bolero!
Lace bolero? She'll catch her death.
Beautiful.
I'll get my rifle and shoot you a mink.
I shall be needing a new dress very soon.
What for?
The Marmaro ballet's coming to London for the first time ever from Prague.
And Madame Fidolia is taking me to see them.
You don't need something new for that.
She's booked us a box, and a smoked salmon supper!
Would you excuse me?
I couldn't sleep.
I thought it would be a nice surprise in the morning.
We've had such lovely Christmases in this house.
It was even Christmas when you came to us.
I think about it every time it snows.
Why can't you sleep?
Is it your cough?
Not really.
Can you keep a secret?
I wanted to get you all together...
but I'll tear open if I don't tell someone.
We can't afford to live here anymore.
But...
what about Pauline's wages from the film...
and the money we're getting for "Cinderella"?
This house eats money.
Even with the borders?
Yes.
And so...
- I'm selling it. - No!
We'll soon be living in a nice flat, with Nana.
There'll be no need for Clara and the boarders will disperse.
You can't do that! You can't!
- The house belongs to Gum! - He's been gone for 12 years!
I spoke to the solicitors...
and they've declared him dead.
Remember, Posy. When Valentin Manoff got his dancers out of Russia...
he rescued not just a company...
but a system of training 200 years-old.
I have brought you here to show you what you might achieve.
If you are strong enough. If you have the courage and the will.
Stand still.
Oh, darling!
You look... grown up.
That's the first and last time I copy anything from Vogue.
No-one made you do it!
Pauline!
Why don't you make me go in a jersey and skirt?
I feel a complete fraud, Petrova!
I'm terrible in that film.
Tomorrow night my face is going to be blown up as big as a house.
Everyone's going to find me out.
I will dance like that, Madame.
I don't care how long the training takes.
Madame?
Help! Someone help!
Posy? Posy, is that you?
What happened?
- Madame's had a stroke! - A stroke?
They took her to the hospital. She can't move her arm or leg!
- Oh, no! Poor Madame... - Poor lady.
I'm not crying about Madame. I'm crying about me!
My training can't be broken off now!
You are a selfish and cold-hearted little madam.
We did not bring you up to conduct yourself like this!
Nana is right. Your behavior is disgraceful!
She's ambitious, that's all.
Once upon a time I thought ambition was a good thing.
I thought it would help you to apply yourselves...
and help you make the most of your small chances.
But if it kills off everything that's nice in you...
then I'm not going to have ambition in this house!
Meaning what?
Meaning that I will no longer sanction any of you working on the stage!
- You can't do that! - Yes, I can. I am your legal guardian.
We will never be rich.
But now the house is sold, there's no more need for you to work or train.
You can't stop me. You can't stop me from doing anything.
We can stop you from going to Pauline's premiere.
You can stay at home tonight. Alone.
Good luck.
Your name is really small, Pauline. Almost as small as the author's.
Maybe no-one will realise you're in it.
You were fantastic!
Let's get you through the back.
- Come on, Pauline. - I wish I was you!
She was good, Nana. She was wonderful.
- Is she with you? - Who?
Miss Posy. I went to check on her and... she's not there.
Little maniac...
It's the thought of her alone out there.
How cold she must be.
How afraid.
Posy's not afraid of anything. That's what frightens me.
- Miss Brown? - No. This is Miss Brown.
Good morning. David Montague.
I'm the London representative of United Artists Studios.
So, you don't speak Russian.
I dance Russian.
And who did you learn that from?
Mikhail Fokine?
- Agripinna Vaganova? - No. Evgenia Fidolia.
- I see. - Do you?
You won't see anything at all until you've watched me dance.
No sign of her?
I've been offered a contract by United Artists.
In Hollywood?
You ought to be smiling.
I'd have to go for 5 years.
That's 5 years without theatre...
not learning all the things I wanted to know.
- Hello? - Posy!
- Where have you been? - With Valentin Manoff.
He's offered to train me at his ballet school.
What?
I made him watch me dance, and then he said...
"Come to my academy in Prague. I shall make you into a ballerina."
I said my guardian would make the arrangements and came straight home.
You can't go to Czechoslovakia, Posy. There's no money!
My mother gave me away because there was no money!
At least your parents drowned and had the kindness to put you on a lifebelt!
I didn't get a lifebelt. Only a pair of ballet shoes.
Garnie, is Mr. Montague still upstairs?
He's packing up his bag. I said you needed time to think.
I don't. Not any more.
I'll sign.
Sign what?
Something that means you can study with Manoff.
Garnie can go to California where the climate's mild, get her health back.
Pauline...
I can't live in Hollywood on my own.
And Nana must go to Prague with Posy.
Otherwise, she's going to get completely out of hand.
Where will I go?
Excuse me!
Who sold my house?
Are you Gum?
Of course I'm bloody Gum. Who else would I be?
What I want to know is this:
Who are these women?
- Pauline. - Petrova.
Posy.
I brought entrancements home. I brought babies!
Babies grow up, Gum.
Yes, I can see that.
So, a film star and a ballet dancer.
That's you and your chaperones sorted.
I never thought I'd be going to live abroad.
Abroad will get used to it.
So that just leaves you and me to organize.
- What would you like to do? - She wants to be like Amy Johnson.
Oh, Amy Johnson. I know her.
How?
Ran into her in Argentina. She taught me how to fly. Quite good, actually.
Well, we'd better get you some lessons, then, hadn't we?
Mixed feelings?
Not telling.
Theo?
Theo...
I need to ask you something.
Can I borrow your gramophone?
Theo's been giving me lessons.
I wanted to take you out...
to a hotel.
I wanted to dance with you, to tell you things.
And I didn't know how.
I thought this...
this song...
might tell you things.
The very thought of you
And I forget to do
Those Ilttle ordinary things
That everyone ought to do
I'm living in a kind of a daydream
I'm happy as a king
And foolish though it may seem
To me that's everything
This was the first room I ever walked into in this house.
It was full of stone feathers...
and the ghosts of things.
Not any more.
No.
It's full of things we made.
I see your face in every flower
Your eyes in stars above
It's just the thought of you
The very thought of you
My love
Hello.
Miss Brown is otherwise engaged.
I haven't come to see Miss Brown. I've...
I've come to see you.
You don't remember me, do you?
Little Theodora, star of Miss Rosebud's Bouncing Babes?
We used to meet at the stage door every night, for weeks.
- During the war? - I knew you at once...
even without your bandages.
Do you know who I am, without mine?
We two Fossils vow, since, as an actress and a dancer...
it is unlikely that we will ever get our names in the History books...
to do everything we can to get our sister's name, Petrova...
there instead.
Because she is ours, and ours alone.
And when she finds the roads in the sky...
no-one can ever say it's because of her grandfathers.
- We vow. - We vow.
We vow.
Amen.
Look!
There she is!
Petrova!
Do a circle, Petrova!