Patterns (1956) ROD SERLING

[Music] so [Music] now [Applause] foreign [Music] so [Music] now so good morning mr mayor this year he'll have to take the local all right phil 40th floor executive mr neal thank you phil morning miss lanier good morning martha i couldn't find a cab anywhere such a lovely day though 40th floor executive ramsey and company miss stevens i'm sorry sir our switchboard doesn't open till nine you should be able to reach him shortly thereafter and that's correct sir mr staples begins with a company today i'll leave your message on his desk and would you put this on mr staple's desk please yes ma'am mr staples will be in mr quinn's old office executive corridor yes i know i said deliver it not read it yes ma'am executive 40th floor miss stephens thank you good morning hi well good morning madam i wonder if marge is going to go to work next door oh no i'm glad i know it's not there maybe well we really fixed up a new execs office for him didn't they very nice a new man right next door to your boss and awfully close to mr ramsey so happens with the new man what's his name staples mm-hmm we'll be working with mr briggs that's why they have adjoining offices archery baby you're awfully defensive i guess that's cause you're worried about your mr briggs run along with you now i have some more cream please [Music] next car please next car next car please okay next card harry charlie joe express down no stops for jim all right [Applause] thank you martha operator please ms phillips you can put this morning's three long distance calls through to mr ramsey portland dallas st louis offices good morning mr anthony good morning miss lanier any messages you have calls placed for our portland alice in st louis officers nothing else important sir martin toole and die you said you'd wire him yes you'll find a copy in my briefcase you're right as usual nothing important i have the portland report in my briefcase i want it teletype this morning to seattle have someone there drive over to portland and get it to johnson before lunch then run off 20 copies confidential mimeographing and have them ready in time for the board meeting i want it on the agenda as mr staples arrived yet not yet sir delayed that meeting until 10 this morning to give you time to get the report membered and distributed i want it read and carefully get word underground to their secretaries that no one is to count on making any early luncheon appointments and make a note staples is to sit one down from vandeventer on my left yes sir let me know as soon as mr staples arrives yes mr ramsey [Music] well fred here we are yeah here we are a little different than mansfield isn't it now i know what a mother feels like when a child goes to school for the first time oh goodbye mother looks big doesn't it oh give me a chance honey maybe i can count it down to my size and i'm a little late should i call you when i no no no you uh going home after you finish shopping and find a garage somewhere around midtown about the car uh i'll turn you on what train up y'all goodbye darling ramsey and company the board said yes sir executive or administrator oh the executive mr ramsey 40th floor sir morning great oh uh you went the tower sir the tower elevator sir we'll be down in a minute oh i'm sorry thank you my pleasure sir good morning good morning good morning good morning good morning morning jamie good morning bill morning marge how was the weekend fine your letters are on your desk and the coffee cart will be here in a minute i can use some coffee didn't you get any rest at all couldn't even take my kid to the double-header oh what a shame that planning report's going to be a real job marge this will be a big week for you too with that thing i believe we'll try a rough first draft long no longer than the telephone directory marge as mr staples come in yet marge no sir mr staples yes i'm margaret lanier mr ramsey secretary oh how do you do mr ramsay would of course be here to welcome you himself but you caught him on a long distance call may i take you back to your office well thank you very much and on our way i might show you some of our other departments have you met miss stevens i introduced myself ms lanier fine and may i bid you my own personal welcome we are very glad to see you well that's very nice of you thank you now if you'll just come with me ms stevens marketing and sales are below here we have our own research department on the 40th floor perhaps you'd like to see that later this is the executive corridor mr ramsey's office is that one down at the end then mr jameson head of purchasing mr briggs you'll be working closely with mr graves mr van der venker chief engineer and this is your office isn't it nice i hope you like it mr ramsay was told by someone in your old office that you were especially fond of this period wasn't your office in mansfield furnished in early american my furniture consisted of two filing cabinets in a surplus metal desk off of a destroyer escort no it's uh it's really very attractive very i appreciate it very much indeed excuse me miss lanier anne said you wanted to see me oh yes marge mr staples this is miss fleming how do you do how do you do marge when you say that mr staples has everything he needs in the way of office equipment he's arranged for this morning at mr briggs suggestion oh fine i was rushed now mr staples again a most cordial welcome thank you very much and uh marge will you step by at my desk when you finish here please yes mr i think i better explain the phone system mrs staples there are four lines one is your private line direct to outside two is for conference calls three is for enter office and four this button is for your secretary oh i'm sorry may i oh yes thank you yes i think i have that uh let's see outside interoffice uh conference uh yes that's it's fine thank evans this isn't early american busy no no not at all oh you must be bill briggs your next door neighbor yes of course well i'm certainly glad to meet you sir i i think uh mr ramsay told me you'd been sick didn't he oh did he actually it's just a just a pesky stomach that's been acting up on me you just in from mansfield yes they took a house for oh uh sit down mister settled already good i'm not trying to set myself up as a real new yorker altoona pennsylvania that's where i came from my first trip home i was wearing spats i remember my father not being able to get over it he says bill billy says you went to new york to see the sights and instead you become one of them well we just got here friday afternoon so this morning nancy insist uh my wife she insisted on driving me to work the first morning well you know the way women are you know you you come out of a small town plant you you feel a little lost in a place like this only that thing you know we uh walked into our house friday afternoon we'd never laid eyes on the place before you know and there was furniture like a magazine milk in the ice box bourbon on the shelf and i don't know you got to hand it to them the way they do things around here yes miss linda handles all that does a fine job that feeling that i got driving into town this morning well i got to admit it's just uh just a little overwhelming yes and it's a pretty wonderful thing to be as young as you are and see it all spread out in front