Darkest Hour Page #8

HALIFAX is disgusted by this DISTORTION of the facts.

HALIFAX:

“Advanced”?! How bloody dare he!

EXT. FRENCH BATTLEFIELD - EVENING

AERIAL SHOT OF:
the BRITISH and FRENCH armies in retreat -

leaving behind SMOKING TRUCKS and ABANDONED ARTILLERY.

TRACKING OVER this ravaged landscape, we see-

CUT TO:

-the abstracted landscape of a human CORPSE...

WINSTON (O.S.)

“...the British and French peoples-have

advanced--to rescue not only

Europe, but mankind from thefoulest and most soul-destroyingtyranny which has ever darkened andstained the pages of history.

...until an EYE is revealed in CLOSE-UP, staring into CAMERA.

INT. WINSTON’S OFFICE/ WAR ROOMS - NIGHT

CLOSE-UP ON:
the RED RECORDING LIGHT.

WINSTON:

“But now one bond unites us all -

to wage war until victory is won,

and never to surrender ourselves to

servitude and shame, whatever the

cost and the agony may be...Conquer

we must, as conquer we shall.”

CLOSE-UP ON:
WINSTON’s FACE...

43.

ELIZABETH LAYTON

Well done, sir.

WINSTON sits back - UNHAPPY.

CLOSE-UP ON:
the RED RECORDING LIGHT goes off. The BROADCASTis over.

INT. LIBRARY/ NUMBER 10 DOWNING STREET - NIGHT

CLEMMIE turns off the RADIO, concerned.

INT. CORRIDORS - WAR ROOMS - NIGHT

WINSTON, UNHAPPY, walks up to a DOOR, enters it -

INT. TUNNEL/ BENEATH 10 DOWNING STREET - NIGHT

-then walks down the long tunnel (connecting the WAR ROOMSwith DOWNING STREET) until, at its end, he enters an ELEVATORINT.

ELEVATOR/ 10 DOWNING STREET - NIGHT

- WINSTON rides the ELEVATOR upward -

INT. MAIN HALLWAY/ 10 DOWNING STREET - NIGHT

- WINSTON exits the ELEVATOR, and begins to climb the stairs

INT. LIVING ROOM/ 10 DOWNING STREET - NIGHT

CLEMMIE:

You did marvelously.

WINSTON:

For the last ten years I was theonly one who told them the truth.

Until tonight. There’s no advance.

It’s a shambles. We’re in full

retreat.

CLEMMIE:

Would you be serving them tonightby denying them sleep, terrifyingtheir children?

WINSTON:

Even if the terror is coming?!

CLEMMIE:

Because it’s coming! There istime enough for truth.

44.

He nods, accepting this. He walks off, still anxious. Shewatches him go, worried.

INT. KITCHEN/ WAR ROOM - DAY

The front page of a newspaper: a PHOTO of WINSTON doing his VFOR VICTORY SIGN (palm inward).

ELIZABETH LAYTON, leaning by the door, reading the paper.

At her side stands another typist, SYBIL, reading anothercopy of the same PAPER -

ELIZABETH is giggling -

WINSTON passes the doorway in the corridor, then re-appears -

WINSTON:

What’s so funny?

ELIZABETH:

Prime Minister sir -

WINSTON:

Go on. What is it?

INT. CORRIDORS - WAR ROOMS - DAY

ELIZABETH steps out into the corridor so they can have someprivacy -

ELIZABETH:

Not sure if you know this but-the

way you are doing your

V For Victory sign--well, in

the poorer quarters that gesture

means--something else.

WINSTON:

What does it mean?

ELIZABETH:

Wouldn’t like to say sir.

WINSTON:

I was captured by the Boer. I spenttime in a South African prison.

ELIZABETH:

Up yer’ bum. Sir.

WINSTON:

Up yer’ bum?

WINSTON roars with LAUGHTER - which sets ELIZABETH laughing -

45.

ELIZABETH:

The way you do it, sir. Yes sir.

(demonstrates)

But if you turn it around -

(palm out)

-that’s fine.

WINSTON:

I see.

ELIZABETH:

Wouldn’t like millions of people totake it the wrong way.

