"FIELD OF DREAMS" (1989)

FIELD OF DREAMS

Based on the novel

by

W. P. Kinsella

Screenplay

by

Phil Alden Robinson

March 9, 1988 FINAL DRAFT SCREENPLAY

FADEIN

MONTAGEOF PHOTOS

A faded, sepia shot of adirty little kid on a farm.

Young man in doughboy uniform.

Chicago. Tenement. ComiskeyPark. Ballgames.

Newspaperheadlines. Photoof Shoeless Joe Jackson.

Dad (a catcher) playingball. At work. Weeding.

Ray as an infant. Withhis father. In front ofEbbets Field in miniature Dodger uniform,etc.

Berkeley in the 1960s: hippies, protesters, etc.

Ray looking foolish in long hair and tie-dye.

Annie: blue jeans, T-shirt, freckles. Their courtship.

Unsmiling American Gothic types.

The apartment, Ray at different jobs, the wedding.

Baby pictures.

Ray, Annie, and four-year-old Karin by the "SOLD''sign of their farm. Ray in a cornfield.

Moving in on Ray's face.

DISSOLVE TO

It is dusk on a spring evening. The sky is a robin's-egg blue, and the wind is soft as a day-old chick. Ray Kinsella is working in the cornfield when avoice -- like that of a public address announcer -- speaks to him.

Ray looks up and around, but sees nothing that could be the source of this sound. All around him are empty fields. He stands quietly for a few moments, then goes back to work.

Ray jerks his head in all directions to see where·this voice is coming from, but again, he sees nothing unusual -- just the furrowed fields and a few hundred feet away, the massive old farmhouse with a sagging veranda on three sides. on the north veranda is a wooden porch swing where Annie and Karin sit, sipping lemonade and dreaming.

R.\Y That voice.

Annie confers briefly with Karin, then calls back to Ray.

Ray thinks for a second, then shakes it off, trying to dislodge that thought from his mind, and gets back to work.

Again, he bolts upright and looks around. Again, he sees nothing. This is beginning to bug him. He calls:

I RAY Okay, you rnust1 veheard that.

3 ON THE PORCH 3

Annie and Karin look at each other and exchange a shrug. Annie extends her arms palms upward, and calls to Ray.

Annie leads Karin inside.

4 -·INTHE FIELD 4

Ray looks all around him with an "Okay, fellas, what's the joke?" look on his face. But there is no one there. He puts down his tools and walks toward the house.

Ray enters, looks at his wife ·skeptically and joins his wife and daughter setting the table.

Annie shoots him an "Are you kidding?11look. Ray responds with a shrug. They sit down to eat.

CUT TO

They are snuggled together, asleep. All is quiet. Then:

Ray's eyes pop open. He looks at Annie, who does not stir. Without moving, he looks around the room. There is no one there. ·very quietly, he crosses to the window and looks out. He whispers out toward the cornfield:

Behind him, Annie stirs.

He sighs and goes back to bed. Annie cuddles up to him. ·Her eyes are closed, but Ray's eyes remain open. He is puzzled and concerned.

CUT TO

7 TELEVISION SCREEN 7

A scene from the 1950 movie Harver, in which James Stewart insists he is conversing with an invisible rabbit.

Little Karin is watching Harvey while she eats her breakfast. Ray enters, looking like he had very little sleep, and promptly turn~ the TV set off.

Annie enters, putting on her coat.

Karin bolts from the table.

She takes off he= coat and kisses Ray as he takes-the car keys and heads outside. Annie sits at the kitchen ~able.

a CONTINUED 8

He exits. She grins, turns on the TV and watches Harvey.

CUT TO

Ray's car pulls up, Karin runs out and Ray drives off.

CUT TO

Ray is plugged into some weird-looking contraption, having his hearing examined. Then the Doctor shines a penlight into his eyes, shrugs, and starts putting his gear away.

Ray is not sure if he should ignore this or run.

CUT TO

Farmers are loading up with seed; fertilizer, and other farmer stuff. This is the kind of place where people also linger to exchange gossip, swap lies, and pass the time.

Ray is off to one side, ~hewing the fat with an old-timer.

-·-··:··-.

Now, everyone in the store turns to look at Ray.

But the people still stare. Ray addresses them.

CUT TO

Ray is out in the fields again, hard at work. A breeze picks up. He stops for·a moment, cocks an ear and looks around. All he sees are the empty fields. Insects make the only sounds. He goes back to work. Then:

--·.~--

He throws his tools down angrily and looks all around, but there is no apparent source of the voice. Ray is pissed.

All he hears is a faraway echo.

This is serious. Ray shakes his head and repeats the words to himself.

As he thinks about these words, /some unexplained impulse causes Ray to turn his head deliberately toward a portion of the cornfield between him and the house.

FLASH CUT

13 A BASEBALL FIELD 13

For the briefest of moments, the dreamlike image of a baseball field at night, illuminated by floodlights, flares in over the lawn. Standing on the edge of the field, is the figure of a man with his back to us. Before we can see anything else, the image disappears.

14 RAY 14

Ray's eyes widen.

FLASH CUT

15 THE MAN AND THE FIELD 15

The dream image flares in again, this time closer to the man. He stands in the middle distance, silhouetted by the lights, a~d we see he iswearing a uniform of some kind. He starts to turn slowly towards us, but before we can see · his face, the image disappears.

16 CLOSE ON RAY 16

Ray's mouth opens. He half-laughs, as if to say "This can't be." But whatever is in his mind won't go away.

FLASH CUT

17 THE MAN ].7

Now we see him in head-and-shoulders. He has the muscular neck of an athlete. As he slowly turns we start to see a bit of his weathered face before the image flares out.

18 RAY 18

Wheels are turning inside his head. He is trying to figure all this out. In the distance, a bell is ringing. He looks o.s.

Annie is on the veranda ringing the dinner bell hanging by the front door.

We see Ray emerge slowly from the fields, the twilit sky changing colors behind him.

21 THE VERANDA 21

Annie leans against a post, lazily watching Ray approach. She likes how he moves, and how he looks.

Ray climbs up the steps, accepts her kiss, and instead of following her into the house, pulls her down with him onto the swing. He takes·her hand and looks into her eyes.

CUT TO

The family is eating dinner. Ray seems lost in thought.

RJ>.Y Annie, there's more.

She whistles. This is serious.

CUT TO

Ray and Annie are putting little Karin to bed.

CUT TO

Ray and Annie in their pajamas, brushing their teeth, getting ready for bed.

Annie smiles, but sees that Ray is troubled. She hugs him ..

He offers her a weak smile and exits.

CUT TO

It is dark. For a few seconds it is quiet. Then:

Ray sits up in the dark.

He shakes his head in wonder just to think of it. Annie turns on the light.

--·----·-~--

Ray tries to picture his father inhis mind. He speaks softly, but the words obviously have a great deal of meaning for him.

She looks at him with great understanding.

He smiles wanly. She touches his face lovingly.

They hold each other's gaze, and Ray cannot remember when he has loved her so much. He takes her in his arms. Outside their window, the field of corn lies waiting.

