FOUR: IN WHICH we move forward eight years to view the consequences of Diamond Jim's actions in the previous scenes ... AND IN WHICH we are treated to a sample of our hero's story-telling prowess and watch the effect that it has upon a large
number of listeners ...
(an oratorical stomp performed to the accompaniment of a mighty
chorus)
FADE IN:
INT. PRISON CELL-BLOCK - NIGHT
 |
Night-time... Rows of cells ... tier after tier up to the bare-light-bulb ceiling... and the sound of a thousand men, talking, shouting to each other, moving inside their cells, pacing ...
A half-dozen guards wait clustered around their guard station, casting
occasional glances up toward one spot in the uppermost tier of cells --
as if waiting for something to happen ...
Overhead now, quickly, the lights go out. And as they do, the prisoners
suddenly fall silent... All of them. .. Almost all at once ...
Then, into the sudden silence, one of the prisoners shouts out a word:
"Cold!"
A long beat; then another voice shouts from someplace else in the cell-
block: "Hot ... And humid nights!"
Then other voices are shouting, echoing, competing for attention:
"Pussy!...Pussy!...Pussy!" "Lonely" "Butterflies! And Summer!" "Rain!"
"Long. black hair!" ... until the entire cell-block is a cacophony of shouting, overlapping voices ...
Then a single voice cuts through them all: "All right- BUTTERFLIES!
You want ta talk about BUTIERFLIES?!" And the other voices become a single cheer, a shout of joy and relief, then fall quickly into
silence.
The moment prolongs itself like a deeply-held breath, then the voice
begins to speak again -- it is Sykes' voice.
As he speaks the CAMERA BEGINS TO MOVE, TO TRACK ALONG the lowest row of cells, to watch the prisoners as they listen and react to Sykes' story. And as his voice builds in cadence and rhythm, so do the responses of the prisoners.
They begin to react to each of Sykes' phrases -- adding to them, echoing
and repeating his words ... until they are clapping and shouting in time
to his voice, giving him a rhythmic back-up to play against with the
melody of his story ... Until they are like a black Baptist congregation,
wailing and stomping to the words of their preacher, the words of their
Gospel...
The CAMERA CONTINUES TO MOVE throughout, TRACKING ALONG the cells, RISING STEADILY toward the highest tier in the cell-block. And Sykes' voice grows steadily louder with perspective:
 |
SYKES'VOICE |
|
It's night-time ... And you're fourteen years
old ... And if you could, you'd roam the
streets of your home town naked... And just
the thought of stickin' it inta something that
wiggles drives ya wild with desire... And
every window ya look at at night, you're sure
has got a lady naked, powderin' her nose
behind it ... And you look over at your best
friend Frankie and you're wonderin' if he's
feelin' the same feelin' you're feelin' ...
And there's this girl you heard about
somewhere near where you are who's got brothers who do it to her all the time... And she ain't too bad-lookin' neither...
And maybe she would ... And you could, too ... |
| (the response of the prisoners is building) |
|
So ya ask her point-blank and right straight
out ... And she pretends she don't know what
you're talkin' about. .. So ya push her --
'cause ya don't know how else ta start it
out. .. And she says somethin' about siccin'
her brothers onta ya ... So ya shove her
again ... Ta show that ya ain't scared ...
And that nothin's gonna stop ya ... |
(the prisoners are slamming against their
bars as if in imitation of what he's saying) |
|
And she's wearin' one of them cool summer
dresses with butterflies all over it. ..
And you unbutton your pants so's she can
get a good look at it ... |
|
(louder suddenly) |
|
And then ya shove her again... Right up
against the God-damned wall ... And when ya
rip them butterflies offa her ya see that she
ain't wearin' nothin' underneath it exceptin'
her Mamma's pink garter belt... And ya reach
in your pocket and pull out one of them
lubricated Trojan-horse typa things ... And ya
tell her ta take it outta the package and put
it on ya ... |
|
(a pause)
|
The prisoners are near to ecstacy. The CAMERA IS TRACKING
along the highest row of cells; Sykes' voice is very close, now.
But the stomping and clapping and shouting of the prisoners becomes
ragged as the pause in Sykes' story prolongs itself and his voice
doesn't return to pick up the beat.
The men are shouting, begging Sykes to continue. We see one of the
prisoners rush up to the wall of his cell, begin pounding on it
furiously -- as if Sykes were in the very next cell.
And suddenly Sykes' voice rings out, challenging:
|
SYKES' VOICE |
Butterflies!!
Ya want ta talk about butterflies?!,
I'll tell ya about butterflies!! |
And the CAMERA TRACKS to the final cell -- Sykes' cell.
Sykes is standing by the bars, surveying the cell-block. He is eight or
ten years older than when we last saw him.
The prisoners become quieter now, answering Sykes: "That's right!
Butterflies!" "Tell us about them butterflies!"
Sykes smiles and his diamond winks and his voice becomes softer now.
The prisoners have to strain at first to hear him:
|
SYKES |
|
And that butterfly dress of hers. .. I bent
down and picked it up offa the ground ... And it was light -- with no weight hardly to it at all -- as a feather... And I just held
it in my hand there for the longest time ...
