A Promise
Now we're coming into
the cooling room.
As you can see the upper
three furnaces,
the first one, the second
and the third over there
are constantly in service. The other
furnaces can be fired up when required...
You will have no direct contact
with Herr Hoffmeister,
our director general.
And you are never to disturb him
for any reason whatsoever.
Is that quite clear, Herr Zeitz?
This is his office.
And this is your office.
Friedrich Zeitz, Herr Hoffmeister.
Oh, yes, the new boy...
with the first in engineering.
From Freiburg university.
I majored in metallurgical chemistry.
Is it no rather late for work?
Yes. Though I mean... no.
I have all the time in the world.
Well, I haven't.
Frau Hoffmeister is a stickler for
punctuality, soup is in the plates at 7.30.
I abhore soup.
Hey, Fritz.
You call that a kiss?
- No time, Anna. I'm too busy.
- You're always too busy!
Your washing's dry but
have yet to iron it!
- I'll bring it up with your soup.
- I abhore soup.
- Do you? That's new.
- Yes, it is.
The board was very impressed by your report
on the raw materials to output ratio.
We've decided... I've decided to
widen your responsibilities.
You'll start by supervising the order for
parts for the Dsseldorf railway bridge.
You'll be very
comfortable in here.
If you need to consult me, don't hesitate.
My door will be always open to you.
- Found it?
- Almost! There's such a mountain of files!
- My father's father started
the foundry in... - In 1835!
Exactly. Then the boom came with
the demand for railway tracks...
For the first main line from
Dresden to Leipzig in 1839.
Is there anything you don't know?
Oh, yes, Herr Hoffmesiter,
I still have much to learn.
Are you all right, sir?
- Shall I call the doctor?
- No.
I have... a quite serious
health condition.
But nobody here at the plant
must know of it. Nobody.
Friedrich Zeitz, Herr Hoffmeister
is expecting me.
the house until further notice.
I can partly run the steelworks
by telephone so...
I've decided to give
you a new job.
- Me?
- Yes.
I want you to report to me
here once a day to discuss
current business and then to relay
my instructions back to the works.
What do you say?
Stop here, please.
The manufacture of 328 girders
should be subject to a 40% deposit,
not 33%, as mistakenly
states in the contract.
Incidentally, Herr Hoffmeister.
For six days this furnace has been
out of line. The hairline crack
in the reservoir must be between
the sixth and the seventh.
That's why this furnace and this one here
are still not operational.
Could you please type out two copies
of the engineer's meeting?
Herr Hoffmeister wishes to
add his own notes before
distributing it to the factory.
I'll take a copy from my desk.
...it follows that
renovating the foundry
will cut budget costs and double
the output to 12 tons per year...
Thank you.
That's enough for today.
Come on.
Herr Zeitz?
I'm Frau Hoffmeister.
Herr Hoffmeister's wife?
Of course.
I'm not his mother.
So we meet at last. My husband
has told me a lot about you.
I was just about to take some tea.
Would you like to join me?
It's very kind of you but...
I'm already late. Another time, perhaps.
Goodbye, Herr Hoff...
Frau Hoffmeister.
Music means more to me
than anything in the world.
Except my husband
and son of course.
Oh, no, thank you.
Milk?
Thank you.
Yes, thank you or no, thank you?
Yes, no, it's perfect.
Somebody once said, I can't
remember who, that so...
that music can exist without the wolrd
but the world cannot exist without music.
I believe it was Goethe.
Yes. So you enjoy
literature then, Herr Zeitz.
To be honest I mostly
read science books.
Tea is really very nice.
- Have you never tasted tea before?
- No, it's the first time.
Tell me about yourself.
- I'm afraid, there's nothing to tell.
- No, surely you must have a family.
I never knew my father. My mother
died when I was very young.
- But who brought you up?
- I was a ward of state.
Well, you certainly did
brilliantly at school.
I had to, it was my only hope,
literally my only hope.
- Have you found somewhere nice to live?
- Very nice, thank you.
My husband commissioned it. I hated sitting
for it, I think it shows, doesn't it?
- That's a very pretty...
- Isn't it beautiful?
I saw it in a shop window
and fell in love with it.
My husband thinks it's ghastly.
- More tea? - No. Thank you.
I should be getting back to the office.
Yes, of course. What time is it?
Otto will be home soon.
Otto, he's our son.
You haven't met him yet?
No.
He is... he is a very
bouncy, very happy boy,
but he doesn't really
apply himself in school.
It occurs to me...
I did some tutoring
when I was a student.
If you like I could give your
son some extra lessons.
- Would... would you have time for that?
- I could make time.
No. Don't let me disturb you,
I left my newspaper somewhere.
- So how do you find our young friend?
- You'll never guess what he just offered.
I've no idea.
- He's offered to give Otto extra lessons.
- Well!
You soon have the whole
family under your wing.
It's easy. Come on, try.
See? You've got it in you.
Now, let's practise your French.
- French is a beautiful language.
- No, it's not. Mother makes me learn it.
But I hate it.
Try reading me this fable.
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"A Promise" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Mar. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/a_promise_2000>.
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