FADE IN:

EXT. DELTA TERMINAL - KENNEDY AIRPORT - DAY

On a taxi arriving at the Delta terminal of Kennedy Airport.
A man in a well-tailored gray suit gets out of the taxi.

CUT TO a CLOSER SHOT of the man as he pays the cabbie. He is
WILLCOX HILLYER, the middle-aged "Buddy" of this story and
the observer through whose eyes it is seen. He has a dry,
ironic, rather agreeable manner and he should seem like
everyone's idea of a successful author, a slightly graying,
trim, still-youthful-looking fifty. The CAMERA follows him as
he walks into the terminal carrying a small travel bag.

INT. DELTA TERMINAL - KENNEDY AIRPORT - DAY

CUT TO a shot of Willcox Hillyer at a counter getting his
ticket processed. A little smile is on his face as he talks
to a pretty airline girl. This character likes girls; his
aloofness is modified, his face changes when he talks to
them. The airline girl smiles back, she finds him attractive.
We don't hear what they are saying, no dialogue on track --
it is obvious he is flirting with the girl in a mild way, but
now a frown comes on his face and he turns his head as if
slightly annoyed by something.

CUT TO a POV shot of a tall, gaunt, almost totally bald man
at the next ticket counter. The man is about sixty-five and
looks like a half senile Great Dane. He is DAVE WILKIE,
erstwhile husband of the heroine of this story. Age has not
been at all kind to Dave; his face is lined with bitterness,
he is a sour, angry, lonely man and now he is making a very
unpleasant scene with a ticket girl and an airline
representative, waving his ticket and gesticulating angrily.
He wears an expensive, ill-fitting suit and a Texas-type hat.
We don't hear his angry complaints, no dialogue is on the
track.

CUT BACK to a CLOSE SHOT of Willcox Hillyer as he stares with
a frown at the man. It's as if he knows the man but can't
place him. The airline ticket girl speaks to him and he turns
back to her, his face softening as he answers her, obviously
saying he'll carry his bag. He nods goodbye to the girl,
turns and the CAMERA follows him as he walks some distance
away and stops, looks back with another pensive frown at the
tall, gaunt man at the next counter.

CUT TO ANOTHER POV shot of Dave Wilkie, a longer shot than
the first. The man is now arguing angrily with two airline
representatives, still waving his ticket and shaking his
head. We don't hear him. Lip-readers might pick up what he is
saying: "I'm supposed to be in first class, not tourist.
What's the matter with this friggin' airline?"

CUT BACK TO Willcox Hillyer, a CLOSE SHOT of his face as he
rubs his chin and frowns obviously struggling to remember the
man. The CAMERA holds on him as he stares at the gaunt angry
Dave, racking his brain. He shakes his head, he cannot place
the man and yet he knows him. The CAMERA moves in closer on
Willcox Hillyer's face as he stares in pensive puzzlement at
this ghost from the past and now we hear, as if from a
distance, FAINT MUSIC on the track -- it is "Dixie," played
with beautiful lazy mocking love by the great Louis Armstrong
in his prime. At first we can barely hear it, then the MUSIC
becomes LOUDER as Hillyer's frown deepens and he seems almost
to know the man.

MAIN TITLE (SUPERIMPOSED): "RAMBLING ROSE"

The MUSIC remains a bit in the distance, but it can be heard.

OTHER TITLES (SUPERIMPOSED): over the following action.

VARIOUS SHOTS, on Willcox Hillyer. He gives up his effort to
recognize the strangely familiar Dave with a little shrug,
turns and walks away with his travel bag.

INT. DELTA TERMINAL - LOUNGE - DAY

We see him entering the departure lounge and boarding the
plane.

INT. DELTA AIRPLANE - DAY

A shot of him as he smiles rather nicely at a very attractive
young stewardess as he walks down the aisle of the plane. He
is not a crass or lewd flirt, but life comes into his face
when he sees a pretty girl -- he seems to have a real
affection for girls: toward men he is polite but rather dry
and ironic, almost aloof, but girls he likes. We see him sit
in a seat, open his travel bag and take out long galley
sheets. He stares for a moment rather wearily at the galleys,
then sighs, puts on reading glasses and begins to make
corrections as boarding passengers walk by in the aisle.

Something or someone disturbs him, he looks up with a slight
frown and CUT TO a POV shot of Dave Wilkie, all wonder and
enthusiasm. This OVER the TITLES and we do not hear the
dialogue they speak, what we heard is LOUIS ARMSTRONG, but I
will put the dialogue in here so the actors can act it. We do
not want to hear it, the sense of what they are saying will
be obvious from the acting.

			DAVE WILKIE 
		(not on track)
	Buddd-dee! My God, if it ain't
	Buddy! Well, if this ain't the
	darnest thing!

ANOTHER ANGLE, on them both as Dave blocks the aisle, an
idiot false-toothed grin on his face. Hillyer has a pained
embarrassed smile.

			WILLCOX HILLYER 
		(not on track)
	Excuse me... your voice is familiar
	and I'm sure I know you from
	somewhere...

			DAVE WILKIE 
		(not on track, with
		 delighted injury)
	Awww-rr, Buddy, come on, you know
	me!

			WILLCOX HILLYER 
		(not on track)
	Well, I... I... ah-h, let's see...

			DAVE WILKIE 
		(not on track)
	It's Dave Wilkie! I'm Dave Wilkie,
	don't you remember me?

			WILLCOX HILLYER 
		(not on track)
	Oh. Oh, God. Of course, Dave, how
	are you?

The men shake hands, Dave enthusiastically, Hillyer less so.
We see Dave stow his suitcase and take the seat next to
Hillyer.

EXT. KENNEDY - DAY

CUT TO a shot of a big Delta jet making its final taxiing
turn and ROARING into a take-off.

INT. KENNEDY - DAY

CUT TO a dramatic underbelly shot of the jet going up.

END OF TITLES.

							DISSOLVE TO:

INT. DELTA AIRPLANE - DAY

A shot of the attractive, young stewardess, harried as she
fixes drinks.

INT. DELTA AIRPLANE - DAY

CUT TO Dave and Willcox Hillyer as the young stewardess gives
them drinks. Dave bestows a sour glance on her when he sees
the single drink, but at the moment he is in the midst of an
aggressively self-satisfied conversation and says nothing to
her. He speaks to Hillyer, who is making a real effort to be
polite but is less than happy about the encounter.

			DAVE WILKIE 
	Well, I am in the construction
	business, Buddy, and without
	braggin' I have done real good at
	it. 
		(with a meaningful
		 bitterness)
	There are those who wouldn't have
	expected that out of me. 
		(pauses as if waiting for
		 a reaction, but Hillyer
		 is very silent)
	Right now I'm buildin' a giant
	motel unit near Alexandria, outside
	Washington, D.C. Not fi-nance, I'm
	on the construction side.

			WILLCOX HILLYER 
		(making polite talk)
	Well, that's interesting, Dave. I
	always liked Washington, it's a
	pretty town.

			DAVE WILKIE 
	Oh, it's all right, beats Jew York.
	But the niggers have took it over,
	just like every other city we got,
	only worse.

Hillyer gives a barely perceptible wince at this speech, but
Dave doesn't notice, he goes on with aggressive self
satisfaction after a swallow of whiskey.

			DAVE WILKIE (CONT'D)
	But I have done real good in the
	construction field. What I don't
	know about buildin' ain't worth
	knowin'. I knocked off twenty-eight
	thousand smackeroos last year,
	how's that for an old country boy?

Dave pauses, realizes this might not impress; glances down
with curiosity at the galley sheets, then an unpleasant
smile.

			DAVE WILKIE (CONT'D)
	Ha ha, course you make a lot more. 
		(points at the galleys)
	What's that you got there, Buddy?

			WILLCOX HILLYER 
		(reluctantly)
	Galley proof.

			DAVE WILKIE 
	Galley what?

			WILLCOX HILLYER 
	Page proof of a book I'm working
	on.

			DAVE WILKIE 
	How about that. Well, you always
	were a screwball.

			WILLCOX HILLYER 
		(lifts an eyebrow in mild
		 irony)
	Oh, yeah?

			DAVE WILKIE 
		(unfazed)
	I don't mean that the way it
	sounds. 
		(stares at galleys as if
		 rattlesnake)
	Imagine it, a book. And I used to
	know you personal way back when.
		(pauses, then earnestly)
	Tell me something, Buddy, how do
	you dream up all that stuff?

			WILLCOX HILLYER 
		(absolutely straight)
	Well, actually, we have a little
	black boy named Her---t who lives
	in the garage. He does it for me.

			DAVE WILKIE 
		(for a moment half
		 believes it, then a slow,
		 stupid grin)
	Heh heh heh heh, same old Buddy,
	always jokin' around. Almost as
	much of a joker as your Daddy. 
		(drains his drink,
		 grimaces; a heavy
		 drinker, Dave)
	I saw your Daddy a coupla years
	ago, I was up in Glenville lookin'
	at a motel site. I guess that's
	where you're headed, huh, to see
	him?

			WILLCOX HILLYER 
		(stares out of plane
		 window)
	That's right, Dave, I'm headed for
	Glenville on a whisperin' jet.

			DAVE WILKIE 
		(suddenly calls out)
	Hey, girl! Hey, you, give us
	another drink! 
		(to Hillyer, sullenly)
	Dumb little bitch, supposed to give
	us two in the first place.

Willcox Hillyer listens with a pained half smile, a hand at
his temple.

			DAVE WILKIE (CONT'D)
	This friggin' airline's out of its
	mind. 
		(a martyr)
	The sons of bitches tried to put me
	in tourist.
		(portentuously
		 philosophical)
	But our whole civilization is
	screwed up, Buddy. The heebies and
	the coconuts have took it over and
	ruined it.

Willcox Hillyer half closes his eyes in weariness, but says
nothing. Gently, he rubs his temple. It is plain Dave Wilkie
gives him a headache.

INT. DELTA AIRPLANE

ANOTHER ANGLE, on the pretty young stewardess as she brings
two more drinks. Dave stares sourly at her, wholly unmoved by
her charm.

			DAVE WILKIE 
	Took your time gettin' here.

			WILLCOX HILLYER 
	She has other things to do, Dave.

Willcox smiles apologetically at girl.

			DAVE WILKIE 
	Supposed to get two drinks in the
	first place. This friggin' airline
	can't do nothin' right.

The stewardess purses her lips at Dave, who is bowed over his
drink busy opening it. Hillyer lifts an eyebrow at the girl
as if to say, "Don't blame me because of this damned idiot,"
and she half smiles at him.

			WILLCOX HILLYER 
		(obviously getting him off
		 subject)
	Tell me about that job in
	Alexandria, Dave, the big motel
	you're building.

			DAVE WILKIE 
		(with pedantic exactitude,
		 the man is a complete
		 pain in the ass)
	Near Alexandria. It isn't in
	Alexandria, it is outside it.

			WILLCOX HILLYER
	I see. Outside it.

			DAVE WILKIE
	That's correct -- outside it, not
	in it. As for the job, well, the
	Jewboy suppliers give me a lot of
	grief and we use a pile of niggers
	to haul and tote and they ain't
	worth a sorry-ass damn. 
		(takes big swallow of
		 drink)
	But I can build anything, Buddy.
	Give me the plans and I can build a
	goddamn staircase to the moon. It's
	a fact, I can build anything... 
		(pauses, then bitterly)
	... but she never believed that.
	Oh, hell, no, she never believed in
	me.

This is another pointed bitter reference to the unknown
"she." Once again, Willcox Hillyer is deliberately
unresponsive.

			WILLCOX HILLYER
	Um-m, well...

			DAVE WILKIE 
		(broodingly)
	Doubted my ability all along, the
	little bitch. I never remarried,
	Buddy, you know that, don't you?

			WILLCOX HILLYER 
	Well, no, I didn't actually.

			DAVE WILKIE 
	She's te reason -- cured me of
	women once and for all. Oh, I got
	rid of her, Buddy, I didn't waste
	no time kickin' that bitch out.
	Hell, she was screwin' everybody in
	Savannah. I caught her in a motel
	with this long tall son of a bitch
	and boy did I beat the everlastin'
	piss out of him!

Dave Wilkie's eyes narrow with vindictive anger as he says it
and one can well believe the streak of raw violence in the
man. It is frightening even now; he is a clown, but he is a
dangerous clown. As his long, bitter, impassioned tirade
continues, Willcox Hillyer becomes increasingly tense and
pale -- it is obvious he detests what the man is saying and
he is struggling to control himself.

Dave's tone and voice are laconically Southern, but the
hatred and misery in his eyes are raw.

			DAVE WILKIE (CONT'D)
	She didn't marry him, though, later
	she married another guy and went to
	Winston-Salem. It didn't last
	That girl couldn't have no lastin'
	marriage, she left him and married
	another dumb sucker and went out
	west. Little bitch left him, too,
	and you know what she's married to
	right now?
		(puts a big finger on
		 Hillyer's chest)
	A kike. That's right, some kind of
	kike horse doctor named Schapiro
	out in Seattle, who's got the nerve
	to have the same first name I got.
	Wouldn't you know it, Rose would
	wind up married to a goddamn kike?
	She was always out of her friggin'
	head and I'll tell you why.
		(his eyes narrow and again
		 he puts a finger on
		 Hillyer's chest)
	Buddy, she was sick in her mind and
	between her legs, too. She was
	a nymphomaniac.

			WILLCOX HILLYER
		(he has had enough; with a
		 pale trembling anger and
		 in even tone)
	Dave, you are as full of shit as a
	Christmas turkey and you know it.
	Now if you want to start a fight on
	this plane and get yourself in
	jail, go right ahead. But I am
	telling you, you are full of shit
	right up to your eyeballs.

			DAVE WILKIE 
		(with surprising mildness;
		 a little smile almost as
		 if he is pleased)
	I don't want to start no fight with
	you, Buddy. Why do you say I'm full
	of shit?

			WILLCOX HILLYER 
	Dave Schapiro is no horse doctor
	and Rose has been a good wife to
	him for a long time. To call her a
	nymphomaniac is the most stupid
	thing I ever heard in my life.

			DAVE WILKIE 
		(again surprisingly mild)
	You loved her, didn't you. Well, so
	did I. 
		(a little shrug)
	You'll have to admit she had four
	husbands.

			WILLCOX HILLYER 
	Yeah, it took her a while to grow
	up and find Mr. Right, but she did
	it. She found him.

			DAVE WILKIE 
		(another little smile)
	She used to call me Mr. Right.
	Remember that, Buddy?

			WILLCOX HILLYER 
		(he is pale with anger)
	Yeah, I remember it.

Willcox picks up galley sheets, half turns away.

			DAVE WILKIE 
	Well, I tell you, I don't know what
	the world's come to these days.
	Things used to be better. We didn't
	have any money, but things were
	better. 
		(grimaces in anger)
	Goddamn niggers and kikes burning
	the flag, rioting, raising hell --
	they ought to shoot their asses
	off. I tell you, Buddy, where this
	country made its mistake was
	allowing people without property to
	vote.

During this speech, Willcox Hillyer grits his teeth but says
nothing. He keeps his eyes down on the galley sheets. As Dave
shakes his head in sorrow at the state of the nation ..

							DISSOLVE TO:

INT. ATLANTA TERMINAL - HERTZ COUNTER - DAY

A shot of Willcox Hillyer at a Hertz Counter in the Atlanta
airport. A tense, wrought up Dave Wilkie is in the b.g. of
the shot. During the following brief exchange, Hillyer is
politely cool, Wilkie under a great strain.

			DAVE WILKIE 
		(holds out hand)
	Well, got to get a plane to
	Savannah. Great running into you,
	Buddy. Give my best to your Daddy.

			WILLCOX HILLYER 
	Yeah, I'll do that, Dave.

			DAVE WILKIE 
		(sweating, tense, under
		 some kind of awful
		 emotional strain)
	Ah-h, if you happen to run into
	Rose sometime... do me a favor,
	give her a message for me, will
	you?

			WILLCOX HILLYER 
		(a trifle wearily)
	Dave, I haven't seen Rose for
	years.

Hillyer takes rental car papers from a pretty young HERTZ
GIRL, gives the girl a little smile, picks up his travel bag.
In desperation, Dave takes his arm.

			DAVE WILKIE 
	Buddy, I'm a sick man. I had a
	heart attack last year, I wasn't
	expected to live.

Hillyer turns to Dave, puzzled and interested; Dave earnestly
explains.

			DAVE WILKIE (CONT'D)
	You might see her. She writes your
	Daddy, and she and that doctor came
	to see him, didn't they? I wish
	you'd tell her something... I never
	could write letters.

			WILLCOX HILLYER 
		(in a different tone,
		 interested, curious)
	What do you want me to tell her,
	Dave?

			DAVE WILKIE 
		(a painful inward
		 struggle; the man is
		 tormented, miserable)
	Oh, to hell with it, never mind.
	Don't tell her anything. Don't even
	tell her you saw me. 
		(half turns his back, his
		 face twisted with strong
		 emotion)
	Got to run, Buddy, I'll miss my
	plane.

Willcox Hillyer and the pretty young Hertz Girl stare after
Dave Wilkie as he walks away with spasm-like steps. Hillyer
seems affected, less hostile toward Dave now. He speaks half
to himself, half to the Hertz Girl.

			WILLCOX HILLYER 
	He still loves her. The poor damn
	fool still loves her.

			HERTZ GIRL 
	Who was she?

