Memphis Belle

FADE IN:

EXT. FIELD - DAY

A football game is in progress. Six guys on each side,

all in their late teens and early twenties, wearing

khaki pants, work shirts, T-shirts. OVER, we hear the

voice of BRUCE DERRINGER. The first player we see is

VIRGE HOOGESTEGER.

BRUCE (V.O.)

Virge Hoogesteger., What kind of

name is that? Nicknamed 'The

Virgin.' Well, look at him. Poor

kid probably tries to get a girl

into bed and she wants to make him

brush his teeth and wash behind

his ears.

Then we see JACK BOCCI bulldozing down one of the

defense players.

BRUCE (V.O.)

Look at this goon. Jack Bocci

from Brooklyn. He's a magician.

Wants to be the next Houdini.

Well, he's escaped twenty-four

missions. Not bad for an amateur.

Next, EUGENE McVEY nervously making a play.

BRUCE (V.O.)

This is the religious one.

There's always a religious one.

Eugene McVey. Nineteen from

Cleveland. There's always one

from Cleveland. High strung,

nervous, always coming down with

something. How'd he get in this

bunch?

Next, we see RICHARD "RASCAL" MOORE showing off.

BRUCE (V.O.)

Rascal? That can't be his real

name. Here we go. Richard Moore,

but called the Rascal. Thinks

he's a real ladies man. Talks

dirty, the whole bit. Well, he'll

grow out of it. If he grows at all.

Then we see CLAY BUSBY, cooly running with the ball.

(CONTINUED)

2.

CONTINUED:

BRUCE (V.O.)

Clay Busby, a farmer's son from

Louisiana. Plays piano and sings.

Listen to this. Learned piano in

a New Orleans whorehouse. Better

keep that out of the papers.

Last, we see DANNY DALY. He has the ball and is going

for the touchdown as his team urges him on.

BRUCE (V.O.)

Oh boy, this kid couldn't be more

Irish if he tried. Even his name,

Danny Daly. He's the

intellectual. Writes poetry.

Likes to read. Hates sports.

Danny makes the touchdown. He shouts with exhilaration

and raises the ball in triumph. Just then, a huge olive

drab B-17 bomber appears out of nowhere and roars

directly overhead. The game is forgotten and everyone

starts running towards a short, boxy control tower. Now

we see that the football field is a grassy area on the

side of an air field with three intersecting runways.

Men are coming from all over the base, on foot and

bicycle, shouting out the number of planes: five, seven,

nine, twelve! Planes are appearing all over the sky.

EUGENE:

Fifteen, sixteen!

JACK:

How many went out?

DANNY:

Twenty-one.

VIRGE:

There's another!

We MOVE UP TO the control tower. The balcony is crowded

with men. THROUGH the window we see the CO (Commanding

Officer) on the phone.

1A INT. CONTROL TOWER - DAY

The CO is in his early thirties, impeccably-dressed.

He's in charge and handles his many responsibilities

efficiently -- no detail is too small. In the b.g. are

the adjutant and other personnel.

(CONTINUED)

3.

1A CONTINUED:

CO:

Sir, they're still coming in.

How can I promise you 24 planes

tomorrow when they're not even

back?

The adjutant comes up to him with some papers, the CO

grabs them and motions the adjutant away. The CO is

shocked by what he hears. He speaks quietly.

CO:

Where? But we hit that target a

month ago, sir. I thought...

The voice on the other end interrupts.

CO:

I know we have to put the pressure

on, but I almost lost a quarter of

my...

The S-2, a scholarly, bespectacled young man, comes in

from the balcony and waits to get the CO's attention.

Frustrated, exasperated, the CO listens to the voice on

the other end.

CO:

Yes, sir. Yes, sir, I'll have my

ground crews work all night. I

was hoping to give them a little

break. We're having a dance

tonight in honor of the Group's

first anniversary...

(interrupted again)

Yes, I'll give you an update as

soon as I know more. Thank you,

sir. Goodbye.

He hangs up. He's shaken by the news he's received.

S-2

Sir, eighteen planes. Three still

out.

He nods, then hurries out the door to the balcony.

EXT. CONTROL TOWER BALCONY - DAY

On the balcony, COLONEL BRUCE DERRINGER. Bruce is in

his mid-thirties, has all-American good looks and an

easy-going charm that he can turn on and off at will.

Bruce isn't watching the planes landing. He's looking

down at the lawn below. The CO comes out on the balcony

with the S-2.

(CONTINUED)

4.

CONTINUED:

BRUCE:

So that's them.

CO:

Those are the enlisted men.

You're meeting the officers

this afternoon.

BRUCE:

They must be the ten luckiest

sons of b*tches in the world.

CO:

They're ordinary men, Bruce.

2A BRUCE'S POV

FROM the balcony DOWN TO the control tower lawn where

our six boys are just joining the crowd below.

BRUCE (O.S.)

Are you kidding? First, they

volunteer for this, then they

do 24 missions without a scratch.

They don't sound very ordinary

to me.

S-2

Two more, sir.

2B EXT. CONTROL TOWER BALCONY - DAY

The CO looks out at arriving planes through his

binoculars.

BRUCE:

You know, people at home are

getting pretty discouraged by our

losses. They're starting to think

daylight bombing is a mistake.

CO:

It's the only way we're going to

win this war.

BRUCE:

You're right, and we've got to

get that message across. That's

where I come in. The nation's

going to fall in love with those

boys. The first crew in the

Eighth Air Force to complete their

tour of duty.

(CONTINUED)

5.

2B CONTINUED:

CO:

They haven't done it yet.

BRUCE:

They will. You'll make sure of

it.

He leans on the balcony and looks down at the crew. We

MOVE DOWN TO them.

EXT. CONTROL TOWER LAWN

The six boys anxiously watch for the last plane.

DANNY:

One more. It'd be great if

everyone came back today. With

the dance and everything.

CLAY:

I give them four to one. Any

takers?

JACK:

Me.

CLAY:

Show me your money, Jack.

JACK:

Gene, lend me some money.

EUGENE:

What do I look like, Wells Fargo?

DANNY:

There they are!

Danny points out at the horizon. The boys are relieved.

They push each other around a little, then turn and start

walking across the field towards the barracks. SOUND:

ENGINE SPUTTERING. (The following dialogue can be used

as the men walk away, if needed.)

VIRGE:

I heard they brought in a swell

band for the dance tonight.

DANNY:

Clay, maybe they'll let you sing

with them.

CLAY:

No siree.

(CONTINUED)

6.

3 CONTINUED:

EUGENE:

You sing to us in the plane all

the time.

CLAY:

Yeah, but you guys ain't got no

taste.

4 OMITTED

&

5

5A EXT. BASE - DAY

The plane is coming in to land. It has two feathered

props and only the left front wheel is down. The wheel

touches the runway and the plane immediately tips to

the right. It pivots on its single wheel, scraping its

belly on the runway. The props on the right side bend

back, slowing the PLANE's spin. It starts to come to

a halt, but just as it looks like it's safe, it EXPLODES

in a sudden fiery blast.

5B EXT. CONTROL TOWER LAWN - DAY

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes