The Green Mile Page #4

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PAUL:

I'll chew that food when I have

to. Right now I wanna hear about

the new inmate...aside from how

big he is, okay?

BRUTAL:

(smiles)

Monstrous big. Damn.

PAUL:

Seems meek enough. Looks like they

sent us an imbecile to execute.

HARRY:

Imbecile or not, he deserves to

fry for what he done. Here...

Harry tosses a pair of manila envelopes bound with rubber

bands on the desk before Paul--Coffey's file.

HARRY:

...make your blood curdle.

CUT TO:

EXT. E BLOCK PRISON YARD - DAY

A small are reserved for inmates of the Mile, fenced-off from

the main prison yard. Arlen Bitterbuck walks the perimeter

under the watchful eyes of guard BILL DODGE.

We find Paul sitting by himself on the bleachers with

Coffey's file on his knees, thoughtfully unwrapping his brown-

bagged sandwich. PUSH SLOWLY IN as he begins to read...

EXT. DETTERICK FARM - DAWN (FLASHBACK)

...and we see Klaus Detterick walk from his house to the barn

with a milking pail, a solitary figure against a brightening

horizon. He disappears into the barn...

...and we hold for a long moment, the house silent

b.g.,chickens clucking and scratching in the front yard...

...until a WOMAN'S SCREAM shatters the silence. Klaus

reappears, dropping the pail, running toward the house...

PAUL ON BLEACHERS

...as Paul turns the page, keeps reading...

INT. DETTERICK HOUSE - DAWN (FLASHBACK)

...and Klaus bursts in to find his wife MARJORIE absolutely

frantic with terror:

KLAUS:

WHAT? GOD SAKES, WHAT?

MARJORIE:

THE GIRLS! THE GIRLS ARE GONE!

She drags him through the house to a screened-off porch area

where their 12 year old son HOWIE is pointing and shouting--

HOWIE:

Papa! Papa, look! The blood!

--and Klaus freezes there, stunned to see blood spattered on

the floor and the screen door hanging off its hinges...

KLAUS:

Oh my God.

PAUL ON BLEACHERS

...as Paul absently takes another bite of his sandwich, not

really tasting it, keeps reading...

INT. DETTERICK HOUSE - DAWN (FLASHBACK)

...plunging us back into the screaming chaos: Klaus grabbing

up shotgun shells, Howie loading the .22 rifle he got for

Christmas, Marjorie sobbing incoherently...

KLAUS:

GODDAMN IT, WOMAN, GET ON THE

PHONE NOW! YOU TELL 'EM WE HEADED

WEST! MIND WHAT I'M SAYING! WEST,

Y'HEAR?

...and she goes stumbling through the house, grabbing for the

phone as her men disappear toward the porch b.g.:

MARJORIE:

Central! Central, are you on the

line? Oh, God, please, somebody

took my little girls...

OUTSIDE THE HOUSE

Klaus and his son race from the house, following spatters of

blood across the yard...

PAUL ON THE BLEACHERS

...as Paul lets out a long breath, turns the page...

EXT. COUNTRY ROAD/FIELD - DAY (FLASHBACK)

---and we see CARS AND TRUCKS pulling up, MEN jumping out

with rifles, pouring down the incline toward the field where

Klaus is hollering and waving his arms. Deputy McGee comes

sliding down from the road, taking charge at the top of his

lungs--

McGEE

I WANT ALL THE WEAPONS UNLOADED,

Y'HEAR? TAKE OUT YOUR SHELLS, I

WON'T HAVE A MAN SHOT BY ACCIDENT

TODAY! BOBO, WHERE THEM DOGS?

--and the dogs come bounding out of the back of a truck,

howling down the incline to lead the chase...

VARIOUS ANGLES:

...which takes us through the cattails and bulrushes...to the

spot where Klaus finds the little scrap of pale yellow

fabric, turns and screams...

KLAUS:

Oh, Lord, this belongs to my

Katie...

...and they keep going, stopping abruptly as they find: A

blood-drenched area of tramped grass. A little girl's bloody

nightgown hangs in the low branches of a tree. Some of these

strong men look like they might throw up or faint at the

sight of it. Their blood freezes in their veins as an INHUMAN

HOWLING commences up ahead. It's like nothing they've ever

heard before, raising the hackles of men and dogs alike.

PAUL ON BLEACHERS

...as Paul quietly turns another page, shaking his head...

PAUL:

Jesus.

EXT. FIELD - DAY (FLASHBACK)

The men reload their weapons. Everybody's terrified. McGee

starts off, the other following his lead toward--

THE RIVER:

--where they emerge from the treeline, drawing ever closer to

the source of that INHUMAN HOWLING...

...and they stop, gazing in horror:

John Coffey sits on the riverbank in bloody overalls, his

huge feet splayed out before him. He's making that inhuman

howling sound, face twisted in monstrous grief, pausing

occasionally to take in a great hitching breath of air.

Curled in his massive arms are the naked bodies of

Detterick's 9 year-old twin girls, their once-blonde hair now

matted to their heads with blood.

A tableau. The men staring. John Coffey howling. A train

puffing smoke across the landscape.

Klaus Detterick breaks the moment, lunging down the riverbank

in a headlong rush. The others try to grab him, but he shrugs

them off and throws himself on Coffey with a scream of

inarticulate rage, kicking and punching, fists flying. Coffey

barely seems to notice.

The others catch up with Klaus, drag him off. He falls to his

knees on the riverbank, sobbing into his hands. Howie runs to

him, throws himself into his father's arm. They hug each

other tightly, overwhelmed with grief.

A semblance of quiet descends, except for Coffey's

heartbroken wailing. A ring of rifle toting men forms around

him, though he hardly seems aware of it. McGee steps forward,

uncertain:

McGEE

Mister.

Coffey goes quiet at once, eyes still streaming tears.

McGEE

Mister? Can you hear me?

(Coffey nods)

You have a name?

COFFEY:

John Coffey. Like the drink, only

not spelt the same.

McGee hunkers carefully down, watching for any sudden moves.

McGEE

What happened here, John Coffey?

You want to tell me that?

COFFEY:

I couldn't help it. I tried to

take it back, but it was too late.

McGEE

(pause)

Boy, you are under arrest for

murder.

McGee spits in Coffey's face...

PAUL ON BLEACHERS

...as Paul looks up with a slight start, jarred from his

reading to find WARDEN HAL MOORES standing before him.

HAL:

I interrupt?

PAUL:

I'm just about done.

Paul stows the file as Hal settles onto the bleachers.

PAUL:

How's that pretty gal of yours?

HAL:

Melinda's not so well, Paul. Not

so well at all. Got laid up with

another headache yesterday. Worst

one yet. She's also developed this

weakness in her right hand.

PAUL:

Doctor still think it's migraines?

Hal gives a slight shake of his head.

HAL:

I'll be taking her up to Indianola

next day or so for some tests. Had

X-rays and the like. She is scared

to death. Truth to tell, so am I.

PAUL:

If it's something they can see

with an X-ray, maybe it's

something they can fix.

HAL:

Maybe.

He pulls a letter, hands it to Paul.

HAL:

This just came in. D.O.E. on

Bitterbuck.

Paul glances toward Bitterbuck, scans the letter, nods.

PAUL:

You didn't come all the way down

here just to hand me a D.O.E.

HAL:

No. I had an angry call from the

state capital about twenty minutes

ago. Is it true you ordered Percy

Wetmore off the block.

PAUL:

It is.

HAL:

I'm sure you had reason, but like

it or not, the wife of the

governor of this state has only

one nephew, and his name happens

to be Percy Wetmore. I need to

tell you how this lays out?

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