Chinatown Page #8

GITTES:

(looking at. Mulwray)

-- Yeah -- banged up pretty bad -

MORTY:

-- That's a long fall.

GITTES:

-- So how are you, Morty?

39.

Morty is wheeling in another body with the help of an

assistant.

MORTY:

-- Never better. You know me, Jake.

As he begins to move the body into the refrigerator, he breaks

into a wrenching spasm of coughing. Gittes spots the other

body, lowers the. sheet on Mulwray.

GITTES:

(picking up on cough)

-- Yeah -- so who you got there?

Morty pulls back the sheet.

MORTY:

Leroy Shuhardt, local drunk --used

to hang around Ferguson's

Alley -

Morty brushes some sand from the man's face, laughs.

MORTY:

(continuing)

-- Quite a character. Lately he'd

been living in one of the downtown

storm drains -- had a bureau dresser

down there and everything.

Gittes has already lost interest. He starts away.

GITTES:

-- Yeah.

MORTY:

Drowned, too.

This stops Gittes.

GITTES:

Come again?

MORTY:

Yeah, got dead drunk, passed out in

the bottom of the riverbed.

GITTES:

The L.A. River?

MORTY:

(a little puzzled)

Yeah, under Hollenbeck Bridge, what's

wrong with that?

Gittes has moved back to the body, looks at it more closely.

40.

GITTES:

It's bone dry, Morty.

MORTY:

It's not completely dry.

GITTES:

Yeah, well he ain't gonna drown in a

damp riverbed either, I don't care

how soused he was. That's like

drowning in a teaspoon.

Morty shrugs.

MORTY:

We got water out of him, Jake.

He drowned.

Gittes walks away mumbling.

GITTES:

Jesus, this town...

EXT. SUNSET BOULEVARD - GITTES - DAY

He's parked on an overpass -- the sign HOLLENBECK BRIDGE on

one of its concrete columns. Gittes looks down into the

riverbed below.

FROM THE BRIDGE:

Gittes can see the muddy remains of a collapsed shack, its

contents strewn down river from the bridge. Below him, lying

half over the storm drain and one wall that was on the bank

of the river is a sign that proclaims OWN YOUR OWN OFFICE IN

THIS BUILDING $5000 to $6000 which was used as a roof of

sorts. Downstream, there's the dresser, an oil drum, a Ford

seat cushion, an Armour lard can, etc. -- the trashy remains

of Shuhardt's home.

Gittes scrambles down the embankment and as he lands near

the storm drain one shoe sinks, ankle deep into mud.

Gittes pulls it out, swearing.

He begins to walk a little further downstream when he hears

the vaguely familiar SQUISHY CLOP of something.

Clearing the bridge. on the opposite side is the little

Mexican Boy, again on his swayback horse, riding along the

muddy bank.

They look at one another a moment.

41.

GITTES:

(calling out to him)

You were riding here the other day,

weren't you...?

The Boy doesn't answer.

GITTES:

(continuing)

Speak English?... Habla Ingles?

THE BOY:

(finally)

Si.

GITTES:

Didn't you talk to a man here -- few

days ago... wore glasses ... he...

The Boy nods.

GITTES:

(continuing)

What did you talk about, mind my

asking?

The shadows of the two are very long now.

THE BOY:

(finally)

The water.

GITTES:

What about the water?

THE BOY:

-- when it comes.

GITTES:

-- When it comes? What'd you tell

him?

THE BOY:

Comes in different parts of the river -every

night a different part.

Gittes nods. The horse snorts. The Boy rides slowly on.

EXT. RIVEBED - DUSK

Gittes scrambles up the embankment to note the direction the

storm drain by Hollenbeck Bridge takes. It is headed above

toward the Hollywood Hills, where the sun is setting.

42.

EXT. GITTES IN CAR - NIGHTFALL

winding his way up a section of the Hollywood Hills. He picks

up on an open flood channel with the spotlight by the driver's

windwing.

GITTES IN CAR- MOVING

along the flood channel. It is dark now and Gittes follows

the channel with the car spotlight. He turns at a fork in

the road which allows him to continue following the flood

channel.

FURTHER UP - MOVING

The road is narrower. Gittes drives more slowly. Foliage is

overgrown in the channel so its bottom cannot be glimpsed.

STILL FURTHER - NIGHT

The road is dirt. Heavy clusters of oak trees and eucalyptus

are everywhere. It is very still. Another turn and a pie-

shaped view of a lake of lights in the city below can be

GLIMPSED.

POV - CHAIN-LINK FENCE

over the road, bolted. It says OAK PASS RESERVOIR. KEEP

OUT. NO TRESPASSING.

The chain-link itself actually extends over the flood channel

and down into it, making access along the channel itself

impossible.

Gittes backs up, turns off the motor, the car lights, the

spotlight. A lone light overhead on tension wires is the

sole illumination. There is only the eerie SOUND of the

tension WIRES HUMMING.

Gittes gets out of the car, clubs the fence near the Flood

channel itself.

ON THE OTHER SIDE

Gittes carefully works his way up through the thick Foliage

toward a second and large chain-link fence.

Lights from the reservoir still higher above can be SEEN.

Suddenly there is a GUNSHOT. Then ANOTHER. Gittes dives into

the flood control channel, which is at this point about four

feet deep and six feet wide. There is the SOUND of men

scurrying through the brush, coming near him, then retreating.

Gittes loses himself among the ivy in the channel.

43.

He waits. The men seem to have passed him by. But there is

another SOUND now -- an echoing growing sound. It puzzles

Gittes. He starts to lift his head to catch the direction.

GITTES IN FLOOD CONTROL CHANNEL - NIGHT

Then he's inundated with a rush of water which pours over

him, knocks off his hat, carries him down the channel, banging

into its banks, as he desperately tries to grab some of the

overgrowth to hang on and pull himself out.

But the force of the stream batters him and carries him with

it until he's brought rudely to the chain-link fence. It

stops him cold. He's nearly strained through it.

Swearing and choking, he pulls himself out of the rushing

water by means of the fence itself.

Drenched, battered, he slowly climbs back over the fence and

makes his way toward his car.

AT GITTES' CAR

He fishes for his car keys, looks down -- one shoe is missing.

GITTES:

(grumbling)

Goddam Florsheim shoe, goddammit.

He starts to get into his car but Mulvihill and a SMALLER

MAN stop him -- Mulvihill pulling his coat down and pinning

his arms -- holding him tightly. The smaller man thrusts a

switchblade knife about an inch and a half up Gittes' left

nostril.

SMALLER MAN:

(shaking with emotion)

Hold it there, kitty cat.

CLOSE - GITTES

frozen, the knife in his nostril, the street lamp over- head

gleaming on the silvery blade.

THE SMALLER MAN:

You are a very nosey fellow, kitty

cat... you know what happens to nosey

fellows?

The Smaller Man actually seems to be trembling with rage

when he says this. Gittes doesn't move.

SMALLER MAN:

(continuing)

Wanna guess? No? Okay. Lose their

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