Here comes the sun, little darling
Here comes the sun
And I say it's all right
It's all right
Here comes the sun, little darling
Here comes the sun
And I say it's all right
It's all right
Dear Mr. Killion...
...I feel strongly
about the inclusion on the plaque
of those who helped with the conception
of Louise Brown, the first IVF baby.
- I feel this especially about Jean Purdy...
- Watch out!
...who travelled to Oldham with me
for the full ten years
and contributed as much as we did
to the project.
I was the biologist,
Patrick, the obstetrician,
and Jean...
well, without her,
none of this would have been possible.
Mind your back!
Oh... bugger it.
I'm here for an interview
with Dr. Edwards.
He's midway through an experiment.
If you like, you can park in there.
- That's kind. I like parking.
- Just, uh...
Shall I move stuff?
Do you mind if I use your radiator
to dry my shoe?
Oh. I see you've been
researching Dr. Edwards.
His work on
mammalian development is quite...
Extraordinary. I know.
If you're offended by unshod feet,
I suggest you look away.
Oh damn. I have a hole in my tights.
You can see my toe.
Oh. Two toes.
Um...
I'll let him know you're here.
Yes, I see. Yes.
See if we can
separate that from the plasma.
Next candidate's here, Bob.
Holy sh*t.
Holy sh*t! Everyone, stop!
Sylvia's escaped,
and I'd only just got her pregnant.
Jesus, Bob.
Please be careful where you stand.
She's worth more than your shoes.
Sylvia.
- Sylvia.
- She's there!
- Whoop.
- Where? I can't see her.
- There. Under the table.
- Oh, Sylvia.
I know you're upset
about Patty giving birth.
- Come on. Come on.
- It will happen for you too, Sylvia.
I just need to make a few adjustments.
If I hear a commotion,
I'm not very good at staying out of it.
- Who are you?
- Jean Purdy.
I'm here about the lab manager's post.
You've only got one shoe on.
The other shoe's
currently steaming in your office.
Hmm. What's your secret for catching mice?
Clean hands and patience. What's yours?
I think
I've just offered you a job.
But you don't know my skills.
My work in nursing and research.
My PhDs are very thorough in weeding out
the best applicants. Can you drive?
I trained to become a nurse
at Addenbrooke's Hospital.
I've worked at Southampton Hospital.
More recently, I've been at Papworth,
studying tissue rejection.
Excellent. 8:00 a.m., don't be late.
We have an obstetrician to catch.
Arun, please.
Sylvia back in the cage. Thank you.
One... two... One, two, three...
Oogum, oogum, boogum, boogum
Boogum now, baby
You're castin' your spell on me
I say, "Oogum, oogum, boogum"
"Boogum, boogum now, baby
You're castin' your spell on me"
You got me doin' funny things
Like a clown
Just a-look at me
I say now, "Who got the blues?"
Say, "Who got the blues?"
Say, "Who got the blues now?"
Castin' your spell...
Patrick Steptoe just published
the definitive guide to laparoscopy.
The Medical Research Council
mostly hate him,
but... I think,
with those keyhole-surgery skills,
he will be
an excellent member of our team.
Yes, this team,
which you've not yet explained to me.
Oh, we're going to cure childlessness.
We're going to help make babies.
I've shocked you.
I knew you were interested
in reproduction. I didn't...
Terrific. It's going to be terrific!
Now, if the ovaries
could be inspected beforehand...
Thank you.
...we would have
advance warning of endometriosis.
We'd be able to see
how many eggs were growing.
Now, the trouble is,
we have no clear method of doing so.
Laparoscopy.
So what I'd, um, like to advance today
is the development of a new laparotomy,
one with the ability...
Laparoscopy would be superior.
The only way to visualize the ovaries
and get to the source of the endometriosis
is with a laparotomy.
Opening the abdomen
with a large cut... here...
- ...or here.
- Nonsense. You're quite wrong.
This is a lecture. Not a meeting.
He's wasting time on inept science.
This is the Royal Society, sir.
A little respect for my "inept science"
might be due.
A laparoscopy allows me
to see the ovaries, the fallopian tubes,
and other parts of the reproductive tract
without having to make anything more
than very small incisions in the skin.
Laparoscopy is
an extremely dangerous technique.
Your so-called surgery
involves poking around in the unknown
without regard for the patient
or the disease.
And this is not your lecture.
Hear, hear!
I know. I'm sorry. Please forgive me.
But may I be allowed
just to prove my point
with some slides...
...that I happen to have with me?
- Oh, Mr. Steptoe. Bob Edwards.
- Yes?
We spoke on the phone a few months ago.
I can't be expected
to remember every phone call, Mr. Edwards.
Yes. If I could just have a minute.
I'd be very interested
to hear about keyhole surgery.
Sadly, I'm busy.
Talking to these people
who banished you to Oldham?
They hate you.
This is Jean Purdy.
She'll be running our lab.
Will she now? Good luck to you both.
With your equipment,
we'd be able to access a woman's ovaries
in the least invasive way.
Oldham is an extremely good hospital,
and there wasn't an appointment
in London available.
Amazing how there were appointments
for your contemporaries,
who they did like.
Have you studied me?
No, I have. She's repeating it to you
in an effort to get you to listen to me.
A curious strategy, Jean.
How did you
get around the heating problem?
What heating problem?
Look, I've gotta get back to Oldham.
I'm late for the 3:25. Write to me.
3:25? That gives us a good half hour.
We'll walk with you.
During the laparoscopy,
you need a light source for your camera.
Otherwise, you are literally
poking around in the dark.
But bulbs heat things up, so how are you
not cooking the insides of these women?
West Germans have a laparoscope
in which light is conducted
from a mirror projection lamp.
No bulbs. No cooking.
- Didn't I tell you he was brilliant?
- The West Germans are brilliant.
We share the same aim. We want to address
the problem of infertility.
Trouble is, your science has its limits,
and so does ours.
Go ahead. Tell me my limits.
I believe, you have just developed
a procedure to place sperm
inside the fallopian tube.
- Where'd you read that?
- It won't get results.
Not substantial ones.
Why? Because sperm can't behave itself.
But imagine if we could place
a fertilized egg inside that same tube.
You remove an egg,
using your marvelous equipment
and know-how.
You give it to us,
we fertilize that egg outside the body,
using our marvelous equipment
and know-how,
and then you place it back inside.
The chances of a successful pregnancy
will just go through the roof.
Fertilizing an egg outside the b...
You truly believe you can do that?
I don't have slides, but I'm close.
Thank you.
...for the 5:35 service...
You teach at Cambridge, Dr. Edwards,
is that right?
- I do.
- All my clinical material is in Oldham.
Cambridge is... 200 miles away.
Well, in the short term, we'll set up
at yours. It's only a four-hour drive.
And in the long term, we'll get money
from the Medical Research Council
and move you south.
Uh, that is, if you're...
willing to be moved south.
I could be... persuaded.
We'll need women.
Women willing
to contribute ovarian tissue.
I have some hysterectomy patients
who, if I explained what we're doing,
might help us.
Ah. He's not just got the skills,
he's also got the contacts.
You're aware they'll throw the book at us?
The Church, the state, the world.
We will unite them all against us.
But we'll have the mothers.
The mothers will back us.
Right, if I don't go now,
I'll miss the 5:25,
and I'll never be home.
Bob. Jean.
Y-You're in?
You're in, aren't you?
We'll speak soon, I hope.
Very good, Jean. Ooh! Very good!
The snipes about Oldham, very useful.
Hoo!
You truly are impossible, aren't you?
We're making
the impossible possible, Jean.
We are. You'll see.
Come on, Mum.
You know Reverend Paulson doesn't like it
unless we're 30 minutes early.
Come on, then.
Slow coach.
Let's make a bet.
All things bright and beautiful
All creatures great and small
All things wise and wonderful
The Lord God made them all
Each little flower that opens
- Keep your back straight.
- I'm not slouching.
You are slouching.
You're not making the best of yourself.
Here. Would you like an iced fancy?
Or perhaps a scone?
What about me? Would he like me?
I taste nice, particularly when buttered.
The way you talk.
The way I talk is the way you talk
when you've had a few rum and blacks.
- And you know that's right.
- Ooh. Hold on. I have your china.
Oh.
How you ladies take care of me.
Oh, we have to take care of you.
You look thin.
My fruit cake.
Extra glacs, just for you.
It was a fine service. I loved the sermon.
- Thank you, Jean.
- Reverend.
- Rum and blacks.
- I'm doing well, Mum. I am.
All this, church,
it matters, it does, but...
I think I can finally
feel my life changing, and I like it.
Doesn't mean you should slouch.
First we tried mice. Then rabbits.
I even tested a wild hare.
Libidinous as any creature on a hill,
but put 'em in a cage
and you can't get 'em sexually aroused
for love nor toffee.
And I'm sure you tried both.
The mice have borne fruit.
The rabbits too.
And then more recently,
with Barry Bavister...
- Oh, we've had...
- "Barry Bavister"? That sounds made-up.
He's a PhD who works in my lab.
A whole year
he spent harvesting hamster eggs.
Anyway, after he got 'em out, he put 'em
in a Petri dish with this new fluid,
very alkaline, loaded with bicarbonate.
With it, he's had some tremendous success.
He harvests and bathes eggs
in alkaline and hamster sperm?
And then places them
back inside the mother.
And suddenly, we have
a whole host of hamster juniors.
It's quite the thing.
So all this rests on the hope
that human women are like hamsters,
and Barry's serum can work for them too?
Mm-hmm. The noble rodent leads the way.
Just another 52 miles to Manchester,
followed by another eight on top
to Oldham.
We are almost there.
And you are like a schoolboy
on his first day at school.
That is because
it is my first day at school.
I need your sweet inspiration
I need you here on my mind
Every hour of the day
Without your sweet inspiration...
Says Kershaw's is around the back.
To go on livin'
To keep on givin' this way
I need your
- Sweet inspiration
- I said
- Sweet inspiration
- Come on, baby
- Sweet inspiration
- Gimme your...
Porter to the main entrance,
please. Porter to the main entrance.
Is that damp?
It's not damp. It just rained recently.
And who might you be?
This is Dr. Edwards. I'm Jean Purdy.
Oh yes. Mr. Steptoe told me about you.
I'm Matron.
You need a laboratory, apparently.
Come on.
I thought this might do the trick.
Looks perfect.
Wonderful.
If you'll excuse me.
Needle now going into the ovary.
Gentle aspiration, please.
A good follicle
with hopefully one good... egg.
Are they standing by?
He's standing just outside the door,
Mr. Steptoe.
Hmm.
- We've got one follicle.
- Good.
Let's find that egg,
dip it in Barry's magic medium,
then add it to the sperm.
Wait.
What? Why?
It's a first, that's all.
First of many.
We got the egg.
Good.
I still don't understand
why you have anything to brag about.
We have absolutely nothing
to brag about.
Then why place a piece
in a scientific journal like Nature?
Because we are close
to having something to brag about.
We're confident that, soon enough,
we'll be ready to work with women.
- The way he says "women," d'you see?
- What's wrong with the way I say "women"?
I entirely agree.
You would say "mice"
in exactly the same way.
- I... happen to like mice.
- Much more than you like women.
Almost as much as I like women.
May I remind you
how many daughters you have?
I am absolutely certain
I have more mice than I have daughters.
I'll get it.
- Wait. I'm gonna answer.
- Thank you, darling.
Only two show pronuclei. Two of 56.
That's less than 4%.
This is from your own paper.
Eighteen showed signs of fertilization.
And that's when solely working with
donated eggs from hysterectomy patients.
When we actually start working
with the women, the results...
Ah! She says "women" the same way he does.
The results, we hope, could be incredible.
Please don't take offence, Jean.
Maggie regards ripping me to pieces
as her Sunday sport.
Look, I am just pointing out
that you seem to prefer writing journalism
to making good science, so...
It's a man about the windows.
He wants to speak to you, Dad.
- Windows?
- Mm.
Wait. I...
Come on, Maggie. You know the drill.
You write, you promise more,
and then when they're tantalized enough,
you take it
to the Medical Research Council.
This is how they get the support
to leave bloody Oldham behind.
Oh, if Kershaw's is so awful,
then they should just
take the hint and give up.
- Bloody idiots!
- What's up, Bob?
- Who was it? Hmm?
- It was the... the Mirror.
Th... they want a quote
as to whether I'm Dr. Frankenstein or not.
He said it was about the windows.
Bob, I will give you extra custard
if you sit down again.
You're scaring the children.
He's used to a few bricks,
to the establishment hating him.
- I daresay he enjoys it a bit.
- He wants to be slandered?
I honestly think
he considers it part of his role.
Fighting the fights
for reproductive medicine.
For mothers and women... etc.
This is me.
Would you like me to come up?
Come up?
I mean to say, I'm attracted to you,
if you are to me.
I hope you're attracted to me.
I can't tell.
Sorry.
Not at all.
Worth asking, I hope?
I mean, no harm done?
None at all. I'm flattered.
Jolly good. Goodbye, then.
If you promise not to become attached,
we can have sex.
Oh!
Yes. Definitely.
- I promise.
- Good.
I don't believe
this will cause any damage,
but it's also worth saying
that I don't think this will result
in a baby for you.
I'm... I'm sorry?
I don't think
there's much chance of success.
I think it's important that you know that.
So... I don't understand.
Why should we do it?
Because it might mean
that others do... have babies.
I can live in hope though, right?
