TODAY'S NUGGET: The Fight For Life (1940) - Rare Glimpses at a Director's Intentions for the Music

[Quick Summary: After an intern witnesses death in the pregnancy ward, he goes to a clinic in the slums to learn more about preventing maternal morbidity.]

Why was this respected documentary* included as the last script in a book of feature films? I found the script rather dry, with a long, dry preface/memo.  

The latter was the writer/director's instructions to the composer regarding what music he needed written. 

The key was in re-reading the memo. The film is silent for about 2/3. The writer/director cut the remaining 1/3 to unwritten music, which was only in his head. 

Aha!  So this script and memo are rare glimpses into the working relationship between writer/director and composer!

Here is the director's comments about this memo:

This memorandum never was intended for publication, but I asked the authors [of this book] to include it because The Fight For Life was so much a musical picture the bare text seems meaningless without at least some mention of the score and how it was created, and because I felt it might help explain the technical construction of the picture. 

...reading it now I find it not only an awkward bit of writing, but is such a shorthand description of the intent of the whole story I can understand why, when he first read it, Louis [Gruenberg, the composer] went reeling home talking to himself.**

THIS IS WHAT THE DIRECTOR'S MEMO SAID:

LIFE: ...The minute the child is born, the baby's fluttering heart dominates the beat, so for this transition, except for any passage you may like: a trumpet cry; a crescendo- any device you may wish to use for the birth pain -- is merely a cue for a different beat.

Within half a minute the doctor discovers the woman is dying; -- again the film is directed and cut to a specific time -- the heart is pounding to hang on -- the dramatic change in the score is that suddenly the mother's heart again takes over -- the slower heart surges under the baby's heart beat, and instead of growing weaker, musically, the heart grows in volume, if slowing in tempo -- it goes -- Bang -- BANG -- BANG ----the baby's counterpoint sound to hold our intern until he walks into the corridor and starts for the street.

DEATH -- Approximate time -- three minutes.

THIS IS THE PART OF THE SCRIPT THE MEMO APPLIES TO:

- Dr. Leetons is the attending physician. Mr. O'Donnell is the intern.

In the DELIVERY ROOM...And lifting the edge of the drape covering the patient, [the intern Mr. O'Donnell] takes the fetal heart tones, the Writing Nurse timing him, looking up at the clock on the wall, as the second hand of the clock is seen revolving. 

Now the nurse taps O'Donnell on the back to stop him, and he straightens up.

WRITING NURSE (removing O'Donnell's ear pieces): Baby's heart beat a hundred and fifty.

Leetons is in a waiting position while the patient's face is again seen to be distorted with pain. He looks up, spreads his hands, and nods to the Anesthetist, who then puts a mask over the patient's face. The Scrub Nurse now hands him a clamp for the baby's cord, and Leetons puts the used instrument into a pan at his right. He is also given scissors and a belly band. (The baby's heart tones start up at 150, in counterpoint to the mother's at 100.)

And now the Floating Nurse is wheeling in the baby's table, and Leetons puts the baby in. The nurse covers it with a towel and wheels the table around. We see the baby being placed in the crib, a heat crib, and being straightened by the nurse's hands. 

Now the Anesthetist takes the mother's pulse. The Scrub Nurse and the Floating Nurse push the table extension in place, lift the patient's drapes, and straighten her out. While the Scrub Nurse walks to the sink with the instrument tray, the Floating Nurse carries a basin to the sink, and returns for a second pan, stepping around O'Donnell, who is looking toward the baby. Then Dr. Leetons walks to the patient's side and putting a hand under the sheet, feels her abdomen. (The baby's heart tones fade, while the heat beat of the mother starts to speed up.)

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I liked how the writer/director was very specific about his intentions for the tempo, thoughts on cues, time limits, etc. 

It sheds light on what is more, or less important to the director.

The Fight For Life (1940)
by Pare Lorentz
Adapted from the Maternal Welfare Chapters of The Fight For Life by Paul deKruif

*A bit of random trivia: Apparently, the author of the book refused to sell it to the studios, and offered it free to the U.S. Government. It was the last sponsored government film.

**This film gave composer Louis Gruenberg his first Oscar nomination for Best Original Score. 

TODAY'S NUGGET: Yellow Jack (1938) - Using the Environment to Inform the Audience About a Character

[Quick Summary: Since no one believes that mosquitos are carriers of yellow fever, Major Walter Reed asks five U.S. soldiers in Cuba to become human test subjects.]

Q: How do you possibly make a standard biopic interesting?
A: For me, it lies in the character of Dr. Finlay, a cranky, irascible physician with a huge chip on his shoulder.  He's of Scottish-French descent, but grew up in Cuba.

Q: Why is he so cranky?
A:   No one will publish his theory about the transmission of yellow fever for the last 20 years, and the medical community have openly mocked him.

Q: What makes his introduction memorable?
A: The writers do a great job of using the environment to convey something about a character. It's spooky, odd, makes us uneasy, just like Dr. Finlay.

In the scene below:
- Major Reed has just asked Dr. Finlay for some of his unhatched mosquito eggs, in order to conduct human experiments.
- Reed, Agramonte, Lazear, Carroll are all U.S. soldiers.
- Notice how the writers use the environment to inform us about Dr. Finlay's character: musty books, shuttered windows, creepy cages of mosquitos speak to a research who cares about his work, not looks.
- It tells also draws us in, makes us curious.  What is this mystifying, unknown we're about to step into?

The scene dissolves into a close-up fo a CAGE OF LARGE STRIPED STEGOMYIA MOSQUITOES, which flash as they move about and give forth a curious droning sound. Then the view, drawing back, discloses DOCTOR FINLAY'S STUDY, a dimly lit room with curious angles. It has many cabinets containing the complex paraphernalia of a doctor and scientist...cases of musty books...a long table strewn with evidence of intensive and lonely study. In a corner near a shuttered window is the cage, placed on a table. Also on this table are several porcelain dishes covered with gauze. These contain dry eggs of the Stegomyia. DR. FINLAY leads MAJOR REED and his doctors up to the "menagerie."

FINLAY (pointing to the mosquitoes as they cling against the inside of the screen): You see her there... (He speaks with the purring affection of a connoisseur, relating the admirable qualities of his specimens.) My silver beauty...my spoiled darling! Do not think that she is a wild creature of the jungle. Ah, no....She is highly civilized. She would die wi'out your society - and epicure...feeding on the softest and tenderest parts of the human flesh...under the wrists or along the ankles...never on the face or the top of the hands. (With a soft chuckle) Those places are the most easily...slapped!

REED (peering closer to the screen): These are all females?

FINLAY: Aye...a bevy of bonny lassies, each wi' a kiss of death. The male is decent. He is not a vampire.

CARROLL (sharply): How did you pick this one out of eight hundred different kinds?

FINLAY: By her habits! She alone cannot live in the swamps. She alone can live only with human beings. She alone deposits her eggs only in clear pure water, in artificial objects - glasses, pitchers, flower pots....Is she not Greek in her purity?

REED: Amazing! 

AGRAMONTE: Horrible!

LAZEAR: Fascinating!

CARROL (to Reed): Let's get out of here.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I learned a lot about Dr. Finlay simply seeing his carefully curated cages of flesh eating mosquitos.  

And the fact that he's so proud of the mosquitos?  It's another level of depth. 

Yellow Jack (1938)
by Edward Chodorov
Based on the play by Sidney Howard, in collaboration with Paul de Kruif

* What is yellow fever?

It is a epidemic prone, viral disease that is spread by mosquitos.  Its symptoms are fever, muscle pain, headache, nausea and vomiting. A small percentage of people infected with the virus develop a life-threatening form of the disease that involves high fevers, internal bleeding, vomiting of blood and jaundice—which is where the “yellow” in yellow fever comes from. It has been estimated that for every 1 case of severe infection, there are between 1 and 70 infections that are asymptomatic or mild.

TODAY'S NUGGET: The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941) - Seeing the Temptation Before Introducing the Tempter

[Quick Summary:  After a New Hampshire farmer exchanges his soul to the devil for money, his life spirals, and asks Daniel Webster to defend him in a trial.]

How do you introduce the Devil in an interesting way?

This script uses a great trick of psychology: show the temptation before introducing the tempter.

In the scene below:
- Jabez (protagonist) is a poor farmer, who is behind on payments to the landlord.
- He lives with his wife Mary and his mother.
- Mary has just taken ill.
- Jabez is now hurrying to pay the landlord.
- Jabez often pays with seed instead of cash. 
- Notice what showing the temptation first does to Jabez's psychology.  This "favor" puts him in a more receptive mind to listen to the Devil.
- This is also a good introduction for the Devil. We see why he's not to be trusted before we actually see him.

THE BARN: Jabez takes a sack of seed, throws it on his shoulder. At this moment the sack opens and all the seed runs out into a dirty pool of water.

JABEZ: That's enough to make a man sell his soul to the devil! And I would, too, for about two cents!

He stops abruptly, realizing what he has said and appalled by it. He looks around him, fearfully.

JABEZ: I guess nobody heard. I hope not.

Jabez jams his hands in his pockets and a horrified expression comes over his face. He slowly takes out his right hand. In the palm are two big copper pennies.

A VOICE (speaking smoothly): Good evening, Neighbor Stone.

Jabez turns around and sees a figure -- well-dressed, looking rather like a salesman. Jabez stares at him, speechless. 

THE VOICE: My name is Scratch -- I often go by that name in New England.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: This is another way to introduce a character that I'd not considered before, i.e., their actions first, the character second.

The Devil and Daniel Webster (a,k.a. All That Money Can Buy)(1941)
by Dan Totheroh and Stephen Vincent Benet
Based on the story, "The Devil and Daniel Webster" by Stephen Vincent Benet

TODAY'S NUGGET: The Good Earth (1937) - Cultural Details Give Context (& Maintain Relevancy)

[Quick Summary: After farmer Wang Lung marries O-Lan, a neighbor's servant, they face both famine and fortune during the birth of the Republic of China.] 

Q: What makes this 87 year old story* still relevant?
A: The cultural details.

Q: Big deal! Why can't you just look them up in an encyclopedia?
A: It's not just identifying them, but also explaining/interpreting/suggesting the thinking behind them and shed new light on the deeper meaning.

Q: Can you give an example from this script?
A: I've often heard Asian kids joke/not joke that one common trait of their Asian parents is that they're "not big on compliments." 

However, I'd never asked where do these cultural behaviors come from?

This script offered a possible answer: that a long-standing superstition had become ingrained into unconscious behaviors that we see today.

In the scene below:
-  This scene gave me a possible rationale for parents "checking" pride in their kids. 
- The rationale is that if a child boasts, he is likely to get "too big for his britches."  The parent seeks to appease the gods before they struck the kid. 
- Wang Lung and his family are celebrating Chinese New Year by bringing gifts to the gods at a shrine.
- They see hundreds of Northern travelers fleeing famine to the South.
- O-Lan's mother had previously sold her daughter to the neighbor for silver for food.
- Ching is Wang Lung's cousin.
- Notice what the Father is doing to protect his son.

 As they still stare with solemn faces, we see the ROAD BETWEEN THE HILLS where the procession winds wearily on, following which we again see the GROUP, with the FAMILY in the foreground:

O-LAN (in a low voice, to Wang): It was famine that made me a slave.

WANG: Oh, that's what happens when a man has only one field. (As he looks about him with pride) But I have five. (With unconscious, naive egotism) We must thank the gods for giving me such foresight.

But the villagers are obviously terrified.

VILLAGERS (muttering anxiously): We've had no rain-- The birds have gone --

WANG (cheerily): It'll rain, it'll rain! We've nothing to be afraid of. We're safe here -- there'll be harvest for all --

FATHER (terrified): What talk is this? (He looks up into the sky and shouts) Forgive my son! He's young and stupid and talks too much!

CHING: No, no - a man who can turn one field into five may speak for the gods!

VILLAGERS (relieved): Very true -- Wang knows -- We're safe here --

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: This script stands out because it did not just get the cultural behaviors right, but went deeper to give them context.

The Good Earth (1937)
by Talbot Jennings &Tess Slesinger, and Claudine West
Based on the novel by Pearl S. Buck

*FYI: The underlying novel is by author, Pearl S. Buck, whose parents were missionaries in China. Mrs. Buck's novels been widely praise, leading to her winning the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1938 for “for her rich and truly epic descriptions of peasant life in China and for her biographical masterpieces”,

TODAY'S NUGGET: Juarez (1939) - The Best Way to Give Two Possible Endings

[Quick Summary: In 1863, Benito Juarez, the new president of Mexico who has taken land from the rich for the poor, is maneuvered out of office by unhappy Mexican politicians, and French Napoleon III, in order to install Austrian prince Maximilian von Habsburg as emperor.]

I admired, but did not like, this script, co-written by director John Huston.

It is essentially about historical political maneuverings, which is hard to make cinematic, unless it's about individuals (see my Reds review).

However, I found the ending interesting because:
1) It resolves how Juarez and  von Habsburg both had similar hopes for Mexico, but only one (literally) could survive.
2) The script include two possible, good options, for the ending, which is unusual.

In the ending below:
- Maximilian von Habsburg has just been shot.
- The first ending is more metaphorical, cinematic, and features children, i.e., the future of Mexico.
- The second ending is more conventional and simple (and probably cheaper).

A frightened DOVE is seen flying as the sound of a volley is heard This dissolves to a CHAPEL from the entrance a coffin is seen on a catafalque in the presbytery. A figure comes into view and goes slowly down the nave. It stands motionless over the coffin, and as the scene moves up to a close view BENITO JUAREZ is seen looking down into an open coffin in which rests all that is mortal of Maximilian von Habsburg. A look of pity softens his stone face, following which a wider view shows Juarez straightening up and starting from the coffin.  He continues up the aisle of pews. --He passes an Indian woman who is kneeling in prayer. On her back, int he folds of her serape, she carries her baby, a robust Indian boy of a few months. The baby sucks on his fingers as he gurgles to himself.

The moving scene stops with Juarez as, attracted by the sounds from the baby, he pauses to look at it, following, which a close view of the BABY shows its velvet black eyes fixed on Juarez, as its face crinkles into an ingratiating smile.  A close view of JUAREZ shows the stone mask of his face slowly softening and for the first time we see him smile. Then, the scene widening quickly and revealing both Juarez and the baby, Juarez squares himself and continues down the aisle as his short, squat figure disappears in the gloomy shadows of the church. The scene fades out. 

(ALTERNATE ENDING)

This dissolves to a CHAPEL and a coffin is seen on a catafalque in the presbytery. A figure comes into view and goes slowly down the nave. It stands motionless over the coffin, and as the scene moves up to a close view of BENITO JUAREZ is seen looking down into an open coffin in which rests all that is mortal of Maximilian von Habsburg, Emperor of Mexico and Archduke of Austria.

JUAREZ: Forgive me.

The scene fades out.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I liked how the writers had made a definitive decision about the meaning of the ending. The alternate was just another way to show it. 

I don't particularly enjoy it when the writers create "happy" and "sad" alternates in order to avoid taking a stance on their story.

Juarez (1939)
by John Huston & Aeneas MacKenzie, and Wolfgang Reinhardt
Based on a play by Franz Werfel, and the novel, The Phantom Crown, by Bertita Harding

TODAY'S NUGGET: The Life of Emile Zola (1937) - How to Use a Portrait To Elicit One's Past Courage --> Change One's Mind

[Quick Summary: Famous French muckraking journalist Emile Zola gets involved when an army soldier is sentenced for treason that it is really a political cover up.]

Q: Who is Emile Zola?
A: In the latter 1800s, he rose from poverty to become a celebrated French novelist and journalist. 

Q: Besides his novels, what is he best known for?
A: His involvement in the Dreyfus Affair (approx.1894-1906).  

Q: What was the Dreyfus Affair about?
A: Dreyfus was a Jewish army captain who was jailed for treason. Dreyfus's brother had proof of an army cover up, and asked Zola to help him get the case reopened.

Q: Why was the scene below your favorite one from the script?
A: Zola was older and didn't want to get involved.  I particularly liked the scene below because it captures the swing of emotions as he changed his mind.  

In the scene below:
- Dreyfus's brother has just pled his case and left, discouraged.
- The famous artist Paul Cezanne had given his old school friend Zola a portrait of his younger self, when they were both hungrier and more political.
- Note how the portrait is a touchstone.  It reminds Zola of his youthful ideals, which were shown earlier in the script.
- Notice the sequence in the change of emotions:  First we SEE Zola's upset first --> He sees the portrait and remembers --> Then we SEE him write the open letter that will turn the tide for Dreyfus.

And now ZOLA restlessly, angrily pacing, in dreadful turmoil, picks up the portfolio of evidence. He riffles it through as he walks up and down before the fire. Then the view drawing close, the curiously lifelike eyes of Cezanne's portrait on the mantel seem to follow his movements. With a sudden savage gesture he raises the portfolio to hurl it from him, but as he does his eyes suddenly catch the calm, gazing portrait eyes of Cezanne, and Zola's gesture abruptly is halted. He stares, fascinated, at the picture and slowly his arm drops before that mute but terrible accusation. He straightens suddenly, looks at the portfolio, then again at the portrait of Cezanne, and all indecision, all anger, are washed from his face. His hand reaches out --he touches the picture frame with a gesture at once tender and reassuring. 

ZOLA turns, with the portfolio in his hand, and walks purposefully across the room and into his study. He sits at his desk and swiftly empties the portfolio of evidence before him and examines it, a close view showing him now scanning the document with intent interest, then reaching for paper and pen. He dips his pen in the ink, and the view moves down to the SHEET OF PAPER as Zola's hand, with the pen, pauses for a moment, then -- with a bold, decisive movement -- begins to write: 

"M. Felix Faure, President of the Republic..."

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: One cannot jump from upset --> immediately into a change in behavior.  

One must first show his tussle of emotions --> The portrait that sparked his memories of his younger, fiery self --> Then show the change of decision.

Why? Audiences don't simply want to know what WHAT happened; they need to know WHY.  The portrait helps explain WHY he changed his mind.

The Life of Emile Zola (1937)
by Heinz Herald, Geza Herczeg, & Norman Reilly Raine
Story by Heinz Herald and Geza Herczeg
Based on the book Zola and His Time, by Matthew Josephson

*Interestingly, this script was Oscar nominated for both story and script, but only won in the latter category.

TODAY'S NUGGET: Fury (1936) - What Does "A Haunted, Remorseless Man" Look Like?

