Reble Without A Cause. Stewart Stern
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JIM’S FAMILY
JIM’S GRANDMA: A chic, domineering woman in her sixties who
has made her son Frank dependent upon her for every
breath he takes. She is the irritant in the
household--the silent ruler--the silent enemy of
Frank’s marriage.
JIM’S FATHER: Frank is an unfeathered man who has never been
able to have fun. He is anxious to be a real father
to Jim, but has never learned how.
JIM’S MOTHER: Tense and immature, she has never found the
husband she married. Upset by the presence of her
mother-in-law, mated with an ineffectual and joyless
man, she takes out her disappointment on him and on
her son.
JIM: The angry victim and the result. At seventeen he is
filled with confusion about his role in life. Because
of his "nowhere" father, he does not know how to be a
man. Because of his wounding mother, he anticipates
destruction in all women. And yet he wants to find a
girl who will be willing to receive his tenderness.
JUDY’S FAMILY
JUDY’S FATHER: a junior partner in a law firm. Boyish,
attractive and debonair. Because he is frightened by
the adolescence of his daughter, Judy, his only
recourse is to criticize her.
JUDY’S MOTHER: Self-centered and frightened by the coming of
middle-age. She feels that Judy’s blossoming youth
is threatening her wifely position as the desirable
object of the husband’s attentions.
JUDY: The victim and the result. At sixteen, she is in a
panic of frustration regarding her father--needing his
love and suffering when it is denied. This forces her
to invite the attention of other men in order to
punish him.
BEAU: Judy’s brother. Because he is very young he is a
danger to nobody and thus will grow up happily--
certain of the love of his father who feels comfortable
in giving it.
PLATO: Son of a divided family--an absent father and a
traveling mother--he feels himself the target of
desertion. At fifteen he wants to find a substitute
family for himself so that he need no longer feel
cold, and especially a friend who will supply the fatherly
protection and warmth he needs and cannot find.
BUZZ: A sado-masochistic boy of seventeen, who acts out
aggressively his idea of what a man should be in order
to hide his real sensitivities and needs. He was
probably rejected by both parents and must constantly
court danger and must constantly court danger in order
to achieve any sense of prestige or personal worth.
THE KIDS
HELEN, CRUNCH, MOOSE, GOON, CHICK, COOKIE, MIL: All
searching for recognition in the only way available
to them; all suffering from unfulfilled hungers at
home; all creating an outside world of chaos in order
to bear the chaos they feel inside. They are
soldiers in search of an enemy.
FADE IN.
A deep night sky. Matte shot. Camera searches slowly
upward through the heavens and the silver tone of a bell is
heard sounding the strokes of midnight.
On the final note of the bell, camera is full on the Milky
Way and there it rests, just long enough for a burst of
Easter singing to arise. The hymn is sung by the crude,
unmatched voices of children. Camera pans down to include:
Spire of a church. Camera continues its downward pan as the
singing continues and we pass a window beyond which is the
source of the singing. Camera pans off window to show--
Long shot. City. Night. Suddenly revealed--crisp and
sparkling with lights. Camera pans down and over:
A lonely street full of parked cars. The singing diminishes
but a thread of it remains. A car has just parked. The
headlights snap off. A MAN emerges whistling the same
melody and pulls some gifts from the front seat. He slams
the door and starts down the street in the direction of a
house with bright windows. He must pass an empty lot full
of rusty grass and litter which lies in darkness between two
street lights.
As the MAN walks by the lot, still whistling, a GROUP OF
FIGURES rises silently from the grass, figures who have been
lying in concealment until now. They step noiselessly onto
the pavement and follow the MAN. At the sound of their
boots the whistling stops.
The MAN glances behind him and sees the figures walking
after him, filling the pavement. A street light shows them
to be boys and girls and all quite young. The MAN moves on
more swiftly and the sound of their pursuit increases. He
begins to run toward the lighted house and the following
steps run too. Suddenly he stops under the next street
light and turns to face the figures. They are upon him and
around him quickly. Nobody speaks for a moment, then one of
the boys grins. His name is BUZZ. He is big and filled
with an awareness of his own masculinity.
BUZZ
(friendly, cool)
That was pretty what you were
whistling. Whistle some more.
The MAN whistles a nervous phrase, trying to make a joke of
the situation which he doesn’t understand.
BUZZ
(continuing; suddenly)
You got a cigarette?
