ANNOUNCER: From Television City in Hollywood:
♪ Good Times
♪ Anytime You meet a payment ♪
♪ Good Times
♪ Anytime You meet a friend ♪
♪ Good Times
♪ Anytime you're Out from under ♪
♪ Not getting hassled Not getting hustled ♪
♪ Keeping your head Above water ♪
♪ Making a wave When you can ♪
♪ Temporary layoffs
♪ Good Times
♪ Easy credit Rip-offs ♪
♪ Good Times
♪ Scratching And surviving ♪
♪ Good Times
♪ Hanging in A chow line ♪
♪ Good Times
♪ Ain't we lucky We got 'em ♪
♪ Good Times
Thelma?
Run down to the shoemaker's
and get Michael's shoes from the shop
before he closes.
THELMA: I can't, Mama.
I just finished washing my hair.
Oh.
Junior, I guess you're going to have to go.
Oh, Mama. Why do I got to go?
Why can't Michael go?
'Cause I got no shoes.
Michael...
Aw. Yesterday, I had to take 'em down,
today I've got to bring 'em back.
I'm wearing out my shoes getting his.
Just go.
Hey, JJ, while you're at it,
here's a dollar.
Get me a tube
of Soft and Satin Pretty Lips.
For a dollar,
I'll paint a pair of lips on you myself,
and a face to go along with it.
Why don't you grow a beard and disappear in it?
Do you hear that, Mama?
The only thing I want to hear
is that front door hitting your backside!
Now, get the child's shoes before he grows out of them.
Look at this, a 17-year-old flunky
for an 11-year-old midget.
Mama, are we ever going to get a color TV?
We don't need no color TV.
We know the sky is blue and the grass is green.
Are you miserable?
Are you unhappy?
Well, I'm Reverend Sam, your happiness man,
with a personal message to you from God.
God told me to come to Chicago...
Hey, Mama, there's Reverend Sam.
Ain't he the preacher Daddy knows?
But wait.
Perhaps you don't think there is a God.
Oh, there's a God, all right,
and when he sees what you're up to,
watch out, brother.
I hate a phony.
If you hate him, why you watching him?
'Cause hate is such a good emotion
I don't want to waste it on somebody I don't know.
Come to Chicago Stadium tonight,
and let me, Reverend Sam, lighten your burdens...
And empty your pockets.
Michael, turn that thing off.
Hey, what are you all talking about?
That's my good friend Smiling Sam on there.
If he's your friend,
why don't he answer some of your phone calls?
You must've left a dozen messages.
Oh, he'll get in touch with me, baby, you'll see.
You know how busy the man is.
Sure, he's been busy, ripping off poor folks.
Oh, now, come on, baby.
You've got to stop that talk
about Smiling Sam, the happiness man.
When we was in the Army, we was best friends.
Yeah, except then
he was Buck Private Sam, the latrine orderly man.
You mean he wasn't a preacher in the Army, Daddy?
No, son, he was... well, what he was was...
He was a crapshooter.
He was out of sight too.
I tell you, when Sam had those dice,
he couldn't lose from winning.
Baby, it was like they was blessed.
James, that's blasphemy.
It could also have been loaded dice.
Son, Sam didn't need that jive.
I'll tell you,
I never will forget the night
old Sam cleaned out a bunch of noncoms
in the company chapel.
James, you was shooting dice in the house of the Lord?
It was all right, baby.
We was on our knees all the time.
Anyway, we was walking
back to the barracks, see,
and Sam turned to me and said,
"James, I believe we're being followed."
I turned around, and sure enough,
there's a battalion of sore losers.
So Sam hands me his winnings and said,
"James, you run faster than me, so take the money and split."
Did you both manage to split, Daddy?
Well, sort of, son.
I split with the money, but they split Sam.
He was the first war casualty of the latrine detail.
From what I saw on TV this morning,
he ain't off that detail yet.
Baby, you've got to stop that talk,
'cause that's when we got real close.
You know, the next day,
I went to see him in the infirmary,
and I took him back every penny.
You know what he called me after that?
Honest James.
You know what I call him?
Jesse James.
Honey, that man is using religion like a hustle.
Oh, now, baby, get off of Sam's case.
That's my good buddy.
I want you to stop talking like that,
especially when he comes around to call on me.
Ha! That'll be the day.
[KNOCKING]
Now, you laugh if you want to,
but just suppose, just suppose, now,
that that was Sam right outside the door.
If that's Sam outside this door,
I'll shine your shoes in Marshall Fields' window.