			WILLCOX HILLYER 
	A girl named Rose.
		(pulls himself back into
		 the world of reality)
	Still take R75 to Glenville?

			HERTZ GIRL 
	Yes, sir.

Willcox nods thanks and walks away carrying his travel bag.

EXT. ATLANTA AIRPORT - ROAD - DAY

CUT TO a shot of the red Ford driving from the airport.

EXT. INTERSTATE 75 - DAY

A shot of the red Ford on Interstate 75, Atlanta skyline in
b.g.

EXT. GEORGIA INTERSTATE - DAY

On the red Ford as it speeds along a Georgia Interstate
through red clay hills in green springtime.

INT./EXT. CAR - GEORGIA INTERSTATE - DAY

CUT TO a shot on Willcox Hillyer CLOSE ON his face in the
car. He is lost in reflection. A look of bitter sweet emotion
is on his face, an expression of sadness mixed with
amusement. As the CAMERA holds on his face, we hear again on
the track Louis Armstrong's great version of "DIXIE," or
music of comparable power, beauty and nostalgic evocation.
Now the music is stronger, much stronger than behind the
titles, we are beginning to hear it full force.

							DISSOLVE TO:

BLURRED SCREEN FLASHBACK:

EXT. HILLYER HOME - DAY

A shot of a thirteen-year-old boy on the front porch of a
house in the sleepy Depression South of many years ago. He is
BUDDY, Willcox Hillyer as a boy. The MUSIC continues as he
shades his eyes to look at something far away.

EXT. HILLYER HOME - DRIVEWAY - DAY

CUT TO a LONG POV shot of a young and very pretty blonde girl
walking slowly up an oak-shaded driveway. A ZOOMAR LENSE
takes us TOWARD her. She is carrying a cardboard suitcase
tied with a string. Her clothes are cheap, her shoes are
dusty, runs are in her stockings. She is sweaty, tired and
seems very nervous. ROSE is a very attractive girl, but her
primary quality is not sexiness, but an innocence and
sweetness. She pauses to wipe sweat from her forehead with
the back of her hand and nervously moistens her lips as she
stares ahead uncertainly at the "nice" Southern home which to
her seems very grand. It is apparent she is badly frightened
and apprehensive about what lies ahead. She is also exhausted
from the heat and a long hot walk in the Southern sun. She
blinks at perspiration, swallows in anxiety again and forces
herself to walk on.

EXT. HILLYER HOME - PORCH

CUT TO a shot of Buddy on the porch. Expressionless,
unreadable, neither friendly nor hostile, he stares with an
even gaze directly into the CAMERA. He has his hands on his
hips in a distinctive way that we will later see is a
mannerism of his father's.
Buddy tries to imitate the style of his father, not always
with complete success. Unreadable as a Sphinx, he stands
there, waiting.

EXT. HILLYER HOME PORCH - DAY

CUT TO a POV shot of Rose at the foot of the porch steps. A
tentative little smile is on her face. It is very plain she
is nervous and frightened.

			ROSE 
	Hello. I'm Rose, and I've come to
	live with you and your family.

Silence. The damn boy says nothing. A trifle crestfallen,
Rose moistens his lips and swallows. She ventures another
little smile and the CAMERA follows her as she walks up the
steps. The at-times-insufferable Buddy comes into the shot.
He still has his hands on his hips Daddy-style and his
expression is inscrutable, neither friendly nor hostile.

			ROSE (CONT'D)
	What's your name? What do they call
	you?

Finally, the boy speaks -- and he is not so bad. He's a child
after all.

			BUDDY 
	Lots of things. Buddy, mostly.

			ROSE 
		(greatly reassured, a real
		 smile now)
	Buddy. Well, now, that's a nice
	name, I like it. I am real pleased
	to meet you. 
		(solemnly holds out her
		 hand, they shake)
	Hey, look, do you think you got a
	cold drink of ice water somewhere?

			BUDDY
	Sure. Let me take your suitcase.

A warm and beautiful smile comes on Rose's face and a little
twinkle comes into her eyes. The innocence and sweetness are
not lost, that is never lost, but this is a girl who likes
boys and men.

			ROSE 
	You're sweet.

INT. HILLYER HOME BEDROOM STUDY - DAY

CUT TO a shot of Buddy's mother, Mrs. Hillyer, in a Morris
chair in her bedroom study.

MOTHER is a sensitive, kind and rather appealing if slightly
eccentric lady of about 37 or 38. She wears glasses, has a
Victorian hairdo and a 1930ish style dress. At the moment
Mother is absorbed in her studies -- notebooks and history
books are littered and piled everywhere around her chair. She
is drinking a Coca-Cola and smoking a cigarette held by a
bobbie pin. Calmly, she glances up as Buddy enters the room.
The CAMERA pulls back to include him.

			BUDDY 
	The new girl is here.

			MOTHER 
	Wonderful. What's she like,
	Brother? What is your impression of
	her?

			BUDDY 
	She talks a great deal and smiles a
	lot. She's very pretty, she has a
	real good figure. She's very
	girlish or womanish, if you know
	what I mean. She wouldn't hurt
	anybody, this girl. She couldn't.

Mother accepts her son's precocious pronouncement as
perfectly normal; talks to him as if he's an adult.

			MOTHER 
	Your impression is very reassuring,
	Brother. Of course she's had
	troubles, poor thing, but I sensed
	that was that the girl was like and
	I'm glad to have it reconfirmed.

			BUDDY 
	You mean confirmed, Mother. I
	didn't confirm it before. I would
	have had to confirm it previously,
	in order for it to be reconfirmed.

			MOTHER 
	All right, all right. Doll and
	Waski are upstairs taking their
	nap, you go get them and bring them
	down to the living room. Where is
	the girl?

			BUDDY 
	In the kitchen drinking all the ice
	water in Glenville. She walked out
	here, she didn't go by the hotel.

			MOTHER 
	Walked, in all that heat? It's a
	wonder she hasn't got sunstroke.
	I'll phone Daddy and you go get
	Doll Baby and Waski.

							DISSOLVE TO:

INT. HILLYER HOME - LIVING ROOM

A shot of Mother, Rose, Buddy, Doll and Waski in the living
room of the Hillyer household. DOLL is a pretty little girl
of about 11, WASKI a boy of 5. Mother's tone is very gentle,
very sweet, very kind. Her unabashed admiration for her own
children has an ingenuousness that is more amusing than
offensive.

			MOTHER 
	Rose, this is Waski. His real name
	is Warren but we call him Waski. He
	doesn't like it much and I suppose
	someday we'll have to stop calling
	him that.

			WASKI
	You can stop it right now.

			MOTHER 
	When he was baby we called him "Wa
	Wa," a baby name, you know. You
	will find him a very good boy. His
	brother can be bad and so can his
	sister, but Waski is a very good
	boy. And as you can see he's
	beautiful.

			WASKI 
	Oh, Mother, cut it out.

			MOTHER 
		(serenely)
	There are plenty of girls who would
	give thousands of dollars to have
	your auburn hair. Beauty is beauty
	and that's all there is to it.
	Beauty is there and we have to
	recognize it. Now Rose, the little
	girl sitting across from you with
	the blue eyes is Doll Baby. She
	looks like an angel and she is an
	angel, but she can be a naughty
	angel sometimes, although her
	father won't believe it. Her real
	name is Frances, but we call her
	Dolly or Doll.

			DOLL 
	I don't like that, either, it's
	worse than Waski. I want to be
	called Fran.

			MOTHER 
	Daddy wouldn't hear that. Now the
	redhaired boy you see sitting
	there, of course you have met him,
	he is my oldest son and my most
	brilliant child. All children have
	great creative powers, but I don't
	want to rattle on about my
	children, they say I brag too much
	about them, especially about
	Brother. Am I boring you, Rose?

Rose has not as yet caught on to Mother's style and is
staring at her with lips apart and blue eyes slightly popped.

			ROSE 
		(feebly)
	Oh, no, ma'am.

			MOTHER 
	Well, it's rather interesting about
	Brother, actually. I realized the
	remarkable thing he had when he was
	six weeks old. He looked at me and
	understood me, he knew exactly who
	I was. I know it sounds crazy but
	it's true. He's very remarkable, he
	was born for the ministry and could
	move millions, but he doesn't know
	that yet. I have to warn you about
	him, he can be very dangerous,
	there is an evil streak in him, a
	streak of pure sheer meanness. But
	at heart Brother is saintly and
	that is why he was born for the
	ministry even if he doesn't know
	it.

Thus, Mother. Slightly cuckoo, a bit out of touch with
reality, but no fool. A very intelligent woman really, and
very, very gentle and kind.
Her style, however, takes a little getting used to and her
long speech throws Rose completely. She stares at Mother in
speechless open-mouthed awe, unable to say a word.

The CAMERA moves in CLOSER on Rose as she moistens her lips,
swallows, tries to talk and can't. She is very, very nervous.
Now she flinches and looks around as we hear a deep masculine
VOICE OVER the shot. It is the voice of DADDY, Mr. Hillyer,
Buddy's father.

			DADDY'S VOICE 
	Honey, you'll scare the gizzard out
	of the girl going into the fourth
	dimension like that.

ANOTHER ANGLE on Daddy in the doorway of the living room. He
is a handsome man of about forty with a style and a manner
all his own. As extravagant as his remarks often are and
funny though he is at times, the man has a courtly Southern
dignity that is never lost. He is no clown, he is not even a
comedian, he is a man and a formidable man at that: all the
characters in this story love and fear him. We see now where
Buddy got his unreadable expression thing and his hands on
the hips thing. Daddy is unreadable. A straw hat is on the
back of his head, a rolled-up Glenville Tribune is in his
hand, his hands are on his hips. He is staring with what
seems to be stern fierceness at them all, but his attitude
really is inscrutable.

			MOTHER 
	It isn't the fourth dimension. To
	you it's the fourth dimension,
	maybe, to me it's simply the truth.

			DADDY 
		(staring fiercely at Rose)
	Well, well, well. So Miss Rosebud
	has arrived. Un-hmm. And you're all
	assembled here. Yes, indeed. Un
	hmmm.

Daddy walks in as Rose stares wide-eyed at him. It is obvious
he scares the absolute bejesus out of her, she looks actually
as if she might faint, her hands trembling on her lap and her
knees quivering beneath her cheap and tacky dress. But she
has a surprise coming. She is soon to lose all her fear of
him, every bit of it. Daddy walks over and sits in a chair
beside her, stares fiercely at her for a moment, then begins
a long speech. Again, extravagant as this speech is, he is no
clown, he is not "being funny," he means every word he says.

			DADDY (CONT'D)
	Well, Rosebud, now you are here,
	darling, and I swear to God
	graceful as the capital letter S.
	You will adorn our house, Rosebud,
	you will give a glow and a shine to
	these old walls. If there's one
	thing I like to have around, it's a
	frizzy-haired blonde. Now I assume
	Mrs. Hillyer and the children have
	introduced themselves and made your
	acquaintance, and so forth and so
	on?

Rose can barely answer, eyes fixed in rapt fascination on
him, a half whisper.

			ROSE 
	Yes, sir.

			DADDY 
	All right. Now as head of this
	household I have a couple of
	remarks to make. It is my dear
	wife's belief, which I accept
	although I do not totally grasp it,
	that to hire a person to do
	household work is a criminal
	practice. Therefore, you are here
	not as a servant, you are here as a
	friend, as a guest and hopefully as
	a member of this family. You will
	eat your meals with us, you will
	share life itself with us -- in
	love and harmony, dear Rosebud, in
	love and harmony. Do you understand
	me?

			ROSE
		(a half whisper)
	Yes, sir.

Daddy pauses, then in a different tone, his hidden gentleness
and kindness are much more plain; as he talks Rose's eyes
begin to well with tears.

			DADDY 
	Now, I know you've had some
	troubles in your life, those...
	scoundrels in Birmingham and so
	forth trying to... lead you astray.
	I hope you find a safe haven here,
	honey, I know you've had a hard
	time. Life can be cruel to a young
	girl all alone. We welcome you to
	our home, Rosebud, we all welcome
	you from the heart and hope you are
	happy here.

Rose bites her lip, her eyes are filled with tears; an
inaudible whisper.

			ROSE 
	Yes, sir.

INT. HILLYER HOME

VARIOUS SHOTS of Rose doing household chores: sweeping the
floor, vacuuming, cooking. She is cheerful in her work,
smiling, good-humored and she works hard. It is obvious she
is happy. We see the children in most of these shots. It is
apparent Rose is a very good worker and very happy in her new
home.

INT. HILLYER HOME - KITCHEN - DAY

Rose is washing the dishes while the children finish
breakfast. Buddy looks up from this cornflakes with a
slightly sly expression.

			BUDDY 
	Rose, who were those scoundrels in
	Birmingham?

			ROSE 
	Nobody.

			BUDDY 
	But who were they?

			ROSE 
	They were just bad men, that's all.

			BUDDY 
	In what sense were they bad?

			ROSE 
	Bad is bad, Buddy. There ain't no
	sense to it.

			BUDDY 
	Did they try to induce you to
	become a prostitute?

Rose turns around, lifts her eyebrows, tosses down the
dishcloth.

			ROSE 
	I don't answer talk like that,
	Buddy. I just don't hear it, I turn
	my back and look away.

Rose turns her back on him.

			BUDDY 
	Was that what they tried to do? Was
	that why Daddy gave you the job, to
	save you from those scoundrels?

			ROSE 
	Your Daddy is a wonderful man, I'll
	say that. He's the best and most
	kind-hearted man in the world.

			BUDDY 
	Hey, Rose, did you hear about that
	terrible thing down in Cave
	Springs?

			ROSE 
	What terrible thing in Cave
	Springs?

			BUDDY 
	There was this old man that ate his
	niece.

Rose stares emptily for a moment, then bites her lips
together.

			ROSE 
	I didn't hear you. I didn't hear
	that.

			BUDDY 
	He really did, he ate his little
	niece. He made pork chops out of
	her.

			ROSE 
	I don't hear you. I just turn my
	back on that kind of talk and look
	away.

			BUDDY 
	Well, it's only the truth. There
	are horrible things in the world,
	Rose.

			ROSE 
	Buddy, you are in one of your evil
	moods, I don't want to talk to you.
	I'm going out and sweep the patio.

Rose exits and the CAMERA stays on Buddy, Doll and Waski.

			BUDDY 
	Rose is almost as sentimental as
	Mother. If there's one thing I
	can't stand it's sentimentality. In
	Chattanooga this man committed an
	almost perfect murder. He killed
	his wife with a black widow spider.

			DOLL 
	Oh, shut up, Buddy.

			WASKI 
	Yeah, shut up.

EXT. HILLYER HOME - PATIO - DAY

CUT TO a shot of Rose on the stone patio of the Hillyer
house, an attractive area with outdoor furniture and
crabapple tree limbs overhead. Rose is busy sweeping. The
CAMERA PANS to follow her and we pick up Mrs. Hillyer,
Mother. It is a nice day and she is studying out on the
patio, books and notebooks piled around. Rose glances down
curiously at her.

			ROSE 
	What are you studying now, Mrs.
	Hillyer?

			MOTHER 
	More history, Rose.

			ROSE 
	Are you going to get your degree
	soon?

			MOTHER 
	Well, I am working on my thesis.

			ROSE 
		(as she busily sweeps)
	It must be wonderful to be so
	smart. I don't see how you do it,
	reading all those books, learning
	all that stuff.

			MOTHER 
		(looks up, and gently)
	Rose, you work too hard. Why don't
	you go sit down somewhere and drink
	a Co-Cola?

			ROSE 
		(smiles, trusts and knows
		 Mother now, not at all
		 afraid of her)
	You're so sweet.

Rose again busily sweeps.

			MOTHER 
	Really, why don't you go sit down
	somewhere?

			ROSE 
	I like to work. I don't mind work.
	It's the least I can do after all
	you and Mr. Hillyer have done for
	me. 
		(stares worshipfully at
		 Mother)
	You're so sweet. There never was
	nobody like you.

			MOTHER 
		(gently)
	Well, you run on now.

			ROSE 
	Yes, Ma'am.

Exit Rose. Mother adjusts her notebook and turns the page of
a history book as she resumes her studies. We hear the sound
of an approaching CAR and she glances up.

EXT. HILLYER HOME - DRIVEWAY - DAY

CUT TO a shot of a slightly worn-out 1932 Model-A Ford as it
rolls up the driveway of the Hillyer home, Daddy at the
wheel.

EXT. HILLYER HOME - PATIO - DAY

ANOTHER ANGLE, on Daddy as he gets out of the Model-A. He has
his usual straw hat on the back of his head. The CAMERA
FOLLOWS him as he walks onto the patio.

			DADDY 
	Good morning, sweetheart. Beautiful
	day.

			MOTHER 
	Yes, it's so nice I thought I'd
	work outside.

			DADDY 
	How goes it, darlin'?

			MOTHER 
	Slow, hon. But at least I can
	concentrate now that Rose is here.

			DADDY 
	What do you think of her, honey?

Mother doesn't answer, she writes on, head bowed over her
notebook. We see in this shot the hearing aid she wears and
hear from it a faint BUZZ.

			DADDY (CONT'D)
	Turn up your hearing aid.

			MOTHER 
	What?

			DADDY 
	Your hearing aid, it's buzzing at
	me like a snake.

			MOTHER
		(adjusts hearing aid)
	Oh. Did you say something?

			DADDY 
	I asked you what you think of
	Rosebud, now that she's been here a
	while.