I can believe that I might get a chance?
I think it's unlikely, but...
I just want a baby.
You're supposed to be a nurse.
I'm in research, Mum.
I have been for quite some time.
People are sick.
You make them better.
Bob says infertility is a medical problem.
Making babies in test tubes?
Making babies for mothers that need them.
"Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf
of his wife because she was barren."
"The Lord answered him,
and his wife Rebekah conceived."
Genesis, chapter 25, verse 21.
- Prayer's the answer, is it?
- Sh-sh!
Let it steep.
Jean, you're young. You don't understand.
But you can't play God with this.
How do you feel
about spectacles and false teeth?
You'd rather people be blind
or unable to eat anything but soup?
That's what God wants, is it?
- Bob says...
- Oh, "Bob says."
Bob says!
- He has a way of putting things.
- Then there's the other one.
He's an ab*rtion.
Your surgeon. Steptoe.
It says so in the paper.
You didn't know that, did you?
Playing God at one end,
the devil at the other.
- That's legal now.
- Doesn't make it right.
I'm not... performing ab*rtion, Mum.
And I'm proud of what I'm doing.
Well, thank the Lord.
Let's hope that you have
enough pride for the both of us,
because I've got nothing
but despair right now.
If you could hear how I boasted about you.
All your qualifications.
And this is what you do with it?
This sin?
I'm helping people.
Reverend Paulson has advised
that you don't come to church.
That's not his decision.
He's speaking... our vicar,
on behalf of many people.
And, Jean...
I can't have you come here.
Mum, you can't mean that.
If you choose this over me...
then absolutely... I do.
Thing is though, Mum,
this isn't asking me to choose.
You are.
From research on rats and mice,
some scientists insist there could be
a greater risk of abnormality
when fertilization takes place
outside the body.
Edwards and Steptoe, however,
say even the latest research has produced
no credible evidence of abnormality.
Thank you.
The sausage,
over 5,000 years old.
You know, there were remnants found
in Egyptian tombs.
They used to stuff
their leftover meat scraps
into cow intestines.
You are aware
I'm really not good with silence?
So get good with it.
Right. I think that's everyone.
We'll need you to report daily
to Kershaw's for your hormone injection.
This is to stimulate your egg production.
Once we have stimulated it,
we'll harvest your eggs
and add your husband's sperm.
If fertilization occurs,
we'll implant the embryo into you.
If you have any concerns, do raise them.
"Kathy Gibson."
We'll start with you.
We will be injecting
into your bottom today,
so if you could lower your skirt
and tights and lean over the bed.
Okay.
You are either with us
or you're not.
Not today, Muriel, please.
If it's a boy, leave him at the door.
If it's money trouble, maybe we can help.
If it's something more serious,
we're in a hospital.
I really don't want
a lecture right now, Muriel.
Matron.
I am Matron.
You may dismiss it as a title,
but it means the world to me.
I didn't know you did ab*rtion, Matron.
I'm a Christian. My mother would...
The other consultants say no.
So Mr. Steptoe has to do them all.
But he doesn't... have to.
Do you know how many girls
come in here with their insides torn
because they've gone
to a man on a street corner?
I didn't think so.
I thought we were here to make babies.
Well, you're wrong.
We are here to give women choice.
Every choice.
That's all that matters to me,
and it should be all that matters to you.
So buck up.
Please welcome
controversial biologist
Dr. Robert Edwards.
So, Dr. Edwards, what do you think
of Professor Watson's claim
that what you're doing here
is extremely dangerous?
That it may lead to a future
in which humans could be manufactured?
You make us sound
like we're making... sausages.
This is one of
our leading scientists, who, with DNA,
made one of the key discoveries
of our age, whereas you,
with all due respect, seem to have
promised a lot and delivered... very little.
I'm not dismissing
James Watson or his achievements.
So is this all
just about stirring the pot?
- Are you... just seeking attention?
- No.
No. No.
Consider spectacles
or... or false teeth.
- That's what we're...
- Bloody spectacles.
Mum, it's me.
I brought some of that pickle you like.
I'll just leave it by the door.
I'm just saying, there's a limit
to what you should put yourself through.
- Bob puts himself through it too.
- Bob is made of a particularly hard metal.
Impervious to... well, lots of things.
And he has support. It's not just you.
Ruth herself is a fine scientist,
and then there's...
I'm working in bloods.
I'm actually working in bloods with Bob.
That could be his breakthrough.
IVF could fail.
Then how would you feel... about...
about what this has cost you?
- I'm committed.
- And that's wonderful.
But... you're also a daughter, and, uh...
Then there's me.
Can we just play
and talk about this another day?
Hope I score points for trying.
You always score points for trying, Arun.
- Think I win.
- Yes, I see that.
Whoa. A-ha. You caught me.
Can I get you anything?
No.
It was just a temporary...
closing of the eyes.
Patrick.
You aren't
exhausting yourself with all this? It is...
I am not......exhausted.
How dare you!
You promised me a fine retirement.
Full of... good wine and holidays.
Don't drain yourself dry
before we get to that point, will you?
Please, sit with me.
Come.
I look forward to that too.
But this,
what we're... what we're doing...
it matters.
Mm.
Stupid.
You've considered
upping the CO2 levels?
As we culture the oocytes?
Is it worth... You're at 5%.
Is it worth trying 8%, perhaps?
Oh, I like that. We could.
And you're still confident
in Barry Bavister's miracle solution?
I'm currently confident
in everyone but myself.
You did fine.
"Sausages."
I could have done better
than bloody sausages.
- You did fine.
- I just... This...
This is...
They're looking to me to lead. I just n...
just need to lead.
Now is the time for all good men
To get together with one another...
Uh, Neil Robinson.
Iron out their problems
And iron out their quarrels
- And try to live as brothers...
- Hi. John Graham.
And try hard to find peace within
Without stepping on...
Peter Walker.
Thank you.
And do respect the women of the world
Just remember we all had mothers
I know we can make it
I know darn well we can work it out
Oh yes, we can, I know we can, can
Yes, we can, can, why can't we?
If we wanna, yes, we can, can
I know we can make it work
I know we can make it if we try
Oh yes, we can, I know we can, can
Yes, we can, great gosh almighty
Yes, we can, I know we can, can...
Ooh. b*stard.
Can't help feeling like cattle.
Sorry?
It's not Mr. Steptoe's fault.
He's a busy man.
He's kind when you've got his attention.
But when we come in here, no offense,
but... you don't look
exactly happy to see us.
Don't I?
And you are looking at my bum
a lot of the time
when you do... look unhappy.
Jean, are you in here?
Jean?
Bob, this is the ladies' toilets.
I know, I know. I'm sorry.
It's just,
uh, there's something you need to see.
It's beautiful.
- Whatever's happening to you...
- Nothing's happening to me.
How many cells are there?
