A Hard Day's Night Page #15

The four BOYS dash about madly calling out to one another

and generally horsing around. Out of this emerges an imaginary

game of soccer and although there is no ball the game is

fast and furious. After a few moments the long shadow of a

man falls across the grass.

MAN'S VOICE

(off)

I suppose you know this is private

property.

The boys freeze.

From their P.O.V. we see a big burly middle-aged man glowering

at them.

The boys exchange rueful glances and, under the big man's

eye, mooch back towards the gateway they came in by. JOHN is

the last to go through. He turns to the man.

JOHN:

Sorry if we hurt your field, Mister.

INTERIOR CORRIDOR BACK-STAGE

GRANDFATHER is sneaking down the corridor, a pile of photos

under his arm.

INTERIOR T.V. THEATRE UNDERNEATH THE STAGE

Under the stage the usual set of wooden columns that support

the stage with lots of furniture and a single light is on;

it is placed by the orchestra's entrance to the orchestra

pit. GRANDFATHER comes down the stairs and winds his way

through the columns until he finds himself a safe little

cubby hole and settles himself under the light. He spreads

the signed photos of the BOYS in front of him and, adjusting

an old-fashioned pair of glasses, ball-point pen in hand

begins to copy the BOYS' signatures on to the fresh photos,

tutting at his failures and chuckling at his successes. After

a moment, there is a sound of someone coming down the stairs.

GRANDFATHER darts into a dark patch out of sight.

The menacing shadows appear on the stairway.

NORM (VOICE OFF)

There's no one here.

SHAKE (VOICE OFF)

This is the only way they could have

gone.

We now see GRANDFATHER holding himself stiffly in, he is on

some sort of raised platform and he fidgets and in doing so

he knocks a lever of some sort. Slowly GRANDFATHER ascends

out of shot with a light that grows bigger above him.

INTERIOR T.V. THEATRE STAGE

A rehearsal of the toast scene from a Strauss Operetta. The

entire stage is full of SINGERS, glasses in hand they are

singing away at each other but in true opera tradition they

are addressing out to the audience. Slowly in-between the

leading man and leading woman, who are about to embrace, a

stage trap opens and a blinking, surprised, GRANDFATHER

appears. Here we INTERCUT to the T.V. Control Room for amazed

reaction shots of the DIRECTOR and control room CREW.

Back now on the stage the toast song reaches its climax and

the leading man and woman rush into each other's arms,

GRANDFATHER sandwiched between them.

INTERIOR CORRIDOR AS BOYS PASS THRU ON WAY TO DRESSING ROOM

JOHN is behind them. JOHN, BOYS and MILLIE are walking towards

each other.

MILLIE:

(as all pass)

Hello.

JOHN:

(stopping... the boys

carry on past, not

noticing her)

Hello.

MILLIE:

Oh, wait a minute, don't tell me

you're...

JOHN:

No, not me.

MILLIE:

(insistently)

Oh you are, I know you are.

JOHN:

No, I'm not.

MILLIE:

You are.

JOHN:

I'm not, no.

MILLIE:

Well, you look like him.

JOHN:

Oh do I? You're the first one who

ever said that.

MILLIE:

Oh you do, look.

JOHN looks at himself in the mirror.

JOHN examines himself in the mirror carefully.

JOHN:

My eyes are lighter.

MILLIE:

(agreeing)

Oh yes.

JOHN:

And my nose...

MILLIE:

Well, yes your nose is. Very.

JOHN:

Is it?

MILLIE:

I would have said so.

JOHN:

Aye, but you know him well.

MILLIE:

(indignantly)

No I don't, he's only a casual

acquaintance.

JOHN:

(knowingly)

That's what you tell me.

MILLIE:

(suspiciously)

What have you heard?

JOHN:

(blandly)

It's all over the place, everyone

knows.

MILLIE:

Is it? Is it really?

JOHN:

Mind you, I stood up for you, I mean

I wouldn't have it.

MILLIE:

I knew I could rely on you.

JOHN:

(modestly)

Thanks.

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