CUT TO

stalks of corn wave slowly in the breeze. A bee buzzes near one. The light is yellow. Suddenly, the stalks bend violently to the ground as Ray's tractor plows them under.

27 ON THE TRACTOR 27

Ray drives, Karin rides shotgun, holding the large detailed diagram Ray has drawn of the ballpark's dimensions.

28 HIGH ANGLE 28

The tractor turns to plow under more corn, and we can see the size of the area Ray has staked off with marker sticks.

Karin whistles.

29 ANOTHER ANGLE 29

By the side of the road, an old man and woman stand and watch these neighbors.plow under their. corn. They look at each other as if to say "Could itbe Communists?"

It is days later, an area the size of a baseball field has been plowed under, and Ray is seeding it.

We can see roughly where the grass has been planted, and where the dirt will be smoothed out for the base paths. Ray stands stock-still in the moonlight, water hose in hand, patiently misting the baby grass, little Karin at his side.

32 SIDE OF THE ROAD 32

Now, dozens of families stand to watch silent and dumb-eyed, at what has obviously become a daily spectacle among the townspeople. Some snap photos.

Ray smooths out the base paths with a large roller, as Annie and Karin follow behind with rakes. On either side of the base paths, the infield and outfield grass is growing.

Ray, Annie and Karin wait as the cashier totals up their load of lumber and hardware.

From o.s., we hear oooh. Ray turns and notices for the first time that a crowd of spectators -- employees and customers -- has been watching him and whispering among themselves. They look at him as if he had two heads.

Ray turns his attention back to writing a check for his purchases. He deadpans to Annie:

Ray hands over the check to the open-mouthed cashier.

Ray and Annie turn and leave with Karin. The farmers watch, obviously trying hard to figure this one out.

CUT TO

Ray hammers the braces that will support the outfield wall. Karin hands him nails from a bag she wears around her neck.

36 BUILDING THE BLEACHERS 36

Annie helps Ray lift aboard to what will be the top row.

They continue to work in silence.

CUT TO

Ray writes a check for his purchases: bats, balls, bases pitcher's rubber, home plate, etc. He appears slightly annoyed that once again, he is being stared at by all the uniformed employees of the store. He turns to catch the Store owner staring at him the most intently.

The other employees beam their agreement.

He wheels his shopping cart of sporting goods out through a gauntlet of approving salesmen. They smile and pat him on the back. Ray cannot decide if they're crazier than he is.

CUT TO

Atop the aluminum-painted poles, an array of store-bought floodlights switch on, flaring against the blue-black sky. In this sharp white light the grass glows parrot green, cool as mint, soft as a cashmere blanket. Annie and Karin watch as Ray puts down the clean white bases, which pick up the light like little moons on a cold, clear night.

Ray is smiling wistfully.

Ray consi~ers that.

Annie hoists Karin on her shoulders with a grunt, and the three climb their way down the bleachers. Ray1 shand steadies Annie as she takes one of the steps.

Moonlight butters the Iowa night. They walk along the side of the field, and Ray stops. He looks at the field.

She looks out over the baseball field.

Annie smiles at him and carries Karin inside. Ray steps onto the porch and flicks the switch shutting off the floodlights over the field.

CUT TO

Annie opens her eyes and sees Ray not beside her in bed, but in th window seat, looking out at the empty field. Barely awake, she gets out of bed, shuffles to his side and curls up against him.

Annie lowers her head against his chest and goes back to sleep. outside, the trees are fully leafed.

DISSOLVE TO

40 RAY'S BASEBALL FIELD -OCTOBER · 40

The trees are almost bare now, a~d there1 sa Halloween pumpkin in the front window of the house. The cornstalks

,rustle like crumpling paper in the Indian-summer breeze which blows fallen leaves across the empty baseball field while Ray sits in the stands...waiting.

DISSOLVE TO

It is covered with snow.

Ray looks forlornly out the living room window towards his snow-covered baseball field, the merrily blinking lights of the Christmas tree behind him belying his true mood.

DISSOLVE TO

A baby robin tries to pull a worm out of the around. Inside the house, Annie is doing spr~ng cleaning. She looks out the window to see:

Ray mowing the outfield grass. He stops, looks around, listens, hears nothing, and continues mowing .

just watches him.

CUT TO

46 TV SCREEN 46

We see the first expibition game of spring training from Florida, as the announcer talks about a "southpaw" pitcher.

Little Karin watches the TV, while Annie and Ray sit at the living room table, financial ledgers spread out before them as they struggle with their accounts.

Ray closes his eyes.

K2-\RIN(0.S.) There's a man out there on your lawn.

Ray opens his eyes and turns to see Karin kneeling on the kitchen counter, looking out the window. Ray and Annie exchange a quick glance, and Ray walks to the window.

seen from outside, as Ray's head appears and looks out. He sees something out there and just looks at it.

There is a Man standing on the edge of the baseball field. He is wearing a baseball uniform. An old-fashioned one.

Ray turns to Annie. She looks out and nods thoughtfully. Annie stays very calm in emergencies.

Ray takes a breath and steps out onto the veranda. The night sky seems close enough to touch.

On the porch wall, Ray finds the switch, holds his breath, flicks it and the floodlights sputter to life.

52 THE MAN 52

steps onto the field. on his unj_form is a large 11s1.1with an 110 11inthetop crook, an "X" in the bottom, and an American flag with forty-eight stars on his left sleeve.

53 RAY 53

walks through the swirling ground mist toward the field.

54 RAY'S POINT OF VIEW 54

Moving closer to the field we see the Man standing out in left field. Feet spread wide, body bent forward from the waist, hands on hips, he waits.

55 RAY 55

Ray's mouth i~ dry. He reaches home plate and picks up one of the bats lying beside the pail of hard balls. The back of his neck tingles. Then, he picks up one of the balls.

56 IN THE OUTFIELD 56

The Man spreads his feet, pounds his small, old-style glove, and waits to field the b~ll.

57 AT HOME PLATE 57

Ray tosses the ball a few feet into the air and swings at it. And misses. His face reddens, he clears his throat, and tries again. This time he connects.

58 THE ·FIELD 58

He has hit a grounder that would be easily fielded by a shortstop had there been one, but it bounces through and falls into left field. The Man runs in for it, scoops it up cleanly and throws it back to the plate.

Ray is thrilled. He hits another ground ball, and this too, is fielded cleanly. Then another, which the Man deftly short-hops. Ray hollers out to him.

Ray smiles with pride. He tosses up another ball, gives it his best swing, and is thrilled to see he has actually lofted one into the air. But into center field. The Man sprints across the outfield, and makes a lovely catch in short center. Instead of throwing the ball in, the Man runs it in, loping toward home plate. Ray's heart thumps.

The Man nods at him, takes the bat, and tests it to feel its weight.

Ray is thrilled to hear the words spoken. It is Shoeless Joe Jackson after all, who stands not five feet away from him, trying out all the bats now. Ray isn't quite sure if he should talk, or ask questions, or just stand there. Finally, he can't help himself.

Joe looks over at Ray, now, his dark eyes evincing the pain his steady voice tries to conceal.