[Quick Summary: When a man is unjustly arrested and is attacked by a lynch mob in jail, he fakes his death, and succeeds in framing the mob for his murder.] 

Oooof! This is a biting noir film (maybe satire?) that made me wince!

Spenser Tracy stars as Joe, a mechanic who is traveling to go pick up his fiancee Katherine, and is mistaken for a criminal.  He is jailed and nearly mobbed to death.

It's rare to see a character this remorseless, this focused in his quest for vengeance.  What possibly could make Joe change his mind? *

It turns out Joe does have a conscience, which surfaces in the most inconvenient times as he tries to drink his problems away.

In the scene below:
- Katherine, Joe's fiancee, thinks he died in the jail fire. 
- The mob has been caught and tried in court.
- This scene happens while the jury is deliberating.
- 22 people's lives hang in the balance, hence the importance of 22 number.
- I really liked how the individual hauntings were SPECIFIC only to Joe and how they flowed from one to the other (night club girl --> taxi meter).

...the scene dissolves to a CHEAP NIGHT CLUB, and Joe is dancing with a girl in a crowd of dancing men and women, youths, older men, and girls in cheap evening dresses. He is laughing, as if forcing himself to. The music is cheap jazz from a mechanical piano. It finishes, and the crowd returns to the cheap boxes against the wall. Joe takes his girl to a box. There are two half-finished highballs on the table, and Joe drinks.

GIRL (looking at him curiously): Your face is kin o'familiar. Were you ever here before?

JOE: Not me. First time here. But you're okay, baby. What's your name?

GIRL (sliding her chair closer to him): It's "Joyce," here, but -- (intriguingly) -- It's "Katherine," to you.

JOE (jumping up): What d' y' mean, "to me"? Why'd you say that?

GIRL (staring at him): Because Katherine's my real name. Say, what's the matter with you?

JOE (confused and hurriedly explaining): Nothing -- except that liquor y' serve here maybe. It's so hot I think I'll -- go out for awhile.

As the girl gapes at him, he turns and hurries away.

Next Joe comes out of the ALLEY DOOR of the night club. A high wind has risen with the stopping of the rain, and Joe, in his raincoat, bucks against it with lowered head. Joe turns irresolutely, and seeing a taxi, calls.

JOE: Hey -- taxi! (He turns toward it.)

The driver of the TAXI is at the curb now getting out and opening the door as Joe approaches, bucking the wind.

JOE: Say, where can a guy have some fun?

DRIVER: Leave it t' me, Sport! Hop in!

Joe gets into the taxi, and the Driver slams shut the door. A close-up then shows Joe staring straight ahead. As the taxi starts, there is the sound of the Driver clicking the meter on, and the cab moves off. The tick-tick-tick of the meter comes in, until it is the only sound to be heard. Joe suddenly straightens, noticing something ahead of him: A close-up of the TAXI METER comes into view. The figures are 20. The 0 moves up, everything but these numbers growing dizzy as this last number becomes a 2 -- in his head. The 22 looms bigger and bigger as the tick-tick of the meter goes relentlessly on.

A close-up of Joe shows him blinking stupidly. He strikes his forehead with the heels of his palms as if to drive the number out of his feverish brain. He leans forward, calling to the driver:

JOE: Let me out!

The cab grates to a sudden stop. Then Joe piles out of the taxi at a STREET CURB, fumbling for change.

JOE (to the driver): I changed my mind. Rather t-take a walk. It smells good in your face after the rain. (He gives the driver some change and goes.)

DRIVER (looking after him, shaking his head): Screwball.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I was impressed that I saw a remorseless man, but felt his interior emotions.  I was able to experience his conscience through the hauntings. 

The setup: Joe cares about Katherine and principles.
The payoff: When his conscience is pricked by external clues (night club girl, taxi meter), we understand what is happening inside Joe.

Fury (1936)
by Bartlett Cormack and Fritz Lang
Based on a story by Norman Krasna**

*As a result of this focused quest, I was rather disappointed by the uplifting, happy ending.  I suspect this was a studio demand, as it doesn't seem to match the rest of the script. 

**FYI: This script was produced under the studio system.  At that time, Oscar categories were split into two categories: "story by" and "screenplay by."  Norman Krasna was nominated only for Best Writing, Original Story (and not "screenplay by").

TODAY'S NUGGET: Little Cesar (1931) - How Ruthlessness FEELS, i.e., Why Threatening an Old Friend Works Here

[Quick Summary: A small time criminal elbows his way into the big leagues with the help of his old buddies.]

Actor Edward G. Robinson is best known playing gangster Cesar Enrico Bandello ("Rico") in this film.* It would follow him for the rest of his life.

I found Rico interesting because he's ruthless, yet has a conscience.  

He's a contradiction: He's loyal to the boss, Big Boy, but has his eye on his job.  He'll shoot strangers, but can't shoot his old friend Joe.

One of my favorite scenes (below) demonstrates his ruthlessness is less about the threats, and more about how it FEELS to the audience. In this scene:
- Rico has finally pushed out Big Boss's right hand man. 
- Rico was promoted and has just moved to a new apartment.
- Rico wants to bring his old buddy Joe back into the fold. He invites him for a visit.
- Joe left the gangster life for Olga, a dancer. They are now professional dancing couple together.
- Notice how Rico first plays to Joe's loyalty, "can't quit the team" mentality. When that doesn't work, he moves to threats on Olga.
- Notice also how Rico shows his own vulnerabilities ("I need somebody I can trust.")

JOE (uneasily shifting in his chair as he is seen closer): We gonna start that again? Can't you just forget about me?

RICO (with a certain softness in his voice, as both men are seen in a close-up): How can I forget about my pal, Joe? We started off together -- we gotta keep on goin' along together. Who else have I got to give a hang about? (Now he jumps up and goes over to Joe.) I need you, Joe. Just before you came, I was over to see the Big Boy. He handed me the whole North Side. But it's too big for one man to handle alone...I need somebody -- a guy like you -- somebody I can trust, somebody to work in with me.

JOE (shaking his head): It can't be me, Buddy. I've quit.

Fierce rage takes possession of Rico's face and he grabs Joe by the shoulder:

RICO: You didn't quit! Nobody ever quit me. Get that! You're still in my gang. I don't care how many fancy dames you got stickin' on to you. That skirt can go hang. It's her that's made a softy outa you.

JOE (a menacing look coming into his face): You lay off Olga, Rico!

RICO (furiously): I ain't layin' off her. I'm after her. She an' me can't both have you. One of us has gotta lose -- an' it ain't gonna be me! There's ways of stoppin' that dame...!

As he says the last sentence, he makes his old significant gesture of reaching for his gun.

JOE (terror-stricken as he interprets the movement): You're crazy! Leave her out of this...

RICO (his face distorted with rage now; fairly shrieking): It's curtains for her, see? She's through...she's out of the way...that's what she is!

JOE (drawing back; almost insanely): You're lyin'. You wouldn't...

RICO: I wouldn't? I'll show you...that dirty, painted-up...

JOE (almost shrieking): I love her! We're in love! Don't that mean nothin' to you?

RICO: Nothin'! Less than nothin'! Love -- soft stuff! When she's got you, you ain't safe...you know too much. I ain't takin' no chances You're stayin' here!

JOE: I'm not!

RICO (gripping his shoulder): You move an' it's suicide...suicide for both of you!

A close-up of Joe alone shows him almost paralyzed with fear. He sinks back against the chair and drops into it. He shuts his eyes and puts a guarding hand up against his face.

JOE (hoarsely): No...no, no...

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: What makes this scene stand out is that:
1) It's emotional.  It's not just that Rico pokes at Joe's vulnerabilities, but he reveals his own too.
2) The story continues to rise in tension.  With this promotion, Rico has even more to lose and the stakes are higher. So it's not surprising that he lashes out at Joe when Joe refuses to come along.

Little Cesar (1931)
by Francis Edward Faragoh
Based on the novel by W.R. Burnett

*I myself also found him very compelling in Double Indemnity.

TODAY'S NUGGET: Make Way for Tomorrow (1937) - Show-Not-Tell: A Mother Sacrificing Her Own Comfort in an Uncomfortable Situation

[Quick Summary: After an elderly couple lose their home, they are separated between their five children, who aren't able to take both of them in.]

I think it says something that director Leo McCarey (An Affair to Remember, The Awful Truth) thought that this was one of his best films.* 

It is sad,** but don't be fooled by its simplicity. 

To write emotion this well requires a high level of craft. ***

What makes this story so powerful? Roger Ebert said it best: 

What's so powerful about the film is its level gaze. It calmly, almost dispassionately, regards the situation and how it plays out. No spin.

In the scene below:
- Father and Mother had to sell the house.  Father isn't in the best of health.
- None of their five children could support two additional mouths to feed, so they were split up between children's households.
- Mother is staying with her son George, his wife, and granddaughter Rhonda.
- Mother has already heard that a friend, who is at the Cadwallader Home, is very unhappy there.
- Notice how the writer shows Mother spying the letter (she KNOWS what is up) --> then later, she requests to be placed at Cadwallader Home --> we know she has taken the emotional hit and sacrificed her own comfort.
- Also note the tone that Ebert speaks about.  It is calm, real, without spin, i.e., TRUTHFUL.

RHONDA (without letting up in her dancing):  I'm sorry Grandma, did I wake you up?

