White Squall
- PG-13
- Year:
- 1996
- 129 min
- 759 Views
FADE IN:
SUPER:
A TRUE STORY - MYSTIC HARBOR CONNECTICUT 1994CREDITS OVER:
Wind on the water. Soaring gulls and sand pipers glide
over the pilings and sagging bulkheads.
OLDER CHUCK (V.O.)
Though I hadn't seen or spoken to
Sheldrake in over thirty years, it
seemed impossible that his heart was
the thing that had finally failed
him...
CHUCK GIEG, 49, thin, windswept and handsome, is behind
the wheel. He pulls down a narrow cobble stone street
that leads to the wharf.
OLDER CHUCK (V.O.)
I never got close to him, nobody
did. But by the time we made Tampa,
I was sure I knew who he was, that I
understood what he saw, what
nourished his soul and tested his
faith...
EXT. WHARF - DAY
Chuck stares out across the harbor. In the distance, the
echoes of singing masts. Shrouds and canvas softly ping.
The small boats of Mystic tug restlessly at their
moorings.
OLDER CHUCK (V.O.)
He had taken us to worship, where,
what was for him, the holiest of
holies. And, for us too by the
end...
Chuck stands silently on the periphery of a gathering of
people. They surround a small building, a neighborhood
clinic. A worn gray stone, long in the earth, dedicates
the structure.
IN MEMORY OF NATALIE "ALICE" SHELDRAKE M.D.,
CAPTAIN'S WIFE AND SHIP'S SURGEON OF THE
BRIGANTINE ALBATROSS - MAY 2, 1961
Next to the stone a funeral urn. A YOUNG MINISTER gropes
for meaning.
MINISTER:
I didn't know Richard Sheldrake
personally, but his many friends who
knew and worked with him, wanted to
make sure that he was returned home,
here, to be remembered with his
beloved wife...
Chuck gazes out at the sleepy harbor, the minister's voice
fading away. The afternoon wind is coming up with the
tide. He quietly heads towards the water. Drifting,
drawn, lost.
OLDER CHUCK (V.O.)
Though he had moved on with his
life, now even for the years, to
hear him eulogized by strangers,
seemed strange. He had been a
hewner of stones, a pilot by the
silent stars. Like me, alone among
many. But most of all for us, the
crew of the brigantine Albatross, he
was always and would forever be...
our Skipper.
A SHIP'S BELL turns him around. Ding ding. Ding ding. A
beautiful three masted schooner steady on the water slips
into port. A picture out of another time, another place.
It takes him away...
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. FOREST - WATER TOWER - DAY
A towering monolith, surrounded by tall oaks and
sycamores. The tower is immense. A single ladder runs up
to the top.
AT THE TOP:
Just above the tree tops, the view is spectacular. CHUCK
GIEG, 16, sits thin and unsteady. Chuck's gaze is drawn
upward -- to the building spring cumulus clouds. Chuck's
older brother WILL, 18, stout, self assured, pulls himself
to the top.
WILL:
You gonna jump? Or are you just
having a last look?
CHUCK:
I was just thinking that I never had
a new pair of shoes till I was
twelve.
WILL:
It's no my fault I was born first.
Besides, nobody ever sent me on an
eight month vacation, so ease up on
the sad sack stuff.
CHUCK:
It's not a vacation, it's private
school.
WILL:
I thought this was your dream come
true.
CHUCK:
That's not why he's sending me.
WILL:
Why then.
CHUCK:
Because it looks good.
Chuck looks out, yearning. Will considers him, troubled.
CHUCK:
I'm just not like you. Ya know?
I'm never going to go to Yale. I'm
never going to be "William".
WILL:
Nobody says you have to be like me.
CHUCK:
He does.
WILL:
You don't give him enough credit
Chas.
Chuck takes a last look at the building clouds. The sky
rumbles. Distant thunder.
WILL:
We better go.
Maple street, USA, tree lined and quaint. The Gieg home
is a modest two story house with a covered porch. The
family station wagon is poised for departure. CHARLES,
45, a generally serious man broods as MIDDY, their mother,
40, soft and thoughtful, exits the house. Chuck and Will
appear from the woods.
CHARLES:
(ticked)
You plan on making this plane or
not?
WILL:
Don't take any wooden nickels
Kemosabe.
CHUCK:
I won't.
Will shoves out a hand at Chuck.
WILL:
And lighten up will ya.
Chuck hugs him anyway and walks to the passenger side.
Charles tosses him the keys, like he's doing him a big
favor.
INT. CAR - DAY
Chuck sits in the drivers seat. Middy is in the back.
Charles slams the trunk and gets in. Before Chuck turns
the ignition...
CHARLES:
Now just take it easy. We're not
going to a fire.
Chuck reacts.
OUTSIDE:
Will watches as the car pulls away.
CAR - MOVING
The Giegs drive in silence. Middy reads from a brochure.
MIDDY:
Honey, did you know that the
Albatross was captured by the
CHUCK:
No, I didn't.
MIDDY:
It says she was originally Schooner
rigged, but Captain Sheldrake turned
her into a brigantine. I think
square rigs look so much more
romantic.
CHUCK:
Me too.
CHARLES:
Appearances aren't everything. Keep
your mind on the road.
Chuck pulls over to the side of the road.
CHARLES:
What are you doing?
Chuck hands him the keys.
CHUCK:
I don't feel like driving. Okay?
Charles regards him oddly.
The National Airlines Boeing 707 is bigger than anything
Chuck has ever seen. Passengers begin boarding. Charles
stands away, detached.
MIDDY:
Do you have your ticket?
CHUCK:
Yes.
MIDDY:
Passport?
CHUCK:
Look, I just better go.
Middy hugs her son.
CHUCK:
Goodbye Mom. I'll be okay.
MIDDY:
I know you will.
Chuck faces his dad.
CHARLES:
Make us proud.
CHUCK:
Yes sir.
Charles extends his hand. They shake. Then Chuck hurries
away into the crowd. Charles and Middy watch until he is
out of sight.
INT. PLANE - DAY
Chuck settles into his seat next to the window. He
watches as the world slips away beneath the wings of the
707.
EXT. AIRPORT CUSTOMS - BERMUDA - DAY
Another world. Chuck stands in line at the customs booth.
He cranes his neck to see the brilliant blue water and
coral reefs beyond the runway.
Three other boys are ahead of him in line. The CUSTOMS
AGENTS go through every piece of luggage. TOD JOHNSTONE,
16, thin and blonde, is in a heated argument with one of
the agents about his spear gun.
RICK MARCH, 17, wise-cracking and confident, shakes his
head, smiling. He spots Chuck, moves through the line and
shoves out a hand.
RICK:
Albatross?
CHUCK:
Yeah.
RICK:
Rick March. Who the hell are you?
CHUCK:
Gieg, Chuck.
RICK:
Look, meet us out front when you're
through. If they try to take
anything away from you like Johnny
Quest up there, just make a list and
we'll have 'em send it down to the
boat.
CHUCK:
Whatever.
One of the agent starts pulling things out of Rick's
duffel bag. He finds a dive knife.
RICK:
Hey, hey!! That's my stuff!!
EXT. AUSTIN CAB - MOVING - DAY
The car whizzes through the narrow streets of Bermuda.
CALYPSO MUSIC sings from the radio. The streets are lined
with small coral houses and exotic palms.
INT. CAR - SAME
The boys are jammed inside with their things. In addition
to Chuck, Rick and Tod, is CHARLIE STRATTON, also sixteen.
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"White Squall" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 24 Nov. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/white_squall_973>.
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