110 EXT.
CORNWALL COASTLINE – HELICOPTER SHOT – TWO MEN 110
No more then ant-like specks on a sea wall far below.
111 CLOSER
DOLLY SHOT – PITT AND OLD, OLD MAN 111
Walks slowly along the brow of the sea wall. Behind them b.g. is a village , as perfect as a toy town under a Christmas tree. On the crest of a hill is a lighthouse. In front of them, by a lane, a country pub.
COMMODORE SIR JOHN BIGALOW is a seafaring relic of another era. It is not only his age that is
remarkable; at eighty-seven he is as steady as a slab of rock.
BIGALOW
It’s an odd thing, you know. I’ve
had a few ships shot out from under
me. More than my share. Three in
the 1917 fracas and two in the Battle
of Britain. But all anybody every
asks me about is the Titanic.
PITT
Now I’m doing the same thing.
BIGALOW
So you are. And you’re lucky you
came to the right man. Like I
said it was cargo hold number nine.
‘D’ deck on the port side.
PITT
(writes it down)
You’re sure of that location?
BIGALOW
No question about it. We all saw
that vault when it was loaded aboard.
And we saw the passenger who owned
it . . . we weren’t likely to forget
him. A bush beard and eyes like a
fox. Even if he hadn’t put a gun
on me the way he did, I remember
him all right.
PITT
The gun business . . . You say that
happened when the Titanic was
already going down?
BIGALOW
(nods)
Lifeboats in the water. People
scrambling about like squirrels.
It was a tragic scene. No question
about it. I was on my way up to the
boat deck to help out there when
this daft little man comes up and
shoves a pistol in my face. Wanted
to go to cargo hold number nine.
Where the vault was stored. And
if I wouldn’t take him, he’d shoot
me in my tracks. That’s what he
said. I was a young buck then,
anxious to live as long as I could,
so I took him. As it turned out,
number nine was the only hold that
wasn’t already flooded. Once he
got in there and posted what he was
looking for, he was happy. I’ll
never forget the look on his face.
It stayed with me all these years.
When I have nightmares about that
lovely ship going down, I see only
one thing. That crazy old man with
the gun.
111A ANOTHER
ANGLE 111A
As they approach the front door of the pub, the Hard and Hound.
PITT
You say that’s the last time you
saw him . . . there in the hold?
BIGALOW
That’s right. He wouldn’t leave.
He went up to that vault of his,
a huge thing, eight feet square,
and stroked it like it was a dog,
muttering to himself like a crazy
man.
PITT
What did he say?
BIGALOW
The same thing. Over and over.
‘Thank God for Southby,’ he said.
‘Thank God for Southby.’
Reaction from Pitt. That same phrase again. They enter the pub.
112 INT. PUB 112
Dim-lighted. Brass and leather and dark wood. A warm and cozy well-used sanctuary. Business is light.
Two old men play dominoes in one corner. In another corner a man is reading a newspaper. A drayman
stands at one end of the bard with a pint of stout. And behind the bar is SARAH MARTINDALE, 55, plump
and cheerful. All things to all men. She’s had a good life and she’s still living it.
SARAH
(sees Bigalow)
Here he is then! Late but willing.
I’d just about given up on you. Is
it whiskey today or a nice pint of
bitter?
112A MED. SHOT 112A
Bigalow and Pitt come up to the bar.
BIGALOW
(to Pitt)
This is Sarah Martindale, a woman
of substance. Beauty and a warm
heart.
(going on)
And this is Captain Pitt, a retired
seafaring man like myself.
Sarah reaches across the bar. Shakes Pitt’s hand. Gives him the once-over.
SARAH
Retired mighty early, it appears
to me.
BIGALOW
Keep your hands off him, Sarah,
and give us a pint. Full measure,
now, and with a collar on it.
(beat)
Sarah talks big but the fact is
she’s frightened silly of men . . .
112B EXTREME
CLOSEUP – SARAH 112B
She’s beaming. Taking it all in. As she draws lager into china mugs. Bigalow’s has his name and crest on it.
BIGALOW (O.S.)
The fact is, those of us who
know her best suspect she’s still
a maiden.
SARAH
Oh, my goodness. The man’s gone off.
112C ANOTHER
ANGLE 112C
She sets the mugs in front of them. Bigalow takes a long swig, then moves around to the back of the bar.
We GO WITH him. Sarah goes off to the kitchen which is behind the bar itself.
BIGALOW
(points to articles
displayed on the wall
behind the bar)
This is my Titanic collection.
All that’s left of her except the
memories.
112CC THE WALL
112CC
We SEE a painting of the Titanic, framed photographs and newspaper clippings, and a red pennant in a
glass case.
BIGALOW (O.S.)
What a lovely thing she was.
Standing as high in the water as
a tall building . . .
112CCC SINGLE ON BIGALOW 112CCC
BIGALOW
. . . longer by far than two rugby
fields. And furnishings to match
the finest mansions in England.
She was one of a kind. No question
of it. And God himself couldn’t
sink her, they said.
(takes a drink
from his mug)
Then in two hours she was gone.
And more than fifteen hundred
people with her.
Bigalow reaches up to the back of the bar and takes the red pennant out of a glass-front display case, turns
to Pitt and places the pennant on the bar. Bigalow lowers his voice. For Pitt’s ears only.
BIGALOW
(continuing)
I took this pennant off her that
last night. If you manage to bring
her up again, maybe you’ll put it
back where it belongs.
112D EXT. FIELDS
– HIGH ANGLE – DAY 112D
Pitt and Bigalow walk down the slope toward the car.
PITT
This is great country. Wide open.
It’s like being on a ship.
112E TRAVELLING
TWO SHOT 112E
BIGALOW
That’s why I picked it. I spent
most of my life on the water.
Couldn’t just give it up and turn
myself out to pasture.
PITT
Do you ever get lonesome, living
here by yourself?
BIGALOW
Course I do. But it passes. I
got over it. God help any man
that can’t survive by himself.
All of us end up in a single bed
sooner or later.
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