Raising Arizona Page #16

He snaps a clip into the automatic.

HI:

...A blind man could tell you that.

Now they ain't gonna hurt him, they're

just in it for the score...

Hi is leaving frame again, continuing to talk as we hear him

rummaging offscreen.

HI:

...But I ain't like that no more,

I'm a changed man. You were right

and I was wrong. We got a family

here and I'm gonna start acting

responsibly...

Hi enters frame with the two handguns stuck in his belt,

holding his pump-action shotgun.

HI:

...So let's go honey...

He primes the shotgun: WHOOSH-CLACK.

HI:

...Let's go get Nathan Jr.

TRACKING SHOT:

From the front bumper of an automobile. Beautiful desert

stretches to the horizon. The road rushes under the camera.

GALE AND EVELLE'S CAR

Gale drives, gazing out at the road. Evelle holds Nathan

Jr., occasionally bouncing him.

Contemplatively:

GALE:

I luuuuv to drive.

EVELLE:

You said somethin' there, partner.

GALE:

...Yessir, I figure with the ransom

and this bank, you'n I'll be sittin'

in the fabled catbird seat.

Evelle is looking down at the baby, shifting him in his lap.

EVELLE:

Uh, Gale... Junior had a, uh,

accident.

GALE:

What's that, pardner?

EVELLE:

He had a little accident.

Gale looks over.

GALE:

Wuddya mean, he looks okay.

EVELLE:

No, ya see... Movin' though we are,

he just had hisself a rest stop.

GALE:

Well it's perfectly natural.

EVELLE:

(very excited)

Hey Gale!

GALE:

What now?

Evelle, beaming, looks up from the baby to Gale.

EVELLE:

...He smiled at me!

THE SUN:

A huge rumbling rippling red ball that fills the frame.

As we hear his footfalls on concrete steps, Smalls rises

into frame, apparently climbing a stoop. The sun behind him

throws him into silhouette; the extreme telephoto flattens

him against the sun. Heat waves ripple between us and him,

making his figure slightly waver.

The rumble builds, louder and louder, until it is snapped

off by a-

INT. TRAILER

CLICK. The front door handle clicks open and Smalls stands

in the doorway. The abandoned trailer is perfectly quiet.

The room is a complete shambles from the fight. Sunlight

filters in between the slats of the venetian blinds. Smoke

from Lenny Smalls' cheroot ripples up through the light.

After only a momentary pause at the door to take in the scene,

Smalls goes directly to a specific spot in the debris and

nudges some of it aside with his toe, exposing a piece of

paper.

He bends down to pick it up but suddenly freezes, with a

soft grunt of surprise.

HIS POV:

At knee-height on the wall in front of him, "FART" is scrawled

in crayon.

BACK TO SMALLS:

As he stands up with the piece of paper.

THE PAPER:

It is Gale's picture of the Farmers and Mechanics Bank.

INT. CONVENIENCE STORE

Close on a carton of diapers being set down on the check-out

counter.

EVELLE (O.S.)

Know how you put these thangs on?

WIDER:

Evelle and the Cashier, a late-middle-aged man (perhaps the

proprietor of this small mom-and-pop store) face each other

across the check-out counter. Evelle has various baby

purchases - the diapers, baby food, etc. - piled on the

counter. The Cashier is ringing them up.

Through the open door beyond them we can see a strip of the

parking lot.

CASHIER:

Welp. Around the butt, then up over

the groin area-

EVELLE:

I know where they go, old timer. I

mean do I need pins or fasteners?

We see Gale trotting past through the visible part of the

parking lot, cooing "Weeeeee!" as he holds Nathan Jr. Up

over his head.

CASHIER:

Well no, they got those tape-ettes

already on there, it's self-contained

and fairly explanatory.

EVELLE:

Uh-huh...

He takes a plastic-covered squirt gun off a display rack and

drops it on the counter. He is looking around at the other

impulse purchases displayed by the register; he unhooks a

bag of balloons.

EVELLE:

...These blow up into funny shapes

at all?

Gale is trotting by in the opposite direction: "Weeeeee!"

CASHIER:

Well no. Unless round is funny.

Evelle is pulling a gun out of his belt.

EVELLE:

All right, I'll take these too. Now

you lie down back there-

CASHIER:

Yessir!

EVELLE:

And don't you move till you've counted

up to eight hundred and twenty-five

and then backwards down to zero.

I'll be back to check - see y'ain't

cheatin'.

The Cashier is already down on the floor, out of frame.

CASHIER (O.S.)

You the diaper burglar?

As he heads for the door with the groceries:

EVELLE:

Looks like I'm one of 'em.

EXT. STORE

As Evelle hurriedly emerges with the two bags. Faintly we

can hear the Cashier bellowing: "One one thousand, two one

thousand..."

EVELLE:

Get the door, will ya?

Gale is slipping the baby back into his car seat, which sits

on the roof of the car. He starts doing up the straps.

GALE:

He's a real cheerful little critter

once he warms up to ya.

Hands free now, Gale reaches for the back door.

EVELLE:

Hurry up Gale...

Gale has the door open. Evelle starts throwing in the

groceries.

EVELLE:

I don't know how high this one can

count.

GALE AND EVELLE'S CAR

Gale drives as Evelle sorts through his purchases.

EVELLE:

I got him some baby grub... baby

wipes... diapers, disposable... packet

of balloons-

GALE:

They blow up into funny shapes at

all?

EVELLE:

No, just-

Gale is looking around, puzzled.

GALE:

Say, where's Junior?

EVELLE:

Wuddya mean, didn't you put him in?!

GALE:

No, I thought-

The two men look at each other.

REVERSE:

The two men's heads whip around to look in the back seat.

BACK TO FRONT ANGLE

They look at each other in horror.

GALE:

Where'd we leave him?!

The two men's eyes widen as they remember at the same time:

both look up at the roof of the car.

CLOSE ON GALE'S FOOT

Coming off the accelerator.

CLOSE ON EVELLE:

Screaming as he watches the foot:

EVELLE:

NOOOOOO!!

But too late.

GALE'S FOOT

Already plunging down on the brake. SQUEEEEEEEAL...

TWO SHOT:

Evelle is screaming at the top of his lungs as the car rocks

to a stop. He peers through the windshield, still screaming,

but nothing has shot off the roof of the car.

He cranes his neck to look up the slant of the windshield

toward the roof. This of course gives him no view; still

screaming, he thrusts his body out his open window to look

up at the roof. His scream is muted as his head disappears

from view, then comes back full force as he ducks back in,

frantically shaking his head.

With this Gale's last hope disappears and he starts bellowing

also.

GALE'S FOOT

Rising from the brake to plunge down on the accelerator.

EXT. THE CAR

As it hangs a squealing U-turn and races off at top speed.

LOW WIDE SHOT:

In the foreground Nathan Jr. sits upright in his car seat,

in the middle of the road that fronts the convenience store.

He is placidly looking at the scenery.

Faintly, we hear the Cashier bellowing:

CASHIER:

...Seven hunnert ninety-seven one

thousand, seven hunnert ninety-six

one thousand...

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