of you like a like a christmas tree you know you think of uh you think of big business you always think of it as being very impersonal you know but uh it's certainly not true with your mr ramsey i know what you mean how much time did you put in in mansfield almost six years you must have blown a bugle in ramsay's air out in ohio he brought you here in a hurry well actually i wasn't at all sure i wanted to come to new york but uh this ramsay is a pretty dynamic man yes i know you see you've been with a firm some time now haven't you oh maybe 40 years or so i seem to recall mr ramsay's talking about you as a production man you're an engineer aren't you yes but uh from what he told me i guess i'll be a little of everything around here mostly in industrial relations industrial relations matter of fact it's been one of my specialties we we ought to get along pretty well together i'm sure we will excuse me mr ramsay's called a meeting in the conference room mr briggs oh well fred it's been a real pleasure meeting her thank you durandy's mr staples too oh well then i'll uh i'll go in with you if you don't mind not at all i just hope mr ramsay remembers hiring me mr ramsay rarely forgets anything after you thank you staples yes hello fred uh this is harvey jameson head of purchasing oh how are you so they finally finished it what oh fred your office on friday the painters and all it was a mad house say bill are you taking along ramsay's breakdown no i forgot that there are a couple of other things i forgot to uh jamie would you and fred go along together i'll be in a few minutes fine i suppose has given you the cook's tour what oh yes did you show you the conference room oh yes on the other side yes mr briggs what is it marge i don't know mr briggs i think i ought to resign resign what are you talking about what happened what is it marge mr briggs i've just been hard to go over to mr staples as his new secretary temporarily no i don't think so who gave this order ms lanier when about five minutes ago i'm supposed to break in your new secretary they've picked a new secretary for me yes i think so it's out of the question for you to resign marge to even think of resigning you're a fine wonderful woman and a great secretary that's the reason they want you over with staples he'll need someone like you because he's new here and they want him to get into harness fast who can tell marge one of these days that stomach of mine pretty perverse organ and i'm tired do you know as it must to all men mr friggs have you any idea who your successor is yes they've chosen sylvia trammell miss trammell it is so ordained so be it she's new but she's supposed to be very good at dictation well we'll give her a chance to prove it i could only tell you what this job has meant to me but working with you has meant to me all right kid wash up get your money and get out of here and give mr staples all the best you've got in you i know you will that's the only way you operate i like the guy i have a feeling he's going to carve out a career around here yes sir everybody seems to think so i'm sorry to keep you waiting gentlemen mr ramsay will be with us here's the question been away have yeah oh sorry fred i was held up for a few minutes see you later now where are we going to sit you oh here's an empty chair i guess you can sit right here mr staples will you sit over there please right next to mr van deventer one down for mr ramsey please welcome back bill feeling better much thank you a little stomach good i'm glad it's cleared up john uh don't forget that comment can we get it through tomorrow i think so i haven't been first gentlemen i'd like you to look over the mimio sheet on top haverford mutual had some doctors look into the matter of executive diets they finally showed incredible deficiencies they've gotten up some food tables i've had the mimi on i'd like you to look them all up as you know it's in my feeling that a healthy executive is an efficient one [Laughter] i think it's not a miss now to introduce the newest member of our team mr fred staples he's from mansfield ohio as you all know he was general manager of queen city tool and die until we took it over his record there was a brilliant one he's a production engineer by training an industrial relations man by instinct i expect good things from him oh you've probably met everyone but uh just for the record reading from left to right mr jameson head of purchasing amen mr granigan controller mr gordon head of sales mr latham head of service mr porter chief of operations nice to know you good and mr van deventer chief engineer how are you nice to see you play you oh and uh of course you've met mr briggs oh yes who's our vice president assistant general manager in charge of everything that everybody else forgets to do now gentlemen you all have before you a copy of the williamston plant purchase prospectus mr jameson did you attach your supplements it's right there mr ramsey page 17r under process equipment and uh mr granigan the stock purchase plan i outlined i have your comments here uh you do mr ramsey good feasible is it very much so in my opinion good well that about winds it up unless there are any further points to be made i do think mr ramsay if we could keep the transaction under wraps for a bit at least during the preliminaries you know what'll happen to the stock quotations if it leaks out that we've agreed to purchase i've arranged it this way the stock quotation as of yesterday morning you seem to be straining at the leash mr briggs or am i mistaken you mention here that probable time of purchase would be sometime in june are the plans to be in receivership until then that seems to be what it says that means six months with the improper maintenance of equipment oh i doubt it bill i've had two of my best men out there for the last six weeks we had a varying voltage problem but that was taken care of you know maintenance wise i doubt if there will be a thousand dollars worth of deterioration how about goodwill what about it the plant employs 900 men that's half the working force of the village so so what do we do with these men cover them with cosmoline and put them away in a drawer until we get ready to resume production i thought your concern was for the plant and what good is the plant without the men you chop a village payroll in half for six months and you might not have a plan because you might not have a village mr briggs if we may be permitted to disregard for the moment the considerations that you were brought up what about the rest of the plan i'd say it was adequate adequate that gentleman is the kiss of death believe me i've known mr briggs for a long time when he says something is adequate what he means is that it is entirely inadequate i must admit the feeling of concern over some 900 men suddenly deprived of a livelihood mr briggs if you would do me the goodness to look at what i consider to be a fairly elementary business principle by putting 900 men out of work temporarily we may ultimately employ twice that number in the same town by cutting production costs as a result we will then be able to compete more favorably in the market thus we'll be able to sell more goods we're not going to ruin that town we're going to make it i should think mr briggs that after 30 years you'd be able to