MOTHER: That's all right...any mail?

Rhonda, still dancing, points tot he table on which there is some mail, and Mother goes to it. A close-up shows Mother at the table, looking over the mail, rather casually, until she comes to a certain letter. She looks at it for quite a long time. We see the LETTER, which is addressed to GEORGE COOPER, and in the left-hand upper corner is printed the place from which it came, in bold type: CADWALLADER HOME FOR THE AGED.

Mother shakes her head in sober thought. It is all she can do not to open the letter. She finally puts it back on the pile unopened but all too well she senses its contents. All the while out of sight, the radio has been "jazzing it up" and RHONDA can be heard chiming in with the music of the radio. Then Mother mechanically goes over to a chair, sits down, and starts to knit. Her mind is still on the letter...

[George tells Mother that her daughter Addie can't take her and Father, so he is going to live with Cora, another daughter in California, because of his declining health. Mother is ok, as long as she can see him to say goodbye.]

[George] turns to an ashtray to put out his cigarette, then lights another one immediately. He gets up and starts to pace the floor, puffing nervously at his cigarette.

Mother, seen alone, suddenly know that the hour of doom has struck. Everything has become painfully, blindingly clear to her. For a moment she looks frightened and heartsick - but while GEORGE smokes, she gets herself under control. Then they are seen together, Mother watching him closely. She is ready.

GEORGE (sitting beside her on the couch): Mother, I've something else to tell you, too.

MOTHER (after studying his unhappy face): There's something I'd like to tell you first.

GEORGE: Let me while I can, Ma. Tell me later.

MOTHER: It's simply this. I don't want to hurt your feelings, but I haven't been too happy here. It's lonesome in this apartment all day with everyone gone. Would you mind terribly if I decided to leave you and go to the Cadwallader Home?

GEORGE (thunderstruck): Mother!

MOTHER: It's a fine place and I'd make friends my own age --

GEORGE: Mother, I--

MOTHER: Let me finish, dear. Once I thought your father and I would be able to get together again. I see that it's never going to turn out that way. And so I want to go to the home. (He looks at her with his heart in his eyes - as Mother smiles bravely.) I'm glad that's over. I hated to tell you as much as you would have hated to tel me anything like that. (After a pause) Oh, there's just one thing more, dear. I'd like to stay here till your father's on his way to California. He's funny about some things, you know. He'd never believe that the home's a grand place. He's a little old-fashioned, your father is. Those places seem terrible to him. (After pausing) Don't let him know I'm going. Tell Nellie and Cora and the others that he must never know. This is one thing that has to be handled my way.

GEORGE: Yes, Ma. Anything you say.

MOTHER: Let him think I'm staying on with you and Anita. You can always forward my letters to the home. It'll be the first secret I've ever had from him and it'll seem mighty funny. (She looks at George but he does not meet her gaze. He is too miserable. Mother is silent for a time, but when she speaks it is with the same lightness she has used throughout the scene.) I think I'll go to bed now if you don't mind, dear. I'm very tired. (She stands up and stoops to kiss him on the forehead.) Here's another secret just between us two. You were always my favorite child. Goodnight. George, weak and looking beaten, stares up at her.)

Mother stands, straight and strong, with courage in her eyes and on her smiling mouth. She turns and starts from the room. But she sways a little as she reaches the archway. George sees this - leaps to her side and puts an arm about her. Mother smiles a little apologetically.

MOTHER: Floor's a little slippery, I guess.

In the hallway, George leads her gently to her room, and she goes in without a word.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: Because it was opposite of what I expected, Mother's calm, dispassionate reaction showed me more about her emotions than if she'd spoken them.

Make Way for Tomorrow (1937)
by Vina Delmar
Based on the novel, The Years Are So Long, by Josephine Lawrence, and a play by Helen and Nolan Leary

* When director Leo McCarey received his Oscar for The Awful Truth (1937), he reportedly said he had gotten it for the wrong film, i.e., it should've been for this film. 

**Orson Welles gave this film the highest compliments: "that [it] would make a stone cry," and “the saddest movie ever made."

*** I want to note that this story was battle tested and worked on by THREE sets of writers (play, novel, script) before it reached the screen.   

TODAY'S NUGGET: This Land is Mine (1943) - "I Don't Love You" Moment That's Really "I've Never Seen You Before" (Aha! Moments in Subtext)

[Quick Summary: In WWII, a cowardly school teacher, who lives with his domineering mother in a German occupied town, is tempted to join the Resistance.]

This script takes awhile to get to the point.

It's due to a rather intricate set up and the close connections between characters:
- Albert Lory, the timid protagonist, and Louise Martin his neighbor, are grade school teachers.
- Albert has a secret crush on Louise, but lives with his overbearing mother.
- Their principal and mentor is Prof. Sorel.
- Louise is engaged to George Lambert, who works in the railroad terminal office.
- A member of the underground Resistance has been plaguing the town with bombs.

However, it's worth the wait.  I liked how it delivers an emotional punch, often through nuanced subtext, such as this aha! realization in the scene below:
- The police have just jailed Prof. Sorel as the suspected bomber.
- Louise now goes to see George, who speaks against the bomber.
- The secret bomber is actually Paul, Louise's brother.  He works at the railroad switch tower under George.
- I liked that Louise is working out her confused feelings for George in real time. ex. She admits her confusion to George ("Maybe I'm still in love with you.")
- This conversation about the bomber has brought Louise to an aha! revelation emotionally, i.e., she sees that she and George do not think alike.
- Notice the button on the scene (last few lines), which:
a) shows how far apart they are emotionally; and
b) is ironic, as Paul is the bomber that George has just been dissing.

INTERIOR GEORGE LAMBERT'S OFFICE - AT FRIGHT TERMINAL - DAY

...[Paul] leads [Louise] over to his chair and she sinks into it, glad to be weak for a change and have someone to comfort her. He takes his handkerchief and dries her eyes.

GEORGE (continued)(as to a child, tenderly): There now, is that better?

LOUISE: George, I'm frightened. I'm scared to death. Life is getting horrible. I don't know what to do. I need you.

GEORGE: Of course you need me, darling. That's what I'm here for. I love you.

As she relaxes, comforted:

GEORGE (continued): I know all about Sorel. They also took that fellow that runs the store across the street from you - Lorraine, and eight other men. One of them worked here in the yard. (petting her comfortingly) But nothing can happen for a week. If they find the man who threw the bomb they'll all be released.

LOUISE (half out of her mind): But that's just it. You don't understand. The man who threw the bomb -- Oh, George, I'm in an awful situation.

GEORGE (comfortingly): I know, dear, I know. The man who threw the bomb is a criminal.

Louise draws back and looks up at him as if she couldn't have heard right but in his indignation he doesn't notice it.

GEORGE (continued): If he has a spark of courage he'll come forward and admit his guilt - save innocent men.

LOUISE (staring at him): You really think he's a criminal?

GEORGE (righteously): Look Louise, all fo us hate this Occupation. I stood up to Major von Keller and told him to his face I didn't like it. But we have to face facts: They have the power. If one of us wants to resist, and get killed, that's foolish but courageous. He takes the risk and punishment himself. But the man who secretly resists, with acts of sabotage, is a coward; he escapes and innocent people die.

LOUISE (staring at him): You believe that?

GEORGE: It's obvious, darling.

LOUISE (looking at him strangely): You mean everyone who resists the enemy should give himself up, George?

GEORGE: I think so.

LOUISE: Then there is no more resistance.

GEORGE: Then we'd have peace. Wouldn't we be better off? Our duty now is to keep alive. To exist. What becomes of a nation if its citizens all die? Do you want to die? Do I want to die?

LOUISE (quietly; looks at him as if she had never seen him before): I saw them take Professor Sorel. He's not afraid to die.

She gets up and looks out the window, suddenly a million miles from him.

GEORGE: But he's old. We're young. Life means everything to us.

LOUISE (looking out at the switch tower): I know young men who aren't afraid to die. [She means her brother Paul.]

GEORGE (goes to her): Nothing is worth the sacrifice of your life, Louise. We have everything ahead of us - love, marriage, children --

LOUISE (turns on him): No, George.

He looks at her blankly as she takes off the ring and drops it on his desk.

LOUISE (continued): I was in love with you. Maybe I'm still in love with you. But I begin to feel as if I'd never looked at you before. This is the first time you've been frank with me. My mind's confused -- I haven't the right answer yet for the things you've said, but I feel -- I know you're wrong.

Her eyes widen as the door swings open and Paul walks in, his usual gay self.

PAUL: Hello, folks. (grins) I don't know how you do it, George. I can't get my girl to come down here and visit me.

Louise walks straight past him and exits. He looks after her curiously, then at the discomfited George.

PAUL (continued): Hey, what's the matter?

GEORGE (trying to cover up, hiding the ring in his hand): Oh, she's just upset. She'll get over it. You know women.

PAUL (laughs): I sure don't.

FADE OUT

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: The subtext here works because:
- George and Louise fundamentally have opposing views on the Resistance.
- George is missing information (doesn't know the secret about Paul).
- This moment comes at a crucial turning point (there are stakes).

In addition, I also liked how the subtext is also about other things: the bomber (surface); Prof. Sorel; young vs. old; the line of sacrifice; vulnerability; need; status.

