The Fabulous Baker Boys Page #12

INT. SUITE

Tom wasn't kidding. The immediacy of the ocean beyond

the window is almost scary.

FRANK:

You believe this? I'm telling you, we're getting

away with murder. Two shows a night and the rest

of the time we live like kings. It's a crime.

Jack stares at the ocean, then at the two beds placed

side by side. Suddenly Susie comes through the bathroom.

SUSIE:

Hey, we're connected.

FRANK:

Great.

SUSIE:

Great?

FRANK:

Yeah.

Susie shrugs and returns to her room through the

bathroom.

JACK:

I thought we had separate rooms.

FRANK:

(opening drawers)

We do. She's got hers, we've got ours. Hey.

Wash and Dries.

JACK:

I thought we all had separate rooms.

FRANK:

Come on, Jack. It's not like it's the first

time we've bunked together. It'll be like when

we were kids. Relax. Enjoy the view.

INT. DINING ROOM

Jack, Frank and Susie are in the dining room, which,

like their rooms, looks out over the ocean.

Dinner is over and they're well

through a second bottle of wine.

SUSIE:

You're kidding me.

FRANK:

As Charlie Steinway is my witness.

SUSIE:

Peggy Lee?

FRANK:

Tell her.

JACK:

She was staying at the Grand

downtown ...

FRANK:

It was April. April seventeenth.

That one I remember.

JACK:

We were playing the lounge one

night and she came in.

FRANK:

Pearls. White gown. Beautiful.

JACK:

Frank asked if she'd sit in for a song, she said

yes, and we did a few bars.

FRANK:

A few bars!

SUSIE:

What'd she sing?

FRANK:

People.' You think Streisand, right?

Hot that night. Chills.

Through the whole audience. I could hardly play.

SUSIE:

Wow. You ever see her again?

FRANK:

No. We got a picture, though.

One of the waitresses had a camera.

(to Jack)

God, we were just kids. That was

something, wasn't it?

Jack nods. Frank shakes his head, still lost in the

spring evening years before, then notices the newlyweds

sitting across the room.

FRANK:

(continuing)

Hey, will you look at that?

SUSIE:

They must've bought the same

map we did.

FRANK:

What do you say we send a bottle

over?

SUSIE:

I don't believe it. You're a

romantic, Frank.

JACK:

He's drunk.

FRANK:

Not true. Besides, Jack's the romantic.

SUSIE:

Oh yeah?

FRANK:

He's just afraid to show it.

Aren't you, little brother?

JACK:

Have some more wine, Frank.

FRANK:

Good idea.

(lifting his glass)

To Peggy Lee.

INT. BATHROOM

Frank, standing, dressed in pajamas.

Jack is staring out the window at the darkness.

FRANK:

I'm putting my stuff on the right,

okay?

JACK:

Okay.

FRANK:

I figure that way we won't get confused.

JACK:

Right.

FRANK:

Unless you want the right.

JACK:

No, you take the right.

FRANK:

We might as well do the towels the same way.

JACK:

Okay.

FRANK:

I just figure things'll go smoother, you know,

if we have it all worked out from the beginning.

JACK:

Good idea.

FRANK:

But if it doesn't work out, let

me know. I'm,flexible.

JACK:

Right.

Frank nods and moves to the bed.

JACK:

(continuing; re:
the bathroom light)

You leaving that on?

FRANK:

Yeah.

JACK:

All night?

FRANK:

Yeah.

JACK:

We're gonna be here a week?

FRANK:

(puzzled)

Yeah.

JACK:

So you're gonna leave it on.

Every night. For a week.

FRANK:

Yeah. You mind?

JACK:

Why would I mind?

FRANK:

I don't know. I mean, I always did it as a kid.

I figured it was no big deal. Is it? A big deal?

Jack just stares at Frank.

FRANK:

(continuing)

Oh. I didn't know. I mean, I always did it as a kid.

It was never a big deal then. Was it?

Jack just stares at Frank.