think beyond the tongue clucking stage and come up with something resembling an analytical point of view i was under the impression i'd given you a point of view i saw none i perceived what amounts to a rather emotional little tidbit that was decidedly more charitable and cooperative and by no means thought through i asked i believe for an objective view of a business venture from you i got and i seem constantly to be getting a very negative response of any at all adequate i believe you said well mr briggs this little move will save us conservatively half a million dollars which we'll be able to put back into the business i must say you take the liberal view of adequacy i didn't intend to make a central issue out of this but i did feel it important enough to air in this meeting well you have had it in this meeting i think it's a good thing you did but i think bill we're pretty much of one mind about it now and we may assume the matter is closed now mr briggs how about you mr staples do you have an opinion no no i think not mr ramsey why not well frankly it's a little out of my grasp at the moment i don't know anything about the firm it's cooperative setup reasons for bankruptcy or for that matter it's product i'm afraid i'll have to pass good answer i respect thoughtful judgment mr staples congratulations we'll adjourn now until two o'clock i'm sorry we got started so late this morning but i wanted this analysis mimiod for your inspection after lunch we'll take up the portland report which you have before you mr granigan attended the stockholders meeting there on tuesday and we'll begin our discussion with his report that's all all right sir oh bill why don't i come and have some lunch oh thank you oh uh bill wasn't there something you wanted to speak me about before nothing important fine tummy's alrighty cast iron couldn't be better good keep it up oh uh staples see you later good to have you with us staples thank you on the arrangement satisfactory oh yes just perfect i'm sure you'll be hearing from my wife very soon about that it's a beautiful house beautiful country up there i'm sure you'll love it oh uh see you later bill oh friend briggs is working on a project now a comprehensive planning report the point is that it's very important most important indeed for our future program and it's far too big a job for briggs or for anyone man to handle now what i want you to do is get your finger in it what i mean is more than just your finger you understand yes mr ramsay you make that quite clear oh could i see you a minute miss winnie uh yes sir oh i wonder if you could check for me please as to who's to be my secretary i need some notes typed up i'm to be your secretary mr staples but i thought mr briggs it was arranged for just before the meeting mr staple i take it you'd rather remain with mr briggs i was mr briggs secretary for seven years mr staples well in that case i see no reason why i shouldn't be able to get someone else it was mr ramsey's idea do you want to give me those notes now no uh why don't you have your lunch first miss fleming we'll take care of these when you come back mr briggs there are some notes here that later marge i'll do it later darling you didn't say anything about my new hairdo do you like it yeah it's loving oh i wish you could see the new dresses i bought they're just beautiful where are they oh they're still at the store having little things done to them go on the kitchen i'll fix your drink not the kitchen the library oh i hope they'd have the dresses ready and have them send over to your office this afternoon i spoke to your secretary about it when i called it's funny she didn't mention it they didn't get the job done in time she had a nice voice what's she like who your secretary oh what you might expect you know what's her name now to tell you the truth i didn't get her name only your dimensions all right no her name is fleming it so happens you don't have a thing in the world to worry about she doesn't like me worth a bit why well i guess she prefers working for a former boss well then why doesn't she i don't know some kind of strategy at the top i guess that sounds funny yeah her ex-boss happens to be only one of the vice presidents my superior and a very nice guy to boot could that perhaps be a good sign well you figured out left me a little up in here you know nancy running a plant in ohio is beginning to take on all the aspects of a nice simple uncomplicated gravy train what happened today oh nothing really just an impression i guess sort of queer undercurrents and tensions good luck [Music] mr ramsay good morning mr ramsay stevens [Applause] fine thanks jerry let me see that breakdown again oh sure mrs fleming would you step in for a minute please yes mr davis no that's everyone oh i'm sorry it's yours yeah now this is the only one that i have cross index for division so don't let him keep it i want uh billy to take my letter from henry jacobson with him oh yes now look billy henry is a nice sincere guy you know made out of bessmer steel he hadn't been off of his duff since he learned how to walk he started out stoking coke furnaces when he's 14. he was milforming when he was 20 and then he ended up buying the whole plant for his own 40th birthday present so you know what i mean watch out i sure will give him that report and then remember what he says make stenographic notes when you can and when you can't put it all down on paper as soon as you get out of the office no approximations make it as yes i want to know what they're thinking i want to know how they feel about every paragraph i just hope they'll open up more to you than they did to me i'll be down there sometime next week for their decision okay uh mention that to him will you yes i will hello uh hold it please just a second have a nice trip billy and be sure and call me sunday night yeah i will thank you very much yes put him on uh don't go away miss fleming please hello judd look i'm sorry i meant to call you right back uh it's about that atlantic states nitrate meeting set up for october the 3rd i'd like a delay on that well i want to walk in there sure on my ground and october's not going to give me any ground at all yeah could you do that well that'll be a help november 7th fine look i'll see you in the dining room okay good put that on my calendar please now then uh where'd you get those wires off yes sir good right after lunch i want you to set up a conference call with ramsay jameson myself with frank derring in denver got a minute fred sorry march this is urgent it's about that nlrv vote in portland what about it ramsay's grumbling about it he thinks it's premature primature what's he talking about he's had that plant running on wishful thinking for 19 months now we've got a labor problem out there all primed to explode in our face now look bill you better walk in his office with a great big neon sign strike you know then tell him i've got a little estimate worked out that it'll cost us conservatively four thousand dollars a day if that plant goes out you know how that'll hit him yeah well you go in there and dig up the ground and i'll follow you with a bulldozer and we'll plow him under oh we've got 800 big lumberjacks out there and if they go that'll do it big you know this won't be any one-week picket this thing could go on