Seventy human cells
growing outside the uterus in one embryo.
Stage one complete.
This is it.
We can get our funding now.
No more endless trips to Oldham.
No more separation from Ruth and the kids.
No more just... getting by.
Everything...
everything... changes from here.
The Medical Research Council has to judge
both whether the work is possible
and whether the work
is in the interest of science.
For instance, have you considered
the concerns about the normality
of the children which may be born
if successes were ever achieved?
Uh, name me one scientific advancement
that has not raised concerns
when it comes to...
And then
there's the societal question.
We at the Medical Research Council
have expended considerable resources
looking into the problem
of overpopulation.
No doubt. If I may...
that is an entirely different argument.
You deny overpopulation is a problem?
No, what I take issue with
is the infertile being penalized
by the profligacy of the fertile.
Infertility is a scientific problem.
So is overpopulation.
But neither is the answer to the other.
You always speak so well, Dr. Edwards.
I do enjoy your appearances on Radio 4.
Which brings us to the issue
of how many this will truly benefit.
This is a very specific problem,
which, let's face it,
only affects a very small number of women.
A small number?
What you may not appreciate, Ms. Purdy,
is that we serve
the entire scientific community.
Tell me, doctor,
would this excite you more
if it had a more masculine profile?
Oh, come now,
let's not be reductive.
What you are offering...
may seem exciting to you,
may be exciting to the media,
but is it exciting for science as a whole?
Yes.
At the MRC,
the question we're constantly asking is,
"Will this contribute to our understanding
of how we live in this world?"
Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes! It will.
Dr. Edwards, please.
There are women out there, lots of women,
who believe if they can't have kids,
they have failed their marriage
and themselves.
They don't understand
what life is without children.
Infertility is a disease,
and it is a brutal disease
that wrecks marriages and lives.
If you can't see that,
well, then, shame on you!
"Shame on you."
Could've handled that much better.
What you said was right,
and we'd lost already by then.
If I could've only found a way
to have persuaded them.
We needed that money.
- No, we wanted it.
- We work in a hospital outbuilding.
It's a miracle it's heated,
let alone that we conduct science there.
I spend more time in my car
than I do in a lab.
- I... I don't see my wife or my children.
- Bob.
Don't you "Bob" me.
You don't like it any more than I do.
You're exhausted.
And you're a misery most of the time.
You think that's why I'm a misery?
'Cause I don't like the travel?
Well, then why are you?
Because I didn't see
how this could be worth it.
I understood the science,
yet the graft of it felt...
it felt very hard to me.
You don't see your wife or kids.
I've lost my church and my mum.
Then I saw those so-called scientists
sitting there, passing judgment on us,
and I realized,
no one else is going to do this.
This fight is ours.
We don't have a choice.
- What happened in there just proved it.
- Come on, Bob.
Kershaw's isn't as bad as all that, is it?
The decor's terrible.
But the company's occasionally okay.
Don't you two start getting on.
She's my friend.
Trisha Johnson?
You never bring your husband here.
- Sorry?
- Your husband, he's never here.
He says he's done with chasing rainbows.
Is he a good man?
Mm. He wanted a boy.
He whispered on our wedding day,
"I can't wait to tell Stu
how beautiful you looked today."
Stuart?
- D'you mind if we...
- Sorry.
He's nice Monday through Thursday.
Likes a drink on Friday.
Don't tell me you haven't seen
the bruises. I won't believe you.
I noticed. I, uh... I just wasn't sure
you'd want to be asked about them.
I'm not...
This isn't for him.
I just want someone for me.
Sorry. Sorry.
Asking you not to treat us like cattle,
and I'm treating you like a handkerchief.
I should have listened better. I'm sorry.
I know what you're all going through, and...
We've taken to calling ourselves
"the Ovum Club."
The girls.
- The Ovum Club?
- Hmm.
I like that.
I'll send Rachel in.
- Hi.
- How are you, Rachel?
- Grand. How are you?
- I'm good.
Results through?
Failure on case number 136.
Kathy.
It's not working.
The HCG is setting
the other natural ovarian hormones awry.
The estrogen and progesterone
are all over the place.
There's no chance of implantation.
We could try artificially boosting
the estrogen and the progesterone
for the next one.
We could.
Hold on.
We should start preparing the solutions.
I need to speak to Kathy. She'll be upset.
- Kathy.
- Hi, Jean.
- Hi. How are you?
- I'm okay.
We've just had a look at the results.
I'm really sorry.
We weren't successful.
Anything to report?
If you're looking for success,
you'll find nothing here.
Do you... want my help?
- Why would I need your help?
- I don't want to assume or... interfere.
I know privacy is important to you, but I...
I also know we've never talked
about your situation and children.
I suppose I may have made an assumption
that there are, or you think there are,
difficulties that you too might face.
Endometriosis.
And it's severe.
- Have you talked to someone?
- Once. He wasn't much use.
- Will you allow me to examine you?
- No.
I'm not bad at this.
I may be able to help.
You're the best surgeon, Patrick.
I don't doubt that.
It's amazing what science can do.
Yes, well... let's keep working
on that science.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no
No, no, no, no, no
Nobody can do the...
- Shing-a-ling!
- Like I do
Nobody can do the...
- Skate!
- Like I do
Nobody can do the...
- Boogaloo!
- Like I do
- Nobody can do the...
- Philly!
- Like I do
- I'm so sorry.
Don't you know
I'm gonna skate right through?
Ain't nobody do it but me
Nobody but me
Yeah, I'm gonna spin, I do
Ain't nobody do it but me, babe
Nobody but me
Well, let me tell you, nobody
Well, nobody but me...
- Watch out.
- Whoop!
I do so like it
when you're back here.
I think the breaks do us good.
Yes. Whatever's necessary.
- I do have a question for you though.
- Mm?
The streets are wet,
so I'm not gonna get down on one knee.
For what?
It's been burning a hole in my pocket.
I don't want to spoil the surprise,
but just to check,
you do know what's inside?
Yes.
You'd rather not see?
Would it be so bad?
Two kids, a home to make together,
interesting conversation
most nights of the week.
I'll only be dull on Thursdays... I promise.
My mother would be so happy.
A family man... with a good career.
But I'm not built
to be a family woman, Arun.
I'm, uh...
I can't...
I can't.
Then we continue as we are.
You'll change your mind.
I'm sorry.
Telegram arrived last night
from Landrum Shettles.
Is America ahead? Is he crowing again?
Director of his very well-to-do
Manhattan hospital
found out what he was doing
and exposed the embryo to the air.
- He k*lled it?
- Shettles has been fired.
- Oh, for God's sake.
- The disrespect.
To expose it.
To... k*ll the possibility of it.
I've been asked to go on TV again,
to defend our work.
- We haven't got the time.
- They've asked James Watson on too.