FRANK:

(continuing)

Oh. Well. You want me to turn

it off?

Jack just stares at Frank.

FRANK:

(continuing)

I'll turn it off.

Jack turns back to the window.

JACK:

Forget it. It's no big deal.

INT. DINING ROOM - DAY

The next morning. Jack and Frank are standing

in a huge dining room, appraising two elegant grands.

FRANK:

They're beauties, huh?

Jack steps up to one and runs his hand over the keys.

FRANK:

(continuing)

Reminds me of those Steinways Willie used to have.

Frank taps a few notes on his piano, humming happily.

Jack begins to echo his brother's notes, listening.

After a moment, Frank notices.

FRANK:

(continuing)

What?

INT. DINING ROOM

A short, stubby LITTLE MAN in a charcoal suit strides

into the dining room, followed by Terrific Tom.

MR. DANIELS (LITTLE MAN)

Good morning, gentlemen. I'm Mr. Daniels,

the manager. I believe I've spoken to one of you

on the phone.

FRANK:

(offering his hand)

That'd be me, sir. Frank Baker.

This is my brother Jack.

Jack, slouched against the piano, smoking, nods.

MR. DANIELS

Tom here tells me there's a problem with the

pianos. We were assured they were in tune.

FRANK:

Yes, well, they are.

MR. DANIELS

Then I'm afraid I don't understand.

FRANK:

They are in tune. But not with

each other.

MR. DANIELS

Is that important?

FRANK:

Uh, well ...

JACK:

Yes. It's important.

Frank glances nervously at Jack.

MR. DANIELS

Tom, who're we dealing with on

these?

TOM:

A Mr. Reynolds, sir. But he's gone on vacation.

I called this morning.

MR. DANIELS

Well, gentlemen, I don't know what to say.

Not being a musician myself I find it difficult

to grasp the magnitude of this. I don't suppose

there's any way you could just ... accommodate.

JACK:

Accommodate? I don't think I know

what you mean.

FRANK:

I think what Mr. Daniels is trying to say,

Jack, is --

JACK:

Why don't we let Mr. Daniels tell

us what he's trying to say.

MR. DANIELS

I assure you, Mr. Baker, no offense is intended.

I simply mean, well, we're not a symphony, are we?

INT. HALLWAY

Frank dogs Jack down a hallway.

FRANK:

Jack ... Jack ... You're acting like

a kid.

JACK:

No, that's your problem, Frank. You get around

one of these a**holes and you turn into a

f***ing three-year-old.

FRANK:

What's the matter with you? So the piano's a

little out of tune. So what?

JACK:

(stopping)

Christ, can't you hear it?

FRANK:

No! I never hear it!

(shaking his head)

Maybe. Sometimes. I don't know.

But I won't let it bother me.

JACK:

Doesn't it matter to you?

FRANK:

What matters to me is we've got the six easiest

nights we've had in ten years.

So 'Tie a Yellow Ribbon' sounds a little flat.

So what? Nobody's gonna hear it, Jack. Nobody.

So why should you care?

JACK:

Because I can hear it.

FRANK:

Well, then stuff cotton in your ears, because

come six o'clock we're gonna walk into that

dining room with smiles on.

Understand, little brother?

INT. HOTEL ROOM

Frank is adjusting his tie in the bathroom mirror.

Jack, sitting at the window, his foot up against the

glass, drinks from a flask as the sky above the ocean

goes dark. After a moment, Susie enters wearing a

little tuxedo of her own and begins to brush her hair.

SUSIE:

Hey, fellas. What's the word?

Nothing.

SUSIE:

(continuing)

What's with you two?

FRANK:

Jack woke up on the wrong side

of the bottle.

Susie looks at Jack. Then Frank.

SUSIE:

0-kay.

INT. LOUNGE

As Jack, Frank and Susie perform "Strangers in the Night,"

dozens of couples move slowly on the dance floor,

while others sit at candle-lit tables, sipping cocktails.

As the song ends, the couples applaud.

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