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-Come on. Come on, darling.
Come on. Come, come, come, come, come. Come on.
Ah, lovely. Come on. Come on.
- Bit further.. Come on. Come on.
This is the story of my childhood.
In August 1924, I was born Janet Paterson Frame.
My twin, who was never named...
died two weeks later..
"Sea... cliff.. "
That's where all the loonies go.
Go away from the window. Go back to your seats, Myrtle and Bruddie.
Go on.
- Come on. - Margaret.
Come on,Jean.
- Peter.
- I'll be your friend. - Please? Please?
Betty.
- Come on,Jean. - Peter.
- Come on,Jean. - Olive.
Billy Delaware.
Yes, Miss Botting?
What are you eating?
Chewing gum, Miss Botting.
Where did you get it?
Dids McIvor
Where did you get your chewing gum?
From Jean Frame, Miss Botting.
Jean Frame.
Yes, Miss Botting?
Where did you get the chewing gum?
From Heath's, Miss Botting.
Where did you get the money?
Out!
My father gave it to me.
Where did you get the money?
- Collect! - My father - My father gave it to me.
Come out here.
Come up here.
Now tell me...
where you got the money.
I want... the truth.
Dad gave it to me.
Face the blackboard.
Now...
you will stay there...
until you tell me...
the truth.
Turn around, Jean Frame.
Are you ready to tell me the truth?
I stole it out of Dad's pocket.
Go to the back of the class.
She's a thief!
Thief. She's a thief.
You're a thief.
Turn.
No, June, you have to turn the same way as us.
Turn.
And turn.
He's having a convulsion! He's having a convulsion, Curly!
- Curly!
Go and have a look!
- What are you doing, woman? - Putting him in the bath!
- What? - In the bath!
What the hell for?
Curly? Curly?
- Put him in the bath! - What?
- Put him in the bath! - I'm not putting him in the bath.
The boy's just having a bad dream.
- Here's a towel. - Oh, come on, woman! Why?
The book says so!
Wake up, boy!
- Wake up!
You girls, back to bed!
Wake up!
That's it.
Wake up Wake up!
Georgie Porgie's queer in the head! Georgie Porgie's queer in the head!
Doesn't belong at this school anyway.
- You belong in the loonybin. -Loonybin! Loonybin!
Back! Class, quiet, please!
I want those children whose names Doctor calls -
Tom McKechnie, are you listening?
Yes, miss.
When you hear your names called...
I want you to fall out.
Ivor Thomas.
-Jimmy McGill. - That's the one with the ears.
Jean Frame.
Nora Byrne.
Terrible family.
Now, the rest of you may go in quietly.
In your Lines! Quietly!
Come on, folks, follow me.
Follow me.
Look.
When did you last wash?
- Yesterday. - Really?
- I did wash yesterday. - And what did you wash?
My hands.
- Your ears are filthy.
Say after me whatever you hear down the tube in a big, loud voice.
Twenty-nine. Seventeen.
Sixteen. Five.
I know how to cure warts.
- My real name isn't Poppy. - What is it?
Marjorie.
- Is your name your real name? - My real name's Janet.
Janet. That's pretty.
But I get called Jean mostly.
And Nini. And Topsy.
Is that because of your hair?
Yes.
- Can I touch it? - Yes.
You can touch my legs if you like.
What are they?
They're from when my dad whops me with his machine belt.
They feel funny, don't they?
Tell the class we will now have a nail inspection.
Class, we are now going to have a nail inspection.
Hands on desks.
- Very good. - Very good.
Excellent.
- Bad. - Disgusting.
Miss Frame, collect up the naughty children.
Certainly, Miss Evans.
Very bad!
Is that Sally Oates again?
I'm afraid so, Miss Evans.
Well! Wicked child.
Fetch the strap.
Bad, bad, very bad.
This is my special book.
You can borrow it if you like.
"'The 12 Dancing Princesses.'
"There was a king who had 12 beautiful daughters...
"and when they went to bed...
"the doors were shut and locked up.
"But every morning their shoes were found to be quite worn through...
"as if they had been danced in all night.
"And yet nobody could find out how it happened...
or where they had been. "
Mum says they come from a stork.
No. You have to fuck.
What's "fuck"?
When a man gets on top of a woman and he puts his thing into her...
and he puts a frenchie on his thing to stop her having a baby.
Pounds, shillings and pence!
A man fell over the fence!
He fell on a lady and squashed out a baby!
Pounds, shillings and pence!
All right, tonight, for homework, I want you to write a poem.