MAN
Oh, I think so--
The MAN fumbles in his pocket, finds a pack and drops it in
his nervousness. The FIGURES wait until he picks it up. He
offers one to BUZZ.
MAN
(continuing)
Filter tips.
BUZZ
(smiling, encouraging)
You smoke it. Smoke it, Dad.
Smiling uncertainly, the MAN puts the cigarette in his mouth.
BUZZ, still smiling, takes out a packet of wooden matches.
BUZZ
(continuing)
I’ll light it for you, Dad.
BUZZ ignites a match and holds it near the Man’s face for a
second, searching it. Then he ignites the whole box under
his nose. The MAN shrieks, and his packages fall. BUZZ
slaps him sharply, his smile gone.
The camera pans away as the figures enclose him, and holds
on a small mechanical monkey which has dropped from its
wrappings. It begins to dance madly on the pavement, then
runs down.
The feet of the figures scatter past the unmoving monkey.
Then camera rises to show that the man has disappeared.
There is a moment of awful stillness, then we see a boy
coming down the street alone. He is quite drunk, and he
slips once. This is JIM, a good-looking kid of seventeen
with a crew-cut and wearing a good suit. The spilled
packages on the pavement stop him. He bends down to see
what they are and picks up the mechanical monkey from the
wreckage. He smiles and winds it up. He sets it on the
sidewalk and sits down. He watches it dance for a moment,
happily. A siren is heard distantly, growing louder. JIM
pays no attention to it as he winds the monkey again and
releases it for its dance.
SUPERIMPOSE TITLE: "REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE" STARRING ____ as
siren rises piercingly close, and JIM looks up, we:
DISSOLVE TO:
Close shot. Throbbing light of police car. Night. The
siren screaming wildly, then dying. The sound of brakes.
Camera moves to reveal the police car stopped at the
entrance of a Precinct Station. Two officers dismount,
bearing between them the struggling JIM. They bear him up
the steps and in through the double doors.
Inside precinct station. Reception area. A large open space
onto which several corridors converge. In the middle is a
Sergeant’s desk, really a quadrangular counter in the center
of which the SERGEANT stands. There are a few glass-walked
interviewing rooms which open off the area, and several
benches lining the walls. The scene is one of confusion,
activity and waiting. Phones ring. The arrested pass in
custody of officers. Present among others at JIM’s entrance
are: JUDY, who is blonde and sixteen. She sits on a crowded
bench wearing an expression of downcast bitterness. On a
bench across the way from her are three remarkably dirty
little Mexican children without shoes or socks. The oldest
is a BOY of four who is protecting his little SISTER who in
turn mothers an infant crying on the bench beside her.
Standing at a corner of the desk is a docile, undersized boy
of fifteen named JOHN "PLATO" CRAWFORD. He is shivering.
With him is a large NEGRO WOMAN, his maid. JIM comes
through the doors and is led to the desk. One of the
officers presents a brief report to the SERGEANT, who
examines it.
SERGEANT
Mixed up in that beating on Twelfth
Street?
OFFICER
No. Plain drunkenness.
SERGEANT
This says he was picked up there.
OFFICER
They had him on the carpet for an
hour at Headquarters. He’s clear.
Plain drunkenness.
SERGEANT
Young squirt. All right--You want
to lean him against something?
Stand him over there.
The officer leads JIM to JUDY’s bench and stands him against
the wall beside it.
JIM is frisked, a look of prayer on his upturned face. The
OFFICER finds the toy monkey in his pocket and would take
it, but when JIM asks to keep it, the OFFICER hands it back
and moves away. Another officer enters and leads the
prisoner who is sitting next to JUDY into another room. JIM
sits beside her. He smiles at her but receives only a
chilling look. He winds the monkey up and sets it dancing
on the floor, but she is not amused. Camera pans to show
others reacting to the monkey with pleasure. We see PLATO
look up and smile a little. Camera stops on the MEXICAN
CHILDREN who are smiling too. A bald JUVENILE OFFICER named
GENE, squats before them, smiling.
GENE
You going to tell me your name now?
The little boy shakes his head.
LITTLE BOY
(touching GENE’s bald pate)
Where’s your hair?
GENE
It’s all gone.
LITTLE BOY
Did you get a haircut?
GENE
No--it just fell out!
