Memphis Belle Page #5

(MORE)

(CONTINUED)

25.

CONTINUED:

BRUCE (CONT'D)

They're just about to become the

first crew in the Eighth Air Force

to fly their twenty-fifth and final

mission. Let's hear it for them!

Hip hip...!

CUT TO:

DANNY, CLAY, JACK AND EUGENE

unhappily watching Bruce. The Rookie starts to complete

the cheer.

ROOKIE:

Hooray...

Danny grabs his arm to stop him. A couple of other

rookies have started to cheer, but they also quickly shut

up. A grim silence falls over the hangar. Bruce is

embarrassed and doesn't know what to do. Danny looks at

Clay -- a look saying "Do something." Clay quickly goes

through the crowd and steps up onstage and takes the

microphone.

CLAY:

This buddy of mine keeps begging

me to sing and I guess I ain't

gonna get out of it this time.

Clay says a few words to the band leader, then turns back

to the microphone. In the meantime, Bruce quietly leaves

the stage. The band begins.

CLAY:

(sings)

'Oh, Danny Boy,

The pipes, the pipes are

calling...'

ON DANNY:

He blushes and tries to escape. Jack and Eugene grab

Danny and force him to stay. The Rookie smiles, enjoying

this -- this is what Danny was talking about.

CLAY:

'From glen to glen,

And down the mountain side...'

Then suddenly, without warning, Clay and the band go

into an up-tempo, jazzy version of the song. Clay's good

-- he's a natural. Everyone starts to dance. In no time

at all the hangar is swinging again.

26.

EXT. BASE - NIGHT

Phil is alone out in the middle of the field. The SONG

can be heard IN the DISTANCE. Phil holds a nearly full

bottle of Scotch. He looks up at the moon, diffused

through a layer of fog. He shouts.

PHIL:

I don't want to die, I don't want

to die, I don't want to die...

His call fades away. He takes a long drink from the

bottle. He stumles a little, then wanders off, disappearing

into the fog.

EXT. BASE - DAWN

The horizon is just starting to fill with light. The fog

is gone and the clouds are breaking up.

CUT TO:

MEMPHIS BELLE:

The Plexiglas of the nose, top turret and ball turret

reflect the bright sunrise. It's a B-17F, olive green

with a grey belly. On the nose, there's a painting of

a leggy woman in a bathing suit. Also, twenty-four

yellow bomb emblems and eight swastikas. The big forward

landing gear gives it a wide stance and the nose points

into the air, as if eager to take off. The plane is

huge, so huge it doesn't look like it could ever get off

the ground. It's a dramatic sight, the sun coming up

yellow and hot behind this 30 tons of machine. Men are

feverishly working on the plane, getting it ready, loading

the bombs, checking every detail again and again.

23A INT. ENLISTED MEN'S BARRACKS - DAWN

The barracks is dark. Danny is in bed, asleep. Suddenly,

a flashlight is flipped on, right in his face.

SERGEANT:

Daly, rise 'n' shine. Mission

oh-eight-hundred.

Danny squints up at the pie-faced SERGEANT.

DANNY:

Okay.

The Sergeant shines the flashlight in Rascal's face.

(CONTINUED)

27.

23A CONTINUED:

SERGEANT:

Moore. Up and at 'em.

RASCAL:

I just went to sleep!

He pulls the covers over his head. Other men are

starting to wake up, groaning, hacking.

SERGEANT:

Alla yous guys, get crackin'!

Clay sits up and starts to sing.

CLAY:

(sings)

'Oh, how I hate to get up in the

morning...'

INT. OFFICERS' BARRACKS - DAWN

It is identical to the enlisted men's Nissen hut, but

less crowded with six bunks, rather than twelve. The

Sergeant shines the light in Dennis's face.

SERGEANT:

Captain Dearborn, mission today.

Breakfast oh-six-hundred, briefing,

oh-six-forty-five.

Dennis wakes and looks at his wristwatch.

DENNIS:

Thanks, Sergeant.

SERGEANT:

Lieutenant Sinclair.

In the bed next to Dennis's Luke is already starting to

awake. His dog is sleeping beside him on the bunk.

LUKE:

I'm up.

The Sergeant moves his flashlight across the aisle to

Phil's bed. It's empty.

SERGEANT:

Where's Lieutenant Lowenthal?

DENNIS:

Phil? I don't know. Val, where's

Phil?

(CONTINUED)

28.

24 CONTINUED:

The Sergeant moves the flashlight to Val. Val quickly

improvises.

VAL:

He's in the can. Couldn't sleep.

Nerves.

SERGEANT:

I don't blame him. Give 'em hell

today.

DENNIS:

Will do.

Dennis starts to get up. Behind his back, Val and Luke

exchange a glance. They have no idea where Phil is.

25 EXT. BARRACKS - DAWN

Val, dressed, comes out of the barracks. It rained

during the night and the ground is muddy. Men are

hurrying for the latrine and mess hall. Jeeps go by,

splashing mud. Val starts jogging.

26 EXT. BASE - DAWN

Val jogs around the perimeter track. Planes are on

their individual hardstands, with ground crews crawling

over them. Gas trucks and bomb carts come and go.

Ordinance crews are loading fat olive drab bombs into

the bellies of the planes. Armament crews are putting

boxes of ammunition in the planes and checking the gun

turrets. Val looks around for Phil, but there's no sign

of him.

27 EXT. AIRPLANE HANGAR - DAWN

All that remains of the dance is some beer bottles,

playing cards and cigarettes on the ground. The

hangar door is open and we can see that it has turned

back into a repair shop. A damaged B-17 is being

cannibalized for its parts. Val looks around, stumped.

Suddenly, a voice cries out.

PHIL:

Bogey, six o'clock low!

Phil tackles Val from behind and knocks him to the

ground. Val scrambles out from under Phil and gets to

his feet. Phil sits in the mud, laughing.

VAL:

You're drunk!

(CONTINUED)

29.

CONTINUED:

PHIL:

(deliberately

slurring)

I rethent that inthinuation!

He takes a drink from his bottle of Scotch -- it's almost

empty.

VAL:

Are you crazy? We've got a

mission!

Val grabs the bottle away from Phil, then tries to pull

Phil up. He's wasted.

PHIL:

I know, that's why. I'm gonna

get it today, Val. My luck's up,

my number's run out. I mean...

(giggles)

I'm gonna die and I want to give

you something to remember me by.

He takes off his watch.

VAL:

I don't want that piece of crap.

You've got to get hold of yourself.

Everybody's counting on you...

Arm around Phil, he starts leading him back to the

barracks.

PHIL:

You want my cufflinks? They've

got my initials.

VAL:

Phil, you're going to let everyone

down...

PHIL:

How about my whole set of New York

Yankee baseball cards? Nah, then

you'll just remember the Yankees

and forget about me.

Phil continues to ramble as Val leads him away.

PHIL:

I know, my fountain pen! You

could use it to fill out

prescriptions and stuff. Or you

name it, Val. Anything you want.

My dog tags? You want my dog

tags or my Boy Scout knife?

30.

INT. LATRINE - DAY

There are men in here, shaving, sleepily getting ready

for the mission. Val and Luke watch Phil weave towards

a stall. He misses the door and bumps into the doorjamb.

LUKE:

That's our navigator.

Phil disappears into the stall.

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