He has found the bat he likes.

Joe hands Ray the bucket of balls. Ray can barely contain his excitement as he races to the mound. He stands on the rubber and faces Joe at the plate.

Ray smiles, takes a breath and starts his windup, during which he says aloud to himself:

He makes a pitch. It's not a very good one, and Joe·has to step across the plate to make contact, but his swing is graceful, compact and effortlessly powerful. He drives the ball against the fence.

Ray watches it with wonder and when he turns back, Jackson is gesturing with the bat for him to make the next pitch. Ray makes the standard pitcher's gesture for a curve ball.

He goes into an elaborate windup, throws it, it does not curve much, and Jackson whistles it right by Ray's ear.

58 CONTINUED (2) 58 I

Ray makes another pitch, and Jackson hits a line drive down the third base line. Then a smoker down the first base line. Ray is mightily impressed.

Joe holds the bat out low over the plate and Ray pitches it reasonably close to that spot. Jackson hits it out of the park, and beams. Ray brightens up with remembrance.

Ray smiles as he walks in from the mound.

The sound of a screen door turns their .attention to the house. Annie and Karin are coming out to them.

Jackson nods and then points to the floodlights.

By now, Annie and Karin have joined them.

Ray and Annie are instantly embarrassed, and try to cover with forced, nervous lau~hter.

KARIN· You look real to me.

Ray and Annie look at Joe for a moment, not quite understanding the ground rules here. Joe senses their discomfort and changes the subject.

RNl Oh man, anytime. They're all welcome here.

Joe looks out over the field in eager anticipation of the good times to come.

Joe laughs and walks to the outfield. Annie puts her arm around Ray and snuggles her head against his chest. Nearby, brook water splashes softly in the darkness, a frog ~hrills, and fireflies dazzle the night.

Joe is in the outfield grass now, walking toward a door cut into the fence.

58 CONTINUED (5-) 58

Joe reaches the door, opens it, and turns back to Ray, his voice carrying effortlessly through the night air.

Shoeless Joe Jackson nods and fades away as he walks through the door in the fence. Ray and Annie looks at each other in absolute wonder.

CUT TO

It is Sunday afternoon, and Annie's family is visiting. her mother, pink-faced and white-dentured, sits ramrod straight in an antique rocking chair. Also present are her brother, Mark, and his wife Dee.

(MORE)

Karin enters breathlessly.

Ray beams. Karin returns the smile and reaches her arms out to be picked up. She scissors her legs around her father at belt level, hugging his neck.

He exits, carrying Karin. Mark shakes his head.

Annie stifles a laugh.

Her mother gasps.

Her family has no sense of humor about this whatsoever.

P:NNIE I think we need more cheese.

She goes into the kitchen, and when she has rounded the corner, she raises her eyes to heaven·and mutters:

60 THE FIELD 60

Karin and Ray sit on the bleachers, eating peanuts while Shoeless Joe and his seven teammates practice. (Three, including Shoeless Joe, are in the outfield, two more in the infield, one pitches, one catches, and one bats.)

The men are all in their twenties or thirties, but show the sheer enjoyment of returning after an absence of sixty-five years to the game they love.

Ray directs Karin's attention to the left fielder.

At the sharp crack of the bat Shoeless Joe whirls, takes five loping strides toward the fence, turns again~ reaches up, and the ball smacks into his glove.

Karin cheers. One of the players good-naturedly boos.

The good-natured banter stops short, and the other players glare at Weaver who looks sheepishly toward the little girl and her father in the bleachers.

The players resume their practicing and ribbing.

Annie emerges with·her Mother, Mark and Dee, walking toward the ~leachers where Karin and Ray are still watching the spirited practice.

/..NNIE Ray? Mom's leaving.

Mark just stands there for a moment, the only sounds coming from the players on the field.

Mark looks at his wife and Mother with concern. Ray doesn't understand this reaction.

Ray points to the noisy players on the field.

Now, Mother and Dee look as if they're about to go into mourning. Mark knee·lsnext to Karin.

Mlill.K Karin honey ...what are you watching?

KA~IN (slightly annoyed) Of course I do.

Mark stands up and shoots Ray an accusins look. Annie's Mathe~ starts to walk away.

Annie questions Mark and Dee as they pass her on the way to catch up with Mother.

Her family leaves in a huff.

He and Annie sit beside Karin and watch the players. Each slowly starts to smile.

CUT TO

The practice is over, the players are perspired and exhilarated. Ray is over at first base talking with Swede Risberg, the shortstop.

Buck realizes that once again he has cursed in front of Karin.

Annie calls from the house.

They all laugh. Ray clearly loves being part of this locker room-style cornradery. Karin runs to the house.

The·players call their "good-byes" to Ray and head for the door in the outfield fence. Ray watches them fade out as they go through the door. Then he takes a moment to look around him.

The baseball diamond set in the cornfield is quite beautiful. Ray takes a satisfied breath, and walks back toward his house. He is the very picture of contentment.

Then he hears The Voice.

Ray stops short.

No response.

6-2 CONTINUED (2) 62

'l'HEVOICE 'Ease his pain.I

Ray stops short.

No response.

No response.

But there is no response.

Ray enters as Annie and Karin are putting dinner on the table. Ray plop& into his chair at the head of the table.

She notices Ray is strangely silent.

63 CONTINUED. 63

Ray nods asAnnie serves the meal in silence.

CUT TO

Parents stream in past the "PTA Meeting Tonite" sign. Ray and Annie stand by the doorway, talking with Miss Corser, Karin's teacher. (Ray is too distracted by his own thoughts to pay this much attention.)

Miss Corser smiles approvingly. Ray realizes both women are looking at him, now, and he emerges from his thoughts.

Annie leads Ray inside.

Ray and Annie -- along with a hundred or so other grownups -- are sitting in chairs too small for their grownup backsides. Ray is still lost in his own thoughts, doodling "Ease his pain" over and over again, while an Irate Mother has the floor, holding up a novel.

A large portion of the audience applauds. Annie whispers snarlingly to Ray:

Ray is still lost in thought.

The crowd murmurs its assent.

Ray looks as if he is starting to realize something.

Annie stands and smiles disarmingly.

The crowd "oohs" and "aahs."

IRltTEMOTHER The weirdo.

Ray is so excited at his revelation that he really wants to leave immediately. He tugs An~ie's sleeve.

But Annie mistakes her husband's intentions. She thinks he is cautioning her not to get embroiled in trouble.

Now the crowd erupts.

Annie ~ulls herself up to her full 51 4 11andthrustsan angry finger at the woman.

The other woman takes a half-step backward. No one has ever seen sweet Annie like this.

The majority who had sided with the book-banner wants to vote for censorship, but under these terms just can't raise their arms. Little Annie is on a roll, now.

Some people start raising their hands.

Reluctantly, just about everyone raises their hands. Annie is thrilled.

Ray pulls her from the room. Each is proud as hell, each for a different reason.

as they burst out, bubbling over with their enthusiasm.

CONTDHJED

,,-___._··..···-

66 - CONTINUED 66

None of this questioning has dampened Ray's pride and excitement. Annie shakes her head.