This Land is Mine (1943)(anthology with only the script)
This Land is Mine (1943)(script + introduction)*
by Dudley Nichols

*This is a stand-alone publication includes the script plus an introduction with interesting details about where this film falls in history, the RKO studio, the director Renoir, and star Charles Laughton.

TODAY'S NUGGET: How Green Was My Valley (1941) - How to Show Theme in Story & Subtle Visuals

[Quick Summary: Told through the eyes of the youngest son, a Welsh mining family has split opinions over a mining strike.]

This is a famous film from director John Ford that has influenced many others.  For example, see the classic, powerful framing in these stills: here, here, and here. 

Though it's not one of my favorite stories, I was impressed how the writer brought out the theme of family in the story and subtle visuals.

For example:
- The scene below occurs after mother Beth has spoken up at a strikers' meeting,
- The strike has pitted her husband (anti-strike) against her adult sons (pro-strike).
- She spoke up in support of her husband, who was not present.
- She and her youngest son, Huw (protagonist) begin walking home in bad weather.
- Her other adult sons, Ianto and Davy, attended the meeting separately.
- She falls through the rotting bridge.
- The theme of family in the story: mother vs. sons at the meeting.
- The theme of family in the visuals: mother falls through the bridge; mother separated from sons; sons coming to aid of estranged parent.
- Note how theme is also in the conflict: Huw's brothers dismissed their mother's plea in the previous scene.  Now, through Huw's point of view, we see he's barely hanging on. Where will his brothers' loyalties lie when there's an emergency?
 

The scene dissolves to a MOUNTAINSIDE. It is still night. Huw and Beth, almost totally exhausted, are stumbling down a steep place. It is raining fiercely and the wind shrieks through the trees above them. Beth is failing visibly. Huw puts his arm around her, struggling to support her.

HUW'S VOICE: Hours it seemed and no feeling or sense was in me - but I was crying to God to help me save my mother and I was helped sure or I could not tell where I found the strength -

The scene dissolves to a BRIDGE, as Beth and Huw stagger toward it. They reach the bridge. Beth clutches at the rail for support. The wood is rotten and breaks under her weight. She pitches forward into the icy water a few feet below the bridge. Huw gives a frightened gasp and throws himself in after her.

In the water Beth, inert, is slung around by the swift current. Huw struggles closer to her, as the current brings her up against a rocky point. Gasping with the cold Huw brings her head and shoulders clear of the water. He cannot leave the water himself, but must push against her with all his might to hold her clear of the racing stream.

HUW'S VOICE: So strong was the cold that for minutes I couldn't breathe--

Huw, his face contorted, is struggling to hold his mother up as he stands shoulder deep in the icy black water.  A faint light appears upon Huw and the inert figure of Beth.

HUW'S VOICE: How long it was I cannot tell, but there was a weariness of time before I saw a light--

Huw is desperately holding on as the light grows stronger and dark figures appear in the rain. It is a group of men from the meeting, headed by Davy and Ianto. They have a lantern.

Huw turns, his eyes glistening in the light, and opens his mouth to shout.

HUW'S VOICE: I tried to shout but my voice was gone from my throat.

Davy, Ianto and the men, not seeing Huw and his mother, start to cross the bridge. Huw's mouth is open. He is trying to shout against the wind, but he cannot make himself heard. He begins to fail, to slip. Beth's head rolls and she almost goes under the water.

Ianto and Davy with the other men are on the bridge. They are about to leave the bridge and pass on when Ianto almost casually notices that the rail is broken. He stops for a second look, holding the lantern high. Huw is straining mightily to hold Beth above the water. Ianto starts to move away, then raises the lantern once more As he looks down the stream, his eyes widen in horror. He turns and shouts into the wind.

IANTO (shouting): Davy--

He puts down his lantern and plunges forward into the water where Huw is giving his last ounce of strength to hold up his mother until Ianto reaches them. As Ianto pulls them to the bank, Davy and the other men are there to help them to safety. The scene fades out.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: You don't have to hit the audience over the head with theme. Here, it is subtly baked into conflicts and drama. 

In fact, it's so good that I didn't notice the subtle metaphor of the rotting bridge until much later. 

How Green Was My Valley (1941)
by Philip Dunne
Based on the novel by Richard Llewellyn

TODAY'S NUGGET: Wuthering Heights (1939) - I Don't Want Him, But I Don't Want You to Have Him Either

[Quick Summary:  A servant recalls the story of her master Heathcliff's doomed love for his childhood sweetheart Cathy.]

MY TWO THOUGHTS:

1) OLIVIER. This film and Rebecca (1940) gave actor Lawrence Olivier his first two Oscar nominations, in back-to-back years. 

I like to think it's partly due to the excellence in writing.

2) PING-PONG CONFLICT & MOTIVES = CRUCIBLE. I really liked how the writers juggled Cathy's various internal/external conflicts & motives.  

Heathcliff loves Cathy, but she knows he's not good for her and decides to marry neighbor Edgar. Rejected, Heathcliff starts to court Isabella, Edgar's sister.

In this love triangle, Cathy ping-pongs between several internal/external conflicts: 
- She half-wants him; she doesn't want him.
- She sees he is a wrong fit for Isabella; she doesn't want Isabella to have him.
- She's newly married to Edgar.
- She's trying to establish a relationship with new sister-in-law Isabella.  

When they're mixed, they create a crucible, like in the scene below:
- Edgar and Cathy's house is next door to Heathcliff's estate.
- Isabella lives with Edgar and Cathy.
- This scene occurs in Isabella's room.
- Cathy's goal is to warn Isabella, but Isabella is suspicious of her motives. 
- Notice that in this crucible, we don't really know which of Cathy's conflicts are motivating her.
- Is her concern for herself, Isabella, or Heathcliff? (internal)
- Does she love Edgar, or is she still in love with Heathcliff? (external)

Isabella has risen, and moves as if to pass Cathy. Cathy takes her by the shoulders, shakes her.

CATHY: You fool! You vain little fool!

ISABELLA: Let me pass.

CATHY: I won't be silent any longer. I'm going to tell the truth. You're old enough to hear it. You're strong enough.

ISABELLA: Let me pass, Catherine.

CATHY: Not till I open your eyes.

ISABELLA: My eyes are quite open, thank you.

CATHY: He's been using you...Don't you see what he's been doing - using you to be near me, to smile at me behind your back - to try and rouse something in my heart that's dead...dead! I'll not have it any longer!...And I'll not allow you to help him any longer....

ISABELLA (softly): It's you who are vain and insufferable. Heathcliff's in love with me.

CATHY (wildly): It's a lie!

ISABELLA: It's not a lie. He's told me so. He's kissed me...

CATHY (seizing her arm, digging her nails into her wrist): He's what!

ISABELLA (exulting): He's kissed me. He's held me in his arms. He's told me he loves me!

CATHY: I'm going to your brother.

She almost throws Isabella down in a gesture of rage.

ISABELLA (hitting every raw nerve): Go to him. He's asked me to marry him...Tell Edgar that! We're going to be married! That Heathcliff's going to be my husband!

CATHY (a moaned guttural): Isabella, you can't. Heathcliff is not a man but something horrible and dark to live with.

ISABELLA (slowly and cruelly): Do you imagine, Catherine, I don't know why you are acting so -- Because you love him...

CATHY (flaming): How dare you say that!

Cathy flies at Isabella and slaps her viciously. Isabella doesn't flinch.

ISABELLA: Yes, you love him! And you're mad with pain and jealousy at the thought of my marrying him! Because you want him to pine for you and dream of you, to die for you...while you live in comfort and security as Mrs. Linton.

CATHY: You little fool

ISABELLA (unflinching): You don't want him to be happy. You want to hurt him, destroy him. But I want to make him happy --and I will..I will!

There is a knock at the door.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: It's natural that this many strong conflicts/motives within a single character will lead to such an explosive situation. 

However,  it's rare to hit on the right combination of conflicts like this so well.  This is a very high level of craft.

Wuthering Heights (1939)
by Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur
Based on the novel by Emily Bronte

TODAY'S NUGGET: Rebecca (1940) - Foreshadowing with the Sly Inuendos

[Quick Summary: The second Mrs. de Winter struggles not to be intimidated by the shadow of the first Mrs. de Winter.]

TWO THOUGHTS:

1) PROTAGONIST W/O A NAME. This is the first script that I've seen in which the main character has no name and is never called by her name.* 

2) FORESHADOWING.  I think this is still one of Alfred Hitchcock's most famous films** because of its foreshadowing what "I" is about to face.

Why does it work? One element is the atmosphere of unresolved feelings. 
ex. Everyone else has opinions about Rebecca, the first Mrs. de Winter, except the protagonist and the audience.  It feels like we are lagging behind.  

How does it work? I think it's a snowballing of a string of hints and clues. 
ex. The protagonist only gets pieces of the story.  It keeps the audience engaged to try to put them together and see what comes next.

For example:
- The protagonist, "I", has been paid companion to Mrs. Van Hopper.
- She and Maxim de Winter have just announced their engagement to Mrs. Van Hopper in her hotel room.
- Maxim leaves the room to make wedding arrangements.
- Mrs. Van Hopper is the first to drop sly innuendos that can be taken two ways.
- She plays with "I's" fears of losing Maxim.
- The scene below is from the shooting script. The "official" script in the anthology is slightly different.

[NOTE: I have bolded several innuendos and hints below.]

Mrs. Van Hopper walks to "I", dropping all pretense.

MRS. VAN HOPPER: So this is what has been happening during my illness! (She smiles unpleasantly.) Tennis lessons my foot! (she goes close to "I") I suppose I've got to hand it to you for a fast worker. How did you manage it? Still waters certainly run deep! But it's a lucky thing for you that you haven't a family to ask embarrassing questions. When did you first meet him?

"I": The day after we arrived here.

MRS. VAN HOPPER: Really! And all this time you've been listening to me talk about him - and never a peep out of you. And I took you for an innocent, unsophisticated child!

She takes a few steps away from "I" CAMERA FOLLOWING HER, then turns quickly round.

MRS. VAN HOPPER (taking a cigarette out and lighting it): You realize that he's much older than you.

SEMI CLOSE UP

"I" slightly on the defensive.

"I": I'm old for my age.

Mrs. Van Hopper comes back into the picture and laughs.

MRS. VAN HOPPER: You certainly are.

She leans closer to "I" and speaks in a lower tone.

MRS. VAN HOPPER: Tell me, have you been doing anything you shouldn't?

She looks "I" up and down appraisingly like a judge at a cattle show. "I" backs away from her

"I" (with some indignation): I don't know what you mean.

Mrs. Van Hopper shrugs her shoulders. Her cigarette still in her mouth, she takes out a compact and starts to powder her nose.

MRS. VAN HOPPER: Oh well - never mind. I always did say Englishmen have strange tastes. But you'll certainly have your work cut out as mistress of Manderley. To be perfectly frank with you, my dear, I can't see you doing it. (she strolls out of picture)

SEMI CLOSE UP

She strolls into picture by the mirror as she continues:

MRS. VAN HOPPER: You haven't the experience, you haven't the faintest idea what it means to be a great lady. Personally, I think you're making a big mistake - one you will bitterly regret.

Through the mirror we see "I" watching her unhappily, and Mrs. Van Hopper starts to adjust a few stray hairs under her hat.

MRS. VAN HOPPER: Of course, you know why he's marrying you, don't you? You haven't flattered yourself that he's in love with you. The fact is, that empty house got on his nerves to such an extent he nearly went off his head. He just couldn't go on living alone.

SEMI CLOSE UP

During the last long speech we cut in a flash of "I" getting more and more unhappy and angry.

"I": You'd better leave, Mrs. Van Hopper. You'll miss your train.

CLOSE UP

Mrs. Van Hopper turns and faces "I". A queer, twisted smile crosses her face.

MRS. VAN HOPPER (with withering sarcasm): Mrs. de Winter. (With a sour laugh) Good-bye, my dear, and good luck. 

She turns and flounces out. The slam of the door is heard.

CLOSE UP

"I's" worried face as she looks after her.

                                                                                                  FADE OUT.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: The hints and clues don't need to be obvious. Just enough to play with the character's weakness or fears.  It can then escalate from there.

Rebecca (1940)(shooting script, 3/26/40)
Rebecca (1940)(anthology)
by Robert E. Sherwood and Joan Harrison
Based on the novel by Daphne du Maurier

*The editors of this anthology note: "This story is the dramatization of a first person narrative related by the second Mrs. De Winter. Except for her formal name, later in the story, she can be known to us only as "I" and is therefore so called throughout."

**This was Alfred Hitchcock's first American film, and garnered 11 Oscar nominations, including one for best screenplay.

TODAY'S NUGGET: Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941) - Do You Have A Premise So Strong That It's Been Remade Three Times?

[Quick Summary: When boxer Joe Pendleton accidentally is taken 50 yrs. too soon, Mr. Jordan helps Joe's soul to be placed in the body of a millionaire. ]

Q: What are buyers looking for today?
A: A strong premise.

Q: But what IS a strong premise?
A: A story line that audiences want to see to its conclusion.

Q: What can I look to for a great premise?
A: I think this script is a great example because:
- Back in the day, it won both Oscar winners for story & script in the same year.*
- It is only one of two scripts to ever achieve that status.**
- It has withstood the test of time.  It is based on a play and has been remade at least three times.***

Q: So what makes it a great premise?
A: For me, it was a new approach to the afterlife.  Who had seen an angel (Messenger 7013) take a soul (Joe) before he was supposed to go? 

In the scene below:
- This occurs in the waiting area where souls wait in line to board a plane to heaven. 
- Messenger 7013 has brought Joe to see the head man, Mr. Jordan.
- I particularly like Joe bargaining with Mr. Jordan ("I expect you to make good, Mr. Jordan") because it made me curious to see how this would end.

JOE: Now you're talking, Mister Jordan! You got to get busy and do something about this.

JORDAN: I intend to. Come along, Joseph.

JOE: Where to?

JORDAN: I'm taking you back.

JOE: But you can't! Didn't we tell you? I have got a body any more -

JORDAN (annoyed): What of it? I'll get you another body.

JOE: You'll do what?

MESSENGER 7013 (to Jordan; in amazement): Another body, sir?

JORDAN (testily): That's what I said. Come along. 

He takes Joe by the arm as if to lead him off. But Joe holds back.

JOE (hotly): Wait a minute, now - wait a minute. What kind of a deal is this? You fellas aren't shoving anybody else's body off on me. Not on your life!

MESSENGER 7013 (seeing the light): Oh, but Mr. Pendleton - if Mr. Jordan says he'll get you a body, it'll be as good as your own - if not better.

JOE (stubbornly; troubled): There isn't any better! I put in ten years getting that body in the pink. No! just because you two fumbled the ball is no sign--!

JORDAN (with authority): But Joseph - it's gone! Your body doesn't exist any more!

JOE (doggedly): That isn't my fault. You fellows can do anything. Now come on - do your stuff!

JORDAN (kindly): We shall, Joseph. You may have your choice of a thousand bodies, all excellent specimens.

MESSENGER 7013: A thousand bodies, Mr. Pendleton. Think of it!

JOE: I am thinking of it, and I say no dice! I want my own body - nobody else's!

MESSENGER 7013: Oh tush! Don't make such a fuss. What is it, after all?  A mere physical covering -- worth chemically -- just thirty-two cents!

JOE: Not mine. It was in the pink, I tell you!

MESSENGER 7013: Oh dear!

JORDAN: Suppose we get started, Joseph.

JOE (holding back): Now wait. Let's understand each other before we go running around--

JORDAN: I promise you - we'll keep looking until you find a body you like. Is that fair enough!

JOE: I only want what's coming to me -- What I was and what I was going to be --Nothing more, nothing less. And I expect you to make good, Mr. Jordan.

JORDAN (smiling): I'll do my best, Joe. Come along.

He starts off with Joe.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: The premise should avoid a predictable ending, so the audience will want to go on the journey and see how it ends.

Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)
By Sidney Buchman and Seton I. Miller
Based on a story by Harry Segall

*Before 1956, the Academy used to have three separate awards in the writing category: original script, adapted script, and story. 

**The only other script to achieve this was Miracle on 34th Street (1946).

*** Down to Earth (1947); Heaven Can Wait (1978); Down to Earth (2001).

TODAY'S NUGGET: The Women (1939) - Gossiping About Love Triangles is (Truthful) Screwball Fun

[Quick Summary: After she learns her husband is seeing someone else, Mary Haines grapples with the snubs and opinions of her social group.]

One reason I like to read older scripts (a.k.a. film plays*) is to discover WHY they struck a nerve and WHY they're still relevant. 

For example, today's script features the women involved in a love triangle.**

WHY DOES IT STRIKE A NERVE?  I think women in love everywhere have the common experience of worrying about competition in their relationships.

WHY IS IT STILL RELEVANT?  It never goes away.  Women are either in a love triangle, have been affected by one, or are fascinated by the drama. 

WHAT SETS THIS SCRIPT APART? It nails an aspect of the love triangle that's not often seen: the community and societal pressures. 

HOW? By satirizing how what other women think affects other women.  After all, the husband is never seen and this IS the story about The Women. 

For example, the scene below is pure screwball comedy:
- The writers used women's love of gossip, i.e., need to talk about another's secret.
- The gossip begins at the beauty salon.
- Mary and her cousin Sylvia (Rosalind Russell) are frienemies.
- The manicurist has just let it slip to Sylvia that Mary's husband is seeing a mistress, Crystal (Joan Crawford). Sylvia is bursting to unload on a friend. 
- Notice how the writers thwart this need until she's at pitch desperation. These are slightly exaggerated lengths, but the emotions are very real.
- The purpose of this scene is to focus on the character development.  Ignore the studio formatting.  It is no longer used as much, as noted in the * below.

At which point, a drying machine next to them is turned on, drowning out Olga's voice. But in Sylvia's face, we see a swiftly growing malicious delight, and finally Sylvia can stand it no longer and jumps up excitedly. She grabs her coat, hat and bag, all the time protecting the nails of the hand Olga has just finished, tips the two girls, and rushes out. And the view wiping off, we see a row of five PAY STATION TELEPHONE BOOTHS in a DRUG STORE with Sylvia striding along. She starts toward the first booth, and sees that it is occupied by a woman as are all five. As she reaches the last booth, she hears the door of the first one open and quickly turns and makes a dash for it. But just as she reaches it a large woman obstructs her way and eases herself inside, barely making it, much to Sylvia's annoyance. The next instant, the woman in the last booth emerges, but again, as Sylvia rushes forward, she arrives too late and a package-laden woman beats her to it, giving her a sweet smile as she closes the door, a smile which Sylvia forces herself to return. Grimly now, she takes her position opposite the middle booth.

The central booth now appears and Sylvia is seen tapping nervously on the glass door as the woman inside talks on, turning to cast an annoyed glance at the tapper. Finally the woman hangs up and Sylvia pushes into the booth while the woman is coming out, getting them both practically stuck for an instant. Inside, Sylvia sniffs distastefully at the smell of the place, waves her handkerchief to clear it out, then opens her bag, takes out a coin purse, looks in it and finds only two fifty cent pieces. Now beings a frantic search through her bag for a nickel. She takes out vanity case, lipstick, cigarette case, address book, gold pencil, small perfume bottle, key-ring, comb, a small bottle of dental floss, stamp book and more paraphernalia. She finally starts out with the though of getting change, but seeing the lineup of women, abandons the idea. She searches through the pockets of her coat and although she finds no money, her eyes light up as she feels the round weights which have been put into the lining. she quickly rips open the lining, takes out the weight and breathlessly fits it into the coin box. It works. It works, and with a snooty grimace of triumph, she dials the number.

SYLVIA (at the telephone): Mrs. Potter please...this is Mrs. Fowler. (She waits eagerly.) Edith? ... Take a group on yourself! You're going to die!...Stephen Haines is stepping out on Mary!

A close-up of Edith shows her in a negligee - at the phone - bristling with delight, with a nasty tempered little Peke lying in her lap.

EDITH: Are you sure it's true?...Tell me about it this instant!...

 WHAT I'VE LEARNED:  Gossiping about Mary's love triangle leads to exaggerated, screwball comedy fun.  

But it also points us to the truth about Sylvia's motives, i.e., that she takes pleasure in Mary's misfortune (schadenfreude).

The Women (1939) 
by Anita Loos and Jane Murfin
Based on the play by Clare Luce Boothe

*The early films were called "film plays," and the scripts are formatted like plays.  They often have paragraphs of narrative and lack distinct slug lines.  

Back in the day, I wonder it the name "film play" was also a bit of marketing because it combines a familiar word ("play," as in, theater play), with an unfamiliar new format (film).  

**It featured up and coming stars of the day: Norma Shearer (wife Mary), Rosalind Russell (Mary's cousin Sylvia), and Joan Crawford (mistress Crystal).  It was directed by the George Cukor, who did an exceptional job.

TODAY'S NUGGET: Stagecoach (1939) - Why a Director Needs a Writer

[Quick Summary: Under the threat of a possible ambush by Geronimo, a group of stagecoach passengers work together on their journey to safety.]

THE DIRECTOR: This is the film that made Hollywood forever notice director John Ford.*  The action! The spectacular vistas! The drama! 

However, he couldn't have done this film without:
1) the short story by Ernest Haycox; and
2) screenwriter Dudley Nichols** to adapt it and juggle the storylines of 7 actors.

THE SHORT STORY:  Ford's son first read this short story in Collier's and told his dad about it.  If you ever have writer's block, read this for its pacing alone.

THE SCRIPT: Once you read the short story, you'll see what a wonderful job Nichols did to fill in the holes.  

First, he flesh out each character's background, which was thin.  Second, he created situations for them to interact and pull together, which also was absent.

My favorite scenes looks bland on the page, but is elevated in the hands of director John Ford:
- The stagecoach has stumbled upon the Ringo Kid (John Wayne), a stranded outlaw.  The marshal on board insists he come with them to a rest stop.
- Ringo has connected with another outsider, Dallas, a female passenger of ill-repute.
- At the rest stop, Dallas helps another pregnant passenger have her baby.  Afterwards, she walks outside for some air, and Ringo starts to follow her.
- Before he goes outside, his friend Chris, the Mexican station manager, warns him of upcoming danger.
- This scene may seem so-so written here, but I urge you to see it in the film because it's clearer there that Ringo's attention is torn between his heart and his head.

...Dallas comes out of a door father down the passage, putting a shawl round her shoulders, and walks down the corridor away from camera without seeing Ringo. Ringo starts to follow her. Just before he reaches her, Chris comes out of another door carrying a lamp. Ringo stops.  [This is the moment where head and heart clash.]

Chris, seen from the side holding the lamp, stands close up to Ringo, his manner secretive.

CHRIS (in a low, warning voice): Kid, I know why you go to Lordsburg, Kid. I like you. I knew your poppa. He was a good friend of mine. If you know who's in Lordsburg you stay away...I think.

RINGO (guardedly): You mean Luke Plummer?

He lights his cigarette from Chris's lamp.

CHRIS: Luke...Ike...Hank... all there together. I saw them.

A wild shine comes into Ringo's eyes and he grips Chris's arm eagerly.

RINGO: You sure of that, Chris?

CHRIS: Sure I can tell you the truth.

As Chris nods, Ring's eyes gleam.

RINGO: Thanks, Chris. That's all I wanted to know.

He moves away towards the door, watched by Chris.

CHRIS: You crazy if you go...I think. You stay away, Kid. Three against one no good.

Ringo takes no notice and goes outside.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: The script seems like it's no big deal that "Chris comes out of another door."  

However, add this to Ford's actual staging (Ringo goes down a hall and is stopped when Chris comes out of a hall/door to the left), and it's really effective psychologically.

Stagecoach (1939)***
by Dudley Nichols and Ben Hecht
Based on the short story, "Stage to Lordsburg," by Ernest Haycox

*I find this ironically funny because Ford had already won an Oscar for best director in 1936 for The Informer, yet he didn't seem to gain any ground from it.  He was again nominated for best director for Stagecoach, but didn't win.

**Nichols was a four time Oscar nominee.   He won his only Oscar for the script of The Informer (1935), which was also John Ford's first Oscar for best director. 

**This script has been published in several forms: anthology (Nichols edited); script and the short story by Haycox; script alone (online).

PROGRAMMING NOTE: When an Oscar Winning Writer (& Four Time Nominee) Points Scripts Out to You...

TWO PROGRAMMING NOTES:

1) FYI: UPCOMING SCRIPTS WILL BE OUT OF 20 Best Film Plays, edited by Dudley Nichols.

Nichols was not only an Oscar winning writer (and four time nominee), but he published scripts to be read and studied, long before it was popular to do so.*  

If Nichols thought I should read them, then I should read them.

2)  WHY READ SUCH OLD SCRIPTS?  I am hoping to combat a few things at the same time:

a) "SAME-NESS."  A cinematographer who I admire recently stated that there is too much "same-ness" in today's stories.  He's right.

Let's try to combat that by viewing the wide variety in these old scripts.

b) CHEAP. GOOD. FAST. ONLY PICK 2.   Today's market wants Cheap + Good + Fast, but it's not possible.

You can have Cheap + Fast, but it won't be Good.

You can have Cheap + Good, but it won't be Fast. 

You can have Good + Fast, but it won't be Cheap.

Perhaps reading these older scripts can remind us what kind of great stories can still be done for a dime, without sacrificing excellence. 

In other words, the process of reading these scripts won't be Fast, but will help with the Cheap + Good.

*He also co-edited: Best Film Plays, 1943-4. Best Film Plays of 1945. 

TODAY'S NUGGET: Chaplin (1992) - When a Script is a Springboard for Something Magnificent on Set

[Quick Summary: Charlie Chaplin rises from a UK vaudeville act to Hollywood film star, but is pursued by the FBI for decades over accusations of Communism.]

This is a really good script and the film stays fairly close to the structure.  

But its genius is that it provided a springboard for something absolutely luminous in the hands of director Richard Attenborough and actor Robert Downey Jr.

My favorite scene (below) is the moment when Chaplin has to hastily put together a new character, which becomes the famous Tramp:
- The scene is fairly straightforward: Charlie randomly grabs a hat, cane, and clothes in wardrobe, then hurries out the door to the set.
- The script lays out good building blocks: "PULL BACK to show the full figure. Before our eyes we see the incarnation of the TRAMP's ... shuffle."
- However, the director and actor improves on the script.  Instead of a short journey to the set, they chose a long, long walkway. 
- Chaplin exits wardrobe --> walks fast, faster, readjusts his gait, then shoulders, hat, cane --> so by the end of the walkway, he is transformed into the Tramp.
- I hope you seek out the film because it's a true masterpiece of transformation. 

EXT. WARDROBE HOUSE, SENNETT STUDIOS. DAY. (1914)

The door of the house. Opens. FRAMED: The TRAMP -- Almost.

He adjusts his jacket. Swings his cane. Touches his tie, the brim of his hat. His fingers run over his naked upper lip. He takes a step. Pauses. Turns and goes back inside.

HOLD ON: the door.

CHAPLIN -- The TRAMP -- reappears. With his familiar little moustache. He smiles - a typical Tramp smile. Sets off at a run.

EXT. SENNETT STUDIOS. DAY. (1914)

CHAPLIN running towards the stage. He stops, takes off the Derby, ruffles his hair replaces the Derby.

HOLD on his face as he sets off again. The moustache twitches. PULL BACK to show the full figure. Before our eyes we see the incarnation of the TRAMP'S distinctive, cocky, humble shuffle - a twirl of the cane, a hunch of the shoulders.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: The writers figured out solid story mechanics so the director and actor had the freedom to riff and soar.

Chaplin (1992)(shooting script, Oct., 1991)
by William Boyd
Script consultant: William Goldman
Story by Diana Hawkins
Based on My Autobiography by Charles Chaplin, and Chaplin- His Life and Art by David Robinson

TODAY'S NUGGET: The Front (1976) - Using the Physical Space Well to Setup-Payoff a Joke

 [Quick Summary: After agreeing to act as a front for a blacklisted writer, Howard becomes famous and falls in love with a script editor who thinks he's a real writer.]

Have you heard of this black comedy? I hadn't, but was curious because it stars Woody Allen in a film he neither wrote nor directed.

Writer Walter Bernstein, who was blacklisted himself, satirizes the system that ruined lives (and is questionable if it had any anti-communism effect). 

Bernstein, a funny writer, really shines when getting the physicality of the joke right for the audience, i.e., using the physical space to setup and payoff a joke.

One of the best examples of this kind of setup-payoff (below) is nearly invisible: 
- Sussman, the producer, has asked Howard for an immediate rewrite.
- Howard frantically calls Alfred, the writer that Howard is pretending to be.
- Howard is a prisoner in his office, under watchful eyes, until Alfred rushes him a draft.
- Note that this is all done in shots, without dialogue.
- Also, note that Bernstein is so clear about the scene that he leaves out verbs in the narrative (last full paragraph).

INT. THE CORRIDOR - DAY

Florence walking along. She pauses before the door to Howard's office, then hesitates and decides not to disturb him. She looks at her watch and walks on.

INT. THE OFFICE - DAY

Howard at the window.  He sees what he has been looking for.

EXT. THE STREET - DAY

A taxi parked at the curb, window open, Alfred inside. He hands an envelope out to Howard on the street.

INT. THE CORRIDOR - DAY

The fire door opens a crack and Howard's eye surveys the scene. The coast is clear and he comes out, having made the climb up again. Carrying the envelope, he staggers into Sussman's office. [The word "staggered" made me laugh because it conveys so much irony.]

INT. SUSSMAN'S OFFICE - DAY

Sussman behind his desk, holding the script in his hands. Florence there. Howard in a chair, panting. Sussman indicates his condition to Florence. [ The meaning is clear, so no verbs are necessary, except for the last sentence.]

SUSSMAN: That's how we treat talent. Sometimes I'm ashamed.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED:  What is so great about this joke is the setup is all physical and non-verbal, topped off by the last punch line (payoff). 

The Front (1976)(8/13/75 revised)
by Walter Bernstein

TODAY'S NUGGET: Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988) - What Elevates a Good Comedy Fight to a Memorable One? Subtext

[Quick Summary: When two con men fight over territory, they agree that whomever wins the favor of a young female visitor will decide whom will go, whom will stay).]

Lawrence (Michael Caine) is the ultimate con man. Freddy (Steve Martin), on the other hand, is the new kid, and not nearly as good as Lawrence. 

They team up, but eventually Freddy wants to go solo -- on Lawrence's territory.

What makes this a good fight? Real stakes, like their livelihoods.

But what makes it memorable?
1) A good fight is about stakes. 
2) A better fight is about emotional stakes. What does winning/losing means to the character?
3) The best fights happen in subtext, unspoken and below the surface.

In the scene below, notice:
- Lawrence fears being usurped. He will no longer have status.
- Freddy fears he will lose his new golden goose. Also, in his mind, he will always be a second rate player.
- On the surface, this is about territory.  If you look closer, it's about how each guy feels as a new regime challenges the old.
- But if you check out the subtext, this is about how each one feels about his status.
- ex. Freddy thinks he's good enough now (subtext: I  don't need you). 
- ex. Lawrence thinks he can keep status quo (subtext: I'm still relevant).
- Also, this is a great turning point because it sets out the stakes (external and internal) before starting to escalate from here.

INT. SECTION OF HOTEL LOBBY - MED. SHOT

...LAWRENCE: You're forgetting one thing... You agreed that I would run the operation.

FREDDY: Yeah, but I didn't know you were gonna cut so deep.

LAWRENCE: All right, you'll get your money. But you realize this is the end of our association.

Freddy LOOKS OFF.

FREDDY: I'm a big boy now, I'll go it alone.

Lawrence looks to see what has caught Freddy's eye.

POINT-OF-VIEW SHOT

We see JANET COLGATE, a very beautiful young lady, richly dressed and carrying a mink coat, crossing the lobby to check in. She is followed by two or three bellboys carrying expensive luggage. An ASSISTANT MANAGER is fawning all over her. Obviously, she is an important and well-heeled guest.

BACK TO SCENE

LAWRENCE: Where? Where will you go it alone?

FREDDY: I kinda like it right here.

LAWRENCE: This is my territory, Freddy.

FREDDY (scoffs): "My" territory? You've been King of the Mountain so long you think you won it.*

As the Assistant Manager crosses in front of them, Freddy SNAPS his fingers, calls and beckons to him.

FREDDY: There's two lions on the mountain now.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: We remember the subtext of a fight because it's often the most painful, true part of the fith.

On another note, this was a funny scene because the audience was in on the joke.  We know Freddy needs Lawrence.  We know it's futile for Lawrence to keep out Freddy.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)(2/1/87 draft)
by Stanley Shapiro & Paul Henning, and Dale Launer

*Fun fact: The original title was "King of the Mountain," which I loved because it encapsulates this whole fight.

TODAY'S NUGGET: Possession (2002) - Leave Out/Leave In an Emotionally Correct Scene (That Does Not Push Plot Forward)?

[Quick Summary: After two modern academics stumble across two Victorian poets' "racy" letters, they track down the truth of the poets' secret relationship.] 

How does one adapt the 1990 Booker Prize winner* that is 576 pages long (paperback edition)?  

What should the screenwriter leave out? Leave in?

In this well crafted script, I was surprised that one of the best visual moments had nothing to do with the plot, but was emotionally correct for the film.  

Roland, a post-grad student, is at a crossroads.  He has stumbled across two rather daring letters from a Victorian poet that he's studied.  

Should he publish them? It would make his career, but also would destroy the poet's reputation as a faithful husband.    

The scene below externalizes Roland's internal dilemma.  It does not push the plot forward, but IS very effective in conveying "what should I do?"  

INT. ROLAND'S FLAT (HOLLAND PARK) - BEDROOM - SAME TIME

Roland, shirtless, lies in his sagging bed and stares at the two sheets. He studies them, reading them through again. Suddenly, he holds one in front of his mouth and blows...the thing page rises slowly, then hovers overhead. He catches it with a free hand then does it again. The letter floats magically above Roland in the darkness.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: This would be a scene I'd cut in favor of more plot, and I'd be wrong.  I also like that it could be read with different meanings. 

ex. The floating letters could be a metaphor about how fragile this situation is for the poet's legacy, but also how the upcoming journey will be dicey for Roland.

Possession (2002)(3/17/00 draft)
by Laura Jones and Neil LaBute
Based on the novel by A.S. Byatt

*FYI: The Booker Prize is a prestigious literary award for the best literary work in the UK and Ireland.  

TODAY'S NUGGET: Tom and Huck (1995) - How to Show A Kid Character Realizing the Consequences of His Actions

[Quick Summary: After Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn witness a murder in a graveyard, they try to defend the man unjustly accused of it.]

I felt myself relax as I read this script.  

First, it read extremely quickly.  Second, I wanted to go with the characters, eagerly wondering what they'd decide to do next. 

One of the reasons is that the kid characters do not get a pass on hard decisions.  They are allowed to make them AND SUFFER the consequences of their actions.

For example, in the scene below:
- Injun Joe, Doc Robinson, and Muff Potter rob a grave at night.  They fight.
- Doc aims a gun at Joe, but hits Muff, who passes out.
- Joe take Muff's knife and kills Doc.
- Muff is unjustly jailed for killing Doc.
- Tom and Huck witnessed the fight and slip away.
- Tom tells Huck they have to help Muff, who has been kind to them, but Huck refuses.
- This scene is constructed to show Huck the consequences of not helping Muff. 
- It also leads to more questions that made me want to turn the page, ex. What will Huck do next?
- Notice where the writer positions Huck: from afar, in the distance. We only see Huck's reaction shots. 
- Why put Huck that far away? I think it helps better convey Huck's mental state, i.e., that he is finally seeing things more objectively.

EXT. JAILHOUSE - NIGHT

Through the barred windows of his cell, we see Muff Potter sitting in a pool of light, a defeated, pathetic character. The cell door CLANGS open and Muff looks up hopefully but it's only the Sheriff come to deliver Muff's meal -- a hard biscuit and a cup of water.

MUFF (wishing): Has anybody come to see me, Sheriff?

We JUMP BACK TO A LONGER SHOT to reveal that someone is observing Muff from the shadowy roof of the building next door. It's Huck, though we can barely make out his face, just his tattered outline, rags blowing in the breeze.

SHERIFF: Don't be stupid, Muff. (as he CLANGS the door shut; a cruel laugh) Nobody cares about you. And nobody's gonna miss you when you're gone.

The words, meant for Muff, seem to have an effect on Huck. At any rate, he turns and disappears into the night.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: Where a character is physically positioned in a scene can really help the audience psychologically understand his internal emotional state.

Tom and Huck (1995)(9/6/94 rev.)
by Stephen Sommers, David Loughery and Ron Koslow
Based on Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer"