1
Marjorie: My journey to maturity
began in New York in 1928.
I was married to Charles Rawlings,
a newspaper man and yachting enthusiast.
I had been trying to write stories
that I thought would be
most likely to sell.
Gothic romances were extremely popular,
and I had written dozens.
I was desperate to express myself.
Even as a child, I had been consumed
with a desire to be a writer.
[Ragtime music playing]
Man: Car, please, Norris.
[People chattering]
Marjorie.
Max rejected my short story.
Max Perkins isn't the only editor
in the world.
I know.
I thought your story was damn good.
Except for the pretentious parts.
Let's take a ride upstate tomorrow.
We'll make a day of it?
It looks like I'm gonna have
a hangover tomorrow.
[Sighs]
I have arrangements to make, Charles.
What kind of arrangements?
I don't think we should discuss it here.
Why not?
Well, public scenes embarrass you.
You bought that damn orange grove.
What in hell possessed you
to buy a place sight unseen?
I wasn't consulted.
You didn't for one minute
think about me.
Oh, that's not true.
All you cared about
was you and your desire
to write the great American novel.
Do you seriously expect me to move
to some hick town and grow oranges?
Is this your vision of an artist?
I... I'm not a kid.
I can't just pick up and leave.
Why not?
Fine.
Take your typewriter
and go to Cross Creek.
Just don't expect me
to share in your simple life.
Charles...
You're my husband.
And I love you, Marjorie.
Couldn't you come with me?
No.
[Radiator hissing]
[Engine sputtering]
[Turns engine off]
[Hissing]
Marjorie: After 30 years of urban life,
I was totally unprepared
for this small Florida town.
[Dog barking in distance]
[Birds chirping]
Excuse me,
uh, is there a taxi available?
You want the hotel.
Oh, thank you.
You want Norton Baskin.
Just ask for Norton, he'll help you out.
Thank you.
[Swing music playing on radio]
[Rings bell]
Mr. Baskin?
Mm-hmm.
I... I'm looking for a taxicab.
[Laughs]
I'm going to Cross Creek
and I need a ride there.
If you just could tell me
where I might find a taxi.
There's not much business here.
If you can wait a minute,
I'll run you down.
No.
It's too bad about your car.
You ain't gonna get her running again.
No, sir.
You gonna have to get yourself
another one.
Something in a clean blue might be nice.
I don't need a car.
Well, if you're partial to dirty blue.
No, I don't have any use for a car.
- Oh, I see.
- I like walking.
Ha. That's nice.
I intend to walk a lot.
Those your hiking shoes?
Heh.
You ain't gonna get too far in them.
I'll manage.
Baskin: Up there is Simmons'
turpentine still.
And over that way is orange lake.
It's good fishing.
If you don't mind the gators.
So you say you're a writer?
What do you write?
I'm working on a novel.
Mm. Mm-hmm.
Hold on, now.
You all right?
I'm just fine.
Hmm.
So you write love stories?
I'm writing a Gothic.
You do say.
I don't believe
I know what that is.
It's a type of writing
a classic Gothic novel
has a castle as its setting,
and a governess or
a gentlewoman in distress.
Like you.
You won't be meeting
too many intellectuals out here.
It might get a little lonesome.
I've come here to work, not socialize.
Well, this is Cross Creek.
How many people live in Cross Creek?
Now, let's see...
There's never been more than...
Say, uh...
A dozen families.
You got to be a little crazy
to live out at the creek.
Ah, no offense, ma'am.
The way I look at it is,
if an attractive woman wants to hike
herself out into the middle of nowhere,
it is her business.
[Animals chirping and calling]
There she is.
Your new home.
Place here looks slightly run down.
I guess you'll be wanting me
to take you back into town.
That won't be necessary, thank you.
Here, let me.
How much do I owe you?
Not a thing.
That's ridiculous.
I'd like to pay for my ride.
Ha. The way I look at it,
you're a potential customer.
After a night out here,
you'll move to the hotel
gladly.
I'll, uh...
Get a room ready for you.
I won't be needing it.
Careful, now.
That thing is liable to give out
any minute.
I'll look in on you tomorrow.
I'll be perfectly fine, Mr. Baskin.
Of course you will.
I'll come around noon.
I'll be working.
It's no trouble at all.
Mr. Baskin...
I'll get the rest of the luggage.
It's nice to meet you, Miss Rawlings.
Marjorie: My plan had been to live
off my orange crops,
but the grove had been long untended.
And as I had filed for divorce,
I was too proud to accept
any money from Charles.
[Frogs croaking]
[Owl hooting]
[Clock ticking]
[Generator starts]
[Typewriter keys clacking]
I hear tell you lookin' for a girl.
Take me.
Well, I come for the job.
I can't pay very high wages.
Any wages is better than nothin'.
I got to get work.
I got use for my pay.
I don't think that you'd be satisfied
so far from town.
Oh, town ain't nothin' to me!
Oh, you don't know.
I don't do no courtin'.
I don't want no man around me.
I'm sure that it wouldn't suit you.
If I don't suit you,
you can cut my throat.
This porch floor ain't been scrubbed.
You got to have clean things.
I'll be here tomorrow.
I gotta go fetch my things!