Thinkin' how this was somethin' . .. And she
weren't sayin' nothin' ... And them
butterflies. .. Them butterflies sure were
pretty ...
|
He sits down on his bunk, props his feet up, and continues, still softly:
|
SYKES |
|
And then a little breeze came up from outta nowhere... And them butterflies started movin'... Like they was alive and real in my
hands. .. And she started shiverin' ... And I
thought, "I'm gonna help that girl on with her
dress..." And how I knew for sure that her
brothers never did that ... |
|
(a beat; louder now) |
|
And the breeze was a wind, now ... And we
was on the ground underneath some big
maple tree ... Huggin' ... That's right: I said
huggin'! ... Holdin' on for dear life ta one
another... Groanin', even ... |
|
(a long beat; he smiles) |
|
Then after that I sat back a tate ... And
sorta lifted them butterflies to a spot just
above it... And right below her belly-button... And stared at it... For a good long time ... Maybe even an hour or two ...
And thought to myself ... |
|
(as if marvelling) |
|
Damned.. I myself popped outta one
a them things not too long ago ... |
|
(another long beat; musing) |
|
Moonlight... and poppin' ... And leamin'
how ta do it right ...
|
The prisoners call out a deeply-felt "Amen!" Sykes stands, comes to
the bars, speaks --loud now:
|
SYKES |
|
Ladies is truly somethin', ain't they?
|
The prisoners chorus another "Amen!"
|
SYKES |
|
And then I reached down and touched the
lightness of her dress again... And she made
my hand stop and stay there ...
|
The rhythm is building again now -- faster and louder. The men are clapping along, shouting ...
|
SYKES |
|
And I could feel her movin' ... And hear her
breathin' hard ... And I counted ta a thousand
in my mind ... Then ta two thousand ... Then
ta three ...
|
The prisioners are shouting along now: "Then to FOUR thousand ...
FIVE thousand... SIX thousand ... "
The CAMERA MOVES, PANNING OFF Sykes, seeing the prisoners
respond, then CONTINUING ITS PAN -- a full 180 degrees -- to a
cell on the other side of the block. At first the cell seems empty; but
as the CAMERA ZOOMS IN STEADILY, we catch a glimpse of light
reflecting off a small glass disc. Blankets have been draped down over
the two bunk-beds, creating a hidden space between them. And inside
that hiding place, barely visible to us, something is moving.
OUR CAMERA ZOOMS CLOSER... The glass disc is clear now -- it
is the lens of a camera, In it, we can see a reflection: Sykes --
talking, gesturing, shouting now, above the shouts of the prisoners:
|
SYKES |
|
Till I counted seven thousand butterflies!! ...
Movin' up and down... And wigglin' all
around... And screamin' butterflies!... And
yellin' butterflies! ... And YELLIN' butterflies!!
|
INT. SCREENING ROOM - DAY
The sounds of the prison -- Sykes and the prisoners -- continue from
the previous scene, but filtered now -- as if they were coming from a
loudspeaker.
We see now, the point of view of the hidden camera: The image of Sykes is grainier, harsher, more accidental in its composition -- like a piece
of newsreel or documentary film.
The prisoners are clapping and juking and stomping -- screaming out
"Butterflies!" And Sykes, at the peak of his energy, is shouting at
them:
|
SYKES |
|
Now if ya want ta talk about butterflies!...
I'll talk about butterflies!!...
|
And abruptly, unexpectedly, Sykes' voice and all the sounds of the men in the prison FADE OUT -- as if a hand on some volume control had dialed out the sound track.
A young man's voice speaks from off-screen: quiet, clipped, emotionless
-- it is in total contrast to the screaming energy of the cell-block:
 |
YOUNG MAN'S VOICE |
|
We photographed this with the warden's
permission but without the knowledge of any
of the prisoners -- including the story-teller ... |
As he speaks, OUR CAMERA PULLS BACK. We can see now that
the shot of Sykes is an image projected onto a screen. We are inside a small, luxurious screening room somewhere inside a large television
studio.
The young man who is speaking now, over the silent image of Sykes
shouting and the prisoners responding, is standing in a small pool of
light alongside the screen. His name is JEFFREY. Several men
and women -- only silhouettes in the projector's white beam -- are
watching the screen, listening to the young man's presentation:
|
JEFFREY |
| He's been telling his stories every night since he was incarcerated ... Eight years ago
-- for two counts of second-degree murder ...
At first, the authorities tried to shut him
up. They put him in solitary confinement, but
the prisoners rioted... So the warden changed
his mind -- decided to let the man talk ...
Since then, this prison has had the lowest
crime rate of any in the country ... The prison psychologist says that the stories do more than just release sexual tension ...
He feels that they re-create for the inmates a
state of innocence ... A state he calls "non-ambivalence" ... |
He glances over at the screen. It now shows a distinguished-looking
older MAN sitting on one of a row of folding chairs set up on a
balcony that overlooks the cell-block. He is laughing and clapping
his hands along with the prisoners.
|
JEFFREY |
| Oh ... That's Warden Burkholst, there ... and his wife, Marie ...
|
MARIE, seated alongside the warden, seems to be enjoying herself
even more than her husband.
|
JEFFREY |
| We were lucky to find out about any of this ...
The warden's managed to keep it all pretty
well hushed up... He's afraid of anyone
finding out about the "unorthodox" way he's
managed to keep the peace at his prison ...
|
A woman's voice, strong and used to giving commands and -- at the
moment -- filled with impatience, cuts off his dissertation. The image
on the projection' room screen shows Sykes beginning another rap
and the prisoners shouting in response.
 |
WOMAN'S VOICE |
| Jeffrey, for Christ's sake, tell us that
later. I want to hear him some more!
|
Flustered, Jeffrey looks off toward the voice, then quickly reaches down to a small control panel and turns a dial. Sykes' voice and the
sounds of the prisoners return with a rush. The CAMERA MOVES
BACK IN TO A CLOSE-UP of the screen:
INT. PRISON CELL-BLOCK -NIGHT
Sykes' voice is strutting now. He is in complete control of the men's
responses -- taking them wherever he wants to go.