Journalism won't give us
an answer here. Science will.
We won't shift the Research Council
without public support.
We won't get public support
till we've some success to show.
I know that I made
a mess of it... before, but I...
Bob, you're a brilliant scientist.
But I'm not the most polished on TV,
and I have a... foolish tendency
to not suffer fools, I know, but...
I will be better this time, I promise.
When we make these sort of decisions,
we should have a veto system.
- I really don't think you should.
- Jean, what do you think?
- Should I go?
- No.
There are few debates more fervid
than the one we discuss tonight.
We live in an era
where science may make possible...
- Bob.
- James.
Nasty business.
Oh, I wouldn't say that.
Oh, television, I mean. Television.
Actually, I wouldn't say that
about television either.
Nobel Prize winner
Professor James Watson and...
...Dr. Robert Edwards!
So, uh, Professor Watson,
if I may start with you.
You're opposed to these developments,
am I right?
Oh, I am... never opposed
to developments in science,
but I am concerned.
The question is one of abnormality.
Imagine the life of an abnormal child,
born as a result of this,
kept alive by,
indeed made possible, by medicine.
The question will arise
what to do with that child.
Allow it to live a disabled life, in pain,
or consider
the possibility of infanticide?
This is not about... this is not about
k*lling children. It is about making them.
Uh, Dr... Dr. Edwards,
please allow Professor Watson to finish.
I come from a generation of scientists
born under the shadow of Mengele.
I'm concerned that
we are stumbling into a situation
where the work we do
might lead to similar abhorrence.
- I'm a n*zi doctor now, am I?
- No.
You're a scientist seemingly unengaged
in the consequences of your work.
He's right!
Dr. Edwards, respond.
Science is a risk. All of it.
His discovery of DNA presents great risks.
- Genetic engineering...
- This is not a debate on DNA.
Genetic engineering is a possibility
born of the discovery of DNA.
A discovery he deservedly won
the Nobel Prize for.
There are risks. Of course there are.
But calculated risk is vital
in our discipline, as you well know.
Our care for our patients
is absolute, and we...
Shame, sir! Shame!
- It's wrong!
- It's disgustin'!
Please let Dr. Edwards speak.
Having children is not everything.
I know that.
Some people lead
very happy lives childless.
But that should be a choice.
It's nature's choice!
Statistically, most people
in this room must know someone
desperate to have a child but unable to.
Uh, a sister, a cousin, an... an aunt.
- Uh, a... a friend.
- No! No!
If you knew the pain of infertility
for these women,
then you would understand that
the risk-reward ratio in the study of IVF
is overwhelmingly stacked...
Perhaps we'll leave matters there.
- I believe Philip Hayton is live in...
- I... I believe... I...
I believe that everyone who wants one
deserves the right to have a child.
Ah. Over to you, Philip.
- Here.
- Oh, cheers.
I was evacuated here, you know.
Me and my younger brother.
We were both so scared.
But then, when we got here, it...
I didn't know
how beautiful things could be.
Peace.
Sheep.
Lots of sheep.
Sheep were the beauty, were they?
I knew... I knew what Watson was gonna say,
but I didn't think
they'd all take his side.
Why am I doing this?
Because you know there's a medical need.
Watson, Crick, all those Cambridge toffs,
they changed everything with DNA,
because they convinced people
of the need for it.
We're just...
I can't...
I can't make people see.
They won't...
They won't see.
Oh, Dr. Edwards.
Got a message for you, sir.
"Pregnancy test positive. Patrick."
- Uh, can I use your phone?
- Yeah, yeah.
Thank you, sister.
Confirm pressures now.
- Yes?
- Can I speak to Patrick?
Yes. It's Dr. Edwards.
- I saw you on television.
- Patrick, it's not the time for...
That tie with that suit,
that didn't help the cause.
The pregnancy,
presumably it's the extra hormones.
It's still holding,
if that's your question.
We'll be there tomorrow,
first thing.
I just want to say
congratulations to you both.
Oh, she's not pregnant.
We've made someone else pregnant.
- I believe her name is...
- Rachel!
Rachel, that's right.
And it's bloody brilliant!
Oh, if we could avoid running
in the corridor. Accidents do happen.
How's Rachel doing?
Our mother is blooming so far.
It's Sally that I'm worried about.
Jean, come on.
- Sally...
- I don't wanna stop the drugs.
I understand,
but your abdomen is clearly swollen.
- Don't tell Mr. Steptoe.
- I have to tell Mr. Steptoe.
You may have to wait a few months,
but I'll make sure
you get back on the program.
Oh, sorry.
Sorry, um...
What do they say?
"It's the hope that kills you."
Question.
D'you think the Ovum Club
might like an outing?
An outing?
Clubs take outings, don't they?
- Everywhere we go
- Everywhere we go
- People always ask us
- People always ask us
- Who we are
- Who we are
- And where we come from
- And where we come from
- We're from Oldham
- We're from Oldham
- And we're barren
- Totally, totally barren
- But do we care?
- Yes, we care!
Aw, look.
I better not... I s'pose.
I'd rather not, to be honest.
Weather like this.
If I am the first...
I mean, if it does...
Ugh. I've seen the things
you people have to face.
I... I wouldn't want my baby to have to...
It won't. Bob will face down the press.
You'll just have to get on
with being a mother.
If it happens.
I won't reassure you.
Who knows what happens next?
But I will say, the care you'll receive
in the next few weeks
will be nothing short of extraordinary.
Okay?
Okay.
Right.
- Wish me luck.
- Oh, you're goin'.
- Charging in.
- Go!
This summer, I went swimming
This summer, I might've drowned
But I held my breath
And I kicked my feet
- And I moved my arms around...
- Go!
- Whoo!
- I moved my arms around
This summer, I swam in the ocean...
- Come on, Jean!
- And I swam in a swimming pool
Salt my wounds, chlorine my eyes
I'm a self-destructive fool
I'm a self-destructive...
All of you. All of you.
Come on!
Aah!
Everyone, come forward!
Yeah-hee
- One, two, three...
- Oldham!
- Love it.
- So windy!
Honestly.
This was a good thing to do.
- Mm.
- What a beach.
He's told me this is my last one.
Who? Harry?
No. Mr. Steptoe.
Turning 36, you see.
I'll be outside the age
where it's useful for your study.
- Oh.
- It's okay.
Honestly, it is.
- I mean, he's never known.
- That's brilliant.
It's probably for the best.
I'm jealous of her too.
Jean.
Patrick.
We've another positive.
Lauren is pregnant.
- Whatever this is, it's working.
- Patrick.
George.
A Kershaw's girl.
Jean Purdy, actually.
How any of you put up with that hole...
The advancement of medicine, George.
It has its costs.
Oh, is that what you're doing...
advancing medicine?
As you destroy
this hospital's good reputation.
f*ck off, George.
