Cat People Page #6

Irena slips further away from him into the shadows. He leans

toward her.

OLIVER (cont'd)

Well...?

He can see only the dim outline of her shoulders, the white

blur of her face.

IRENA:

(suddenly taut,

anguished, as if the

words were being pulled

from her throat)

I love you, Oliver.

OLIVER:

(sitting up, alarmed by

her intensity)

For heaven's sake, Irena, what's

wrong?

Without answering, Irena suddenly lays her cheek against his

knee and beings to sob. Perplexed, Oliver looks down at her

and puts a hand on her head. She turns her head but does not

look at him. Her voice has a wild, strained quality, echoing

some strange agony.

IRENA:

I've lived in dread of this moment,

Oliver. I've not wanted to love

you. I kept myself away from

people...I stayed alone...I never

wanted this to happen.

OLIVER:

But you just told me you loved me.

IRENA:

I do. I do.

Oliver puts his hands under her elbows and tries to draw her

up to him.

OLIVER:

Then there's only one thing to do.

Come up here and be kissed.

IRENA:

(withdrawing from his

hands)

No. I can't, Oliver, I've fled

from the past, from things

you could never know or

understand...evil things...

evil...

She breaks out again, sobbing. He looks down at her, worried.

Her sobs lessen, and Oliver begins to speak very quietly,

very calmly.

OLIVER:

Irena, you've told me something

of the past...of King John, and

the witches in the village, and

the cat people who are descended

from them. Fairy tales, Irena,

fairy tales you heard in

childhood...nothing more than

that. They've nothing to do with

you, really.

You're Irena...you're here In

America...you're so normal you're

even in love with me...Oliver

Reed...a good, plain Americano.

He tries to raise her again, to kiss her, but she eludes him

and cuddles down by his feet, pressing her cheek against his

knee. She has stopped crying.

OLIVER (cont'd)

Yes, you're so normal that you're

going to marry me, Irena, And

those fairy tales of yours, you

can tell them to our children...

for them...hundreds of kittens to

amuse them...

Irena utters a little murmur of happiness and delight.

Oliver bends over, and kisses her hair softly.. Over the

sound of the rain and wind comes the coughing roar of

lions in the park.

DISSOLVE OUT:

DISSOLVE IN:

EXT. & INT. SERBIAN RESTAURANT - NIGHT

The Belgrade, as seen through the plate glass window from

outside. It la snowing, the first light snow of the winter.

In the window on display are three calves' heads prepared in

Serbian fashion. They have been skinned. The eyes,

considered a great delicacy by gourmets, are wide open and

glisten like bullets. The heads are crowned with chaplets of

artificial flowers. In the b.g. we see the wedding party.

Seated around a table are Oliver, Irena, Alice, the

Commodore, Jim Carver, and some of the other people we have

seen on the office sequences. Irena is dressed in a light

suit and wears a bridal bouquet on her shoulder. She is

laughing a natural, happy laugh to contrast with the later

hysterical laugh. The proprietor of the restaurant has just

brought proudly to the table from the kitchen a large iron

kettle from which the steam of hot wine is rising.

The CAMERA TRUCKS THROUGH to the wedding party. A trio of

musicians, dressed in Balkan costume, is playing a Balkan

love song. Jim Carver, like everyone else in the party, has

been drinking, and is in a gay mood. As the proprietor

places the iron kettle on the table, Carver applauds.

CARVER:

(calling out)

Ah! Comitaji!

The proprietor gives him a fierce look. Irena laughs

merrily.

IRENA:

Oh, Mr. Carver, you should

not call the good man that.

CARVER:

But it's Serbian. I got it from my

barber this afternoon.

IRENA:

You might insult him. "Comitaji"

means bandit...robber...

CARVER:

Bless my soul!

Commodore Judson, seated next to Alice, is watching Irena.

He turns to find Alice's eyes on his.

COMMODORE:

Oliver's bride seems a very nice

girl...and very pretty too.

Carver tells me she's a bit odd.

He's a little worried about the

marriage.

ALICE:

(defensively)

Nonsense. Irena's a grand gir1.

She and Oliver are going to be very

happy together.

MED. CLOSE SHOT of a woman who is seated at a little table at

the far side of the restaurant. She is in evening dress, but

is dining alone. The woman looks like a cat. She has a

round, tabby face and a pompadour which somehow suggests the

roundness of a cat's head. The eyes, slanting, large, and

very light in color, fringed with sweeping lashes, are

completely feline. She turns these great, luminous eyes in

the direction of the wedding party and stares at the

festivities.

MED. SHOT of the wedding party. The Commodore rises, with

his glass in one hand.

COMMODORE:

To the bride.

Everybody toasts Irena. Oliver looks down at her, proud and

happy.

CLOSEUP of the Cat Woman, as she looks straight at Irena.

MED. SHOT of the wedding party. As the Commodore is sitting

down, he sees the Cat Woman. He turns to Jim Carver.

COMMODORE (cont'd)

Look at that woman. Isn't she

something.

CARVER:

(glancing up)

Looks like a cat.

He turns back to his food.

MED. SHOT - the Cat Woman. Drawing-on her gloves, she rises

and crosses the room. As she reaches the wedding party and is

directly opposite Irena, she stops and stares at Irena.

MED. SHOT - the wedding party, holding her hand as she talks.

Irena is turned to Alice.

IRENA:

Thank you so much, Alice, for this

lovely party. I did not know there

was a Serbian restaurant.

ALICE:

Anything you want to know about

this city, ask me. I know all the

unimportant details.

Irena laughs, and turning around, looks up at the Cat Woman.

The smile fades from her face. She stares at the woman with

a kind of haunted fascination. The Cat Woman takes a step

closer, never removing her eyes from Irena. She smiles and

speaks. (Note:
Irena's voice is to be dubbed in on the

sound track when the Cat Woman speaks.)

CAT WOMAN:

Moja sestra.

Irena blanches and shrinks, back into her chair. She makes

the sign of the Cross. The Cat Woman smiles and repeats the

words. (Note:
Scene without sign of Cross to be made for

England.)

CAT WOMAN (cont'd)

Moja sostra.

She turns and walks out back on a festive basis.

Alice tries to put the party

ALICE:

How do you like that?

WO SHOT - Oliver and Irena. Irena is looking white and

shaken. Oliver takes her hand.

OLIVER:

What did that woman say to you?

Irena looks up at him with frightened eyes,

OLIVER (cont'd)

What did she say, darling?

IRENA:

(slowly, seriously)

If this were any night but-my

wedding night...If you were any

man but my husband...I would not

tell you.

OLIVER:

Wait a minute. It can't be that

serious...just one single word --

IRENA:

(very seriously)

She greeted me...she called me

"sister."

(seizing his hands,

looking up at him)

You saw her, Oliver. You saw what

she looked like.

OLIVER:

(laughing)

Oh, the cat people ... she's one of

the cat people. She looks like a

cat, and so she must be one of the

cat people...one of King John's

pets.

(tweaks her chin

playfully)

Irena, you crazy kid!

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