LITTLE BOY
(sympathetically)
Aw--
GENE laughs as another Juvenile Officer enters and pauses to
look at the children. His name is RAY.
RAY
What gang does he belong to?
GENE
Give him a couple of years.
RAY
Where’s your mamma, honey?
LITTLE BOY
I don’t know.
RAY and GENE exchange looks, then RAY moves across to JUDY--
camera following. He looks down at her, consults the file
in his hand.
RAY
Judy--we’re ready for you now.
JUDY
(a mumble)
He hates me.
RAY
What?
JUDY
He hates me.
She rises. RAY leads her to one of the glass-walled offices.
Camera moves with them. JIM watches them go.
RAY
What makes you think he hates you,
Judy?
JUDY
I don’t think. I know. He looks
at me like I’m the ugliest thing in
the world. He doesn’t like my
friends--he--
RAY leads her into the office.
Inside small office as JUDY comes in, RAY following. He
indicates a chair for her while he sits down behind a desk.
JUDY
(continuing)
He doesn’t like anything about me--
he calls me--he calls me--
She starts to cry. She doesn’t hide it, but keeps wiping
the tears with the palms of her hands.
RAY
He makes you feel pretty unhappy?
JUDY
(crying)
He calls me a dirty tramp--my own
father!
RAY
Do you think your father means that?
JUDY
Yes! I don’t know! I mean maybe
he doesn’t mean it but he acts like
he does. We’re altogether and
we’re going to celebrate Easter and
catch a double bill. Big deal. So
I put on my new dress and I came
out and he--
RAY
That one?
JUDY
Yes--he started yelling for a
handkerchief--screaming. He
grabbed my face and he rubbed all
my lipstick off--he rubbed till I
thought I wouldn’t have any lips
left. And all the time yelling at
me--that thing--the thing I told
you he called me. Then I ran out
of the house.
RAY
Is that why you were wandering
around at one o’clock in the morning?
JUDY
I was just talking a walk. I tried
to call the kids but everybody was
out and I couldn’t find them. I
hate my life. I just hate it.
RAY
You weren’t looking for company,
were you?
JUDY
No.
RAY
Did you stop to talk to anyone,
Judy?
(she is silent)
Do you enjoy that?
JUDY
No. I don’t even know why I do it.
RAY
Do you think you can get back at
your Dad that way? I mean
sometimes if we can’t get as close
to somebody as we’d like we have to
try making them jealous--so they’ll
have to pay attention. Did you
ever think of that?
JUDY
I’ll never get close to anybody.
RAY
Some kids stomped a man on Twelfth
Street, Judy.
JUDY
You know where they picked me up!
Twelfth Street! I wasn’t even near
there!
RAY
Would you like to go home if we can
arrange it?
(no answer; to WOMAN OFFICER)
Did you notify the parents?
WOMAN OFFICER
She wouldn’t give me their number.
RAY
What’s your number, Judy? We’ll
see if your Dad will come and get you.
JUDY looks up hopefully.
RAY
Unless you really don’t want to go
home.
(silence)
Would you rather stay here?
Camera moves close on JUDY. She looks up and speaks very
quietly.
JUDY
Lexington 05549.
The wail of a siren is heard. JUDY looks off through the
glass wall toward JIM. RAY is heard dialing.
Med. shot. JIM’s bench. JIM sits with his head back, eyes
closed. As the siren mounts louder, JIM opens his mouth and
imitates it--a long, forlorn wail.
Med. shot, PLATO and NEGRO WOMAN. PLATO smiles faintly and
moves out toward JIM, NEGRO WOMAN following. Camera pans
with them. PLATO sits by JIM. She stands over them. JIM’s
wailing continues.
Med. shot. JIM, PLATO, NEGRO WOMAN. An OFFICER moves into
shot.
OFFICER
Hey!
JIM continues for a moment.
OFFICER
(continuing)
Hey! That’s enough static out of you.
JIM
Want me to imitate a stupid cop?
OFFICER
Cut it out now. I’m warning you.
JIM
Yes, ma’am.
The OFFICER moves out. The NEGRO WOMAN bends over PLATO who
is shivering violently.
NEGRO WOMAN
You shivering, John? You cold?
PLATO shakes his head. JIM notices him.
JIM
Want my jacket?
PLATO looks up at JIM.
JIM
(continuing)
You want my jacket? It’s warm.
