Taking Sides

FADE IN:

INT. BERLIN CONCERT HALL (1944) - NIGHT

A man conducting Beethoven. Air raid in progress. Bombs

falling nearby. The orchestra continues to play. Suddenly

the lights go out. The music stops.

INT. BACKSTAGE CORRIDOR, CONCERT HALL - NIGHT

A beam from a torch, bouncing, making shadows. An

ATTENDANT, carrying the torch, hurries down the corridor.

The air raid continues.

He comes to a door, knocks, opens it and looks in.

ATTENDANT:

(agitated)

Dr. Furtwängler, the Reichsminister.

The sound of heavy footsteps approaching. The attendant

turns his torch to light the way for three men in Nazi

uniform, also with attendants and torches, marching down

the corridor.

The attendant bows deeply as the REICHSMINISTER and his

aide go through the door. The other man remains in the

corridor on guard.

INT. CONDUCTOR'S ROOM - NIGHT

Candles light the room where the conductor shakes hands

with the Reichsminister.

REICHSMINISTER:

Dr. Furtwängler, I want to apologise

personally for this power failure.

I was so enjoying the performance.

In times like these we need

spiritual nourishment.

A bomb explodes nearby.

REICHSMINISTER:

But I welcome this unexpected

opportunity of talking to you.

(with great care)

When you came on to the platform

tonight, I thought you weren't

well. You looked tired,

(a warning)

Get away from this bombing.

Away from the war. Yes, you look

tired...

(a crooked smile)

Even in this light.

INT. RUINED CINEMA - DAY

Dark. ON A SCREEN: scenes from Leni Riefenstahl's triumph

of the will. Over this:

A MAN'S VOICE

Look at them. Men, women, kids.

Boy, did they love him. You see,

Steve, Adolf Hitler touched

something deep, real deep and savage

and barbaric, and it won't just go

away overnight. It's got to be

rooted out. You know what I think?

I think they were all Nazis. And

let's face it, their leaders, those

bastards now on trial in Nuremberg,

couldn't have done it alone. It's

these people, they gave all the

help that was needed. Willingly.

The film changes with a scratchy music soundtrack - Wagner.

SHOTS of high-ranking Nazis in an audience including Josef

Goebbels, listening. And they're listening to and watching

Wilhelm Furtwängler conducting. At the appropriate moment:

THE MAN'S VOICE

That's him. Furtwängler. Wilhelm

Furtwängler.

The Nazis applaud. Goebbels shakes hands with Furtwängler.

The film ends.

Sitting in the ruined cinema are two men: GENERAL WALLACE,

with files on the table, and, beside him, MAJOR STEVE

ARNOLD. A PROJECTIONIST is standing in the door of the

projection room.

WALLACE:

So, you never heard of him.

STEVE:

Nope.

WALLACE:

Do you know who Arturo Toscanini

is?

STEVE:

Sure.

WALLACE:

He's as big as Toscanini, maybe

even bigger. In this neck of the

woods, he's probably Bob Hope and

Betty Grable rolled into one.

STEVE:

Jeez, and I never heard of him.

Wallace glances at the file.

WALLACE:

You were in insurance before the

war.

STEVE:

Right. Claims assessor.

WALLACE:

Conscientious, determined, dogged.

STEVE:

(amused)

They said I was dogged?

WALLACE:

Well, they say here that when you

went on a case, you stayed on it.

(looks up at Steve.)

Now we can't take every Nazi in

this country to trial, although I

would like to; it's an

impossibility. So we're going for

the big boys in industry, education,

law, culture.

STEVE:

Like this bandleader.

WALLACE:

(a smile)

Well, he's more than just a

bandleader, Steve. He's a great

conductor, a gifted artist. But we

believe that he sold himself to

the devil. Your number one priority

from this moment on is to connect

him to the Nazi Party. Don't be

impressed by him. I want the folks

back home to understand why we

fought this war. Find Wilhelm

Furtwängler guilty. He represents

everything that was rotten in

Germany.

Steve wants to rise, but Wallace puts a hand on his shoulder

to make him sit again.

WALLACE:

Stay put, Steve. There is some

other stuff that I'd like for you

to see here. Background.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes