The Purple Rose of Cairo Page #5

You have no idea where he went?

Mr. Hirsch,

this is awful for us.

lt`s really difficult.

Think of me,

my reputation, my career.

First thing is,

we got to keep it contained.

The word`s out already.

We got to keep the crisis local.

l know the two reporters

in town.

They`re old friends.

Maybe l could talk--

A couple bucks spread around

town will buy us some time.

Don`t worry about a thing.

l mean, we`re all so lost.

l know it`s rough.

l just want the whole cast

to know...

how much l appreciate your

staying up there on the screen.

l hope you`re not gonna

hold this against me, R.H.

You created the part

of Tom Baxter, Gil.

The facts are undeniable.

l want to go, too.

l want to be free! l want out!

l`m warning you,

that`s Communist talk.

We`re gonna have to pull

the film out of the theatre...

and you`re gonna have

to make good my receipts.

You`re thinking

of pulling the film...

because a minor

character`s missing?

A minor character?

Would you listen to her?

He may not have the most lines,

but the plot turns on Baxter.

l deliberately played him

with a cheerful bravado.

Who cares how you played him?

-He`s minor.

-That`s right.

l`d like to get

my hands on him !

Right when my career

was taking off.

He could be raping

that woman he abducted.

And he`s got my fingerprints.

My exact prints!

You know what they get

for rape in a small town?

Especially by a man

in a pith helmet?

lf this is the start

of a new trend...

our industry`s as good as dead.

The real ones want

their lives fiction...

and the fictional ones

want their lives real.

Does anybody know

who that woman was?

lt was all so crazy,

nobody noticed.

Two doughnuts and a container

of coffee to go, please.

Right now, it`s chaos.

How can rumors be circulating

at the Brown Derby?

lt just happened.

Squash it, Herbie!

l`ve got a career on the line.

Look, l`ll call you

the minute l hear.

Excuse me.

What are you doing here?

l`m sorry,

l don`t have a pencil...

or l`d give you an autograph.

Where did you get those clothes?

Pardon me?

Your clothes.

Where`d you get them?

A little store

on Sunset and Vine.

What are you talking about?

What are you talking about?

Excuse me.

l just bought you these.

Two doughnuts.

For me?

Well, thank you very much.

l hope you

enjoy my next movie.

l thought you were gonna

stay hidden at the park.

What park?

What`s the matter with you?

You`re acting so peculiar.

Tom? No, l`m--

Wait a minute! Come here.

What`s come over you?

l`m not Tom.

l`m Gil Shepherd. l play Tom.

How do you know Tom?

You`re Gil--

Oh, my God!

l don`t believe it!

l`ve seen you in lots of movies.

Where`s Tom?

`'Broadway Bachelors,'' right?

Yeah.

`'Honeymoon in Haiti''?

l`ve done about six.

-You were you a scream.

-Thank you very much.

l try to do one a year,

you know.

Just to keep--Where`s Tom?

Why?

He`s my character.

l created him.

Didn`t the man who wrote

the movie do that?

Yes, technically,

but l made him live.

l fleshed him out.

You did a wonderful job.

He`s adorable.

Thank you very much.

What`s your name?

-Where is he?

-Why?

Has he done anything wrong?

Like what?

Has he stolen anything

or attacked any females? You?

Gosh, no.

He`s as sweet as can be.

l played him sweet.

l was well-reviewed.

lt comes across.

Good. l gotta speak to him.

You`re not upset with him?

A little, yes,

but l know if l spoke to him...

we could straighten

everything out.

l don`t know.

Please, l have a right.

lt has to be secret.

He doesn`t want

to go back into the movie.

-He doesn`t?

-No. He loves being free.

He`s having

the time of his life.

Would you take me to him?

Trust me.

Please.

Monk, somebody saw

your wife last night...

at the Dine and Dance joint.

Sure. She`s there every night

with the Rockefellers.

She was with this

crazy-looking guy...

wearing an explorer`s hat

and breeches.

Breeches? You`re nuts.

She was baby-sitting.

Right. l guess you know it all.

All right, who`s next?

Cecilia, l dreamed

of us in Cairo--

-l brought--

-Gil Shepherd.

-l play you in the movie.

-You do?

How dare you run away!

This is disconcerting.

l`ll show you the meaning

of disconcerting!

l`m trying to build a career!

l don`t want to be

in the film anymore.

l`m in love with Cecilia!

Mr. Shepherd,

you said you weren`t angry.

You can`t do this to me.

lt`s my best role.

l`ve been critically

acclaimed for this!

Because of the way l do it.

No, because of the way l do it.

l`m doing it, not you.

lt`s me, not him !

Then how do you

explain that here l am?

l took you from the printed

page and made you live.

-So l`m living.

-For the screen only!

l want my freedom.

l don`t want another one of me

running around the world.

l can just imagine what he`s--

Are you afraid

l`ll embarrass you?

Frankly, l`m afraid--

But you created me.

Look, be reasonable here.

l`m starting to build a career.

ls life up on the screen

so terrible?

l want to be with Cecilia.

l`m in love with her.

Would you tell him to go back?

Tell him you don`t love him.

Tell him you can`t love him.

He`s fictional.

Do you want to waste your time

with a fictional character?

You`re a sweet girl.

You deserve an actual human.

But Tom`s perfect.

But he`s not real.

What good is perfect

if the man`s not real?

l can learn to be real.

lt`s easy.

There`s nothing to it.

Being real comes

very naturally to me.

You can`t learn to be real.

lt`s like being a midget.

lt`s not a thing you can learn.

Some of us are real,

some are not.

l say l can do it.

l`m not staying here

to argue with you.

l`m going back to town...

and call my attorney,

the actors` union.

l won`t take this lying down,

nor will Raoul Hirsch.

Nor the police, nor the FBl.

We found him.

Gil Shepherd found him...

but he refuses to get

back on the screen.

R.H. is very upset.

We can`t force him.

lt`s not a crime.

We need a plan.

The press is on our side.

lt took a few bucks, but

they`ll keep it quiet for now.

What? Really?

The Tom Baxter character

in a movie house in Chicago...

has been forgetting his lines.

He just got a call

from the manager.

lf anybody wants me,

l`ll be in the bathroom...

on the floor...weeping.

Aren`t you at all even worried?

What about Raoul Hirsch

or the FBl?

lf l can be with you,

l`m never going back.

-But, you know--

-No more buts.

l said l`d learn about

the real world. Show me.

lt`s beautiful.

l`m not sure exactly what it is.

This is a church.

You do believe in God,

don`t you?

Meaning...

The reason for everything,

the world, the universe.

l think l know what you mean.

The two men who wrote

`'The Purple Rose of Cairo''--

lrving Sachs and R.H. Levine.

They`re writers

who collaborate on films.

l`m talking about something

much bigger than that.

Think for a minute.

A reason for everything.

Otherwise, it`d be like

a movie with no point...

and no happy ending.

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