PLATO wants it but shakes his head "no."
Full shot. JUDY’s office. RAY and JUDY seated as before.
JUDY is still gazing through the glass.
RAY
Your mother will be down in a few
minutes, Judy--
JUDY
(clearing)
What?
RAY
Your mother will be down in a few
minutes.
JUDY
(startled)
My mother?
RAY signals to a WOMAN OFFICER just outside and leads JUDY
to the door.
Outside door as RAY turns JUDY over to the WOMAN OFFICER.
RAY
She’s being called for.
JUDY
You said you’d call my father.
RAY
Goodbye, Judy. Take it easy.
JUDY doesn’t answer. RAY goes back inside as camera leads
the WOMAN OFFICER and JUDY past JIM’s bench. Camera stops
on JIM, PLATO and the NEGRO WOMAN. JIM stares at JUDY and
whistles but gets no reaction. GENE enters and comes to the
NEGRO WOMAN.
GENE
John Crawford?
NEGRO WOMAN
Yes, sir.
GENE
Come with me, John.
PLATO rises and goes with GENE, the NEGRO WOMAN following.
JIM is alone. He closes his eyes, throws his head back and
gives another siren wail as camera moves close on his face.
MOTHER (O.S.)
Jim!
JIM looks up suddenly, scared. Then he smiles mysteriously
and staggers to his feet.
Low angle. Tight three. JIM’s parents and grandma framed
in the doorway, frozen. They are all dressed in evening
clothes. The MOTHER is a very chic but rather hard-faced
woman. The FATHER is an unfeathered man. The GRANDMA is
the smallest, also very chic and very bright-eyed.
Med. shot. JIM as he faces them.
JIM
Happy Easter.
Tight shot. The family.
MOTHER
Where were you tonight? They
called us at the club and I got the
fright of my life!
Silence.
FATHER
Where were you tonight, Jimbo?
Close shot. JIM. He says nothing.
Close shot. FATHER laughing uncomfortably.
Med. shot. JIM.
JIM
You think I’m funny?
JIM turns suddenly and walks to the glass wall of the office
behind which PLATO, the NEGRO WOMAN and GENE are visible.
He looks through the glass partition which separates him
from PLATO.
JIM
(continuing)
Why didn’t you take my jacket?
Inside office. JIM is seen through the glass. He moves
away. PLATO is still shivering, cracking his knuckles.
GENE
Do you know why you shot those
puppies, John?
(silence)
Is that what they call you or do
you have a nickname?
PLATO
(a murmur)
Plato.
NEGRO WOMAN
You talk to the man nice now, hear?
He’s going to help you.
PLATO
Nobody can help me.
GENE
Can you tell me why you killed the
puppies, Plato?
PLATO
No, sir. I just went next door to
look at them like I always do.
They were nursing on their mother
and I did it. I guess I’m just no
good?
GENE
What do you think’s going to
happen, you do things like that?
PLATO
I don’t know. End up in the
electric chair?
GENE
Where did you get the gun?
PLATO
In my mother’s drawer.
NEGRO WOMAN
She keep it to protect herself, sir.
She scared without a man in the house.
GENE
Where’s your mother tonight, Plato?
PLATO
She’s away.
NEGRO WOMAN
Seems like she’s always going
somewhere. She got a sister in
Chicago and she go for the holiday.
She says her sister is all the
family she has.
GENE
Where’s your father?
PLATO is silent.
NEGRO WOMAN
They not together, sir. We don’t
see him in a long time now.
GENE
Do you hear from him, son?
PLATO looks up as JIM and his family move into the next
office. JIM smiles at PLATO, who returns it feebly, then
looks away--embarrassed.
GENE
You know if the boy ever talked to
a psychiatrist?
PLATO
(smiling a bit)
Head-shrinker?
NEGRO WOMAN
(laughing)
Oh, Mrs. Crawford don’t believe in
them!
GENE
Well maybe she better start.
Other office. JIM, his parents, GRANDMA and RAY are
gathered in the small room. JIM is humming THE RIDE OF THE
VALKRYIES to himself as if he had absolutely no interest in
what is happening around him. RAY suspects this is
something more than mere disinterest, so lets the humming go
on, in order to discover its real purpose. GRANDMA watches
everything like a tennis match, reacting with soft little
sounds of terror or astonishment or sympathy. No one pays
any attention to her. For a moment no one talks. RAY
watches JIM as he hums. Then the FATHER shakes his head and
looks up.
