On the Waterfront Page #13

INT—HATCH—DAY

FATHER BARRY:

Every morning when the hiring boss blows his

whistle, Jesus stands alongside you in the shape-up.

More missiles fly, some hitting the Father, but he continues:

FATHER BARRY:

He sees why some of you get picked and some

of you get passed over. He sees the family men

worrying about getting their rent and getting food

in the house for the wife and kids. He sees them

selling their souls to the mob for a day's pay.

CLOSE—ON JOHNNY FRIENDLY

Nodding to Barney. Barney picks up an empty beer can and hurls it down

into the hatch.

INT—HATCH—DAY

It strikes Father Barry and blood etches his forehead. Pop jumps

forward and shakes his fist.

POP:

By Christ, the next bum who throws something

deals with me. I don't care if he's twice my

size.

Some of the other longshoremen grumble approval.

FATHER BARRY:

What does Christ think of the easy-money boys

who do none of the work and take all of the gravy?

What does He think of these fellows wearing

hundred-and-fifty-dollar suits and diamond rings—

on your union dues and your kickback money?

How does He feel about bloodsuckers picking

up a longshoreman's work tab and grabbing

twenty percent interest at the end of a week?

CLOSE—ON J.P.

J.P.

Never mind about that!

CLOSE—OF SONNY—ON DOCK

Scowling. Terry, nearby, is increasingly moved by the Father's

challenge.

FATHER BARRY:

How does He, who spoke up without fear

against evil, feel about your silence?

SONNY:

Shut up about that!

He reaches for another rotten banana and is poised to throw it. Almost

simultaneously, Terry throws a short hard right that flattens Sonny

neatly. Edie is watching, a deeply felt gratitude in her eyes.

CLOSE—ON JOHNNY FRIENDLY AND TRUCK

A little way off .

TRUCK:

You see that?

Johnny presses his lips together but makes

no sign.

CLOSE—ON TERRY AND EDIE

She moves closer to him. He barely glances at her, then continues

listening to Father Barry.

INT—HATCH—DAY

FATHER BARRY:

You want to know what's wrong

with our waterfront? It's love of a lousy buck. It's

making love of a buck— the cushy job— more

important than the love of man. It's forgetting

that every fellow down here is your brother in

Christ.

CLOSE—ON POP—MOOSE—LUKE—TERRY AND EDIE

As Father Barry's voice rises to a climax—

FATHER BARRY:

But remember, fellows, Christ is always with you—

Christ is in the shape-up, He's in the hatch—

He's in the union hall— He's kneeling

here beside NolanÑand He's saying with all

of you—

CLOSE—ON FATHER BARRY

FATHER BARRY:

If you do it to the least of mine,

you do it to me! What they did to Joey, what they

did to Nolan, they're doing to you. And you. And

YOU. And only you, with God's help, have the

power to knock 'em off for good!

(turns to Nolan's corpse)

Okay, Kayo?

(then looks up and says, harshly)

Amen.

He makes the sign of the cross. Pop, Moose, Tommy, Luke, and the others

do likewise. Big Mac and Specs, seeing the others, reluctantly follow

suit. Then, disgruntled, Big Mac climbs up out of the hatch and

bellows:

BIG MAC:

All right, fellows— break it up! Let's go!

Strongly moved, the longshoremen glare at Big Mac and then silently

start back to their places on the deck, in the hatches, on the dock,

etc.

MOVING SHOT:

The pallet rises out of the hatch with the body on it. Pop sits

casually on the edge with Father Barry who, in pantomime, is cadging a

cigarette.

CLOSE—ON EDIE AND TERRY

Edie crosses herself. Then she looks at Terry. They look at each other

and the feeling

in both of them is some terrible hunger beyond their control. For a

moment it seems as if Terry must go to her, but instead he turns away,

slowly, as if this were the most diffi cult thing he was ever asked to

do. Edie looks after him and we feel that she will yield to impulse and

call out to him. But she looks down instead, finally, and closes her

eyes, imperceptibly trembling against desire. Luke comes up to her,

but she is lost in her own most private thoughts and does not

see him. He carries Joey's jacket, the one Nolan has been wearing.

LUKE:

Edie... .

(nudges her)

Edie—

EDIE:

(startled)

Oh— Luke.

LUKE:

(quietly)

Joey's jacket. I thought maybe

Kayo'd like you to have it back.

Edie looks at him, and takes it silently. She hugs it to her, whispers,

"Thank you," and, in a kind of sleepwalking, starts toward the entrance

of the pier. Luke watches her anxiously.

LUKE:

Sure you're okay?

She nods and continues on alone.

QUICK DISSOLVE:

EXT—ROOFTOP—NIGHT

At the pigeon coop near Terry's rooftop window. Under the window is the

mattress he uses as outdoor sleeping quarters on hot summer nights.

Terry is staring in at the pigeons, full of his own troubled,

bestirring thoughts. Edie comes up behind him almost silently, carrying

the jacket.

TERRY:

(turning)

Edie!

EDIE:

(holding the coat out to him)

I— I brought this for you, Terry.

It was Joey's.

(her conscious self trying to conceal

3t4the real meaning)

Yours is coming out at the elbows.

TERRY:

(close to her— and not really caring what he is

saying)

I don't rate it.

EDIE:

Go ahead, wear it.

From the pigeon coop comes the soft sound of pigeons cooing as if

upset.

EDIE:

(under her breath)

Pigeons... .

TERRY:

There's a hawk around. They're scared

tonight.

She looks up and huddles a little closer to him. Now he reaches out for

her—groping with an unfamiliar inexorable emotion.

TERRY:

Edie— I— I— never said this to a girl

before, I never knew a girl worth trying to say it

for, but you— you're... .

EDIE:

(whispering and suddenly wiser than he)

I know... I know... .

He kisses her at last, with pent-up violence and hunger. The sound of a

deep-throated ship's whistle rolls across the river but they do not

hear it. There is a tremendous sense of release and relief as their

mouths and bodies press together.

FADE OUT:

FADE IN:

INT—CONFESSION BOOTH—DAY

Terry waits in anguish for the shutter of the confessional to open.

When it does, Father Barry is glimpsed from within.

TERRY:

(blurting it out)

Father, help me, I've got blood on my hands.

Father Barry looks at him.

TERRY:

Bless me, Father, for I have—

To Terry's amazement the shutter closes abruptly.

INT—CHURCH—OUTSIDE CONFESSION BOOTH—DAY

As Father Barry steps out of the booth, Terry hurries from his side of

the booth and clasps Father Barry's arms violently. Father Barry keeps

on walking and Terry follows him.

TERRY:

What's the matter? I've got something

That's chokin' me. I've gotta get it out.

FATHER BARRY:

Someone else c'n take your confession.

TERRY:

(following him)

But you're the one I want to tell—

what you said over Nolan— about keepin'

silent when you know the score— I'm guilty— you

hear me? I'm guilty... .

FATHER BARRY:

(trying to move on)

I don't want to hear it in there.

TERRY:

I don't get it!

FATHER BARRY:

(rapidly)

Tell it to me in there and

my lips are sealed. But if I dig it out myself I can

use it where it'll do the most good.

TERRY:

But you've got to listen to me.

FATHER BARRY:

I'll find you a priest.

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