Welcome everyone and thank you for joining us here at the Mechanics Institute for our Cinema Live Films series of which this month we are featuring a series of films exposing Chinese stereotypes in films and of course as you know this is part of our grant from the NEA big leads program of which we will be having several films series of events book groups and salons that will continue to out here until June so you can see our website for all the offerings that will be happening this year. I want to point out that this Thursday and the featured book of our NEA big lead will feature Charles Yu, author of Interior Chinatown A Novel which won the 2020 National Book Awards. We will be having a Zoom interview with him he's in LA and he'll be in conversation with Bay Area writer Ban Su and he'll be at 6 o'clock on Thursday October 20th and he'll be joining us so sign up for our Zoom program with Charles Yu and his series should be available. If you have not read the book we do recommend it it's here in the library and it's an amazing week. It's a novel that's actually written at this screen point. Also I want to point out of this series is continuing and we'll also have another series coming up in March as well as a collaboration but our guest speaker tonight is Steven Gong who is the Executive Director of the Cannes Film Festival and I look forward to hearing from him. He has still been introducing our film Shen and Angel and also he taught us more about the upcoming festival. So but please first welcome our curator and host Nancy Kennedy and our guest speaker Steven Gong. Thank you Laura and good evening everybody. This is a wonderful event tonight. This is our second in the series that Laura mentioned and I am very very excited to introduce our guest co-host tonight. He is making his cinema lit co-hosting debut this evening. I want to also just personalize this episode slightly. I met Steven. We met like 35-ish years ago. I was on the staff at the California Arts Council and Steven was served on the media arts panels repeatedly and that's where we met and so we knew a lot of people in common and so forth and we were putting this series together and I realized that he was currently the Executive Director of the Center for Asian American Media. It was kind of a no-brainer that you know it's based here in San Francisco that he should of course come and present to us during this this month and he is graciously agreed. So Steven is the as I mentioned the Executive Director of the Center for Asian American Media. He's been there in that capacity since 2006. His previous positions have been in arts administration including Deputy Director of the Berkeley Art Museum and the Pacific Film Archive, Program Officer in the Media Arts Program at the National Endowment for the Arts, Associate Director of the National Center for Film and Video Preservation at the American Film Institute. He has also lectured in the Asian American Studies Department at UC Berkeley where he developed and taught a course on the history of Asian American media. In addition to writing about film history, Steven provided critical commentary on several DVDs including Treasures from the American Archives, volumes one and five, which is a great treasure trove of early American film, that series. Chan is missing, the seminal independent film directed by Wayne Wang and he also was the featured historian of documentary Hollywood Chinese. Does that bring the bill for anybody? Like everybody who was here last week, we've already you know completed this even through his excellent commentary on Hollywood Chinese. He is also the Board Chair of the Center for Rural Strategies and serves on the advisory board of the San Francisco-Silo Film Testable Society. So without further delay, let's all give it up for our guest host, Mr. Steven Gong. Thank you all. Yeah, you saw the documentary. I didn't darken my hair. It's a real pleasure to be here. And afterwards I'm still looking forward to our joint conversation. We connected and that was quite a remarkable film story at the stage in its career. So deeply immersed in really recovering exciting lives, the lesser known, the deeply important kind of lives. And we share a lot of the same impulses about film as cultural anthropology. And essentially in introducing tonight's film, that's kind of where I wanted to start. Because what I would say is we do have this arched theme and an increased awareness of how powerful the film medium is, many messages it gives, its glamorous, the most amazing kind of to me art form that partakes of so many other art forms. You know, it is either it is visual, it is, it incorporates music and sound, it envelopes all of our senses. And that's what makes it wonderful. But it also carries many values. And it also communicates hierarchies of power in the world. And it tells if we both reflect on the conditions and structures of its day. And sometimes that when we look at it with today's lens, we can see, you know, deep issues and problems when you're depicting other people and you're not really involving those people from those cultures. So we'll be talking about that. And that is much of the work I do now. But in the introducing of film, I actually want to present you with something different as we look at the film before we talk about the lens we might have today. And that is to understand what it represents in its time. And that's where I make this connection with anthropology. Because works like this, right, very much, if you imagine you are from completely different culture in a different time, 100 years in the future, you might wonder what is this thing we've seen. And obviously too, I mean, even thinking about Anna, they want to, we may see as we want to think, you know, she has the same agency as Marina Dietrich. But we know at the time in the function picture industry, she didn't. But I want us to enjoy the film first. So what I want to tell you is I am so thrilled to be able to see this film again, because it involves two of the most intriguing creative figures, well, you could say any number, three, four, five, but especially its director, Joseph von Sternberg, who is really one of the most important early directors. And his incredible relationship with Marina Dietrich, they made seven films together, and they were almost all masterpieces of this particular period in film history, the early sound film. And they made these films for Paramount Studios, which was the most glamorous of all of the film studios. So one thing, this picture was nominated for the Academy Award. It was the only the ninth year of the Academy Awards, but it was nominated for best picture and best director and best cinematography. It did it only won the Oscar for best cinematography. That was for Lee Garnes. But I'll tell you, the visual look of the film is probably due to Joseph von Sternberg, because all of his films, particularly with Marina Dietrich, looked as wonderful as this. He is really a visual master. He played a moving camera that keeps people aware. He was deeply interested in how she would be lit. And she is glorious and honest. As examinee. What else to tell you? He was sort of pictorial. Joseph von Sternberg was born in Vienna. He did work in the German film industry before he came over in the Son of Europe, but then worked his way into directing films here in the U.S. His big breakthrough film with Marina Dietrich was The Blue Angel. And that's a film about a professor who was another much younger student who reverses the power dial on him. And it is said in film history that Dietrich's and von Sternberg's relationship was actually very much like that. So watch this as it undercurrents. Five brooks will play the British romantic lead, but you're looking at von Sternberg, and you're looking at this power that Dietrich would have looked at him. What else to say? It is said that the great Chinese-American cinematographer James Wong Howard worked on this film, but we're not completely clear about what parts you get. But I will just say this as a personal reflection. My people, my family are from one particular county-sized area of Guangdong province in southern China. It's called Tosan. And in Mandarin it's Taishan. And it's kind of thought of what kind of helpings that part of China. But a lot of the first Chinese in America in San Francisco came from Tosan because it was not, you know, for a better life. I'm sorry, I'm not speaking directly. So I'm Tosanese. So is Anne Wong. She's Tosanese. And so is James Wong now. He's Tosanese also. So I feel like I've got velvet tips in the film. So anyway, we'll talk more about Anne Wong, but because of the theme, I did want to tell you, in some places this is a remarkable film for one of her very best performances. She's not on the screen for a long, long time, but I think we will see the very powerful kind of presence she has. And, you know, there's a notable occurrence just recently announced. The U.S. Mint is about to put her on our 25 sentences, right? She will be the first Asian American on our currency and the first Asian American woman. So maybe afterwards we can talk about Anne Wong. And in a way, as a film historian, I have to admit, if it were the credentials of sort of great performances, if you look into her filmography, you don't find much. Almost more than any other lead personality of American film history. Her career was proscribed, I think you saw me, I'm just thinking, realizing that you saw how in the Chinese you heard her say it was proscribed by race and gender. She never really got the chance in short. And so that's part of the collection. But tonight, as I say, enjoy what you're seeing, enjoy the film, let's talk about anything. You know, it's purportedly based in China on a true incident. We can talk about that a little bit. We can talk about what is the depiction of China in the period. You know, this is deep in the throes of a certain kind of American or Western imperialism in China. And it does relate to how the, or this figure is in it. We want to understand China today, and why China sort of feels like it is their time finally to be dressed, how they were treated throughout the 19th, and much of the 20th century will say that. And yeah, I'll share what I know, but you know, I want to respect that so many of you as members of the community, as members of the institute, are probably much better versed in history. And so I invite you to share what you know also as we enter into this conversation. Okay, with that, let's go to the next slide. Sorry, there's so many points of discussion. We're going to see if I'll be there in a moment. But I doubt there's any mystery as to why this film was invested in the part of China, right? Lee Garnes was a celebrated cinematographer, as Steve mentioned. There is, there's some records that James Wong-Cow, who's also a great cinematographer, did some of the work on this film that is not clear what, certainly not the lighting and photography of the feature. That was Lee Garnes and Wong-Cow for me exclusively. But what did you have a seat in? Well, what do you think? How pretty good film. Would you two start us on? Okay, I mean, there are lots of, you know, stuff to say. We certainly want to talk about anime long. Maybe I'll start by saying my impression is that the structure of this film, she is, she gets third building, which is really quite remarkable. She has a lot less dialogue than most of the other, the other passengers, the size that she leads, that we get to know through the course of the film. And I'm wondering if there, in every scene of hers, you know what, I pay attention to her because that's sort of our focus here. Every scene of hers seems to be, to me, cut short. I want to know more about her. I want to know her, you know, her character's background. I want to sort of have some story of her that, that renders her ultimate killing of Shang, that it makes sense. I mean, now we just have to take one thing, which of course is the theme of the film, that, you know, she has, she has her reasons and, you know, she's actually the hero of the piece in a way, but we really know nothing about. And, you know, the lady with the dog and the part like both the religious man and the gambler, we all get to know better than her. And I wondered if that was purposeful so that we have that kind of movie device where, you know, the plot's moving along and then suddenly, oh my gosh, suddenly this, you know, this person who's been in the shadows takes, moves to the front and, you know, is absolutely improved with the plot in the killing of Shang. But we still don't know her, right, for the entire film. She remains this mysterious figure. It's actually a very limited screen time, which, again, it's kind of frustrating. I kind of wanted to know more. I'm also wondering if it was, it was purposeful and not, not about avoidance of, of screen time for a character, for a Chinese character role. But, you know, this is one of those cases I do think, as we look at it today, and I invite you to do this, that there's something that she's almost like a metaphor for the understanding of China at the time. So she's a stand-in for China that has been victimized. You know, there's a certain kind of modernity and, and, well, there's, there's this incredible mixture of the, of the chunk of sentimentality in it, of the love story, right? So, and it's this backdrop of revolution and the exotic, you know, China and these warring worlds. That's not really the story, you know, right? This is the story about a five-year love affair, you know, the fallen woman. So that's, that's a convention. But I think what, I think, I think, uh, John Sturford is a great storyteller. And I think he sees that the, the trumped-up romance, in a way, is enriched by the exoticism of the locale. And, you know, certainly doesn't want to get into the politics of the, of the revolutionary China at the time. This was very new, the First Republic of China. But it was already a failing revolution. Sun Yat-sen created the First Republic of China in 1911 and by 1917-1918, starting in the fall. And this is sort of based on an incident of a real, uh, halting of the train and holding all of its passengers to ransom. That took place in 1911-22. Um, but I, I don't think he cares about that either. Although I would say that generalized the worst security in anything. But, but he doesn't want to go there. But he, but he is starting to paint this, um, sympathetic picture of, of the down-trial Chinese. And that's what she is, a fallen woman. Uh, so she's, it can't be the heroine of this film. She's not really a hero. But, but she presents this, this sympathy, this sympathy or, or, uh, the heroine of the ironic, the sort of, the, the secondary story, which is actually the Civil War. Because at the end of the film, you know, you've got this very light scene about, you know, the, the two leads are sort of playing on each other throughout the film in terms of their koi language and whatnot. And at the end of the film, the very last scene, it's, I'm almost like scratching my head saying, annoying that it's coming to an end. Did we just watch a romantic comedy?  I mean, we see an execution, we see a training being taken over, et cetera. We see, you know, the sadistic general rule has kind of a fascination with fire. That's pretty scary, right? And we're also having this, this lovely banter back and forth, you know, and not just from the two characters, the two leads, but it's a remarkable juggling act, I think that he's able to achieve, um, and both work, I think. Good. Let's, let's bring some folks out on the end of the conversation. We'll start here at that end. Go ahead. I agree. I excelled in comedy. And every, every time, every portion of it was a scary attempt from one time on, from literally to a snack, um, maybe on a bad time. And what affected me most was the photography, the way that I am used to, the train was good. I love the train. The train, for me, made the film. And, uh, I think she was also, for people who wanted to keep it, was filming in a very interesting way as well. But they only stayed with it, you know, so he came up with a movie. And as for the, uh, I don't know why, I think I agree with you. She typified something as serious and as well. You didn't know what to expect when it's coming next. You know, the idea of some serious china and all that, as you're interpreting, I agree that too. But again, she was in a stereotype because at that time, that was a stereotype of the sort of driving lady, mysterious, peaceful, you don't know what she's gonna do next. Yeah. Yes. Thank you. Um, uh, Susie Wong, you know, um, the world of Susie Wong or love is the biggest pleasure thing. Yes. The Chinese prostitute is one of the reoccurring roles that we will see in Hollywood film to have a sympathetic character. You'll see in The Good Earth, it's also, of course, a long-suffering presence. But just, yeah, I mean, I don't want to overplay it. It is the, this film is, this film is just, is its own piece.   Oh, gosh. It was, so I got to see her. And then what I'm thinking and seeing is this contrast of the blonde, right? And so, so on Stanford is continental, right? So he's not really an American. So you don't see a lot. It's not an American film. It's like a European film in a way. And he is really getting into her.  It was, yeah, I just find that, um, wonderful to kind of think about. Um, but in the back, yes, please.  I mean, it's very clear to me for motivation and also having her be raped for the narrow purpose of showing the stakes that Marlene and Dietrich was choosing when she offered herself in exchange for the doctor. So it wasn't, to me, it was very, very clear what the stakes were and end that her role in that narrative. Thank you. Yeah. Well, that's true. That leads me to something. What did you all make of that Clive Brooke character, the British doctor? So anybody want to, do you think his performance, that really stiffness? And what do you think? Do you think, um, do you think like he said, it was, when he was a miscast or was Lone Starberg directing exactly like you wanted him to perform? You know, what is with their relationship and how long does it take him to have faith in her? I mean, it's all, I find that there is a almost, it's Lone Starberg is being playful about exactly how stiff he can make my role. Well, and maybe how, how, um, dim-witted the man can be when he's so hopelessly wrong, right? He doesn't figure out right away that, that Lily is just playing, you know, that there has to be an exchange if he's going to be set free. And that's Lily. And Lily doesn't want to, but as she says, she doesn't want to in the presence of Chang, that, you know, somebody's going to wind up dead, right? And he doesn't seem to figure that out until, interestingly, I believe it's the moment with the, with Carmichael, the religious man, who I think, you know, maybe all the characters in the film has the greatest sort of psychological transition, right? He is extremely judgmental of the women at the beginning. He doesn't even let his eyes on them.    I'm sorry. I just want to have a clarification. Marlene Dietrich says to, you know, the military British guy, make some explanation about the, you know, the Chinese woman with her says, oh, I'm just being nice to her? Or what is that comment that he, that she says? Because she, she, she makes an explanation for Anna Wong. Or am I just making that up? I know that there's some, it's like she's introducing her to the audience. Yeah. I, I, I interpret as to be able to eat in the dining car without being harassed and be treated and served to her what she paid for. So she, she wanted the doctor to accompany them to the dining car so that they would be legitimized. Yeah, that was the scene of good. Thank you. That is it. And he, that's interesting because he messes entirely does not step up. And so these are women who work together? What is, we don't even know. Well, no, they only, they only get in the car together because though, because the one guy who refuses to be in the car with her. The two women actually, I believe have no relationship with her. Oh prior until society puts them together. And in fact, they're, you know, a few times through the film, it's sort of, there's a point made that these two are not necessarily bonding. We might expect them to, because they're two women traveling alone and because of their shared profession, but they really, and I keep sort of almost wishing that like, can we have a little sister in here and you know, like, you know, advance, advance your, your, your own self-interest with each other, but they actually don't really. Well, so now we can finish a little bit. It is, it is rumored that they became quite close during the film. Yeah. Sensuality was all, was always in question during her life, but it's quite clear.  And Marlene, the teacher is sort of famously bi. Yeah. I didn't know that. I was, I was thinking of the narrative. This is probably confidential. There we go. But well, let's not, let that go a shadow, you know, that, that, but you know, I think the important thing to think about the picture of, of, prostitution and how this notion of, of even the reverend, you know, seeing through this faith that we're deeper value. This is a pre-Hase Code film. So this film comes out in 1932. 1934 is the Hase Code. For those of you who don't know, there was a censorship board because there was an increase in, this is the kind of film that was starting to make the kind of blue noses a little bit nervous about immorality in motion pictures. And pretty soon the, the studios held to a code of self censorship because they were afraid of greater restrictions coming down from the government than us. They released it. So you would have seen a, probably a clear condemnation of any kind of fallen woman or the need for that to be apparent. And yet we see, and that's part of the, the mystery of Emily Wong's character is that we don't learn how, and under what circumstances she is a fallen person. And just as importantly, that she, I really ask that, yeah, it's like a family life. It's just more than one now to change, to make my, to make the nation change. I know that. I think the award for the best hairstyle goes to the woman with the dog. That's big, yeah. Yeah, but truly, it seems to me, Mom Sternberg is really being able to play with, with using costuming and care to convey crucial aspects here. But this is really slightly also going to move, but I want to make sure it's mentioned before I get into the evening. In 1933, Footlight Parade, which is a big splash of the birth of musical The Warner Brothers, another studio, had a huge production number called Shanghai Lil. And there was a character named Shanghai Lil played by Ruby Keeler of all people who was in Yellow Face. And it's, again, a huge production number. I agree with your attention only because it sort of points to the, a, a topical cultural reference to this movie was big enough that, that there was this production number from another studio that basically was a very direct reference to Shanghai Lil. And it's very, it's, it's amusing because like dozens and dozens of men in this production number know Shanghai Lil. So it's almost a comic approach to, you know, Shanghai Lil's profession and thing. It's just something to look at from, that was contemporary with his film work, a near reference point in popular culture. Great. Thank you. So maybe for a moment to, to make justice to the series, let's talk about, let's talk about the depiction of Chinese and what it's, what it seems to be telling us about China of the period. And as I said to you, you know, as a Chinese American and wouldn't be back at it now. And I mentioned this to Matthew Irwin this evening. You don't want to be younger, it's just saying I was, I was, I was probably getting more of a pass to people who were making movies at this time in America. And, and yet, you know, part of the depiction, part of the background of having, this is like the movie at Grand Hotel, they've been seeing that for you out, you know, six characters, each representing different nationalities. So let's take a look, there's a French military person, there's, you know, British officer, there's the person who was wearing the, the kind of fez. I wasn't sure what nationality, but they were colonized, right, because these were different European countries and the United States who at that time had forced China, the Chinese empire when it was weak during the 19th century, had forced them to open up China. There was a reference to opium, it is well known now that the British had a policy of importing opium from Afghanistan and addicting the Chinese people so that they could create a market in China. So the film does not go into it, but it's traced, colonialism is traced in the movie. And as I say, they don't, they neither valorize the rebels, what you might expect, even, you know, the Star Wars kind of way or certain, or the government. Neither one is given any kind of real agency film. Instead, we accept that the Europeans, that the British guys, right, it is their rise to kind of rule over this, this uncivilized or, or chaotic countries. That is the narrative of colonialism. And this narrative is rooted in that.  The fact is that this Chinese government has now raised 700 million human beings out of abject poverty. And as I say, the Chinese people, in a sense, have had the empty or the Chinese leadership has not forgotten a century and a half of the way that the West has treated them. And so the, so I think there is something to say in this film as an artifact, right, of a popular, of how America can make a glamorous, romantic, common drama, and ignore, in a sense, the real setting and the real suffering that was going on in the post of the Chinese people. And that's kind of this view that I have now as a senior person watching films that I would not have even 20, 30 years ago in the first episode. What is that due to your ultimate affection or respect for the film? I still love this film, but I mean, I see all the film in a different way. So, so thank you, but you know, in these last, I was kind of deserved American film. We restored Lost Horizons, wonderful film about the, the narrative about in between the world wars and maybe that there was a greater position of the East. So I spent much of my life celebrating American film. And yet the, just, I always held onto something about this emerging notion of being able to control our own narratives. And that's why a group of us, and it's said 42 years ago, started the organization that I'm now in the Executive Director of the Center for Asian American Media. And the premise of this, you know, quite simply is that, you know, not that every film needs to be made by the people who have recorded the important subjects of it. But film is enriched and our culture is enriched when we are all given access to the tools to tell, to be part of storytelling. And so I have this other kind of feeling now about the films that I would want us to make to be involved in, not to rely on the marketplace to, to you know, and the thing we give up is, is in some ways a united sort of single approach to a cultural belief. But we have to make way for this multiplicity of voices and appreciate what each kind of expression brings to the next. So, so that's my soapbox. But I'll tell you, I, I think this film stands up because it doesn't give us simple homilies. Munchenberg is a very complicated character.  