R.i\Y Annie....

Ray's smile freezes. Then disappears. He hasn't a clue.

CUT TO

A montage of Ray at the library: checking indices, reading old magazines, finding newspaper interviews on microfilm, scouring old anthologies, and taking copious notes.

Some of the articles include: "Where is Terence Mann Now That We Really Need Him? 11 •••1120RumorsAboutAmerica's Greatest Living Ex-Writer" ...and, "Terence Mann: Still Ignoring Us After All These Years". The photographs show Mann to be a large black man with gentle eyes.

Ray and Annie run down the steps to the street for their car, Ray's words racing as fast as his feet.

Annie shakes her head no.

--.•·:·--

Annie laughs at that. Ray is so excited, he laughs too.

She stops short.

He gives her a "See? What'd I tell you?" look.

They are standing by their car.

Annie drives as Ray excitedly consults his notes.

He finds a page and reads from it:

They have arrived home and are walking into the house. He is still spouting things to her his research has uncovered.

Annie takes a look at Ray's handful of Xeroxes.

Ray disapprovingly grabs the Xeroxes back .fromher.

as they enter and put away their things.

4.6

Ray hears her anger and sits her down.

-,,_

71 CONTINUED (2)

Something he just said changes Annie's mood.

Ai'\fNIE I'll help you pack.

CUT TO

Ray is throwing clothes into a suitcase as fast as he can. Annie reads from a road map she has marked for him.

Ray has packed the car and is getting ready to leave.

Karin runs up, grabs Ray behind each ear and hugs and kisses him.

He get into the car and looks up atAnnie.

She laughs, kisses him, and watches him drive off.

CUT TO

74 ON THE ROAD 74

Ray's brave little Datsun chugs along the interstate between eighteen-wheelers, busses, gasoline tankers, auto-transport trucks, and other monsters.

75 TRAVELING MONTAGE 75

Driving ...gas stations...boring roadside restaurants ... getting lost...looking at the map ...signsthat announce the "Entering" and "Leaving" of various states ...days turning to nights and back again...-Finally,the green hills of Massachusetts.

CUT TO

He emerges from a tunnel and enters traffic, the likes of which he has not seen in a very long time. On one side of the expressway there are sweaty factories, and on the other, old wood-frame apartment buildings with advertising for long-forgotten products painted on the sides. Lunatic drivers abound. We are not in Iowa anymore.

He rehearses as he drives.

Ray'drives slowly, looking for a store that sells Kosher food. But in this old Jewish neighborhood, there are dozens: butcher shops, delis, bakeries, groceries.

Ray is asking the spritely Jewish Butcher for directions.

The Butcher just stares back, with suspicion.

Ray nods. He knows this is useless.

Ray exits.

CUT TO

80 ON THE STREET 80

Ray has stopped an Ancient Jewish Woman on the street. She looks from Ray's Iowa license plate to Ray's face.

But by her raised eyebrows and the tone of her voice, it is clear that if she did know -- which she probably does -- she certainly wouldn't tell him.

CUT TO

81 GAS STATION 81

Ray has pulled his car to the edge of the gas station -- he is not buying gas -- and slips a five dollar bill to the ruddy-faced, teenaged Irish Pump Jockey.

CUT TO

In between a deli and a Kosher butcher shop, Ray finds a storefront with blacked-out windows. He enters an open hallway in which he sees the door to the storefront, as well as stairs to the apartments above it.

There are half-a-dozen mail boxes on the wall. Ray checks the names. He smiles.

83 INSERT- MAILBOXES 83

All but one have immigrant names. The first one reads:

84 RAY 84

Ray turns to the storefront door. Instead of a buzzer there is a long wire with a weight on its end hanging from a hole at the top of the door. Next to the wire is a handwritten note taped to the door, which reads: "You better have a goddamn good reason for ringing this bell."

Ray laughs. This guy is great. He pulls on the wire. on the other side of the door, a bell rings.

Ray has to struggle to control his nervousness. He takes a breath. He hears footsteps inside, approaching the door. He cannot help but smile with delight at the thought of meeting one of his cultural heroes.

The door opens. Terence Mann is menacingly huge. He glares at Ray and roars:

Ray is momentarily taken aback, but he figures maybe the guy is joking, so he just smiles and plunges ahead.

The door slams in his face. It takes Ray a few seconds to realize the interview is over.

He rings the bell again. The door opens. Mann's large frame fills it.

Mann looks him over. Then he sighs.

Mann turns and enters the storefront. Ray follows.

It is hardly fashionable, but it's roomy and comfortable. There are tables stacked high with mailing envelopes and a postage scale. A few workbenches have software and spread sheets strewn across them. In the back are a couple of personal computers.

on a side wall there are book jackets and newspaper photos in cheap frames: pictures of Mann with Martin Luther King ...with Bob Dylan...with Timothy Leary ...Mann being arrested at some demonstration...Mann at Woodstock ....

Mann's gruff voice pulls Ray's attention away from these relics.

Mann picks up an old-fashioned bug sprayer -- the kind with a long arm that pumps in and out -- and starts spraying it at Ray as if he ~ere an unwanted insect.

He is backing Ray out the door.

iiegets Ray just past the door and slams it shut.

Ray slams it open. He's pissed.

Mann stops fuming and considers that. He sighs, sadly.

And he slams the door shut again. Ray is flabbergasted. He is thinking furiously. Then he notices that in slamming the door, the latch has not locked in place. He thinks, makes up his mind, and quietly opens the door.

Mann has returned to work, his back to the door.

Ray enters the loft, his left hand inhis jacket pocket. When he is halfway across the loft, he clears his throat. Mann spins around.

He juts his pocketed hand forward, as if he had a gun in his jacket.

Mann sighs, and stands.

Mann has found a crowbar among his tools, and is advancing toward Ray.

Understandably, this makes Ray nervous.

Mann is almost to him, now, the crowbar raised above his head.

Mann stops. He thinks. He lowers the crowbar.

Ray breathes a sigh of relief.

You what?

-as CONTINUED (4) 85

Mann now has no idea what to make of all this, so he just looks Ray over for a few seconds.

M.I>,.NN I don't even remember thinking it.

Now Ray is not sure what to de.

--.,-:.--·.,-.':,-

, MANN Then why go through with it?

Mann picks up a hat, plops it on his head and heads out the door.

CUT TO

86 CITY STREETS 86

Mann sits tensely beside Ray, who drives with his right hand, while his left hand remains inhis pocket, substituting for a gun.

Ray laughs nervously, and is embarrassed to see Mann not sharing the humor.

Ray pulls up at an intersection. He has to choose between left and right. Behind him, cars are honking. Ray doesn't have a clue which way to go. He sighs.

Mann shakes his head, then tilts it to the left.

Ray makes the turn, and heads off down the street.

Ray grins sheepishly and nods. Mann laughs.

Ray chuckles his reluctant acceptance of the truth.

After a few moments, Ray decides to break the ice.

Mann nods. He's been asked this question a million times.

M2\NN (sourly) What's your question?