Wait, I don't know anything about you.
I don't know your name,
or where you came from.
I be Geechee.
You don't need to know
no more than that.
Man: Hello? Hello?
Hello!
Hello?
I'm Marsh Turner called.
This is my daughter Ellie.
Mornin'.
You can do better than that, young'un.
Pleased to meet you, ma'am.
I'm Marjorie Rawlings.
Yes, ma'am.
We're just wonderin' whether you had...
had a comfortable night.
Yes, I did. Thank you.
No troubles?
No. None at all.
Sometimes, city folks
think they hear things
at night.
Bears or gators.
I slept very well, thank you.
Looks washed out.
Sure could use some paint.
That's exactly what I intend to do.
You gonna fix it yourself?
Yes.
Well, that roof leaks real bad, now.
Well...
I'll just have to fix that, too.
[Duck quacks]
That's a real enterprising woman.
You get to patching that roof,
and you fall off and break
a leg or something,
you give us a holler.
We'll come fetch you.
That's what neighbors are for.
Good day to you, ma'am.
Some sage and lily root
will ease up on that rash.
Hey...
Didn't mean to scare you.
There's a Cottonmouth.
Deadly.
[Reading aloud, indistinctly]
Where I be puttin' my things?
In the room back of the kitchen.
Nobody been caring
for things around here.
Geechee...
We'll set that right.
I'm not sure that
this is gonna work out.
You see, I'm a writer.
And my privacy is essential to me.
Nobody be botherin' you,
don't you worry.
I'm working, and it's difficult
to concentrate when
there are people around.
You just write, I'll clean up the house.
Yes, well...
We'll try that.
Listen.
I don't care if the roof falls in.
I don't want to be disturbed
unless it's a life or death emergency.
- Is that clear?
- Yes'm.
Miss Rawlings,
you be wantin' beaten
biscuits with your lunch,
or spoon bread?
Beaten.
[Water pump squeaking]
Oh, my.
Good morning.
Mornin'.
He's beautiful, Ellie.
My Pa says to put this on your rash
3 times a day.
Oh, thank you.
My Ma says we're gonna have
a pound party next Saturday.
She'd be most proud if you'd come.
I'd be delighted to.
What is a pound party?
Everybody brings a pound of something.
Sugar or butter or cake.
Cake would be fine.
Do you know how to bake a cake?
I certainly do.
What's his name?
Oh, I call him Flag.
On account of his tail.
Kinda looks like a flag.
Well, that's a good name for him.
My Pa don't believe in keeping pets.
But Flag's special.
He's real smart and knows his name.
He likes you.
Why does your father
not believe in keeping pets?
Milk's sometimes scarce.
But I don't need milk now.
So Flag gets my share.
Do you go to school?
My Ma taught us how to read,
and I'm a pretty fair shot.
It must get lonely out here.
Used to be.
But not since Flag.
I'll come show you the way Saturday.
All right.
[Knocking] Mornin'.
Mornin'?
Miss Rawlings is busy workin'.
Mornin'.
Like to go for a little spin?
I have work to do.
I thought you'd like to try her out.
Mr. Baskin, I don't really
have time for games.
Well, I figured that you
might be needing a car.
It is a long walk into town.
So, I brought one out for you to try.
I can't afford a car.
You can afford this one, Miss Rawlings.
Put your shoes on, I'll show it to you.
'Course, it's not what
you'd call a formal car.
So if you'd like to come as you are,
that'd be fine.
It's all right if I clean up now?
Yes. Thank you.
And if you want to put on a summer dress
and pack a nice picnic lunch,
that'd be fine, too.
You don't want to turn it down
before you look it over.
- Mr. Baskin...
- Norton.
I appreciate your concern,
but I can't possibly afford a car.
So if you'll just excuse me...
No ma'am, I certainly do not excuse you.
Now, I've considered
that you're new here,
and that you're nervous
about starting out.
But you're being pig-headed.
I didn't come to sell you a car.
I put 2 and 2 together,
and as far as I can tell,
you don't have anybody to depend on.
I'm perfectly capable of taking...
I don't care how perfectly capable
you may think you are.
The fact is that you don't have
a means of transportation.
Now, maybe I'm out of line,
but I took it upon myself
to fetch that old jalopy of yours.
It doesn't run.
It does now.
Oh.
So how much do I owe you?
I brought it out here as a gift.
If that offends you, I'm sorry.
But I sure as hell didn't come here
to take nothin' from you.
Mr. Baskin?
Would you like a cup of coffee?
[Screen door creaks]
Oh, my goodness.
It looks brand-new.
All it needed was
a little love and affection.
I'd like to pay you for whatever
it cost you to do that.
[Laughs]
Are all writers stubborn,
or is it just you?
Is it a deal?
Well, seeing as how
we're in business together,
you could do me a favor.
I'm gonna need a lift back to town.
[Both laughing]
Marjorie: The party was
a welcome respite
from my work.
I looked forward to seeing Ellie again.
She stood on the threshold of womanhood.
Clinging to her Fawn
as if he were the last
of her youthful dreams.
[Piano music playing]
Mama...
Miss Rawlings here.
How lovely of you to come.
I expect the other guests
will be here momentarily.