Copy this down.
When... the... sun...
goes... down...
Have you got that?
and... the... night...
draws...
nigh.
There. Thanks.
- That's the first line of your poem. - Look. Look.
What's that? Oh, I've got chalk all over me. So I have.
- You got all that down? Good.
- What's that? - It's a poem I wrote for school.
Read it to us.
"When the sun goes down and the night draws nigh...
and the evening shadows touch the sky -"
It should be "Evening shadows tint the sky."
Why?
There are always words that go together in poetry...
Like waves lap, stars shine or twinkle, and wind roars.
Rub out "touch" and put in "tint."
But I like "touch."
It sounds wrong. "Evening shadows tint the sky."
Go on. Rub out "touch" and put in "tint. "
It sounds more poetic.
- No.Johnny- Uh,Jean, come on. Come on.
Come on,Jean. Up here. In a big, loud voice. There we go.
"When the sun goes down and the night draws nigh...
"and the evening shadows touch the...
"sky...
- "when the birds fly homeward to their nest...
"then we know it is time to...
"rest.
"When rabbits to their burrows run...
"and children have finished their daily...
"fun...
"when the tiny stars come out to peep...
"then we know it is time to...
sleep."
Thank you,Jean.
- Well done. Well done.
Now, anybody else like to read their poems?
- How's my little girl? - What have you got?
Uh-uh. What hand?
This one.
Both.
Both?
There you are.
That's to write some more of your poems in.
Myrtle and Ted did it in the plannies this afternoon.
Did what?
Fucked.
I forbid you to ever speak to Ted and Poppy and any of that family ever again!
Do you understand?
And as for you, Myrtle -
Mother, where's the strap?
- Come here! - No! Curly! Curly!
- Curly!
Bend over!
I'm not allowed to speak to you or play with you ever again.
I 'm not allowed to speak to you neither.
Here's your special book.
- Shh!
Shh!
Look out. There's dynamite down there.
- Thank you. Next, please.
Look out! There's dynamite down there!
- Next, please.
- Look, there's Avril Luxton!
Thank you. Next.
Look out! There's dynamite down there!
"I met at eve the Prince of Sleep.
"His was a still and lovely face.
"He wandered through a valley steep...
"lovely in a lonely place.
"His garb was gray of lavender.
"Above his brow, a poppy wreath...
"burned like dim coals...
"and everywhere the air was sweeter for his breath.
"His twilight feet no sandals wore.
"His eyes shone faint in their own flame.
- "Dim moths that gloomed his steps before...
seemed letters of his lovely name. "
- Congratulations, Susie. - Thank you.
Jean Frame.
- Congratulations,Jean. - Thank you.
Very good,Jean.
What's in the envelope?
I can go to the Athanaeum free.
Well done, girlie. Well done.
What's the Athanaeum?
Oh, thanks.
Zane Grey.
How wonderful, Nini.
"Twelve Dancing Princesses."
"Thank you for the poems, Amber Butterfly.
"I loved them very much, and I am making 'Song of the Butterfly' poem of the week.
"I wonder, though, if crocuses, even poetically...
"dream of the moons.
Write again next week, and do not mind my friendly criticism. Dot."
Somebody came and took her away
She didn't even say she was leavin'
- Dad won't let you wear those.
He can't stop me. They're my wages.
And gee, I know that she'd
Come back to me
If she could see
The brokenhearted lover.
- I have to be at the studio at 6:00 sharp. Okay? - Okay, chief.
Somebody stole my gal
- Is Johnny going to pick you up?
I suppose so.
Somebody stole my gal
"Then quickly rose Sir Bedivere and ran...
"and leaping down the ridges lightly...
"plunged among the bulrush beds and clasped the sword...
"and strongly wheeled and threw it.
"The great brand made lightnings in the splendor of the moon...
"and flashing round and round...
"and whirled in an arc...
"shot like a streamer. from the northern morn.
"So flashed and fell the brand Excalibur.
"But ere he dipped the surface...
"rose an arm...
"clad in white samite -
"mystic, wonderful -
"and caught him by the hilt...
"and brandished him three times...
"and drew him under...
in the mere. "
Girls, in your red book...
turn to page 139.
I'm really Spanish, of course...
and I'm Roman Catholic.
What are you?
Our mother's a Christadelphian.
That's a lover of Christ.
Oh, well, the nuns in my church are the brides of Christ...
and they have to wear his wedding ring.
Do you want to see me do a Spanish dance?
Yes, please.