But yes, and at first I think he was doing that with the reverend, but the reverend does come around to making a more voice of something deeper, if, if romantic love, which is a Western concept that's derived from the Chinese and varying degrees of adherence to in terms of choosing what's made, let's say, right? This is, but this is a real, this is a holiday approach to romantic love trumps everything trumps revolution. It trumps, right, a common sort of state. That's kind of interesting. Yeah, that's that was maybe the genius of Hollywood in the United States. I was just gonna say that that transcends this film, right, in terms of, you know, Hollywood can make everything all better, right? Okay, I just, I was curious where it was filmed, because there are quite a few, like a remarkable amount of seemingly actual Asian, Asian American extras, and only one person potentially in yellow things that I could see, which was pretty unusual for the time, you know? So this was usual for the time. I mean, it's unusual to even help the other one turn away. No, that's what I'm saying. To have only one of the leads, because it was Chang who wasn't actually, or yeah, he was, yeah, who's supposed to be Asian or part Asian, to not actually be Asian, which seems really unusual to me for that time period, or even now. You know, I think we thank you for, if I should let you have your comment first. Oh, okay, it's quite different. You said something about how the story seems to be detached and ignoring the context in the film. This is really playing out. And so I was wondering, how would you like the film? How would you write the film in order to bring that up without spoiling any of the aesthetic aspects of it? Zhongy Mu made a film called Live During the 90s. You know, he's called the fifth generation of Chinese directors. And he made, yeah, he made a film about the Chinese Revolution. And I think not till the end. You need to get much further. I don't think this, I don't think you could really bring that into the rush you bring in the long way for the Chinese to speak to it. Or, you know, very much his last emperor, which is a really, you know, another girlfriend director, but he centralizes right in Chinese characters. And you have a couple British characters, but then this is down as the secondary. So it's hard to imagine it in the way that we tell story, right? It's hard to imagine how you can really, really create parity among all because the perspective of whose perspective you take is so crucial. But did you have a Okay, well, I'm going to talk about Warner Olin for a minute, because I am a big fan of Warner Olin. And he gets a lot of flack, you know, Warner Olin play Charlie Chan in the first series of Charlie Chan films, they're the best. And I really, and I, as I understand it, he looked like number one son in the in the first one, they were 20th Century Fox on Charlie Chan films. And later on, they got much more committed as Sidney Cawler played him. But in the Warner Olin films, he really actually, he looked in his memoirs, mentions, they had a father-son relationship. And they adored one another. And Warner Olin, he was a Swedish actor. And yet he always believed that the Swedish people kind of like we finish actually must have come from Asia first, because he always felt a deep connection to Asia. And this this film is before the Charlie Chan series starts, there have been a couple of other things about it, a son conversions, but they didn't stick. But the big Charlie Chan things start in 1936. This is 1932. But Warner Olin, they already played a number of Asian characters. And he he always did. And he did. Those are the that's not I make up for him. That's how he looked in life. So one of those things, I just find him a very interesting actor. Well, one thing I've noticed over the, you know, I watched a whole movie when I was a kid, a lot of the Warner Olin were always interested in me was he did very frequently play Asians. But he was always, there was only something relatively complex about even this guy, he said, I'm not proud of being that white. It was kind of an interesting line that Yeah, thank you, right? That's that's exactly kind of how I feel. And he always shows up. He was a very cheesy wearable place. He plays a Japanese explorer in London who was living in London. He's the one who's the source of the wearable. And he plays in this home. It's interesting, he plays him speaking perfect English. He just happens to be Japanese and he's a scholar. And he's happens to be a wearable. And it's not there are no stereotypes in the way he portrayed Asians, at least not in that sense. Now, in terms of Chinese, of course, he was talking in fortune cookies. Yes, definitely. But this is going to be way too good. Sorry. But if you if you've watched as many as I have, try to get, you know, you get a chance almost any of is he only did like eight or nine of them. And then Sydney told her there's about 13 of them. But they get much more fortune cookie and kind of outrageous as it goes to the public studios. But when it was 20th century parks like Charlie Chan and the Olympics, Charlie Chan and Honolulu, they're really huge performances are quite good. And his this dialogue with number one son, if you look, really wonderful. He was based on a real real. Yeah, Chalna Panna was a real Honolulu detector. And yes, as and if you want to, if we if we do another series on news on Charlie Chan, let's talk about. And she would always mention one change and they are men of corrections, wonderful, you know, so therefore, I would be a field field. Oh, my God. And also, you're very much with a French show, I suppose, about the name of French, it's about and then the other one, and she and this young man. And it's Korean, though. Yeah, anyway, they were called daughter of Shanghai. Yeah, yeah, I mean, probably it's really interesting. And then I want to speak with the chairman of the I think I think you're gaining a series that we're planning. Stay tuned. Yeah. Yeah. So, yeah, well, everyone had quite an extensive silent. And that's when she, at least in the United States, was getting into the world. On YouTube, you can see a film called Total of the Sea. And it was the first time and she was just a teenager. It's her first film and she stars in it, but it's a but anyway, it's now said in China, but it's a white officer goes and, you know, has an affair. She has a baby. He promises to return.  And then he goes back and falls in love with this. Three years ago. It returns every so often. And yeah, she's quite good at it. Actually, I talked about it in Hollywood Chinese because she she really is a wonderful presence. I don't know if it's the film you're thinking of, but if you all get a chance to see a British film called Piccadilly, she's only in the first part of it. She's actually a victim of a murder, but she has a scene or two that are really remarkable, really, really wonderful. But that's why I say about Anne May is, you know, I find it remarkable and another would find her an important actress because her filmography is not really extensive where she's started with the film. She's even an assignment. She's about the thief of bad math, but she's like a slave for all. She has bit parts. And I just find that there weren't rules for her. The studio system was not set up at that time. And that's where we get touch on what yellow face or, you know, to be exotic was Rudolph Alatino because he was Italian. And that was exotic, you know, right? So you're talking about and for all of that, the default was how to not offend white Protestants, audiences. So you weren't really going to be promoting, you know, once we get into the 30s, you just don't, you don't see depictions of people of race. And then, of course, you know, African Americans, and I'm old enough to remember Sir Sidney Monte just passed away. I'm sure most of you, just looking around, remember when Harry Bell Foundation and Sidney Poitier made an appointment saying we have to make only positive goals because there were no real roles for black actors, right? There was this whole sub-industrial race film, but not an Hollywood film. And so, you know, this is just part of the legacy. We are in a different state now, thank goodness, a different stage of evolution in our filmmaking, but it was not that long ago. Because in the 50s, it was still a big, big deal, right? This was coming together.  So, anyway, that's the end. Sorry about that. But if we visit, you know, that's what we've got to revisit, too. And if you think about, it's not, I guess I'm making an apology for the opportunities that Anthony Wong could not have.  I guess it's going to dinner. When Barbara Stanway in 1932 made the bitter tea of General N, a switch actor, Nils Astor was hired to be General N, and the two of them are doing quite a bit of heavy kissing in that film. And it looks amazing because he's, you know, playing a Chinese character, but the powers to be at the time, this was also a pre-code film, said, well, it's perfectly all right to watch a link or a kiss between a Chinese role, Chinese man and a white woman. Everybody knows that the Chinese role is in fact being played by a European. So it's twisted and whatever. But it does reveal, you know, what was considered offensive by that white majority that you're speaking of, you know, what was okay and what wasn't okay. And I respect. Yeah. And as a young person, yeah, that's why I guess you get imprinted like this. I was imprinted to want to be white, actually. No, yeah, took me to college and instead of being more comfortable with my because I know I'm something different, but your conception of what is normal, what is acceptable, is this default practice that we're going to work on. Oh, but I put some, you know, any of your comments of someone who hasn't that we've got any other this is so enjoyable, but I don't want to overstay your welcome. Thank you, Matthew. Well, this is, you know, something like that into language here, but I can't resist. You mentioned you've referenced Grand Hotel in this film, and a review when this film came out was a few months after Grand Hotel was released in the same year, referred to it as Grand Hotel on Wheels. And it's interesting to look at what's happened in terms of sort of structure of storytelling. The Grand Hotel style is referred to still to this day, and you know, it's sort of shorthand for a film with a multitude of stars in it. It's basically an ensemble that it's sort of a high end ensemble of famous people. And they're usually thrown together in a collective place that's confined like a train or a boat or an airplane.  And so we have these parallel stories, we get to know each one of the characters, but then they intersect the bone. The difference, I think, between, it's just interesting because Grand Hotel is given credit as being the progenitor of a style. And, you know, this goes into the disaster movies of the 70s, it goes into active Christie murder mysteries that are still being produced. But Shanghai Express, I think is an interesting example of almost that style without quite because you have a major hierarchy going on here in terms of the cast, right? But you do have that essence of, you know, these multitude of characters being thrown together in a confined space with a crisis. I mean, in that way it's very similar, I think, to what became the Grand Hotel style. It just doesn't have, you know, a cast of such luminaries that they have to be listed alphabetically, right? It's like, no, this isn't our language, and everybody else sort of falls in line. Just, I just bring that up as a kind of, I don't know that that a lot of films have gone into this structure that we saw tonight, as opposed to what Grand Hotel began. But that has the sort of stronger film traditions to interpret the storytelling and cast it. I'll just, I wonder if, for you, one of the pleasures is just seeing how you can create China on the back lot, a paramount, and, you know, done so beautifully, the cows on the train, the cows on the tracks, great scene, you know. But it does give you this flavor, right? That was wonderful. And just the, yeah, the lighting, the shadows, just the long tracking shot of the train of soldiers coming on, and the lighting, so beautiful. Yes. Well, there was just one image that I just loved, and it was near the beginning, and it was after it's shown the chaos of the train leaving. And you see, they keep showing soldiers shadows against the train in militaries constantly. But I don't know if you noticed it, but at one point there's a bayonet in the foreground, and it's got a cabbage stone on the end of it. And it's like, whoever, whatever the soldier was, probably my guess was, as someone was going by, you know, basically it was this way of standing in cabbage, it's being knelt up, and it's this, it was just, every time I've seen it, I've always noticed that it's in the story, but I wanted you to see it, or we're not going to have to. Yeah, it is, it's near before for a minute, it's a cabbage, it's there on a bayonet. Well, thank you. Thank you all. Also, a few words before we close to thank Stephen Gorm, for a wonderful conversation, and as we can be our hosting curator, I want to make a note about one more thing. We have our co-sponsor for tonight, and for the series is the Chinese Historical Society. You're presenting an exhibition called Radiating Bruce Lee, which is open now for a few months, and also we're going to have a tour to the society to do that exhibition, and they have a film series that's going on. It's starting in the late October and November, and so I will encourage you to go to that series by Saturday nights, which will be in Charlotte down in different venues. So please watch out for announcements about Radiating Bruce Lee, and also your film series that will also be a parallel to the exhibition. Also, a little promotion, my theater group is co-producing in Decent at the San Francisco Park House, so pick up a flyer. It's a little bit more wide open, you know, that counts on the door, and if you use the code community20, you get a 20% discount. So pick up your flyer, and I hope you join us at the theater, as well as at the Chinese Historical Society. Thank you.