WINSTON steps away, still chuckling -

WINSTON:

Up yer’ bum!

INT. BUCKINGHAM PALACE / WINSTON’S OFFICE, WAR ROOMS - DAY

KING GEORGE speaks into the TELEPHONE -

KING GEORGE VI:

Don’t wish to take too much of yourtime.

(pause)

I heard you--on the--wireless.

WINSTON:

Was I comprehensible?

KING GEORGE VI:

The public need to be led, notmisled--not left to work it out

for them-themselves.

WINSTON:

Right. Will that be all, yourmajesty?

KING GEORGE VI:

Yes. Good day Prime Minister.

(click)

WINSTON puts down the PHONE and turns to EVANS.

WINSTON:

I believe I’ve just recieved a

royal rap on the knuckles.

INT. WAR CABINET ROOM/ WAR ROOMS - DAY

CAPTION:
SATURDAY, MAY 25, 1940

WAR CABINET MEETING 1

46.

PRESENT:
17 PERSONS. The Main War Cabinet, minus WINSTON

(CHAMBERLAIN, HALIFAX, GREENWOOD, ATLEE) and the FOLLOWING(ALEXANDER, SINCLAIR, COOPER, CADOGAN, ANDERSON, POUND,

DOWDING, IRONSIDE, BRIDGES, ISMAY, NICHOLL, WILKINSON)

CABINET SECRETARY BRIDGES is helping to seat everyone as theymove around the table looking for their placement card.

CABINET SECRETARY BRIDGES

(indicating to HALIFAX’s

seat)

Foreign Minister?

A NEW MAP shows the NEW POSITIONS of BRITISH TROOPS. SURROUNDED

at DUNKIRK.

Finally, WINSTON enters, shakes the hands of IRONSIDE and ISMAYfirst, but has less enthusiasm for ATTLEE and GREENWOOD, and

nothing for CHAMBERLAIN and HALIFAX, who do not expect to havetheir hands shaken.

WINSTON:

Tiny, good to see you.

(to ISMAY)

Pug. Welcome to the War Cabinet,

such as we are.

(to ALL)

Please, sit.

He sits.

WINSTON (CONT’D)

War is usually a catalogue ofblunders, and this one is provingno exception.

(beat)

General - its all yours.

IRONSIDE:

You have this morning’s report infront of you -

WINSTON:

Yes. General -

IRONSIDE:

- if you turn to page 3 -

Ummm - so on page 3 - are we all

Looking at page 3? - no, the otherdocument - second paragraph down -

WINSTON, agitated, reeling from the royal reprimand, taps hiswedding ring finger on the side of his chair impatiently -

GREENWOOD:

Second?

47.

IRONSIDE:

Yes, the second--no, page -

WINSTON can stand it no longer -

WINSTON:

(his patience snapping)

Edmund!--why don’t you just tell us-

please--in your own words-- what

kind of mess we are looking athere. What’s going on?

IRONSIDE:

Right. (beat) As of 2200 hours last

night--the Germans have encircled

sixty British, Belgian and French

divisions. On our part all our

forces under Lord Gort have now

withdrawn, or are trying to

withdraw, to the French coast, to

Dunkirk, where we cannot reach them.

Ships sunk by the Nazis block the

harbour entrance and the Luftwaffe

control the skies above.

CHAMBERLAIN:

How many of our men are trapped?

IRONSIDE:

All of them.

(pause)

Our nation’s entire professionalsoldiery. And...

(pause)

...we can see no clear way to

rescue them.

Silence -

WINSTON:

General--are you telling

me that we shall have lost the

British army by the next few days?

IRONSIDE:

That’s correct.

ATTLEE:

What are the French doing?

IRONSIDE:

Premiere Raynaud sent a radio

message. He expects the defence of

Paris will soon fail.

48.

WINSTON:

We must counter-attack. Anyone?

(silence)

Surely

IRONSIDE:

The German forces are superior inevery regard and are only fiftymiles from the coast. They arepushing us into the sea.

ATTLEE:

Fifty miles! Good God!

GREENWOOD:

For a German tank, two days.

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