The Night of the Hunter Page #5

BART:

Sometimes I wish I was back at the

mine.

WIFE:

And leave me a widow after another

blast like the one in '24? Not on

your life, old mister!

He looks at her a moment. She goes out. He looks o.s. towards

his CHILDREN. He goes into their room on tiptoe.

MEDIUM SHOT -- BART

He approaches his children, across whose bed WE SHOOT without

yet seeing them. He comes into MEDIUM CLOSE-UP. As he leans

and we TILT DOWN, he extends his large hands.

CLOSE DOWNWARD TWO-SHOT -- HIS CHILDREN

Two rose-and-gold little GIRLS lie in sleep; BART'S hands

enter the SHOT and gently rearrange the covers so that their

mouths and throats are free. We watch, for a moment more,

the two sleeping faces.

LAP DISSOLVE TO:

HEAD CLOSE-UP -- BART, HOVERING HIS CHILDREN

CHILDREN'S VOICES

(o.s. chanting)

Hing, hang, hung. See what the Hangman

done!

LAP DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. CRESAP'S LANDING -- DAY

We are in Peacock Alley. The tree-shaded dirt street of a

small, one-street river town; a picturesque, mid-19th-century

remnant of the old river civilization, which general progress

has left behind. Chiefly we see, in this order: A schoolhouse

(on far side of street); Miz Cunningham's second-hand shop;

a Grange House sporting a poster for a Western movie; Spoon's

Ice Cream Parlor. At the end of this street, down the river-

bank, is a brick wharf and UNCLE BIRDIE'S wharf-boat. In

b.g. and in passing, suggestions of sleepy small-town life.

From the HEAD CLOSE-UP of BART the Hangman o.s. chanting, we

LAP DISSOLVE TO:

HEAD CLOSE-UP -- JOHN HARPER

Chanting VOICES o.s. complete "see what the Hangman done!"

PULL BACK TO:

CLOSE PULLING TWO-SHOT -- PEARL AND JOHN

They stroll barefoot down the empty dirt sidewalk. They look

towards the voices, PEARL friendly, JOHN hostile.

MEDIUM SHOT -- THE CHILDREN, OVER JOHN AND PEARL

Several, within the door of the Schoolhouse, stick their

heads around the edge. They chant at the HARPER CHILDREN.

Another, next the door, is drawing something on the wall.

CHILDREN:

(chanting)

Hung, hang, hing! See the Robber

swing!

OVER these lines we CUT briefly to --

CLOSER SHOT -- THE CHILDREN

...chanting, drawing. The ARTIST completes in chalk, a large

simple sketch of a man hanging from gallows. As the verse

ends we CUT TO:

MEDIUM SHOT -- THE CHILDREN, OVER JOHN AND PEARL

They look towards OUR CHILDREN; JOHN pays them no attention.

The drawing is revealed. JOHN takes PEARL'S hand. The other

CHILDREN giggle.

CHILDREN:

(chanting)

Hing, hang, hung! Now my song is

done!

Between lines one and two JOHN turns away from them into --

CLOSE TWO-SHOT -- JOHN AND PEARL -- THROUGH WINDOW

We SHOOT them through the window of MIZ CUNNINGHAM'S second-

hand store. The back of a watch is silhouetted large in

FOREGROUND; JOHN'S eyes instantly fix on it; in b.g. the

SCHOOL-CHILDREN finish their song and vanish, giggling, into

the schoolhouse. We hear the ticking of the watch.

INSERT -- THE WATCH

A watch with a moving sweep-hand, ticking.

CLOSE TWO-SHOT -- JOHN AND PEARL

PEARL HARPER:

Are you goin' to buy it, John?

No answer. JOHN'S eyes are fixed on the watch. OVER a shop-

doorbell we hear:

MIZ CUNNINGHAM'S VOICE

(o.s.)

Uh-Hawwww!

(They glance toward

her.)

MEDIUM SHOT -- MIZ CUNNINGHAM

Fantastically dirty and fantastically dressed, she hustles

to them and we PAN her into a THREE-SHOT. She talks like a

Tidewater Cockatoo.

MIZ CUNNINGHAM:

(continuing)

So your Mommy's keepin' you out of

school! Poor little lambs!

PEARL watches her; JOHN, the watch.

MIZ CUNNINGHAM:

And how is your poor, poor mother?

JOHN HARPER:

She's at Spoon's Ice Cream Parlor.

MIZ CUNNINGHAM:

(she snuffles)

The Lord tends you both these days!

JOHN doesn't take his eyes off the watch.

CLOSE SHOT -- JOHN

His eyes are fixed on the watch o.s.

MIZ CUNNINGHAM'S VOICE

(o.s.)

Didn't they never find out what your

father done with all that money he

stole?

Eyes as before till "money," then he looks up towards her.

MEDIUM SHOT -- MIZ CUNNINGHAM

MIZ CUNNINGHAM:

When they caught him, there wasn't

so much as a penny of it to be seen!

Now what do you make of that! Eh,

boy?

She grins horribly.

TWO-SHOT -- OVER JOHN AND PEARL

JOHN HARPER:

Pearl and me, we have to go.

He walks off fast as we DOLLY BEHIND THEM; he leads PEARL,

who hugs her doll.

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