			MOTHER 
	Honey, she's perfect. She works all
	the time and she's wonderful with
	the children. And they love her,
	even Brother likes her though he
	won't admit it. I think she's just
	perfect.

			DADDY 
	Um-hmm. Almost too perfect.

			MOTHER 
	And she's such a good-hearted
	thing, there isn't an ounce of harm
	or malice in her.

			DADDY 
	Well, I'll admit I don't see any
	flies on her yet.

			MOTHER 
	There are no flies on Rose, I don't
	know what you're talking about.

			DADDY 
	Well, she must have done something
	to encourage those scoundrels in
	Birmingham, even if she did run
	away from them.

INT. HILLYER HOME - KITCHEN - DAY

CUT TO a shot of Buddy in the window of the kitchen. He is
propped on his elbows and listening with keen interest to the
talk on the patio. We hear the VOICES of his parents OVER the
shot.

			MOTHER'S VOICE 
	If you mean... boys and men, I
	don't think so. Rose seems very
	calm about all of that.

			DADDY'S VOICE 
	Well, so far I have to agree. She
	seems calm as lettuce.

The CAMERA FOLLOWS Buddy as he draws back into the kitchen.
We see Doll and Waski playing a game on the kitchen table.

			BUDDY 
	Daddy says Rose is calm as lettuce.
	Do you believe that, Doll?

			DOLL 
	No.

			WASKI 
	Neither do I.

			BUDDY 
	Oh, Waski, you don't even know what
	we're talking about.

			WASKI
	I do, too.

Buddy turns, looks back out the window.

EXT. HILLYER SOME - PATIO - DAY

CUT TO Mother and Daddy on the patio. Daddy stands up.

			DADDY 
	Well, let's hope for the best,
	darlin'.

			MOTHER 
	Hope for the best? I don't
	understand all this skepticism. I
	thought you liked Rose.

			DADDY 
	I love Rosebud, I am wild about
	Rosebud. I just hope she doesn't
	turn out to be a hidden hotcha
	character, that's all. We have
	growing children in the house.

			MOTHER 
	Hotcha character. If I had to live
	with your cynicism, I wouldn't want
	to live at all. What you can't
	understand is that the creative
	forces of the universe are
	positive, not negative.

			DADDY
		(gently, his irony is
		 mild)
	All right, darlin', don't go off
	into the fourth dimension.

			MOTHER 
	I'm not in the fourth dimension --
		(points a finger at him)
	-- you are in the fourth dimension,
	when you allow skepticism and doubt
	to take control. As Blake said, if
	God had doubt the sun would go out.

			DADDY 
		(again gentle irony,
		 always courtly toward
		 her)
	Forgive my crudity, darlin'. I
	don't understand these deeper
	things the way you do.

			MOTHER 
		(reaches up, takes his
		 hand)
	Be nice to Rose. She's never had a
	real home.

			DADDY 
	You're a wonderful woman, darlin'.
	As long as you're around, I'm sure
	the sun wouldn't dare go out.

INT. HILLYER HOME - KITCHEN - DAY

CUT TO a shot of Buddy and Doll and Waski in the kitchen.
Doll and Waski are playing parchesi on the kitchen table.
Buddy turns from eavesdropping at the window and strolls
across the kitchen, hands in his khaki pants.

			BUDDY 
	It's pitiful. Neither one of them
	know.

			DOLL 
		(as she shakes dice)
	I think Daddy suspects.

			BUDDY 
	No, he doesn't. Not really.

The CAMERA FOLLOWS Buddy as he goes to the hall door,
carefully opens it to make no noise and peers down the hall.

INT. HILLYER HOME - FRONT HALL - DAY

CUT TO a POV shot of Rose busy dusting hall furniture,
humming as she works. We hear on the track the SOUND of the
Model-A starting, and Rose freezes. Then, quickly, Rose
hurries down the hall toward the front door.

ON Buddy as he watches her through a crack in the door. He
has his hands on his hips Daddy-style and his face is
expressionless.

ANOTHER ANGLE, POV of Buddy but CLOSER on Rose at the end of
the hall. She is staring soulfully through the glass of the
front door as we hear the Model-A go down the driveway. Rose
lifts a hand between her breasts, sighs. A lovesick
expression is on her face.

INT. HILLYER HOME - KITCHEN - DAY

ON Buddy, as he comes back into the kitchen sadly shaking his
head.

			BUDDY
	It's really pitiful. She's in bad
	shape.

			DOLL
	She's watching the car again?

			BUDDY
	Yeah.

			DOLL
	I get so irritated with Daddy. He's
	so dumb sometimes.

			WASKI
	Yeah, I know.

			BUDDY
	Oh, Waski, you don't know anything.

			WASKI
	I do, too!

			BUDDY
	All right, what do you know?

			WASKI
	Rose is madly in love with Daddy...

			DOLL
		(pauses, then solemnly)
	Well, don't tell Mother.

			WASKI
	Do you think I'm crazy?

							DISSOLVE TO:

INT. HILLYER HOME - DINING ROOM - NIGHT

A shot of the family at dinner in the dining room at night.
Daddy is at the head of the table, Mother is at the other
end.

Buddy, Doll and Waski are all seated in neat, nice clothes,
hands washed and hair combed. Rose is serving, but a place is
set for her. She wears an attractive little apron and is
smiling, blushing, happy as Daddy teases and jokes at her.

			DADDY
	(in a good humor) 
	Rosebaby Blossom, these are the
	most delicious candied yams I ever
	ate! Why, they just melt in my
	mouth. And this fried chicken is
	fit for a king. How do you do it,
	Peachbird? What is the secret of
	your art, Plum Blossom, huh?

			ROSE
		(blushing, smiling)
	Oh, I don't know, I... I...

			DADDY 
	Rosebird Baby, you are the light of
	my life, darlin'. How did we ever
	get by without you?

			ROSE 
		(stares at him, stricken)
	I... I'll get the grits.

The CAMERA FOLLOWS Rose as she exits, and STOPS on Buddy and
Doll. Buddy slews his eyes toward his sister, who meets his
gaze for a moment then looks down at her plate. The CAMERA
MOVES on to Mother, who is utterly oblivious of anything
going on between Rose and Daddy.

			MOTHER 
	Rose does have a gift for cooking.
	She learns so fast, but mainly I
	think it's that she tries so hard.

INT. HILLYER HOME - DINING ROOM - NIGHT (LATER)

ANOTHER ANGLE, on the family as they eat dinner. Rose is
seated at the table now. She is picking lifelessly at her
food and glancing from time to time with a lovesick
expression at Daddy, who is busy eating and seems wholly
unaware of it. Mother also is wholly unaware, but all the
children know what is happening. Rose takes a gravy for a
biscuit and spills a little, her hand is trembling.

			MOTHER
		(gently, suspects
		 absolutely nothing)
	Rose, you're in an awful dither
	tonight. What's the matter with
	you, honey, are you sick or
	something?

			ROSE
		(in a feeble voice)
	No, ma'am, I'm just fine.

			MOTHER 
	You look sick if you ask me. I hate
	to leave you with the dishes and
	all, but I'm supposed to go to a
	meeting of the Garden Club this
	evening.
		(to Daddy)
	I'll need the car keys.

			DADDY 
	I'll drive you, darlin'. You've got
	no business behind the wheel of an
	automobile. You don't think about
	what you're doing and you'll run
	into a telephone pole.

			MOTHER 
	I think about what I'm doing all
	the time, and I've got as much
	business behind the wheel of an
	automobile as anybody. Besides, I
	want you to stay and help Rose with
	the dishes, the poor girl isn't
	feeling well.

			DADDY 
	All right, darlin'.

							DISSOLVE TO:

INT. HILLYER HOME - DINING ROOM - NIGHT (LATER)

A shot of Daddy alone in the dining room, reading a newspaper
and drinking coffee. Rose comes INTO THE PICTURE, gets dishes
as she clears the table. She stares with a lovesick
expression at Daddy, who is absorbed in paper.

			DADDY
		(to himself, mostly)
	Hmmp. Did you realize there are a
	thousand Coca-Cola millionaires in
	Atlanta?

INT. HILLYER HOME - FRONT HALL - NIGHT

CUT TO a shot of Buddy and Doll tiptoeing down the darkened
hall toward the front door. We hear the MODEL-A going down
the drive. They peer out of the glass of the front door. They
whisper.

			BUDDY
	There goes Mother.

			DOLL
	Yeah.

			BUDDY 
	Let's go peep from the living room.

			DOLL
	Okay.

INT. HILLYER HOME - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

The CAMERA FOLLOWS them as they tiptoe into the darkened
living room. They go over to the sliding doors and silently
struggle for the best peeping spot. Buddy gets up high, Doll
down low, at the crack in the doors through which light
shines.

INT. HILLYER HOME - DINING ROOM - NIGHT

CUT TO a POV shot of the dining room, as seen by children.
Daddy sits absorbed in his paper, oblivious of Rose. She is
staring down at him with a pale look of love.

INT. HILLYER HOME - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

CUT TO a CLOSE-UP of Buddy and Doll, their heads together.
They whisper.

			DOLL
	I think she's gonna kiss him.

			BUDDY
	At least.

INT. HILLYER HOME DINING ROOM - NIGHT

CUT TO a POV shot of Daddy and Rose, as seen by children. The
table now is cleared and Rose stands half behind Daddy,
staring down at him with a stricken expression.

			DADDY 
		(half to himself)
	Ehh, Lord, should have bought that
	stock when we had some money. A
	thousand millionaires.

Rose suddenly makes up her mind, places her hand on his
shoulder, turns sideways, sits down on his lap, puts an arm
around his neck.

			ROSE 
	Oh, oh! Oh, Mr. Hillyer, I love
	you, I love you so much! I've
	tried, but I can't help it! Please
	kiss me -- will you kiss me?

For a long time Daddy stares groggily at her with a half
frown as if he can't believe it. In order to stare at her, he
must tilt his head back and, handsome man though he is, he
looks a bit like a startled rooster. Her breasts are pressed
against him, and her eager -pink lips are waiting for a kiss.

			DADDY 
		(finally clears his
		 throat)
	Ahh-hem! Now, Rose, get off my lap.
	What are you doing, girl? Are you
	crazy?

			ROSE
	Yes, crazy about you! Kiss me, Mr.
	Hillyer!

			DADDY 
	Why, I'm not going to kiss you, you
	crazy girl. Now I'm telling you
	again, get off my lap. Come on,
	Rose, get up. Now you get up, I
	say, and stop this!

			ROSE 
	No, no! You don't understand, I
	love you! It's real love and I
	can't help it! Please kiss me, Mr.
	Hillyer, I love you, I love you so
	much...

Rose breaks down and begins crying, her head on his shoulder.
She has her arms wound tight around him and Daddy seems at a
loss what to do.

			DADDY
		(in a shaken voice)
	All right, all right. Now calm
	down, Rose, the children will hear
	you. Calm down, let's talk... about
	this thing, let's discuss it.

			ROSE
		(sobbing)
	Don't make me... me... me... get
	up!

			DADDY 
	Calm down, Rose, let's calm down
	and discuss it ...

INT. HILLYER HOKE - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

CUT TO a shot of Buddy and Doll. Doll is down near the floor
and can't see as well. They whisper.

			DOLL 
	I can't see. What are they doing,
	what's happening?

			BUDDY 
	They're discussing it.

			DOLL 
	I can't see, let me see...

Doll tries to rise up and Buddy puts a hand on her head and
shoves her down.

			BUDDY 
	This is my place and you can't have
	it.

			DOLL
		(a whispered moan of
		 frustration)
	Ohhh-hh... what's happening now?

			BUDDY
		(his eyes open wide)
	He's trying to get up -- good God,
	one of her titties is out!

			DOLL 
	Let me see!

INT. HILLYER HOME - DINING ROOM - NIGHT

CUT TO a POV shot of Daddy and Rose, as he struggles to rise
from the chair. They are half falling to the floor and now
they fall, Rose still on his lap. One of her breasts has come
out of her dress, which is very loose and low-cut. She has no
bra, the breast is bare. Daddy is staring groggily at the
breast as if slightly dazed.

INT. HILLYER HOME - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

CUT BACK TO Buddy and Doll. Buddy is frustrated now.

			BUDDY 
	Now I can't see. What are they
	doing?

			DOLL 
		(happy, peeping through
		 crack)
	Boy! Wow!

Buddy groans and peers intently through crack.

INT. HILLYER HOME - DINING ROOM - NIGHT

A POV shot of scene as observed by Buddy. He is up too high,
the dining table blocks his view. We see the lower half of
Rose and Daddy. Rose's skirt is up well above her knees.

INT. HILLYER HOME - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

CUT TO a shot of Buddy and Doll.

			DOLL 
	Wow! Brrrother!

			BUDDY 
	What are they doing?

			DOLL 
	Buddy, this is amazing, you
	wouldn't believe it.

			BUDDY 
	What are they doing, Doll?

			DOLL 
		(staring, enthralled)
	He kissed her.

			BUDDY
	Is that all?

			DOLL 
		(happily, enjoying it)
	He had his hand on her titty.

			BUDDY 
	Let me look. 
		(can't stand it, grabs her
		 around waist and pulls
		 her away; eagerly looks,
		 sags)
	Aww-rr...

CUT TO a POV shot of the scene in the dining room.

INT. HILLYER HOME - DINING ROOM - NIGHT

DOWN LOW, we can see under the dining room table now. Daddy
has his hands on Rose's shoulders and is firmly pushing her
away.

			DADDY
	All right, that is enough of this
	nonsense, and I mean enough! Get up
	off this floor, Rose, and put your
	damned tit back in your dress! Do
	you hear me, girl, get up off of
	that floor!

Rose, on all fours, blonde hair over her face, making little
whimpering noises of dismay:

			ROSE
	Ohh-hhh... ohh...

INT. HILLYER HOME - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

CUT TO Buddy and Doll.

			BUDDY 
		(disappointed)
	She's putting the titty back.

			DOLL 
		(a furious whisper)
	Buddy, that was my place.

Doll forces her way in and they both peep through crack in
door.

INT. HILLYER HOME - DINING ROOM - NIGHT

CUT TO a POV shot of Rose and Daddy. Rose stands sheepishly
by the dining room table, half-crying as she adjusts her
dress. Daddy sits in his dining room chair. Daddy is glaring
at her.

			DADDY 
	Goddamn you, girl! You've made me
	make a fool out of myself, damn
	your hide, but let me tell you I am
	standing at the pass of Thermopylae
	and I won't budge! The very idea,
	my own home with children in the
	house, to say nothing of my wife --
	oh-h, you had better believe I am
	standing at Thermopylae, you little
	nut, you had better believe it!
	What are you, crazy? A man is
	supposed to be a fool like this,
	but a woman is supposed to have
	some control and sense! Are you a
	nitwit? What's the matter with you?

			ROSE 
		(weeping)
	Oh-h, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Mr.
	Hillyer... I just... couldn't help
	myself. I'm sorry...

INT. HILLYER HOME - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

CUT TO a shot of Buddy and Doll as they peep at the door.
Doll whispers angrily at him.

			DOLL 
	Buddy, that was pretty snotty of
	you, pushing me away like that just
	when it was interesting.

			BUDDY 
	You shouldn't watch such things,
	Doll.

They continue to peep with interest through the crack in the
doors.

INT. HILLYER HOME - DINING ROOM - NIGHT

CUT TO a shot of Rose and Daddy. Now Rose is sitting penitent
and crying in one of Daddy's handkerchiefs. Daddy's anger is
gone, he has gotten control of himself and speaks to her now
in a different tone.

He sits beside her, an arm around her shoulders in a fatherly
way.

			DADDY 
	Rose, Rose, Rose, you poor
	miserable little child, don't you
	know I love you? Do I have to put
	my hand on your body or kiss your
	pretty lips to prove it? You are
	beautiful to me, Rose, I've loved
	you since you first came here,
	darlin'. And don't you know Mrs.
	Hillyer loves you, too, that she's
	already taken you into her heart,
	and that that woman's heart is as
	wide as the blue sky itself and as
	deep as the stars?

			ROSE 
		(weeping in handkerchief)
	Oh, I know. She's so sweet, she's
	been so good to me...

			DADDY 
	Do you know what a friend you have
	got there? Do you know she would
	fight for you like a tiger, that
	she would fly to your defense in an
	instant with all the courage in her
	soul if anyone tried to hurt you?
	Is this any way to repay her trust
	and love? Are you ashamed as I am
	ashamed? 
		(pauses as Rose sobs in
		 handkerchief)
	Don't cry, honey, don't cry. But
	let me warn you, damn your hide,
	this is Thermopylae and I am
	standing here. Do you hear me, damn
	you. I am standing at Thermopylae
	and the Persians shall not pass!
	Now get your tail out of here and
	go wash those dishes, and stop
	crying!

INT. HILLYER HOME - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

CUT TO Buddy and Doll in the darkened living room. He
gestures that they'd better leave, and they do. The CAMERA
FOLLOWS them as they tiptoe out of the living room.

INT. HILLYER HOME - FRONT STAIRS - NIGHT

ANOTHER ANGLE, on Buddy and Doll as they tiptoe up the front
stairs.

INT. HILLYER HOME - TOP OF STAIRS - NIGHT

ON Buddy and Doll at the top of the stairs. They pause to
talk and now they don't have to whisper. Doll is happy,
pleased.