No wonder you're playing off a 15.
Orthopedics consultant.
Never trust a doctor
that specializes in orthopedics.
They're not up for the good fight.
I was just packing up to go
back to Cambridge when I got the call.
Patrick, we're onto something.
- Both Lauren and Rachel...
- There's a problem with Rachel.
- What do you mean?
- The scan came back.
I don't like the position of the embryo.
- It's not sitting right?
- It's high.
And there's a vague swelling
to the side of the uterus.
You think it might be ectopic.
I've booked her in to confirm it
by laparoscope, but I fear so.
I'm very sorry.
What was it?
The baby was growing
in the wrong place in the fallopian tube.
I know what ectopic is.
I've read
all the books I could find.
Though you are far away
I'm with you in every way
Close your eyes
And you will see
I thought it had been made clear to you.
- Lily.
- It's dirty, what you're doing.
It's disgusting, it's shameful,
and it doesn't belong here.
It's not here. I am.
Is that what you tell yourself?
- That the sin isn't even yours?
- Jean.
Morning, Vicar.
Just setting the flowers for the service.
Sorry. I shouldn't have come.
Mum made it clear.
You haven't been
excommunicated, Jean.
- The Church is for everyone.
- Is it?
Yes.
I've missed it.
Jean,
if you answer for your mistakes,
God will come back into your heart.
N... no. That's not what I...
That's not why I'm here. Sorry.
How is your mother?
She hasn't told you.
Mum, I know you're there.
I can see your slippers.
No, you can't.
The vicar said you're sick. Is that true?
How have you seen the vicar?
Am I coming in?
Am I coming in
or are you doing this on your own?
Are you still working with them?
You obstinate old bag.
Mum, I love you. I hope you get well.
Well, thanks
for letting us know, Muriel.
Lauren just started bleeding.
- What are you doing?
- Sperm survival test.
We'll go through all our culture fluids...
all the drugs, all the containers.
If anything is causing problems our side,
this'll track it down.
Everything we use, we test.
This liquid paraffin's safe.
Uh... 95%.
This one's safe.
I'm gonna take five.
Bob, you're going to want to see this.
Bob. Bob.
I need you to check something.
Which?
This liquid paraffin is toxic.
How did we...
How did we miss that?!
- I don't know.
- That pregnancy could've worked.
Maybe others, even if we'd just...
If we hadn't been poisoning these women.
- Oh, Jean.
- Are you blaming me?
No! I'm blaming me!
Please don't. It was a mistake.
There... there will be others.
There wouldn't have been a pregnancy.
We weren't ready.
What are you doing? Stop. Stop. Stop!
This is too important to...
- Hey, now you're the one being crazy.
- Maybe... we... both are.
Eh, Bob?
My mother is dying.
And here I am, staying awake all night,
with a madman and his shitty liquids!
This was a beautiful dream.
And I...
I really did believe in it.
But all this,
it's cost me everything, and I can't.
Mum!
Mum! I've left work!
I'm giving up my flat!
If you don't let me in,
I'll have to sleep on your doorstep!
Hush!
I'm making eggy bread.
- And what have you done to your hair?
- Absolutely nothing.
I have some Vitapointe
that can help with that.
No, no, no. Not like that.
You're letting that nasty carp get it.
There's some delicate goldfish in here.
Watch.
Oh.
- Damn.
- Jeanie.
Jeanie?
Jean!
- Oh no you don't.
- Jean.
Who's this?
Arun. I...
We were just leaving.
This is my mother, Gladys May.
And, uh, Mum, this is Arun.
- We used to work in labs together.
- Hmm.
Which labs?
- He didn't work with me on that, Mum.
- Pleasure to meet you.
- I've heard lots about you.
- Hmm.
- Who's this?
- Tabitha.
Tabitha.
That's a lovely name.
We call her Tabby Cat.
Uh, don't judge us.
Let's hope she's not furry.
How's Bob?
On good form. Distracted.
Full of the latest. It's... nice though,
to have him back full-time in Cambridge.
He's not going to Oldham anymore?
You didn't know?
They folded it,
what, three months after you left.
Patrick agreed it was for the best.
Would've thought he'd have written to you,
but... that's Bob, I suppose.
Thank you, God,
for this food and this family.
We remember those who have no food today,
and those who do have food
but no one to share it with. Amen.
Hello. I'm after Bob.
Oh, kitchen.
Jean! Hello.
Ruth.
- Where's Bob?
- He's in there.
I want to fold it like a diamond,
so it comes out like a flower.
- No, Meg, that's not how we...
- I know how to.
Oh.
Can I talk to you?
Yes. Girls, keep folding like I said.
Match the sides,
push it down, in the envelope.
Neat leaflets make all the difference.
Yes, Dad.
- Are you running for Parliament?
- Ah, you see, this is the thing.
I'd have expected it
to stretch to your side of town by now.
You should've at least
got a bloody leaflet through your door.
My mind's been elsewhere.
Yes. Of course.
I stand... no chance at all.
Well, some chance.
Cambridge does need a Labour MP,
and... winds do change.
Don't make it my responsibility.
- What?
- Kershaw's.
You stopped because of me.
It... it wasn't working.
And so we...
I decided to move on.
I decided to step away.
I've always been passionate
about politics, you know that.
- The chance to represent at Parliament.
- You gave up.
No. We left it for others to solve.
That's how science works, Jean.
My mother is sick, and I love her.
I had no choice.
Don't be ridiculous.
Of course you had a choice.
We were so close.
I didn't expect you to give up.
Yes, well,
you gave up first, Jeanie.
You.
What's that? Hmm?
Are you thinking of going back to it
when we're done here?
There's nothing to go back to.
I'm just going through some old notes,
trying to understand some things.
Promise me you won't go back to it, Jean.
Settle down.
Have children of your own.
I can't do it, Mum.
I can't get pregnant.
Nonsense.
You haven't tried.
I've been having
unprotected sex since 1964.
You have a sinner under your roof.
And you've been sleeping with these men...
because you want a baby?
And because I enjoy it.
Is that right?
There are others like me, Mum.
Everywhere.
I wanted to help them.
You always had so much love.
Breathe.
Sh...
- God will find a way.
- Stop. Get a breath in first, Mum.
- You have blood around your mouth.
- Have I? Oh.
Shall I take you to bed?
- Mm.
- Come on.
You know, it's strange,
when you're looking back on a life.
Mostly all you can see is failure.
You weren't a failure.
All the things you should've done
and didn't.
Mum.
But... the one thing
that you can't see failure in...
is your children.
Because
they're always beautiful.
I love you, Jeanie.
I love you too, Mum. I do.
Morning.
Miss Jean.
Thank you so much for coming.
She would have loved that you were here.
I'm sorry for your loss.
- Patrick.
- I hope you don't mind.
- Bob told me, and I did want to...
- Is... Bob here too?
No. He said you wouldn't want him here,
but you might want me.
I wasn't sure,
but Matron Muriel talked me into it.
Thank you both for coming.
- Thank you.
- Good morning.
- Lovely to meet you.
- Good afternoon, Reverend.
There you go.
It's a strange funeral really.
Most of them look at me
like I'm the devil.
They still hate me. They all do. Hmm.
They're so boring with it.
My mother was many things.
One thing she wasn't was boring,
yet she had so many boring friends.
Then she was lucky
to have an interesting daughter.
I can't talk about her.
Then we can talk about other... things.
Or you could talk to someone else.
We won't be offend...
- We made a mistake.
- We should get back soon.
The stimulation.
We've been creating
false cycles for the women,
working against their natural rhythms.
If we eliminate that,
be sure of our chemicals, we might just...
Perhaps this is best left for another day.
That's an interesting idea.
- It's perhaps worth a try.
- Patrick.
I have one last effort in me,
Jean seems to have,
and you're indefatigable, Muriel.
The only question is...
If we can use their cycle,
we'll keep it constant.
What else are you doing?
The election didn't work out.
Did you vote for me?
The solutions you've devised
are incredible.
Your processes are world-beating.
The surgery Patrick's able to do
is mind-blowing.
- Maybe not so much hyperbole?
- But... we're meddling too much.
We leave the women as much as we can
to grow the eggs on their own.
If we remove the hormones
that subvert their fertility
and bring back the menstrual cycle
to some sort of normality,
we'll eliminate so much
of the risk of failure.
And of course I voted for you.
I would need to be able to harvest
between 24 and 26 hours
after the start of the LH surge.
That degree of precision without drugs...
It would require...
urine assays every three hours.
- Every three hours?
- To detect the LH surge.
Even then, if we get it right, we'll only
produce one single embryo per woman.
It would lower our chances.
But... one good embryo
would be better than 15 bad ones.
We'd watch the egg until it was fertilized
and implant it then.
Split-second precision,
every step of the way.
None of us will ever sleep.
Patrick, how long
until they finally force you to retire?
July 1978.
A mere three years of sleep deprivation.
Think you can handle that, Muriel?
It is a good idea.
Don't you feel it growing, day by day?
People... getting ready for the news
Some are happy, some are sad
Oh, we gotta let the music play
Whoa, listen to the music
Whoa, listen to the music
Whoa, listen to the music
All the time...
Everything changes.
Right. I think that's everyone.
So... you'll have to be monitored every day.
You'll have to move to Oldham to do so.
You'll have to watch
what you eat and what you drink.
And when you're at
the right stage in your cycle,
we'll remove your eggs
and see what we can do.
How will you tell which stage?
I... I mean, I'm not always regular.
- We'll have to keep your urine monitored.
- On this table is everything you need.
Please be sure to use the pots
each time you pass,
and then we'll collect them
and analyze them.
- Thanks, Sandra.
- Thanks.
It's not easy, I know.
You're risking journalists
finding out who you are
and splashing your faces
all over the papers.
Thanks, Martha.
We know it.
We see it. And we are grateful.
Some of the others who came through here...
described themselves as the Ovum Club.
I rather liked that as a name.
- There have been women here before you.
- Thank you.
- And there will be women here after you.
- Linda Nutshall.
- All sustained by hope.
- Thank you.
But knowing, as they do,
while it might not be better for them,
for those that follow,
without you,
none of this works.
I think I got nervous
and drank more tea than normal.
You almost got all the way to the top.
Dr. Ruth Hinton
arranged this appointment?
Yes.
And your fallopian tubes are blocked?
Yes, sir.
And they operated,
but they... couldn't... sort them.
You're 29, Mrs. Brown?
Yes, sir.
Been trying for children for ten years.
Well, I think you're both
excellent candidates for this,
but I will need to examine you,
Mrs. Brown,
laparoscopically, under anesthetic,
look inside you,
and scrutinize your ovaries and pelvis,
and see what damage has been done.
Mr. Brown, I will require
a sample of your seminal fluid,
produced carefully
and cleanly by masturbation
after a few days of sexual abstinence.
My job sounds easier than hers.
What are our chances?
There are several bridges to cross
before I can answer that question,
I'm afraid.
And what about
abnormalities?
Sorry to ask, sir, it's just that you...
you read in the paper...
I understand. We read the same newspapers.
The chances of abnormality
are no greater than a natural pregnancy.
You'll be monitored throughout,
and if there are any problems,
you'll be kept well-informed.
- Thank you, sir.
- Thank you.
That's where we want her,
Mr. Steptoe.
Some recurrence of adhesions
around the ovaries.
Yes, Mr. Webster.
Damn.
Three small follicles only.
No pre-ovulatory follicle.
Left ovary...
A good one. Intercom.
On.
Bob, one good follicle
in the left ovary. Ripe.
Two centimeters in diameter, I'd say.
Not... easy to approach.
- I'm ready.
- Good.
Right, suction.
And on.
Gently. Gently.
Stop.
Thank you, Matron.
Go.
Intercom.
Got it. Got it!
Patrick, an excellent egg.
"6748/1."
"6748/1."
Come in.
Are you alone?
Yeah. Just prepping.
Good.
I've got my knickers off, ready.
Don't ask me to put on a gown,
and don't you dare get Muriel in here.
I like her now, but... still.
Could I have...
Is it... possible for me to have...
No.
What about if... What...
What about if this works?
In my opinion,
the endometriosis is very severe indeed.
I can try and remove some of it, but...
I'm afraid science
isn't entirely ready for you yet.
I can try and ease the pain.
It must be painful.
No. Thank you.
How about a drink?
It's barely breakfast time.
Well, I'll have an orange juice,
but you should have... something stronger.
I'd like a drink.
- Did Bob talk to you about me?
- No.
He knew though.
You knew. Probably Muriel knew.
We've worked together
for... eight years, Jean.
Very little we don't know
about each other.
I'm sure there are things you know
about me that I assume are private.
I served with the Navy in the w*r.
Ship's doctor.
I was... young, obviously, but capable.
And, as it turned out, unlucky.
Our ship was torpedoed.
I managed to swim to the lifeboat,
and we pulled everyone we could
out of the water.
Ship's doctor is one thing.
Chief medical officer on a lifeboat
full of dying men...
I had to decide
who to treat and who not to treat.
Limited supplies of morphine.
Limited supplies of everything,
to be honest.
I looked men in the eye...
and made a decision,
based on very little evidence,
whether they were capable
of survival or not.
I'm more than certain some I condemned
were capable.
I can't imagine.
Forgive me. There's no need for you to...
know all of that, but my point being
that the bit I most dislike about this job
is having to decide
who will get help and who will not.
Hundreds of letters,
I know you get them too,
where women beg for the opportunity
to be on our program.