Good morning, sister.
Smiling Sam!
Honest James!
♪ Hey, we don't roar...
♪ We don't fight...
♪ But we're going To score tonight ♪
♪ Watch those Tomcats Go rolling along ♪
Meow!
Hot dog!
Last time I saw you, man,
you was decked out in guardhouse green,
and Lord, look at you now.
Oh, don't let these rocks and rags fool you, James.
They don't fool me.
Sam, this is my wife, Florida.
She shines shoes at Marshall Fields.
As the Good Book says,
"A good wife is the peculiar gift of Heaven."
Mmm, ain't that nice the way he puts that, baby?
Honest James, married.
I'll be damned.
In due time.
Sam, I want you to meet my youngest son, Michael.
I been telling him all about you.
I suppose you know me pretty well, son.
Well enough not to shoot craps with you.
How did you ever get to be a reverend?
Well, Michael, I simply got the calling.
You know, Sister Florida,
I turned away from a life of sin
and took the vows to do God's work.
I see none of them vows included poverty.
Well, sister, he who toils in God's garden
shares the abundant harvest.
How much of that harvest
do you share with the black community?
Michael, go to your room.
But, Daddy, this ismy room.
Remember me?
I'm the little fellow who sleeps on the couch.
Then take your books and go to Thelma's room
and do your homework.
James, I can certainly see
you have a strong and loyal family.
Did you know I have been trying to contact you for days?
Now, see, baby? What did I tell you?
I need you, my good friend. God needs you.
I want to offer you a position in my crusade.
Me? Work in your crusade?
Doing what, Sam?
James is a good man,
but when it comes to being religious,
he ain't made it to the back pew yet.
Sister, I don't need a religious man.
I need an honest man.
You see, my collections
have been coming in a little shy lately,
and I've got the strong feeling
that while I'm at the pulpit spreading the Good Word,
my ushers are in the john
splitting the big take.
Man, there's a block-long Cadillac parked outside
with "God is here" signs hanging on the door.
Sam, I want you to meet my oldest son, James Jr.
Junior, this is Reverend Sam.
Is that your Cadillac out there?
That's the biggest hog I ever seen.
Well, son, the Lord watches over me.
Well, he must've blinked,
'cause one of your hubcaps is missing.
The happiness man! Dy-no-mite!
I dug you on the tube, man.
Them threads, those rocks, them wheels...
You and God must be on a first-name basis!
Junior, my friend Sam
wants me to go to work for him.
Far out!
Now, that's the kind of religion I can get into.
The good word rolls out, and the long green rolls in.
JJ, did you get my... Hello?
You're Reverend Sam!
Sam, this is my daughter, Thelma.
Isn't she a little doll?
I can certainly see where she gets her fine looks.
So can I.
From the corner drugstore.
Here's your mouth, gal.
I just can't believe it!
Reverend Sam, right off of television,
is in our own living room.
Wow, you must know everybody on TV,
like The Jackson Five and The Staple Singers.
Do you know them?
Know them? I saved every one of them.
Out of sight!
Reverend, may I please have your autograph?
Well, I usually charge a quarter,
but for you, my pretty, do you have a Bible handy?
Sure, I'll get you Mama's.
No you don't.
Nobody signs my Bible but the original author.
Now, you go to your room
and help Michael with his homework.
Mama... Thelma, go.
Baby, would you mind
making us some coffee, please?
Well, as I was saying, James,
trust is the name of the game
when you're working for the Lord,
and I need a man I can trust.
I need my old buddy, Honest James.
You really think I can help you, huh?
Positive.
When my ushers drive better cars than I,
I need help.
Florida, there's a Cadillac outside as fine...
as this dude right here.
I've seen you somewhere.
You're that preacher who makes more money on television
than Bob Hope and Redd Foxx put together.
What are you doing here?
Business is slow, so he's making house calls.
I'm Willona, a friend of the family.
Well, any friend of this family
is a particular friend of mine.
I'm delighted to meet you, Willona.
[HUMMING "CAISSONS GO ROLLING ALONG"]
Ooh, honey.
You are smooth... You know what, reverend?
You got your thing so together I almost sent you a dollar once.
Sister, you should give in to those charitable feelings.
They come from the Lord.
This dollar came from the Devil.
It was alimony money.
You're divorced.
Yes, but not desperate.
Florida, check out my new hat I got on sale.
Ooh, girl, you will not believe
who walked into the boutique shop
this afternoon!
Who? Who?
Izee Mae Patterson.
