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.