Raging Bull Page #9

JAKE:

Believe what you want.

EAGAN:

I want to believe you, LaMotta.

JAKE:

I'm gonna kill him. That f***in'

jig's gonna wish he never came outa

the jungle. You got any money?

EACAN:

What?

JAKE:

You got any money you want to bet

on Billy Fox, you can put it right

here...

(extends his hand)

'cause Jake LaMotta don't go down

for nobody.

EAGAN taps JAKE on the shoulder.

EAGAN:

That's all I wanted to hear.

JAKE glares at EAGAN as the COMMISSIONER walks

away.

INT. MADISON SQUARE GARDEN - NIGHT (NOV. 14, 1947)

The old Garden is packed. The EX-CHAMPS, the PRESS,

the OFFICIALS, the MOB GUYS, the FANS -- they're

all here.

The FIGHTERS are announced. BILLY FOX and JAKE

touch gloves and return to their corners.

FOX is taller and has a longer reach than JAKE.

The bell sounds and the FIGHTERS come out. FOX goes

to the head; JAKE goes to the body.

FOX lands a solid blow to JAKE's jaw, but LAMOTTA

is unfazed. FOX is surprised. In the past, his

opponents have gone down when he connected.

In the audience, COMO, SALVY, and some other BOYS

watch with interest.

JAKE moves in with a rapid series of trademark body

blows. All of a sudden, FOX is wobbly. JAKE goes

for the head, then cuts his punch short. FOX is

about to go down.

JAKE throws his arms around FOX to make sure he

doesn't fall.

JAKE:

(to Fox)

Stand up! What the f*** are you

doin'?

The REFEREE breaks them apart and FOX remounts his

attack. JAKE bicycles into a corner and lets FOX

work him over.

FOX connects:
once, twice, three times. JAKE barely

defends himself -- but he doesn't go down either.

The CROWD starts to smell a fix. There are calls

from the AUDIENCE.

CROWD:

Got your swimming trunks on, Jake?

I hope they're paying you enough.

Fake, fake.

TIME CUT:

JAKE's corner. JAKE is acting stunned. TONY, not

aware of what's going on, is slapping JAKE.

TONY:

What's the matter with you? What's

the matter with you?

TIME CUT:

The sign reads "Round Four." JAKE is in the center

of the ring taking a relentless pasting from FOX.

JAKE's arms hang at waist level... FOX lands one

blow after another. The stink of a fix permeates

the arena.

JAKE is furious that FOX can't deck him. He curses

through his mouthpiece (as he absorbs blow after

blow):

JAKE:

Hit me! Hit me! What's the matter

with you, you motherf***er? Hit me!

Boos and catcalls echo through the Garden. This is

not even a fight. The REFEREE, realizing this,

steps in between FOX and LAMOTTA, waves his arms

and signals that FOX is the winner by a technical

knockout.

As he does, JAKE spits his mouthpiece in disgust at

FOX and struts back to his corner.

JAKE, JOEY, and TONY are already on their way out

of the arena as the REFEREE declares FOX the

winner.

COMO and the OTHERS, satisfied, get up to leave.

INT. JAKE'S DRESSING ROOM - MADISON SQUARE GARDEN -

NIGHT:

As a REPORTER and a PHOTOGRAPHER come through the

door, WE SEE and hear a commotion in the hall

behind them. They rush in, look, and stop by the

door. There is silence -- except for JAKE'S

uncontrollable sobbing. The atmosphere is like that

of funeral.

JAKE is seated behind the rubbing table. He is

still in his leopard-skin robe. His head hangs low

as he sobs.

The PHOTOGRAPHER snaps a picture. The HANDLER

motions to him to stop, and then goes and sits near

the door. The REPORTER still stands near the

doorway, seeming quite stunned by the scene he is

witnessing, but nevertheless continuing to scribble

away on his pad.

JOEY, standing near JAKE, has his back to everyone;

his shoulders are shaking, his lips are tightly

drawn. He cries soundlessly. TONY is pacing nearby.