And this is for you.
Oh, thank you.
How sweet of you.
Please, sit down.
[Chickens clucking]
It'll help keep the mosquitoes off you.
Feels like rain.
The children picked
blackberries all afternoon.
We had a blackberry patch,
but my husband's hogs
just helped theirselves
till there wasn't
anything left.
I enjoy picking berries.
Floyd, blow some for our company.
Mary.
Floyd talks to the animals.
They come callin' for him every mornin'.
[Plays camptown races on harmonica]
Did Mary dance?
No, ma'am.
Mary.
I believe the others have been held up.
Billy, Preston?
You may bring out the refreshments.
Yes, ma'am.
[Water pouring]
Thank you.
[Children talking]
No, I get her. I get Flag.
Ellie: Taste good, doesn't it, Flag?
Ma, Ellie said I could play with Flag.
Ellie: Tastes good, huh?
Y'all havin' a good time?
[All talking at once]
Hello, Miss Rawlings.
- Hey, Bubba!
- Hello.
I brought you a nice
soft-tailed critter, here.
He should be tied behind the house.
But he's so small, Bubba.
I'm scared a Wildcat might get him.
Cake's as light as a feather.
Go on, now.
I saved you a piece, Bubba.
Go on, now.
Could Flag stay in?
Just for tonight?
He belongs in the woods, you know that.
Yes, sir.
But seeing it's a special day,
you can leave him be.
Oh, thank you, Bubba.
We're having a wonderful party.
Threat of bad weather
kept the other guests away.
We had a lovely conversation, didn't we?
Yes.
I'm gonna send Mary over
with some dresses.
I'll be taking Miss Rawlings home now.
I had a lovely afternoon, thank you.
It was a pleasure.
Good-bye.
Ellie, now you come
help me with the dishes.
All you children...
[continues indistinctly]
[Children talking]
I want lace trim on the sleeve.
Stitch it nice and small,
so the thread doesn't show through.
[Piano playing]
She was a visitor.
She came to a local square dance.
I couldn't keep my eyes off her.
Shoulda let her be.
Heh.
She'll be sending you clothes to mend,
dresses to sew.
Well, I'm afraid that...
I haven't any need to...
Aw, she's good-hearted.
Don't pay her no mind.
She's slipping away from us.
She's found herself
a more peaceful world.
This creek's hard on folks.
Particularly women.
I'm not afraid
of living hand-to-mouth.
[Laughs]
Well, that's what it'll be.
I guess you'll make out.
Folks around here have
to scratch and scramble.
The people that love it,
they stay here till they die,
and if they don't, they move on.
Are we lost?
This here's the River Styx.
But I live at Cross Creek.
Don't worry, I'll get you
there, Miss Rawlings.
Somebody I want you to meet.
Got a gator hole right here.
You don't want to step in it. Heh.
You're not even afraid
of gators, are you?
Ever been bit by one?
- Not recently.
- Ha!
Watch your step, now.
Wouldn't want to fish you out.
This here's young Paul.
We call him "P".
This is Miss Rawlings.
She's looking for a hired man.
I could start on Monday.
Well, I'm not sure that I can afford...
Oh, he'll work out. He's a good 'un.
Give you more time with your writing.
Oh, I like this batch, "P".
- Well...
- Good!
It's settled, then?
Would you like a little taste of this?
Oh, thank you.
Here's to you.
Ah, that's good.
[Slurps]
How'd you... how did you know
I was a writer?
Wildcat's not the only thing
that prowls around in the dark.
[Spits]
I seem to have very little say
about who I will and will not hire.
That's the way it is
at the creek, ma'am.
'Scuse me.
I do intend to write
at least 8 hours a day.
All right, I've decided
to hire your friend Paul.
Ha! You yankee women like to make
all the decisions, don't you?
Well, if you stay, I'll take you
on a gator hunt.
I'll be staying, Mr. Turner.
[Horse nickers]
Ellie!
This old bed may seem
like pure "D" trash to you,
but if you want it, it's yours.
It's beautiful, Marsh.
Well, it's been layin' up
in my barn about 50 years.
You want it?
Way I figure, a thing
deserves to be used.
Used right.
You livin' nice.
You're taking care of this old grove.
You're the one to have it.
Been sittin' up all these years
waitin' for the right person.
[Horse nickers]
You got bugs in them collards.
You better dust 'em.
You're gonna stay behind
and show her how,
won't you, Ellie, sweetheart?
What's that fine, handsome car
you got sittin' out front?
Mr. Norton, Mr. Baskin
brought that out to me.
It's my car. He just fixed it.
That's all right, Marjorie.
There's no need to explain anything.
Well, now,
painted your house,
planted some collards,
bought yourself a mule.
Fixed your car.
I think you're settlin' in.
We gonna take you
on a gator hunt real soon.
Thank you.
First we gonna start out
with something easy,
say a Bear hunt.
Marsh...
You want it, Marjorie?
It's yours. Come on.
[Typewriter clicking]
Marjorie: Marsh Turner and his family
were unlike any of the friends
I had known before.
I was drawn to them.
The rustic cottage, the children.
I wondered if, like them,
I'd find peace in my new world.