Mann cannot believe that's the question.

Ray knows now to shut up. He returns his attention to his driving, glances up to his rearview mirror, and sees something that causes his eyes to widen in horror.

REAR-VIEW MIRROR 87

A Boston police car on his tail, red lights flashing.

Mann looks behind him, sees the police car, and turns back to Ray. Ray wears a look of resignation as he pulls the car over to the side of the road, and shuts off the ignition. Mann just looks at him, and starts to chuckle.

Mann gives him a "Giveme a break" look.

Ray sees the Policeman is getting out of his cruiser and walking towards them. Ray is desperate.

The Policeman knocks on Ray's window. He is young, fresh-scrubbed and earnest. Ray holds up one hand to him.

R..Zl.Y Just a second. (t:oMann) 'Terence-Mann Kidnapped...Also seen in UFO with Elvis.'

Mann's eves narrow. The cop knocks again, more insistently. Ray rolls down the window.·

CONTINUED.

Nervously, Ray complies. Mann turns his face toward the passenger side window. Ray's mouth dries up. He has no ideawhat Mann will do.

The Policeman scrutinizes the license, turns it over to look for convictions, and checks Ray's face against the felonlike photo. Then he looks at Mann.

Mann keeps his face averted.

Discreetly, under his breath, Ray sings the "Entertainment Tonight" theme song.

Mann winces. The officer looks at him questioningly.

MANN, What I mean by that is, I don't care much for baseball, but Raymond insisted.

The Policeman walks away, and Ray heaves a sigh of relief.

MA:tfN 'Raymond?'

Sourly, Mann nods. Ray smiles and drives off.

R.Z\.Y Then what else?

It glides through city traffic.

Ray slides the Datsun into a parking place, and he and Mann walk the short sleazy block to Fenway, and old-fashioned center-city ballpark.

They have reached the ticket window.

The elderly Ticket Seller pulls out two tickets.

Ray takes out his wallet and turns to Mann ..'

Ray pays the man and receives the tickets.

They enter the stadium.

They walk through the indoor portion of the grandstand toward their section.

--·--~-__,..__

They approach the refreshment stand.

I want them to stop looking to me for answers. Begging me to speak again, write again, be a leader. I want them to start thinking for themselves. And I want my privacy!

Ray looks slightly embarrassed.

Ray points to the hot dog vendor, as they have reached the front of the line.

91. CONTINUED (2) 91

Ray nods. Mann is making sense.

92 SECTION SEVENTEEN 92

Ray and Mann emerge into the sunlight and walk down the aisle toward the field.

The grass is so green you can almost smell it. Looking around the old ballpark, they see only about twenty or thirty die-hard fans in the stands for batting practice; a half-dozen players are grouped around the batting cage as one player hits to several others in the field. A few sportswriters and other civilians stand near the dugouts.

Ray and Mann stop at the first row, right behind the Red Sox on-deck circle, lean on the railing and talk.

CUT TO

The game is in progress. Ray and Mann are in their fifth row seats. They do not speak.

At one point, Ray becomes suddenly and strangely aware that something is about to happen. He looks at Mann who is just watching the game. Then he looks at the scoreboard.

94 THE SCOREBOARD 94

Fenway Park has a sophisticated scoreboard that flashes pictures of the batter and pitcher, and can show instant replays of some of the action.

Right now, the display is replaced by an oddly glowing message. The sounds of the stadium, the game, and the crowd fade out.

There is only the message:

ARCHIBALD "MOONLIGHT" GRAHAM Chisholm, Minn.

New York Giants

Lifetime Statistics: l Game, O At Bats

The message does not just glow, it pulsates. It looks almost otherworldly, phosphorescent; clearly unlike anything ever seen before on a ballpark scoreboard.

95 RAY AND MANN 95

Ray looks around him. The sounds of the game return, and from the unconcerned faces of the people near him, he realizes that no one else can see the message. He opens his program and starts writing it down. Mann notices this, but cannot see what Ray is writing.

Then Ray hears The Voice.

Ray sighs.

Mann looks at Ray curiously, trying to read this new attitude.

Mann rises and heads up the aisle. Ray looks down at the program -- at the handwritten legend of Moonlight Graham, who played one game fifty-seven years ago, but did not get to bat -- and follows Mann out of the ballpark.

CUT TO

96 THE RIDE BACK TO BOSTON 96

It is nighttime, and Mann drives. Ray slumps, dozing, troubled. Mann looks curiously at Ray, but says nothing. They ride in silence.

CUT TO

The street is blue with moonlight as they park in front of the storefront.

Mann gets out of the car.

Ray slides into the driver's seat.

After a little thought, Ray smiles sadly.

Ray puts the car in gear, makes a wide turn, and starts to head back up the street. But he stops short when Mann's form looks out of the darkness into the glare of the headlights.

Ray does not know why Mann is blocking his path. or why he appears tense, almost frightened.

Ray's jaw drops.

Mann· looks spectrial in the high-contrast glare on the headlights.

Yi.ANN, What did I see, Ray?

Mann glances at Ray, then looks away.

No response.

Ray opens the passenger door of the Datsun and Mann jumps in. Ray releases the brake and peels out, burning rubber. The two men look happy as kids with bats over shoulders, gloves dangling, on their way to a sandlot.

CUT TO

98 ON THE ROAD 98

Once on I-90, they begin the long haul across the Great Lakes states. Ray drives, Mann dozes in the reclined passenger seat.

CONTili'l.JED

99 MORE ON THE ROAD 99

Now Mann drives, and Ray tries to sleep, his stockinged feet propped up on the dash, occasionally sliding with a thud against the steering column.

100 GAS STATION 100

Ray is using the pay phone on the wall of the office, while the car is being gassed.

ANNIE {V.O.) (phone; filtered) Uh, fine.

Ray smiles and hangs up.

CUT TO

101 ANNIE'S KITCHEN J..01

She hangs up, and loses her smile as she turns back to the kitchen table, where her brother Mark sits with two men in business suits.

Annie looks very troubled.

CUT TO

They are north of Duluth, and the landscape has grown harsher, the trees shorter and more gnarled, the grass tougher and wirier.

After Virginia, Minnesota, all the land is scarred. Above the town the mines sit like sand-colored bunkers in the cliffs? stern and silent.

Near Chisholm, the land is getting ever weirder. It looks like a pasture rooted and rerooted by giant hogs. It has been split and gutted; greenery has grown back, but at weird and unnatural angles.

But as they swing into town, the highway divides and they cross a beautiful and tranquil lake, so smooth and shiny it might be a scene painted on a glass plate. A sign reads WELCOMETO CHISHOLl1.

103 CHISHOLM, MINNESOTA 103

Ray and Mann have parked on the main street next to a corner phone booth. Ray is flipping through the thin phone book attached to the booth by a chain.

CUT TO

The local newspaper is located in a small storefront that was probably once a confectioners or a dry-goods store.

Ray and Mann are talking with the paper's publisher, Veda Ponikvar, a handsome woman in her sixties, with a sweet, innocent smile, and eyeglasses hanging from a fine chain around her neck.