The woman who has the weight-watching place?
The one who's always bragging about her perfect size eight?
Mm-hm, well, now she's a perfect size 14.
Because of her diet?
Nope, because of her husband.
Oh, no.
I don't know, Sam, I got a job now,
and it pays pretty good.
You think you can beat $2.50 an hour?
I think so.
What about a hundred dollars a day?
A hundred dollars a day?
I mean $100 a day, seven days a week.
That's $700 a week!
What's wrong, Honest James? Not enough?
No, I didn't mean it like that.
It's just that I didn't know
that honest men were that expensive.
I know what you mean,
but put your mind at rest...
James, I'm not selling anything but happiness.
Now, why don't you and your whole family
come down to the revival meeting tonight,
and you'll see the kind of joy
I bring to my following.
What do you say?
A hundred dollars a day...
Now, James, tonight is my last night in Chicago.
I have to catch on the midnight plane.
I must have your answer by then.
You'll have it.
Florida, Sam has invited us all
to a revival meeting tonight.
What does he need us for?
To dry him off after he walks the water?
Sister Florida, you doubt me now,
but seeing is believing,
and you will believe
when you see all those sad people
walking in, disgruntled, dispirited,
and disillusioned, despairing,
walking in the steamy waters of despair.
Can I get an Amen?
Amen!
People who can't go no further,
then they hear the Lord's name through me,
can I have an Amen?
Amen!
And they hear the voice of God,
and the people rise up,
and their backs straighten, and their heads sit tall,
and their spirits start soaring, soaring,
can I have an Amen?
Amen!
And then they walk out dancing, dancing,
dancing with a smile on their face
and a newborn courage in their hearts
to fight the trials and the tribulations!
Can I have an Amen?
What do you say?
That was good.
Now let us see you do Geraldine.
Florida, a Christian keeps an open mind.
And I'll keep a closed pocketbook.
Baby, Sam offered me a job paying a hundred dollars a day.
Nobody makes that kind of money legally.
Baby, you've got to give Sam a chance.
Hell, woman, give mea break. A hundred dollars a day.
Come on, you've got to come to that meeting tonight.
All right.
Hallelujah!
Amen, brother. Hallelujah.
♪ We don't roar...
♪ We don't fight...
♪ But we're going To score tonight ♪
♪ Watch those Tomcats Go rolling along ♪
Meow!
Well, my friend Sam put on quite a show, didn't he?
I don't know about y'all, but I'm sold.
Yeah, dy-no-mite!
Man, he was up there flapping his arms
and shouting to the sky,
"The happiness man is here
to spread the word of the Lord,"
and he was preaching, and the choir was singing,
and people were clapping...
And the ushers was collecting...
James, how could you go anywhere with that hypocrite?
Hypocrite?
Mama, all those people believed he was the shepherd of the Lord.
I knew he was a shepherd
when I saw him fleecing the sheep.
Well, I thought he was beautiful,
and when all those white pigeons went flying in the air,
I opened my mouth and screamed.
And I opened my program and ducked.
Now, baby, stop that talk.
You saw all them people he made happy,
and what about the people he cured?
And what about the cat in the wheelchair?
Yeah, I liked to die
when that old man wheeled down to the front
and old Smiling Sam says, "You are healed!
The healing power is within you!"
And, bam!
The cat jumps up out of that wheelchair
and boogies!
Now, baby, that was a miracle.
The miracle is anybody believed it.
Hey, Dad, did you see all that money he collected?
Where does that go?
Tell her, James.
I'm going to go pack.
James. James?
James.
James, I know you want what's best for us,
but I don't want you running around the country
with that wolf in God's clothing.
Baby, this is a chance for me to give you and the kids
something to build a life on.
Then think about the kids.
We're trying to teach them honesty.
What're they going to think
when you run around town
with Scheming Sam the rip-off man?
Baby, that man offered me a job making a hundred dollars a day.
If I live to be a thousand years old,
I ain't going to get another chance like this.
Think what we can do with the money.
We could send Michael to law school,
JJ to art school,
we can even give Thelma dancing lessons.
Yeah, sure, so she could jump out of a wheelchair
and boogie, huh?
Well, that was some revival meeting.
I never saw so many fabulous clothes
in one place in my life.
Maybe so, honey,
but they were all on Reverend Sam and his people.
What's the matter, Willona?
Don't you dig the Rev?
I'm suspicious of anyone
who says there's pie in the sky,
then announces it's a buck a slice.
Well, nothing comes free in this life.
