His Girl Friday Page #5

BURNS:

(to Hildy)

You're losing your eye. You used to

be able to pitch better than that.

(he reaches for phone)

Hello... Yeah... What? Sweeney? Well,

what can I do for you?

CLOSE SHOT DUFFY

seated at his desk, talking into phone.

DUFFY:

What's the matter with you? Are you

drunk? This is Duffy, not Sweeney!

CLOSE SHOT BURNS AND HILDY

Burns into phone:

BURNS:

Sweeney! You can't do that to me!

Not today, of all days! Jumping

Jehosophat! Oh, no, Sweeney... Well,

I suppose so... All right. If you

have to, you have to.

(he hangs up)

How do you like that? Everything

happens to me -- with 365 days in

the year -- this has to be the day.

HILDY:

What's the matter?

BURNS:

Sweeney.

HILDY:

Dead?

BURNS:

Not yet. Might just as well be. The

only man on the paper who can write --

and his wife picks this morning to

have a baby!

CLOSE SHOT HILDY

HILDY:

Sweeney?

(she laughs)

Well, after all, he didn't do it on

purpose, did he?

CLOSE SHOT BURNS AND HILDY

BURNS:

I don't care whether he did or not.

He's supposed to be covering the

Earl Williams case and there he is --

waiting at the hospital! Is there no

sense of honor left in this country?

HILDY:

(practically)

Well, haven't you got anybody else?

BURNS:

There's nobody else on the paper who

can write! This'll break me, unless --

(he stares at Hildy;

then a light breaks)

Hildy!

HILDY:

No!

BURNS:

You've got to help me, Hildy.

HILDY:

Keep away --

BURNS:

It'll bring us together again, Hildy --

just the way we used to be.

HILDY:

That's what I'm afraid of. "Any time --

any place -- anywhere!"

BURNS:

Don't mock, Hildy, this is bigger

than anything that's happened to us.

Don't do it for me! Do it for the

paper.

HILDY:

Get away, Svengali.

BURNS:

If you won't do it for love, how

about money? Forget the other offer

and I'll raise you twenty-five bucks

a week.

HILDY:

Listen, you bumble-headed baboon --

BURNS:

All right -- thirty-five, and not a

cent more!

HILDY:

Please! Will you just --

BURNS:

Great grief! What's that other paper

going to give you?

HILDY:

I'm not working for any other paper!

BURNS:

Oh! In that case, the raise is off

and you go back to your old salary

and like it. Trying to blackjack --

HILDY:

Look at this!

(pulling her glove

off her left hand)

CLOSEUP HILDY:

She gets glove off left hand and holds up an engagement ring

for him to see.

HILDY:

Do you see this? Do you know what an

engagement ring is?

CLOSEUP BURNS:

He looks at ring, swallows, then:

MED. SHOT

Burns and Hildy.

HILDY:

I tried to tell you right away but

you started reminiscing. I'm getting

married, Walter, and also getting as

far away from the newspaper business

as I can get! I'm through.

BURNS:

(himself again)

Get married all you want to, Hildy,

but you can't quit the newspaper

business.

HILDY:

You can't sell me that, Walter.

BURNS:

Who says I can't? You're a newspaper

man.

HILDY:

That's why I'm quitting. I want to

go some place where I can be a woman.

BURNS:

I know you, Hildy, and I know what

it would mean. It would kill you.

CLOSER SHOT:

HILDY:

(bitterly)

A journalist! Peeking through keyholes --

running after fire engines -- waking

people up in the middle of the night

to ask them if they think Hitler's

going to start a war -- stealing

pictures off old ladies of their

daughters that got chased by apemen!

I know all about reporters -- a lot

of daffy buttinskies going around

without a nickel in their pockets,

and for what? So a million hired

girls and motormen's wives will know

what's going on! No, Walter, I'm

through.

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