As he speaks, the CAMERA MOVES and we can see that prisoners at
each end of the cell-block are repeating Sykes' words -- calling them
out through the windows of their cells to the inmates of adjacent cell-blocks, where the stories are repeated and again passed on.
|
SYKES |
| ... talkin' about self-pride, Jake!... I'm talkin' about your self-respect!...You take
me, for instance... I ain't never had no home
ta call my own ... Never had no driver's
license or no God-damned Social Security
Number!... Never went ta school or never had
no small-pox vaccination... NOTHIN'! ...
There ain't no record of me noplace!... |
|
(The prisoners are shouting
"That's rightl" at every phrase) |
| But if somebody asks me who I am ... |
|
(a long beat) |
| All I got ta do is smile ...
|
Sykes'diamond flashes as he grins.
|
SYKES |
| Then I become somebody! ... I become
Diamond Jim Sykes ... or Floyd Patterson ...
or the Ding-Dong-Daddy from Dumas!...
I become anybody I damn well choose ta be! ...
Because I'll tell ya something ... Something
that everybody knows is that diamonds ...
that diamonds ain't no just-happen-ta-be-there
kinda thing... You gotta be tough and I mean
bad-ass as Hell ta sport a diamond out front. ..
Ta advertise your fortune right there in plain
sight at night... Otherwise you'd be dead
and gone ... Or at least you wouldn't have no
diamond-studded tooth there... There'd just
be a hole there where it used ta be! ...
And even when you're dead and dyin', Buster,
that diamond is gonna tell that ambulance
driver or coroner or whoever comes upon ya in
that alley downtown somewhere that ya musta
been some tough son-of-a-bitch and somebody
special, too!... Diamonds are the great
divider, Jake!... |
|
(a beat; smiling) |
|
An' if you don't believe me, you just try
wakin' up in the mornin' with a God-damn
EI Dorado Cadillac stickin' outta your
front tooth!
|
The inmates are laughing and clapping and stomping their approval.
FIVE: IN WHICH our hero's charismatic appeal is
brought to the attention of Elizabeth, a woman of great
passion and persuasive personal power ... AND IN WHICH
she enthusiastically declares her intention of making him
her lover and a world-famous star ...
(a love-song both bawdy and tender)
INT. SCREENING ROOM - DAY
The woman whose voice we heard a moment ago is sitting in the front
row of seats, there in the screening room. She is in her mid-thirties,
dressed in the very classiest and most elegant of taste. She is, we see
now, the coldly beautiful woman we saw -- standing by her limousine,
surrounded by reporters -- during the funeral at the beginning of the
film. Her name is ELIZABETH.
She is speaking now, quietly -- as if to herself, almost -- but her soft
voice brings an instant response from the others in the screening room:
|
ELIZABETH |
| Stop it... Stop it... Stop it!
|
The projector grinds immediately to a stop, holds on a frozen image of
Sykes -- a close-up in which the diamond in his smile flares star-shaped
and bright in the center of the screen.
Jeffrey and a half-dozen or so other people in the screening room --
anonymous silhouettes in the projector's light -- are all turned toward
Elizabeth, waiting for her words as though she were a judge passing a
life-or-death sentence.
She speaks in a voice that is quiet but alive with passion
|
ELIZABETH |
| (staring at the screen) |
|
I want him. I love him. He's the man of my
dreams. I want him. I want that man.
|
She is on her feet now, moving toward the giant image of Sykes, slowly, slowly -- stalking her prey. Her gestures are broad but very deliberate and specific -- as if she were acting out, visualizing her fantasy:
|
ELIZABETH |
Keep the lights down low ... Bring him to me
here ... Turn the varmint loose ... Blow up a
million helium balloons and let me hide behind
them naked ... And call out his name... And
woo him... "Find me, Sucker-Sykes Find me
and I'm yours," I'll say ...
Pop --
Pop --
Pop --
Pop --
will go the balloons as he searches ... My
heart is pounding faster now ... Pop -- Pop --
Pop -- Pop -- |
|
(serene; cat-like) |
|
You're getting warmer, my Sucker-Sykes ... |
|
(imitating heavy breathing) |
|
You're getting closer, now ... I'm getting
downright hot by now ... POP! |
|
(she screams; a soft, willowy scream) |
|
POP! |
|
(another) |
|
POP! |
|
(another)
|
She is standing at the base of the screen now -- the image of Sykes towering over her.
|
ELIZABETH |
| I'm going to make you a star, my Sucker-
Sykes ...
|
| (very grand; dignified now) |
| Do you hear me, my celluloid phantom? .. My enchanted prince. .. Your fame will grow and
spread throughout all the land... Kings and
Queens will quiver in your presence ... Women's hearts will swell in pride as they diligently convert their husbands -- lovers --
and sons -- into your image ... 'Till there is
-- alas -- an entire universe of heavenly
dreamers with smiles made star-bright by
the diamonds in their teeth ... |
Caught up in her vision, she closes her eyes now, speaks softly, intensely -- a whisper -- a prayer:
|
ELIZABETH |
| Star light... Star bright... First star I
see tonight... I wish I may... I wish I
might. .. Have the wish I wish tonight. ..
|
Jeffrey is standing nearby. He is more than pleased by Elizabeth's reaction -- he is overwhelmed. He speaks quietly, timidly, afraid of breaking in on her reverie: .
|
JEFFREY |
| Uh ... Elizabeth... What we hoped... Since he's so ... appealing ... was to do a whole
hour-long show -- a documentary -- just on him.
|
Elizabeth turns, faces Jeffrey now, stares at him for a moment as if he were a creature from another planet, then speaks:
|
ELIZABETH |
| (despairing of his pettiness)
|
|
You have no imagination ...
|
(then smiling; speaking
quickly -- conspiratorially)
|
|
Tell no one about this man -- you understand?