The shells that Russians bought from North Korea are exploding in gun barrels. The Russians are experiencing a shortage of ammunition of their own production, so they use artillery and mortar charges from the North Korea, which are of low quality. This is stated in the morning summary of the general staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Due to the lack of ammunition of their own production, the occupiers were forced to use shells and mines from North Korea. Due to the unsatisfactory condition of such ammunition, rare cases of their bursting right in the barrels of guns and mortars of the occupiers are recorded, which leads to the loss of weapons and personnel of the invaders. In particular, such cases were recorded in the NEPRO troop grouping, where General Teplinsky is the commander. Russian President Vladimir Putin has been accelerating Moscow's reproachments with Pyongyang. In one outcome, Russia supplied North Korea with flour in exchange for artillery shells needed for its invasion of Ukraine. On December 15, however, photographic evidence surfaced that the flour Russia sent was past its expiration date. It shows a close-up of two bags of Russian flour weighing two kilograms each. They were from a shipment of 100,000 tons of flour unloaded at the port of Chongjin in northeastern North Korea. Although the expiration date was made the 5th 2022, markets throughout North Korea still sold the rotten flour. It is likely that the flour was Russian leftovers, according to reports Kim received.


Screen Directors Playhouse, Stars, Paul Douglas, Edmund O'Brien, Production, The Big Lift, Director, George Seaton. This is the Screen Directors Playhouse, the Thursday night feature on NBC's All-Star Festival of Comedy, Music, Mystery and Drama. Brought to you by RCA Victor, world leader in radio, first in recorded music, first in television, the makers of Anderson for fast relief from the pain of headache, neuritis and neuralgia, and by your local Buick dealer, who introduces the new 1951 Buick this coming Saturday, January 20th. Don't miss seeing the new 51 Buick. Tonight the Screen Directors Playhouse is pleased to present Edmund O'Brien and Paul Douglas starring in the first radio performance of the celebrated motion picture story, The Big Lift. But before we begin our adaptation, here's a word from RCA Victor. Inch for inch, your best buy in television is RCA Victor 19 inch. Yes, a great many American families have taken this advice and bought the thrilling RCA Victor 19 inch console, truly the most exciting buy in television. When you set out to become an RCA Victor million proof television set owner, remember that the set you choose will be the very hub of your home for years to come. So select the model you really want most and chances are that model will be the kingly RCA Victor 19 inch console, inch for inch your best buy in television. Your 19 inch set will give you in a great big way all the matchless million proof qualities of sight and sound possible only to the world leader in electronics. Yes, inch for inch your best buy in television is indeed RCA Victor 19 inch. And with it go wishes to you and your family for all the warmth and good cheer of million proof television by RCA Victor. Now for the first act of the Screen Director's Playhouse presentation of The Big Lift, starring Paul Douglas as Hank and Edmund O'Brien as Danny. True Carrier Squadron is bound for a new job in Berlin. Have you read the papers? You know what it's all about. Blockade. Now here's Berlin inside the Russian zone of Germany. The Russians have closed off the roads, the rails, the canals. Why that's happened doesn't concern us. The results do. Just imagine a city the size of Philadelphia cut off from fuel, food and everything it takes to make a city run. That's Berlin. That's where the Air Force comes in. We're going to feed Berlin by air. Pursuant to orders, the 19th Troops Carrier Squadron will proceed to Chickabee Falls, Massachusetts. And from there... The date? You know it. April 1948. And the planes came.  They're empty bellies ready to be filled with coal and flour and milk and oil. They came from everywhere. Aircraft 2585, Ryan Main Tower. Request landing instructions over. Ryan Main Tower to Aircraft 2589. Who are you? Where are you from? Over. Where are we from? We're from the 19th and Pickup, Hawaii. Well, hush my ukulele. Maintain your altitude and you'll move in after the 54th from Alaska in the 20th in Puerto Rico. Anybody from Tibet or Afghanistan follows you. Aircraft 2589, U.S. wide of Frankfurt, our way is on 1-3-7-8-8, Magasacos-Blanin instructions. Over. Roger and out. Any? Huh? You call me Captain Grayley? Come on, come on. Kiss the Sandman. Bye-bye. What a dream. As one thing the Air Force can't take away from an engineer is dreams. Oh, you're breaking my heart, McCulloch.  We'll make Ryan Main in a few minutes. Yeah. Pretty classy German, huh? Right out of Schopenhauer. All right, rise and shine. Take a look at Germany, home of Ryan Wines, pine beer, and a soda strudel. You awake, Hank? I'm awake. Boy, look at that rubble. This place sure caught it. Not enough. This is where they should have used the A-bomb. Still at the big chip, huh? I didn't ask for Germany. You got it. We all got it. Get used to it. Why me? Let the crowds get used to starving for a while. Staff Sergeant Hank Kowalski is still fighting the war. I still got a war to fight. You can't get that prison camp out of your system, can you? Leave me alone, Danny. I only... Leave me alone. They want to feed the crowds? Okay. They send me over here? Okay, but I don't have to like it. Hey, some crummy barracks this is. And believe me, Danny boy, this is the best part of Germany. Well, at least we'll get some sleep. I bought these orders. You'll be taking a load to Berlin inside of an hour. Start moving. Welcome to Germany, Danny, and wake me up when you get back here. Staff Sergeant Henry Kowalski here. You're going too, Sergeant. I'm no flight engineer, sir. I'm GCA. Yeah, you're down for Berlin. Berlin? Wait till you see Templehof Field on a foggy day. You'll know why we need GCA operators just to bring them in. Just catch a ride on any plane, Sergeant. The cesspool ain't bad enough. I gotta fall right into the middle of it. Berlin yet! You just stand right there, Hank. Watch me push the buttons. You'll be fascinated. I'm thrilled all to pieces. Say, Captain Grammy, how's it feel to be flying co-pilot? Yeah, if Major Bedford wasn't along, I'd probably be in Sweden by now. I guess it's a milk run after you get used to it, huh, Major? Oh, sure, sure. What you do is stay in a 20-mile corridor, fly at exactly 170 miles an hour, hold exactly 6,000 feet, fly instruments continuously, and give radio checks on the second. Nothing to it. Uh, what kind of a field is this Templehof? Well, see for yourself. There it is. What? Oh, no. You must be kidding. Hey, what are they trying to do? Hide it behind those apartment houses? With your gear down, you can almost roll your wheels on those roofs. Ah, don't kid yourself. When you land at Templehof, those roofs are five stories above you. And below, just for convenience, there's a graveyard. When the fog hits, letting down between those apartments is like threading a needle when your mouth is too dry to spit. Well, what's the matter, boys? You're not talking. Who can talk? Landing checklist, Captain. Heater switches off. Heater switches off. Booster pumps high. Booster pumps high. Fingers crossed. Fingers crossed. Berlin. I gotta draw Berlin. And this is it, Templehof. Guess you guys can use GCA all right with 200 feet ceiling in a quarter of a mile to make a landing. GCA, Sergeant, and a lot of things that haven't been invented yet. Now let's get out of here. Hey, what about unloading all this stuff? Trucks get it as soon as we land. Mostly Germans do the work. I'll go check the weather. And give these crowds a chance and steal your blind. Well, they're doing a good job. Hey, look, Hank, they're just people. Don't kid yourself. They're a special brand. The people are the super boys. So what are you trying to do? Start another war? I ain't finished with the last one yet. Major, thanks for the lift, sir. Where's operations? Over there, Kowalski. Last building on the right. I guess I'll check in. I'll look for your next trip, Hank. If I'm sleeping, just leave your card. So long. Oh, Major, all right if I leave the field for a while. I'd like to take a look at Berlin. I'm sorry, Sergeant. It's not allowed. You mean we just stand around while we're here? Well, the turn around is just 20 minutes, McCullough. 20 minutes? Some command, this is. I wouldn't worry, Sergeant. You wait till three or four months, Govime, and you'll really learn to hate it. Three or four months? There's no time for coffee this trip, Danny. We're trying to lock three minutes off the turn around. I have a heart. I've been up and down so many times this week, I feel like a yo-yo. Temple half, Danny. Temple half, Ryan Main. Temple half, Ryan Main. I'm living in a rut at 6,000 feet. Captain Grammy, I'd better have a look at number four when we get home again. Four months and already he calls it home.  Yeah, looks like the Yannick got out there. Wonder who they're putting on the show for. Who knows? Where's the truck? Oh, probably holding it up until after the shindig. Hey, look, Captain, they're coming this way. Yeah, there must be some big grass around. I don't see any. Oh, Danny. I think, I think it's for us. Well, what are you looking at me for? I didn't do nothing. Watch the pitch. Big show. You're the 100,000 airlift flight into Berlin. Oh, come on, Captain. They want you. They need you. You too, Sergeant. Me? Well, since when did they bother with engineers? Since now. Oh, brother. Oh, Sergeant, look who you drew. Genuine 21-jewel movement. Heaven protects the poor enlisted men. We are Berlin from the wives and mothers and those who are alone. We have watched your planes bring us food and cold and medicines and serums. And now there have been 100,000 such flights. This briefcase, Sergeant, is filled with the gratitude and admiration of hundreds of thousands of women. Please take it. Hey, how about a kiss for a picture? Uh, mark me the cushion, huh? Of course. Hey, you guys want another picture? No, that's fine. All right, man. Back to work. Goodbye, Sergeant. Your name is Frau Bergmann? Yeah. Your, uh, your husband? My husband was killed during the war. Oh, I'm sorry. It seems long ago. Well, perhaps we meet again. Ah, no. Not a chance. They won't let me into Berlin. Oh, that is too bad. But just in case, in America, we have a phrase for situations like this. Phrase? What is it? What's your phone number, honey? There is a phone for the apartment where I live. Wait a minute. I'll write it down. Seven-five, four-five, three-two. Come on, Sergeant. Let's go. Come on, Captain. Maybe I'll get to look you up, huh? Goodbye, Sergeant. Goodbye. Oh, Sergeant McCullough. Before you get away, I'm Dick O'Malley, United Press. Just heard you're from St. Paul. Oh, yeah, yeah. Anything I can do for you? Yeah. You say we serve as the St. Paul Dispatch, and they've been after me for one of those hometown boyflies' lift stories. How about it? Oh, no. Not me. What you want is a glamorous pilot. Who can be choosy? Besides, I want a different angle on this story. No, no. No, thanks. I appreciate it, Mr. O'Malley, but I... Oh, come on. It'll only take a few hours of your time. I want to follow you from Rhinemaine with a load of flour. You know, pictures showing how the flour becomes bread in the Berlin Bakery, that sort of stuff. Me? Thank you. In Berlin? Berlin. Get me a 24-hour pass? Sure. You know, Mr. O'Malley, I feel it's my duty to let the folks back home know what's going on here. That's great. Then I can come in. You and Frau Burkhart both. Well, Pete's safe, Sergeant. Will you get a move on? My Captain Cole, see ya, Mr. O'Malley. See ya. Hey, ain't doing.  I ain't cause the GCA business. Just man, do you keep this up, you might even get the Kraut-Iron Cross. Tell me about it when I get back to Berlin with a pass yet. A pass? Ha-ha. It's your leaven, boy. I'm going to show you how to live with these people. Sergeant McCullough! So long, Kowalski. You don't take any wooden blitz on your radar screen. Keep your shirt on, sir. Our story will continue in just a moment. But now, if you suffer from pains of headaches, neuritis, or neuralgia, you should discover what many thousands have known for years, that anisone brings incredibly fast, effective relief. Anisone is like a doctor's prescription. That is, anisone contains not just one, but a combination of medically proven active ingredients in easy to take tablet form. Probably at some time you have received an envelope containing anisone tablets from your physician or dentist. Thousands of people have been introduced to anisone this way. Try anisone yourself the next time you suffer from the pains of a headache, neuritis, or neuralgia. You'll be delighted at how quickly relief can come. Anisone is spelled A-N-A-C-I-N. Your druggist has anisone in handy boxes of 12 and 30 tablets, and economical family size bottles of 50 and 100 for your medicine cabinet. Ask for anisone today. Now for the second act of the Screen Director's Playhouse Presentation of The Big Lift, starring Edmund O'Brien as Danny and Paul Douglas as Hank. You see, Mr. O'Malley, it's all a matter of pulling the right switch at the right time. How about this one, Sergeant?  Never mind him. He's just a pilot. The captain's jealous because he ain't getting his name in a paper. I'm jealous of that 24-hour pass you've got. Tell me, doesn't his fog bother you guys? Nope. As long as you can see the wing tips, it's a clear day. Glad to hear it. Where are we? Coming into Temple Huff. Well, how do you know? Radio, GCA will be picking us up any minute now. GCA? Ground-controlled approach, radar and stuff. Maybe we don't know where we are, but they know on the ground. They just talk us down. GCA, coming in now, Sergeant. Sounds like your friend, Hank Kowalski. Here, Mr. O'Malley, take a listen on the headphones. This guy's the best in the business. You know, looks correction. Now start breaking your glide. Hank, we're right in the clear. You said it. Look, I gotta do a story on this thing. I'll fix it. Now, with your friend, mine? Sure. Like a father, mine's talking about twins. It's a pleasure to help the press. You know what radar is, Mr. Malley? Yeah, roughly. Very roughly. Okay, you keep your eyes and ears open too. Then you might learn something. Now, this here GCA shack is just a radar center. We send out a radio signal that bounces off the plane. When the signal comes back, we turn it into a spot of light or a blip. See, it shows up here on the screen. Looks like a television set, Sergeant. The same principle. Now, depending on where the blip is, we know just where the plane is. Maybe the pilot don't even know, but we know, so we just talk them down. Let's see. And the pilots, they have confidence in you? In this weather, Mr., they gotta have it. I hate to break up the lecture, but I've only got a 24-hour pass. Oh, yeah, yeah, I know. Well, thanks very much for the talk. We have to start following that flower around. You want to come with us, Hank? I ain't interested in seeing a bunch of crowds being fed. You know, that Jerry's wanted to sign his separate armistice with my pal here, but he's holding out for a castle on the Rhine.  I know a Shotzi in Berlin, that's something. A Shotzi? Hey, well, look, Junior, you're liable to get in trouble running around by yourself. I'll go along for the ride.  Danny McCullough, the spirit of Berlin. Nuts. That's got it. Thanks a million, Sergeant. A pleasure, believe me. I want to get the story, I'll send it to you. Well, enjoy your pass. See you. Boy, they'll love me in St. Paul. Come on, I want a quick phone booth and a frown named Frederica. There's a phone booth at the corner. Hey, there's some place I can take you to dinner, Hank. There's nothing around here. There's a spot in the British Zone, ain't bad. The Savoron. Savoron, got it. Look, maybe we can make an evening of it. I'll pick up my Shotzi, too. Oh, Hank, you've got a Shotzi? After four months, what do you expect?  Don't give me that trader business. With Gertie, it's just like I want it. If I want to see her, I see her. If I want to talk to her, she talks. And if I don't want those, she keeps her mouth shut. She must be nuts about you. I'll get you a taxi. I'll get you a taxi. Okay, only takes a second. Taxi! Hey, Fritz! Well, bring it here, Buster. Bring it here. That's it. I want a 10-feet away. I'd ask for a 10-feet away. That's more like it. Yeah, sure, bitter. What's the matter, Vienna Schnitzel? You think I'm going to take a punch at you? Please, no English. I'll answer it. Well, that's on the way back to the field. I'll drop you. Come on, get in. Hank, this can't be the place. There's nothing but rubble. This is the place. That's a work gang clearing the mess away. But they're women. Women working like this. So if we lost the war, you assisted me doing it. Take your choice. I don't like... hey. Hey, there she is. They're numerous in their overalls. Well, uh, happy fraternization. Do you remember me? Satch and McCulloch. Well, how do you know? So, you did get to Berlin. For about 24 hours, you... you look fine. No.  Well, in Berlin, if you are between 18 and 55, you must work. You speak English very well. You could be a translator or something. No jobs, but thank you.  Yeah, but definitely, uh... Most times I practice only in letters to America. Oh, relatives, friends? A friend in St. Louis. Well, I'm a friend from St. Paul. Frau Burkhart, will you have dinner with me tonight? Dinner? Yeah, thank you. I'll be through in 20 minutes. Then we go and I change my clothes. You will wait, Sergeant? The sergeant will wait. I'll just sit down here in his packing case. Berlin, is it really his? Berlin. Of all the... Just help me out of this wet cement, will you? Yeah. Hey, that's a fine place to put a wheelbarrow. I should not have let you sit down in that old packing case.  Look at my uniform. You look so nice and fresh. You know, if this stuff hardens, you're gonna have one more statue in Berlin. Yeah, in memory of the air lift. Don't worry, Sergeant. There's the tailor shop downstairs from where I live. Well, this is a fine way to start a leave. Look at that. I personally will make it up to you. Yeah? Well, all right. I'll have to thank him for it. He has room next door. He will be glad to talk to you. Doc? If you lived any closer to Temple Hive, they'd be landing planes on your kitchen table. Here is where the air lift planes make their... What is the expression, landing approach? Walking to your place, looking at the shops, they're almost empty. You wouldn't know there was any air lift at all. Ask the people of Berlin. We know. They are grateful. Ah, people of people. The war's over. The war is over. Well, I go down and get your uniform now. If you want company, her steeper's room is through that door. I'll be right back, Sergeant. Lorraine? Oh, the American Sergeant. I'm Steve. Danny McCullough. I want to thank you for the use of your rope. Oh, it's a pleasure. You pardon me for not leaving the window, but, uh, yeah, that's another one. I have to mark it down. Pardon me, but what are you doing? That's very simple. I'm a Russian spy. What? Surprise. Don't worry. The Americans know that I do this. But why? Well, you see, I count the air lift planes. I mark it down. Every three hours, I phone the Russians. Oh, Steve, that's crazy. They can read the official air lift figures in the papers. Oh, but those Russians don't believe official papers. So, you see, I make a check. Well, what happens when your count agrees with the official figures? Well, that would make the Russians very unhappy. So, every day, I knock off a few planes here and a few planes there. And the Americans know about this? Oh, sure. Once they face the phone for me. Oh, some system. They, uh, do the Russians have many spies? Hmm, 15,000 maybe. Oh, that's great. Why don't the American authorities do something about it? Oh, they do, Sergeant. You see, they have spies, too. Not so many. Just about 10,000. 10,000?  