			DOLL 
	Wasn't Daddy wonderful? He wanted
	to kiss her some more and play with
	her, but he didn't, because he
	loves Mother and all of us, and he
	loves Rose, too. Isn't he
	wonderful, isn't he great?

			BUDDY 
		(dryly, aloof; he doesn't
		 mean this really)
	Wonderful? He kissed her and played
	with her titty, and I don't see
	anything so great about that. He
	was probably afraid Mother would
	come back early and catch him.

			DOLL 
	You know, Buddy, sometimes you make
	me sick.

Doll gives him a venomous glance and walks away. The CAMERA
STAYS on Buddy as he stares after her with a thin little
smile. Be seems wryly amused that he has made her angry.
After a moment, he turns and stares in the direction of
downstairs and his face changes. His smile fades, then slowly
returns as he thinks of what has happened.

			BUDDY 
		(quietly, to himself)
	Thermopylae. The Persians shall not
	pass.

It is obvious that secretly Buddy admires very much his
father's behavior.

							DISSOLVE TO:

INT. HILLYER HOME BUDDY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

A shot of Buddy at night in his small bedroom.

He wears a rather skimpy old-fashioned nightshirt that comes
midway between his hips and knees. At the moment he is
finishing brushing his teeth at the bureau, using an old
fashioned water pitcher and bowl. The CAMERA FOLLOWS as he
walks across the room in the light of the lamp by his bed. He
looks around cautiously, then picks up the mattress of his
bed. He pushes it far back and we see springs. He takes out a
small "book" or pamphlet and stares gravely at it.

CLOSE-UP: The front cover of the pamphlet. We see the overall
title: LITTLE DIRTY COMIC BOOKS. And beneath it: BLONDIE AND
DAGWOOD. And beneath that, in smaller letters: "Mr. Dithers
Comes to Dinner -- and How!" We see Buddy's hands in the
shot, and he opens the pamphlet and we catch enough of a
glimpse of the thing to know it is pretty awful -- a drawing
maybe of "Blondie" stark naked with a finger in her mouth
going, "Tee-Hee!"

ON Buddy, as he stares down with grave intentness at the
Little Dirty Comic Book. Slyly now, he retraces his steps to
the bureau and takes out a flashlight. He goes back to the
bed, switches off the lamp, gets in the bed and turns on the
flashlight and pulls the covers over his head. We hear a
faint SOUND on the track and Buddy suddenly yanks back the
covers, puts the flashlight on the table by the bed and
throws the Little Dirty Comic Book under the bed. He lies on
pillow and pretends he's asleep, and we hear the door of his
room OPEN and a CREAKING on the floor.

ANOTHER ANGLE, on a weepy Rose in a very thin nightgown. The
shot is FROM BELOW as Buddy might see her as she stands over
his bed. She looks very lonely and unhappy and is half
crying.

			ROSE 
	Buddy... are you asleep?

ANOTHER ANGLE, on both of them. Buddy stares at her in
surprise. It is dim in the room, but we can see them in the
moonlight.

			BUDDY
	No, I'm awake. What's the matter?

			ROSE 
	Buddy, I am wandering in a
	wilderness, lost. 
		(sits glumly on edge of
		 bed)
	I just feel awful. Do you mind if I
	get in bed with you for a little
	while?

			BUDDY 
	Well, all right.

ANOTHER ANGLE, on Rose and Buddy in the bed in the moonlight.
It is all innocent enough, Buddy is a child and Rose
obviously has no lewd intent in getting into his bed. She
lies back on a pillow staring up at the ceiling and smoking a
cigarette.

			ROSE 
	I thought I'd go crazy back there
	in that room all by myself with
	nobody to talk to. As a child, I
	never had no room all to myself, we
	were awful poor. Buddy... I have
	got a confession to make.

			BUDDY 
	What is it, Rose?

			ROSE 
	It's so terrible I can't tell you.
	Oh, Buddy, you don't know how it
	hurts to have a broken heart, what
	a terrible feeling it is, and I've
	had a broken heart so many times.
	Men, I don't understand them, I
	can't figure them out and they
	break my heart, that's all. I can't
	find Mr. Right, Buddy, I can't find
	him no matter how hard I look, all
	I find is a whole pile of Mr.
	Wrongs. But this is the worst ever
	because it wasn't his fault. It was
	my fault, oh yes, my fault, I was
	bad -- oh God, I was bad, you
	wouldn't believe how bad I was.

			BUDDY 
		(a little smile)
	What'd you do, Rose?

			ROSE 
	Buddy, I was horrible. I can't tell
	you who it was, but do you know
	what I did? I sat on his lap and
	got ahold of him and wiggled and
	wiggled my ass on him and was
	worse'n you could know, a child
	like you. Why, I let one of my tits
	fall out deliberate on purpose and
	practically smack him in the face
	with it and I let my dern skirt
	come up so he could see my
	drawers... 
		(pauses, realizes this
		 isn't too dignified)
	But to get back serious to what I
	was sayin', it is not only, Buddy,
	the loss of him but my own bad
	behavior what bothers me so...

			BUDDY 
	You were pretty bad, huh?

			ROSE 
	Why, it has just made me ill,
	Buddy. I'm sick. I don't want to
	eat nothin', I don't, and me I got
	a good appetite, that ain't nat'ral
	for me. I'm ill.

			BUDDY
		(slyly, pretends he
		 doesn't know)
	But, Rose, what is the cause of it
	all?

			ROSE
	Promise not to tell Doll? -- or
	nobody? Buddy, it's your Daddy! I'm
	so much in love with him I am out
	of my mind!

			BUDDY
	But, Rose, how could such a thing
	as that happen?

			ROSE
	I fell madly in love with him when
	he called me Rosebud. You know that
	first day when I come and he said I
	looked graceful like a capital
	letter S and called me Rosebud? I
	fell madly in love with that man
	right then.
		(sighs tragically)
	But it's a lost love, Buddy. He's a
	good man and won't have nothin' to
	do with me.

ANOTHER ANGLE, on Rose and Buddy in the bed. Buddy has
propped on an elbow and is staring down at her breasts in the
moonlight -- we see the soft notch between her breasts in the
open V of her thin nightgown. She is completely unself
conscious with him.

			BUDDY 
		(casually)
	Can I touch you here?

Before she can answer, he touches her breast with his finger
through her nightgown.

			BUDDY (CONT'D)
	Hmmm, it's soft. It's awful soft.

			ROSE 
		(casually, doesn't object)
	What did you expect?

			BUDDY 
	Well, I thought they were more like
	a cantaloupe.

			ROSE 
	Ha ha ha, that's some idea, a
	cantaloupe.

			BUDDY 
		(touches her breast more
		 boldly, his hand outside
		 the nightgown)
	There's some kind of gristle in it,
	though.

			ROSE 
	Buddy, quit that, you're just a
	child, you're not supposed to be
	interested in such things.

			BUDDY 
	Actually, I am, though.

			ROSE 
		(dreamily, thinking of
		 Daddy as she smokes
		 cigarette and stares up
		 at the ceiling)
	You know, that Daddy of yours is
	the funniest man, the things he
	says, you never know what's going
	to come out of his mouth next.

			BUDDY
	Can I put my hand inside your
	nightgown, Rose?

			ROSE 
	No, you can't. And I'll tell you
	this -- he scares me. As kind as he
	is, he scares me. You can't fool
	around with him, not with that man.
	And, boy, I sure better not try
	nothin' like that with him again,
	he'll fire me.

			BUDDY
	Rose, can't I see what the nipple
	on it is like?

			ROSE
		(frowns)
	Buddy, what's come over you? A
	child like you, askin' such things.

			BUDDY
	But I'm curious, Rose.

Puts his hand in her nightgown.

			ROSE 
	Buddy, get your hand offa me! Quit
	it, get you hand away...

Takes his wrist.

			BUDDY 
	Just for a second. Please, Rose,
	what's the harm?

			ROSE 
		(gently)
	Buddy, you don't realize it but
	what you're doing isn't nice.

			BUDDY 
	Aw, come on, Rose, I want to see
	what the nipple on it is like.

			ROSE 
	You don' t need to know that. It's
	none of your business.

			BUDDY 
	Aw, be a good sport, Rose. 
		(sweetly, almost sugarily)
	You like me, don't you? I like you
	a lot.

INT. HILLYER HOME - MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT

CUT TO a shot of Mother's bedroom-study in the moonlight. We
see Daddy lying wide-awake in a single bed staring broodingly
out into space. Mother lies asleep in a big four poster in
the background of the shot. Daddy sighs wearily to himself in
the grip of "insomnia in reverse."

INT. HILLYER HOME - BUDDY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

CUT BACK to Buddy and Rose in bed. He has evidently sweet
talked her into letting him fiddle with her; his hand is- in
her nightgown. There is no indication of lewd interest on
Rose's part, a peeved and exasperated look is on her face.
Buddy seems quite fascinated, however.

			ROSE 
	Well, are you satisfied now? Can we
	just lie and talk, huh?

			BUDDY 
	Hmmph. It has a nipple, all right.

			ROSE 
	'Course it does.

			BUDDY 
	First I couldn't feel it, but now I
	feel it easily, it's like a little
	acorn.

			ROSE 
		(moistens her lips,
		 swallows; it is affecting
		 her; she frowns)
	All right, that's enough. 
		(firmly pushes his hand
		 away)
	You're just a child and wouldn't
	understand it, but that type of
	thing can stir a girl up. Now lie
	back and we'll talk.

			BUDDY 
	That was very interesting. Thank
	you, Rose.

			ROSE 
		(lighting cigarette)
	Don't mention it.

			BUDDY
		(pensively, with the
		 solemn pedanticness of a
		 precocious child)
	It was softer'n I thought, that was
	my main impression. You know, if
	you hit a girl there it would hurt
	her a lot.

			ROSE 
	Who would want to do such a thing
	as that?

			BUDDY 
	Well, some fiend might.

			ROSE 
		(stares wonderingly at
		 him)
	You know, Buddy, sometimes I can't
	figure you out at all. You can be
	very nice, but like your mother
	said there's an evil streak in you.

			BUDDY 
	There's an evil streak in
	everybody, Rose.

			ROSE 
	There ain't none in your Daddy. You
	know, what happened has just made
	me love him all the more. I not
	only love him, I respect him, I
	admire him.

			BUDDY 
	Rose, I have a serious favor to ask
	you.

			ROSE 
	Most men wouldn't do what he done.
	If they can get a girl they go
	right ahead and get her -- I guess
	to hell they do, just like a dern
	rabbit. 'Course later they'll tell
	her she's no good when they done
	the same thing their selves.
	They're a bunch of monkeys. I like
	'em, but they're a bunch of
	monkeys.

			BUDDY 
		(trying to be casual)
	Rose, since you're here in bed with
	me and everything and I've already
	touched your titty...

Can't quite say it; leans over and whispers in her ear and we
don't hear what he says.

			ROSE 
		(her eyes open wide as he
		 whispers)
	Why, Buddy, shut your mouth! What
	an awful thing to say, and where
	did you get any such idea as that,
	anyhow?

			BUDDY 
	I'm curious to see what it's like.
	I'm very curious, Rose.

			ROSE 
	Well, now that is just too bad!
	Curiosity killed the cat.

			BUDDY 
	Yeah, but satisfaction brought him
	back. Can I?

			ROSE 
	No! You ought to be ashamed of
	yourself astin' such a nasty things
	a child your age!

			BUDDY
	Can't I touch it a little, Rose --
	not a lot, just a little?

			ROSE 
	Of course you can't! I'm... I'm
	shocked at you, Buddy, real
	shocked! Now you be quiet or I'm
	going back to my own bed!

			BUDDY
	Please, Rose. I'm curious, that's
	all, I have a natural curiosity,
	it's only human. You're my friend,
	aren't you? Don't you like me? 
		(again sweetly, almost
		 sugarily)
	I like you, Rose, a lot -- in fact,
	I love you.

			ROSE 
		(softens despite herself)
	Well, you're sweet, but you don't
	really love me.

			BUDDY 
	Yes, I do. Please, Rose, be a good
	sport.

			ROSE 
	Buddy, you're just a child.

			BUDDY 
	I'm thirteen. And I have a natural
	curiosity. It's only nature, Rose,
	that's all. Now what's wrong with
	nature, huh?

			ROSE 
	Well, nothin'.

INT. HILLYER HOME - MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT

CUT TO a shot of Daddy sitting on the edge of his bed in
pajamas. He looks frowzle-haired and glum. The CAMERA FOLLOWS
him as he wearily gets up and walks across the bedroom in the
moonlight and takes a package of cigarettes from a bureau. Be
glances over his shoulder as we hear Mother.

			MOTHER 
	What's the matter, hon? Is anything
	wrong?

			DADDY 
	No, darlin'. Just that damnable
	insomnia in reverse. I sleep like a
	baby for an hour then I'm wide
	awake. You go back to sleep.

Daddy lights a cigarette and walks to the window and stares
out at the moonlit night.

The CAMERA MOVES IN CLOSER on his face and we see a weariness
and strain he has not shown before.

			DADDY 
	The Depression has got me. That
	miserable hotel, no money anywhere,
	strong men out of work, children
	hungry. It's a great life if you
	don't weaken.

							DISSOLVE TO:

INT. HILLYER HOME - BUDDY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

A shot close on Rose and Buddy in bed. Evidently Rose has
weakened and is allowing him to fiddle with her, but we can
only surmise this, the shot is on their heads and shoulders
and a cloud has crossed the moon, the light is more dim. A
different look is on her face, a solemn expression as if she
is listening to some far away sound that she finds strangely
haunting. She moistens her lips, speaks in a slightly feeble
voice.

			ROSE 
	You better quit that.

			BUDDY 
	But Rose...

			ROSE 
	I must be outta my mind. Buddy,
	quit it.

			BUDDY 
	Am I hurting you?

			ROSE 
		(pauses, stares off as if
		 listening, then in an
		 even feebler tone, a half
		 whisper)
	No. No, you're not hurting me. 
		(moistens her lips,
		 swallows)
	But I think you better quit it.

			BUDDY 
	But why, if I'm not hurting you?

			ROSE 
	You wouldn't understand.
		(puts a hand on his
		 shoulder as if to push
		 him away, but can't; puts
		 her other hand over her
		 eyes)
	Oh, God, I must be outta my mind.
	What would your Momma think?

The hand falls limply from Rose's eyes and she turns her head
to the side and closes her eyes. Helplessly, she lies there
as the boy fiddles with her.

INT. HILLYER HOME - FRONT HALL - NIGHT

CUT TO a shot of Daddy walking down the downstairs hall in a
bathrobe and slippers. He looks very frowzled and sleepy.

INT. HILLYER HOME - KITCHEN - NIGHT

ON Daddy as he walks into the kitchen, turns on the light. He
goes to the ice box, an old-fashioned type made of wood that
takes cakes of ice. Be pours out a glass of milk.

INT. HILLYER ROME - BUDDY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

CUT TO a very CLOSE SHOT on Rose's face. The light is dim but
we see perspiration on her forehead. Her breathing is not
normal. Her eyes are shut tight, her teeth are clenched.

CUT TO a shot CLOSE on Buddy. We do not see what he is doing,
but evidently he is fiddling with her. He seems quite
interested in the proceedings.

			BUDDY 
	Rose, beyond a doubt this is the
	most fascinating experience of my
	life.

INT. HILLYER HOME - KITCHEN - NIGHT

CUT TO a shot of Daddy in the kitchen as he sits rather
gloomily at the kitchen table drinking the glass Of milk.

			DADDY 
		(to himself)
	Ehh-hh, Lord, man born of woman
	hath few days and they are full of
	trouble.

INT. HILLYER HOME - BUDDY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

CUT TO a shot close on Rose ai Buddy in the bed. The shot is
of their heads and shoulders.
She has an arm very tight around his shoulders and her eyes
are shut tight. The moment of truth is at hand.

			ROSE 
	Ohh-hh! Ohhh-hh! 
		(it's all over; she twists
		 sideways, puts both arms
		 around him)
	Oh, Buddy, you're so sweet. I love
	you a lot.

INT. HILLYER HOME - KITCHEN - NIGHT

CUT TO a shot of Daddy as he washes out the glass in the
sink.

INT. HILLYER HOME - BUDDY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

CUT TO a shot of Rose and Buddy in the bed. The extremity of
her crime has dawned on Rose and she is sitting up in the bed
with a look of horror on her face. Buddy is staring worriedly
at her.

			BUDDY 
	Rose, are you all right? Are you
	sick or something?

			ROSE 
		(staring off in space,
		 lost in horror)
	No. No, I'm all right. 
		(turns, stares at him,
		 puts a hand in woe on her
		 forehead)
	Oh, God, what have I done? I have
	robbed a cradle and fallen into
	hell!
		(fumbles desperately on
		 bed for cigarettes)
	I must be crazy, a child like you.
	Oh, God, oh, Lord. This is awful,
	this is terrible, I gotta get outta
	here!

ANOTHER ANGLE, on Rose and Buddy as Rose in a panic gets out
of the bed, pulls down her thin nightgown and tiptoes toward
the door. She stops and looks back as a chilling thought
occurs to her.

			ROSE 
	Buddy, you wouldn't tell nobody,
	would you?

			BUDDY 
		(a trifle too piously)
	Don't worry, Rose, I won't tell a
	soul.

			ROSE 
	I sure hope you don't.
		(still in a panic)
	I gotta get outta here, good night.

			BUDDY 
		(sweetly)
	Good night, Rose.

