The Godfather Page #11

MICHAEL:

Visiting hour ends at eight thirty.

I'll just sit with him; I want to

show respect.

KAY:

Can I go to the hospital with you?

MICHAEL:

I don't think so. You don't want

to end up on page 3 of the Daily

News.

KAY:

My parents don't read the Daily

News. All right, if you think I

shouldn't. I can't believe the

things the papers are printing.

I'm sure most of it's not true.

MICHAEL:

I don't think so either.

(silence)

I better go.

KAY:

When will I see you again?

MICHAEL:

I want you to go back to New

Hampshire...think things over.

He leans over her; kisses her.

KAY:

When will I see you again?

MICHAEL:

Goodbye.

Quietly, he moves out the door.

KAY lies on the bed a while, and then, to herself:

KAY:

Goodbye.

EXT NITE:
DON'S HOSPITAL (WINTER 1945)

A taxi pulls up in front of a hospital, marked clearly with

a neon sign "HOSPITAL--EMERGENCY." MICHAEL steps out, pays

the fare...and then stops dead in his tracks.

MICHAEL looks.

He sees the hospital in the night; but it is deserted. He

is the only one on the street. There are gay, twinkling

Christmas decorations all over the building. He walks,

slowly at first, and then ever so quickly, up the steps. He

hesitates, looks around. This area is empty. He checks the

address on a scrap of paper. It is correct. He tries the

door, it is empty.

He walks in.

INT NITE:
HOSPITAL LOBBY (WINTER 1945)

MICHAEL stands in the center of an absolutely empty hospital

lobby. He looks to the right; there is a long, empty

corridor. To the left: the same.

HIGH FULL ANGLE, as MICHAEL walks through the desolated

building lit by eerie green neon lighting. All we hear are

his sole footsteps.

He walks up to a desk marked "INFORMATION". No one is there.

He moves quickly to a door marked "OFFICE"; swings into it;

no one is there. He looks onto the desk: There is half a

sandwich, and a half-filled bottle of coke.

MICHAEL:

Hello? Hello?

Now he knows something is happening, he moves quickly,

alertly. MICHAEL walking down the hospital corridors; all

alone. The floors have just been mopped. They are still wet.

INT NITE:
HOSPITAL STAIRS

Now he turns onto a staircase; ever quickening; up several

flights.

INT NITE:
4TH FLOOR CORRIDOR

He steps out onto the fourth floor. He looks. There are

merely empty corridors. He takes out his scrap of paper;

checks it. "Room 4A." Now he hurries, trying to follow the

code of hospital rooms; following the right arrows, quicker

and quicker they flash by him. Now he stops, looks up "4A--

Corleone".

There is a special card table set up there with some

magazines...and some smoking cigarettes still in the

ashtray--but no detectives, no police, no bodyguards.

INT NITE:
DON'S ROOM 4A

Slowly he pushes the door open, almost afraid at what he

will find. He looks. Lit by the moonlight through the

window, he can see a FIGURE in the hospital bed alone in the

room, and under a transparent oxygen tent. All that can be

heard is the steady though strained breathing. Slowly

MICHAEL walks up to it, and is relieved to see his FATHER,

securely asleep. Tubes hang from a steel gallows beside the

bed, and run to his nose and mouth.

VOICE (O.S.)

What are you doing here?

This startles MICHAEL; who almost jumps around. It is a

NURSE lit from the light behind her in the hallway.

NURSE:

You're not supposed to be here now.

MICHAEL calms himself, and moves to her.

MICHAEL:

I'm Michael Corleone--this is my

father. What happened to the

detectives who were guarding him?

NURSE:

Oh your father just had too many

visitors. It interfered with the

hospital service. The police came

and made them all leave just ten

minutes ago.

(comfortingly)

But don't worry. I look in on him.

MICHAEL:

You just stand here one minute...

Quickly he moves to the telephone, dials a number.

MICHAEL:

Sonny...Sonny--Jesus Christ, I'm

down at the hospital. I came down

late. There's no one here. None

of Tessio's people--no detectives,

no one. The old man is completely

unprotected.

SONNY (O.S.)

All right, get him in a different

room; lock the door from the inside.

I'll have some men there inside of

fifteen minutes. Sit tight, and

don't panic.

MICHAEL:

(furiously, but kept inside)

I won't panic.

He hangs up; returns to the NURSE...

NURSE:

You cannot stay here...I'm sorry.

MICHAEL:

(coldly)

You and I are going to move my

father right now...to another room

on another floor...Can you

disconnect those tubes so we can

wheel the bed out?

NURSE:

Absolutely not! We have to get

permission from the Doctor.

MICHAEL:

You've read about my father in the

papers. You've seen that no one's

here to guard him. Now I've just

gotten word that men are coming to

this hospital to kill him. Believe

me and help me.

NURSE:

(frightened)

We don't have to disconnect them,

we can wheel the stand with the bed.

She does so...and they perform the very difficult task of

moving the bed and the apparatus, out of the room.

INT NITE:
4TH FLOOR HOSPITAL (WINTER 1945)

They roll the bed, the stand, and all the tubes silently

down the corridor. We hear FOOTSTEPS coming up the stairs.

MICHAEL hears them, stops.

MICHAEL:

Hurry, into there.

They push it into the first available room. MICHAEL peeks

out from the door. The footsteps are louder; then they

emerge. It is ENZO, NAZORINE's helper, carrying a bouquet

of flowers.

MICHAEL:

(stepping out)

Who is it?

ENZO:

Michael...do you remember me, Enzo,

the baker's helper to Nazorine, now

his son-in-law.

MICHAEL:

Enzo, get out of here. There's

going to be trouble.

A look of fear sweeps through ENZO's face.

ENZO:

If there...will be trouble...I stay

with you, to help. I owe it to the

Godfather.

MICHAEL thinks, realizes he needs all the help he can get.

MICHAEL:

Go outside; stand in front...I'll

be out in a minute.

INT NITE:
DON'S SECOND HOSPITAL ROOM (WINTER 1945)

They part. MICHAEL moves into the hospital room where they

put his FATHER.

NURSE:

(frightened)

He's awake.

MICHAEL looks at the OLD MAN, his eyes are open, though he

cannot speak. MICHAEL touches his face tenderly.

MICHAEL:

Pop...Pop, it's me Michael. Shhhh,

don't try to speak. There are men

who are coming to try to kill you.

But I'm with you...I'm with you

now...

The OLD MAN tries to speak...but cannot. MICHAEL tenderly

puts his finger to his FATHER's lips.

EXT NITE:
DON'S HOSPITAL STREET (WINTER 1945)

Outside the hospital is empty save for a nervous ENZO,

pacing back and forth brandishly the flowers as his only

weapon. MICHAEL exits the hospital and moves to him. They

both stand under a lamppost in the cold December night.

They are both frightened; MICHAEL gives ENZO a cigarette,

lights it. ENZO's hands are trembling, MICHAEL's are not.

MICHAEL:

Get rid of those and look like

you've got a gun in your pocket.

The windows of the hospital twinkle with Christmas

decorations.

MICHAEL:

Listen...

We HEAR the sound of a single automobile coming. MICHAEL

and ENZO look with fear in their eyes. Then MICHAEL takes

the bouquet of flowers and stuffs them under his jacket.

They stand, hands in their pockets.

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