Paul was caring for my grove,
and Geechee watched over the house.
Sometimes in the distance
in the hammock swamp,
I could hear the felling
of Cyprus trees.
I was learning that
the grove was hard fought,
and hard maintained,
and must always as a child
be kept safe from a sudden frost.
I could now concentrate on my writing,
but each word was a struggle.
Phrases, lines, paragraphs eluded me.
I had been here for some time.
A story wasn't half-finished,
and my funds were trickling slowly away.
Whoo-ho!
Whoo-whoo, sooie!
[Pigs snorting]
Hog! Hog! Hyah! Hyah!
Oh, for heaven's sake. Geechee!
Hyah!
Marjorie: For Pete's sake!
Get out of there!
Get, get! Get out of here!
Get on! Aah!
Miss Rawlings they got your...
Marjorie: Mr. Turner.
Good afternoon, ma'am.
Go on, get outta here!
Get, get! Look at this.
Yah! Yah! Damn it, go on!
[Pigs snorting]
Mr. Turner, your pigs ate my flowers.
I see my hogs been bothering you.
If them hogs ever come
back here to bother you,
them's your hogs!
Haa! Soo!
Ya-yo!
Yo-ho!
Yo, hog! Damn you!
Hyah! Hyah!
Hyah!
Whoa!
[Giggling]
I'm done to suit you?
Yes.
You trust me?
Yes.
I got a thing to tell you.
I gotta have help.
These here is from my man.
Read 'em.
"My sweet Beatrice..."
That's what he calls me by.
"I gotta get out, I can't stand it.
"You gotta get me a job,
so they let me out."
He in the state prison.
You can get him out.
You can write 'em a letter
and say you got work for him.
But it says here,
"20 years for manslaughter."
He didn't do nothin'.
The other nigger was layin' for him.
And he come at Leroy
and he bopped him one,
and Leroy, see, he's strong,
and he made a pass at him,
and it done killed him.
You need another man
out here to help out.
Geechee, I'm not sure
I can afford to hire anyone else.
Money don't matter.
You write the superintendent a letter.
He'd listen to you.
'Cause you the writer.
Well, fine, don't expect to...
[grunting]
This is my cousin, Tim.
Him and his wife come out to help.
Marjorie: Thank you. If you like,
you can stay in the shack
at the end of the grove.
How much longer can my grove
last without water?
Well... Leaves will be comin' up.
I don't know what that means.
It means you might lose your crop.
Well, I just can't sit here and watch
while my orange grove dies.
Ma'am, Tim and I can't haul all this
out of here by ourselves.
What do I do?
A woman can't do this kind of work.
It ain't right.
Don't you tell me
what a woman can and cannot do.
Uhh.
Well?
Tim?
That was a good day's work, thank you.
Ma'am,
[Stammering]
The w-wife needs
to use the w-water pump once a day.
I w-wouldn't ask,
but she'll be havin' a child shortly.
She's welcome to use mine.
If she needs anything at all...
W-water's all she'll be wantin'.
That's a-all I'll be askin'.
He's used to livin' in the woods,
more than me.
Can't seem to abide by people.
we are climbin' Jacob's ladder
we are climbin' Jacob's ladder
we are climbin' Jacob's ladder
soldiers of the cross
[door hinge squeaks]
Tim said it'd be all right.
Of course it's all right.
Would you like to sit down
and rest for a minute?
[Pump squeaks and water runs]
It's heavy.
Thank you, ma'am.
Marjorie: Dear Max,
here it is, finally,
my Gothic story about an English tutor
and her misadventures
in a nobleman's ancient castle.
I think it's the best story
I've ever written,
and I'm sending it off to you,
positive that I will
finally be published.
So much happens here at Cross Creek.
Max, I'm attempting
to get Geechee's boyfriend
out of jail and build a dam.
Young Ellie follows the fortunes
of my grove as closely
as if it had been her own.
She and her Fawn are my coworkers
over the hazardous fortunes of my crop.
If there can be such a thing
as instinctual memory,
the consciousness of land and water
must lie deeper in the core of us
than any knowledge of our fellow beings.
We were bred of the earth
before we were born of our mothers.
Once born, we can
live without our mothers
or... Fathers,
or any other kin, or any friend,
or human love.
We cannot live without the earth,
or apart from it.
And something is shriveled
in man's heart
when he turns away from it,
and concerns himself only
with the affairs of men.
Come on, mule, come on!
Miss Rawlings!
We did good!
We did magnificently!
[Crickets chirping]
My, my, my.
This is my utterly deadly
southern pecan pie.
My, my.
I never ate better in my life.
Do you want more coffee?
I don't mind if I do.
Delicious.
My own recipe.
Candles, flowers,
delicious home-cooked meal...
I must have done an awfully good job
on that car.
I take it it's still running smoothly?
Perfectly smoothly.
To my first dinner guest.
There's still plenty of pie.
Hmm.
We could eat it in the mornin'.
Don't you think that'd
be a good idea, Marjorie?
Is your governess
still lost on the Moors?
Now you know what I would do?
I would give her a full moon...
something like what we have tonight...
and a handsome lord.
Well, he could look,
just a little bit like me.
And he'll lead her safely home.
I'm sure of it.
