The Hustler Page #10

SARAH:

It's all right. I'm here.

DISSOLVE TO:

54 INT. SARAH'S APARTMENT - MORNING

They are seated at the breakfast table. Sarah pours him some coffee and

he tries to bring the cup to his lips, but he cannot manage it.

Disgusted, he drops the cup on the floor and gets up from the table.

Sarah bends down and patiently wipes up the spilled coffee.

DISSOLVE TO:

55 INT. SARAH'S APARTMENT - NIGHT

The apartment is now clean and neat. And Sarah is sober. She is at her

table, typing, while Eddie stands at the window, trying to reach over

his shoulder to scratch his back. He comes over to the table and, with

his mouth, picks a cigarette out of the pack. He looks quickly at her,

without asking directly for the match. She lights it and, as she does,

he glances at the sheet in the typewriter.

SARAH:

You can read it, if you want to.

(Eddie shrugs)

You want to go out for a while? To a movie?

EDDIE:

(pacing restlessly)

You wanna drink?

SARAH:

No. You?

EDDIE:

(suddenly opening the door)

What's it so hot in here for?

He starts to unbutton his shirt and Sarah immediately gets up to help.

But he holds her off.

EDDIE:

Please!

She watches him struggle with the button for a while then spread his

arms in a gesture of helplessness. As she unbuttons his shirt for him,

he takes her face in his hands and kisses her.

DISSOLVE TO:

56 EXT. SARAH'S APARTMENT HOUSE - MORNING

Sarah and Eddie emerges from the doorway. It is a warm, beautiful day,

and Sarah has a basket with her. Eddie seems happy to be out with her,

almost as if he has forgotten the casts on his hands.

DISSOLVE TO:

57 EXT. RIVERSIDE PARK - DAY

They stop at a spot that overlooks the river and spread out a blanket.

CUT TO:

58 EXT. PARK - DAY

Eddie leans back on the grass and looks at Sarah. They both seem easy

and relaxed in the sunshine together.

EDDIE:

Sarah, do you think I'm a loser?

SARAH:

A loser?

EDDIE:

Yeah. I met this guy -- Gordon, Bert Gordon. He

said I was. Born loser.

SARAH:

Would he know?

EDDIE:

He knows. A lot.

SARAH:

Why did he tell you?

EDDIE:

I don't know. I'm not sure. He said there are

people who want to lose, who are always looking

for an excuse to lose.

SARAH:

What does he do, this Bert Gordon?

EDDIE:

He's a gambler.

SARAH:

Is he a winner?

EDDIE:

Well, he owns things.

SARAH:

Is that what makes a winner?

EDDIE:

Well, what else does?

SARAH:

Does it bother you? What he said?

EDDIE:

Yeah.

(after a pause)

Yeah. It bothers me a lot.

(pause)

'Cause, you see, twice, Sarah -- once at Ames

with Minnesota Fats and then again at

Arthur's ...

(sits up)

... in that cheap, crummy poolroom ... Now,

why'd I do it, Sarah? Why'd I do it? I coulda

beat that guy, I coulda beat him cold. He

never woulda known. But I just had to show 'em,

I just had to show those creeps and those punks

what the game is like when it's great, when

it's really great. You know, like anything can

be great -- anything can be great ... I don't

care, bricklaying can be great. If a guy

knows. If he knows what he's doing and why, and

if he can make it come off. I mean, when I'm

goin' -- when I'm really goin' -- I feel

like...

(beat)

... like a jockey must feel. He's sittin'

on his horse, he's got all that speed and that

power underneath him, he's comin' into the

stretch, the pressure's on him -- and he

knows -- just feels -- when to let it go, and

how much. 'Cause he's got everything workin'

for him -- timing, touch. It's a great feeling,

boy, it's a real great feeling when you're

right, and you know you're right. It's like all

of a sudden I got oil in my arm. Pool cue's

part of me. You know, it's a -- pool cue's got

nerves in it. It's a piece of wood -- it's got

nerves in it. You feel the roll of those balls.

