Some Like It Hot Page #20

JERRY:

(continuing)

Cut it out, girls. Stop it. Joe --

Josephine -- help!

DOLORES:

Hey, she's ticklish!

With that, all the girls pounce on Jerry, start to tickle

him.

Jerry flops around like a fish, screaming and laughing and

crying. In despair, his eyes fall on the emergency cord. He

makes a grab for the cord, pulls it.

EXT. LOCOMOTIVE WHEELS - NIGHT

The pounding wheels suddenly lock, and come to a jolting

stop.

INT. PULLMAN CAR - NIGHT

The abrupt stop sends everybody in Upper 7 tumbling out into

the aisle.

INT. WOMEN'S LOUNGE - NIGHT

Sugar, thrown off balance, grabs on to Joe.

SUGAR:

What's happened?

JOE:

Search me.

(quickly)

I mean -- I'll see.

He sticks his head out through the curtains.

INT. PULLMAN CAR - NIGHT

The girls heaped in the aisle are extricating themselves and

scurrying back as fast as they can into their berths. Jerry

scrambles up the ladder into Upper 7, pulls the curtains,

just as the curtains of Lower 1 are flung open and Sue

emerges. She glances up the aisle, which is now empty and

peaceful-looking.

SUE:

(angrily)

What's going on around here?

(shouting)

BIENSTOCK!

Bienstock staggers sleepily out of Lower 2.

BIENSTOCK:

Are we in Florida?

At the entrance to the women's lounge, Sugar has joined Joe

and the two are peering through the curtains. The door of

the car opens, and the Conductor runs in angrily. The two

withdraw back into the lounge.

The Conductor joins Sue and Bienstock.

CONDUCTOR:

All right. Who pulled the emergency

brake? Who was it?

BIENSTOCK:

(bellowing at the

closed curtains)

Come on, girls. Who was it?

Through the curtains of Upper 7, Jerry's head appears timidly.

JERRY:

I was it.

SUE:

What's the big idea?

JERRY:

I'm sorry. I was having a nightmare.

(he hiccups)

Something I ate. I'm not at all well.

(holds out cocktail

shaker)

See? Hot water bottle.

CONDUCTOR:

(disgusted)

Musicians! The last time we had some

on the train, they started a wild,

drunken brawl -- twelve of them in

one berth!

Jerry clucks his tongue disapprovingly. The Conductor jerks

the emergency cord a couple of times, signaling the engineer

to start the train again.

EXT. LOCOMOTIVE WHEELS - NIGHT

The stalled wheels start to turn over and pick up speed.

DISSOLVE:

INT. PULLMAN CAR - NIGHT

The train is moving. Joe appears from the women's lounge,

signals to Sugar, who is behind him.

JOE:

Okay, Sugar -- all clear. You better

go back to bed.

SUGAR:

I might as well stay in there. I

won't be able to sleep anyway.

JOE:

Why not?

SUGAR:

Bienstock. He snores to beat the

band. We cut cards to see who sleeps

over him, and I always lose. Wouldn't

you know?

JOE:

Want to switch berths with me?

SUGAR:

Would you mind terribly?

JOE:

Not at all.

He leads her to Lower 7. The curtains of Upper 7 are closed.

JOE:

I can fall asleep anywhere, any time,

over anybody.

He takes his suitcase out, stashes it under the berth.

SUGAR:

Thanks, honey.

JOE:

(starting away)

Good night, Sugar.

In Upper 7, Jerry is lying on his back with his eyes wide

open, listening intently. From OFF comes --

SUGAR'S VOICE

Good night, Josephine.

Jerry props himself up on one elbow, a smug grin of

anticipation on his face.

Sugar gets into Lower 7, closing the curtains. Joe proceeds

down the aisle, mounts the ladder to Upper 2.

In Upper 2, Joe closes the curtains, settles down to sleep.

In the berth below, Bienstock is snoring away. Unable to

take it, Joe clamps the spare pillow over his head.

In Upper 7, Jerry takes a long swig out of the hot water

bottle to get his courage up. Then he parts the curtains

cautiously, drops to the aisle. He leans toward the closed

curtains of Lower 7.

JERRY:

(very softly)

Joe -- are you asleep, Joe?

In Lower 7, Sugar, her eyes closed, is drifting off to sleep.

Jerry, satisfied that Joe is asleep, pussyfoots down the

aisle to Berth 2. He listens for a second to Bienstock

snoring, climbs up the ladder to Upper 2.

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