Badlands

FADE IN:

INT. BEDROOM

The time is 1959. HOLLY SARGIS, the 15-year-old heroine,

sits on her bed, petting her dog. The CAMERA DOLLIES BACK as

she talks on VOICE OVER.

HOLLY (V.O.)

My mother died of pneumonia when I

was just a kid. My father had kept

their wedding cake in the freezer

for ten whole years. After the funeral

he gave it to the yardman... He tried

to act cheerful, but he could never

be consoled by the little stranger

he found in his house. Then, one

day, hoping to begin a new life away

from the scene of all his memories,

he moved us from Texas to Ft. Dupree,

South Dakota.

HOLD on FULL SHOT of bedroom.

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. ALLEYS AND STREETS – SERIES OF ANGLES – DAWN

The streets and alleys of Ft. Dupree at dawn. On sound we

hear the clucking of DOVES. A garbage truck appears. Details

of the mechanisms at the back of the truck.

NEW ANGLE:

KIT CARRUTHERS, the hero, a 25-year-old garbageman, kneels

beside a dead dog. He inspects it briefly, then looks back

at his friend and co-worker, CATO, a stocky man in his

forties.

KIT:

I'll give you a dollar to eat this

collie.

Cato inspects the dog.

CATO:

I'm not going to eat him for a

dollar... I don't think he's a collie,

either. Some kind of dog.

They drive off.

KIT:

Watch your heads.

NEW ANGLE:

The truck comes to a stop. Kit bangs on the driver's door.

KIT:

Hey. Woody. Gimme a cigarette.

WOODY waves him off. Kit shrugs to Cato.

KIT:

Woody wouldn't give me a cigarette.

(pause)

Ever notice he don't talk much?

Cato agrees with this. They make a terrible racket, with no

regard for the sleep of the neighbors.

EXT. STREET

Holly, whispering some rhyme to herself, twirls a baton in

the middle of an empty street.

HOLLY (V.O.)

Little did I realize that what began

in the alleys and back ways of this

quiet town would end in the Badlands

of Montana.

EXT. ALLEY

Kit tries to sell a passing BUM a pair of shoes.

BUM:

Nah. They wouldn't fit.

KIT:

How do you know? You hadn't tried

them on yet.

BUM:

Nah.

KIT:

Gimme a dollar for them... Cost twenty

new.

The Bum walks off. Kit pitches the shoes to Cato.

KIT:

Why don't you see if they fit you?

Cato picks them up and looks at them.

CLOSE ON TRASH CAN

Kit is culling through a trash can, looking for valuables.

reading other people's mail, etc.

KIT (O.S.)

This lady don't ever pay her bills.

She's gonna get in trouble if she

doesn't watch out.

Cato, ignoring him, picks up a magazine that is lying in the

grass.

When the CAMERA returns to Kit, he has stripped off his apron.

KIT:

I throwed enough trash for today,

Cato... I'll see you in the morning.

He slaps Cato on the back and walks off. Cato throws a mouldy

loaf of bread at his back.

CATO:

Catch!

KIT:

What do you mean?

He throws the loaf back at Cato.

EXT. ALLEYS

Kit walks through the deserted alleys of the sleeping town...

as the MAIN TITLES APPEAR. He balances a stolen mop on his

finger; he stomps a can and looks around to see if anyone

has spotted him at this. As the CREDITS end he sees Holly in

front of her house twirling her baton. He crosses the street

and introduces himself.

EXT. FRONT LAWN

KIT:

Hi, I'm Kit. I'm not keeping you

from anything important, am I?

HOLLY:

No.

KIT:

Well, I was just messing around over

there, thought I'd come over and say

hello to you.

(smiling)

I'll try anything once.

(pause)

What's your name? I said mine.

HOLLY:

Holly.

KIT:

Listen, Holly, you want to take a

walk with me?

HOLLY:

What for?

KIT:

Well. I got some stuff to say. Guess

I'm kind of lucky that way. Most

people don't have anything on their

minds, do they?

Holly eyes him suspiciously.

EXT. STREET

They walk down the middle of the street. Holly has accepted

his offer.

KIT:

Oh, incidentally, my last name is

Carruthers. Sounds a little too much

like "druthers", doesn't it?

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