Ol?!
And this is the sitting room.
Are you allowed to jump on your Chesterfield?
That's the king's sofa.
I'm getting confirmed soon.
I'm having a whole new ensemble - all white, even the shoes.
And I get to wear. this little white veil...
and carry a little white prayer book.
Isabel!
We don't normally sit in here.
She called her desk an escritoire.
Escritoire?
That's what I said.
It's from escrit- to write - in French.
Ol?!
She's got the best bosom.
Mmm. I wouldn't give her full marks for deportment, though.
She's got the most developed figure.
Mmm, no.
Sexy! - Ooh-la-la!
I'll show you how I do the turn.
Ooh, that was good. Do it again.
- Very fancy!
- Nice legs!
Uh, to your left a bit. No, no, the other way.
No, no, no, no! Your Left!
- The other way!
- You don't want me in this one. - Come on. You ready?
Okay, everyone say...
- cheese. - Cheese!
Oh, look. There's Dad.
Oh!
Ooh, look,Jean. You've got a titty showing.
- Put that way. - Titty, titty. Titty, titty, titty.
- Where's Myrtle? - Myrtle's not there.
Where?
- Coming to the baths? - I have to get ready for school.
We could go swimming...
and then go downtown and look at the boys.
- Watch out! - Coming?
No. I want to do this.
Ooh! Aunt Polly's only put in two pleats!
How original!
Oh, come on, Nini. Come to the baths with us.
- You don't want to work. - I do.
You're so boring.
- Come on, Isabel. - I'm coming.
C'est un petit gar?on.
Il a le chapeau de son p?re.
- Ce gar?on est mauvais.
- Nothing today, thank you.
Nothing today, thank you.
Send that child away.
I'm a doctor.
I 've come to tell you about your daughter Myrtle.
She's drowned at the baths.
- They've taken her body to the morgue.
Is there anybody I can contact for you?
They've taken her to the morgue.
Come on.
Is it Myrtle?
Yes.
- What are you putting in the water? - Aspro.
It won't bring her back,Jean.
I know that. But the aspros make the flowers last longer.
Come on.
-That's very nice, isn't it? - It's quite excellent.
They had to make her a new arm.
For goodness' sake.
The photographer took her out of a picture with the other kiddies...
and gave her a new arm here.
Oh, you couldn't tell.
It must be a comfort to you, Lottie, to have such a recent one.
Oh, it is,yes.
She looks so lovely.
- Oh, she was a beautiful girl. - Yes.
- She's always smiling.
"Till of a sudden...
"maybe killed, unknown to her mate.
"One forenoon the she-bird crouched...
"not on the nest.
Nor returned that afternoon, nor the next - "
Jean, is that about Myrtle?
"Nor ever appeared again.
"Whichever way I turn...
"oh, I think you could give me my mate back again...
"if only you would.
For I am almost sure I see her dimly whichever way I look."
- Hello, Jean. - Hello, Poppy.
Do you know I'm doing Commercial?
Yes.
I'm doing shorthand, typing and double-entry bookkeeping.
Do you like Commercial?
Except for all the grammalogues.
We're always doing grammalogues.
We're doing "Ode to a Nightingale" too.
"Thou wast not born for death, immortal bird.
"No hungry generations tread thee down.
"The voice I heard this passing night...
was heard in ancient days by emperor and clown."
We have to learn it by heart for next Tuesday.
- I have to go. - All right.
- Bye then. - Bye.
Shirley.
Shirley!
What a dreamer you are, Shirley.
Always lost in the poetic world of your imagination.
Thou holy art
In many
An hour of sadness
When life's hard toil
My spirit hath oppressed
Hast thou
My heart
Revived
With love and gladness
- And borne my soul - Shirley's leaving. Her mother died.
Above to realms
Of rest
And borne my soul off
To realms of rest
Come on, girl.
Come on. That's a good girl.
Good girl.
Dearest Mr. Ardenue...
today I wept in class when we read "The Scholar Gypsy."
He is my ideal man.
I have made up my mind not to be a teacher.
I'm going to be a poet.
Mum!
Mum! There's blood between my legs!
Come on. Let's get you out of that nightie.
I suppose you've mucked the sheets up as well.
Now, take one end, and you pin it to the front of your singlet.
Here. Turn round.
That's it. Like that.
Put it between your legs. That's it.
And then you pin the other end to the back of the singlet.
Now, you do this first, and then you pull your clean knickers up over the top.
- It will show. - No, it won't.
Everyone will see!
Be thankful you started at 15. Others start at 12.
I'll get you some clean knickers.
For your homework this evening...
I'd like you to continue working on your projects...
on photo synthesis.
Any problems, go to your chemistry books...
page 164, chapter 18.
That's it for today.
Carry on, girls.
- Put your. chairs in. Thank you.
- Okay. Bye. - Bye!
Well, why don't we - You know.
Yeah, okay.
Hi, fuzzy.
You know, you should do something about your hair.
You could get it straightened.
Or clip it to make it stay flat.
Or oil it or something.
I've never really seen hair like this.
- Look. - Oh, well. Hmm.
Oh, that's great! Where did you get that?
No, but-
My brother says...
that Karl Marx is the only rational, scientific thinker of the last two centuries.
- William's got a lovely personality.
- I saw him at the train station.
I dropped my glove, and he gave it back to me. Such a gentleman!
- He's like a movie star.
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, they've got lovely personalities.
- And it comes out in their style. - It does, doesn't it?
How many times do I have to tell you?
He doesn't have to have fits! He could stop them if he tried!
You don't even care!
Now look what you've done! You're going to stop this!
Corporal Frame, National Reserve, at your service.
- They've put Bruddie in the Home Guard. - Oh, we'll show Hitler!
- We'll show Hitler! - We'll show him!
Come on, son. Hup! Hup!
By the left, left, march! Left, march!
- Hup! Hup! Hup! Hup! - Hup! Hup! Hup! Hup!
Look out, Hitler!
It's a long way to Taumaranui
It's a long way to go
- Left, march! Left, march!
- Left, march! Left, march! Hup! Hup!
Left, right, left, right!
Life is sweet,Jasper.
There's day and night,Jasper. Both sweet things.
There's sun, moon and stars, brother, all sweet things.
There's likewise a wind on the heath.
Who would wish to die?
Blah, blah, blah.
Three skirts, three blouses...
two day dresses - one winter white, one summerwhite -
one special occasion dress...
two jerseys or cardigans...
one pair court shoes, one pairwalking shoes.
And that's apart from all the underwear and night clothes.
I found Grandpa's old dressing gown!
No, Chicks, no.
Two sisters back in our town
Were feeling sorry and blue
- Hello, Fuzz. - Oh, hello, Fuzz.
The army took their boys away
What else was there to do
They cal led up the sergeant Called up the captain
Called up the major too
And they asked what right had the army
To be making them so blue
- Hello,Jean.
I believe it's training college for you next year,Jean.
Well, I still have to go for my interview.
Oh, I'm sure you'll be successful.
- In the land of the free - Do you like music,Jean?
Oh, yes.
- We're gonna take a short vacation - I like Schubert.
- Yes, he's one of my favorites too.
So emotional.
They'll regret it, no doubt
Well, I think I'll mix.
- She gets a letter
She's feeling better
He's coming home on leave
So we'll string along with the army
In the fight for victory
Pretty face! Pretty face! Pretty face!
Don't work too hard. Have a nice time.
- You all right?. - It is a bit of a wedge, isn't it?
Bye! See you!
You've got to write! Remember!
- Bye! - Bye-bye.
- George?
Jean has come to see you.
- This way. - Huh?
Hello, Uncle George.
So, you're the one who's going to be a teacher.
She'll be the first in the family.
There we are. Ooh, it's cold.
Yeah, but it's gonna be raining, so I'll need the umbrella.
- Hi! Fuzzy! - Well, hello, Fuzz.
- Isn't college fun? - Oh, yes, isn't it!
I'm doing two subjects at university too.
- No! - Oh, you're such a brain.
Do you want to come and have a cup of coffee? Come on!
- We're going to the Silver Girl now. - Oh, come on!
You know,Jean, you're welcome to eat with me in the wee room.
Um, no, thank you, Aunt Isy.
I like to study while I eat.
You vegetarians, you eat like birds.
Come on. Come on.
Come on, sleepy.
Dear, have you got anything to burn?
Uh, no, thank you, Aunt Isy. I haven't.
"May I...
"composed like them...
"of Eros and of dust...
"beleaguered by the same negation and despair...
show an affirming flame."
There's Africa!
You.
That one's like a - like a -
Oh, it's phallic. Everything's phallic.
What's "phallic"?
It's from "phallus," the Latin for "penis."
- Like a dong?
Oh, look. Even our knees are phallic.
You'll read Freud at college.
Oh, I can't wait to get there.
I'll be all alone.
Poor baby. All alone.
No.
- You can have Jack when I'm gone.
We have coffee in the union aftertutes.
And you should see Mr. Forrest.
- He's the psych lecturer. - Mmm!
He's gorgeous!
He's like Ashley in Gone With the Wind!
Ashley! Ashley! Come to me, Ashley!
- Ashley, I need you!
I'm not gonna share.
- There's enough room. - What for? Midgets?
Hey.
See?
Try it.
She must be mad.
I'm gonna tell Mum.
Oh, no, don't say anything.
Why not? We paid.
But not very much.
Isabel, please!
She won them for her highland dancin'.
They've never been opened. Look.
- Let's open one. - No, we can't.
She won't know.
I suppose we could taste one.
Yes, let's taste one.
Give us a hand.
Got it.
Hello, little kitty.
You choose first.
Go on.
With the cross of Jesus
- Going on before - Mmm!
Mmm. It's not musty at all.
You taste one.
We shouldn't be doing this.
I know. Go on.
Steve wants me to go all the way.
- We nearly did it tonight.
We only just stopped in time.
- This house is like a morgue.
What about your essay?
It's too late. I'll do it tomorrow in the union.
Why don't you ever come in to the union?
Where do you go?
Too shy to mix...
too scared to enter. the union building...
I was more and more alone.
My only romance was in poetry and literature.
Hello.
Oh. I was just going, Mr. Forrest.
Oh, that's all right. There's no rules about eating in here.
It's a bit smelly, though.
What do you think he does with all that lanolin?
Maybe he rubs it on his thing.
Or maybe Aunt Isy rubs it on for him.
- What's that? - Aunt Isy
Oh!
- Hurry up.
Quick.
Hurryup! She's coming!
Here! Here, here, here, here, here!
By our good Lord.
You're just liars!
And thieves!
Telling your parents those untruths!
Stealing my trophies!
Wicked, wicked girls!
Wait.
Come on, Siggy! Come on!
Willowglen sat high on a hill.
It had belonged in turn to various derelict families.
Now it was ours, the first home we had owned.
Here we are.
They found out about me, Mum.
Ah, never mind, laddie.
- Not again. - Curly!
Epilepsy's nothing to be ashamed of.
He can't even keep a job for two days. Two days!
No!
What's the use?
Come down onto the flat and sit in the sun.
One of these days I'll come and sit in the sun.
- Why not now? - I've too much to do.
No one's asking you to be a workhorse.
I worried about next year..
My clothes, money...
and where I would live now Isabel wanted to share with friends.
How about a bit of Tchaikovsky?
Hello, Eunice, Mary.
What do you think of my tomato socks?
Lovely.
- Unusual. - Unusual?
-And bright. - Ofcourse they're bright.
I love this bit there.
Miss Frame?
Oh, there you are.
Are you coming to morning tea?
Oh - Oh, uh, no. I'm a bit busy.
Oh. We never see you.
Maybe tomorrow.
Oh, you've made the room lovely.
So this was how it was...
face to face with the future.
Living apart from Isabel...
pretending that I was not alone...
and that teaching was what I'd longed to do all my life.
- Izzy! Isabel! - What did they say?
- Izzy! - Have you heard about the bomb?
- What bomb? - They dropped a bomb on Japan!
- They've killed millions of Japanese!
- It's a new kind of bomb! - So have we won the war?
- Yes! - Let's go tell the others!
Coming?
- Isabel, come on! - Where did you hear it?
We have a very important visitor with us today, Second Class.
I'd like you to say good morning to our inspector, Mr. Niles.
Good morning, Mr. Niles.
Good morning, children. Good, thanks.
- And how are you, Miss Frame? - Very well, thank you.
That's good. I'll sit at the back, and you just carry on as normal.
Forget I'm here.
What's she doing?
M-Mr Niles, would you excuse me for a minute, please?
Certainly, Miss Frame.
What about teaching?
I've given it up.
I've got a doctor's certificate.
But you've always wanted to be a teacher.
- I'm going to be a writer. - But how will you earn money?
- How will you live? - I'll work here in the kitchen.
- I'll study psych at university. - What about your scholarship?
What about Mum and Dad?
I can't believe it.
I really enjoyed your autobiography, Janet.
It's very natural. It's got a nice flow to it.
The others were all so stiff and serious.
You've got a real talent for writing.
I've had a story published in The Listener.
Oh. So I'm not wrong then.
You must have had difficulty swallowing all those aspros.
No. I - I just drank them with water. It wasn't hard.
They just went down.
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