Norton...
You're a bit of a poet.
Yes'm.
With you... I think I'm everything.
[Baby gurgles]
[Humming]
I thought you might like that.
How are you getting on?
Nothin' extra.
There ain't no screens
to the house, and...
The skeeters like to eat us alive.
Can't keep the antses
out of Tim's breakfast.
Why didn't anyone say anything to me?
I had no idea. I'll see to it.
Don't matter.
We'll make out.
That's a nice baby.
The other didn't last till spring.
This one might fare better.
Till winter, maybe.
I was wondering if your wife
might help me at the house.
Just a bit of light washing.
[Stammering]
W-white woman
don't ask another w-white woman
to do her washin'.
Carry her slops, neither.
Us'll be leavin' here now.
I didn't mean to offend you.
I was trying to be neighborly.
[Harmonica playing]
[Birds cawing]
[Thunder]
Mail for you, Miss Rawlings.
Thank you.
Max: "My dear Marjorie,
"please, believe me when I say
"it disappoints me as much as you
"to have to return your manuscript.
"Marjorie, your writing
is technically perfect,
"yet it is still an imitation
"of other authors' work.
"Your letters to me about
your life in Cross Creek
"are alive with emotion,
"and I read them with such pleasure.
"They are the most
revealing bits of life
"that tells not trivial facts,
"but human motives
"and the secrets of human hearts.
"That child who wants a dear,
"the young couple who chose
to live in the woods
"rather than conform to civilization.
"Write me those stories,
"not these English tea parties
and Gothic tales
you know nothing about."
[Thunder]
[Car horn honks]
Afternoon.
Good afternoon.
Sticky, isn't it?
You know, I always did admire a woman
without curiosity.
Most women'd rip their mail open
as soon as they got their hands on it.
But you...
there's no need for me to be curious.
This is for Geechee,
and this is a rejected story,
and I don't want
to talk about it anymore.
Well, I got a feeling
it's a mighty fine story.
I doubt that.
Good stories get published.
[Engine starts]
Marjorie, I don't know
anything about writing,
but I do know that
you're the kind of woman
that's gonna be good at whatever it is
she decides to do.
Now you been through so much
since you came here,
maybe you just need a little time
for things to settle out.
Thank you.
Suppose I drop by later on?
[Pigs snorting]
What you doin'?
Put that thing down!
Leave me alone!
It's just Mr. Turner's pigs!
I intend to shoot them.
Aah!
[Thunder]
[Pigs squealing]
Aah! Get on up!
Come in the house!
[Both talking at once]
Where's my gun?
Come on in.
- Here it is.
- Where's my gun?
Miss, come in the house!
You're gonna be sick!
[Sobbing]
Whoa! Aah!
Miss Rawlings!
I think I got one!
Get on in the house!
[Car engine revving]
[Brakes squeal]
[Engine stops]
Miss Rawlings not home.
Would you tell her
I'd like to talk to her
for a minute, please.
I mean, she busy workin'.
You can't see her.
Better tell her I'm here.
Thought just for a minute,
I'd speak to her.
Geechee?
Who is it?
It's Mr. Turner,
and he got that fresh fellow with him.
Send them in.
No, ma'am, you can't be entertainin'
in your bedroom!
[Knocks]
You may come in, Mr. Turner.
Debt to you, ma'am.
Good morning.
I'd like a cup of coffee, please.
It was stormin' last night,
Miss Rawlings.
Remember?
What can I do for you, Mr. Turner?
Somebody shot my pig.
This is serious, Marjorie.
I'd just like to know who.
I shot your pig.
It tormented me, and I shot it.
That was my pig, Miss Rawlings.
No, that was my pig.
You gave that pig to me
when you said that if they trespassed,
they were mine.
What kind of woman shoot a hog
in the middle of a storm?
Was it a good shot?
No, ma'am, it was not,
I had to finish it off myself.
Mr. Turner, would you
lower your voice, please.
Won't you join me?
Thank you, ma'am.
Won't get no writing done
if you're entertainin' all mornin'.
Well, thank you, kindly.
You're certainly welcome.
I'll pay for your pig.
But it was an outlaw.
It was practically a pet.
You could catch it with your bare hands.
Well, I wouldn't have had the pleasure
of shooting it.
Miss Rawlings,
I didn't want to disturb you, ma'am.
I went around and talked
to a lot of your friends.
Even Norton, here, assured me
you're not the kind of woman
that would have shot my hog.
That is just the way I am.
I go along quietly for a while,
and then out of the clear blue sky,
I don't know what happens to me,
I just pick up a gun,
I shoot whatever makes me angry.
I'm so afraid one day
it just might be a person.
I'm afraid whatever it is I owe you
will have to wait until I'm...
Solvent. I'm flat broke.
My last story was rejected.
Miss Rawlings,
seem if I do remember that was your hog.
Good day to you now, ma'am.
Good day.
See you now.
Mr. Turner, I'd like
to have that hog back.
Say what?
I'd like to have that hog
and it eat it, too, for dinner.
Perhaps you and
Mr. Baskin would join me?
Be a shame to waste all them ribs.
Miss Rawlings,
you're gonna have that hog
before sundown, ribs and all.