for a year with no strain at all you walk in there set the charge and i'll be into light diffuser fine i'll have to call you back is uh 2 30 convenient for your call to denver mr staples for everything else on like another problem out here if you can spare a minute wow paul how are you partner mr staples that gun oh you got it now you like it you try it out you try it chad 30 seconds from the time he read winchester double barrel on the box he was sighting it well how about going out for a little skeet shooting on sunday give it a try huh wonderful can i dad he's all yours fred he's a little too strenuous for me mr staples doesn't get tired like you do dad i don't get tired he was an all-american well it was just terrific so i had to stop by and thank you forget it well so long i'll see you outside are you thoughtful of your friend ah this is my play you bill hello mr ramsey paul still taking your vitamins are you i guess so sir fine fine give it up excuse me oh man i'm tired i made arrangements for your call to denver mr staples if i could go over one paragraph no i think i'll knock that off after lunch if you don't mind was funny all right mr staples oh drink it here relax a minute thank you i will would you like some of mine yes thank you as a matter of fact i would no that is trying to thank you where'd you play your football mr staples oh ohio state but don't ask me the years i won't tell you i won't ask you anyway i feel about three times older than when i first came here they've kept you busy yes yes your head you've done very well you fit it in quickly thank you you know i think that's the first out and out friendly thing you've said to me i think you resent me a little don't you miss fleming i don't know why you should well it's just a feeling that i've gotten from time to time you work with a man for a long time a fine man you become part of him you identify yourself with him then along comes the new man i like bill briggs i like him a lot i have from the first if i have done or said anything oh no of course not because i must say you've been very fair but seven years isn't a day i owe a lot to mr briggs mr riggs is the last of the original bunch around here the people who really started this business that's not easy to be the last of the original bunch i know he's not well he has a bad heart and an ulcer i guess that's just about power for the executive course isn't it well i guess i've always been a field man i haven't been an executive long enough to find that out for myself but you're a good one i think you're a very good executive you admit mistakes you don't pass the buck you're a lot like mr briggs that way i take that as a very nice compliment i mean it mr briggs's only trouble is that he could never be a yes man not even to mr ramsey himself he always has to speak his mind and mr ramsey doesn't like his judgment questioned you either go along or you get off bill briggs never got off no he never did but maybe he's about to be pushed surprised he blew up at the next round and then howard went right by him with a 65. a 65 i asked you seven birdies and he sang an 82 foot cut on the last green for an e oh hello my dear you know that's some god yes indeed that coffee be ready in just a little while fine you know my uh my father's recipe for coffee was to make salt and chocolate with the grounds cook them all up together you'd never drink anything else sounds wonderful they uh they serve it at a small downtown restaurant i i.e that occasionally i must remember to mention it to fred you said he was a confirmed coffee drinker dedicated fine he's quite a young man this husband of yours have you had a chance to read much of the report of course it isn't finished yet well thank you for letting me see this much not according to this post i suppose at a dinner party but it makes me extremely proud of my gentleman so happy he's been worried about it nancy would you excuse me wonderful party you two makes me think i should get married oh don't do anything as drastic as that wonderful having you ed come again soon will you try keeping me away i'll see you at the office yes bright and early yeah good night ah jamie you don't have to go yet stick around a while it's early of course i'd love to stay all night however we're going home and get him out of here nancy usually he leaves office parties as soon as the canopy isn't fast i thought everybody behaved very well i thought so i'm gonna get regretted not again i was beginning to like off will you come over and see us come over during the day you know nowadays jamie never gets home at all i think we wives ought to form a union good night good night i wonder what happened to bill briggs tonight oh donny i forgot to tell you he phoned earlier he said he wanted to come but he just didn't feel afraid oh nancy i wish you'd have called me to the phone i wanted to talk to him anyway maybe you're busy well i know but i what about ramsay is he planning to spend the night no he just gravitated towards the library and made himself cozy that sounds a little like artificial gravitation to me you didn't have anything to do with it of course well he's really an amazing person you know i expected a real tycoon but he's so simple almost childlike baby i just hope by mistake you never wander into a jungle some interesting reading matter here friend very interesting reading i took the liberty of accepting your wife's kind invitation to look over your report oh really good heady stuff good solid thinking and some of it is better than good of course i can't say that i agree with all your conclusions but i listen to arguments it'll be good to hear arguments for a change good argument well i can't tell you what a relief that is we really sweat that one out fred i like a man to show initiative i like a man who's not afraid to think a new thought to take a different kind of step on his own with your permission i'll uh borrow this extra copy of your report just overnight but for now i can say i'm very impressed well of course we haven't finished this thing yet but bill and i feel that another week you mean breaks yes sir well we work together on this oh come now staples i pride myself on my sense for style i can link what i see with what i know to be peculiar to a certain individual and i know bill briggs work i've been exposed to it since i was a voting age this this isn't his style it isn't his brand of thinking well i don't know what nancy could have told you but bill and i worked learn to accept success it's tougher sometimes than learning to accept failure don't take half of your accomplishment and and hand it out gratuitously to the man on your left who hasn't the stuff to do it on his own that's charitable humane and he makes you feel good but it's not business mr ramsey i'd like to clear up one point there'll be a meeting on tuesday fred we can discuss the report then i assure you i don't want any undue credit i never extend undue credit ask anybody ask your friend briggs you think i'm tough on him don't you i am tough i'm i think bill is uh i think he's a good man he was and grandfather clocks were good clocks and stanley steamers were good automobiles but you can't run them in competition today i must say that i like some of his ideas very much very much indeed so do i some of them not many still a man