No one! |
(her glance travels to the few
other people in the room)
|
|
This will be our little secret ...
|
|
(pointing to the screen)
|
|
Go back there at once... I want him filmed
day and night ... Every gesture, every word!
|
(a beat; Jeffrey and the
others are still listening)
|
|
Now! Quickly! NOW!
|
Jeffrey hurries off and the others go with him, except for one man -- in
his mid-forties, with a set to his jaw that reminds us of a Raymond
Chandler detective. He is Elizabeth's "associate"; his name is AAMES.
He is smiling faintly, watching Elizabeth, waiting for her orders. The
others have gone now, buzzing with excitement. Elizabeth looks at
Aames for a moment, smiles.
|
ELIZABETH |
| Find out all you can about him -- who and
where and when and why -- from the day he was
born till now ... If I should turn a spotlight on him -- bright and white and hot -- I
wouldn't like to be surprised at what -- or
who -- shows up ...
|
Aames nods, pries himself up out of his seat.
 |
AAMES |
| Gotcha.
|
Elizabeth watches him leave. She is alone now in the darkened room.
The frozen image of Sykes is still on the screen. Elizabeth turns,
looks at it for a long moment. She seems to be trembling slightly. She
holds up a hand toward the screen -- as if to show Sykes.
|
ELIZABETH |
| Look at me, my Sucker-Sykes ... I'm shaking ... |
|
. (as if in reverence) |
|
Thank you, my Sucker-Sykes ... Thank you for
renewing my needs and my energy... I feared
that I had lapsed into a purgatory of boredom...
You have saved me from my own destruction...
You have renewed my strength by simply
giving me something monumental to look
forward to...
|
She kneels, her eyes locked on Sykes' eyes.
|
ELIZABETH |
| I am at your mercy, my savior ... And you -- I fear -- are at mine ...
|
She rises, speaks now with an incredible majesty -- as one on whom knighthood has just been conferred, speaking aloud, for the very first
time, her new title.
|
ELIZABETH |
| I am, from this day forth, to be known as
Elizabeth -- The Woman that Made Him ...
|
The CAMERA RISES. The frozen image of Sykes FILLS THE FRAME.
MATCH DISSOLVE TO:
SIX: IN WHICH the forces necessary to accomplish
Elizabeth's goals are marshalled together rapidly and
we see devised and discovered: a man, a plan, and a
scheme for attaining great wealth...
(a finger-snapping, hand-clapping chorus-line romp)
INT. SOUNDSTAGE - DAY
The CAMERA PULLS BACK from a close-up of Sykes' face and we
see that it is now an 8 x 10 photograph in the hands of a young, good-looking man -- an ACTOR. He is staring at the photograph fiercely,
intently, searching it for vital clues to some hidden truth -- like a
spiritualist concentrating upon a dead man's wrist watch, trying to
receive emanations from the other world. Pinned to the actor's shirt
is a large square of cardboard bearing the number "78".
The CAMERA CONTINUES PULLING BACK. The actor is standing
at the head of a line of other young MEN -- also actors. All have
cardboard numbers affixed to their chests; all are studying photographs
of Sykes. They are inside a vast white-limbo soundstage. The line of
actors stretches back and back, receding in a forced perspective into
the white-shrouded background - seeminly stretching back to infinity
itself.
A voice is speaking, shouting, chanting with the rapid-fire staccato of
a carnival barker:
 |
VOICE |
| Number Seventy-seven! Yes sir, boys, we're
moving right along -- Yes sir -- Yes sir --
Yes sir -- How about a little diamond-studded
smile, Number Seventy-seven -- Yes sir - Yes
sir -- Yes sir--
|
The actor at the head of the line -- number "78" -- steps up to a small
table, leans over forward. A NURSE reaches up and casually, skillfully
measures one of Number 78' s front teeth. The middle-aged man seated
next to her, also wearing a crisply starched white smock - the DENTIST
-- plucks something from a set of glittering bins, inserts it into
Number 78's mouth. The voice is chanting:
|
VOICE |
| Now all there is to do is fill in the little
paper with your little name -- grab yourself a
Coca-Cola -- and sing the Don't-Call-Us-We'll-Call-You-Arrivederchi-Roma Boogie -- All right
-- Very very good -- Number Seventy-eight! --
Yes sir, boys -- Keep the line good and
straight -- We're moving right along!
|
Number 78 steps forward into a white-hot pool of light. Two large
television cameras set at a ninety-degree angle to each other photograph
his full-face and profile. An elegantly attired man standing near one
of the cameras -- the CASTING DIRECTOR -- is the source of the
machine-gun style patter we have been hearing:
|
DIRECTOR |
| Number Seventy-eight -- Yes sir -- Yes sir --
Maybe you're the one, Number Seventy-eight --
Maybe you're the lucky one! -- Yes sir -- Yes
sir -- Yes sir -- A little smile Number Seventy-
eight -- Can we have a little diamond-studded
smile -- All right!!
|
Number 78 smiles, trying to duplicate Sykes' smile in the photograph
he has been studying. The diamond that the dentist has just clipped to
his front tooth glitters and flares into camera.