FATHER
I don’t see what’s so bad about
taking a little drink.
RAY
You don’t?
FATHER
No. I definitely don’t. I did the
sa--
RAY
He’s a minor, Mr. Stark, and it
looks to me like he had more than a
little drink.
FATHER
(chuckling)
Say, listen--
MOTHER
(to JIM: in intimate,
half-humorous disapproval)
Jim--don’t hum.
JIM merely rolls his eyes at her, then away--but continues
his humming.
FATHER
I guess I cut pretty loose in my
day too.
MOTHER
Really, Frank? When was that?
FATHER
Listen--can’t you wait till we get
home?
RAY
Whoa! Whoa! I know you’re a
little upset but--
FATHER
Sorry.
RAY
What about you, Jim? Got anything
to say for yourself?
JIM stops humming and shrugs.
RAY
Not interested, huh?
JIM shakes his head.
MOTHER
Can’t you answer? What’s the
matter with you anyhow?
FATHER
He’s just loaded, honey.
MOTHER
I was talking to Jim.
FATHER
(to RAY)
Let me just explain to you--we just
moved here, y’understand? The kid
has no friends yet and--
JIM
Tell him why we moved here.
FATHER
Hold it, Jim.
JIM
You can’t protect me.
FATHER
(to JIM)
You mind if I try? You have to
slam the door in my face?
(to RAY)
I try to get to him--what happens?
(to JIM)
Don’t I give you everything you
want? A bicycle--you get a bicycle.
A car--
JIM
You buy me many things. Thank you.
FATHER
Not just buy! You hear all this
talk about not lovely your kids
enough. We give you love and
affection, don’t we?
Silence; JIM is fighting his emotion but his eyes grow wet.
FATHER
Then what is it? I can’t even
touch you anymore but you pull away.
I want to understand you. Why’d
you get drunk? You must have had a
reason.
JIM stares straight ahead, trying not to listen.
FATHER
Was it because we went to that
party?
(silence)
You know what kind of drunken
brawls those parties turn into--
it’s no place for kids.
MOTHER
A minute ago you said you didn’t
care if he drinks.
GRANDMA
He said a little drink.
JIM
(exploding)
You’re tearing me apart!
MOTHER
What?
JIM
Stop tearing me apart! You say one
thing and he says another and then
everybody changes back--
MOTHER
That’s a fine way to behave!
GRANDMA
(smiling)
Well you know who he takes after!
RAY
Outside, Jim. Come outside.
RAY pushes him out the door firmly, and into office vacated
by PLATO and GENE.
RAY
Excuse us a minute?
FATHER
(very overwrought)
Sure. Sure.
GENE’s office. RAY and JIM alone.
JIM
Someone should put poison in her
epsom salts.
RAY
Grandma?
No answer. JIM turns away from RAY.
JIM
Get lost.
RAY
Hang loose, boy. I’m warning you.
JIM
Wash up and go home.
RAY
Big tough character. You don’t kid
me, pal. How come you’re not
wearing your boots?
Suddenly JIM flings himself at RAY who deftly flips him past
and drops him near the desk.
RAY
(continuing)
Too bad you didn’t connect. You
could have gone to Juvenile Hall.
That’s what you want, isn’t it?
JIM
No.
RAY
Sure it is. You want to bug us
till we have to lock you up. Why?
JIM
Leave me alone.
RAY
No.
JIM
I don’t know why--!
RAY
Go on--don’t give me that. Someone
giving you hard looks?
JIM
I just get so--
(fighting tears)
Boy, sometimes the temperature goes
way up.
RAY
(suddenly gentle)
Okay. Okay. Let it out.
JIM starts crying.
RAY
You feel like you want to blow your
wheels right now?
JIM
All the time! I don’t know what
gets into me--but I keep looking
for trouble and I always--I swear
you better lock me up. I’m going
to smash somebody--I know it.
RAY
Try the desk.
JIM smashes his fist against it, letting loose for a moment.
RAY watches, then sits near him.
RAY
That why you moved from the last
town? ’Cause you were in trouble?
You can talk about it if you want
to--I know about it anyway.
Routine check.
JIM
And they think they are protecting
my by moving.
RAY
You were getting a good start in
the wrong direction back there.
Why did you do it?
JIM
Mess that kid up?
RAY just nods.
JIM
(continuing)
He called me chicken.
RAY
And your folks didn’t understand?
JIM
They never do.
RAY
So then you moved?
JIM
They think I’ll make friends if we
move. Just move and everything’ll
be roses and sunshine.
RAY
But you don’t think that’s a solution.
JIM is silent; he picks at his nails.
RAY
(continuing)
Things pretty tough for you at home?
JIM
She eats him alive and he takes it.
JIM stares at his family through hole in door.
JIM
What a zoo!
RAY
What?
JIM
A zoo. He always wants to be my
pal, you know? But how can I give
him anything when he’s--I mean I
love him and I don’t want to hurt
him--but I don’t know what to do
anymore except maybe die.
RAY
Pretty mixed up?
JIM
If he could--
RAY
"If he could" what? You mean your
father?
JIM
I mean if he had the guts to knock
Mom cold once I bet she’d be happy
and I bet she’d stop picking. They
make mush out of him. Just mush.
One thing I know is I never want to
be like him.
RAY
(interrupts)
Chicken?
JIM
I bet you see right through me,
don’t you?
RAY shrugs.
JIM
How can anyone grow up in this circus?
RAY
You got me, Jim--but they do. Want
some water?
JIM
(as RAY gets a cup of
water from cooler)
Boy--if I had one day when I didn’t
have to be all confused and ashamed
of everything--or I felt I belonged
some place.
RAY
(giving him water)
Here. Look, will you do something
for me? If the pot starts boiling
again, will you come and see me
before you get yourself in a jam?
Even if you just want to talk--come
in and shoot the breeze. It’s
easier sometimes than talking to
your folks.
JIM
Okay--
RAY
Any time--day or night. You calmed
down enough to go back now?
JIM
(smiling)
You serious?
RAY smiles and opens the door.
RAY’s office as JIM comes towards his MOTHER and forces
himself to kiss her.
JIM
I’m sorry.
MOTHER
All right, darling.
She rises and takes his arm. They start out through the
door into the hall, followed by GRANDMA and FATHER.
GRANDMA
(to RAY)
This was all very unfortunate, but
he made a mistake and he’s sorry--
so we’re not going to have any more
trouble. He’s always been a lovely
boy--
JIM
Lovely! Grandma--if you tell
another lie you’re going to turn to
stone.
RAY
Luck, Jim. Don’t forget.
FATHER
(offering RAY three cigars)
Have some cigars.
RAY
No thanks, I don’t smoke.
FATHER
Go on--Give ’em to your friends.
RAY
No--thanks, very much, Mr. Stark.
MOTHER
Frank--he doesn’t want any.
JIM grins at RAY who nods. They all leave. RAY looking
after them, shakes his head and lights a cigarette. We see
JIM and his family pass through the main door. Waiting to
enter, in the custody of some uniformed police, are BUZZ and
the kids we saw at the opening, sullen and truculent. As
they march into the lobby and JIM grows smaller in the
distance, the music comes up and out.
FADE OUT.
FADE IN.
Low angle. Alley. Morning. A rabbit comes running down
the alley followed by a group of young kids, screaming with
pleasure.
As camera pans with the group, the littlest, a boy of five,
stops near us looking after the disappearing group. The
shouts of the children wane.
JUDY rushes out from a backyard beyond him. She is carrying
school books and a bag lunch. She wears a polo coat against
the winter wind.
JUDY
(yelling)
Beau!
The boy, who is her brother, BEAU, looks up but doesn’t move.
JUDY stops at her gate. A car careens down the alley, past
him.
Long shot. JUDY and BEAU seen through a window in JIM’s
house. JIM is in f.g. looking out through the curtains. He
smiles.
JUDY
(yelling)
What are you trying to do, get
yourself killed?
BEAU
(laughing)
Yes!
MOTHER (O.S.)
Your eggs are on the table, dear.
JIM turns from window and passes camera.
Full shot JIM’s dining room. The MOTHER is just settling a
plate of eggs at JIM’s place. They FATHER is seated,
drinking coffee and looking at the newspaper. GRANDMA comes
in from kitchen. JIM is neatly dressed in tie, tweed jacket
and slacks.
MOTHER
(continuing)
Sit down and eat--you’ll be late.