And you read through their notes,
and... y-you can feel it.
You can feel their eyes
on the back of your head.
And we see ourselves
as the great possibility.
We can make the infertile fertile.
But there are still
so many women we won't...
we won't be able to help.
And I can't help thinking that, for them,
our existence...
is just another source of pain.
Women presume we can have children.
We're told so.
There is a biological
and social expectation.
Nothing can make
the pain of that absence worse.
But we have
the possibility of making it better.
And, yes,
I say that as someone
for whom the lifeboat can't help.
Patrick. Will you please be available
to replace the embryo this evening?
Four-cell.
What kind of birthday dinner?
That's the name of your wife, am I right?
Well,
do you know my wife's name?
Well, then I should've clearly
paid more attention.
I hope you'll tell him
we missed dessert.
I'm gonna tell him we missed dessert
and a notorious cheese plate.
How you can work in a place like this.
This is after we've spruced it up.
You should've seen it before.
It was... appalling.
At least now we have glass in the windows.
- I managed to scare up some biscuits.
- Ah.
Good evening, Matron.
Hope we haven't disturbed your evening.
Delighted to be here.
Mmm.
- Are they chocolate biscuits?
- What a treat.
Eight beautiful cells.
- Matron and I will prep Mrs. Brown.
- I'll prepare the theater.
- Cannula, 2.2 mm.
- Mm-hmm.
If you could just
pop yourself up on the table for us
and place your legs in the stirrups,
that'd be great.
"6748/1."
"6748/1. Lesley Brown."
Yes. Now will do.
All gone.
All gone.
Are you okay?
I think I feel pregnant.
Does that make me quite mad?
Not mad, exactly.
Well done.
It's getting worse, the press.
They know we're close.
We have to protect Lesley.
We've protected them all.
Do you know
what those women have been through?
Newspapers will pay 5,000 for the names
and addresses of our patients.
A further 5,000
should any of them become a story.
We could be rich.
I've all their names and addresses.
I know they're just specimens in a jar
for you, but these are people's lives.
Rachel, Kathy, Gail, Trisha.
Harriet, Jan, Gracie, Nicola, Julie, Viv.
Polly, Marie, Violet, Sally, Lauren, Liz.
Jo, Christina.
- Mel.
- You know their names.
Of the Ovum Club?
Yes.
I'm a scientist, Jean.
I fail every day in the hope
that I'll succeed once in 20 years.
They stay a number because,
otherwise, they'd take me down with them.
You're a strange man.
Strangest I've ever met.
A porter to radiology
for patient transfer assistance.
Good morning.
Good mornin'.
Good news.
The fetal head is a diameter
of 9.6 centimeters.
The lecithin-sphingomyelin ratio is 3.9:1.
This is a scale
by which we measure the baby's capacity
to breathe well at birth.
Normally 2:1, so 3.9:1...
is a very good figure.
So you think that she's ready to come out?
Yes.
The toxemia you've been suffering
leaves a question mark for me,
and I think we need to get your baby out
sooner rather than later,
which means... a decision
between inducing the birth
and performing a Caesarean section.
Mr. Steptoe, we only understand
half of what you're sayin',
but, well, we... trust
whatever decision that you think right.
I think you feel, like me,
that if we can do this without
a press audience, it might be easier.
- Mm.
- Of course we do.
Have your normal visitors today.
Tell them nothing.
At 9:00 p.m., you should go home, John.
We'll find a way
of bringing you back secretly.
At 11:00 p.m., we'll operate.
And by... midnight, you'll have your child.
How does that sound?
That sounds rather marvelous, sir.
Can you confirm
that it's Lesley Brown?
Picture,
Mr. and Mrs. Frankenstein?
- It's Dr. Frankenstein!
- This way, Miss Purdy.
This way, Dr. Edwards!
This way!
Doctor! Dr. Edwards!
- I'm ready, Mr. Steptoe.
- Thank you, Muriel.
I'll be making
a vertical incision.
Let go of me!
- Journalist!
- Not done anythin'.
- Pretending to be a plumber.
- Let go! Get off me!
Not long now.
Not long now.
I'm now going to incise
the lower segment of the uterus.
Right, suction.
There you go. There.
How you doin'?
Can you hear that?
Hey. Can you hear that?
Jean, come.
Is that my baby?
It is.
Oh.
Thank you.
Sure.
Look.
She's here.
She's here.
Yeah.
Love is in the air...
That's easy!
And I don't know if I'm being foolish...
Right, uh, now that Jean is here,
I think we should have a speech.
- A speech?
- Oh yes!
- Patrick, speech.
- Patrick.
- No. No.
- A few words.
- No.
- Come on. Jean, a speech.
- No way.
- Oh, okay! I will make a speech.
Oh! Well, of course!
- Right. First, I would like to thank...
- No, you wouldn't. No, you won't.
Stop, Patrick. Without all of you...
- You'd be a member of Parliament.
- Yes!
Ha-ha. Very good, very good.
Matron!
For three days,
that little girl grew in our culture.
She was replaced inside her mother
with incredible skill.
She wriggled out of her membrane
and expanded beautifully.
We have done something
truly extraordinary.
We have done it because it was necessary.
It has been a privilege... to work with you,
to sacrifice with you,
to make with you.
Remember this moment.
I know that I will never be part
of something so extraordinary again.
Remember it, and...
and treasure it.
To you all.
- To us all.
- To us all.
So what now?
We do it all again.
Oh, the Browns have asked if we'd like
to give the baby a middle name. I...
- I was thinking "Joy."
- Oh, that's lovely!
A good choice?
A great choice.
Dear Mr. Killion,
I feel strongly
about the inclusion on the plaque
of those who helped
with the conception of Louise Brown.
I feel this especially about Jean Purdy,
who travelled to Oldham with me
for the full ten years
and contributed as much as we did
to the project.
I was the biologist,
Patrick, the obstetrician,
and Jean...
well, you could describe Jean as...
Well, without her,
none of this would've been possible.
She made the unbearable bearable.
So, you see, it is quite simple.
Her name must be on that plaque.
If you miss the train I'm on
You will know that I am gone
You can hear the whistle blow
A hundred miles
A hundred miles, a hundred miles
A hundred miles, a hundred miles
You can hear the whistle blow
A hundred miles
Lord, I'm one, Lord, I'm two
Lord, I'm three, Lord, I'm four
Lord, I'm 500 miles
From my home
500 miles, 500 miles
500 miles, 500 miles
Lord, I'm 500 miles
From my home
Not a shirt on my back
Not a penny to my name
Lord, I can't go a-home
This a-way
This a-way, this a-way
This a-way, this a-way
Lord, I can't go a-home
This a-way
If you miss the train I'm on
You will know that I am gone
You can hear the whistle blow
A hundred miles
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Joy (2024)
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Biographies Movie Collection