Won't we have a lovely barbecue?
Do it proud.
This Miss Marjorie's work time,
you have to be goin'.
Marjorie, I would like to read
what you write today.
You won't read what I write today
or any other day.
What I write is none
of your damn business.
Now why don't you just get out of here?
I think I'll do just that.
Norton!
I'm sorry.
[Sighs]
You got quite a temper, Marjorie.
Shootin' pigs and choppin' my head off.
I know...
[Sighs]
I'm scared stiff.
I can't imagine you scared of anything.
I'm writing a story
about Tim and his wife.
It's called Jacob's ladder.
It's something I care very much about.
It wouldn't be like anybody else's work.
It'll come straight outta me.
Do you understand that?
If this gets turned down,
I have to face the fact
that I wasn't meant to be a writer.
That sounds a little drastic, Marjorie.
No...
This is my world... Cross Creek.
The people here...
Are richer than
my imaginary governesses.
If I can't write
my own honest thoughts and feelings,
then I'm no author.
You're gonna do just fine, Marjorie.
Believe you're holding my hand again,
Mr. Baskin.
Seems I am.
I suppose you'll be insisting
on staying for supper.
My thoughts exactly.
Nothing's gonna happen between us.
Marjorie: The Yearling was growing up.
And so was Ellie.
The land we toiled over
responded to our care.
My grove was thriving.
Thank you, Paul.
[Chickens clucking]
[Typewriter clacking]
[Birds chirping]
Leroy!
[Laughing]
This is him! This is him!
[Laughing]
Leroy!
Marjorie: It seemed
nothing could go wrong.
Geechee had her Leroy home,
and I had settled into writing
10 to 12 hours a day.
But as time went on, I saw that Leroy
made no effort to lend the grove work.
He was content to languish comfortably
into Geechee's care.
As for me, my divorce had become final,
and I was busy
working on Jacob's ladder.
I sensed it was more honest and alive
than anything I'd ever written.
But I couldn't bring myself
to send it to Maxwell Perkins.
I couldn't face rejection...
Not with Jacob's ladder.
Put that back.
That belong to Miss Marjorie.
Did you hear me?
I hear you.
You want marmalade or molasses?
I said, you want marmalade or molasses
with your pancake?
Marjorie: Geechee...
I'd like to speak to Leroy alone.
Marjorie: We've had frost warnings.
Paul could use your help in the grove.
I'll chop enough wood for you tomorrow.
I have better things in mind
than working in the grove.
Leroy, you have to leave.
I suppose Geechee will
want to go with you,
and I'll be sorry to see her go,
but this is not going to work out.
[Door opens]
[Birds chirping]
I packed.
I'll be going after Leroy now.
So, guess I'll be going.
I got something to ask you.
Certainly.
You satisfied with my work around here?
Of course I am.
Then how come you let
me go just like that?
I assumed you wanted to go.
So what if I did wanted to?
What kind of person let another person
do something they know will hurt her?
Geechee...
I don't understand you,
I don't have any right to stop you.
You do if you care about me.
You know what Leroy gonna do to me.
Use me up and spend
all his time in juke joints
drinking up my paycheck
just like before.
I got a good life here.
I got a better life at the creek...
I don't want you to go.
I thought that you knew that.
How am I supposed to know that?
It's easy get somebody
for cooking and sweeping.
I think of you as a friend.
You care about me and you
was gonna let me go away?
It's very difficult to leave someone
you've been with.
Afterwards, the loneliness...
I understand lonesome.
My life with Leroy was lonesome.
Probably will be again.
But you're a woman,
and you live by yourself
and don't let nobody
take advantage of you.
I've been watching how you do it.
That's what I want to be like.
That's something I learned off of you.
I ain't goin' on no train
with Leroy and that's final.
He ain't never done
nothin' but wrong to me.
Ain't nobody... nobody ever
done for me what you done.
Giving me decent wages
and lending me your car.
Well, us will do fine.
Us will do better.
I'm glad you're staying,
Geechee, I really am.
Now that we're friends,
I got something to tell you
you don't know.
[Sighs]
What is it?
On paper, you might be real smart,
but in real life,
you got a lot to learn,
a whole lot.
Well, is that so?
You can't go letting people you like
walk out on you.
You almost lost me.
You're gonna lose Mr. Norton, too.
[Typing]
I don't wish to discuss it.
I don't know why
I stay here with you for,
you old bad-tempered woman!
Just crazy, I guess.
I guess so.
[Typing]
[Bluegrass music playing]
Bubba!
Hey, hey!
somebody stole my old coon dog away
should bring him back
he'll throw them
big hogs over the fence
little ones through the cracks
whoa, trouble, trouble, trouble
all I've had it all my days
just looks like old trouble
gonna follow me to my grave
all right!
[Applause]
[Giggling]
Thank you for comin', now.
Marjorie: I brought you a cake.
Thanks! Bubba!
She baked me a cake!
You know, she was hoping
that you were gonna
bake her a birthday cake.
I was hoping you'd make it
a bourbon cake.
It's a chocolate layer cake.
I guess we'll have to sample
my home brew, then.
Would you like a taste? Here we go.
There's one for Miss Rawlings.