This is interesting news to Ray and Mann.

Ray and Mann look at each other, unsure of what this means to their quest.

CUT TO

106 NEWSPAPER BACK ROOM 106

Ray and Mann sit at a table in the newspaper's back room, the "morgue" file on Doc Graham -- a collection of clippings, pictures, and the obituary -- strewn before them.

Right now, their attention is on Veda, who has put her glasses on, and is reading from an editorial.

The compliment is just right, and she smiles warmly.

She exits~ Mann spreads out the clippings and shakes his head.

1'1ANN Something's missing.

Ray is looking at a photo of Doc Graham as a man in his late sixties.

Mann shakes his head.

Veda enters with a piece of paper from a yellow legal pad.

Mann takes the list and looks it over.

CUT TO

107 INTERVIEW 2.07

Two old Codgers on a park bench.

108 INTERVIEW

A woman, an older Nurse.

Several tables have been pushed together, and Mann sits surrounded by townspeople, mostly men past retirement age.

WHITE-HAIRED ¥~N Oh, I think it got to be a habit, something to hang onto. But if you'd ask him, he'd say it was to beat away all his lady admirers.

This, as much as the other remembrances, brings warm chuckles to the old men.

MAtTN Tell me about his wife.

The woman Manager of the motel is having a·cup of coffee with Ray.

She takes out a piece of paper.

Ray smiles.

CUT TO

· 111 MOTEL ROOM 111

Ray and Mann are sitting in their beds, comparing their notes.

Ray puts down his notes and picks up the Chicago Tribune.

Suddenly, Ray stra~ghtens with a start.

Ray hurries over to Mann, offering the opened newspaper, and points out an article to Mann. It is headlined: TERENCE MANN MISSING.

He pulls the phone onto the bed and dials "O".

He motions outside with his head.

Ray exits.

CUT TO

Ray walks by the old movie theatre, which sits at the edge of a residential street. The Godfather is playing._ He nods at an elderly man who passes him on the street. He passes a darkened house and notices there is a sign of some kind in its unlit front window. He takes another two or three steps before he has to stop to take a better look at the sign.

113 THE SIGN 113

It takes a second to make out the image in the dark, but it is a head shot of Richard Nixon. Above, it says "Four More Years". Below, it reads "Re-Elect The President".

114 RAY 114

is puzzled. He turns and looks at the theatre marquee.

115 THE THEATRE MARQUEE 115

Under the letters that spell out "The Godfather", are smaller letters that read "Nominated for 10 Academy Awards".

116 R..:.\Y 116

frowns. He says the word to himself.

Ray now looks at the car parked nearest to him.

117 THE CAR 117

It is an old Mustang. The annual tag on the license plate reads: 1972.

118 RAY 118

looks·around

119 HIS POINT OF VIEW 119

All the cars on the street are pre-1972. And still walking down the block away from him, is the eld~rly man Ray passed moments earlier.

The man is about sixty-five years old, stooped a little, but the body is still lithe, an athlete's body. He is wearing a dark overcoat....

120 CLOSER POINT OF VIEW 120

121 RAY 121

The little hairs on the back of Ray's neck stand up. His mouth is dry, and for a moment, he cannot speak. Then, he calls to the man.

Slowly, the man stops and turns back to face Ray. Ray starts to trot to him.

The old man narrows his bright eyes to see Ray more clearly.

Doc nods and they start to walk.

DOC GR;AHAM (Cont'd) There's nothing as peaceful as a ballpark at night. Like a church.

Doc fumbles out a key, and lets them in.

They enter the hallway of the old school, the smell of varnish and chalk almost palpable.

They reach a varnished door with an opaque glass inset, and enter. Doc Graham's office.

Doc seats himself behind a cluttered desk, and motions Ray to the black-leather sofa a few feet away.

Doc takes a sheet of paper off his desk, expertly rips an inch or so off the corner with his teeth, and begins chewing.

Ray chuckles, but then flinches as Doc shoots his little spitball towards him.

It hits the back of the sofa a few feet from Ray, and hangs there, like a white fly.

Ray nods, and a look of understanding begins to appear on his face. He looks out the window, focused on faraway.

DOC GRAH/1..M Except, at the time, you don't think much of it. Hardly anybody recognizes the most significant moment of their life when they're happening. Back then I just figured there'd be plenty more days. I didn't know that would be the only one.

Doc Graham notices that Ray is looking very serious.

Ray chooses his words carefully.

Doc nods his understanding. He smiles wryly, takes a new piece of paper, and bites off a little section.

DOC GRAHAM: And are you the kind of man who could grant me that wish?

Doc leans his left elbow on th~ desk and rubs his forehead thoughtfully with a palm, as if it were an eraser that could erase the years and take him back to 1929 and the Polo Grounds in New York.

Ray begins to smile. Graham is staring intently at him.

124 CONTINUED ( 3) 124

Doc's eyes start to glisten, and he offers an embarrassed smile as he wipes away a tear.

He shakes his head .no. Ray is surprised.

Ray cannot believe the man won't leave Chisholm for his dream.

Thosa words fill up the room, and Ray sinks back against the couch.

And Doc Graham smiles at him.·

CUT TO

It is later that same night, and Ray has been recounting his experience with Doc Graham to Mann, who appears quietly troubled.

CUT TO

Annie is asleep. The phone rings, and the speed with which she picks it up suggests that her anxiety to get this phone call prevented her from sleeping very deeply.

Ray holds the phone, pained.

Ray looks over at Mann.

CUT TO

Ray drives with purpose and speed. Mann looks relaxed.

As they turn onto the highway near ~he lake, a Teenager with a dufflebag appears on the side of the road, his arm raised in a hitchhike~'s stance. Ray pulls the car over to the side of the road.

------_~.....-

--128 CONTINUED 128

The car stops, and the Teenager runs for it. He ~osses his dufflebag in the backseat and squeezes in after it.

Ray starts the car back onto the highway.

Ray and Mann exchange brief smiles.

Mann and Ray just look at each other.

And the little Datsun heads off down the highway.

CUT TO

Archie sleeps in the backseat.

MAN~T (seriously) See, that's the kind of crap people are always trying to lay on me. It's not my fault you wouldn't play catch wi~h your father!

Mann considers this all very carefully.

Ray nods.

Mann nods with growing understanding.

Ray nods.

Ray looks at him. He hadn't thought of that. After a few moments Ray points to something in the distance.

130 POINT OF VIEW 130

Something down the road, in the midst of all this flat farmland, is glowing in the night.

It is an illuminated baseball diamond in a cornfield.

Ray turns the Datsun into the long driveway and, with a rumble, crosses the metal cattle guard that keeps livestock from escaping to the roadway.

He eases the car to a stop in front of the house, and as the three men unfold themselves from the car, Karin bolts from the back door of the house, a blur of white blouse and pink pedal pushers. She flings herself into Ray's arms, and hugs his neck in unrestrained joy.

Then Annie appears too. They kiss while Mann and Archie wait to be introduced. Finally, Mann clears his throat.

