The Day the Clown Cried Page #21

Eager to touch Helmut, another child take his hand, others

grab at his arm. Still other youngsters, following this

lead, try to reach through the fence to touch him.

Obviously enjoying this adulation, Helmut takes as many of

the little hands as he can, squeezing them affectionately.

Only one group of eight children hangs back. They do not

seem to understand what this is all about. Their little

faces are fearful, yet they are fascinated by Helmut.

Suddenly one little boy gives a yelp of pain and backs away

from the wire, clutching his forearm.

HELMUT:

What is it? What happened?

LITTLE GIRL:

He hurt himself.

Wide-eyed with fright, the little boy takes his hand away

from his arm to reveal a nasty looking scratch from one of

the barbs on the fence. Seeing his own injury, the

youngster bursts into tears.

HELMUT:

Shhh. Shhh. Don't cry.

It's going to be all right.

(to the other children)

Be careful when you're near this fence.

He consoles the little boy, who continues to cry and holds

up his wounded arm for Helmut to see. Helmut looks around

frantically, as if hoping to find help somewhere. Then he

quickly removes his ascot -- his precious trademark, the

symbol of his self-accorded status -- and hands it through

the fence.

HELMUT:

Here, wrap this around it.

I'll make it all better.

The little boy goes on crying, but some of the other

children take the cravat and fashion it into a crude bandage

around the youngster's arm. It fails to silence the boy's

crying, however.

HELMUT:

(continuing; worried)

Hush now. Stop crying. Please.

Look ... Look at this.

He begins shuffling around on his knees, imitating a duck in

an effort to appease the crying child. As he goes, Helmut

quacks softly. The boy stops crying, but his face remains

unhappy. The other children laugh in spite of Helmut's

efforts to keep them quiet, all but the group of eight

youngsters who only stare at Helmut in awe. Seeing that he

is making progress with the crying child, Helmut next pulls

his coat up over his head and, still on his knees, moves

around like a headless man, groping ahead with his hands.

CLOSE SHOT - LITTLE BOY

His frown gradually dissolves and, in spite of his

sniffling, he smiles, timorously at first, then broadly.

Finally, he laughs.

MED. SHOT - HELMUT, CHILDREN

Helmut shrugs his jacket back into place and smiles at the

boy.

HELMUT:

There, that's better. No more crying now.

For the first time he notices the other group of frowning

children. Among the other smiling and laughing youngsters,

they seem to stand out. When Helmut fastens a quizzical

look on them, they back away a little, fearfully.

HELMUT:

What's the matter with them?

LITTLE GIRL:

They're new. We can't understand them.

All they do is cry.

OLDER BOY:

They're all the way from Czechoslavakia.

The eight just start at him wordlessly, their fear naked in

their eyes.

HELMUT:

(to the silent ones)

There's nothing to be afraid of.

Everything is all right.

When there is no reaction from the children, who obviously

don't understand him, Helmut looks over his shoulder,

wondering if he has time.

MED. LONG SHOT - PRISONERS - HELMUT'S POV

The prisoners are still rooting for the soccer players, but

as Helmut looks, Adolf, in the middle of the cheering

section, turns and sees him.

ADOLF:

(a hushed call)

Hurry up.

MED. SHOT - HELMUT, CHILDREN

Helmut nods to Adolf and then turns back to the youngsters,

afraid but still unable to tear himself away.

HELMUT:

Here. Look. I'll show you ... No noise now.

In pantomime, he pretends to pull a hair from his head and

threads it through an imaginary needle. Finally

accomplishing this, he pretends to be sewing a button on his

jacket, holding the thumb of his left hand under the button

while he sews with his right. When he has finished, he

pantomimes that he has sews his thumb to the jacket. He

pretends to be embarrassed and tries to hide his hand in his

trouser pocket, but in order to put his hand in his pocket

the jacket goes too. The children giggle, then roar with

laughter at his frantic efforts to detach his thumb from his

jacket.

The silent children press closer to watch Helmut's antics.

Some look at each other and smile, then grin. Suddenly the

entire group is laughing. Helmut holds up his hands for

silence, but the grin on his face says he loves it.

HELMUT:

No, no, be quiet. Be quiet. Shhh. Shhhh.

The children go on laughing as if this is just part of the

game.

MED. LONG SHOT - TOWER GUARDS

The SOUND of the children's laughter floats up to two guards

in a tower on the non-Aryan side of camp. One of them, who

has been watching the soccer game below, nudges his partner

and points down to Helmut.

LONG SHOT - PRISON YARD - GUARDS' POV

Between the children at the fence and the line of soccer

spectators we can see only the top of Helmut's head bobbing

up and down. But that is enough.

MED. LONG SHOT - TOWER GUARDS

After a long look, one of the guards picks up a telephone

and starts to make a call.

MED. SHOT - HELMUT, CHILDREN

Helmut seems to have thrown caution away under the stimulus

of the children's laughter. He is on his feet trying a hand

spring. He lands flat on his back, but rolls over on his

side and grins broadly at his audience, which laughs

appreciatively. This is the old Doork. Their Doork. Again

Helmut tries the hand spring and again he flops.

FULL SHOT - PRISON YARD

A HIGH ANGLE with Helmut and the children in f.g. and beyond

them the Aryan side of the yard. The soccer game is still

in progress, with the spectators on both sides of the action

whooping it up. Then in b.g. we see two soldiers, two SS

officers, and the guard in charge of barracks "H", come

bursting through the spectators near the huts and into the

game itself. The players slowly subside as they realize

what is happening. They watch the guard cross the yard.

The cheering trails off, and the yard becomes strangely

quiet, the prisoners' warning to Helmut.

MED. SHOT - HELMUT, CHILDREN

Oblivious to all this in his joy at performing for the

children again, Helmut is just pretending to slip on

something underfoot. His arms flay the air as he tries to

regain his balance, but he falls. Through this, however,

the children seem to be watching something behind Helmut,

and when he lands on the ground, they do not laugh.

Again their faces are frightened as they look o.s. Helmut

looks at them, puzzled. Then, realizing that something is

wrong, he turns and looks up from the ground.

ANOTHER ANGLE:

SHOOTING PAST Helmut in f.g. toward the guard, SS men, and

soldiers, who have come through the line of spectators and

stand glowering at him. The prisoners have moved back,

warily watching for the next move.

GUARD:

You wouldn't listen, would you?

Almost wearily, he goes to the fence. This isn't something

he likes, but his authority is at stake here, and he has no

choice. As the CAMERA PANS him to the fence we see that

some non-Aryan adults have drifted over to see what the

disturbance is.

Rate this script:4.0 / 2 votes