INT. HILLYER SOME - UPSTAIRS HALL AND DOWNSTAIRS HALL

CUT TO a shot of Daddy walking down the downstairs hall in
his bathrobe. The shot is down the staircase and Rose in the
upstairs hall tiptoes into the picture. A floorboard creaks
and he looks up and sees her.

			DADDY 
	Rose, what are you doing up?

			ROSE 
	Nothin', just goin' to the
	bathroom.

			DADDY 
	Is anything wrong?

			ROSE 
	No, sir.

			DADDY 
	Well, good night.

ANOTHER ANGLE on Rose in the upstairs hall. Fortunately for
her the light is dim. Her knees are shaking beneath the
nightgown, she looks as if she might faint.

			ROSE 
	Good night.

The CAMERA FOLLOWS her as she goes on shaky legs down the
hall.

INT. HILLYER HOME - ROSE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

CUT TO a shot of Rose as she enters her small bedroom.
Feebly, as if totally exhausted, she shuts the door behind
her then leans against a bureau and states into its mirror.
The horror of her own criminality has overwhelmed her. With
trembling hands, she takes a cigarette from her half empty
pack and finds a wooden kitchen match on the bureau.
Her hands tremble visibly as she strikes the match. She has
not turned on the light in her room and her considerable
charms are very apparent in the orange glow of the match.
Burning match in her fingers, she stares at her own
reflection in the bureau mirror, transfixed by a horrible
realization.

INT. HILLYER HOME - DREAM - CELLAR

QUICK DISSOLVE TO BLURRED SCREEN: the border of the screen is
blurred, we are obviously seeing a nightmare fantasy. The
shot is of an eager, excited, diabolically mischievous Buddy
and an astonished, awed DOLL. They are in some far dark
recess of the cellar of the house and the scene is furtive,
murky, cobwebby.

			BUDDY 
	Wait till you hear what happened!
	Now you wont believe this, Doll,
	but Rose came in my room and got in
	my bed last night...

ANOTHER ANGLE on Buddy from below with candlelight giving his
child's face a sinister look. Now he has "Dracula" teeth and
evil arched eyebrows.

			BUDDY (CONT'D)
	... and she sweated and snorted
	like a horse and had a horrible
	fit, her eyebrows were all
	scrunched up and she groaned like
	she was eying and foamed at the
	mouth!

INT. HILLYER HOME - ROSE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

CUT TO a shot of Rose standing horrified before the mirror.
The match is still burning in her fingers.

							QUICK CUT TO:

INT. HILLYER HOME - MASTER BEDROOM/STUDY

A shot of Mother in her study, a worried Doll stands before
her. The border of the screen is blurred, it is another flash
of fantasy.

			MOTHER 
	Yes, dear, what is it?

			DOLL 
	Mother, Buddy says Rose got in his
	bed last night and he fiddled with
	her and she snorted and had a fit --
	and he says I would too if I was
	grown-up. Is it true, Mother --
	would I sweat and snort and froth
	at the mouth and have a horrible
	fit like he says?

Mother stares in consternation at Doll.

							QUICK CUT TO:

INT. HILLYER HOME - FRONT PORCH - NIGHT

A shot of Daddy and Rose on the front porch of the house. The
scene is murky, dark, gloomy night and the weather is bad.
Daddy has his arm rigidly thrust outward as he points down
the driveway. A weeping, slumped Rose sadly walks down the
steps carrying her cardboard suitcase. Fantasy.

			DADDY 
	Out! Out, you viper in the grass!
	Out! Never darken our doorstep, you
	immoral, terrible girl!

INT. HILLYER HOME - ROSE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

CUT BACK to Rose standing before the mirror, sick with
horror. A feeble whimper-like groan comes from her.

			ROSE
	Ohh-hh, ohhh-hh... 
		(match burns her fingers,
		 she shakes it out)
	Ouch! Oh-hh... ohh...

ANOTHER ANGLE on Rose as she turns from the bureau and stares
off into space, a very badly frightened girl. Half-crying,
she speaks to herself.

			ROSE (CONT'D)
	He'll tell 'em for sure, he will.
	Oh, Lord, what can I do?

INT. HILLYER HOME - BUDDY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

CUT TO a shot of Buddy half asleep in bed. The light of the
lamp by his bed goes on and he sleepily opens his eyes. The
CAMERA COMES BACK and we see Rose in her nightgown standing
by his bedside. She is very pale and tears are on her cheeks.

			ROSE 
	I hate to turn on this light, you
	Daddy's awake downstairs, but I
	have to take the chance.
		(sits by him on bed)
	Buddy, please don't tell on me.

			BUDDY
		(rather coolly)
	I said I wouldn't. 

			ROSE
		(her lip trembles)
	Buddy, I have to ask you, as bad as
	I've been please have pity on me
	and don't ruin me by telling them
	what I did. I know it was bad, it
	was bad and dumb. But mostly it was
	dumb, I didn't mean you no harm,
	I'd never want to hurt a hair on
	your head and that's the truth. I
	love you. But they'd think I did,
	they'd think I was awful, they'd
	despise me and hate me...

Rose bows her head and begins crying into her hands.

CUT TO a CLOSE SHOT of Buddy. We hear the soft sound of Rose
weeping over the shot. Buddy is affected, his flinty child's
heart has been touched, but he is not quite ready to admit it
yet. He is struggling with himself, trying to remain "cool"
and not show his emotion. He frowns, moistens his lips,
swallows. With seeming coolness, very much as in the scene
with Doll in which he deprecated Daddy's stand at
Thermopylae, he shrugs.

			BUDDY 
	Well, I don't know what you're
	worried about. It was my idea, I
	was the one who thought of it, not
	you.

The CAMERA PULLS BACK to include Rose. She is staring at the
boy with hopeless despair.

			ROSE 
	You don't understand. They'd blame
	me, not you. And they'd think I was
	awful, a disgustin' girl, which I
	am, but Buddy, please don't tell
	them. Please don't. Ill have to go
	and I love it here, I love your
	whole fam'ly, your Daddy, your
	Mother... 
		(pauses, then makes her
		 final and ultimate plea
		 in a shaking voice as
		 tears run down)
	Buddy, I know I'm no good, I'm a
	bad girl but I can't help it,
	please have pity on me and don't
	tell! Please don't, please...

Too much for Buddy, he loses his "cool." He swallows and
blinks as if he might cry, then sits erect in the bed and
squares his shoulders and assumes a stern expression Daddy
style.

			BUDDY 
		(very solemnly)
	Rose, they could stick splinters
	under my fingernails, and I will
	never say a word! I will never tell
	them, because... I love you!

			ROSE 
		(sees that he means it,
		 smiles in relief and
		 throws her arms around
		 him)
	Oh, Buddy, you do love me! I knew
	you did, knew it all the time...

INT. HILLYER HOME - MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT

CUT TO a shot of Daddy, lying in bed and staring up
sleeplessly at the ceiling. Insomnia in reverse has got him.

			DADDY 
		(a half whisper to
		 himself)
	Ehh-hh, Lord... great life if you
	don't weaken.

INT. HILLYER HOME - BUDDY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

CUT TO a shot of Rose and Buddy. Rose is sitting on the bed
beside him and she has dried her tears and got herself in
hand.

			ROSE 
	Well, Ill tell you this. I have
	learned a lesson tonight. I wasn't
	gonna run around, but when I start
	botherin' your Daddy and worse
	robbin' a cradle, I gotta face the
	facts of life. 
		(pauses, then with firm
		 resolution)
	Tomorrow mornin', I'm gonna get
	myself up and go out.

			BUDDY 
		(a wee mite puzzled)
	You're going to get yourself up and
	go out?

			ROSE 
	Buddy, Mr. Right is out there
	somewhere and I'm gonna find him!

							DISSOLVE TO:

INT. HILLYER HOME - KITCHEN - DAY

A shot of a coolly angry Mother in the kitchen. It is late
morning. As she talks the CAMERA PULLS BACK to show a
sheepish Buddy standing "on the carpet before her. The other
children, Doll and Waski, are seated at the kitchen table
having hamburgers for lunch. They are happily smiling with
schadenfreude amusement at their brother's discomfiture.

			MOTHER 
	Brother, when I have to wake you up
	at eleven o'clock in the morning
	you're either sick or you were up
	very late last night. 
		(points a finger at him)
	And you weren't reading Huckleberry
	Finn. I looked and its not in your
	room. Now what were you doing?

			BUDDY 
		(sheepish)
	Mother, I have to tell the truth. I
	wasn't reading Huckleberry Finn, I
	was reading one of those Little
	Dirty Comic Books.

			MOTHER 
		(sadly)
	Oh, Brother, I am so disappointed
	in you. You mustn't look at those
	horrible things, they degrade the
	human image.

			BROTHER 
		(hangs head)
	They're filthy, Mother.

			MOTHER 
	Sex isn't ugly, sex is one of the
	most beautiful things in life, the
	creative power of the universe is
	behind it.

			BROTHER 
	I know, Mother.

			MOTHER 
	But we must respect that power, we
	must be in awe of it.

			BROTHER 
	I am in awe of it, Mother.

			MOTHER 
	I don't think you are sufficiently
	in awe of it. Get the castor oil.

			BROTHER 
		(winces, as Doll and Waski
		 happily smile)
	Oh, Mother, not the castor oil.

			MOTHER
	This isn't punishment, I don't
	believe in punishment. It's for
	your health. Obviously you're sick
	if you can act like that.

As she talks, Buddy reluctantly gets a bottle of castor oil
and a tablespoon from a shelf and brings it to her. A smiling
Doll comes forward and hands Buddy half of an orange. He
makes a face at her. Mother takes the bottle and pours out a
tablespoon of castor oil.

			BUDDY
		(wanly)
	Mother, cant you make it calomel
	instead of castor oil?

			MOTHER
	This is for your own good. When you
	look at negative, destructive
	things like those little filthy
	comic books, you are sick. Here,
	take this.

			BUDDY
		(he is resigned, there's
		 no way out; he makes a
		 face, swallows the castor
		 oil)
	Geccch, yehh, guhhhh!

			MOTHER 
	Stop gagging like that and putting
	on a show, and swallow it. 

			BUDDY 
	Uhhh, gahdam stuff! 

			MOTHER 
	What did you say, Brother? 

			BUDDY 
	I said ahhh-dam stuff. 

			MOTHER
	No, you didn't say that, Brother.

			BUDDY 
	Yes, I did, mother. Your hearing
	aid isn't working right. I said
	ahhh-dam stuff.

			DOLL 
	No, Mother, he's lying...

			BUDDY
	Shut up, Doll. I'll cut your guts

			WASKI
		(happily excited,
		 stammering)
	He did lie, and... and... and
	Mother, yesterday he stole money
	out of your pocketbook!

			BUDDY
	Quiet, you little muddy-eyed brat,
	or Ill kill you!

			MOTHER
	Children, children! Be quiet, all
	of you! 
		(the children at once
		 simmer down)
	The vibrations in this house are
	strange today. Where's Rose,
	anyhow?

			BUDDY
	She's getting herself up to go out.

			MOTHER 
		(frowns, adjusts hearing
		 aid)
	What'd you say, Brother?

			BUDDY 
	She's getting herself up to go out.
	I think she's coming down the hall
	now.

			MOTHER
	Oh, yes, it's Thursday. 
		(glances around at sound
		 of an opening door)
	Hello, Rose, dear... 
		(her eyes open wide as she
		 stares at Rose,
		 disconcerted; now weakly)
	... my, you're... looking pretty...

CUT TO a shot of Rose in the doorway of the kitchen. She is
quite an apparition. She wears bright red lipstick, pink
rouge on her cheeks, mascara and her hair is coiffed up in
some outlandish manner, but her clothes are the most
remarkable thing of all.

The skirt is of strange, pink, semi-shiny and very thin
material and has about a dozen tiny little flowers that could
be rosebuds sewed on it. It fits extremely snugly to say the
least. The blouse seems a composite: it has frilly white
sleeves that are opaque and otherwise is made of filmy white
material that is hardly opaque at all. She has no bra and her
breasts are half visible, the nipples denting the material.
It is pretty wild for 1935. She seems to have on no underwear
of any kind; the skirt, which clings to her like a bathing
suit, shows no panty seams. She is carrying a shiny black
patent leather pocketbook and has on high heel black patent
leather shoes and no stockings. An ingenuous little smile is
on her face.

			ROSE 
	How do you like my outfit? I made
	most of it myself.

Rose walks in, "modeling" the outfit and the CAMERA PICKS UP
Mother.

			MOTHER 
		(smiling, slightly aghast)
	Well, it's... very gay.

We hear the SOUND of the Model A on the driveway.

			BUDDY 
	Here comes Daddy.

			ROSE 
		(staring down admiringly
		 at the outfit)
	I have a knack for designing
	clothes. But I had to buy the shoes
	and the pocketbook.

			MOTHER 
		(makes up her mind to
		 defend Rose)
	Well, I think it's charming, Rose. 
		(tactfully)
	But don't you think... ah, the
	skirt is a little tight?

			ROSE 
	Oh, no, that's the style. It's
	meant to be clinging.

We hear the PORCH DOOR SLAM. Smiling, happy, Rose glances
around. We hear the SOUND of the kitchen door opening.

CUT TO a POV SHOT of Daddy in the kitchen doorway. As usual,
he has a rolled-up Glenville Tribune in his hand and a Straw
hat on the back of his head.His hands are on his hips and he
is hunched forward as if he cannot believe what he sees.

			DADDY 
	Ye gods and little fishes. What
	have you done to yourself, Rose?

ON THEM ALL. Rose is smiling, happy to be the center of
attention.

			ROSE 
	Nothin'. I got myself up, that's
	all.

			DADDY 
	Got yourself up?

			ROSE 
	Yeah. I'm goin' out.

Daddy walks slowly into the kitchen shaking his head. Sits at
table.

			DADDY 
	Um-hmm. Well, that is the damndest
	outfit I ever saw in my life. You
	walk down the street like that and
	they'll put you in jail, Rose.

			MOTHER 
	Why, they won't either. She looks
	pretty. And I wish you wouldn't
	pick on the poor girl all the time.
	Don't listen to him, Rose, you look
	pretty, even beautiful.

			ROSE 
		(smiles affectionately at
		 Mother)
	You're so sweet.

			DADDY 
	If you've got time before you go
	"out," get me a half-a-cup of
	coffee, Rose. Not a whole cup, a
	half-a-cup.

			ROSE 
	Why, sure, always got time to get
	you a half-a-cup, and one of these
	days I'm gonna get you a whole cup
	and see what happens.

			DADDY 
		(a growl, doesn't like
		 jokes about his foibles)
	Um-hmmuhh. I never drink a whole
	cup, my nerves can't stand the
	caffeine. Ehh-hh, Lord awful
	insomnia in reverse last night. Lay
	there and sweated blood for hours.

			DOLL 
		(sweetly)
	Daddy, Buddy was up late last night
	reading little dirty comic books.
	Mother gave him a dose of castor
	oil and he cursed it, he took the
	Lords name in vain, then claimed he
	hadn't said it. He lied, Daddy.

			MOTHER 
	You mustn't be a tattletale, dear.
	You mustn't be Delilah-ish and
	Jezebel-ish toward your brother,
	dear.

			DOLL 
	I'm only trying to help him,
	Mother.

			BUDDY 
	Heh, what a hypocrite.

			MOTHER 
		(to Daddy)
	I do wish you'd speak to Brother.
	It's true he's been looking at
	those horrible little books again.

			DADDY 
		(stares sternly at Buddy)
	Lay off of that stuff, son. It
	upsets your mother.

			MOTHER 
		(genuinely worried)
	I'm serious. We forget he's just a
	child. I wish you'd speak to him.

			DADDY 
	I'll take him with me downtown. 
		(glances at Rose as she
		 comes with coffee)
	And you, too, Rose, if you want a
	ride.

			ROSE 
	Sure, love one. Here's your half-a
	cup of coffee.

Daddy is staring with a very dubious frown at Rose's skirt.
He slowly shakes his head.

			DADDY 
	That's a pretty stylish skirt,
	Rose. The only thing I don't
	understand is how did you ever get
	it on.

			ROSE 
		(happy, pleased by his
		 interest)
	Well, it has buttons.

Points to little buttons on right side of the skirt.

			DADDY 
	How can the buttons stand the
	pressure?

			ROSE 
	There are more on the other side.

Points to buttons on left side.

			DADDY 
	Turn around, darlin'.

Happy to oblige, Rose turns around. Her plump, round,
feminine behind is only too plainly revealed through the thin
material. Daddy slowly shakes his head.

			DADDY (CONT'D)
	They'll put her in jail. The damn
	little fool might as well be naked.

			MOTHER 
		(a wee mite worried)
	Well, it is a little tight. But it
	isn't as bad as all that. No one
	will notice unless they have such
	thoughts in the first place.

			DADDY 
	Who doesn't have such thoughts? 
		(glances at wristwatch)
	We'd better get going.

			MOTHER 
	You're not having lunch?

			DADDY 
	Just half-a-cup of coffee. I never
	eat, darlin', you know that. Not
	eating and reverse insomnia are my
	curses. Let's go, Rose, you and
	Brother, let's hit the road.

			MOTHER 
	Rose, you and Brother wait in the
	car. I want to speak for a moment
	Lo Mr. Hillyer.

			ROSE 
	Yes, Ma'am.

			MOTHER 
	Doll, you and Waski run on, too.