Well, you see, it would be quite a mess if it weren't for one thing. What's that? There are maybe 500 spies who work for both sides. That way everybody knows what everybody else is doing. Sergeant, I forgot the electricity. Hey, hey, wait a minute. Now calm down. Catch your breath. But you're uniform. What about my uniform? I forgot all about the electricity. Today there is no current in this part of the American zone. Most of the generators are in the Russian zone. So just tell me one thing. Where is my uniform? The tailor. He took it to a friend in the British zone to use his equipment. Oh, fine, fine. We're supposed to meet a buddy of mine for dinner. Well, you still go. Like this? In a bathrobe? Oh, Sergeant, not so nice, maybe, but you're welcome. Oh, no, no, sir. If I'm caught out of uniform, I've had it. You would look very German. Nobody would know. And this was going to be such a nice 24 hours. Well, there goes another one, Herr Steber. Oh, forget it. That one was American propaganda. What a city. Well, I said I wanted to see Berlin, so I might as well see it as a civilian. Herr Steber, let's have those clothes. And now before the curtain rises on the next act, don't forget that the new 1951 Buick will be shown for the first time anywhere this Saturday, January 20th. Don't miss this gala opening day at your nearest Buick dealers. That's the day the entire All-Star lineup of 1951 Buicks will be introduced. And you are personally invited to be among the first to see them. See the car of your dreams and everyone's dreams with its new features, new smartness, new and distinctive Buick lines. And what else has a new 51 Buick got that sets the pace again? Plenty. Check this new honey for its power, its looks, its price. And you'll see why the 51 Buick is the smart car, the smart performer, the smart buy for 51. Remember the date this Saturday, January 20th. And the place, your nearest Buick dealers. Don't miss seeing the new 1951 Buick. You are listening to the Screen Director's Playhouse, the Thursday night feature on NBC's All-Star Festival. Brought to you by RCA Victor, world leader in radio, first in recorded music, first in television, the makers of Anison for fast relief in the pain of headache, neuritis and neuralgia, and by your local Buick dealer who introduces the new 1951 Buick this coming Saturday, January 20th. Don't miss seeing the new 51 Buick. The Screen Director's Playhouse presentation of the Big Lift, starring Edmund O'Brien and Paul Douglas, will continue after a short pause for station identification. This is the Screen Director's Playhouse. We continue with the third act of the Big Lift, starring Paul Douglas as Hank and Edmund O'Brien as Danny.  And, uh, my name isn't Sergeant, it's Danny. I can't very well call you that. In Germany, these things take time. You saw me in a bathrobe, and you can call me Danny. Of course, it does make a difference. All right, Danny. And you're Fred Riecker. Fred Riecker? No. Better make it Freddie. This is a girl's name in America. Oh, sure, half the girls in America named Freddie. The rest are named George. Hey. Here comes my buddy. Wait till he sees me and his civilian get up. Guten Tag, Herr Kowalski. What? Well, if it ain't Fritz. In the flesh. I'm not native in a hurry. It's a big deal. A tailor ran away with my uniform. Frau Burkhart, Sergeant Kowalski. How do you do, Sergeant? Yeah. Where's your girl? Gertie, here she comes now. Some cabbage head. I'll say this for her. She earns a good shirt.  Here. This is Danny and Frau Burkhart. Meet Gertie. My name is Gerda. Gertie's good enough. Sit down. If you are Gerda, then I am Fred Riecker. When we are with the Americans, what happens to our men? She does as I say. That's all the manners she needs. Please. Take it easy, boy. Hey, you, Fred Riecker. Danny tells me your husband was killed in a war. Yeah. What was he? SS? Hank, cut it out. Just a question. No. My husband was drafted. Oh, sure. Not a volunteer in the whole German army. If you'd like to know about my father and my mother, I'll tell you that. Never mind him, Freddie. He's a bug on the subject. No, I don't mind at all, then. My mother was killed in an air raid. My father went much earlier. He was a professor at the University of Berlin. When they burned the books, he spoke against the government. I don't see him since. Fred Riecker, your father must have been a very brave man to do what he did. Not brave. You just believe strongly. My father believed, too, in the wrong things. Your father was a louse.  He tells you when to talk, think, die.   What's the matter with you? You big ape. You're treating Goethe the same way. You tell her what to do, what to say, what to think. Hey, wait a minute. Hey, you know something? You're right. Yeah. Well, when I'm wrong, I admit it. Well, admit it to Goethe. Bravo, Danny. Well, Goethe, uh... From now on, you can disagree with me. Out loud? Well, it better not be too loud. And I can ask questions? Sure. Goethe, I'm so mixed up. You are American, Danny is American. Today, there is much America in Germany. So I want to know about America. Okay. Shoot. What is democracy? What is it? Well... I can answer it, Hank. Well, democracy is democracy.  Look, you two talk politics. Freddie and I are gonna dance. I hope. Well, look, let's start with the voting, huh? Yeah. I don't think I like him, your friend. Hank, he's all right.  He was in a prisoner of war camp in Germany. He must have given him a rough time. All that. Sure. I don't want to be personal, but you mentioned a friend, don't you know it? Oh, yeah. A man? Oh. Is there anything... No, Danny. He's a family friend. There is not. Then there's a clear track, huh? Clear track? An American expression meaning it looks like a long, beautiful night. Oh, yeah, Danny. I'm sure it will be clear. So, America, Hank, it is run by the people. Right. A people's government. Right. Like in Russia. Wrong. Okay, okay, what I said. Now, look, call it a people's government in Russia. But the point is who is boss, the people or the government? Now, if you... I think I just saw an old friend. Who? That guy. Just leaving. You know him? That German? I know him all right. Gertie, just sit here. I'll be back in a few minutes. I slowly walk, huh? I do not understand. Yeah, me too. Just to walk. Please, I must go. I... Yeah, no, no.  You know, you're the spitting image that was a guard in a prison camp. Oh, God, never you make mistakes. What's the matter? Relax, take it easy.  I want to talk to you. I want to tell you about this guy. Oh, he was quite a German. He hated Americans and he hated Poles and I was both, so he took it out on me. You know what he used to do? He'd take me aside in the woods and give me German lessons. Nothing easy like Guten tag or Wiederssein, but nice little tongue twisters that were supposed to cast them. Well, I made mistakes, lots of mistakes. And whenever I did this fella, he'd correct me with a rifle button that kidneys took me about seven months, but I learned German. Of course, I've forgotten some of it, but if the weather changes suddenly or I bend too quick, you'd be surprised how it all comes back to me.  Now, Germans have trouble with the W's, don't they? I'll give you an easy one. Just say it after me. Which way went the winged whipper well? I don't want to hear any V's instead of W's in there. I'll have to correct you. Now, try it. Which way went the winged whipper well? Now, say it. Which way? Which way, I said. Now, try it again. Which way? Again! Again! Again! Again! I'm a dead duck if I'm picked up in these clothes. We'll have to run. But Hank... Get out of here. Take care of him, hurry. You're one of us, Danny. You know what it means. To run, be a German, swollen. Freddie's out for a while. This is her, Steve, and my friends, Hank and Girda. How are you? How do you do? Good enough. Well, I leave you alone. Hank, what was the fight all about? What happened? I knew that guy once. In a prison camp. For seven years, Danny. For seven years, I've been waiting for peace, and so now I've done it. Why do I feel like this? So lousy. So dirty and rotten. Hank, it is better than feeling good. Hank, get... You're all right, Freddie. What about the uniform? Oh, tonight there was no electricity in the British zone. What? Early tomorrow you get it, for certain. What am I going to do tonight? I'll sleep with a woman down the hall. You can have my room. Well, I... Good night, Danny. Good night. Okay, okay, good night. That's enough already. See you at the base in the morning, Danny. Yeah, see you. So, Danny, it has not been what you expected. Your leave. No, not what I expected at all. I am sorry. Don't be. I... We've gotten to know each other pretty well, Freddie. That's... That's very important. You said Danny? Yeah. Yeah, it certainly is.   More.  Next trip, Hank, I got to see Freddie. Well, come here, that's what I want to talk to you about. Well, for a week now I've been delivering stockings and blouses and cigarettes for you. Yeah, so... So I called you a sucker and I was right. I had a friend in the document center.  Wow, Fredricka Berkhardt. Yeah, look at that. What'd I tell you? That husband of Freddie's was in the SS. It's real pretty, isn't it? Yeah, it gets prettier. A wonderful father never saw a university. Had a little dough and he wanted to keep it so he played ball with the boys. He walked out on a mother in 1939 and he was a very stylish, nice guy. I guess it's true. Must be true. There are many other things I lied about. But Freddie, why? Because I have to... survive. Look around you, Danny. Bricks, wreckage, our lives. It's all this reason enough for life to escape from it for even a moment now and then. I think, Freddie, I think if I were you, I'd lie and cheat and steal anything to...  Pity, Danny. I love you. But more important, I... I understand you. Freddie, Freddie, for days, I've had something buzzing around in my head and now I know it's right. It has to be. Danny, what is this? Will you marry me? That's all. Will you marry me, Freddie? Why, you big, lug-headed sack. Look, I don't have to ask your permission to get married. Just take this envelope to Freddie and have her sign the papers. You can't get married now. Why not? Airlift personnel who's been here six months are going stateside. I'll see the CO. There must be some way to hurry things up.  Now, look, there was no line. Nothing cheap or nasty. Why, she's got... she's got dignity and fineness and brother, she's really had it. There are other people in this town. I never realized how tough... Yeah, yeah, yeah, I feel so sorry for them. Every Sunday at four o'clock, I stand right here and bleed. Okay, Danny, I'll see she gets your letter. Gertie and me will take a walk by Freddie's place. Okay, I gotta get back to the plane. Well, run real fast. Maybe you'll break your leg. Can you imagine, Gertie? Just like that, he's gonna get married. It is very nice. She will go to America You're still harping on that. I don't see how it can work. Here, just in Western Europe, there's so many peoples, languages, customs. It would be impossible. Impossible, she says. Look, tell me, Dopey, you ever hear of Manhattan? Yes, it is in Brooklyn. It ain't in Brooklyn. It's an island, 12 miles long and 3 miles wide. In Manhattan, we got more Irish than there are in Dublin. More Jews than in Israel, more Germans than in Düsseldorf, more Italians than in Naples, and a half a million Poles besides French and Greek and all the others. And you know something, Gertie? They all get along all right. Maybe they don't all love each other, but at least they've learned to live together. Hey, ain't this where Frederica lives? This is it. Well, let him give her the letter. I don't even wanna talk to her. Hello, you got Danny's friend, yeah? Hey, would you give this letter to Frau Burkhart? It's from Danny. Oh, of course. I give it to her with this other letter. I bring her from the post office. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just see that she gets it. Come on, Gertie. Now, look, you know what Manhattan is. What's your mail for Burkhart? This is from America, St. Louis, and this is from Danny. Oh, thank you. Wait a minute. That's the wrong letter for Burkhart. The other one, that's from... Please, housekeeper. You don't read Danny's first? You know that Danny's a remarkable young fellow? He has a certain feeling. Really, he doesn't even know me. And yet you know what he did? He gave me these shoes from the P.X. Look at these wonderful shoes. What? Oh, I was reading. Excuse me. Here, Steve, are you going out again? Soon. I wonder you would mail this letter for me. I wanted to leave quickly and I'm very busy. To St. Louis, of course. You're so busy for Burkhart. Is this something special? Yeah, I'm going to marry Danny. Oh, so you're going to marry Danny? Yes, Steve, I'm very anxious for my letter to be posted. Oh, of course, of course. I'll go right now. Hmm, to St. Louis.  Yes, sure, sure. Look, I'm going home. I'm posted stateside for Saturday. I can't get out of it. Yeah, you ought to be celebrating, Sergeant. Celebrating? If I'm going to be married at all, I've got to be married today, tomorrow, or the next day at the latest. Go argue with the weather. It's fogged in at Rhine Main. Maybe for a week. Sergeant, right now, you haven't got a prayer. Oh, yes, I have. Yes, I have. And I'm going to keep saying it over and over and over. You check today's weather? Tight. Not a break. Try tomorrow again, Sergeant. Captain Gramey, today's my last chance. I'm drafted out tonight. Well, the Met section says the fog might rise a little. And maybe? Maybe? Yeah, maybe. Sergeant, I don't know whether I'm making this flight for you or the Air Force. We'll name our first son after you. Gramey McCulloch. The poor kid. Don't count on too much, Danny. Flying in this soup is one thing. Landing is another. Yeah, well, we'll soon find out. Yep, right now. This is Big Easy 3-7 calling Temple Half Tower. Big Easy 3-7 to Temple Half Tower. Over. Danny, grab those earphones. Temple Half Tower to Big Easy 3-7. Go ahead. Over. How's it for a landing? Over. My head is thick. Let GCA bring it down. Have a look for yourself. Over. GCA, Roger, and out. This is Gowalski's shift, Captain. You just like him to crash us to keep me from getting married. Big Easy 3-7, this is Jigsaw. How do you read? Over. Jigsaw from Big Easy 3-7. Reading you five by five. Over. Roger, 3-7, understand the knowledge further instructions on this transmission. Maintain to 7-0. Start your descent. Eight hundred feet, Danny. Maybe it'll thin out. Not much. Six hundred feet. See anything happen? Yeah, my wife and two kids. Four hundred feet. We're down a minimum. Dead white. Sorry, Danny, I'm no hero. We're going home. Tower from Big Easy 3-7. Failed to break through on approach. Lear us for return to Rhine, Maine. Over. Roger. Thanks, Captain. You did your best. Don't worry. You'll work it out some way. Sure. With me posted stateside and Freddie and Jerry. Fire signal. Number four engine. Look at that smoke. Feather four. Feather four. Pull the bottle. Got it. Zero two isn't working. Still burning. How old are miserable luck? Captain, we'll have to go in now, won't we? Now you don't have to be so happy about it. Temple half tower from Big Easy 3-7. Number four engine on fire. Pull fire bottle. Still burning. Request emergency clearance. Over. Big Easy 3-7. Temple half tower. Jigsaw will contact you for emergency landing. Hold on. Big Easy 3-7. This is Jigsaw. Your present heading is 262. Correct at 270. Very good. Your course is good. Your altitude is 1200. Your position three miles from touchdown begin descent. You're drifting slightly left. Nothing to worry about. Steer right to 273. You're now approaching on course perfectly. 271.  I got my eyes shut. One and one half miles from touchdown. On course. Blow on glide path. Please correct 50 feet. I said, come on. Now I just talked to Danny. We've got to go be witnesses of the fuel. And he's going down to the consulate. We're all meeting at Freddy's. They're going to get married now. Are you drunk or something? No. Democracy is. It is not you. Correct like that.  Stop them trooper. I go to the American military government. Democracy. Democracy is independence and decency. Now you know what democracy is.  Get your coat. Well, you were going to be late, baby. Oh, come on upstairs. It's going to be a wedding. I guess you know, huh? Yes, Danny, Danny.  Yes, it's from Frau Burkart. She gave it to me to mail. Well, for certain reasons, I opened it. You'd better read it. Well, I don't know if it's Freddy's letter. Look, Danny, read it. In this way, I say thank you for the shoes, the airlift, for everything. And I'm very sorry, very sorry. To dress the St. Louis, Carl Mirbacket. And so, my darling, it is sure now that I will be with you again someday. You must write and tell me how long I must stay with him until I can get a divorce. Ben, I was worried. Yeah, some groom. You took your sweet time getting here. Oh, leave him alone, Hank. Is it arranged, Danny, when I will come to you? In a month? No. I think it might be longer than that. Oh, no, Danny. And even longer still until you get to St. Louis. St. Louis? Here's your letter, Frederica, to your boyfriend. How did he get to the States, Maria Wack? Hey, what's going on here? What is this? Yeah, read it yourself. Well, Danny, what do you want me to say? Nothing. Don't say anything. In a little while, I'm going home. I'll be glad. I'll be glad I'm back in the States and you're in Berlin. This is where you belong. In the rubble with the rest of the rats. Danny! Oh, please! Leave me alone. No, no. Don't judge people by a person, Danny. For what she did, there is no excuse. But to know how she could do it, you must look back. The lies, the cruelty. What do you want me to do? Justify it? No, Danny, no. But at least, you must know we all are not Fredericas. You must not think that. No, Goethe. You aren't. I know that. But just let me go. I'll see you sometime in the States, maybe. No. No, I stay here in Germany. I want something different, Danny. Better. But I, I try to find it here. It is my country. Sure. Make it good. Maybe you can. I hope so. So long, Goethe. There's your plane, Danny. They'll never get off in this fog. You got in, don't you? They're up there all right. Some switch, eh? You and me. You hated them and I loved them. Okay, so maybe we're both wrong. Gertie's okay. So is Stieber. Must be plenty of others. I suppose if you're ever going to sell these stoops a new way of living, you've got to be a good salesman. You know, maybe if we don't shove them too hard. Sure, sure. You don't want to talk about it. Have a good trip, Danny. Yeah. Hey, what about you? When are you going home? Oh, I forgot to tell you, I switched to permanent duty. You what? Well, you know how it is. You know, they're getting in some new GCA equipment and they want me to stick around and help kick the bugs out of it. So you're going to grow old and gray on the airlift? Well, the Russians won't keep up the blockade forever. They can try. Let them. Take a look. What good's a blockade if planes are up there when even the birds won't fly? Well, that's my trick in the GCA shack. Can you find your plane okay? I think so. So long, Hank. Go on, Danny. Don't get lost in the fog. I won't get lost. See ya, Hank. Next Thursday, the screen director's playhouse promises a few more magnificent performances. They present our adaptation of Outfit Hitchcock's Really Lotion Picture Experience Spellbound. In the starring roles, you'll hear Joseph Cotton and Academy Award winner, Mercedes McCambridge. Now here are tonight's stars, Paul Douglas and Edmund O'Brien. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you. Thank you very much for your applause. But if you enjoyed the big lift, well... Well, the one to thank is the fellow who created the picture. And we mean created. Yes, sir, because as writer-director, he conceived the idea, wrote the original story and the screenplay, and then flew a crew over to Germany to put it all on film. So for Paul and me, it's quite a pleasure now to introduce to you the wonderful guy who made the big lift. And if I can name a couple of other standouts, Eddie, there's Miracle on 34th Street and apartment for Peggy. Ladies and gentlemen, the director, Mr. George Seaton. Thank you, Paul, Eddie. As long as we're throwing credit around, let's not forget those guys who did the flying in Germany. Yeah, and a lot of the acting in the picture, too, George. Now, what about that, George?  The answer to that one is easy. You can't do it. Flyers aren't actors, and they can't play characters. They can play themselves. Performances that are real and honest. And that's what we wanted in the picture. Well, you had an honest story to begin with, George. If we did, it's because it was written from observation on a scene. You saw it for yourself, Paul. The story of Hank and Danny and their adjustment is the story of an awful lot of people. Thanks, fellas, for telling it so well this evening. Good night. Good night, everyone. Good night. Good night. The big lift was presented to the courtesy of 20th Century Fox. With studio tonight, we salute for the great Hollywood premiere of Mudlark on January 30th. It's being done special charity at the St. John's Hospital. Edmund O'Brien can currently be seen in the Paramount production The Red Head and the Cowboy. Paul Douglas can soon be seen in the 20th Century Fox production 14 Hours. George Seaton with William Pearl Berg is currently producing The Paramount Picture Rubar. The nice cast included Betty Lugerson as Federica, Green Tuttle as Gerda, and Henry Roland Eddie Marr, Tony Barrett, Paul Duboff, Byron Kane and Ralph Moody. The big lift was adapted for radio by Richard Allen Simmons. The screen director's playhouse is produced by Howard Wiley and by Bill Karn. This is Jimmy Wallington speaking and inviting you to listen next Thursday when we present Joseph Cotton and Mercedez the Cambridge in Spellbound with screen director Alfred Hitchcock. Sunday, Mr. and Mrs. Kerry Grant start a new series as The Blandings on NBC.


