Memphis Belle Page #3

DANNY:

Look. Becker forgot his good luck

charm.

VIRGE:

Poor slob.

EUGENE:

He should of worn it around his

neck. Then you never lose it.

He kisses his St. Anthony medal.

CLAY:

Rubbers.

RASCAL:

Dibs!

Clay tosses them to him. Then puts some other things on

the bed in the widow's pile: money, a compass, a diary.

(CONTINUED)

13.

13 CONTINUED:
(3)

RASCAL:

We know Virge the Virgin won't

need them. Virge, you gotta

promise if you ever lose your

cherry, you'll tell me about it.

VIRGE:

I'll send it to you. C.O.D.

Eugene starts searching his bunk area. Jack comes running

up and takes some money from the pile on Becker's

bunk.

JACK:

Becker owed me ten.

DANNY:

Jack, don't take his money!

JACK:

He owed it to me! Hey, what do

you guys know about Germany?

EUGENE:

Pretty women.

DANNY:

Good beer.

VIRGE:

The hamburger's named after a town

there.

JACK:

Well, a little bird told me that's

where they're sending us tomorrow.

The men react with disbelief and shock.

EUGENE:

You sure?

RASCAL:

We ain't going to Krautville. Our

plane's broke.

VIRGE:

No, it's fixed.

RASCAL:

Christ, let's go break it!

(CONTINUED)

14.

13 CONTINUED:
(4)

VIRGE:

Anybody want the rest of this

stuff?

Virge, Danny, Rascal, Jack and Eugene start towards the

bunk.

SHOT FROM ABOVE:

Clay dispenses the rest of Becker's possessions with the

other men standing around the bunk.

CLAY:

Deck of cards. Razor blades.

Lucky Strikes. Shoelaces. Pack

of Doublemint...

Rascal takes the cards, Jack the razor blades, Danny the

cigarettes, Eugene the shoelaces, Virge the gum. We

start to hear BIG BAND MUSIC and we're in -

14 INT. AIRPLANE HANGAR - NIGHT

It has been turned into a dance hall for the night:

streamers, a mirror ball, a bar and a big band. The

dance is in full swing. Jack is dancing with a shy

skinny girl and Eugene is dancing with a boisterous big

girl. It looks like they're with the wrong partners.

Eugene swings under the big girl's arm, kicks Jack in

the butt when his back is turned, then quickly swings

back into the big girl's arms. Jack looks around, but

has no idea where the kick came from.

ON DANNY:

He snaps a picture of them.

CUT TO:

RASCAL:

talking to a pretty English girl, FAITH. He's really

milking this for all the sympathy he can get.

RASCAL:

Now they're saying maybe we're

going to Germany tomorrow... my

short, young life could just be

snuffed out in an instant.

(MORE)

(CONTINUED)

15.

CONTINUED:

RASCAL (CONT'D)

I volunteered 'cause I thought it

would be fun. I never thought I

could get...

He chokes up. Faith looks away.

FAITH'S POV - VIRGE

standing across the room, alone, shy and very cute.

CUT TO:

RASCAL:

is so wrapped up in his pitch he doesn't realize Faith's

attention has wandered.

RASCAL:

Oh, Faith, when I think I might

never see the stars again or hear

good music or talk to a beautiful

girl like you...

(wipes away a tear)

Sorry. You need a drink. I'll be

right back.

He takes her glass and hurries over to the bar. It's

packed. Val is there, checking out the girls on the

dance floor.

RASCAL:

She's crazy about me. She's going

to jump on me any second.

He burrows his way into the crowd. Phil comes up with a

brimming glass of whiskey. He's already a little drunk.

VAL:

Phil, come on, you've had enough.

PHIL:

How come they brought Life Magazine

over and everything? Are they

trying to jinx us?

VAL:

Just forget it. Let's find us a

couple girls.

Val looks out at the dance floor. Phil comes up to him,

close.

(CONTINUED)

16.

14 CONTINUED:
(2)

PHIL:

Val, tell me the truth. The truth.

Are you scared?

VAL:

I'm Val. Come on.

He takes Phil's glass from him, sets it down on a nearby

table and pulls Phil toward the dance floor.

CUT TO:

FAITH:

is with Virge. He's excitedly talking about his

restaurant.

VIRGE:

You've never had a hamburger?

That's unbelievable. You don't

know what you're missing.

FAITH:

They sound wonderful. It's been

so long since I've had any meat.

Virge takes Faith's hand and demonstrates his technique.

He has no idea he's turning her on.

VIRGE:

See, I work the meat very slowly,

very tenderly. That's the secret.

Rub in a little Worcestershire, a

little garlic, a little thyme.

Then ease it into a patty...

gentle, gentle, so I don't bruise

the meat.

FAITH:

Virge, you're making me so hungry!

CUT TO:

RASCAL:

comes out of the mob at the bar with Faith's drink. He

looks around to where Faith was waiting, but she's not

there. She's nowhere to be seen.

CUT TO:

(CONTINUED)

17.

14 CONTINUED:
(3)

BRUCE AND LUKE:

sitting at a table with a couple of girls. They've

obviously become the best of buddies.

BRUCE:

Ever done any public speaking,

Luke?

LUKE:

A little acting. Amateur stuff.

BRUCE:

I bet you were good. We're going

to have to excite people on this

bond tour. Inspire them. Dennis

is a fine man, but he doesn't

have your enthusiasm.

LUKE:

I'm a qualified pilot, same as

him. They just didn't have a

plane for me. So, he's the big

shot pilot and I'm sitting in

the dummy seat.

BRUCE:

You're no dummy, Luke. We both

know that.

Bruce puts a hand on Luke's shoulder.

CUT TO:

DENNIS:

standing with the ROOKIE LIEUTENANT, a fresh-faced,

very naive young man. Dennis is trying to describe

the excitement and responsibility of being a pilot,

but he's inarticulate. The Rookie Lieutenant has no

idea what he's talking about.

DENNIS:

Just wait till you go up for the

first time. You've got four

thousand pounds of bombs in your

belly, nine other men are depending

on you to make the right decision.

It's...

(beat)

Everything you ever did before

seems so...

(MORE)

(CONTINUED)

18.

14 CONTINUED:
(4)

DENNIS (CONT'D)

(beat)

You're really alive up there,

that's what I'm getting at.

You'll see what I mean.

ROOKIE LIEUTENANT

Well, uh, thanks a lot, Captain.

I've got to get a refill.

The Rookie Lieutenant hurries off, anxious to get away

from Dennis. Dennis looks across the room.

DENNIS'S POV

Bruce and Luke at the table with with the girls, having

a great time, laughing, chatting.

ON DENNIS:

Feeling alienated, alone, he turns and walks out the

door.

15 EXT. BASE - NIGHT

It's dark, foggy. Dennis walks across the field toward

another hangar, a beer in his hand. The BAND can be

heard in the DISTANCE.

16 INT. SECOND HANGAR - NIGHT

It is brightly, starkly lit with floodlights. There are

planes and parts of planes crowded in here with ground

crews crawling over them. It is an epic sight, showing

the huge scale of the air war and the number of men

required to sustain it. In the f.g. is a plane, "Is You

Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby?" The pilot's window is

shattered, a front tire is flat, a chunk has been taken

out of the tail, the ball turret is broken in half and

what remains is covered in dried blood. A mechanic is

hosing it out. LES ENRIGHT, a stocky man in his mid-

thirties, wearing grease-stained coveralls, is helping

carry a new ball turret over to the plane. Dennis goes

over to him.

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