with bill's experience and i don't know i think he'd be very hard to replace i'll see if that coffee's right here are you serious fred briggs would be hard to replace do you honestly think that then why do you think i brought you on here from mansfield on such short notice do you think that was a whim is that what you think fred you're briggs replacement i thought you understood that i'm expecting his resignation i don't like to prolong these things they're unpleasant and personal no matter what tech you use and under no circumstances could i or would i undertake to fire him copies in the living room i thought perhaps you'd like to go in there it's quiet look at the time i i really must go it's been a wonderful evening i'm sorry you have to leave so soon i really must my uh coat i think is in the bedroom oh yes of course i'll get it for you may i make a suggestion mr ramsey i don't want to seem ungrateful i'm not looking for gratitude you can't run a business on thank you notes that's briggs trouble and god forgive me that was my father's trouble too this this incredible conception of a huge industry being run like a soup kitchen like a like a welfare comfort station i know what the old-timers think of me i've grown up getting stared at by a lot of tongue-clocking old fogies who find me ruthless kind of people who represent everything that might have kept our business from growing to anything like its present size this this stupid black and white idea that honesty and fair profit are incompatible i just happen to feel that the atmosphere of a large corporation cannot be constantly cathedral-like thank you mr staples and again thanks for a wonderful evening i'll see you in the morning friend you didn't steal that promotion you won it remember that goodbye what was that all about i'm bill briggs replacement a vice presidency you must have really spread it on listen a little rare roast beef and wifely pride don't get you that kind of a promotion yeah i'll take something a little more little misrepresentation for one thing a little switch in authorship for another you told him i'd written that report i did not i told him bill it helped you but nancy this is bill's basic idea the same set of ideas that he's had for years i gathered that much you gave it life you made it work you made it practical even so nancy i don't want any part of it well fred i happen to know what you contributed to this i also know that you can't stand winning if you have even a nodding acquaintance with a loser i don't like stepping on another human being to get into a capital gains bracket ramsay's stalking that poor guy like an animal he'll whip him to death if he has two to make him resign i didn't hear you tell mr ramsey that he was mistaken i didn't hear any clear-cut defense of mr briggs if you don't want to be successful go and tell that to mr ramsay he'll give you a problem please and you can check in his head every night i don't know look i don't want to argue about why not do i i just want you to answer me did you tell him that your wife was mistaken did you tell him that you were taking bath for something you did not do no no i didn't why not fred why not because i want the job thank you for a straight and honest answer now i think we can both sleep tonight hi good morning paulo where's cora she's late i guess aren't you gonna be late for school it's only 8 10. i've still got six minutes i'm gonna figure it out to a science haven't you i just got it figured to how far i have to go and how long it's gonna take me well if you found that out you found out a lot thanks for breakfast you worked late again last night yeah no rest for the weary you haven't got it down with science yet have your dad what how far you have to go and how long it'll take you what's the matter paul here here's last night's doubleheader the one we were gonna see oh i forgot all about it paul i'm i'm sorry we didn't miss much i watched it on television crummy doubleheader the braves took both of them you're lucky the yanks are playing tonight aren't they yeah they play the red sox let's start all over again you meet me at the office we'll have dinner and then we'll go to the game together sounds good it's a date you're on so long dad have a good day and uh if you can't make it tonight would you give me a call at school i've raised the world's worst pessimist at eight o'clock in the morning you're figuring out the worst possible thing that could happen at six o'clock tonight upstairs in my room i've i've got a drawer full of tickets to ball games we've never seen because of that stuff but um call me if you can't dad it's important i'll make it this time son can't you have another glass of milk and maybe tell me about last night's double-header i'd be late wish i could so long dad take it easy sure good evening mr staples good evening sally paul hi bill hi friend i thought it was my son he's gonna pick me up got time for cigarette sure what are you doing here i thought you were going to the ball game i've had a miserable headache since dinner so i sent paul on to see the game alone huh he's gonna pick me up how long you been here a couple of hours i guess can i get you an aspirin or something oh no no it's much better now anyway it gave me a chance to look over the supplements you did for the report i think ramsay's right fred you may be an engineer by diploma but you're crackerjack industrial planner by instinct or something coming from you bill that sounds real good no question about it some of your suggestions were great fred really great i have incorporated them verbatim i like your approach fred you think of people in terms of the human factor not just logistically something i've never been able to make ramsay understand anyway now he can't complain i turn in the same report every year he won't be able to say that this year join me fred no thanks bill i've got to pick nancy up for supper and that long drive home you know i don't know maybe i'm just getting old i used to be pretty tough still tough i guess but every now and then i get tired tired of arguments tired of battling tired of the whole bloody mess with all this fancy organization and super finagling oh i know it's legal and modern and all that it's what they call the trend isn't it in the old days things were a lot simpler businesses grow bill this business didn't grow not since old man ramsay passed on it's been added to that's not growth it's just plain acquisition of business of stock transfers and bank loans manipulated by hired shysters in their sharp shooting accountants and organized and controlled by a barracuda like walter ramsey you sure you won't have a snifter fred i wish you would no well times change bill you know that but do they always change for the better old man ramsay could walk down a production line and call every man by his first name and get called by his first name in return i i know that feeling believe me he didn't need public relations experts honor was enough character and he never sold a share of stock in his company either not till the depression came along and he had to raise cash or go under and you know why because he would not lay off one single man that's the kind of man jim ramsay was now i sit in that fancy conference room with jim ramsey's son i sit there and i see all the old man's