London After Midnight Page #3

TITLE:

"Something like he wasn't of

this Earth.... something unholy--"

BACK TO SCENE:
He finishes title. The other nods in

agreement to this.

69

INT. LIBRARY NIGHT CLOSE SHOT

Burke, looking out of scene at them for a moment with

penetrating glance. Then he laughs and says:

TITLE:

"Nonsense!"

70

INT. LIBRARY NIGHT MED. SHOT

Of group, as Burke finishes title, laughing. Sir James is

now a bit more at ease, but still nervous and upset. The

two agents look shamefaced and foolish. One of them gets

over to Sir James and says that if they are not needed any

more they'll be going. Sir James nods goodnight to them,

turning and indicating to Hibbs to show them out. Hibbs

exits with the two agents. Sir James sinks into his seat at

the desk. Burke draws up a chair.

71

INT. LIBRARY NIGHT CLOSE SHOT

Sir James and Burke at the desk as Burke sits down. Sir

James stares for a moment, frowning at the signature on the

lease. Then, with a sudden thought, he rummages in a drawer

of the desk and gets out a packet of papers. With nervous

fingers, he slips the rubber band off and examines the

signature attached. He places this beside the other and

shows the two of them to Burke.

INSERT:

Two signatures, "Roger Balfour",

along side each other. They very

closely resemble each other.

BACK TO SCENE:
The two men look up from the document

seriously. For a moment, not a word is spoken between them.

Then Sir James says, in awe:

TITLE:

"The signatures are the same!"

BACK TO SCENE:
Burke nods solemnly. "Yes."

72

INT. MUSIC ROOM NIGHT MED. SHOT

The room is dark, except for a shaft of moonlight from the

window. In this moonlight, Lucy, pale and beautiful in a

white dress, stands looking out into the garden. Hibbs

enters to her. She does not turn for a moment. Hibbs stands

looking at her for a moment, worried. Then he speaks to her,

softly. She turns, startled. Then, seeing it is Hibbs, she

says:

TITLE:

"I thought I heard a voice calling

to me from the garden -- ever so

softly:
'Lucy--'"

BACK TO SCENE:
Hibbs stares at her for a moment, then turns

and looks out into the garden. He turns back to her,

closing the casement window and tells her:

TITLE:

"There s no one there --

You're nervous, dear--"

BACK TO SCENE:
He finishes title. She smiles wanly. "Yes,

I'm nervous." He turns and starts to close the windows.

73

INT. LIBRARY NIGHT CLOSE SHOT

Sir James and Burke, as Sir James talks to him, earnestly.

Burke, with a cynical smile, interrupts, saying:

TITLE:

"You mean a ghost, Sir James?"

BACK TO SCENE:
Sir James shakes his head, solemnly. They

look at each other for a moment, then Sir James answers:

TITLE:

"Not a ghost, no! Worse than

that--"

CUT FROM TITLE TO:

74

INT. LIBRARY NIGHT MED. SHOT

Sir James, finishes title, rises and takes down two or three

ancient looking books from the bookcases that line the

walls. He puts these on the desk, opens one of them, finds

a passage and shows it to Burke.

75

INT. MUSIC ROOM NIGHT MED. SHOT

Hibbs and Lucy, as Hibbs turns on a light switch by the

door to hall and the room is flooded with light. They go

over and sit down on a settee, as he talks to her seriously.

76

INT. LIBRARY NIGHT CLOSE SHOT

Sir James and Burke at desk, as Burke looks up from passage

he was reading and says:

TITLE:

"We're not living in the Middle

Ages, Sir James."

CUT TO SCENE:
Sir James is deeply thoughtful. He ponders

this for a moment, then says:

TITLE:

"Just the same, I'd like to have

a look at the vault where Roger

Balfour was buried!"

BACK TO SCENE. He finishes title. They sit looking at each

other solemnly.

FADE OUT:

TITLE:

MIDNIGHT:

FADE IN:

77

EXT. CEMETERY NIGHT SEMI LONG SHOT

A Newcomb shot, weird, eerie; bare-limbed, queer trees; in

semi f.g. a mausoleum. Run a few feet for the effect and

LAP DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. MAUSOLEUM NIGHT CLOSE SHOT

The open door of the mausoleum. Sir James and Burke stagger

backward out the door of the mausoleum. Burke has a pocket

flashlight in his hand. He clicks it off. They stare at

each other aghast. Then Sir James mutters, incredulously,

in horror:

TITLE:

"The coffin was empty!"

BACK TO SCENE:
He finishes title. Burke nods slowly,

solemnly. Suddenly Sir James clutches at Burke's arm and

both men are tense, listening.

INSERT:

CLOSE UP owl on bare limb of tree.

It opens its beak.

TITLE:

"HOO!......HOO!"

BACK TO INSERT:
It closes beak.

BACK TO SCENE:
Sir James, trembling, gets over "Let's get

out of here." Burke looks up and off, telling him: "It's

only an owl." They turn to go.

78

EXT. BALFOUR HOUSE AND GARDEN NIGHT SEMI LONG SHOT

The house and the ruined garden in weird lighting. At the

gate stand the Man in the Beaver Hat, the girl in black

with the sleeves that look like wings. These two are

welcoming three others -- three men as queer in appearance

as the man in the Beaver Hat and his companion. Not a word

is spoken. The whole effect is odd, fantastic. They start

toward the house, slowly, in solemn procession.

FADE OUT:

FADE IN:

INSERT:

Vignetted passage of the printed

page of an old book, the paper of

a parchment-like quality, aged,

the print in an Old English type:

"--the undead, the vampyrs: dead

bodies which leave their graves

at night to suck the blood of the

living."

LAP DISSOLVE INTO FROM INSERT:

79

INT. HAMLIN LIBRARY (NIGHT) MEDIUM SHOT

Hibbs, Sir James and Burke. The Secretary is reading from

one of the old books to the other two men. Both of whom

seem to be profoundly impressed. He turns the page and is

instantly struck by what he encounters there. He spreads

the book open on the desk and calls their attention to it.

They lean over, seeing:

INSERT:

PAGE illustrating from book

done in old wood-cut fashion

depicting a vampire.

CUT FROM INSERT TO:

80

INTERIOR HAMLIN LIBRARY (NIGHT) CLOSE UP

Sir James and Burke, looking down at the illustration.

Burke looks up from it, in his eyes the faintest suggestion

of a cynical smile. Sir James looks at the page facing the

illustration and reads on for a few lines. There is a

strange excitement in his manner as he indicates to Burke

to read what he has just read. Burke looks down at the

page:

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