Annie steps forward, wiping some curls from her eyes with a·hand that has recently been immersed in flour. She smiles, wipes the hand on the thigh of her jeans, and shakes his hand.

?J-1.Y And this young fellow is Moon -- uh, Archie Graham.

Karin and Annie shake hand.

They walk towards the field.

Ray and Annie walk silently with their arms around each other as they lead Mann, Archie and Karin to the bleachers.

Mann's eyes widen as several of the players shout greetings to Ray.

They have reached the foul line where Shoeless Joe waits for them.

Mann and Jackson shake hands.

He points to the visitors' bench, and, indeed, there are a dozen or so more old-time baseball players in old-time baseball uniforms.

Ray and Mann are astonished that Shoeless Joe knows who Archie is.

Archie quickly scampers down the bleachers, onto the field, shakes Joe's hand, and runs to the dugout.

CUT TO

133 THE GAME 133

The White Sox are in the field, the Giants at bat. A Giant hitter bunts, and the runner on second takes third despite a close throw.

Mann, Ray, Karin and Annie are in ·thestands, Mann keeping score.

Mann is impressed. He lifts Karin up from her seat on the row below them: and places her next to him to help him.

Karin beams. Ray taps Mann and points 'to the plate.

Archie Graham -- now wearing a Giant's uniform -- drops one of the two bats he has been swinging in the on-deck circle, and advances on the plate, slashing the air with a brand-new bat the color of vanilla ice cream. He plants himself in the batter's box, then cocks the bat, the top end of it trembling as if he were stirring something, and waits for the pitch.·

The pitcher looks in for his signs. Archie stares back. As the pitcher goes into his windup, Archie winks at him.

There is a moment of confusion and then anger on the pitcher's face, and when the ball speeds to the plate it is aimed right at Archie's head. He dives out of the way and hits the dirt hard. The Catcher chuckles through his mask.

Archie digs in again at the plate, but backs up just a little. Now his look to the pitcher is one of determination.

The pitcher smiles, winds up and throws. Very fast. And right at Archie's chin. Again, he has to dive out of the way. This time, however, he gets right up and immediately appeals to the Umpire.

Both benches laugh at that. Archie holds up his hands to call time, and steps out of the batter's box. The on-deck batter, Mel Ott, comes over.

Archie nods and starts to walk back to the plate.

Archie takes his place in the batter's box again. He still looks determined, but a little less cocky. The next pitch is a curve that looks as if it1s heading right for him. But he holds his ground, and when the ball breaks down and away, he steps in, snaps the bat forward, and hits it.

The ball sails in a high arc to right center. The center fielder backs up a couple of steps, lopes a few strides to his left, and makes the catch.

Archie is out, but the runner on third tags up and scores. As Archie curls across the diamond from the first baseline to the Giants' bench, he hears cheering.

In the stands, Ray, Annie, Karin and Mann are giving him a standing ovation. In return, he touches the brim of his cap, a ballplayer's cool response to adulation.

But when Archie gets to the bench, he can't contain himself anymore. He leaps up and lets out a cheer of pure joy.

DISSOLVE TO

The game has ended, and players are rough-housing and joking as they slowly make their way to the door in the outfield fence. Ray and Mann are talking to some of the

The silence that follows is long and ominous.

There is still no response.

He spots Archie jogging off the field.

Archie jogs over.

They all laugh at that.

Ri\Y Well come on, this calls for a drink.

Archie hesitates.

He motions with his head toward the other players disappearing through the outfield door. Ray nods understandingly.

R~Y Good game, Archie.

Ray, Karin, Annie and Mann watch Archie jog towards the rest of the players. When he reaches the fence, he turns back to them.

Ray turns toward him. Archie looks as if he knows more than he's saying.

Ray recognizes there may be more behind those words than just a teenager's pleasure. But he decides not to ask any questions.

Archie runs through the door in the fence and vanishes.

CUT TO

Mann and Karin eat their country breakfasts at one end of the table, while at the other end, Annie and Ray sit in front of the bank books, ledgers, and the sheaf of bills puffed up around the paper spike.

Ray just sits there, letting that sink in.

CUT TO

Ray and Mann walking.

Don't change the subject.

Mann's expression suddenly turns to one of indignation.

Annie emerges from the house and calls to Ray.

CUT TO

137 THE GAME 137

Again, it's Joe Jackson's Chicago White Sox against the New York Giants, now featuring rookie Archie Graham.

In the stands, Mann keeps score, Karin munches on a hot dog, and Annie and Ray snuggle together to watch the game.

Suddenly, Ray snaps his head to the side, as one does to pick up a ·distant sound.

They look and see Mark's car heading up the gravel lane. He parks the car at the edge of the field, and the game stops as he walks right across it, completely mindless·of the players. Since he doesn't see any of them, a few actually have to move out of his way. He approaches the bottom of the bleachers.

--."-~---"·.

Mark shakes his head sadlv at the thought that these otherwise sensible relations have lost their minds.

Mark obviously doesn't see anyone on the field.

vf.ARK (emphatically) Who's real?

Ray smiles, savoring the moment.

This has Ray's attention. Mark climbs the bleachers to stand closer to him.

But no one pays her any attention. All eyes are on Mark.

137 CONTINUED ( 2) 137

They all turn to Karin.

Ray, Annie, and Mann listen with wonder to this vision.

Mark looks at them all as if they're crazy.

Karin looks at her Uncle Mark as if he were a simpleton.

Ray and Annie couldn't be prouder of their daughter than they are right now.

He produces a document and hands it to Ray with a pen. Ray looks at it. He doesn't know what to do.

Ray looks at Mann.

138 ¥..ANN 138

speaks now as he has not spoken for many years: as Terence Mann, master of words, spellbinder.

139 MARK 139

pushes the papers forward.

is not one to give up.

141 MASTER 141

Spellbound, Ray has put the papers down. Mark picks them up again. He is battling Mann for Ray's attention.

Mann has moved everyone (butMark) with the beauty of his words, and the passion in his.voice. Behind him, the assembled ballplayers respectfully applaud.

The other players nod, also teary-eyed.

- I

The players on either side of him jab his ribs with their elbows, but Mann, Ray and Annie laugh with pleasure.

Ray looks at the paper with dread. He looks at Shoeless Joe and the players. He looks at his family. Then he turns back to Mark. It's decision time.

Mark shakes his head sadly. Annie hugs Ray. The players breathe a great sigh of relief. Mann smiles.

Ray looks up at Mann, who, with a gentle tilt of the head, directs Ray's attention to the house. Ray looks behind him toward the house.

have parked in front of the house. More are coming quietly down the driveway. Dozens of cars. Cars with out-of-state license plates.

Some people_have gotten out of their cars and wait patiently. One or two families sit on their hoods, orhave set up picnic dinners on their station wagons' tailgates.

143 THE BLEACHERS 143

Ray, Annie, Karin and Mann are deeply happy -- but not terribly surprised -- to see these people.

Mark looks at the house and then back at Ray.

Mark grabs Karin's arm and pulls her to her feet as if she were "Exhibit A."

Ray rises threateningly, and Mark turns toward him. In so doing, he twists little Karin off balance.