Or in the next one, either,
if Reverend Sam has a concession.
I don't know, Willona.
He seemed to be doing people a whole lot of good.
Yeah, he kept talking about all of us being equal.
Sure.
When the meeting was over,
we both left in equally expensive vehicles,
only ours was an old city bus
and his was a customized Cadillac.
[KNOCKING]
Well, I don't care what anyone says.
I like Reverend Sam.
Well, speak of the Devil.
Only to drive him out of people's hearts,
Sister Willona.
You were something else out there tonight, Rev,
pure dy-no-mite.
You sure was...
but you didn't light my fuse.
My, my, my, my, my.
Still a nonbeliever, eh?
One of the sadnesses of my calling
is that you simply can't reach everyone.
And you got some reach, reverend...
right from the pulpit to the pocket.
You will excuse me.
Some of us poor people still have to work for a living.
Wow, you and Dad
are going to some great places.
Does your crusade go to Hollywood?
Why not?
I can see it now.
Reverend Sam starring in Blackula Gets Religion.
That way, you can get the blood and the money
at the same time.
Would you see if your daddy is ready?
Yeah, I'll get him.
Daddy? Reverend Sam's here, and he's in a big hurry.
Okay, Michael, tell him I'll be right there.
Now, baby, this is something I've got to do...
and I'd feel a lot better about it
if I knew I was going with your blessing.
I can't give it to you for that.
I don't want you away from the kids.
They need you.
I don't want you away from me. I need you.
Baby, I ain't going to say this but one more time...
A hundred dollars a day.
Baby, without money,
people like us ain't got no chance at all.
But it ain't always going to be that way, James.
It says so right in the Bible.
"The day will come
when the lion will lay down with the lamb."
Yeah, but only the lion is going to get up.
Ready to roll, Sam.
Fine, James.
And I bet you're going
with your good woman's blessings.
You lose that bet.
Sister Florida, I do the Lord's work.
I heard that help was hard to get,
but I didn't know the Lord was desperate.
[KNOCKING]
I'll get it.
Reverend Sam, we have to go if you want to catch that plane.
You're right, and Ed,
I'd like you to meet my old friend, James Evans.
He'll be traveling with us for a while.
That's great.
Our next stop is Philadelphia.
It's a good town
for you to take over the wheelchair gig.
The wheelchair gig.
You're the old man in the wheelchair.
It's the boogie-woogie man!
And what do you have to say to that, reverend?
I hire the handicapped.
Wait for me downstairs, Ed.
Wow. Out of sight!
Now, that's heavy.
You sure are slick, Rev,
but you know what would work better
than an old man getting healed?
A poor kid getting healed.
Like me. Picture this.
I come down the aisle in the wheelchair.
Everybody's watching me, right?
I get down to the front of the stage,
and I fall out of the chair,
and I start crawling to you,
Reverend Sam, help me.
Please help me. Heal me.
By then, the audience is going crazy,
then you come and lift me up to my knees,
and you say "You are healed!
The spirit of God has healed you!"
And I stand up
and hold my arms out to the audience,
and say "I am healed! I am healed!
I can walk!"
"I can run!"
"I can dance!"
"I can even boogie!"
What do you say, Rev? I got a gig?
What do you say, James?
There's always room on God's train
for one more.
You can make that room for two more, Sam,
'cause he ain't going and I ain't going.
James, you're passing up a golden opportunity.
Sam, they don't print enough money
to make me ruin my son's life.
Come on, Dad!
Ruin me!
Junior, sit down.
Oh, wow. Every time we get something going...
And shut up!
♪ We don't roar
♪ We don't fight
♪ But we're going To score tonight... ♪
Still Honest James.
I'll be seeing you.
Sam...
Baby, I don't know what happened.
I guess them numbers
just started dancing in front of my eyes.
Can you ever forgive me?
Can I forgive you?
REVEREND SAM [ON TV]: And I say to you, God is with you every minute,
and when I'm lost and don't know where to turn,
I call out to God,
"Lord, Lord, give me a sign!"
Right on, Lord!
♪ Mmm
♪ Just looking Out of the window ♪
♪ Watching The Asphalt grow ♪
♪ Keeping your head Above water ♪
♪ Making a wave When you can ♪
♪ Temporary layoffs
♪ Good Times
♪ Easy credit Rip-offs ♪
♪ Good Times
NARRATOR: Good Times is recorded on tape
before a live audience.
♪ Hanging in A chow line ♪
♪ Good Times
♪ Ain't we lucky We got 'em ♪
♪ Good Times