JIM
(approaching table)
It’d stick in my throat, Mom. I’m
nervous or something--
GRANDMA
It’s a wonder we don’t all have TB
or some other terrible disease
after living in all those smokey
cities!
MOTHER
Well, drink your milk anyhow.
GRANDMA
(muttering)
There aren’t so many factories here.
FATHER
Mother--
JIM
(still standing; he drinks)
You make any sandwiches?
FATHER
My first day of school, mother’d
make me eat and by golly I could
never even swallow till recess--
MOTHER
(bringing bag of
lunch from buffet)
There’s nothing to be nervous about.
Here’s peanut butter and meat loaf--
JIM makes a mouth-stuck-together-with-peanut-butter sound.
GRANDMA
What did I tell you? Peanut butter!
MOTHER
Well, there’s a thermos of orange
juice and some apple-sauce cake in
the wax paper to wash it down.
GRANDMA
I baked that!
JIM
(kisses her cheek)
’Bye, Mom.
MOTHER
Goodbye, dear.
FATHER
(rising)
So long, young fella. Knock ’em
dead, like your old man used to!
JIM
Sure--
(gets to door and turns)
You know something? I have a
feeling we’re going to stay here.
FATHER
And listen--watch out about the
pals you choose--Know what I mean?
Don’t let them choose you--
But JIM is on his way out.
Full shot. JIM’s backyard as JIM comes out of the kitchen
door into the early sunshine.
JUDY (O.S.)
Come out of the alley, Beau! This
is the last time I’m going to call
you.
JIM blinks, pauses and sees JUDY. He takes off his tie and
puts it in his pocket. Then he starts across the backyard,
camera panning with him to:
Full shot. The Alley with JIM coming out his gate, JUDY and
BEAU visible beyond. He stops again.
JUDY
Beau! All right--go to school alone!
She starts down the alley. BEAU skips after her and starts
tightrope-walking the gutter gravel.
JIM
(calling)
Hey!
JUDY glances at him briefly, but continues. JIM follows a
few yards, but on his side of the alley.
JIM
(continuing)
Hey, didn’t I see you before some
place?
JUDY ignores him, but something self-conscious happens to
her walk. JIM runs across the alley.
Med. shot. JUDY stopping as JIM enters. BEAU tight-rope
walking on down the hill.
JIM
Hi. I saw you before.
JUDY
Bully for you.
JIM
You don’t have to be unfriendly.
JUDY
Now that’s true!
JIM
(smiling)
See?
JUDY
"Life is crushing in on me."
JIM
(smiling)
"Life can be beautiful." Hey, I
know where it was.
JUDY
Where what was.
JIM
Where I saw you.
(no answer)
Everything going okay now?
(no answer)
You live around here?
JUDY
(relieved)
Who lives?
JIM
See, I’m new.
JUDY
Won’t mother be proud.
JIM
You’re really flipped--aren’t you.
JUDY looks up a little surprised.
JIM
(continuing)
Where’s Dawson High School?
JUDY
You going there?
JIM
Yeah--why--
JUDY
Dig the square wardrobe!
JIM
(defensively)
Yeah. So where’s the high school?
JUDY
(softer)
University and 10th--Want to carry
my books?
An auto horn, stuck, in the distance.
JIM
I was just getting my car. I could
take you.
The horn approaches, loud.
JUDY
The kids take me.
JIM
Oh.
Another angle. JIM and JUDY as the car, horn blowing,
wheels into view above them and comes careening into the
alley. JUDY sees it and moves a step away from JIM.
JUDY
I’ll bet you’re a real yo yo.
JIM
A what?
JUDY
(yelling over horn)
Goodbye! See you!
JIM
(yelling)
I’m not so bad.
JUDY is moving toward the car.
Med. shot. Car full of kids as it comes to a jolting stop
near JUDY. The boys wear suede coats, leather jackets,
black peggers, boots. Their clothing is not uniform--it is
the air they assume which is uniform: swaggering, self-
conscious, piratical. Someone is always combing his hair.
The driver is BUZZ, whom we recognize as the leader of the
stomp gang we met on Easter. He wears a leather jacket.
With him are CHICK, a slight bespectacled lad; CRUNCH,
BUZZ’s first lieutenant; COOKIE, a hanger-on; GOON, a
character; and the girls HELEN and MILLIE. The kids are
screaming as BUZZ jams on the brakes. JUDY comes forward.
JIM hangs back.
BUZZ
Stella-a-a-a!
JUDY comes to them quickly, smiling.
JUDY
Steady Marlon!
BUZZ
Wanna make the colored lights go
around and around?
JUDY and BUZZ kiss ardently and without love. JIM goes for
his car.
BUZZ
(looks after JIM then
at JUDY)
What’s that?
JUDY
A new disease.
BUZZ
(a little suspicious)
Friend of yours?
JUDY
I’m glad they let you out.
BUZZ
Nobody chickened.
JUDY
I heard about it. You’re lucky he
lived.
BUZZ
They always live.
During this JIM has gotten his car and has driven up.
JIM
Where’s University and 10th?
JUDY
(pointing right)
That way!
CHICK
(pointing left)
That way!
BUZZ
(pointing up)
That way!
Simultaneously, the kids laugh wildly. The radio blares.
JUDy lays her head on BUZZ’s shoulder and his arm goes
around her as the car zooms away. JIM looks after them a
moment, then follows.
DISSOLVE TO:
Close shot. Bicycle rack. Wheels spin in, one after
another and drive straight into their slots. As the nearest
bike moves in:
Med. shot. PLATO just getting off his motor scooter. He
comes forward, passes camera which pans with him then
stops--as the school is suddenly revealed. Music starts
with a crash and keeps mounting through the following.
PLATO sighs and moves away from us to join the parade of
students filling the Main approach.
Parking lot as cars scream into their places noisily. JIM
gets out of one and comes forward. A motorcycle roars by,
just missing him. JIM stares off and starts to move as
camera pans with him to:
Another angle. School. Another crash of music. JIM moves
toward the parade.
Full shot. Mid-way down main approach. A number of kids
pass, gossiping happily as they greet each other for the
first time since vacation. Camera searches over them and
stops upon our special group moving toward us--BUZZ, JUDY
and the rest, all abreast. Others must park at their
passage or be elbowed out of the way, staring resentfully,
but not daring to challenge the group’s priority. PLATO
runs forward, past them.
Door from within bouncing from hand to hand as students
enter. PLATO moves through the door and disappears in a
milling of kids. JUDY enters with her group and moves on
with them.
Med. shot. Monitor (inside corridor). The Monitor is an
athletic letter-sweater boy with an arm brassard that bears
the letters "HC". Kids pour past him. JIM enters.
JIM
Hi--can you tell we where I go?
I’m just starting here.
MONITOR
(pointing at brassard)
Mr. Bassett’s office--203. He’ll
tell you where your home room is--
JIM
Thanks a lot.
JIM moves out.
Angle shot. Corridor. Shooting past a row of steel lockers.
The clash and slam of doors as kids throw in coats, pull out
books and primp for the day ahead. PLATO comes to his
locker, which is the nearest, and opens it.
Full shot. Corridor. JIM moves toward us from the distance.
Crowded at the entrance to a classroom in f.g. are JUDY and
her pals. They are sneaking a smoke, passing the cigarette
from one cupped hand to another. As JIM comes near, JUDY
sees him. So do the others. They fold their arms across
their chests and whistle "We are the girls of the
institute"--all but JUDY. JIM glances at her and continues
on past camera. A bell starts ringing crazily over the music.
Close shot. PLATO. He is straightening his tie in the
mirror. Above it, pasted to the locker door, is a still of
Alan Ladd. In the mirror we can see JIM moving past. PLATO
sees him too. He wheels around and stares.
PLATO
(to himself)
Hi.
The strident music of the students diminishes. The ringing
of the bell stops. There remain only JIM’s footsteps.
Long shot. JIM moving off down the corridor. PLATO is in
f.g. looking after him. He slams his locker and starts
after JIM, moving at the same speed and hovering near the
wall. The footsteps of the two boys echo stonily. They are
alone. JIM stops at a bulletin board near a bend in the
corridor. PLATO stops too.
Bulletin board. JIM looking at the notices. PLATO drifts
in several yards away and hangs near the wall watching JIM
who doesn’t see him. JIM reads:
Insert: Bulletin board, "Attention All Juniors and Seniors"--
Planetarium field trip--2 pm--Sharp!"
Another angle. JIM and PLATO as JIM turns from bulletin
board and starts away.
PLATO
(clearing his throat)
Hi.
JIM
Hi there.
PLATO
You remember me?
JIM
No. I don’t think so--