I know you have to save yourself
for your writing, Marjorie,
so we, uh, we got you a pitcher
of sassafras and tea over there.
Well, this will do me fine, thank you.
Hold it, Lilly.
Thank you, Lilly.
Norton, this one's for you.
Easy, Marsh.
I'd like to propose this toast
to my darling daughter Ellie
on her 14th birthday.
Here's to you, sugar.
Mary: Happy Birthday, Ellie.
All: Happy Birthday.
Ellie: Bubba?
Hmm?
Could I cut the first piece for Flag?
It's your birthday, sweetheart.
You go right ahead.
Paul! Paul, play something
for us, will you?
You were given the perfect day
to celebrate on.
Thanks.
Flag!
Flag! Flag!
Flag! Please!
Flag!
Flag!
Preston, help me!
Flag!
Flag, stop! Flag!
Please, flag, stop!
Flag, no!
[Glass breaking]
My husband is a gentleman.
Whatever he does wrong, he'll set right.
You yearned to have a pet of your own.
I didn't have the heart to deny you.
You've done an injustice to Flag.
He's not human.
He's not a critter.
He belongs in the woods.
Could have crippled him, darling.
He wouldn't know how to survive.
I promise he won't get out again.
You can't chain him up forever.
Well, I'll walk him
after my chores are done.
Look, Bubba, he's being real good now.
He didn't mean any harm.
Marjorie.
Please, Bubba, don't
make me give him up.
I don't think he's giving me any choice.
Marsh...
Maybe if the pen was a little stronger.
He'd go right through it
or he'd go right over it.
Marsh, please.
Can't we try?
I'll think about it.
But I'm not making you a promise,
do you understand me?
Yes, sir.
I'll think about it.
Come on, Ellie.
[Ellie crying]
It's gonna be all right.
Out here, you just can't afford
to have no softness in you.
Daily life don't allow it.
You know Ellie's special to me,
don't you?
She always has been.
She's the one that stays up at night
waitin' for me.
She calls me Bubba.
If anything happened to that girl,
I don't think I could live.
That's just the way it is.
That's how much I care.
May not make much sense,
that's the way it is.
- I understand that.
- Do you?
Why do you insist on...
prolonging the problem?
She loves that animal.
It's gonna have to be shot.
Why?
You see, it's almost full grown.
It's not only going to destroy my crops,
it's gonna get yours,
it's gonna get everybody's
up and down this creek.
Not if that new fence holds.
[Chuckles]
What if it don't, Miss Marjorie?
It's Ellie's last days
of childhood, Marsh.
[Chuckles]
It'll be a stronger fence.
[Chuckles] I hope so.
Oh, Lordy.
Marjorie: We held our breaths,
praying that the fence
would be strong enough.
Days passed, and Ellie's deer
stayed within the confines of the pen.
Jacob's ladder was finished,
but I was afraid to let
Max Perkins see it
until I felt it was perfect.
Marjorie?
This is a good story.
Max will like it, Marjorie.
I might as well bring a suitcase over,
I spend so much time out here.
That's unnecessary.
Marjorie...
Ahem, Marjorie.
I'm trying to propose.
I don't want to get married.
[Scoffs]
I eat with you,
I sleep with you,
I worry over your writing with you.
If that's not being married,
I don't know what is.
I just haven't time for marriage.
You have time for Paul
and Ellie and Geechee.
Well, that's different.
They're friends.
You'd want more of me,
and I wouldn't be able
to give it to you.
That's a damn lousy excuse.
Why isn't what we have
good enough for you?
It's not.
It'll have to be.
Marjorie, you're so busy writing
and living other people's lives,
that you're cutting your own out.
And you can't hide from feelings.
I'm not in love with you.
I don't believe that.
Marjorie: I deliberately
turned away from Norton,
for I believed that I couldn't be
a wife and a writer.
My relationship with Charles
had proved that to me.
I chose to isolate myself,
and I used my work as a refuge.
[Typing]
[Car approaching]
[Typing]
Max?
Max Perkins?
What in the world are you doing here?
Oh! Ha!
Oh, uh, something
to prod the muses with.
Thank you.
Well, Mr. Baskin here
was kind enough
to offer me a lift.
He suggested that I come out right away.
I'm sure he did.
I hope I'm not intruding.
No.
I'm just... Surprised to see you.
I've just been on a visit
with Ernest in Key West,
and I just dropped by
to see how you were.
Well, you couldn't call,
because she doesn't have a phone.
You already have
an open bottle, Marjorie.
Max drinks only the best.
Well, we can start on that one
and then finish yours up later on.
Ah.
Mmm.
You haven't written
to me lately, Marjorie.
I don't think my writing interests you.
I-I'll get some glasses.
[Door opens and closes]
Bit chilly.
Your last letter didn't go down so well.
Oh, dear, not another Gothic, hmm?
So what is it this time, Marjorie?
Another governess packed off to Wales,
destitute and filled with foreboding?
You've made it clear
that you don't like my Gothics, Max.
Correct.
I've often wondered why you bother
wasting your precious time
on such an untalented novelist.
I had hoped that anyone who is
as desperate to write as you were,
will eventually...
Damn it, Max Perkins, you're a coward!
You didn't dare tell me the truth.