principles all his beliefs every single thing holy to him jobbed off by this spindly little financial wizard this wall-eyed ice-coated little rooster who knows more about the benchers than he does about the human heart well i'm all right take it easy i'm all right begin to work yourself up i'm all right sit down friend sit down quietly and be a nice sympathetic friend an associate i'm wondering if you're as good a human being as you are an industrial relations man he doesn't like you does he no bill has it ever occurred to you to resign of course it has a thousand times why don't you what resign you can't take the chance of letting this man fire you on our level you don't get fired you know that after 30 years of productive work they can't say to a man like me all right now get out i just can't do that so what do they do they create a situation a situation you can't work in and finally that you can't live in where there's tension abuse small humiliations it all starts out on a scale so subtle so microscopic but at first you can't really believe it's happening at all but gradually the thing begins to take shape the pieces fit together all the little bits and it becomes unmistakable they chip away at your pride your security till you begin to have doubts and then fears ramsay he wants me to resign he wants me to get my cross so full that i'll be miserable enough to do just that but you take it yes i take it why the bigger the job the more desperately you try to have why why why do you take it why don't you quit quit yes quit get out of it chuck it you'd have your pension your peace of mind no you know ramsay's gonna go on hounding until he makes you quit never you'll never make me quit bill i i i wish i could understand why you go on taking it because i'm weak i guess because i'm 62 years old and i don't think i could get another job how's that strike you how do you think once in a while i have a dream i dream i'm sitting in that conference room when he starts working me over i'm just smiling see perfectly calm and i'm taking it i don't show the slightest resentment and then then without any change of expression i get up out of my chair and i walk over to him and i say ramsay bill ramsey bill ramsey i say and then i smash him and then it's the kid he's coming to pick me up fred i don't want him to see me not like this you're all right just sit down now no you can't see me like this fred help me help me all right all right i'll take care of him you just lay low for a minute i'll see you guys tell me i left early to get some real please be quiet hurry be quiet [Music] oh hi mr staples man what a place by night where do they keep the caskets how you doing partner dad said i should drop in and pick him up oh well he went on home he needed a little rest oh good he's under orders not to work late i can't seem to keep away lately always work always worrying no wonder he's number two man i suppose i drop you off at grand central swell thanks mr staples ever since i can remember he's been married to this place mom used to say the same thing they work great together mr staples mom and dad he used to yell and argue and carry on he was a fighter great growing up [Music] more there's another bundle on the truck mr staples you left your hat in mr briggs office oh fred i have a stanley contract made up if you'd like to take a look later please sad night yes mr staples well this is the proposals report give that to ms lanier for confidential memoir tell her that mr briggs has the only carbon is he in yet no sir mr staples yes it's not signed how would you like the names in what order first yours or first mr breed well i don't care it makes no difference to me but in joint projects mr steve i already don't think it's too important put mr briggs name first if you like just give it to ms lanier right away like this thing printed by afternoon if possible that's all marge yes marge dear what is it the proposals report would you sign it so it can be printed oh would you just a moment please marge will you please take it into mr ramsay he asked to see it first hello oh yes good morning is that the report yes sir miss lenny i said you wanted to see it yes i do who signed this i wrote the title page mr staple suggested i sign it printed i'm sure that if mr staples print it miss fleming i can sign that report now marge we meet with ramsey in 20 minutes under the conditions and then the time we got left it's the best plan i can devise and it's the only one ready so you fellas have got to go along there's nothing wrong with it i can sign that record now hold up you've got to order section b thank you marge [Applause] the major projects during the period of aforementioned being the huber petroleum refinery the sterling cast airs refinery the chatham-nickel smelter company the henderson valley dam the swing carbon steam plant and the new england canadian natural gas pipeline good report van thank you i got a real feeling of activity during your region the next item of business is the project's proposal report clearly of the greatest single importance on our docket this morning i must say and i'm sure you'll all agree that i am not given to enthusiasms at the drop of a submission but of this i feel impelled to say that it is unique in effort in genius and thought to mr fred staples of our organization goes my heartfelt thanks and congratulations besides being our newest member he seems to be shaping up as among our most astute this set of proposals is ingenious comprehensive and fresh congratulations your success is a reaffirmation of my own judgment mr ramsey of my own good judgment i may have mr ram i prefer not to be drenched with modesty mr st this is not modesty just the extension of credit where it's due bill here is his responsibility is your name about to be used in vain i don't think fred would use my name in vain and it's refreshing to find someone not suffering from over modesty what i was trying to say is that we worked on this project together it's a combined effort i'm sure it was well as long as that's understood oh it is it is it's just that i feel reasonably competent to assess individual performances and to single out uh those that i feel should be singled out with all due regard for mr staples concern for his fellow man now then if mr briggs ego has been sufficiently nourished i don't think fred brought this out to feed my ego oh well then whatever it was that prompted his precipitate dash to your defense there was no dash to my defense why don't we drop the thing mr briggs i hate becoming entangled in absurd little personality conflicts i'll put a star by your name on the front cover if that'll make you happy my name is no longer on the front cover mr briggs you're twisting the entire thing to make it appear as if i were grubbing for some sort of recognition mr briggs i find it unfair mr ramsay we have a full agenda if you feel so bruised that you must persist in prolonging this discussion mr ramsey let me finish mr staples if i may we have only one purpose here to work we cannot hope to accomplish this if we must be continually subjected to these to these singularly unbecoming strains and tensions these childish claims and counterclaims mr briggs i ask you a simple question is it or is it not within my province to credit a man with a job well done of