Bit 02 - Arrival at Resort

From left to right:
Lisa, Marjorie, Jake and Baby Houseman,
Max Kellerman and Billy Kostecki.

Max is telling Billy to get luggage out of the car.

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Date of Scene

Saturday, August 10, 1963

During daytime.

In this scene's dialogue, Max Kellerman remarks that, "Three weeks here, it'll feel like a year" -- indicating that the Houseman family's stay will last for three weeks. Since the stay's last weekend will be stated to be the Labor Day weekend, the stay's beginning can be deduced as about August 10.

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Scene Description

The Housemans' car drives onto the grounds of Kellerman's Mountain House resort. We see the large, main building and a huge lawn. Guests who already have arrived are participating in various activities on the lawn. Stan the Social Director with a hand-held loudspeaker announces the various activities that are available.

The Housemans' car parks in front of the main building, and the Housemans get out of their car and begin unloading their luggage. The father is Jake; the mother is Marge; the two daughters are Lisa and "Baby".

The resort owner, Max Kellerman, approaches and welcomes the family. He already is acquainted with Jake Houseman, who has provided him medical treatment in the past.

Max Kellerman orders a young male worker, Billy Kostecki, to help unload the Housemans' luggage. Billy and Baby become acqainted in the process. He asks her whether she wants a job at the hotel.

The Houseman family goes to a dance lesson in the gazebo. The lesson is being conducted by Penny Johnson.

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Dialogue

Stan the Social Director
(Yelling through a megaphone to all the guests)
Ping-Pong in the west arcade, softball in the east diamond. All you Sandy Koufaxes, get out there! Complimentary dance lessons in the gazebo.

Lisa Houseman
(Observing that someone else's large pile of shoe boxes is being taken into the hotel)
Oh, my God. Look at that! Mom, I should've brought the coral shoes. You said I was taking too much.

Marjorie Houseman
Well, sweetheart, you brought ten pairs.

Lisa Houseman
But the coral shoes matched that dress.

Jake Houseman
This is not a tragedy. A tragedy is three men trapped in a mine or police dogs used in Birmingham.

Baby Houseman
Monks burning themselves in protest.

Lisa Houseman
Butt out, Baby.

Stan the Social Director
Okay, we got horse shoes on the south lawn in 15 minutes! We've got Splish-Splash, the water class, down by the lake. We have the still-life art class. We got volleyball and croquet. And for you older folks, we got sacks!

Max Kellerman
(Approaching, along with Billy Kostecki, the Houseman family and addressing Jake Houseman)
Doc! Doc!

Jake Houseman
Max!

Max Kellerman
Well, Doc, after all these years I finally got you up on my mountain.

Jake Houseman
How's the blood pressure?

Max Kellerman
(Addressing Marjorie, Lisa and Baby Houseman)
I want you girls to know, if it were not for this man, I'd be standing here dead.

(Addressing Billy Kostecki)
Billy, get the bags.

Billy Kostecki
(Addressing Jake Houseman)
Right away, Doc.

Max Kellerman
I kept the best cabin for you and your beautiful girls.

Jake Houseman
Hey, thanks a lot.

Billy Kostecki
(Addressing Baby Houseman, who is taking luggage out of the car trunk)
You want a job here?

Max Kellerman
There's a merengue class in the gazebo in the next few minutes. The greatest teacher. Used to be a Rockette.

Marjorie Houseman
It's his first real vacation in six years, Max. Take it easy.

Max Kellerman
Three weeks here, it'll feel like a year.

(The scene changes to the gazebo, where Penny Johnson is conducting a dance lesson)

Penny Johnson
One, two, three, four! Stomp those grapes and stomp some more! One, two, three, four! Listen to the music!

Baby Houseman
(Bumping into Mrs. Schumacher)
Sorry.

Penny Johnson
One, two three, four! Move your caboose and shake it loose! One, two, three, four! Start the train! Come on, men! Follow me into a round robin! Ladies, the inner circle! Come on, ladies!

(Penny shakes her breasts.)
God wouldn't have given you maracas if he didn't want you to shake them!

Okay now, ladies, when I say "stop" you're gonna find the man of your dreams. Stop! Now, remember, he's the boss on the dance floor, if nowhere else.

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Song Lyrics None

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Remarks

The Social Director never is named in the dialogue, but he is named as "Stan" in the cast list.

This scene shows various activities available to the resort guests. The Social Director specifies ping-pong, softball, dance lessons, horse shoes, swimming lessons, water-painting lessons, volleyball and croquet. The Social Director also mentions "sacks" for older folks, but I don't know that this is.

The Social Director mentions that these dance lessons in the gazebo are "complementary," meaning that they don't cost anything. Normally the guests had to pay for dance lessons.

When the Social Director mentions softball, he calls on "all you Sandy Koufaxes" to participate. Sandy Koufax was a professional baseball player who was Jewish.

Although the Housemans were unloading all their luggage in front of the main building, they subsequently stayed in a smaller building that was distant from the main building. According to Max Kellerman, this is the best cabin.

The conversation about the shoes begins when Lisa notices that some of the other arriving guests have brought huge amounts of clothing. This conversation indicates Lisa's obsession with fashion and beauty, but it informs the audience also that the guests dress up formally for many of the resort's activities.

Mocking Lisa's sorrow about her shoes, Jake and Baby mocks her by referring to "real" tragedies. Jake mentions "police dogs used in Birmingham," referring to the violent suppression of peaceful Civil Rights protesters in Birmingham, Alabama, in the spring of 1963. Baby mentions "monks burning themselves in protest," referring to Buddhist monks in South Vietnam who burned themselves to death in protest against the South Vietnamese Government in June 1963.

The conversation between Jake and Max informs the audience that Jake is a medical doctor. Jake has treated Max in the past, although the circumstances will not be explained.

When Billy begin unloading luggage from the car, Baby too begins unloading luggage. Billy asks her whether she wants a job at the hotel. He will offer her a job as the magician's stooge.

Max mentions in the conversation that the Houseman family will spend three weeks at the resort.

Marge mentions in the conversation that Jake has not had "a real vacation" for six years." Marge and the daughters might have enjoyed vacations at a Borscht Belt resort within the past six years, however. A later conversation mentions that some resort guests are wives, so-called bungaloo bunnies," who spend continual weeks at the resort and who are visited there by their husbands only on weekends. In any case, this is Jake's first stay at this particular resort.

Max mentions that Penny Johnson, the teacher at the dance lesson in the gazebo, used to be a Rockette, meaning that she is a professional dancer. Baby participates in the class and thus comes to know that Penny is a professional dancer. Baby still does not know anything about Johnny Castle, the male dance instructor.

During the dancing lesson, Baby stands next to Mrs. Shumacher and even bumps into her. The audience thus begins to recognize her.

Baby looks uncomfortable, clumsy, inhibited and unhappy while dancing.

Penny tells her students that when she says "stop" the women are supposed to "find the man of your dreams." Penny subsequently says "stop" and grabs Jake Houseman. This reinforces Baby's remark in the previous scene (riding in the car) that she dreamed of marrying a man like her father. Later in the movie, we learn that Penny has fallen in love with a medical student, who will become a doctor, like Jake. Penny will come to admire Jake very much.

When Penny yells "stop," Baby ends up dancing with Mr. Schumacher. Thus the audience begins to recognize him.