One Way Passage Page #5

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DISSOLVE TO:

INT. BETTY'S CABIN - LATER

The steward arrives at the cabin door with the elaborate tray and knocks.

After a moment, he opens the door and enters, placing the tray on a table.

Also visible on the table are Skippy's feet which are propped up on the edge.

Skippy tosses a coin onto the tray -- a tip for the steward.

SKIPPY:

Thank you!

The steward takes the coin and departs, closing the door behind him. Skippy

takes his feet down off the table, reaches over and grabs a bottle of gin from

the tray. We see his smiling face for the first time as he opens the bottle

and brings it to his lips. He chugs the contents. And chugs. And chugs.

We CUT WIDE to reveal that Betty is lounging nearby on a sofa, watching him.

After a moment, she speaks to him -- not with her fancy European accent, but

with her tough American one.

BETTY:

Say, don't you ever breathe?

Skippy stops drinking, exhales deeply, and hands Betty the bottle. She wipes

the mouth of the bottle and takes a fairly long swig herself -- much to

Skippy's surprise. Skippy looks over the tray with all its mixings.

SKIPPY:

What's the idea of all the landscape

gardening?

BETTY:

(haughtily, using her

fake European accent)

Oh, straight gin is so vulgar, my

dear --

(instantly lapsing

into Americanese)

Oh, boy! Are my pups growling!

Betty leans over and rubs her sore feet.

SKIPPY:

(amused)

Betty, don't they ever get on to

you? You've been gettin' away with

this for years. Who are ya supposed

to be now?

BETTY:

Sucker...

(strips away

her bangs)

... meet Bettina, la Comtesse de

Barilhaus.

She tosses her fake bangs aside.

SKIPPY:

Oh, Barilhaus. Oh, I get it!

"Barrel House" Betty! Barilhaus,

sure. Have you got anything lined

up?

BETTY:

Mm, did ya get a load of that

Englishman with the single cheater?

She means, of course, Sir Harold and his monocle. Betty dabs a cloth with gin

and scours her forehead.

SKIPPY:

I did. Full face, he looks like the

Bank of England. Look, I had an

idea--

BETTY:

Now, lay off! No petty larceny in

this one. Say, if I make this touch,

I'm through. Sick of jumping every

time there's a knock at the door.

You know, this sticky stuff's bad

for my scalp. Hm. Guess I'm just

tired.

SKIPPY:

You hustlers are all alike. Spend

all your time in the twilight sleep.

What've ya got on your mind?

BETTY:

Say, I'm a sucker, just like the

rest of them. I want a chicken

ranch.

SKIPPY:

Oh, sure, I know that one, too. All

you need is five thousand hens and

one rooster.

BETTY:

That's the set-up.

SKIPPY:

Stop kiddin' yourself, Betty.

You'll be ridin' these tubs till

they count ten over ya.

BETTY:

I may fool ya.

SKIPPY:

I hope ya do.

She takes a swig of gin and hands him back the bottle.

BETTY:

Spray your throat.

SKIPPY:

Here's to the rooster. Cluck, cluck,

cluck, cluck, cluck.

Betty chuckles as Skippy drinks.

BETTY:

Say, uh, who's the mug with Dan

Hardesty?

SKIPPY:

He's a copper. The toughest one out

of Frisco.

BETTY:

Pinch?

SKIPPY:

Nothin' else.

BETTY:

Tough rap?

SKIPPY:

The toughest.

BETTY:

(stunned)

Murder?

SKIPPY:

If you can call it murder for croakin'

the dirtiest heel that ever lived.

BETTY:

Well, any chance to beat the rap?

SKIPPY:

No, no. He's already been sentenced.

BETTY:

Well, then, how's he--?

SKIPPY:

He broke. He broke when they were

takin' him to San Quentin.

BETTY:

(realizes what that means)

The rope.

SKIPPY:

(soberly)

The rope.

BETTY:

Whew.

Shaken, Betty rises in disbelief and ends up at the cabin window.

BETTY:

He's a swell guy, too. Gee, he came

to the front for me in Singapore

when I was in wrong.

(with emphasis)

And I was in wrong.

(shakes her head)

Took a long chance for me.

(sighs)

Certainly wish I could pay him back

the same way.

Betty sees something out the window and draws back the curtain for a better

look. She glances over at Skippy, motions with her eyes for him to join her,

then continues to stare out.

BETTY:

Look.

We hear Joan and Dan's theme as Skippy joins Betty at the window. The two

crooks stand together and see:

DAN AND JOAN:

standing at the ship's railing.

BETTY'S VOICE

He's got everything. Strength,

youth, courage. ...

BETTY AND SKIPPY

watch Dan and Joan glumly.

BETTY:

... Everything that makes life fit

to live.

(beat)

It's just a ghost.

Skippy nods solemnly.

DAN AND JOAN:

stand at the railing and look out at the ocean.

CUT TO:

EXT. ON DECK - CONTINUOUS

Joan stares out at the water. Dan smokes a cigarette.

JOAN:

Is it late?

DAN:

Does it matter?

She turns to him with a smile.

JOAN:

Not any more.

(dreamily)

The world and time seem somewhere

else.

Dan moves in warmly to give Joan a kiss but before they do, we CUT TO:

BETTY AND SKIPPY

watching at the window. Betty shuts the curtain and looks thoughtful.

BETTY:

Death ain't tough enough.

(beat)

He's gotta fall in love.

FADE OUT:

FADE IN:

A MAP OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN

A dotted line, marking the ship's progress, stretches from Hong Kong part of

the way to Honolulu. San Francisco seems very far away at the moment.

A superimposed text reads: 3rd DAY

A superimposed image of the S. S. Maloa appears in the center of the map.

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. DECK - DAY

Dan and Burke, casually dressed, stand at the rail.

BURKE:

Let's take a turn around the deck.

Dan shows no interest, calmly puffing a cigarette.

BURKE:

I do forty laps a day. Keeps you in

shape.

DAN:

(dryly)

What's the percentage of me keeping

in shape?

BURKE:

Why, it's, uh, better than, uh,

mooning around the deck all night.

A smiling Joan appears in a doorway and heads for the men. Dan chucks his

cigarette over the side and tips his cap as he takes Joan's hand.

DAN:

Oh, good morning.

JOAN:

Hello.

DAN:

May I present Mr. Burke? Miss Ames.

JOAN:

How do you do?

Joan and Burke shake hands.

BURKE:

How do you do?

DAN:

Mr. Burke is an old friend of mine.

We're ... traveling together.

JOAN:

How nice.

BURKE:

Yeah, we're together all the time.

DAN:

Practically inseparable.

JOAN:

(pleasantly, to Burke)

Well, I'm taking him for the

afternoon.

(drags Dan away)

Come along, Dan.

BURKE:

That's all right.

Burke watches them go, then takes a few deep breaths and starts his first lap

around the deck. Farther down the deck, we see

BETTY:

sitting in a lounge chair with a book in hand. She grins at

SKIPPY:

standing nearby. He readies himself and then adopts a drunken attitude,

staggering forward.

WIDE SHOT:

Skippy staggers down the deck and pretends to lose his balance, collapsing on

top of Betty who screams. Skippy, sitting on her legs, tips his hat to her

apologetically as Burke strides into view, grabs Skippy's collar and hauls him

to his feet.

BURKE:

Hey, you little tramp! I ought to

throw you overboard!

Burke shoves Skippy who wobbles away.

BETTY:

sighs, whimpers, and employs her European accent, pretending to be a damsel in

distress to engage Burke's sympathy.

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