course it is then may we drop it now only if it's clearly understood that i don't submit to any of these calculated discolorations of a man's worth as to a man's worth mr briggs i think i've proven myself a competent judge i ask you to recall that i built this business from a scratch pile of used lumber and a few machines into a giant and i made few mistakes in doing it few mistakes in business and few mistakes in judging men well you've made one this time this report i refuse to engage in a running fight because a supposedly responsible official of this company persists in wasting time haggling over credit that is not fair i was not haggling over credit this is a joint report that you were telling me what's true and what is not true what am i some kind of idiot that i can't recognize another man's thinking whatever your abilities in the past mr briggs your work hasn't shown this stamp of originality and talent in ten years a man slips clutches he loses his grip he tries to hang on by someone else's you have no right to say that bill will you please speak up do by all means mr briggs you think i'm mistaken to you shall i go through 150 pages and point out to you line by line where another man has taken over for you has had to take over for you and i can point out sections of this report that i never had to touch had two mr staples of course you can let me show them to you i've seen them submitted year after year principles and precepts for better business mr briggs yearly platitudes but you translated his unworkable well-intentioned philosophy into tough business procedure you make it work ramsay mr briggs i will not tolerate insubordination on any level and if anyone here finds that intolerable he has the god-given right to offer his resignation bill please mr ramsey i had no intention of seeming in subordinate i meeting is adjourned mr [Applause] [Music] don't move it fred he's still still giving orders do it favor friend what now tell him hello thank you mr staples five minutes ago i just had word from the hospital he died five minutes ago thank you mr granny nancy what are you doing here i called your office and there wasn't any train so i drove here how did you know where to find me they told me at the hospital does paul know yes he's with bill's sister he's alright did you give us something have you had anything to eat have you eaten anything fred what happened nothing not a thing except a murder there were witnesses too plenty of us and no one lifted a finger to stop it fred nancy i know i didn't lift a finger don't know i'm not gonna have you going around in sackcloth and ashes for something that you did everything in your power to stop you begged him to resign you know that what more could you have done what more could anyone have done nancy i think you'd better go home would you take this please are you coming nope then i won't go i want you to go home and start packing where are we going i don't know somewhere anywhere just a way there's an awful stink in this town and we're gonna get away from it come on i'll put you in the car no i'm not gonna leave you alone nancy i want you to go home please no i'm not going tonight tomorrow i'll do anything you ask i'll pack i'll go anywhere you ask but not tonight not in the state you're in now look there's something i've got to do fine then we'll do it together [Music] bill was supposed to go to lansing tomorrow morning for a meeting with phillips you'll have to take his place i believe i've already mentioned that yeah you mentioned it you leave on flight number 116 832 from laguardia miss lanier will meet you at the airport with your reservation and all the memoranda and correspondence pertaining to the negotiation you'll have three uninterrupted hours in the air to familiarize yourself with all the details i have no interest whatever in the philips matter what was that i'm telling you that i don't want the job i'm through i'm quitting i resign as of now why because i hate your guts you use bill briggs for a whipping boy you made him knuckle under and then you beat him to death you wouldn't try anything like that with me because i'd kill you first i'm not a nice human being what else you're nothing but a freak you'll drive your people into peak efficiency if they can make it or a grave if they can't because bill briggs lacked the strength he was second in command he had a lot of responsibility to hold and he cracked up it was his business too it's no one's business it belongs only to the best to those who can control it sustain it nurture it keep it growing right now it belongs to us because we're producing but in the future it belongs to whoever has the brains the nerve and the skill to take it away from us well they can have my share of it right now because i don't want any part of it what do you want from me apologies i don't apologize what else a nice unsullied conscience you walk out of here with a halo because you spoke your mind what do you do then go to work for some nickel and dime outfit run by nice people who won't challenge you and prod you and gold you and drive you to a height you never even dreamed of a company where there's nothing to fight for because you're the best and there's no competition where everything is handed to you and nothing is worth fighting for i want you to stay i don't think you understand ramsay i don't like you i don't like anything about you i didn't hire you to like me all right i'm not a nice person in your eyes but whatever i am you learn more grow more and do more here with me than anywhere else on earth i want you to stay because i need help on my level and you're the only one who's able to function there be a conscience for me if you want be anything you like and if it's something i don't like you'll know about it soon enough i think you're strong enough to take it and if not i think you're strong enough to get out name your terms all terms are negotiable i don't think so not mine all right i just assume not waste any time doing trading as of now your salary is doubled your stock option is doubled right down the line your expense account is whatever you make it add to that a new title vice president i want a lot more than that you're not going to take me on as just another vice president you can push around you take me as someone who hates you down to the bare nerve nothing in the world will ever change that i'll argue with you contradict you fight you in every way i know how i'll do everything in my power to push you out and take your place myself go ahead and try mr staples you have yourself a deal have it drawn up no reservations now yes one bill had one pitiful little dream that someday he'd walk in here and break your jaw i reserve the right to have that wish for myself i'll have it drawn into the contract with a little rider giving me the same privilege oh uh staples you'll be pleased to know that bill briggs boy is being taken care of will that let you sleep better tonight it begins um it begins fair enough fair enough do we pack no we stay on who's tens mine and his are you satisfied yes oh fred you know it's easy enough to chuck something you think is wrong but i don't know this way maybe there's a chance i'm so happy i will say i've got to go to lansing now before he played he back tomorrow night i'll be late aren't you always you