MATCH CUT TO:
INT. ELIZABETH'S OFFICE - DAY
Number 78's face, glittering and smiling, fills the screen of a studio
sized television monitor: full-face and profile, side-by-side, number
and all, just like a police mug-shot. It lingers on the screen for only
a moment, then is replaced by an identical shot of actor Number 79 ...
then Number 80 ...
Elizabeth is seated at her desk watching the monitor, silent, intent,
only occasionally nodding her head at one of the faces that she likes.
Her secretary -- MOLLY -- 20 or 25, fresh, clear-skinned, beautiful
-- is seated beside Elizabeth, taking notes -- jotting down a number
whenever Elizabeth nods or smiles.
INT. CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY
Seated around a large, oval conference table are seven eager and
identically dressed bright young EXECUTIVES.
Behind them, dominating the scene, covering one entire wall of the
room, is a bank of television monitors, row after row. All the screens
show different shots of Sykes inside his prison cell -- standing or
sitting, yelling or whispering, but in each of them talking: telling
his stories -- a huge video library of Sykes' tales.
The executives constantly glance back at the monitors -- as if trying
to draw inspiration and ideas from them -- as they shout words and
phrases back and forth to each other: They are trying to come up
with a title -- a concept -- for the "Sykes Show."
Their dialogue -- fast and rhythmic and charged with energy -- has
exactly the cadence of a game of charades:
 |
EXECUTIVES |
(1) Title ... title ... title ... title ...
(2) Prison, right?
(3) Prison ... jail... cell-block ... inmate ...
(4) CELL-BLOCK!...
(5) Cell-block Eleven... "Tales from Cell-
Block Eleven"!
(6) No... (7) No good ...
(all) No ...
|
| (a beat; then faster)
|
(1) Title ... title ... title ... title ...
(2) Sykes, right?
(3) Sykes' stories... Sykes' tales... Sykes'...
(4) DIAMOND JIM!...
(5) Diamond-Jim Stories... "Diamond Jim's Stories"!
(6) No... (7) No good ...
(all) No ...
|
| (a beat; faster still)
|
(1) Title ... title ... title ... title ...
(2) Night-time, right?
(3) Night-time ... Late-time ... Dark-time ...
Sleep-time ...
(4) BED-TIME!...
(5) Bed-time Stories!... "Diamond Jim's Bed-Time Stories!!"
(6) "Diamond Jim's Night-time Bed-time
Stories"!!
(7) "Diamond Jim's Late-time Night-time Bed-time Stories"!!!
(all) "DIAMOND JIM'S LATE-TIME
NIGHT-TIME BED-TIME STORIES"!!!
|
Eureka!
INT. SOUNDSTAGE - DAY
Ten of the actors from the endless line are now standing -- minus their
number cards -- in the center of the huge soundstage. They are dressed
identically in stylized prisoners' uniforms. Their line-up and the
nervous glances they constantly exchange remind us of the semi-finalists
in the Miss America Pageant.
The casting director moves around them, circling them, examining them,
all the while spieling a mile-a-minute:
|
DIRECTOR |
| Yes sir -- Yes sir -- Yes sir!! All you fellas
are the number one contenders -- the cream
of the crop -- the numero uno's of the lot --
From now on in, you're in for the duration
-- And it's gonna be tough and rough as Hell
-- Mind-boggling and tongue-tying - You're
gonna be asked to do Cagney with your
pants down, Bogart with your shirt off,
and Brando with your back turned --
|
As the casting director moves, the CAMERA MOVES, too. We can
see that a portion of the white-limbo has been transformed into a
television set representing part of a prison cell-block.
|
DIRECTOR |
| Yes sir -- Yes sir -- Yes sir!! You're gonna
be asked to walk the plank, boys -- to stand
straight and not talk back -- to receive
adulation and admiration -- and get a tattoo
of a windjammer beating it to starboard on
your chest -- to lose your front tooth and
replace it with a diamond -- and to imitate --
mimic -- and be -- Diamond Jim Sykes in body
and in soul and in full till death do you part
-- Now raise your right hands and say "I do"
if you do --
|
The boys all raise their hands, speak in unison:
 |
THE ACTORS |
| I do.
|
|
DIRECTOR |
| Yes sir -- Yes sir -- Yes sir!
Of course you do!
|
INT. CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY
The room is in semi-darkness. Elizabeth is now seated at the head
of the large, oval table. At the opposite end, a small screen has
been erected. A slide projector beams white light onto the screen.
One of the bright young executives stands, takes the remote control
attachment, stabs the button. The first slide drops into place. It
shows a wide shot of the prison set. Two dozen "prisoners" are frozen
in poses that simulate rioting. One of the young actors -- imitating
Sykes -- is talking to the men, his hand upraised, calming them.
The executive with the slide projector control speaks proudly as he
stabs the button several more times. In each slide in the series, the
prisoners are more and more calm, until -- in the last slide -- all the
men are squatting on the floor of the cell-block, listening to the
actor/Sykes talk.
 |
FIRST EXECUTIVE |
(proudly; punching up
the first slide) |
|
"Diamond Jim ... |
| (the next slide) |
|
... Late-time ... |
|
(next slide) |
|
... Night-time ... |
|
(next slide) |
|
... Bed-time ... |
|
(last slide) |
|
...Stories...!" |
He looks expectantly at Elizabeth.
|
ELIZABETH |
| (simply; coldly) |
| Wrong.
|
Dejectedly, the first executive sits back down, passes the slide control to the man sitting next to him. The second executive rises, clears his throat, screws up his courage, and stabs the button.