In that split second, they hear a strangled gasp, and see Karin falling forward from the top row of the bleachers.

R.i\Y Karin! t!

144 KARIN 144

~er hot dog flies off, the bun and wiener separating in midair. One small sandal bounces end over end and lands at the foot of the bleacher. It takes forever for her body to come down with a sickening thud on the hard green boards of one of the bottom rows.

145 THE OTHERS 145

rush down to where she lies, face up. Ray is first, but he does not know what to do. Annie and Mann hover. Mark is horror-stricken, but no one knows what to do.

Karin ls unconscious, and seems to be fighting for breath. Ray and Annie's eyes meet in anguish.

146 ANNIE 146

springs for the house. The tourists by their cars watch quietly.

They sadly shake their heads no. Annie races inside.

147 BACK AT THE BLEACHERS 147

Most of the White Sox players stand by the left field fence, staring silently.

R.i\Y It1 sa twenty-minute drive.

Mann winces. He knows that could be fatal. Ray kneels by Karin. He~ nose and one side of her face have been scraped by the fall. Blood starts to trickle from her nose, across her cheek and down her neck. She is becoming bluer and her cough is faint, as though she is in another room.

Mark takes off his $300 pale-green velvet corduroy jacket and is wordlessly holding it out to Ray. Ray takes the jacket and covers Karin gently.

Karin is getting paler, bluer, and her breathing more strained and distant.

Then, without reason, Ray slowly turns toward the field. The White Sox stand near him by the fence, the Giants stay around their bench. All except one: young Archie Graham.

148 ARCHIE GRAHAM 148

has noticed the"commotion in the bleachers, and he starts to lope across the tield.

149 BLEACHERS 149

Annie has pulled the car over and honks. Ray holds up his hand to her to wait. His eyes are on young Archie Graham.

150 YOUNGARCHIE GRAHAM 150

As Graham gets closer, his features begin to change, and his step slows. He reaches the end of the fence -- around which no player can pass -- and when he emerges from the shadows on the bleachers side, he is no longer young Moonlight Graham, the ballplayer of long ago ...but Doc Graham, the old man from Chisholm, Minnesota. His baseball glove has turned into a black doctor's bag.

151 THE BLEACHERS 151

as Doc Graham approaches.

DOC GRi\HAM What have we got here?

Doc kneels beside hei and instantly knows what is wrong.

,.......-......

151 CONTINUED~ 151

He picks her up with one hand under her shoulders and the other under her knees, seats himself on the bleachers, and turns her face down. Supporting her chest with one hand, he delivers a series of sharp blows between her shoulder blades with the heel of his other hand.

Annie honks again. Ray waves her to him. Mark cannot believe what he is seeing.

Suddenly, Karin's diaphragm expands as she sucks in air. Doc reaches around and pries her mouth open, releasing a sizable piece of hog dog and bun.

As he turns her over, we can see the blueness disappearing from her face as she continues to breathe deeply. Doc peels back each eyelid in turn, stares at the pupil for a few seconds, and lets the eye close.

Doc looks deeply into Ray's eyes.

It just now sinking for Ray what ·Doc Graham has sacrificed to save the child. Ray looks to the field, and then back at the Doctor.

152 MARK AND ANNIE 152

Mark is slack-jawed. He has seen something magical happen and cannot explain it.

He looks questioningly at Annie. She smiles reassuringly.

153 RAY AND DOC GRAHAM 153

Doc Graham stands, and picks up his black bag.

He walks around the edge of the fence, and heads for the outfield door. The players respectfully make way for him.

He passes them.

Doc Graham turns.

Only now do Doc Graham's eyes shine with tears. He smiles, and disappears through the door.

154 ON THE SIDE 154

Karin is coming to, Ray and Annie by her side. Some of the players start to gather up their equipment. Shoeless Joe calls to Ray.

Joe starts to trot off the field, then he stops and turns back to the bleachers.

Ray's jaw drops.

Shoeless Joe and the other players wait for Mann to join them, ignoring Ray's question.

This takes Ray down a peg or two.

Annie walks Karin over. Ray bends down to Karin's face.

Ray laughs and hugs her. He looks up at Annie.

She smiles brightly and gives Mann a kiss on the cheek. Mann shakes Ray's hand.

RAY·· I want a full description.

Mann joins several of the White Sox as they leave the field.

155 MARK 155

is absolutelv dumbfounded as 'hesees the players fade out upon walking~through the outfield gate. He turns to Annie.

Mark walks off toward the people in their cars outside the house.

156 BACK AT THE FIELD 156

Only a few players are left on the field.

Ray realizes Shoeless Joe is staring at him, with a shit-eating grin on his face. ·

Shoeless Joe just keeps smiling.

He nods toward where the ca.tcheris taking off his gear at home plate.

Ray looks at the Catcher. The hairs on the back of his neck begin to stand up.

157 THE YOUNG CATCHER 157

has taken off his mask. He is in his early twenties. He is in the same pose as the photo we saw in the prologue.

158 RAY AND SHOELESS JOE 158

Ray blanches and turns to Shoeless Joe, his voice a strangled whisper.

The Catcher is now walking toward Ray.

When he says those words, Shoeless Joe sounds just 1;ke The Voice.

159 SHOELESS JOE 159

SljOELESSJOE No, Ray. It was you.

Shoeless joe winks and walks away, disappearing through the door in the outfield fence.

160 RAY AND ANNIE 160

The Catcher is halfway across the field. Ray turns to Annie. He cannot even swallow.

The young Catcher has reached the outfield grass. Ray walks down to the edge of the outfield.

Ray cannot believe how wonderful Annie is. The Catcher has reached the edge of the field, and now stands before Ray and Annie.

They shake his hand.

R...<\y I'm Ray. My wife Annie. And this is my daughter, Karin. (to Karin) Karin, this is....

He almost says "My father."

Ray and Annie are beaming. Annie takes Karin's hand.

161 ANNIE 161

hoists Karin up and totes her toward the tourists waiti~g in front of the house.

162 RAY AND JOHN 162

watch them for a while, then start to,stroll across the field.

Ray cannot speak. He nods.

Again, Ray nods.

Ray smiles and shakes his head no.

163 RAY 163

stops and looks intently at John. He asks this question as if he were asking the secret of life. Maybe he is.

164 JOHN 164

takes time to answer that. He looks up at the night sky and searches it.

Oh, yeah ....

Then he looks square into Ray's eyes.

165 RAY 165

looks toward the house and sees his wife and daughter on the veranda, a moon bright asbutter silvering the night above them. He smiles. He finally understands. He turns back to John and nods.

166 JOHN 166

smiles wisely in return.

167 MASTER 167

John starts to walk off toward the door in the outfield fence.

John turns back. Ray is holding a ball.

John closes his eyes for a second, and when he opens them; there is the hint of moisture. Does he know Ray is his son?

Ray tosses him the ball, picks up a glove lying there, and puts it on.

They throw the ball back and forth.

And as we pull up higher and higher we see a father and son bathed by white floodlights and car headlights...on the silent, satiny green of a baseball diamond at the edge of a cornfield.