You don't have to look. You just know. Ya make

shots that nobody's ever made before. And you

play that game the way nobody's ever played it

before.

SARAH:

You're not a loser, Eddie. You're a winner.

Some men never get to feel that way about

anything. I love you, Eddie.

Eddie lowers his eyes and leans back.

EDDIE:

You know, someday, Sarah, you're gonna settle

down. You're gonna marry a college professor,

and you're gonna write a great book. Maybe

about me, huh? Fast Eddie Felson, hustler.

SARAH:

(after a pause)

I love you.

EDDIE:

You need the words?

SARAH:

Yes, I need them very much. And if you ever say

them I'll never let you take them back.

Eddie just stares at her.

DISSOLVE TO:

59 INT. SARAH'S APARTMENT - DAY

Eddie is about to knock on the door to Sarah's apartment. He stops for

a moment to look at his hands. The casts are off. He knocks on the door

with his wrist, as he would if he still had them on. When she opens the

door he holds them up boyishly before her face.

EDDIE:

You glad?

SARAH:

Yes, I'm glad.

She kisses his hands.

CUT TO:

60 INT. JOHNNY'S PLACE - DAY

Eddie flexes his fingers, then tries out a shot on one of Johnny's pool

tables. He uses the simpler, open hand bridge to support his cue. Bert

Gordon enters, and watches him play.

BERT:

Hello, Eddie.

EDDIE:

Hi. How's business?

BERT:

Ahh, slow ... Why the open hand bridge?

Something wrong with your hand?

EDDIE:

(continues to shoot)

Yeah. Had a little accident. A place called

Arthur's.

BERT:

Oh. You seem to do all right that way.

EDDIE:

I'd say my game is about twenty per cent off.

Maybe more.

BERT:

What happened? Somebody step on your hands?

EDDIE:

Yeah. Big creep. Broke my thumbs.

BERT:

Man named Turk Baker?

EDDIE:

You know everybody, don't you?

BERT:

Everybody who can hurt me, everybody who can

help me. It pays.

EDDIE:

Maybe you oughta give me lessons.

BERT:

Sign up.

EDDIE:

Where do I sign?

BERT:

The first match I got in mind for you is in

Louisville, Kentucky.

EDDIE:

You name the place, boss. I'll be there.

BERT:

What happened to you anyway?

EDDIE:

Like I told ya. My thumbs.

BERT:

No, I don't mean the thumbs. You already told

me about the thumbs.

EDDIE:

I been thinking.

BERT:

Thinking about what?

EDDIE:

Maybe I'm not such a high-class piece of

property right now. And a twenty-five per cent

slice of something big is better than a hundred

per cent slice of nothin'.

BERT:

(to the bartender)

Hey, get us a couple of drinks here, will ya?

J. T. S. Brown.

Bert smiles at Eddie.

DISSOLVE TO:

61 INT. RESTAURANT - NIGHT

It is a quiet, elegant restaurant, one with soft piano music and

subdued lighting. Eddie and Sarah had walked past it the first day they

met. Eddie and Sarah enter. She has on new dress and Eddie, looking a

little ill at ease, has on a suit and tie.

HEADWAITER:

Good evening, sir.

EDDIE:

Good evening.

(digs into pocket and

hands him a bill)

Give use a nice, quiet table.

HEADWAITER:

Yes, sir. Right this way.

The headwaiter seats them at a table. Eddie and Sarah exchange smiles.

A waiter approaches.

WAITER:

Would you like a drink before dinner, sir?

EDDIE:

(to Sarah)

Hey?

SARAH:

Sherry.

(to the waiter)

Very old, very dry.

EDDIE:

(to the waiter)

Two.

(the waiter leaves)

Sherry? ... Nice joint. You look very pretty.

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