This series of slides shows a different one of the young actors --
imitating Sykes -- in a sequence of poses depicting his encounter with
the girl in the butterfly dress. Each slide becomes more self-
consciously "artistic" than the one before.
 |
SECOND EXECUTIVE |
| (stabbing the button; proudly -- but
. with less confidence than the first)
|
|
"Diamond Jim ... |
| (a new slide with each phrase)
|
... Late-time ...
... Night-time ...
... Bed-time ...
... Stories...!" |
|
ELIZABETH |
| (very cold) |
| Wrong! |
The second executive, completely deflated, passes the control on to the third, who rises very timidly, pushes the button: His series of slides shows another young actor -- imitating Sykes -- in a close-up, as if
talking to camera, on one side of the screen, while in the background,
in a pool of light, we see a story unfolding: a young lady dancing for
two dozen fire chiefs at a convention in Indianapolis..
 |
THIRD EXECUTIVE |
| (very timidly)
|
|
"Diamond Jim ...? |
| (a new slide with each phrase)
|
... Late-time ... ?
... Night-time ... ?
... Bed-time ...?
... Stories...??" |
|
ELIZABETH |
| (like ice) |
| Wrong! |
The third executive cowers back into his seat, passes the control. to the
fourth, who stands, faces Elizabeth and speaks -- without punching up
any slides:
 |
FOURTH EXECUTIVE |
| (quietly; confidently; ticking
off his points on his fingers) |
|
Sykes' tales tell all ... We have all of
Sykes' tales... We teach "our" Sykes all
Sykes' tales... Our Sykes tells Sykes'
tales ... That's all!
|
He punches the button now for the first time. The slide shows one of the young actors sitting in his prison cell, his feet propped up just like Sykes, speaking quietly and directly to camera.
Elizabeth looks at the slide for a long moment, then smiles.
|
ELIZABETH |
| Right.
|
INT. SOUNDSTAGE - DAY
Inside three identical prison-cell sets -- side by side -- three of the
young actors are imitating Sykes. Their feet are propped up -- exactly
as in the slide we just saw -- and they are speaking, quietly and
directly, to three television cameras.
In the foreground, the casting director is sitting at a large control
panel, watching the actors on three side-by-side monitors.
|
DIRECTOR |
| Yes sir -- Yes sir -- Yes sir! Then there were three...
|
He reaches out and flicks a switch. The lights go out on one of the
sets.
|
DIRECTOR |
| Yes sir -- Yes sir -- Yes sir! Then there were two!
|
INT. CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY
The CAMERA PANS QUICKLY around the large, oval table. All the
executives are buzzing excitedly -- repeating to each other a single
word -- a question, really. It is like a chant or an incantation:
|
EXECUTIVES |
Sponsor...
Sponsor...
Sponsor...
Sponsor...
|
The CAMERA STOPS on Elizabeth at the head of the table. Silently, and with imperious grace, she waves her hand. The wall behind her
lights up: an enormous projected close-up of Sykes begins to speak. His amplified voice booms out, silencing for a beat the chant of
of "Sponsor ... Sponsor ... Sponsor"...
|
SYKES |
| Diamonds ain't no just-happen-ta-be-there
kinda thing!
|
(the diamond flashes as he
smiles; flaunts it)
|
|
Diamonds are God's way of sayin' that you're
special, if ya got 'em ...
|
The CAMERA BEGINS TO PAN around the table again. Each of
the executives brightens, begins to grin in sudden comprehension. A
chant picks up again, growing in energy and excitement as each
executive tums to the next and shouts out: "Diamonds!. .. Diamonds! ...
Diamonds!... Of course!! ..." And Sykes' voice continues, building also.
|
SYKES |
| ... And I'm not just talkin' about front-tooth
diamonds, neither!. .. I'm talkin' about
rollin'-around-in-your-hand diamonds! ...
And diamond rings and tear-drop diamond
earrings! ... And diamonds through your
nose and hooked between your toes!
|
The executives are on their feet now, chanting: "Diamonds! ... Diamonds!! ... Diamonds!!! ... " The CAMERA STOPS on Elizabeth
again:
|
ELIZABETH |
| Of course!! We own the man -- Every time the man opens his mouth, he sells diamonds --
We sell diamonds! |
(All the bright young executives begin
to applaud and cheer; Elizabeth
speaks over their cheering) |
|
We beg, borrow, buy and steal diamonds..; We
get all of them we can at the present market
price, then we wrap them up in velvet and
store them away in some safe place until we
have turned my Sucker-Sykes into a monarch
-- an I-want-to-look-just-Iike-him type of
monarch -- An I'll-Pay-Anything-to-have-a-diamond-in-my-front-tooth-to-Iook-like-
Diamond-Jim-Sykes type of monarch ...
And then we sell.
|
INT. SOUNDSTAGE - DAY
The applause continues as Elizabeth and the bright young executives
-- still cheering enthusiastically -- enter the soundstage. The two
remaining actors are inside their twin prison sets. Elizabeth walks
directly up to one of the two actors and - as the lights on the other
actor go out -- Elizabeth proclaims with a regal gesture:
|
ELIZABETH |
| Davis Burns ... By the luck of God and the
whimsy of infinity, you have the good fortune
of looking like the Man in the Moon ...
|
The young actor -- DAVIS BURNS -- stares at her, wide-eyed in disbelief. He does, indeed, bear an incredible resemblance to Sykes
himself.
|
ELIZABETH |
| You're the one, Davis Burns! You're the one! Give the kid a quarter so he can call his mother
and tell her the good news! A star is born!