Well, I must admit,
I did stop.
You can be most formidable, Marjorie.
You let me believe I had talent.
You may be one of the most
talented writers
I've had the pleasure of working with.
I have here some of your finest work...
your letters.
The letters I kept looking forward to.
And not because
I missed your good company,
but because when you write
about your life here,
that's when your writing's
at its best, Marjorie.
My sense told that some time ago.
Thank you.
[Dishes clanging]
Marjorie, he'll like it.
It's a good story.
You never did even get to the end.
You never gave me the chance.
[Door opens]
[Footsteps]
Smells good.
Cooking is Marjorie's one vanity.
Max.
Thank you, Marjorie.
I know that...
I gave it to you too soon.
It wasn't ready for you to read yet.
Well, dear,
I liked it,
and I'm gonna publish it.
Does $700 seem fair to you?
Yes.
Yes, Mr. Perkins,
that sounds fine to me.
Miss Rawlings!
Miss Ra... Miss Rawlings!
You have to help me! Flag escaped.
[Panting]
[Squealing]
Go home, Marjorie.
- Marsh...
- Go home, please.
I feel responsible for this.
No, it's this girl
that has to be responsible now,
not you.
Darling...
We had ourselves a bargain.
Now, you gotta do what's right.
Darling, listen to me.
A family can't starve
over the love of an animal.
Now take it.
I ain't doin' it, Bubba.
You can't make me.
Take it.
[Gasps] Bubba, please, no!
Bubba, no!
Stop it, Bubba!
No, please, I promise!
I'll mend the fence,
and I'll grow some new crops.
Please, Bubba!
I'll make it up to you. Bubba, please!
Listen to me!
Please, Bubba!
Bubba, please! Please!
Bubba! [Sobs]
Stop him!
Ellie...
He'll listen to you!
I can't stop him.
He hates Flag, he always has.
That's my deer and
he ain't right to do that.
[Gunshot]
Bubba, no!
[Ellie panting]
Go back to the house now!
Go back to the house!
I hate you! I hate you so much!
Fight me, I hate you! Fight me!
I hate you so much!
Fight me! Fight me!
Aah! Fight me! I hate you!
I'll always hate you!
[Sobbing]
[Indistinct chatter]
Man: Not bad.
[Horse nickers]
[Ball on pool table clacking]
[Indistinct chatter]
Ahh.
[Indistinct chatter]
[Horse nickers]
Man: Uh-oh!
[Laughter]
[All yelling]
[Horse neighs]
[Yelling continues]
Man: Marsh!
Marsh!
Marsh: Ellie!
[Horse neighs]
Ellie!
Hey, Ellie!
[Horse neighs]
Hey, Ellie?
Hey, Ellie?
She'll come home.
Don't make no difference.
It'll never be the same again.
Ah.
Marsh?
It's me, the Sheriff.
How you doin', Jake?
Put down that gun.
You want it? It's yours.
[Gunshot]
Marjorie: The Sheriff shot,
and Marsh fell.
And it was the end
of glamour at Cross Creek.
And the only person who knows,
who understands that when Marsh Turner
spoke to the Sheriff,
it was without menace.
I'm sure he was offering the Sheriff
the offending gun,
exactly as he once offered me
his trespassing hogs.
Ellie...
You don't belong here.
I wish you never came to Cross Creek.
You're not one of us.
Why don't you take your stories
and leave us be?
Cross Creek ain't for you.
[Boat engine humming]
Marjorie: I left the creek.
I left the grove.
Suddenly.
And with nothing.
[Engine starts]
Geechee: Miss!
Miss Rawlings!
[Laughing]
[Sobbing]
[Whistle blowing]
We'll beat it.
I worked all year
on nursing those oranges.
I ain't gonna let a freeze have them.
Don't you worry.
Hang in there.
Ask him what's to be done.
Come on up in here.
Come here.
Come on, y'all.
Take on off.
I should have come sooner.
Good friends shouldn't keep apart.
[Brakes squealing]
[Sighs]
And that little Mary
was keeping up with us,
just sloshing through the mud.
One time, she was right here
and there was her shoes
about 10 feet back, stuck in the mud.
[Knocking on door]
Would you like a cup of coffee?
That'd hit the spot, thank you.
I want to thank you for your help.
I just happened to be
passing through the neighborhood.
At 5:30 in the morning?
At 5:30 in the morning.
I heard you was doin' poorly.
Yeah?
Hmm. Pining away for an old Beau.
I'm doing extremely well.
So I see.
Listen, would you like...
Yes.
Get married?
Just like I figured.
You certainly are sure of yourself.
You didn't miss me at all?
Not a bit, Mr. Baskin.
Not a bit.
Marjorie: I had become
a part of Cross Creek.
I was more than a writer.
I was a wife, a friend,
a part of the earth.
Who owns Cross Creek?
The earth may be farmed, not bought.
May be used, not owned.
It gives itself in response
to love and tenderness,
offers its seasonal
flowering and fruiting.
Cross Creek belongs
to the wind and the rain,
to the sun and seasons,
to the cosmic secrecy of seed...
And beyond all, to time.
Manual corrected, resynched,
spell checked by H@w-to-kiLL.