EXT. HILLYER HOME - PATIO - DAY

CUT TO a shot of Rose and Buddy as they walk out onto the
patio of the house. Rose walks down the steps to the flower
garden and Buddy follows.

ANOTHER ANGLE on Rose and Buddy as Rose picks a red rose and
puts it in her hair.'

			ROSE 
	Did your Momma really give you
	castor oil?

			BUDDY 
	Yeah.

			ROSE 
		(puts an arm around his
		 shoulders)
	You're my sweetheart.

INT. HILLYER HOME KITCHEN - DAY

CUT TO Mother and Daddy at the kitchen table.

			MOTHER 
		(earnestly)
	I wish you wouldn't pick on Rose
	and tease her like that. Of course
	her clothes are silly, but she's
	ignorant, naive, she doesn't know
	any better.

			DADDY 
	The girl worries me. If she walks
	down the street like that, an army
	will be following her.

			MOTHER 
	Well, I admit that outfit isn't
	very modest. But she doesn't mean
	any harm, she just wants to
	attract, attention.

			DADDY 
	She will succeed.

			MOTHER 
	I don't think you understand her.
	It isn't sex she wants, it's love
	she wants and this is the only way
	she knows how to get it.

			DADDY
		(musingly)
	That farmer in Gadsden was awful
	eager to get rid of her, and I'm
	beginning to see why.

			MOTHER 
	He and his wife both said she had a
	fine moral character and was
	wonderful with children.

			DADDY 
	Well, she loves children, all
	right.
		(adds dryly)
	She loves everybody.

			MOTHER 
	But that's a wonderful quality, not
	a bad quality.
		(takes his hand)
	Have a little patience with her.
	She's such a good-hearted little
	thing and tries so hard.

			DADDY 
		(stares pensively at her)
	You are the one who's good-hearted.
		(rises)
	As for Rose, let's hope for the
	best.

			MOTHER
		(rises, again takes his
		 hand)
	Be kind to her. She loves you so
	much.
		(Daddy stiffens slightly,
		 and she adds)
	In a perfectly proper way, of
	course.

			DADDY
	Yes, of course.

EXT. HILLYER HOME - DRIVEWAY - DAY

CUT TO a shot of Rose and Buddy waiting in a Model A. Rose is
smiling, happy to be going out. The red rose is prominent in
her hair, Daddy walks INTO THE SHOT, gets into the driver's
seat of the car, He glances in a wry manner at the flower in
her hair.

			DADDY 
	What have you got in your hair,
	girl?

			ROSE
	My rose. It's kind of like a motto.
	People will say, there comes Rose
	with her rose.

Daddy gives her another wry stare and starts the Model A.

CUT TO a shot of the Model A going down the driveway.

EXT. MODEL A IN TOWN - DAY

ANOTHER SHOT or two of the Model A on the quiet summer
streets of a sleepy little town in the Depression South of
years ago.

INT./EXT. MODEL A - DAY

CUT TO a shot of Daddy, Rose and Buddy in the car. Buddy is
in the middle. Daddy is staring expressionlessly straight
ahead. His tone is sternly neutral as he speaks.

			DADDY
	You were up late last night,
	Brother.

			BUDDY
	Well, a little.

			DADDY
	Reading dirty comic bocks.
		(glances shrewdly at him)
	And you admitted it?

			BUDDY
		(a trifle uncomfortable)
	Well, yeah.

Both Rose and Buddy begin to look increasingly tense.
Hawkshaw the Detective is on the scent. Daddy stares ahead.

			DADDY 
	You were up late last night, too,
	Rose.

			ROSE 
		(meekly)
	Yes, sir. I had to go to the
	bathroom.

A long pause, as Daddy stares ahead. His expression is
inscrutable.

			DADDY 
		(finally, "casually")
	Sometimes I think I was born to be
	a detective. I get a feeling about
	things. I'm not always right, but
	often I am.

EXT. MODEL A BY LIGHT - DAY

CUT TO a shot of the Model A as it stops for a red light.

INT./EXT. MODEL A - DAY

CUT TO a shot of Daddy, Rose and Buddy in the car. Daddy
turns and stares sternly at Buddy.

			DADDY 
	Son, was Rose in your room last
	night?

			BUDDY 
		(scared, but a good liar)
	No. Why should Rose be in my room?

Daddy sternly scans them both. They stare back "innocently"
at him. Finally he seems to accept it.

			DADDY 
	I can't imagine why. It was just a
	thought.

Daddy shifts gears and faces front. Buddy glances upward in
relief, as if to say, "Wow, that was close."

			DADDY (CONT'D)
	Where do you want me to let you
	out, Rose?

			ROSE 
	Oh, anywhere downtown.

			DADDY 
	You don't know where you're going?

			ROSE 
	Oh, I'll just mosey around here and
	there.

EXT. MODEL A - DAY

CUT TO a shot of the Model A as it stops off the main street
of a small sleepy Southern town.

INT./EXT. MODEL A - DAY 

CUT TO a shot through the side window on Rose, Buddy and
Daddy.

			DADDY 
	Is this ill right?

			ROSE 
	It'll do just fine.
		(gets out of car)
	Bye-bye, see you later.

Rose waves goodbye and walks off down the sidewalk, swinging
her hips and her pocketbook,

INT./EXT. MODEL A - DAY

CUT TO a front shot of Daddy and Buddy in the car as they
stare after Rose.

EXT. STREET - DAY

CUT TO a shot of POV Daddy and Buddy of Rose walking along.
MUSIC.

INT./EXT. MODEL A

CUT TO Daddy and Buddy. Daddy slowly shakes his head, shifts
gears..

EXT. MODEL A - DAY

CUT TO a shot of the Model A as it rolls along the main
street.

EXT. MODEL A - DAY

ANOTHER SHOT of the Model A as it abruptly turns a corner.

EXT. MODEL A - DAY

ON the Model A as it abruptly turns around corner. Evidently
it is circling the block.

EXT. STREET - DAY

CUT TO a shot of Rose as she walks along, swinging her hips
and her pocketbook and smiling at whoever she sees. She
passes a few people and she smiles cheerfully at them -- the
men stare with a flat interest at her and the women frown,
but she smiles at one and all.

EXT. MODEL A

CUT TO a shot of the Model A as it creeps along.

INT./EXT. MODEL A - DAY

On Daddy and Buddy in the car.

DADDY 

They might arrest her. I doubt it, but they might.

EXT. STREET - BUS STOP - DAY

CUT TO a shot of Rose as she walks up to a bus stop. A fairly
WELL-DRESSED MAN with a door-to-door salesman kit is standing
there. Rose glances at him then sidles up alongside him as if
she's waiting for a bus. He glances at her for a moment with
interest, but doesn't want to stare, looks away. We see the
Model A stop in the background of the SHOT.

EXT. STREET - DAY

CUT TO a shot of Daddy and Buddy in the car, watching Rose.

EXT. STREET - DAY

CUT TO a shot of Rose and the Young Salesman. Rose glances at
the man, glances at him again, then sighs and speaks.

			ROSE
	My feet sure do hurt.

			YOUNG SALESMAN 
		(turns to her with a slow
		 smile)
	Oh, yeah?

EXT. STREET - DAY

CUT TO a shot of Daddy and Buddy in the car, watching.

EXT. STREET - DAY

CUT TO a LONG POV SHOT of Rose and the Young Salesman. They
are talking amiably. Both are smiling.

EXT. STREET - DAY

CUT TO a shot of Daddy and Buddy.

			DADDY
	She has made contact.

EXT. STREET - DAY

CUT TO ANOTHER POV SHOT of Rose and the Young Salesman. It is
another LONG SHOT. MUSIC ON TRACK. They are smiling, talking.
The Young Salesman seems to ask Rose a question. She nods and
takes his arm and they walk off.

EXT. STREET - DAY

CUT TO Daddy and Buddy. Daddy is staring pensively at the
scene.

			DADDY
	I never saw anything like it. How
	did she pick him up so fast?

			BUDDY
	I don't know.

			DADDY
	The girl strikes like a cobra.

Slowly shaking his head, Daddy starts the car.

EXT. STREET - DAY

A shot of Rose and the Young Salesman as they walk along. She
is holding his arm and they are smiling and talking as if the
best of friends. We hear MUSIC ON THE TRACK. The MUSIC
continues over the following MONTAGE OF SHOTS.

INT. HONKY TONK - VARIOUS SHOTS

ON Rose in a beer "honky tonk" with the Young Salesman in a
booth. He is drinking beer, she is drinking Coca Cola from a
bottle.

ON Rose in the booth, ANOTHER ANGLE. A second man has joined
them, a big beefy man -- he is BUSTER.

EXT. STREET - LATE AFTERNOON

ON Rose as she walks down a sidewalk in late afternoon with
Buster and still another man, a tall fellow in a Coca-Cola
Delivery Man's uniform or shirt. Rose seems to be innocently
happy, but the men appear to be having a mild dispute.

ON Rose getting into Busters car as Buster holds the door for
her, smiling. The COCA-COLA DELIVERY MAN is left on the
sidewalk, disappointed.

INT./EXT. BUSTER'S CAR - DUSK

CUT TO a shot of Rose in the car eating barbecue with Buster.
She is talking animatedly and he seems enchanted with her. It
is dusk.

EXT. HILLYER HOME - NIGHT

CUT TO a shot of a car pulling up in the driveway of the
Hillyer house. Rose gets out, waves goodbye to Buster. It is
night. End MUSIC.

INT. HILLYER HOME - MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT

CUT TO a shot of Daddy in pajamas peering out of the bedroom
window.

			DADDY 
	Well, she's back.

			MOTHER (O.S.)
	What time is it?

			DADDY 
	Quarter of twelve.

			MOTHER (O.S.)
	Is she all right?

			DADDY 
	I don't see any bruises or broken
	bones.

CUT TO a shot of Mother in bed in the four poster.

			MOTHER 
	Bruises and broken bones, what kind
	of thing is that to say?

Daddy walks INTO THE SHOT, sits on the edge of the bed.

			MOTHER (CONT'D)
	Why shouldn't she go out and have
	boyfriends?

			DADDY 
	No reason at all, darlin'.

			MOTHER 
	Well, I wish you'd stop criticizing
	and picking on her.

			DADDY 
	Forgive my crudity, darlin'. All
	I'm saying is that a girl who would
	wear clothes like that is going to
	get in trouble sooner or later.

			MOTHER 
		(doubtfully)
	Well, time will tell, won't it?

			DADDY 
	Yes, darlin', time will tell.

							DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. HILLYER HOME - PATIO - DAY

A SHOT of Mother on the patio studying. It is a sunny
afternoon. Mother looks up idly, looks back down at her
notebook, then looks up again with a frown.

CUT TO A POV SHOT of a SCRUFFY-LOOKING KAN as he darts behind
one tree to another. The Scruffy-looking Man does not seem
sinister, but he definitely is scruffy.

ON Mother. Frowning, she puts down her notebook and rises,
walks toward the door of the kitchen.

INT. HILLYER HOME - KITCHEN - DAY

CUT TO a shot of Rose washing dishes in the kitchen. As
usual, she is in a cheerful good humor. We see Buddy at the
kitchen table building a model airplane. Mother comes INTO
THE SHOT, worried, frowning.

			MOTHER 
	Rose, that scruffy-looking man is
	out in the yard again.

			ROSE
		(her smile fades)
	Mrs. Hillyer, I don't know who he
	is, I really don't.

			MOTHER 
	I had better call Daddy.

INT. HOTEL - DAY

CUT TO a shot of Daddy behind the desk of a slightly run-down
small hotel of the Depression era. He is handing a key to a
guest.

			DADDY 
	Glad to have you with us, Mr.
	Watson. Make yourself at home.
	Shadrach, take Mr. Watson's bag.

A black bellboy takes the guest's bag as Daddy turns to
answer a BUZZING switchboard.

INT. HILLYER HOME - KITCHEN - DAY

CUT TO a shot of Mother talking on a phone.

			MOTHER 
	Hello, honey? That scruffy-looking
	man is out in the yard again.

INT. HOTEL - DAY

CUT TO a shot of Daddy at the switchboard. Be is grim.

			DADDY 
	Luckily, Johnson just walked in to
	relieve me. I'll be right out
	there!

INT. HILLYER HOME - KITCHEN - DAY

CUT TO a shot of Buddy and Rose in the kitchen.

			BUDDY 
	Rose, you must know who the fellow
	is.

			ROSE
		(innocently)
	Well, he might be that man who
	followed me home from the store the
	other day. But I don't know who he
	is, Buddy, I really don't.

EXT. HILLYER HOME - YARD

CUT TO a shot of the Scruffy-looking Man. Be is half-crouched
behind a big oak, peering at the Hillyer house. We hear the
approach of a car and the man looks over his shoulder.

CUT TO a shot of Daddy in the Model A. The TIRES SCREECH as
he puts on the brakes.

CUT TO a shot of the Scruffy-looking Man as he turns and
runs.

On Daddy as he jumps out of the car.

			DADDY 
	Come back here, sir! Come back
	here, you!

Daddy runs after the man.

CUT TO a shot of Daddy running after him.

CUT TO A FINAL SHOT of the Scruffy-looking Man as he leaps a
hedge in full stride.

EXT. HILLYER HOUSE - FRONT PORCH

CUT TO a shot of a worried-looking Mother on the front porch
of the house. Buddy and a meek-looking Rose are in the
background in the doorway. A weary, out-of-breath Daddy comes
INTO THE SHOT and walks up the steps, straw hat in hand.

			DADDY 
	I couldn't catch him. He ran like a
	deer.

Daddy fixes a stern glance on Rose. As he does so, Mother and
Buddy also turn and look at her. Rose smiles wanly.

			ROSE 
	I don't know him.

							DISSOLVE TO:

INT. HILLYER HOME - MASTER BEDROOM - DAY

A SHOT of Mrs. Hillyer in her bedroom study. She is drinking
a Coca-Cola and smoking a cigarette held by a bobbie pin. We
hear the SOUND of an old-fashioned doorbell. She ignores it.

EXT. HILLYER HOME - FRONT PORCH - DAY

CUT TO a shot of a sullen-looking young boy on the front
porch. He is poorly dressed. He rings the doorbell. This is
BILLY.

INT. HILLYER HOME - MASTER BEDROOM - DAY

CUT TO a shot of Mother. Frowning, she gets up.

EXT. HILLYER HOME - FRONT PORCH

ON Mother as she opens the front door. A sullen Billy stares
at her.

			MOTHER 
	Yes?

			BILLY 
	Is Rose here?

			MOTHER 
	She must have gone out for a walk
	with the children.

			BILLY 
		(sullenly)
	Well, I got to see her.

			MOTHER 
	She isn't here. And I'm sorry, but
	Mr. Hillyer doesn't want her to
	have callers during working hours.

			BILLY 
		(sullenly)
	Where is she?

			MOTHER 
	I said she isn't here. NOW you go
	home. Be a nice boy and go home.

Gently but firmly, Mother shuts the door in Billy's face.

A SHOT of Billy frustrated on the front porch. Sadly,
reluctantly, he turns and walks off the porch down the steps.

INT. HILLYER HOME - FRONT HALL - DAY

ON mother, peering worriedly through the curtains of the
front door.

							DISSOLVE TO:

INT. HILLYER HOME - DINING ROOM - NIGHT

A SHOT of the family at dinner at night. Daddy, Mother, Rose,
Buddy, Doll and Waski. The SHOT FAVORS Mother.

			MOTHER 
	That sulky boy was here again this
	afternoon. I was almost scared, he
	wouldn't go away.

			DADDY 
		(throws his napkin on
		 table)
	Rose, my patience is wearing thin.
	First a scruffy man who runs like a
	deer and now a sulky boy who wont
	go away. This is getting to be a
	regular monkey and dog show.

			ROSE 
	I swear to God I don't know who in
	the world he is. Really, I don't, I
	don't know no boy like that, I
	don't.

Slowly, his face grim, Daddy returns his napkin to his lap
and resumes eating. The children are very silent and look a
trifle scared.

			MOTHER 
		(finally, in a small
		 voice)
	Well, it isn't Rose's fault boys
	and men like her. You cant blame
	her for that, hon.

			DADDY 
	Rose, I realize you don't know this
	boy, but if you know anybody who
	does know him, if you have even a
	faint clue as to who he might be,
	then convey to him that he had
	better stay away from my house and
	stop scaring my wife... and I don't
	mean maybe.

INT. HILLYER SOME - BUDDY'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

CUT TO a shot of Buddy in his room at night. He is dressed
and at a study table listening with cheap earphones to a
homemade crystal radio set. Enter a rather somber-faced Doll
in her nightgown.

			BUDDY 
		(listening)
	Chattanooga. I had St. Louis,
	Missouri.

			DOLL 
	Buddy, I'm worried about Rose.

			BUDDY 
	So am I.

			DOLL 
	She hasn't got any sense. In some
	ways, she's awful dumb.

			BUDDY 
		(takes off earphones,
		 gives it a moment of
		 grave consideration, then
		 his opinion)
	It isn't that she hasn't got any
	sense, Doll. Her basic intelligence
	is probably above average, maybe
	quite a bit above average.

			DOLL 
	Then why does she act so dumb?

			BUDDY 
	Dumbness doesn't concern her, Doll.
	And neither does smartness. You see
	--

Buddy is interrupted by the SOUND of the distant angry shout
of a man's voice, evidently from somewhere outside in the
woods because Buddy and Doll turn at once toward the window.
In shock they listen.