A star is born!!
|
SEVEN: IN WHICH an eager and anonymous young man
is taught to skillfully imitate our hero, Diamond Jim, to
the vast delight of the masses and the enrichment of
Elizabeth and her associates ...
(a powerful ballad with a diamond-studded refrain)
INT. DENTIST'S OFFICE - DAY
A high-speed drill whines in the highest registers of novocain-damped
pain. Little fragments of calcium flyaway -- chips of a tooth being
filed down to a point. Davis Bums is having his front tooth capped.
The drill withdraws for a moment, stops. Davis grins sheepishly as the
grey-haired DENTIST changes bits. And from very nearby a voice
begins to speak -- soft and filtered like a voice from a television set
-- Sykes' voice:
|
SYKES'S VOICE |
| Rain... You want ta talk about rain...?
I'll talk about rain ...
|
Set up on the white formica counter-top beside the dentist's chair, a portable video tape recorder is playing back into a small television suspended several feet in front of the young actor's face. The set
shows a close-up of Sykes -- inside his prison cell -- talking to the
other inmates:
|
SYKES |
| Rain buds and hot chili hot dogs ... An' bein' broken down and busted on the side of the road somewhere ... An' water comin' at ya at a hundred miles
an hour, an' you screamin' out for help, an'
holdin' onta the roof of your car for dear
life ... An' knowin' for sure how poor Noah
musta felt. .. An' where is everybody else
when ya need 'em ... ?
|
The dentist has his new drill-bit ready. He goes back to work on Davis' front tooth -- keeping his head carefully to the side so the actor can continue to watch Sykes on the small television set.
The casting director stands off to one side like a football coach
watching his star player getting taped up before a game. As the drill
whines louder, the casting director reaches in, turns up the volume on
the television:
|
SYKES |
| ... Nowhere ta be found, that's for sure ...
At home probably... Warmin' their tootsie-wootsies an' sippin' hot buttered rum an' singin' Christmas carols an' dreamin' of red
Schwinn bicycles an' old Saint Nick ... And
feelin' how nice it feels ta be holdin' hands
-- their only wish bein' that it was snowin'
instead of rainin' so Christmas could be just
right. .. And the rain... The rain is rainin'
even harder now an' you're about ta be washed
away. .. An' you're thinkin' if ya had just
one last thought ta think -- What would it be
of? ... And knowin' right off for certain
exactly what it would be ...
|
On the screen, Sykes pauses a beat, smiles. The dentist glances up at the television, pausing for a moment in his work, letting the drill whine to a stop now, listening to Sykes' voice also:
|
SYKES |
| ... Of bein' a kid an' havin' your face washed
clean. .. An' settin' down ta breakfast across
from two people who smile and say good momin'
to ya -- just like everybody else in America ...
|
The prisoners' voices are laughing and calling out now in the
background. The dentist grins and shakes his head and then turns
back to his work.
The drill whines, higher, as Sykes' voice shouts out:
|
SYKES |
| So now if ya want ta talk about rain, let's
talk about rain!
|
INT. JEWELRY STORE - DAY
A hundred small, beautifully cut diamonds are spread across a piece of
black velvet on the counter of a large jewelry store. A young man is
bent over, a loupe fitted into his eye, scanning the stones, as the
JEWELER watches quietly, and in the background wealthy matrons
examine brooches and earrings.
The young man straightens, removes the loupe from his eye. He is one
of the bright young executives we saw in the conference room with
Elizabeth. He smiles at the jeweler, reaches down, flips the edges of
the black velvet over -- to cover the diamonds =- to wrap them away --
and nods, once.
INT. LIMOUSINE - DAY
Davis Burns and the casting director are riding together in the back
seat of a limousine. A large, blue-white diamond now graces the young
actor's front tooth.
A cassette tape recorder is lying on the director's lap. Sykes'voice
and the responses of the other prisoners -- building as Sykes' story
builds in cadence and energy -- continues from the dentist's office -- coming now from the tape recorder.
Davis is mouthing Sykes' words -- practicing, learning his lines, trying
to imitate Sykes' rhythm:
|
SYKES'S VOICE |
| So now if ya want ta talk about rain, let's talk about rain!... And I'll tell ya it don't
rain like it used ta rain when I was little ...
It don't ever rain like that no more ... Shit. .. If it did, I'd take all my clothes off, instigate myself a boner, and run naked
through the streets of St. Louis, Missouri,
till I reached the ole Mississippi... And
then I'd jump in feet first and float on my'
back ta New Orleans and do a jig-a-boo Jig
through the whole damned town ... And rush
around in circles till a Black Mamma came
calmed me down ...
|
The rhythm and rapid-fire flow of Sykes' words are often too much for
Davis to copy. He keeps missing beats and only catching up at the ends
of phrases. He looks up at the casting director, who frowns and shakes
his head, then stops the tape and begins to rewind it.
INT. DIAMOND CUTTER'S WORKSHOP - DAY
A large uncut diamond FILLS THE FRAME. A metal chisel rests
lightly on the stone for a long moment, then a hammer strikes suddenly
and sharply, cleaving the diamond, exposing its brilliant interior.
The CAMERA DRAWS BACK and we see the second of the bright
young executives from the television network watching the diamond
cutter work. The executive grins in pleasure and relief.
EXT. STUDIO LOT - DAY
Davis Burns and the casting director are hurrying down a narrow street
between two huge stages. The cassette recorder which the casting
director is carrying sends Sykes' voice and the shouts of the prisoners
echoing off the high concrete walls. Davis is speaking along with
Sykes. His rhythm is better now: more natural -- closer to Sykes'
rhythm:
 |
DAVIS BURNS & SYKES' VOICE |
| (continuing from the limousine) |
|
... till a Black Mamma came calmed me down ...
Black Mamma, Black Mamma, get outta the
rain ... Black Mamma, Black Mamma, feelin' no
shame ... Black Mamma, Black Mamma, playin' my game in
a tar-paper shack across the street from near where
the son of Blackbeard the Pirate used ta live ...
|
They reach the end of the narrow street. Davis pauses for a moment, looking up. A large billboard covers one entire wall of a soundstage. It announces the premiere of the "daring new concept in late-night
television," and features a large close-up of Davis, his diamond
flashing as he smiles.
The voice of Sykes continues for a moment by itself, then Davis catches
back up to the casting director and resumes his practicing. He can't
help strutting just a little as he speaks, along with Sykes:
|
DAVIS BURNS & SYKES' VOICE |
| ... The same one that went ta Africa and found
her Mamma and brought her back here and made
her a slave and had a grand-daughter who had
Louis Armstrong for a son and sent her money
ta move ta the Poconos ...
|
Davis gets it perfectly this time and snaps his fmgers, shouting now, along with Sykes:
|
DAVIS BURNS & SYKES' VOICE |
| Now, if ya want ta talk about rain ...
|
EXT. DIAMOND MINE - DAY
Attended by a CREW of African blacks, a diamond grading machine
rocks back and forth on its heavy steel frame -- sorting diamond-bearing
stones from garnet and other minerals. One of the blacks, the foreman
of the crew, reaches into the bin, withdraws a small, brilliantly
glittering gem, grins broadly. In the foreground now, we see two white
men, watching the process, grinning also. One of them is the OWNER
of the mine, the other is the third of the bright young executives.
INT. SOUNDSTAGE - DAY
A large projection screen dominates a portion of a studio soundstage. On it, we see Sykes talking, smiling, continuing the story we have been
hearing. The prisoners, off-screen, are shouting along in response.
|
SYKES |
| ... I'll talk about rain ... And rainy Summer night revival meetings with the sound of
thunder and the sight of lightning holy-rollin' ya from side ta side ... And wailin',
Hallelujah out loud as loud as ya can so's
God can hear ya ...
|
The CAMERA MOVES, PANS from the giant projection screen to
the prison set that has been built right in front of it. Sitting in a cell,
mimicking Sykes' movements perfectly, is Davis Bums. He is dressed
now in a prison costume, wearing a pair of earphones, and watching
the large screen as he speaks.
As the CAMERA PANS from Sykes to the young actor, Sykes' voice
dissolves into the matching voice of Davis Bums:
|
DAVIS BURNS |
| ... And waitin' and wishin' for the girl next
ta ya ta go inta a fit and faint and fall
against your shoulder shakin' ... And whisper
in your ear hot an' heavy an' real low-like
so's her mamma won't hear her how she'd
like ta lick your lolly-pop ...
|
EXT. TELEVISION NETWORK BUILDING - DAY
An armored truck is pulled up outside the tall, glass-faced TV network
building. As a ring of heavily armed guards keep a curious crowd at
bay, two men unload cases and cases of small, cut and polished
diamonds. Standing nearby, supervising, beaming with pride, we see
the fourth of the bright young executives.
INT. SOUNDSTAGE - DAY
Davis Bums is speaking, mimicking Sykes as well as he will ever be able
to do. The earphones are gone now, and he is speaking directly into a
television camera whose small, red "on-the-air" light shines brightly.
|
DAVIS BURNS |
| ... And everybody's hands are shakin' up there above their heads except for hers whose are
rummagin' around in your pants now ... And
nobody around not givin' a damn -- mostly
figurin' "It's the Lord's Will ..." |
INT. TELEVISION NETWORK OFFICES - DAY
An elevator door opens and four armed guards come out, followed by
the fifth and the sixth and the seventh of the bright young executives.
Each one is pushing a wheel-barrow loaded with rough, uncut diamonds.
INT. "PREVIEW HOUSE" - NIGHT
Davis Burns, as Sykes, is on his feet now, inside the "cell," building
the story to its climax.
As THE CAMERA PANS, we can see a full audience inside the
"Preview House" watching the show, laughing and clapping along,
totally into the show -- responding, in fact, just like the prisoners
responding to Sykes himself.
|
DAVIS BURNS |
| ... And repeatin' and repeatin' "Thy Will be
done on earth as it is in Heaven" . .. And it
feels so good, too ... And ya ain't scared one
damn bit. .. 'Cause ya know if she bites it
offa ya, God'll just grow back a new one
there where the old one used ta be! ...
|
In the control booth at the back of the theater, dials and meters are
swinging wildly toward the top ends of their scales as the audience
registers overwhelming approval.
And watching the dials, the audience, the response, we see Elizabeth.
Surrounded by a crowd of wildly congratulatory executives and
businessmen, she is smiling very quietly, very, very privately. Nothing
about the show's incredible success surprises or excites her as it does
all the beaming, back-slapping men who surround her with praise and
adulation.
In the background, Davis' voice is audible, shouting now, strutting, as the audience yells its approval:
|
DAVIS' VOICE |
| Yes sir, if ya want ta talk about rain ... I'll talk about rain!!
|
And Elizabeth, amid the noise and the energy and the excitement, IS
quietly planning her next move.