Good morning, Hank. It's Tuesday. It's the last week of Pizzamas. That means there's only a few more days to get your Pizzamas stuff at Pizzamas.com, including all of our amazing t-shirts and this super snuggly blanket and this color change in mug. By the way, we now have some discount bundles, including the cozy bundle, which includes this blanket and the mug for $30 off. Okay, Hank, so full disclosure, I'm anxious, so let's go outside because it does actually help me to, like, touch grass and be amid trees.  You made a TikTok once where you pointed out that humans have relatively brief lifespans and our species hasn't been around for that long, but if we think of ourselves as part of one continuous biological phenomenon called life, then things start to look quite different because life on Earth has existed continuously for about 3.7 billion years, which is around 23% of the history of the entire universe. So, like, we are young and most species we currently share the planet with are fairly young. Like, even the Tuatara, which existed before the emergence of large dinosaurs, is only around 250 million years old, which is less than 10% of the history of life on Earth. So, yeah, we're new, most other things that we see are new, but life is very old, and I do find that a little comforting. But when you're walking through an urban-ish forest, you don't only see life, of course, you also see steel husks and concrete structures that were once used to house barrels of whiskey during prohibition. This forest used to be private property owned by Albert Lieber, who made and lost a fortune selling booze, and who was also the grandfather of the novelist Kurt Vonnegut. And we're in a city, so the human-shaped world is everywhere, even in the forest, from the invasive ivy to the extraordinarily polluted white river. There's no full separation between these worlds, not really. We try to claim that this is artificial and this is natural, but concrete and steel are made out of Earth just like everything else is. Alright, I'm starting to breathe a little easier. I'm part of a continuous process of life that stretches back a quarter of the way to the beginning of time, and I'm in a world, I'm walking. This is a good place to be, all things considered. It's a good Earth. My friend Henry, in Sierra Leone, likes to say that when he sees beauty or goodness in the world, that he is encouraged. So yeah, I'm feeling encouraged. One nice thing about Indianapolis in October, the leaves are starting to fall. If you pitched this idea to someone who'd never been to Earth, I think they would find it phenomenally beautiful. So each cycle, we would explain to these non-Earth folk, each cycle it gets colder in parts of our world as we tilt away from our star, and our most numerous and visually prominent life forms, which are called trees, simultaneously change. The fluttering, soft green appendages at the end of these trees are called leaves, and these leaves erupt into bright colors that we associate with our star, reds, oranges, yellows, and then huge swaths of leaves fall to the ground until the ground is covered with them. The trees spend the cold months without their leaves, and then as our Earth begins to tilt back toward its star, the trees regrow their leaves. This goes on growing and falling, growing and falling for dozens or even hundreds of cycles. It goes on for so long that leaves dropped by young trees may in time become soil that helps support that same tree as it gets older. In a very real way, our trees are nourished by what they let go of, by what they leave behind. What an encouragement I find that to be. Hank, I'll see you tomorrow.


Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States, and Mrs. Reagan. Ladies and gentlemen, the National Anthems of Canada and the United States of America. Prime Minister Mulroney, today we offer you a heartfelt welcome. Bienvenue aux Etats Tunis. Bienvenue à Washington. It's always an honor. It's always an honor for any president of the United States to sit down with the leader of the people of Canada and in a spirit of good will talk over our mutual concerns. And the right honorable John Diefenbeker, a great conservative, the chief, whose memory I know Brian Mulroney holds dear, once said that President Eisenhower and he spoke to one another with the candor of free men in friendship. Well today, the traditionally close ties between our countries are being bolstered by the personal bonds that have developed between our peoples and, yes, between the elected officials of our countries. So today I offer you a special welcome as well as an official one. Nancy and I are delighted to see you and Mila again. Our citizens have grown to expect positive relations between Canada and the United States. However, I would suggest that we must never take our friendship for granted. It must be fostered and nurtured to keep it strong, vibrant and relative to those areas which most interest our peoples. Your visit, Mr. Prime Minister, comes at an opportune time. Progress has been made in a number of areas and our discussion should move the agenda along even further. The United States and Canada are poised to negotiate an historic new trade agreement. Our goal is in a core that could well be heralded on both sides of the border as a landmark accomplishment, a cornerstone for future prosperity. A new economic arrangement between Canada and the United States could, to our mutual benefit, encourage vigorous new economic activity and put an end to many of the irritants that have bedeviled us. Mr. Prime Minister, the two of us share a commitment to economic growth as a means of improving the well-being of our citizens. Canada and the United States, as nations built by immigrants, both enjoy many ties with the old world. We both have growing links with the nations of the Pacific Rim. But here again, let us not lose perspective on the importance of our relationship. We are still each other's largest trading partner. The commercial interaction of our people, generally free from rancor and distrust, has been an unmatched blessing to our citizens. While recognizing that we are separate and independent countries, each with our own national pride, traditions and institutions, there are a few things we can do which will be more of a boon to our people than protecting and expanding upon our many bonds of enterprise and commerce. Protecting the environment, as one would expect when two countries share a 5,000-mile common border, is also a matter of great significance. Environmental issues, especially those dealing with air pollution, are serious challenges. Today, we must build on what has already been accomplished and bring these issues closer to resolution. Canada and the United States have been cooperating to make this a more prosperous world, and also to make this a safer and peaceful world. Who can forget that we stood shoulder to shoulder in two world wars and in Korea to protect democracy and to save a besieged mankind from tyranny? And in the years since, Canada and the United States have shared the defense of the continent. But even more important, we've played a key role in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, history's most successful alliance, a pact which has given us 40 years of European peace. Today, Mr. Prime Minister, NATO is rebuilding to ensure that it remains fully capable of accomplishing its mission into the next century. If all its members carry their fair share, NATO will be able to preserve the peace, which is, after all, its primary mission, and which is, after all, the responsibility of all free people. If there is any lesson in history, it is that free people must be strong if they are to live at peace. I want to salute Prime Minister Mulroney for the tough measures that Canada is taking to combat the ugly threat of terrorism. The free and democratic nations of the world are just now mobilizing to rid mankind of this plague. There's every reason for optimism that this fight will be won, and that international terrorism will be relegated to the garbage heap of history where it belongs. I'm looking forward, Mr. Prime Minister, to discussing these areas vital to our national securities and the peace of the world. The people of our two countries are setting an example to the rest of the world. We're proving that two proud and independent nations can live side by side, each respecting the sovereignty and the rights of the other. Our cooperation and the mutual profit we enjoy is the envy of so many nations. Well, we're showing them how to do it. President Harry Truman put it best. We Canadians and Americans, he said, are proud of our joint record, but we claim no monopoly on that formula. What we're trying to do, Canadians and Americans together, is to build a better world. And in this noble endeavor, let us pray that the citizens of our two countries will always be on the same team, freedom's team. Mr. Prime Minister, welcome. That owns our travail. Thank you, Mr. President, Mr. President. It's good to be with you again. As you will recall, you were the first head of government I met with, and this was the first capital I visited only days after the installation of our government 18 months ago yesterday. Some days in the House of Commons, Mr. President, seems a lot longer. I wanted to make clear then, and I want to repeat now, that harmonious and fruitful relations between Canada and the United States are a top priority with us. With that in mind, we agreed from the beginning that it would be useful, indeed, indispensable for us to meet annually. And so we met one year ago in Quebec City. You remember, Mr. President, it was a cold day. You wore a green tie. And TIP wasn't there. And we launched a new era in our relations. Un air de consultation et de coopération, de cordialité et des gares mutuelles entre les deux peuples, qui se tiennent en haut estime. Canadians and Americans, though different in many ways, share many of the same values. These meetings will provide us with an occasion to review our relations, but also with an opportunity to renew our friendship. How far have we come in the last year? Where do we hope to go in the next year or two? There are a number of questions on the bilateral agenda, not all of them near resolution by any means. But let me say first, Mr. President and Nancy, that I come here today with Mila to celebrate the common heritage, the community of interest, and the commonality of purpose between our two great countries. We are more than one another's best friends. We are far and away one another's largest trading partner. But we don't take one for granted any more than the other. Friends stay in touch, and partners have to work at it. President Reagan and I stay very much in touch, and we're working very hard to assure that our trading partnership continues to grow on the basis of mutual interest and mutual trust. President Reagan and I, as friends, are working very hard to assure that our trading partnership continues to grow on the basis of mutual interest and mutual trust. We don't take one for granted any more than the other. There won't be straight talk, even among the best of friends. It is precisely because we are friends that we speak so frankly and so clearly to each other. Such candor, I think, cements our friendship and sustains our relationship. So Mr. President, Mila and I are delighted to be here with you today, with you and Nancy. We very much look forward to our meetings and just getting together again in the course of our visit. Thank you, sir, and thank all of you. Ceremony.