Channel: PizzaFlix

Views: 1,651,118

Rating: 4.8267465 out of 5

Keywords: filmstruck, CLASSIC, MOVIE, Van Heflin, classic movie, #classicmovies, MOVIES, Ed Begley, classic movies, Rod Serling, rod sterling, Everett Sloane, FREE

Id: UMnU4faUMUY

Length: 83min 38sec (5018 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 03 2018

Reddit Comments

[u/grahamlester]

This is a very good movie. I watched it a couple of months ago.

[u/sodiumtree]

Mid-century realism that feigns critique throughout but culminates in reaffirming the status quo. Truly head-spinning how the writer / director could have thought they reconciled the majority of the film with its ending. The pretense of protest. Definitely worth a watch.

[u/MovieGuide]

Patterns (1956)

Drama [1 h 23 min]
Van Heflin, Everett Sloane, Ed Begley, Beatrice Straight
Director: Fielder Cook

IMDb rating: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 7.9/10 (1,487 votes)

The story of the fierce and corrosive competition that exists in the executive branch of Ramsey & Co., a New York industrial colossus headed by Walter Ramsey, its cold, designing and ruthless chief. It is the saga, too, of Bill Briggs, his longtime second in command, who is swayed by human as well as technological values. And, it is the case of Fred Staples, a comparatively youthful industrial engineer brought in by Ramsey to succeed Briggs. The younger man's views and sensitivities are essentially the same as Briggs'. People are not merely units, they feel. But it is Ramsey's calculated pattern not to fire his aging aide but to create such untenable positions that he will be forced to resign. (IMDb)

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[u/No_One_On_Earth]

It's unfortunate that Van Heflin isn't remembered much these days. He's one of my favorite actors from the era. He's so intense.