			FIRST MAN'S VOICE 
	You son of a bitch, what are you
	doing here?!

			SECOND MAN'S VOICE 
	I'd like to ask you the same
	question, you bastard!

			FIRST MAN'S VOICE 
	I told you to stay away from her,
	goddamn you!

			SECOND MAN'S VOICE 
	You got no right to tell me to stay
	away from her, I knew her before
	you did!

			BUDDY 
	Oh, boy. Oh, boy, oh boy. Daddy
	isn't going to like this.

			FIRST MAN'S VOICE 
	She told you to leave her alone,
	didn't she?

			SECOND MAN'S VOICE 
	Like hell she did! You're the one
	she wants to get shed of!

			BUDDY 
	Come on!

He and Doll hurry from the room.

INT. HILLYER HOME - UPSTAIRS HALL AND STAIRS - NIGHT

CUT TO a shot of Buddy and Doll running down the upstairs
hall and down the stairs. The CAM M FOLLOWS them down the
stairs.

INT. HILLYER HOME - BACK HALL - NIGHT

CUT TO a shot of Buddy and Doll as they slow down and creep
cautiously down the back hall to the back porch. We hear the
men yelling somewhere out in the dark bushes.

			FIRST MAN'S VOICE 
	You'll swallow teeth yourself if
	you don't leave her alone, you ugly
	bastard! Go on, throw one, throw
	one!

			SECOND MAN'S VOICE 
	I'll throw one, you son of a bitch!

We hear a great CRASHING in the bushes, a SMACK of a fist, a
GROAN of shock, an OATH, a SHOUT, more CRASHING.

EXT. BACK PORCH - NIGHT

CUT TO a shot from the POV of the children, on Daddy on the
back porch as the lights blaze on. He wears his bathrobe and
has a big shotgun in his hands. Now he speaks in a loud,
clear and very angry voice.

			DADDY 
	All right, I have got a Parker
	shotgun here and it is loaded and
	the trigger is cocked and wherever
	you birds are and whatever you are
	doing you had better get the hell
	out of here goddamned quick!

A sudden total silence ensues, then a sudden CRASHING in the
bushes as the "birds" take off.

			DADDY (CONT'D)
	And do not come back, you sons of
	bitches! Stay away from my house
	and home and my wife and children
	or I'll blow your goddamned heads
	off!

INT. HILLYER HOME - BACK HALL - NIGHT

CUT TO a shot of Buddy and Doll as they cower in awe in the
downstairs hall. Daddy walks up to them carrying the shotgun.
He is grim and furious, but his voice is surprisingly calm.

			DADDY 
	You children go to bed. And
	Brother, stay away from Rose, I'll
	speak to her in the morning.

INT. HILLYER HOME - UPSTAIRS HALL - NIGHT

CUT TO a shot of Buddy and Doll in the upstairs hall. Doll
meekly goes to her room.
Buddy hesitates, looks at Rose's door, glances nervously back
at the stairs, then goes to Rose's door, knocks softly, opens
it.

INT. HILLYER HOME - ROSE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

CUT TO a shot of Buddy and Rose as he stands in the doorway
of her room. Rose is sitting on the edge of her bed in her
nightgown, a damp cloth held against her jaw which seems a
little swollen. A look of fear and guilt is on her face.

			ROSE 
		(rather feebly, as if it
		 explains something)
	I got an awful toothache.

			BUDDY 
		(quietly)
	Rose, if you don't keep your
	boyfriends away from the house,
	Daddy is going to fire you.

			ROSE 
		(innocently)
	But I don't know who they are.

Buddy makes an exasperated grimace and exits, shutting door.
The CAMERA REMAINS on Rose as she rolls her eyes upward in
dismay.

							DISSOLVE TO:

INT. HILLYER HOME - DINING ROOM - DAY

A shot of the family at breakfast in the dining room. The
silence is deafening. Everyone looks depressed except Daddy,
who is aloofly calm. Rose's head is bowed meekly over her
plate as we hear the CLATTER of silverware. Finally, Daddy
speaks in an almost pleasant tone.

			DADDY 
	Well, Rose, my sleep was a little
	disturbed last night, and so was
	Mrs. Hillyer's, and so was the
	children's. How about you? Was your
	sleep disturbed, too?

			ROSE 
		(solemnly)
	Yes, Mr. Hillyer, it was. I... I
	heard strange voices in the night.

			DADDY 
		(softly strumming fingers,
		 finally)
	Strange voices, Rose?

			ROSE 
		(innocent as an angel)
	Yes, sir.

			DADDY 
		(still aloofly polite)
	Now Rose, stop behaving as if
	you're Bo Peep. Those men had a
	flight last night because of some
	female in this house, and it wasn't
	Dolly or Mrs. Hillyer.

			MOTHER 
		(very tense)
	I don't think we ought to discuss
	this in front of the children.

			ROSE
		(weeping, a hand over her
		 eyes)
	Oh... oh... oh! I think... maybe...
	one of 'em... was Foster... but I
	don't hardly know him!

			DADDY
	Oh, shut up, Rose. Shut your mouth
	and quit crying!

			MOTHER
		(draws herself up)
	I will not sit here and listen to
	you be brutal to this poor girl.

			DADDY
	I am not being brutal to her!

			MOTHER
	You certainly are! She has an awful
	toothache, look at her jaw, it's
	all swollen.

			DADDY
		(trying to restrain
		 himself, aloofly polite
		 to the utmost)
	Darlin', it is not my fault if the
	girl has epizootics --

-- The word means "an animal epidemic," and it's a pet word
of Daddy's; he pronounces it epi-zoo-tics, not epi-zoo-ot
tics, and uses it to mean any outrageous human malady --

			DADDY (CONT'D)
	-- I am not responsible for her
	epizootics and I did not bring
	about her epizootics. Now listen to
	me. When I have to get up in the
	middle of the night and defend my
	home with a shotgun against a
	couple of damned scoundrels
	fistfighting in the bushes --

			MOTHER
	Scoundrels? They weren't
	scoundrels, they were just boys.

			DADDY 
	Boys? You say to me boys?

			MOTHER
	Yes! Yes, I say that to you, they
	were boys! Boy friends of Rose,
	chat's what they were, and why
	shouldn't she have boy friends? Do
	you want her to be unnatural? Don't
	you think she's human the same way
	you are yourself? It's the South,
	that's what it is, the South with
	its horrible traditions, of slavery
	and crime and the oppression of
	women, who are just as good as men
	and just as human!

			DADDY 
		(his eyes are a trifle
		 glazed)
	Now darlin', what has the South got
	to do with this?

			MOTHER 
		(in a real snit, afraid he
		 will fire Rose)
	And when I try to talk to you
	seriously, when I try to explain to
	you the unlimited creative power of
	life, how beautiful it would be if
	we gave up this hopeless struggle
	and simply loved each other from
	our hearts, what do you do -- you
	mock me!

			DADDY 
		(mildly, his eyes are even
		 more glazed)
	I don't intend to mock you, dear. I
	respect your philosophy. It's
	beyond my comprehension, but I
	respect it.

			ROSE
		(head bowed, weeping in a
		 little handkerchief)
	Ohhh-hh, ohhh...

			DADDY 
		(exasperated)
	Oh, shut up, Rose, eat your
	cornflakes!

			ROSE 
		(piteously)
	I'm not hungry.

The word is hongry, not hungry.

			DADDY 
	Now you listen to me, Rose --

			MOTHER 
		(with fire in her eyes)
	Just a moment! You are not going to
	fire this girl for an innocent
	thing like having boy friends, not
	while there is breath in my body!

			DADDY 
	I don't intend to fire her,
	darlin'.

			MOTHER 
	It isn't her fault if she's
	popular... what?

			DADDY 
	I said I don't intend to fire her.
	I just want to ask her to keep her
	boy friends away from my home and
	hearth, that's all.

			MOTHER 
		(simmers down at once, now
		 calmly)
	Well, that's very reasonable. Howe
	I hate to bring it up, but she's
	got an awful toothache, we've got
	to carry her to the dentist.

			ROSE 
	I don't want to go to the dentist.

			MOTHER 
	Be quiet, Rose.

			DADDY 
	Darlin', I'll take a taxi to the
	hotel. You and Brother can handle
	the girl's epizootics. I'll just
	say one more thing. 
		(turns to Rose and, in a
		 grave tone)
	Rose, I told you you had a friend
	in Mrs. Hillyer, didn't I, that she
	would fight for you like a tiger?

			ROSE 
		(meekly)
	Yes, sir.

			DADDY 
	All right, thanks to her, and
	thanks to this case of epizootics,
	you are getting another chance. 
		(points a finger at her,
		 and sternly)
	But don't try my patience again. We
	have growing children in this
	house. Do you understand me?

			ROSE 
	Yes, sir.

INT. DENTIST'S WAITING ROOM - DAY

CUT TO a shot of Mother, Rose and Buddy in a dentist's
waiting room. Rose is holding a rubber ice bag to her jaw,
which is quite swollen. She is groaning and half weeping in
pain.

			MOTHER
	Poor thing. Does the ice help,
	Rose?

			ROSE
	Ohh-hh, a little. Oh-h, I ain't
	never been to no dentist before.
	He's gonna kill me, I just know it.

			MOTHER
	No, Rose, he'll help you.

ANOTHER ANGLE, Rose shrinks in fear as, enter the dentist in
a white coat, DR. WINTON, a kindly-looking, gray-haired man.
We see a nurse behind him. He smiles in a reassuring manner.

			DR. WINTON 
	Nurse says we have a nervous
	patient. Now, young lady, be calm.
	First of all, let me tell you, I am
	not going to hurt you.

			ROSE 
	Yes, you are.

			DR. WINTON 
	No, I am not.

			ROSE 
	Look, you can't kid me.

			MOTHER 
		(rises, takes her by the
		 hand)
	Now, come on, Rose. Stop being so
	childish, come on.

INT. DENTIST'S OFFICE - DAY

ANOTHER ANGLE, on Rose and Mother and Dr. Winton, as they
guide and lead Rose into the dentist's operating room.- She
plants her feet and her eyes open wide with horror as she
sees the chair and other equipment.

			ROSE 
	I'm not goin' in there, I don't
	like the looks of it!

			MOTHER 
		(annoyed)
	Rose, sit down in that chair and be
	quiet! We're trying to help you,
	you silly creature, sit in that
	chair!

			ROSE 
		(very reluctantly sits in
		 chair)
	Oh-hh, ohh-hh, Lord, he's gonna
	kill me.

			DR. WINTON 
	You and the boy wait outside.

INT. DENTIST'S WAITING ROOM - DAY

CUT TO a shot of Mother and Buddy in the waiting room. Enter
Dr. Winton with a little frown.

			DR. WINTON 
	Well, she finally let me look in
	her mouth. Is it true she's never
	been to a dentist?

			MOTHER 
	She was raised on a poor dirt farm.
	I'm sure she's never seen a dentist
	or hardly even a doctor.

			DR. WINTON 
	Well, she has one mouth in ten
	thousand, I don't see teeth like
	that once in ten years. Her trouble
	is an impacted wisdom tooth, but
	there isn't a cavity in her head,
	not a single one. She has perfect
	teeth.

			MOTHER 
	But the wisdom tooth will have to
	be pulled?

			DR. WINTON 
	Yes, and it's very bad. It probably
	should be done at the hospital
	under general anesthesia.

			MOTHER 
	That would scare her to death.
	She's terrified of hospitals. To
	her, a hospital is where you go to
	die.

			DR. WINTON 
	I think you're right, it would be
	harder on her. But you'd better
	call Mr. Hillyer, she's going to
	need help to get home.

							DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. COUNTRY ROAD - DAY

A shot of Daddy behind the wheel of the model-A. Rose lies
pale and exhausted on Mother's shoulder on the front seat. A
trace of bloody gauze can be seen in her mouth and her eyes
are closed. Buddy is on the back seat.

			ROSE
		(a whisper, muffled by the
		 bloody gauze)
	Never again, never again...

			MOTHER
		(with pity, gently)
	I know it was bad, honey. I'm
	sorry...

			ROSE 
	No more dentists, no more
	dentists...

			MOTHER 
	It'll get better now.

EXT. HILLYER DRIVEWAY - DAY

CUT TO a shot of the Model-A in the driveway of the Hillyer
home. Mother helps Rose out of the car, but Rose can't stand
on her feet. Daddy has to catch her from falling. Daddy picks
her up in his arms and carries her up the steps as Buddy runs
ahead to open the front door.

							DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. HILLYER PATIO - DAY

A shot of Mother and Daddy and Buddy on the patio. It is a
beautiful sunny morning. Mother and Daddy are seated at an
outdoor table about to have coffee. Daddy is opening mail and
Buddy, in the b.g., is gluing up a kite. Enter a smiling and
healthy Rose with orange juice, toast, cups and coffee on a
tray.

			DADDY 
	Good morning, Rose. And how do you
	feel today?

			ROSE 
	Wonderful. Except I can touch the
	place back there with my tongue, I
	wouldn't even know I had that tooth
	pulled.

			DADDY 
		(dryly, as he looks at
		 mail)
	Well, I know it, I just got the
	bill for it.

			ROSE 
	Boy, for four or five days there I
	didn't think I'd live. But I'm my
	old self again!

			DADDY 
	Umm. Well. Yes. But no more strange
	voices in the night, Rose.

			ROSE 
	Oh, no, sir.

			MOTHER 
	Rose has learned her lesson,
	haven't you, Rose?

			ROSE 
	Yes, ma'am.

							DISSOLVE TO:

INT. HOTEL - MEZZANINE - DAY

A shot of Daddy peering down at an old pool table in the
mezzanine of the family hotel. Buddy stands by with a pool
stick in hand. In the b.g., we see a black bellboy, SHADRACH,
approaching.

			DADDY 
	I see my mother-in-law's face, son.
	Read 'em and weep, boy, I am
	playing a spectacular combination,
	a triple. The nine ball in the
	corner! 
		(takes his stance with cue
		 as Shadrach walks up)
	Read 'em and weep, boy, that's all
	she wrote.

			SHADRACH 
	Mistah Hillyer, the Chief of Police
	wants you on the telephone.

			DADDY 
		(about to make his shot,
		 looks around)
	The Chief of Police?

			SHADRACH 
	Yassuh.

Daddy straightens up, sets his jaw, leans the cue against the
table and marches toward the elevator as Buddy stares after
him. The CAMERA STAYS on Buddy.

INT. HOTEL - DAY

CUT TO a shot of Buddy going down the hotel stairs. He holds
onto the banister, sliding with his hands far ahead in order
to take four and even five steps at a time -- it is a
childish trick, the point of the game is to touch as few
stairs as possible.

ANOTHER ANGLE, on Buddy as he jumps down the last remaining
five steps and walks into the lobby. Daddy comes from behind
the desk, grim.

			DADDY 
	Rose is in jail. She bit a
	policeman's thumb. Come on, son,
	Shadrach can run the hotel.

EXT. MODEL-A - STREET - DAY

CUT TO a shot of Daddy and Buddy in the Model-A. Daddy stares
grimly ahead. Buddy steals a worried glance at him.

INT. LOCAL JAIL - DAY

CUT TO a shot in the local jail. The shot is on Daddy as he
stands before jail bars staring sternly into a cell. His
hands are on his hips, his straw hat is on the back of his
head and a bit to one side. Buddy stands beside him, a little
bit behind, a worried look on his face. The CHIEF OF POLICE,
a fat man, is on the other side of Daddy.

CUT TO a POV shot of Rose in the cell. Her hair is mussed,
her dress is torn. A little innocent, frightened smile is on
her face. The CAMERA PANS to include Daddy and the Chief of
Police.

			CHIEF OF POLICE 
	That was a awful brawl down at the
	Busy Beaver, Mr. Hillyer. You know
	that fat Horton, the bootlegger?

			DADDY 
	Yes, I know the son of a bitch.

			CHIEF OF POLICE 
	Son of a bitch is right, he dern
	near killed a man. And this girl
	was the cause of it all. What's
	more, she bit a police officer's
	thumb right to the bone.

			DADDY 
	Well, Rose, what have you got to
	say for yourself?

			ROSE 
		(coughs, then feebly)
	I got an awful bad cold.

			DADDY 
		(nods slowly, then with
		 aloof politeness)
	That's all you've got to say,
	you've got a bad cold?

			ROSE 
		(coughs again)
	Well, I don't know what happened.
	They were arguin' about baseball,
	then all of 'em started fightin'.
	As for that policeman, I didn't
	bite him, I don't think I bit him.

In dour silence, Daddy and the Chief of Police stare at Rose.
She gives them a little smile, as if to say, "See how
innocent I am?" The Chief turns to Daddy and asks with dry
irony:

			CHIEF OF POLICE 
	Well, she's your girl, Mr. Hillyer.
	You want me to release her in your
	custody?

			DADDY 
	No, not really. But I guess we'll
	have to do that, John. Let her out.
	Let the crazy creature out and I'll
	take her home.

INT./EXT. MODEL-A - DAY

CUT TO a shot of Daddy, Rose and Buddy in the Model A. Daddy
stares grimly ahead, silent. Buddy looks solemn. Rose is
badly frightened and still coughing. Finally she ventures a
little smile and speaks to Daddy.

			ROSE 
	I got an awful cold, I think I'm
	sick.

Daddy is silent, his eyes fixed ahead.

EXT. HILLYER DRIVEWAY - DAY

CUT TO a shot of the Model A as it turns onto the Hillyer
driveway.