TONY:

Don't fight anymore!

(pause)

It's a free country, don't fight

anymore!

JAKE:

(between sobs)

Why did they have to stop it? Why

did they have to stop it?

The REPORTER leans over to the HANDLER and

whispers.

REPORTER:

What happened?

HANDLER:

(quietly)

He must've been really hurt in the

2nd.

He didn't answer me when I tried to

tell him something in the corner.

JAKE, still buried in his robe, becomes aware of

the hum of voices and shouts out:

JAKE:

Get everyone out of here!

The REPORTER and the PHOTOGRAPHER leave. JAKE

continues to sob.

INT. PELHAM PARKWAY HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - DAY

INSERT:
CLOSE UP of a Daily News Headline from

November 22, 1947: "Board Suspends LaMotta."

JAKE, dejected, sits on the couch. In front of him,

on the coffee table are scattered several

newspapers -- including the one with the headline

we have just seen.

JOEY paces in front of JAKE.

JOEY:

(yelling)

It woulda been so easy, Jack. So

easy...

JOEY goes into a boxing stance.

JOEY (CONT'D)

Stick out your hands, Jake.

JAKE:

C'mon, Joey.

JOEY:

G'wan, do it.

(jabs at him)

Protect yourself, rummy.

JAKE, out of reflex, sticks out his hands. As he

does, JOEY feigns a hit and falls onto the floor --

"out cold." JAKE looks down at him.

JOEY pops to his feet.

JOEY (CONT'D)

See? That's all there was to it.

JAKE:

What the f*** they want? I took the

dive.

They want me to fall down too? I

don't fall down for nobody. I never

went down in my life. Joey, what do

I gotta do? Crawl on my hands and

knees? I made an a**hole of myself

in the f***in' Garden! All the

newspaper writers make fun of me.

I'm the bum of the year. All I want

is a shot. Just a f***in' shot.

What do I gotta do? I'll do

anything.

JOEY:

Except fall down like a normal

person.

JAKE:

Yeah, except fall down. That's

right.

JOEY:

All right, you don't wanna fall

down, so now you gotta take a rest.

So, you enjoy the suspension.

'Cause there's nothin' you can do

about it. Let the Commissioner and

the D.A. jerk you around. So you

wait.

JAKE:

Jesus Christ! Seven months! What am

I gonna do for seven months? I'm

gonna go crazy. How do I keep my

strength? By that time I'll be too

weak to win the title. And my

weight? Forget about it -- I'm

gonna blow up like a balloon. I

ain't never gonna hold my weight

down. Seven months! I don't know...

JOEY:

We did what we had to do. Tommy

don't forget. Sooner or later

you'll get your shot -- if Tommy

don't die.

EXT. BOOK-CADILLAC HOTEL, DETROIT - DAY (1949)

It's raining outside the stately Book-Cadillac.

A banner above the door proclaims.

The Book-Cadillac Welcomes

Marcel Cerdan

Middleweight Champion of the World

and the Challenger

Jake LaMotta

INT. BOOK-CADILLAC LOBBY - DAY

The lobby is chaotic: FIGHT PEOPLE and

SPORTSWRITERS mill anxiously about. Something's in

the air.

The BELL CAPTAIN pages:

BELL CAPTAIN:

Mr. Williams.

MR. WILLIAMS, THE DETROIT PROMOTER last seen in the

Copacabana Lounge, answers the page.

WILLIAMS listens on the phone a moment, then hands

it back to the BELL CAPTAIN and announces:

DETROIT PROMOTER

It's official. The fight's been

postponed twenty-four hours.

A groan goes up from the lobby.

INT. LAMOTTA'S SUITE - DAY

JAKE's suite is modestly decorated and consists of

a living room and two bedrooms.

DR. PINTO is there sewing up a pork chop.

JAKE, shadow-boxing in sportswear, paces back and

forth.

TONY watches him. VICKIE sits quietly on the sofa,

sipping some wine.

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