Sherlock Holmes Page #19

Dredger rises, a clear change in his demeanor. He looks

at the sparking rod and races for the window as well.

Watson chases the engagement ring, bends down... just as

he's about to grab it...

THUD! Dredger's massive foot STOMPS DOWN ON THE RING.

Dredger gives Watson a cruel smile, then leaps out the

window, landing atop a heap of coal. Watson glares as --

Holmes blasts past him, leaps out the window. Watson

picks up the ring, sees:

The stone was knocked out of the setting, lost in the

floorboards, the rest of the ring mangled. Watson

darkens, grips his ruined ring, and heads out --

59-60 59-60

OMITTED:

61 EXT. TOOLEY IRONWORKS - GATE 61

Dredger runs down the street, knocking people out of his

way. Holmes gives chase, darting around people, trailing

Dredger through the gates of a huge commercial

shipbuilders. Watson brings up the rear, as --

61A OMITTED 61A

62 INT. SLIPWAY - DAY 62

Dredger runs towards a SLIPWAY, which holds the

UNFINISHED HULL OF A LARGE SHIP. The vessel can't be far

from completion; it sits in a wheeled carriage designed

to see it smoothly into water.

63 EXT. UN-LAUNCHED SHIP - FIRST SLIPWAY 63

For now though, big wooden chocks hold it in place, the

whole thing is attached to a heavy chain that coils back

around the shed that they just ran through.

Holmes trails the hulking form of Dredger into this

network of struts. They weave through the shadows.

Holmes sees one of the cables shifting slightly. He

takes an angle to cut off Dredger, and --

(CONTINUED)

51.

63 CONTINUED:
63

ZAP! Holmes steps into Dredger's path, hitting him with

the lightning-rod, knocking him back. ZAP!! Holmes

gives another jolt, but the shaft starts to LOSE POWER.

Dredger knows there isn't much juice left. He reaches

out, grabs the weapon and... smiles a terrifying smile.

A moment of reckoning between Holmes and Dredger:

The shaft slowly... sizzles... out. Dredger tosses the

rod. And now, Holmes backs away, as --

Dredger grabs a sledgehammer, and swings the hammer at

Holmes, smashing some of the wooden supports, tearing

others out of his way. The ship LURCHES forward.

64 EXT. FABRICATION SHED - DAY 64

Watson runs round the end of the building and sees Holmes

scrambling under the half-built hull. Dredger in

pursuit.

64A 64A

EXT. UN-LAUNCHED SHIP - SLIPWAY

A police WHISTLE echoes through the air. Dredger turns

for a moment, just long enough for --

Holmes to launch himself at Dredger. They tumble down

onto the massive runners on the floor of the slipway.

Holmes wrestles Dredger's head onto the runner and pins

him down. Dredger kicks out viciously, splintering

another chock. It's the last straw for the support

mechanism, the whole thing starts to creak.

64B EXT. FABRICATION SHED 64B

From his vantage point, Watson can see what's coming.

WATSON:

Holmes!

65 EXT. SECOND SLIPWAY - CONTINUOUS ACTION 65

Grappling frantically on the runners, both Holmes and

Dredger look up as the HUGE CHOCKS holding the ship

EXPLODE BACKWARDS --

-- the PROPELLERS on the stern of the ship start sliding

down towards them.

52.

66 EXT. SECOND SLIPWAY - CONTINUOUS ACTION 66

Dredger looks up at the approach of the propellers --

-- Holmes charges into Dredger again, pulling him

backwards across the runners. Dredger pulls Holmes down

with him, Holmes' head hits the ground hard.

Holmes lies semi-conscious, eyes rolled back into his

head, as the leviathan roars down towards him.

The ground beneath him shakes, knocks his head against

the runner -- once, twice -- as he blinks back into

consciousness, he sees the great shadow sweeping over

him. He's doomed. And...

The stern lurches to a STOP INCHES from his face. He

opens one tentative eye, half expecting to find himself

in the after-life, and sees black metal an inch from his

nose. He realizes the ship has stopped, but he doesn't

know why. He tries to roll out of the way, as --

66A 66A

EXT. SECOND SLIPWAY - CONTINUOUS ACTION

We see the chain extended taut as a tight-rope behind the

half-launched ship.

The SHIP squeals and groans as its timber supports buckle

and crack with the weight of the tethered ship.

A beat where the whole business hangs in limbo and...

The timber finally gives way. The ship is free again,

falling through the air --

Holmes rolls sideways as the propellers slice through the

air above his head -- the hull screams past him with a

sound like the side of the world being torn off --

-- and then the ship's away, parting the Thames with a

vast, frothy explosion of water.

Holmes watches the ship drift gracefully out into the

river -- from vortex to serenity in a matter of seconds.

A quiet beat.

Holmes collapses back, great gulps of air disappearing

into his lungs. He tries to pull himself to his feet,

but Dredger's bone-shaking punches have taken it out of

him and he sags back to the ground.

Watson arrives, helps him to his feet. They stagger back

to the slipway where Dredger was standing. And they

find:

(CONTINUED)

53.

66A CONTINUED:
66A

Nothing. No blood or trace. The big man is gone.

The police whistles get louder, officers swarm the scene.

They see the wreckage, the ship adrift, and... Holmes and

Watson.

Watson looks at his watch and does a slow, deep burn.

67 INT. LONDON JAIL - MORNING 67

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