INT./EXT. MODEL A

CUT TO a shot of Daddy, Rose and Buddy in the car. She tries
again.

			ROSE 
	I didn't mean to bite him. He was
	hitting Horton with a blackjack in
	the meanest way and... and I bit
	him accidental.

			DADDY 
		(stops the car, turns to
		 Rose)
	I have to go back to the hotel. I'm
	on duty at the desk and who knows a
	quest might arrive. I will see you
	at suppertime, Rose.

			ROSE 
		(a feeble smile)
	I didn't mean to bite him, I really
	didn't.

			DADDY 
	I will see you at suppertime, Rose.

			ROSE 
		(feebly)
	Yes, air.

EXT. HILLYER HOME - FRONT STEPS - DAY

CUT TO a shot of a shaky, slumped Rose going up the steps
with Buddy as the Model A drives away. Rose is coughing,
looks miserable.

							DISSOLVE TO:

INT. HILLYER HOME - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

A SHOT of Buddy and Doll in the living room of the Hillyer
home at night. Doll is half-heartedly practicing scales on
the piano and Buddy is pacing the floor, hands clasped behind
him in something like the style of his father. As the CAMERA
FOLLOWS Buddy in his pacing we see Waski playing with marbles
on the floor.

			DOLL 
		(turns around on piano
		 stool, to Buddy)
	What is Rose going to do? Where can
	she go?

			BUDDY 
	They've been in there the longest
	kind of time. I can't stand it, I
	gotta find out what's going on.

			DOLL 
	You better not snoop, Daddy'll kill
	you!

INT. HILLYER HOME - FRONT HALL - NIGHT

CUT TO a shot of Buddy coming with great furtiveness from the
living room out into the front hall. Very cautiously, he
tiptoes across the hall and bows down and listens at the door
of his mother's bedroom-study. He crouches down, peeps
through the keyhole.

INT. HILLYER HOME - MASTER BEDROOM/STUDY - NIGHT

CUT TO a "keyhole shot" of Daddy and Mother in the bedroom.
Mother sits in her study chair, a handkerchief to her eyes.
Daddy sits in a chair nearby. He looks depressed.

			DADDY 
	I'm sorry, darlin', I hate it as
	much as you do.

			MOTHER
		(wanly)
	Well, she does seem to cause a lot
	of trouble, I admit. But she
	doesn't mean any harm and it'll
	break the children's hearts, they
	all love her.

			DADDY 
	It's because of the children she's
	got to go. I don't want to be
	holier-than-thou, but the girl
	doesn't have the same outlook we
	do. Morals don't mean a thing to
	her, not a thing, and we can't have
	a girl like that in this house.

			MOTHER 
	Who is to say our morals are better
	than hers?
		(frowns, sighs)
	But maybe you're right. She
	could... influence Dolly...

			DADDY 
	That is exactly what I'm afraid of. 
		(pauses, and firmly)
	The girl has got to go, darlin'.

			MOTHER 
	But morals come from the heart, not
	from rigid rules and empty laws.
	And in her heart Rose has never
	hurt anyone and she never would.
	Therefore, she's not immoral. Not
	really.

			DADDY 
	Now look, darlin', this is no time
	to go off into the fourth
	dimension.

			MOTHER 
	But what I said is the simple
	truth. And now I see something
	else, I see more deeply into it...

Mother has a slightly "other-worldly" look on her face. Daddy
glances at the door of the bedroom, he suspects something.

			DADDY 
	Just a moment, darlin'.

INT. HILLYER HOME - FRONT HALL - NIGHT

CUT TO a shot of Buddy crouched at the keyhole. With great
alacrity, he jumps up and hurries across the hall and shuts
the living room door just as Daddy whisks open the bedroom
door. Daddy grimaces.

			DADDY 
	Could of sworn that boy was out
	here.

Daddy shuts the door and at once almost like the movement of
a ballet Buddy opens the living room door and tiptoes back to
the keyhole.

INT. HILLYER HOME - MASTER BEDROOM - NIGHT

CUT TO a Shot of Daddy and Mother. It is another "keyhole
shot."

			MOTHER 
	How could Rose really be a bad
	influence on Dolly? She has a
	loving nature, you ought to want
	someone like that around your
	children. Why do you think those
	boys and men like her?

			DADDY
	Well, I have a pretty good idea.

			MOTHER 
	If you mean sex, you couldn't be
	more wrong. Rose likes those boys
	and men, she has love in her heart,
	and that is what they want. It's
	the most rare and beautiful thing
	in life and that is why they follow
	her.

			DADDY 
	They follow her because she's a -- 
		(he is about to say "piece
		 of tail," but interrupts
		 himself)
	-- no, I won't say that.

			MOTHER 
	What she doesn't understand is that
	her behavior is disturbing to other
	people. She's young, she's got to
	learn to restrain the life force
	that's in her. Its creative, but in
	her case it's too creative.

			DADDY 
	Darlin', Rose has got to go!

			MOTHER 
		(rises)
	I'll talk to her, I'll reason with
	her.

INT. HILLYER HOME - FRONT HALL - NIGHT

CUT TO a shot of Buddy in the hall. He jumps up and hurries
across the hall into the living room. Again, as the living
room door shuts the bedroom door opens. Mother starts up the
stairs, her mouth determined.

INT. HILLYER HOME - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

CUT TO a shot of Buddy and Doll and Waski in the living room.

			DOLL
	What's happening?

			BUDDY 
	Mother is struggling desperately.
	In fact she's fighting like a
	tiger. But I don't know, it's
	close, it's mighty close.

			DOLL 
		(pauses, then in a low
		 tone, slightly wide-eyed)
	Buddy... does Rose really... "do
	it" with all those boys and men?

			BUDDY 
		(aloofly, like Daddy)
	Doll, don't ask childish questions.

			WASKI 
		(indignantly, to Doll)
	Of course not!

			BUDDY 
	Oh, Waski, you don't even know what
	we're talking about.

INT. HILLYER HOME - UPSTAIRS HALL - NIGHT

CUT TO a shot of Mother going down the upstairs hall. She
knocks on Roses door and enters.

INT. HILLYER HOME - ROSE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

CUT TO a shot of Mother as she walks over and stares down in
shock at Rose on the bad. Rose is lying back on a pillow and
staring groggily at her, obviously not quite all there.
Frowning with worry, Mother sits beside her and puts a hand
on her forehead.

			MOTHER 
	Rose, you're very sick. You're
	burning up. Rose, can you hear me?
	Rose?

			ROSE 
		(semi-delirious)
	What? Wha-at? Mrs. Hillyer?

EXT. HILLYER SOME - NIGHT

CUT TO a shot of an ambulance pulling up outside the Hillyer
house. Attendants get out of it carrying a stretcher.

INT. HILLYER HOME - FRONT HALL - NIGHT

CUT TO a shot of Buddy, Doll and Waski in the front hall.
They are badly frightened, even terrified.
The CAMERA PANS to show the ambulance attendants carrying
Rose strapped in a stretcher down the stairs, as Mother helps
and Daddy follows, both of them very worried. Rose is
conscious now and her eyes roll with terror toward the
children.

			ROSE 
	Buddy! Dolly! They're takin' me to
	the hospital! Don't let 'em, don't
	let 'em!

The CAMERA STAYS on the frightened silent children as they
stare after Rose on the stretcher.

							DISSOLVE TO:

INT. HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - NIGHT

A shot of Mother, Daddy, Buddy, Doll and Waski in the
corridor of a hospital. All look very solemn. A nurse leads
them to a door and opens it.

INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - NIGHT

CUT TO a shot of a hospital room. A very pale, sick-looking
Rose lies in a hospital bed. The nurse, mother, Daddy, Buddy,
Doll and Waski enter, all of them looking very grave.

ANOTHER ANGLE, CLOSE ON Rose as she weakly turns her head on
the pillow. Her eyes well with tears as she recognizes the
children.

			ROSE
		(a feeble whisper)
	Pray for me...

ANOTHER ANGLE, on the nurse as she speaks in a whisper we
don't hear to Mother and Daddy, obviously telling them they'd
better go. Daddy beckons to the children and they start to
leave, all looking depressed.

INT. DOCTOR'S OFFICE - NIGHT

CUT TO a shot of DR. F. ROBERT MARTINSON, a rather unpleasant
man with a spade beard. He has a superior, patronizing way of
talking and very little Southern accent if any. The scene is
his office and he is in a swivel chair behind his desk.

As he speaks the CAMERA PULLS BACK to show Daddy, Mother and
the Hillyer children.

			DR. MARTINSON 
	Well, Mrs. Hillyer, the girl is
	strong as an ox and that is what is
	keeping her alive. But not many
	people walk away from double
	pneumonia, Madam, not many.

			MOTHER 
	She looks terrible, just awful.

			DR. MARTINSON 
	Of course she does and I must say
	I'm puzzled by your delay in
	getting her to the hospital. I
	should think ordinary powers of
	observation would have suggested to
	you that she was seriously ill.

			MOTHER 
	She hid it from us, Doctor. She's
	afraid of the hospital.

			DR. MARTINSON 
		(a thin superior smile)
	Afraid of the hospital?

			MOTHER 
	Deathly afraid of it. Her people
	were poor tenant farmers and she
	doesn't know anything about doctors
	or medicine or hospitals.

			DR. MARTINSON 
		(frowns in open disbelief)
	A tenant farm? Are you trying to
	tell me that girl is a product of
	the hookworm and pellagra belt?

			MOTHER 
	Well, her people were very poor.
	She says she was often hungry as a
	child, and I'm sure the food she
	ate was pretty awful, not a
	balanced diet at all.

			DR. MARTINSON 
	Exactly, and that's why she
	couldn't possibly have come from
	such a farm.

			DADDY 
		(icily polite)
	Excuse me, sir, are you calling my
	wife a liar?

			MOTHER 
		(embarrassed)
	Honey, please...

			DR. MARTINSON 
		(a thin unpleasant smile)
	It's simply that I find it
	incredible, Mr. Hillyer. Aside from
	the girl's illness at the moment,
	she is very strong, a very healthy
	specimen of a young human female --
	and a comely one, too. She must
	have gotten protein somewhere as a
	young child, if only sporadically.

			MOTHER 
	It is kind of amazing. The dentist
	says she has perfect teeth, there
	isn't a cavity in her mouth.

			MR. MARTINSON 
		(tries to make a
		 supercilious joke)
	Her entire mouth is a cavity,
	Madam, ha ha ha.

			DADDY 
		(dryly, doesn't like the
		 man a bit)
	Ha ha ha ha.

Mother frowns at Daddy and Dr. Martinson gives him an aloof
glance.

			DR. MARTINSON 
		(with spurious dignity)
	The point is you don't grow up like
	that on a diet of sorghum and
	hominy grits. She got protein
	somewhere, she's a very strong girl
	and I think she'll live... despite
	the delay in medical treatment.

			DADDY 
	That's all I want to know. 
		(rises)
	Lets get out of here before I get
	the epizootics myself. Thank you,
	Doctor, for your discourse, it was
	fascinating, no doubt.

			MOTHER 
	Yes, thank you, Doctor.

			DR. MARTINSON 
		(as they leave)
	I beg your pardon, epi-zoo-tics? Do
	you mean "epi-zoo-ot-tics," an
	animal epidemic?

			DADDY 
		(icily polite, from the
		 door)
	No, I mean epizootics.

INT. HOSPITAL - NIGHT

CUT TO a shot of Mother, Daddy, Buddy, Doll and Waski as
Daddy comes out of the Doctor's office and shuts the door.

			DADDY 
	I can't stand that polecat. They
	ought to hang him.

			MOTHER 
	You don't like him because he's a
	Yankee. He's a brilliant doctor.

			DADDY 
	He's a polecat, dear.

INT. HOSPITAL ELEVATOR - NIGHT

CUT TO a shot of Daddy, Mother and the Hillyer children in a
hospital elevator as a black elevator operator runs them
down. Daddy has his hat politely removed and is staring
pensively ahead.

			DADDY
	Rosebud looked pretty pitiful in
	that bed. 
		(sighs, shakes his head)
	I hope she'll be all right, but I
	still think we ought to fire her.

			MOTHER 
	I don't see how you can even think
	of it now.

Daddy purses his lips but says nothing. It is obvious the
"epizootics" have saved Rose, at least for the time being.

							DISSOLVE TO:

INT. HILLYER HOME - ROSE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

A SHOT of Rose in bed in her own bedroom. She is propped up
on pillows and wearing a rather attractive pink silk
housecoat of Mother's.
A tray is on her lap and she is eating her supper as Buddy
sits on the edge of the bed talking with her, or rather
listening to her. It is obvious she is well on the road back
to health.

			ROSE 
	Oh, he's so kind, so gentle inside,
	and so unhappy with that rich wife
	who doesn't understand him, her
	being a Southerner and everything,
	and what a bedside manner he has
	got -- so gentle and kind beneath
	the professor way he acts!

			BUDDY 
	Rose, you are too uncritical of
	people.

			ROSE 
	You don't know the bedside manner
	that man has got. Why, it does me
	good just to see him sit there all
	solemn and go pokin' in his bag
	like he's gonna cure me, which he
	did of course. And even more
	important he loves me, like a
	patient I mean, the other day he
	got tears in his eyes just
	listenin' to my heart beat.

			BUDDY 
	He did?

			ROSE 
	Yeah, he tried to hide it but I saw
	'em, and a little bit he says to
	me, "You know, you are beautiful."
	Now wasn't that a nice thing for a
	doctor to say to a patient, wasn't
	it? What could cheer a girl up
	more?

			BUDDY 
	Rose, I have got doubts about that
	doctor and so does Daddy.

			ROSE 
	He's got doubts about hisself and
	that's the saddest thing of all.
	Would you believe that poor man
	thinks nobody likes him?

			BUDDY 
	Yeah, I'd believe it.

			ROSE 
	Well, I like him. I used to be
	afraid of doctors but not any more.
	Why, he could operate on me any old
	time and I wouldn't even be scared.

			BUDDY 
	Rose, you are just entirely too
	uncritical of people.

			ROSE 
	I ain't neither. Listen here,
	Buddy, besides all his vast medical
	knowledge, he has the most kindest
	heart beneath the professor way he
	acts -- he wants justice in the
	world and he's got some real
	interestin' ideas.

INT. HILLYER HOME - FRONT DOOR - NIGHT

CUT TO a shot of Mother opening the front door. Dr. Martinson
is there-with his black bag, an icy polite look on his face.;

			MOTHER 
	Oh, good evening, Doctor. Rose is a
	lot better, I just gave her her
	supper. She's almost all well now.

			DR. MARTINSON 
	Let me be the judge of that, Madam.

			MOTHER 
	Yes. Well. She's upstairs.

INT. HILLYER HOME - ROSE'S BEDROOM - DAY/NIGHT

CUT TO a shot of Buddy and Rose in Rose's bedroom.

			ROSE 
	Justice, that's what he wants,
	justice for everybody and
	especially for niggers. And I think
	that's real nice of him because
	black people don't have a very good
	life, you got to admit that, to be
	a nigger is sometimes practic'ly
	fatal, but the wife don't
	understand all of that, she thinks
	niggers are just so much dirt,
	which anybody ought to know better
	if they been on their ass their
	ownselves -- and that is the cause
	of his profound unhappiness, Buddy,
	that no-good-mean wife with all her
	Southern prejudice against niggers
	and everything!

It is a very long speech and delivered with a non-stop
vitality that leaves Buddy a trifle groggy. Slowly, he shakes
his head, as enter Mother.

			MOTHER 
	The Doctor is here. And Brother,
	supper is ready.

							DISSOLVE TO:

INT. HILLYER HOME - DINING ROOM - NIGHT

A SHOT of the Hillyer family minus Rose eating dinner in the
dining room. The meal is almost finished, Daddy cutting apple
pie.

			DADDY 
	Is that Doctor still up there,
	Brother.

			BUDDY 
	Yeah, he's still up there.

			DADDY 
	What's taking the rascal so long?

			MOTHER 
	Honey, Dr. Martinson isn't a
	rascal, he's one of the finest
	physicians in Glenville. He studied
	at Johns Hopkins University.

			DADDY 
	I don't care where the polecat
	studied.

			MOTHER 
	Sometimes the negativism and
	cynicism in you makes me want to
	vomit. 
		(shakes her head sadly as
		 Buddy surreptitiously
		 puts his napkin on table)
	Your real trouble is that you're
	anti-intellectual. The irony is
	women are supposed to be emotional,
	but I never saw anybody who
	depended more on emotion and
	prejudice than you do.

			BUDDY 
		(a half audible murmur)
	Excuse me, gotta go to bathroom.

			MOTHER 
	Now I have a plan about Rose, an
	educational plan. She's getting
	better and we don't want any more
	trouble --
		(notices Buddy slipping
		 out)
	Brother, you ought to hear this.

			BUDDY 
	I'll be right back.

The CAMERA FOLLOWS Buddy as he slips out during following
speech.

			MOTHER 
	First, those clothes she wears.
	They're too provocative. I've
	talked to her a lot about it and I
	think she understands...

INT. HILLYER HOME - FRONT HALL - NIGHT

CUT TO a shot of Buddy as he goes down the hall, eyes
narrowed.

ON Buddy posted in the doorway of the living room. He has his
hands on his hips Daddy-style and is staring sternly up the
stairs.

CUT TO A POV SHOT of Dr. Martinson with his black bag in hand
and