Harold and Maude Page #2

DISSOLVE TO:

14EXT. THE CHASEN POOLSIDE - DAY

Mrs. Chasen decked out in a fashionable black bikini, crazy

glasses, and an enormous sun hat, walks down the garden

steps to the pool. Over this and the end of the above we

HEAR her voice.

MRS. CHASEN (v.o.)

Hello, Fay, darling. Be an

absolute dear and cancel my

appointment with Rene this afternoon.

Oh, I know, but Wednesday morning

would be so much more convenient.

Oh, you are an angel. Yes. Yes.

Bye.

Mrs. Chasen has now reached the poolside. As she walks

around it we PAN with her and discover Harold, fully

clothed, floating face downward on the still surface. Mrs.

Chasen does not see him and walks into the pool house.

15INT. POOL HOUSE - DAY

Mrs. Chasen walks down the steps of the pool house and over

to the bar. Behind the bar is an underwater viewing

window into the pool. She stops and looks up through the

window.

16MRS. CHASEN'S POV

Through the window we see Harold, drowned and bug-eyed,

floating on the surface.

17MED. SHOT - MRS. CHASEN

Mrs. Chasen sighs, yanks a cord, and the venetian blinds

come noisily down cutting off Harold from view.

18INT. PSYCHIATRIST'S OFFICE - DAY

Harold is lying on the couch.

HAROLD:

(a reasoned

assessment)

I don't think I'm getting through

to Mother like I used to.

PSYCHIATRIST:

Does that worry you?

HAROLD:

(pause)

Yes. It does.

PSYCHIATRIST:

Why?

HAROLD:

I put a lot of effort into these

things.

PSYCHIATRIST:

Ah, yes.

HAROLD:

And a lot of time.

PSYCHIATRIST:

I'm sure. But what else do you

do with your time? Do you go to

school?

HAROLD:

No.

PSYCHIATRIST:

What about the draft?

HAROLD:

My mother spoke to my Uncle Victor.

He's in the Army and he fixed it up.

PSYCHIATRIST:

Oh. Well, how do you spend your

day?

HAROLD:

You mean when I'm not working on a...

PSYCHIATRIST:

Yes. What kind of things do you do?

19EXT. AUTOMOBILE JUNKYARD - DAY

Cranes, auto smashers, bulldozers, and mountains of rusting

cars and other junk. Very noisy and very fast cut. A

little essay on destructive machinery at work with Harold

looking on in rapture.

20INT. PSYCHIATRIST'S OFFICE - DAY

PSYCHIATRIST:

I see. Junkyards. What is the

fascination there?

HAROLD:

I don't know.

PSYCHIATRIST:

Is it the machines? The noise?

The people?

HAROLD:

No. It's the junk. I like to

look at junk.

PSYCHIATRIST:

What else do you like?

Harold pauses.

21INSERT - STOCK

A giant steel ball crashes into a building. We watch it

fall noisily into dust and rubble.

22INT. PSYCHIATRIST'S OFFICE - DAY

PSYCHIATRIST:

That's very interesting, Harold,

and I think very illuminative.

There seems to be a definite pattern

emerging.

(taking copious notes)

Your fondness for useless machines

and demolitions seems indicative

of your present emotional state,

your self-destructive urges and

your alienation from the regular

social interaction. What do you

think? And of course this pattern

once isolated can be coped with.

Recognize the problem and you are

half way on the road to its

solution. But tell me, what do

you do for fun? What activity

gives you a different sense of

enjoyment than the others? What

do you find fulfilling? What

gives you that certain satisfaction?

HAROLD:

I go to funerals.

23EXT. CEMETERY - LONG SHOT - DAY

showing a small group of mourners around a grave. A nearby

bench by a tree is empty. The coffin is slowly being

lowered into the ground.

24EXT. CEMETERY - DAY

CLOSER SHOTS of the mourners sobbing and the priest pray-

ing. We come to Harold who has a look of gentle fascina-

tion. The service is concluding. Harold looks up across

the grave. A hundred yards away on the cemetery bench

sits an old woman eating a tangerine. This is MAUDE.

Harold stares at her. She seems to be having some kind of

happy picnic. She looks over towards him. He quickly

returns his attention to the burial.

25EXT. CHASEN HOME - DAY

Mrs. Chasen opens the front door and is saying farewell to

two lady friends, the same kind of chic sophisticates as

she is. Just then a hearse pulls into the driveway,

passes them, and parks by the garage. The two women are

somewhat stunned. Harold gets out of the hearse and goes

into the backyard. The two women look to Mrs. Chasen for

some explanation. Mrs. Chasen smiles lamely.

26INT. CHASEN'S DEN - DAY

Mrs. Chasen is addressing a seated and mute Harold.

MRS. CHASEN

Why you purchased that monstrous

thing is totally beyond me. You

can have any car you want - a Porsche,

a Jaguar, a nice little MG roadster

- but that ugly, black horror is an

eyesore and an embarrassment.

Really, Harold, you are no longer

a child. It's time for you to

settle down and stop flitting away

your talents on these amateur

theatrics - your little

"divertissements" - no matter how

psychologically purging they may

be. I don't know what to do.

27INSERT - CLOSEUP OF UNCLE VICTOR - LEFT PROFILE

UNCLE VICTOR:

I'd put him in the Army, Helen.

28INT. CHASEN'S DEN - DAY

Mrs. Chasen continues.

MRS. CHASEN

Go have a talk with your Uncle

Victor. Perhaps he can fathom you.

After all, he was General Bradley's

right hand man.

29INT. VICTOR'S OFFICE - DAY

UNCLE VICTOR, a bluff, hearty, totally military man, is a

one star general with an amputated right arm. Harold sits

before him.

UNCLE VICTOR:

Harold, your mother has briefed me

on your situation and there is no

doubt in my mind of the requisite

necessary action. If it was up to

me I'd process your file and ship

you off to boot camp tomorrow.

Your mother, however, is adamant.

She does not want you in the Army

and insists on my holding on to

your draft records. But what do

you say, Harold?

(he begins a

selling job)

It's a great life. Action! Adventure!

Advising. See war - firsthand! Plenty

of slant-eyed girls. It will make a

man out of you, Harold. You'll travel

the world. Put on the uniform and

take on a man's job. Walk tall! -

with a glint in your eye, a spring

in your step, and the knowledge in

your heart that you are -

(he gestures to a

poster of bullet-

blazing Marines)

- working for peace, and - are

serving your country.

He stops before a poster of Nathan Hale with a noose about

his neck.

UNCLE VICTOR:

(continuing)

Like Nathan Hale. That's what this

country needs - more Nathan Hales.

He pulls his lanyard, activating some weird mechanism which

snaps up his empty sleeve into a natty salute. A pause.

The sleeve smartly refolds and he turns to Harold.

UNCLE VICTOR:

(softly)

And, Harold, I think I can see a

little Nathan Hale in you.

30INT. CHASEN'S DEN - DAY

Mrs. Chasen is going out, but she comes in to talk to Harold.

MRS. CHASEN

I only have a few minutes, Harold,

but I do want to inform you of my

decision. There is no doubt that

it is time for you to settle down

and begin thinking about your

future. You have led a very

carefree, idle, happy life up to

the present - the life of a child.

But it is time now to put away

childish things and take on adult

responsibilities. We would all

like to sail through life with

no thought of tomorrow. But that

cannot be. We have our duty. Our

obligations. Our principles. In

short, Harold, I think it is time

you got married.

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