"THE ROCKETEER" (1991)

Danny Bilson & Paul De Meo

Danny Bilson & Paul De Meo & William Dear

Based on Characters Created by

We begin in BLACKNESS.

With an ominous RUMBLE, a brilliant crack of light splits the sere.en in half. The split widens. I It's a hangar door opening, pushed by two men in n silhouette. IJ - HIGH ANGLE from up in the hangar's rafters. In the dusty light a strange and stubby caricature of an airplane is wheeled out ontq the tarmac, pushed carefully by four men in greasy overalls: lanky GOOSE TAYLOR, thick-bodied SKEETS MORAN, pudgy, red-faced MALCOLM WILLIS, and grease-monkey EUGENE TURNER.

The black and yellow GeeBee Racer emerges from the darkness of the hangar, sunlight gleaming off its propeller and fresh ,.paint. It's little more than a gigantic radial engine with wings and a cockpit. A hunched, aggressive animal ready to pounce.

A dozen or so fliers and mechanics watch from the runway's edge. This is something they've been waiting for.

WIDE SHOT

As the racer is pushed along the taxiway, two figures cross through the f.g., converging with the plane. CLIFF SECORD is a handsome young aviator in jodhpurs and boots, a bit cocky and impulsive, with the easy movements of a natural athlete. His jaw works on a piece of chewing gum.

Beside him strides AMBROSE "PEEVY" PEABODY, l,.te fifties, bespectacled, weather-beaten and quick-tempered, a self- taught engineer and master mechanic.

,. I

I 1-··-:· . you know. 1• R -~--

ROCKETEER Buff Rev 9/28/90 1 CONTINUED: l

He pauses at the tail and sticks his chewing gum to the

' rudder and moves toward the cockpit.

Cliff swings his leg over into the cockpit and hoists

a, himself up. He settles easily into the tight pilot's seat. i .

The plane fits him like a.glove. GOOSE prepares to lower

\...

the canopy down over Cliff. Peevy stops him and looks

·~ . ·-, Cliff straight in the eye. .... -~,:\__j

0 Nationals.

Cliff nods solemnly at first, but can't restrain his roguish smile.

The infectious smile spreads to Peevy's face. As the canopy is lowered and fastened, Peevy steps back a few paces and flashes a "thumbs-up" to Cliff who grins and returns the gesture.

The moment has arrived. Cliff ··nods to· Peevy.

,=11··•."\"s,;;.\ '····' .........____

t;Jf;·\__) (CONTINUED)

ROCKETEER - Rev. Blue 8/29/90

1 CONTINUED: (2) .... --- _ l

I SKEETS spits in his.palms, takes hold of the blade and pulls down hard. It catches on the first try and the engine ROARS to life. Instant hurricane. The sweet

Cliff REVS the throttle. The GeeBee starts to roll. Peevy yanks the gum off the tail and flicks it a'o/ay. He rubs his thumb over t~e paint to clean the spot, then moves clear. The Ge~Bee turns and taxis tqward it's starting position. Peevy and the ground crew cross the runway to watch from the bleachers.

The GeeBee swings around into-position, pointed down the shimiering ribbon of asphalt.

Cliff glances at a postcard-sized photo taped to his instrument panel,~ black and white glamour shot of a

ii

gorgeous girl in a satin gown. It's signed: "With Love from your Lady Luck, Betty." A heart with an arrow through IJ it_ is drawn a.round the name.

Cliff opens the throttle. Indlcator needles jump. The plane picks up speed and surges forward, pressing him back in his seat.

The fixed landing gear skitters over the asphalt, and then, as the spectators hold their breath, the GeeBee lifts and climbs gracefully, circling ~he field.

JA INT. GEEBEE - DAY JA

The air speed gauge passes 200 mph. Cliff's grin widens.

Cliff comes barreling in on the deck in a run across the field •. The spectators whip around as the Geebee rockets directly overhead with a THUNDEROUS ROAR, tipping its wings --- •in a victory salute-... The plane climbs and levels off toward the surrounding foothills.

4 •

He suddenly frowns and looks down. He raises his foot to di~cover a sticky tangle of chewing gum on the sole of his shoe.

s EXT. GEEBEE - DAY 5

climts_effortlessly up into a glorious cloudscape and accel~rates away, almost disappearing from view.

,. .

The FIRE ERUPTING from the muzzle of a Tommy gun. The weapon is in the grip of a thick-necked man with gnarled features and brilliantined hair. LENNY rides in the rumble seat of a tan Ferd Roadster, pursued down the switchback road by a police car and a green Plymouth sedan.

1-1 . I I 7 INT. ROADSTER - DAY~ 7 u WILM.ER is at the wheel,·whipping through the curves, his ferret gaze.b~rely clearing the dashboard. On the passenger 'seat is an odd suitcase, custom designed to hold some _special instrument. The case is hand tooled leather, ~he spines and fitting are brass.

: / : I JAKE "WOOLY" WOLINSKI is at the wheel, thick-necked a1:1J f square-jawed. His partner FRANCIS FITCH is lanky and in·l:ense.

~

FITCH

t~}~;i:'--) I can't get a clean shot! I wish

that black and white would get out of our way1 ·

JCONTINOEDJ

l ..··'·.

s.

No soc~er said than done. A volley of Tommy gun BULLETS shreds the black and white's front tires. It spins out, careening off the road like a top. Fitch and Wooly duck as a barrage of BULLETS takes out their windshield in a shower of glass.

Fitch levels his revolver out the window and starts BLASTING.

J.O OMITTED 10

ll INT. ROADSTER - DAY ll

A SLOG tears Wilmer's tweed cap off his head. He touches his s~alp and checks the rearview mirror for a graze. His reflection shatters as another SLOG obliterates the mirror.

llA EXT. BACK ROAD - DAY llA

Lenny rears up, Tommy gun BLAZING. ·He stitches a pattern of bullets across the Plymouth's grill, blasting it to fragments. Steam belches from the ruptured radiator.

Wilmer accelerates over a hill only to discover a Model T truck CHUGGING up the other side. Wilmer whips the wheel and the car leaves the road, bouncing over a ditch and into a beanfield.

The Plymouth swerves, sideswiping the truck and pursues the rcadster into the field •

; i ' ; 13 EXT. BEANFIELO - DAY 13 __ J f The c;ars race across the field, churning up a cloud of dust.

14 G>MITTEO 14

SEP 24 '90 13:32 CA SM2298 HOTELECOPY HILTON t2 P.3

ROCKETEER Goldenrod Revision 9/24/90

Lenny ducks down and slams a drum ot fresh ammo into his Tommy gun. As he sits up he spots the GeeBee comin~ over the hill headed straight tor them. I .

Lenny whips the Tommy gun skyward •

BULLETS strafe tha plane, chewing.thr~ugh the metal, ripping hQles in the underside and through the engine. ·A ricochet cracks tha windscreen. ·

'.

h •

The engine suddenly SPUT'I'ERS and begi~s tc emit grayish smoke. Cliff tries to stay 0001 as his instruments .go ~ i haywire. He figh~s the oontrols, but it'• a losing battle.

Th• cars fi•htail out of the beanfield.and ba0k out onto a winding road. A roadside sign flashes by: ·]

· Wilmer .:1o~ks back.

Head for the airstrip--I can fly a plane!; ·

cliff fights the· stick, barely in control. It·, a all he c~n d.o··to keep her from plowing into a hillside.

CLIF1=' That's it .. don't die on ~e now ••• easy does it._ •• no more :surprises, okay? · ·· · (CONTINUED) ,

i '

Surprise! A rod blows through the cowling. Cliff's. ·canopy is instantly coated with a thick stream of brackish motor oil. He's suddenly flying blind.

He pounds frantically on the windscreen, trying to punch through the bullet crazed glass. It finally gives way just in time for Cliff to _see

-- another plane coming right at him! Cliff screams and jerks back on the stick. D

hops over (with inches to spare) what is revealed to be a highway billboard advertising the movie "WINGS OF HONOR." il The tin propeller on the painted warplane spins wildly in the GeeBee's wake.

The Plymouth pursues the roadster down a eucalyptus grove road. Wilmer whips the wheel and goes tearing through the trees. The Plymouth chases the roadster on a parallel track. Fitch and Lenny exchange a furious BARRAGE. Bullets ricochet off eucalyptus trunks~

Wilmer veers the small roadster between two eugalyptus trees and barely gets through. I]

'• ."':.;, Wooly hits the gas, determined to follow the roadster through another gap. Fitch braces against the dashboard.

The car SLAMS to a jarring stop, caught between the two trees.

FITCH

f (continuing)

Like I said.

Wooly glares back. He throws the .car in reverse, GRINDING gears. ; I '

- t, 1;»,.) ~ $(yl-~~-t..(j ··--·•-....· e.

We see the roads~er tear across the open ground behind the hangars.

The car drives into the hangar and SCREECHES to a stop. Wilmer hops out with the maroon suitcase and turns to the rear of the car.

n caught with the - ,......J Lenny is slumped in the rumble seat, staring with glazed eyes, dead.

The Plymouth, minus two front fenders, barrels across the field toward the hangar, shot to pieces, trailing steam and smoke.

Wilmer's mind races, eyes darting frantically about. His eyes fall on an Art Deco vacuum cleaner and a duffle bag. He grins with desperate· mlschief.

The sound .)f the approaching GEEBEE reaches the stands. Peevy rises, his mechanic's ear detecting the plane's labored SPUTTER.

Then. the ~eeBee appears, wobbling towards the runway, a plume of smcKe boiling from the cowling. The group stares f in horror.

Oescendin~, :liff tries to wipe the spewing oil from his goggles. Thr~ugh the billowing smoke, he can barely see the runway only seconds away. -~

i '

I_

Panicked, Wilmer p_ilots the roadster out of the hangar ·doors and across the pavement. The FBI Plymouth ~CREECHES around the rear corner of the building and SKIDS to a halt. Fitch leaps out, crouches into a m~rksman's pose and FIRES at the fleeing roadster.

Speeding up the runway, Wilmer risks a look back at his putsuers. His body jolts ~she is hit in the shoulder.

Ee turns is gaze forward in time to see the GeeBee a 0 moment away from his windshield.

Through grease-smeared goggles, Cliff sees the roadster directly in his landing path •. Crying out, he tutilely yanks back on the stick •.

Wilmer jumps from the car and bounces across the asphalt •.

The GeeBee's landing gear bashes into the roadster's windscreen. The impact wrenches the gear from the plane and the GeeBee bellylands in a shower of sparks and shaved metal.

The driverless roadster SLAMS into a fuel truck parked at the runway's edge and erupts into a churning ball of flame· and smoke.

Goose and Skeets race from the buildings with fire extinguishers. With them is pudgy, red-faced old hand MALCOLM WILLIS. Behind them, a water truek and fire engine ROAR down the runway.

Peevy dashes up to the smashed, smoldering G-'eBee.

PEEVY

f Goose -- give me a hand!

As Peevy and Goose attempt to wrench open the jammed cockpit, Skeets urgently waves Malcolm over.

l jJ

~f.D 10.

Malcolm and Skeets spray their extinguishers across the smoking fuselage, fighting the cowling fire.

Peevy and Goose ~elease the can~py and pull Cliff to sa;ety.

Peevy and Cliff slide off the side of the GeeBee to- t'he ground. Cliff turns back and snatches Betty's photo off the instrument panel. Be stares help.lessly at the wounded plane as Skeets and Goose put out the fire.

The place is crawling with cops and feds. An ambulance stands by. Wooly and Fitch make their way througn the confusion with Cliff and Peevy dogging their every step. Emotions run high.

I~

------------- -- --

:, l.

28 CONTINUED:

This is too muc~ for Cliff. He stuns everybody by hauling off and slugging Fitch in rhe jaw, knocking him·right on his ass.

_ - FITCH (continuing) Why you lousy •••

Fitch scrambles ·to his feet and punches Cliff, knocking him into Peevy. Bystanders jump in and separate the two combatants. Peevy and the ground crew grab Cliff and D restrain him while Wooly holds Fitch back with a hand against the chest.

WOOLY

Fitch eases off. He looks around and sees a lot of angry_ faces. Everybody's ready to mix it up, fliers and Feds alike.

Cliff s~arts forward. Peevy restrains him.

He drags Cliff off. Fitch rubs his aching jaw. '4't

Fitch and Wooly stalk over to the ambulance. They've got Wilmer on a gurney, bandaged and splinted from head to toe, ready to be loaded on. Fitch motions for them to wai:. He leans down.

·FITCH Your pal is in the rumble seat's playing his harp. !f you make it to County GPneral, your next

\ stop's AlcaLraz. So spi~l.

Where's the package?

~J~~;· ~ilmer chuckles through blood-spattered lips.

(CONT!~UEDl

.. .J

ROCKETEER Gray Rev. (Second Set) Ll/20/90

CONTINUED: (2) 28

down the runway.

;] A FIREMAN with tongs is carefully extricating a smoking object from the wreck of the roadster.

Fitch and Wooly approach the remains of the roadster. The Fireman raises a charred, twisted lump of metal INTO VIEW. It's shape vaguely suggesting a streamlined, finned object.

[l Fitch digs a nickel out of his pocket.

Wooly sighs. Off he goes to make the call. ,

The balcony of a wide, plush office opens to the Santa * Monica hills and the ocean beyond.

'J (CONTINUED)

,;;;..

'-

ROCKETEER Gray Rev (Second Set) 11/20/90

A tall leather chair is pulled up to the walnut desk; the * MAN seated at the desk is talking on the telephone.

He hangs up. The chair turns to reveal' a its occupant. * Howard Hughes is tall, rugged, handsome. !Iis dark hair is combed back and a pencil-thin mustache adorns his upper lip. He stares across the desk at two War n Department LIAISONS in dark suits.

The two men exchanged looks of disappointment - and

relief.

LIAISON i1

,,--,:, Better lost than in the wrong

hands.

L

LIAISON #2 How soon can you rebuild it?

LIAISON #2 My people in Washington will have

something to say about that.

, weapon. Apparently, someone else

had the same idea.

Hughes picks up a thick portfolio and riffles through it,

ffi gazing at a sheath of diagrams with an almost wistful ~ regret. I \

LIAISON #1

t;J~ ,,

Sir, I'm afraid we must insist--

j.

ROCKETEER Gray Rev (Second Set) 11/20/90

fireplace} Two of my best pilots were killed in the test phase. God knows how many more men would've died if it

had flown. I'm sorry I ever dreamed the damned thing up.

Before the other men can react, he drops the portfolio

into the fireplace. The hungry flames consume blueprints, documents, and notes.

LIAISON -#2 You can't do that--

LIAISON #1 What'll we tell the President?

0. ; I . L _I In the fireplace, smoke curls from a watercolor rendering

of a proposed Hughes Aircraft pavilion for the upcoming 1939 World's Fair. In the sky above the structure is a flying man soaring toward golden clouds.

u

him Howard Hughes said so."

The sky blackens and the flying man bursts into flames. *

Peevy stares dumbfounded at a slip of paper.

·, CLIFF

I didn't blow up your truck, the

(~~;;(' j

guy· in the car did!

ROCKETEER Salmon Rev 10/3/90

30 CONTINUED:. 30

I

; .

C:J

CLIFF

'

sure we do. (off Peevy's glare) Fifteen bucks a show, right?

Cliff and Peevy exchange a look. What choice do they have?

CLIFF * (under his breath) Lousy nickel-nurser.

- .I

ROCKETEER Salnon Rev 10/3/90

30 CONTINUED: r 2) 30

Hf takes out the photo of Jenny, grins, and sticks it into

the Standard's instrument panel.

He hops into the cockpit, sinks into the seat, then leaps * up in painful surprise, holding his rear.

With some tugging and pulling, Cliff manages to dislodge something wrapped in a gray duffel bag from under the seat.

Cliff carries the bag to a work table and sets it down with a. THUMP.

Cliff pl.shes the fabric down, reveal.ing the bag-'s C;>ntents •

It's an amazing device with a double cylinder design. Gray steel and chrome, sleek and ominous. There are straps folded tight and buckled in place. Cliff and Peevy gaze at the thing. ··-- .. __ _ - -------- -----·-· ·-·· ··· ·· ··· · · · ··-· · ·

PEEVY.· (continuing) Odd looking contt'aption ••• __ _

-· (CONTINUED).

17 •

30 CONTINUED: (J) 30

Cliff uncoils a wound up cable. It's about the length of his arm. At the end of the cable is a weird metal T, like a tlat bracelet. And on that is a red button.

He presses it. With an enormous blast of flame, the device D ROARS and leaps off the table on a rush of superheated air. Peevy is knocked to the floor.

The cylinder bullets toward the roof. It smashes through a thick rafter, bounces off the ceiling, and zooms back at the floor. ·

In a SCREAMING shower of sparks, the rocket ricochets off a steel tool cabinet. Its trajectory carries it straight through the outer wall of the hangar's small office.

Terrified, Cliff and Peevy peer through the hole into the 0 office. The rocket is half-embedded in an easy chair, ; vibrating as its powerful engine continues to spit fire.

They duck into the room, shying from the intense heat of the flame. Using a mop handle, Cliff manages to reach the control bracket. He punches the red button and the rocket shuts off, leaving our two heroes stunned and gasping for j7 breath. · /___; Cliff reaches out to pull the device from the chair.

PEEVY * Careful!

Cliff yanks back his fingers, then extends them again to * gingerly touch the housing. His eyes widen.

CLIFF * The.shell's still cool ••• !

They cautiously approach the rocket and each grab a side. They pry it out of the easy chair and caicy it back to the workbench. They deposit the rocket gingerlr,, handling it like a keg of dynamite that might go off.

They gaze at the thing in wonder, circling the table slowly, _trying to see som~ sense to the thing. ---·;r.--·.. •• ....

PEEVY

::.~'.'..~ Never seen nothin' like this--!

{sniffing•engine)

~ji ___ _ It burns alcohol •..

(pause} ----What's-the damned thing tor? (CONTINUED}

• 17A.~

{l;;o 30 CONTINUED (4) 30 :~ There is a dawning awareness in Cliff's eyes, a hunch too L~ crazy to ignore.

Without saying a word, he steps to the table and slips his arm through the first strap.· Then he slips his other arm ·th'rough the second strap. He straightens up, and the thing is now seated on his back. The last thing he does is snap

LJ the buckle over his chest, securing the harness;-.,..,- ·

ROCKETEER - Rev Blue 8/29/~0

30 CONTINUED: (4) --- _ 30

The purpose of the thing is clear. Cliff and Peevy are to..q__ stunned for words.

C

The sign on the building reads: "LUCKY LINDY'S FLIGHT SCHOOL."

on the lawn in front stands a life-size wooden statue of Lindbergh himself. The statue is shaking from side to side, accompanied by the sound of SAWING WOOD.

We hear a sharp CRACK! and the statue topples OUT OF FRAME. We hear Cliff pnd Peevy SCURRY off into the dusk.

Parked in the flagstone courtyard before a large Mayan- esque house, a pair of black Cadillac sedans glitter like beetles. Two griln-faced, ~road-shouldered men wait by the autos.

Angry words fi1ter down trom above. The two men look up towards~ second story window, where silhouettes move across the drawn blind.

WIDER ANGLE re•reals

,.

-- his swnptuous surroundings. He stands framed against the open balcony door, wearing a silk shirt casually undone, balancing a glass of champagne in one hand while incongruously poising a gleaming, ·sharp fencing sword in the other.

-Across the room stands EDDIE VALENTINE, compact and ~tocky in a pinstripe suit, a bright red rose in his lape1.·v SPAN~SH JOHNNY and RUSTY lean against the wall, a study in nonchalance, their eyes taking in the Tall Man's every move.

~--- ":-··-···- ···-·-·-:

18A. *

31B CONTINUED. ( 2) . J1B

n I u TALL MAN

If he ·decides to talk,, it could be awkward for us both.

The Tall Man moves nimbly across the room, parrying and. thrusting, pressing the attack on an invisible enemy.

n l

The Tall Man pauses and blinks in quiet amazement at Eddie's mangling. of the language.

He sips his.champagne and whisks the air with his sword, loosening up for ano:th,er offensive across the room.

what happened to the rocket •.

) TALL KAN

Then we shall have to ask him. -..;.. (CONT!NUED}

18.B.*

i~~<--~> 31B CONTINUED (3)

JlB *

t;

EODJ:.E You kidding me? The hospital's crawling with cops. We can't get near the place. Maybe later·, when

I the heat dies down.

,7 I I TALL MAN u

Time is a luxury I lack. If you can't get to Wilmer, then I'll have to handle it myself.

Eddie looks at him like he's nuts. The Tall Man presses the attack again, parrying and thrusting back across the room. Spanish Johnny and Rusty follow him wi~ their eyes.

The Tall Man stops with a flourish, takes another sip of champagne. He never spills a drop •.

The Tall Man's eyes flash in anger WHHHJ:IIIISHHHH! Eddie suddenly finds the glittering point of a sword pressed to the hollow.of his throat. Eddie's men go tense, hands poised near their coats, ready to go for their guns.

.......

---'I

18C.*

ROCKETEER - Rev Blue 8/29/90 {:?f.-~,. ~lKfY(J 31B CONTINUED: (4) 31B r-

1_; The Tall Man's eyes are blazing,.._ lethal, capable of ~-. ~

anything. A heartbeat away from murder. We see for the first time how truly dangerous he is. Eddie stares back, his gaze unyielding. ·

The Tall Man smiles. He shifts the point of his sword to

J the rose in Eddie's lapel. With a quick upward flick of

the wrist, the rose goes sailing through the air. It flies across the room right into Spanish Johnny's hands.

Eddie frowns, then exits with his men. The Tall Man's eyes glisten with contempt. He briskly crosses the room and picks up the telephone.

He starts to dial a number.

'l'ALL MAN (continuing) Bloody amateur.

3lC INT. DINGY ROOM - NIGHT 31C

Dingy, Qark, spartan. There's a cot, a wash basin. A small shaving mirror on the wall is cracked. The room is lit by the dim glow of a Philco playing "AMOS~, ANDY."

Somebody - or something. - is sitting in a frayed easy chair with his back to us. LOTHAR laughs -- somewhere between .a low growl and a death rattle.

The telephone RINGS. LotiI~t" shuts off the radio with a hand the size of a skillet.

18D*.

ROCkETEER Rev Cherry lJ./l.3/9O \ )

The headlights of Peevy's truck illuminate a metal stake being driven into the ground. There is a long chain attached. Cliff pounds the stake home. I * CAMERA PANS the chain to reveal the other end nailed to Lindbergh's wooden chest. The rocket pack rests on Lindy's back. Peevy starts to unspool a large roll of wire attached to the ignition switch.

They scurry to a nearby ditch and exchange a look. Peevy connects the two ends of wires. The rocket ROARS. They duck. Lindy takes off. The chain SNAPS taut. Suddenly, the statue is flylng in great wide circles at the end of its tether. Cliff and Peevy share an exhilarated grin.

The stake begins to loosen.

ROCKETEER Rev Cherry 11/iJ/90

Cfi:C) 32 CONTINUED: (2) 32 I

I_;

CLIFF

[7 I I We're going to lose it!

With a final shudder, the stake uproots. Lindy rockets into the night sky. The rocket's flame gets smaller and smaller, and finally fades into the blackness. Gone.

Cliff and Peevy leap out of their trench and stand ·gazing up at the night sky. A strange metallic MOANING approaches from above. The 25 feet qf chain slams into the dusty earth between them.

They pause, hearing the sound of something hurtling back • to earth, WHISTLING like a bomb.. They throw thems elves to the ground as Lindy dive-bombs them from behind. It misses them by inches and slams into the ground, plowing_ a furrow in the field and coming to a stop. ·

They race over and shut the rocket down. It SPUTTERS into silence.

_ .. PEEVY · ·. _ ... . I know what· you-' re thinkin' ,-· * c~ifford. Forget_ i_t .. · -----· .. __ _

~-1·.-_:: ___ -~--~~-·: _____ -Peevy· grabs· Lindy's·· feet to· tug him· out of· the-- furrow.

;7~::;

ROCKETEER Cherry Rev 11/13/90

CONTINUED: (3) 32 II ;, I__. PEEVY

Cliff, are your eyes painted on?!! That thing's like strapping nitro to your back,

I

besides, the Feds are mixed up in this.

D

way. Look, we're just a couple of sky bums. I don't want to get tangled up with the FBI.

CLIFF

□I I don't want to keep it ... just I borrow it for a while.

n I.J

Peevy shakes his head, far from convinced.

.. genius you are, fi~ _Jt~. __-

-- · - ·· -· · PEEVY·

I· · :-~~.:-·:~·--~-:.·.· -_ ·--~~-=-~~- -~: -.. We're. gonna need· a. hell of a.

lawyer·.·---······ -· · · -- -·· -- .....

They throw Lindy in the truck revealing·his completely ... · splintered head. .. ....... . . ., ..........., ........

·- · . CLIFF ·· - .. ··r·tnink we···need·a· he1·met:·----~

20A*.

ROCKETEER Rev Cherry 11/13/90

TIGHT ANGLE on a gorgeous female leg. Delicate hands slowly draw a sheer silk stocking up the length of th~ leg, revealing_a dizzying topography of curves and skin. We TRMTEL OVER a bent knee and come to a thigh so beautiful it could induce a heart attack. As the stocking is clipped to the garter, we TILT UP to 0 introduce --

She turns her head at the sciun~ of a hoin HONKING. Her ·friend_ IRMA, applying mascara, peers out the window.

Betty smiles, quickly smooths her skirt into place.

r; Cliff gets out of his truck and makes his way to the door I of the boarding house for young actresses. Girls are :J waiting outside for their dates. Cars pull up and depart •. Cliff crosses the courtyard flirting shamelessly all the way.

Be.knocks on the door. It is opened by MRS. PYE, a stone- Q faced, matronly woman. Cliff gives her his "best I . behavior" smile.

~,. CLIFF

Good evening, Mrs. Pye. I've come

~i:21\. ___ ✓; to pick up Betty.

J .•• Be starts forward. Mrs. Pye places an immovable palm on his chest.·

CLIFF

ri I'm no gentleman. QI

Betty sweeps out and gives Cliff a chaste peck on the cheek.

(CON'l'~OED}

···-· ------ --··-------------

The door SLAMS. Now that Mrs. Pey is gone, Betty throws

her arms ~round Cliff s neck and gives him a real kiss.

,He holds the kiss ••• and holds it ••• until they both become aware of the appreciative HOOTS and CATCALLS from the other girls~ Cliff breaks the kiss and grins. Off they go.

i_~.

the part!

She throws her head back and gives it all she's got:

f

She realizes he's jealous. She suppresses a smile. i

(CONTINOED)

34 CONTINUED: ( 2) . 34

D Okay, I guess •••

~. BETTY That's it? "Okay, I qu~~s?~ Bow'd she fly?

I

Backlit by the-flickering glare of the projector, Cliff ·and Betty make their way down an aisle, they stop at the end of a row. Cliff is loaded down with popcorn and sodas. ·

They squeeze down the row toward two empty seats. A

-newsreel is in progress.

ANNOUNCER (O.S.)

C But as rumors of war haunt the

Continent, Herr Hitler claims to be working for world peace ••• and the sovereignty of nations.

Cliff and Betty settie in and divvy up the snacks.

The image cuts'to a shot of the zeppelin's captain and crew on the ground, mingling with an excited crowd.

The Captain turns and wa·Je::1 to the camera, grinning broadly.

j

COT TO'":

25-28.*

....

ROCKETEER Rev Blue 8/29/90

JSJ-_ 37 OMITTED 35-37 .

A NURSE steps from a room and shuts the door. A UNIFORMED COP si~~ at the station, listening to a mystery show on the RADIO. Spooky MUSIC, CREAKING_ doors, hollow LAUGHTER •••

I just.gave him a sedative. He'll sleep like a baby.

Wilmer, in heavy traction, lies dozing in bed.

{CONTINUED)

29 ..

ROCKETEL~ :ink Rev 8/31/90

Spooky RADIO ORGAN MUSIC drifts into the room ••• as a monstrous shadow looms on the wall. Something crouches on the ledge outside the.window. I The window slides open, breeze billowing the curtains. Lothar slips. silently into the room. He is immense,

I] twisted. As he approaches the bed, he CRACKS a match with

his thumb nail, holding it close to Wilmer's face.

But the flame also illuminates Lothar. Distended jaw, fla-t Cheekbones, heavy ridge above his brow. Sunken eyes.

q

... J a sharp yank •

Wilmer's groggy eyes flutter open. His pupils dilate in horror.

Lothar eases his massive hands beneath Wilmer's body, then lifts him easily.

WILMER· (gasping) Okay, okay ••• ease of~ ••• I pulled a switch, see? I got the dingus stashed good~ •• at the airfield ••• hangar three ••• s~ old plane •••

A horrible shadow is thrown on the wall, the writhing Wilmer in the purposeful grip of the massive ape-man.

38E NURSE'S STATION 38B

The Cop and the Nurse at first think the SCREAMS come from the radio, but when it goes to a commercial and the screams continue,· they realize •••.

The Cop shoulders the door open, revolver dr~wn, the Nurs~ ·, right behind him. She SCREAMS.

~ff(~) Wilmer hangs suspended above the bed, dangling from the ' -17! traction gear, body bent in half, eyes dead and staring: --~J The Cop rushes to the open window, where the curtains flutter like ghosts. I.

The Cop peers out. Nothing. He pulls back into the room.

On the ledge above,- a massive pair of wingtips shuffle off into the night.

Butch;· a bulldog, waddles down a sidewalk at a fast trot. Clamped in his jaws is a soup bone. Butch climbs onto the porch of a diner near the airfield, The Bulldog Cafe. He settles on a worn rug and gnaws the bone.

True to its name, the cafe resembles a white and black canine, sitting on its haunches. There is a tobacco pipe in its mouth and the door is in the dog's belly.

,·

Linoleum counter, worn leather stools, cozy booths. Framed photos and other aviation mementos hang on the walls and :1,J ceiling. A chalkboard lists the day's specials. ~ ij MILLIE, the owner, prepares food at the grill. Among * tonight's regulars are Skeets, Goose and Malcolm. Cliff and Jenny occupy a booth.

f

enemy trenches and drops a bcttle of champagne!

GOOSE

■- Let me guess! It hits the general *

and we win the war, right?

The fliers guffaw. *

I

ROCKETEER Yellow Rev~ 9/11/90

~~j;n 1-~ -- SKEETS 1 I ! Where'd he get it? The champagne, L_' I mean. They didn't have liquor

stores at the front.

Cl cried and cried. Neville was *

wonderful.

PATSY, Millie's 10 year-old, approaches Malcolm. She has a * tin airplane with a broken wheel.

Patsy nods her head emphatically. She catches sight of Millie, who's pointedly shaking her head no with a "be polite" glare. Patsy instantly shifts gears and starts shaking her head no as Malcolm looks up. f

ROCKETEER Yellow Rev 9/11/90

41 CONTINUED: {3) 41

MALCOLM {CONT'D} I tried to loop, but he stuck to my * tail like a dirty diaper. 'Fore I knew it, my bird was shot to tatters. I must's fell for half an hour, and then smack --

The troublesome wheel pops out of Malcolm's grasp and

'□·' shoots over his shoulder to land with a SPLASH in Jenny's soup. Droplets spray over her blouse. *

Jenny dabs at he.r blouse with a napkin as Cliff fishes the wheel ,from the soup.

0 JENNY I: __ I That's okay, Malcolm.

(to Cliff, lowering her

J";t:,, voice) irl Elegant dining here at the Bulldog. I • '--/

Once iri a while it wouldn't hurt to try a new place ••• away from the airfield.

f'

joi~ts, I could overhaul an engine.

Jenny sighs anu r.akes his hand. There's a look on her face * that Cliff can~ 'l resi-st. He smil~s, and she smiles back.

ROCKETEER Yellow Rev 9/11/90 33-33A.

41 CONTINUED: ( 4)

0 real night out on the town after

you win the Nationals.

A hush descends. Millie and the others trade uncomfortable * glances - Cliff hasn't told her. He nods unconvincingly. 1n "I l '._]

_stool) You're flying in the Nationals after all? I'm glad to hear it,

17 after that landing today. _J

coffee) How 'bout a warm up, Malcolm?

Jenny looks uncertainly at Cliff.

Millie finally whacks him with a spoon. He stops abruptly, * looks around at the other's faces and suddenly realizes how badly he ,stepped in it. Jenny glares across the table at Cliff.

JENNY

f When? After the milkman found out?

·: I,. ROCKETEER Yellow Rev 9/11/90 I

41 CONTINUED: ( 5) 41

D

l CLIFF Honey, everybody else knows because they were theI:e.

n JENN'Y _..J

I had an audition! It was important!

Jenny throws her napkin down. She leaps up and grabs her * purse.

She goes out. Cliff sits there, all eyes on him, hating himself for blowing it so badly.

Cliff leaps from the table and goes out the door. *

-42 EXT. BULLDOG - NIGHT 42 , Cliff runs out into the street just in time to see Jenny hopping a bus.

CLIFF

I Jenny!

' The bus pulls out. Cliff runs after it, but it disapp~~rs ;\'.\-:-:-.__ / ..,... ~-~:-~~- down the street. He comes to a stop. ?--~?

3!

ROCKETEER Pink Rev 8/31/90

'Malcolm walks up next to him.

Cliff walks back to the Bulldog leaving Malcolm standing in the street, alone.

i __ ; Moonlight washes across the lawn of a smali, well-kept

house.

1·--1

Peevy's welding on the dining room table which is covered

I : I... ...J• with tools, rivets and scraps of metal. Dance music comes

from a nearby radio.

Cliff enters and throws down his jacklet. He crosses to the phone.

PEEVY

:j You're home early.

-, CLIFF

I don't know, Peev. I can't figure her out.

The telephone rings and rings on the other end. Cliff hangs up. ·

35A~*

ROCKETEER Pink Rev 8/31/90 ~].;;··c) r- 43A CONTINUED: (2) 43A

L.i PEEVY

(quietly, almost to himself) Don't giye her too much time.

; Cliff goes down the hallway.

PEEVY

D Somebody's gonna figure that girl

out.

Peev-J ~untinues to work.

CROSS DISSOLVE:

n·, -·

SAME ANGLE:

Peevy dozes in an easy chair in the foreground. Dead air comes from the RADIO. Clad in a worn bathrobe, Cliff shuffles toward the kitchen. He switches the radio off, and throws a blanket over Peevy. Cliff crosses to the table. Amidst the debris is something covered with a large polishing cloth. He removes the cloth and whistles softly.

I"--; The helmet is finished. An aerodynamic fin curves from the i i helmet's crown. Amber lenses are set in the eye sockets u

and vents are cut into the mouth area.

Cliff holds the helmet up at arm's length. It catches the morning sunlight with a burnished glow.

45 OMITI'EO 45 11

~

Two expert SWORDSMEN are locked in mortal combat. SIR ALEC OF TRENT is dressed in the finery of the Engliah Court, with a red rose in his ~•tnic. 'l'HE BLACK HAWK is dashing in form-fitting • black, a thin aask over his eyes. Trevor Sinclair. •

The Black Hawk backs Sir Alec into a atone column and knocks his weapon to the floor. Sir Alec finds himself vith the glittering point of the Hawk'• -•word pressed at hi• throat. •

C

Smiling, the Black Hawk shifts the point of hia sword to the

•

n rose on Sir Alec's tunic. He flicks the rose into the air. It ■ ails into the hands of a beautiful NOBLEWOMAN.

The Black H.~wk f'lips Sir Alec's weapon back into hia hand with • the toe of his boot. The duel resumes.

The Black Hawk pursues Sir Alec up the winding stone atairway. • At the top, THREE GUARDS appear. TWO MORE GUARDS advance up the * stairway, blocking the Hawk's escape. •

BLACK HAWK • Why wait?

tJ He rips his mask off. A collective GASP from the noblemen.

BLACK HAWK • None other!

, Sir Regi.'la:'..d thrusts out with his aword, •tabbing Sir Alec. As Sir Alec falls to the castle floor below, hi• troops rush Sir Reginald, who grabs a lanyard anchoring a chandelier and swings in a graceful arc to the banquet table below.

~ He swe~p~ up a goblet of wine and downs it in one gulp. The - noblewoman rushes to his feet. 'i

.. ...

The place instantly becomes a movie aet. The director descends on the noblewoman.

,0

ANGLE OVER to Jenny and Irma, who are both dressed as servant • extras. Irma rolls her eyes.

CLIFF

f wanders onto the sound stage past a group of costumed extras. * He looks around, trying to adjust to the gloom.

Cliff looks fo·r Jenny, tripping over cables and bumping into c.- •tands. This is an alien place to·him, as strange as the soon~ *

We hear CLASHIHG SWORDS and SCUFFLING FEff.- SCENE CONTINUES

D o.s. as Cliff wanders the dark labyrinth of aet walls and equipment. He finds himself in another room of the castle.

] It's Sir Reginald!

Sir Alec falls. Sir Reginald swings and sweeps up his 90blet of wine. Everyone en the set has their eyes on the blonde from Philly, praying to God she gets it right this time. •

~~ Sinclair .drinks. The director is out of his chair with suspense, ~&\__ _) eyes glued to the blonde as she dashes to the table -- •

amazement, she's fantastic:

~he director and crew are coming out of their skins with joy as Sir Reginald leaps off the table into the midst of the palace * , guards. Suddenly --

I -- the castle wall tears loose. People dive out of the way as • it splits and topples to the floor. Cliff turns alowly arou~~ * and finds about a hundred people staring at him. · ¥

.. ,• .·., .·. - - -..,.:, -

The director Jcnows it be loses it now it means a ■ troke for aure, so instead he forces a big smile. Painfully calm.

D DIRECTOR

Jenny? (looks around) Is there a Jenny here?

Jenny raises her hand. She'd like to crawl into a hole and hide. The director motions Cliff in her direction -- please, be C my quest. Cliff walks toward her.

SINCLAIR

their con~ern with good humor: •

Everyone laughs. The A.O. goes to the spra~led Sir ..Alec.

Charlie groans and rolls over.

The crew rushes over. Sinclair and the director push their way through the crowd. Sinclair kneels by the wounded man.

I ..I \ / Sinclair j.umps to his feet and takes charge:

A flurry ot activity. Sinclair pulls the director aside .

I

Trevor, I'm sorry.

SINCLAIR

C

Next time, find me a worthy

adversary. As for -- •Jenny" is • it? -- I want that bitch banned • from the lot. .

n 9fnclair waves warmly at somebody and moves off. 'the director ' i * _, motions for his A.D.

Y1 CLIFF ANO JENNY Y7

CJ *

to see if we could patch things up. •

Look, you're always saying you're • the last to know! Well, I came to * tell you something. It's important.

JENNY

•.

So's this acting jobl

·CLIFF Acting? Honey, c'mon, you're walking through scenery!

,

I

Everybody was told no visitors on , the set. You're off the picture.

----····· ... - - _J

Jenny shoots Cliff a furious look, then •torms off. Cliff races • after her. He catches up to her in front of a tr•e-•tanding • aection of castle wall and whirls her around. •

L; •

CLIFF

n I'm on the level. We got our bands • '_j

on this gizmo. It's like a rocket. * You atrap it to your back and fly • like a bird. I tell you, this'll • .. put us on Easy .street. •

She stomps away as TWO GRIPS enter and grab the aection of * wall. Cliff checks his watch and hurries off. The grips lift • the section of wall and carry it away -- · •

-- revealing Trevor Sinclair in his canvas chair, atunned by • what he's overheard. He ditches- his cigarette, tosses his copy • of Variety, and lunges from his chair. He races after Cliff, • who is striding away with hi• back to us. •

Sinclair is slowed down by the chaos of the aound atage. Cliff • keeps wiping from view as actors, crew, and aet pieces cross in • front of Sinclair. Sinclair plows through the confusion, trying • to keep Cliff in sight, but obstacles keep appearing in his • path. A stuffed horse wearing battle armor is wheeled before • him. He fights his way around it. · *

Cliff is nowhere to be •een. He'• vanished.

Sinclair runs to the open aound ata1e door. He look• up and down• the street. No Cliff. Damn it! He rushes back to -- •

THE SET •

I -- where the castle wall is being hoiste~ into place. 3enny is 'i gathering up her stuff when the director sees her. / '

• DIRECTOR Bey! Honey! Yeah, you! I thought you got your marching orders! Get the bell off my-aetJ

SINCLkIR (arriving) •

[ Victor, you were young once.

Mistakes do happen. can't you find it in your heart to give the lady another chance? * (winning smile) • Please? For •e?

D The director pauses. Surprised at first, then figuring he'a been had. He gives Sinclair a big smile.

1 THE DIRECTOR

·turns and mutters to his A.O.:

0 could score points with the toots.

I .••• ~ meet you.

I : c,...J '. SINCLAIR

~h.e pleasure is entirely mlne. *

He kisses her hand, every bit the European gentleman. Jenny is in a daze -- until she gets prodded in the ribs by Irma. •

Sinclair has trouble taking his eyes off Jenny.

lriMA (beaming) Charmed, I'm sure.

Irma does a graceful fade, but stays in Jenny'• line of sight, frantically pointing at Sincla!~ and wildly mouthin; the words "Trevor Sinclair!" Jenny keeps her composure. .;;.,

( CONTINUED)

.. -·--. -- .· ------------------

..

J of the Saxon Princess? CI * Behind Sinclair, Irma is becoming progressively aore unglued and egging ~enny on. Jenny keeps a poker face.

Pi__,

JENNY

J Irma's eyes bug out. She mimes a scream. Jenny doesn't blink.

:J ..

Irma is coming out of her skin, aouthing: •ns1 YES1" f

II I * \ Irma goes.nuts, miming a heart attack.· Sinclair 9lances baC.6, ;~~;'. ) but Irma instantly snaps into a composed posture and gives him a warm smile.

r·

Off he goes. Irma rushes to Jenny.

A.O.

C All right, let'a have atmosphere on

• the -set! Move it! •

CL"T ro:

i'I

I !

..

~,.,, ......• ~.f,~: ·- •· .

Irma ii coming out of her skin, mouthing: "YES! YES!·i,

He 51ives her a look.

BETTY

i__; (continuing)

Trevor.

Irma goes nuts, miming a heart attack. Sinclair glances back, but Irma instantly snaps into a composed posture and gives him a warm smile. r '...J SINCLAIR

Well, tonight then.

Off he goes. Irma rushes to Betty •

Oh, honey, the South Seas Club! With .Trevor Sinclair!· . .., ..... ·.··

with spectators. · Reporters and ndwsreels record th~. -.- action. · -· · ·· ··- '

· The Jenny is being wheeled out onto the field. ANGLE OVER -----········-- / to Bigelow and Peevy. Bigelow is fit to spit nails.

I told him nine o'clocki

_:._:::_:: __ ·~--....::.,..:.:... :·<.~ ..:~=--~.:.BIGELOW .. -·· ·-·-- ·-·-··-· ··· If he ain•t· in the- aL.:·.·i.n--·five· ---:··- minutes,· the deal' s · off·· -- · and you boys ·caI1,.~lear ~u.t.:your hangar!

:-:-(CONTINUED)-.:. . . . .

Peevy checks his.watch as we --

ANGLE OVER to Malcolm, holding a bag of programs and . - * wearing a cap with "PROGRAMS -- 5 CENTsn stitched on the crown. He··. frown"s with concern, having overheard Bigelow's threats. · Malcolm hurries off~-- ·- · · · . · I Meanwhile, behind the bleachers, Spanish Johnny,·Rusty, Jeff and Mike await Eddie Valentine,·-:who· approaches from * the parking lot.

n SPANISH JOHNNY i I

I know what Wilmer told Sinclair's goon, but the rocket ain't in Hangar Three.

There was an old plane, all right, but the only thing in it was this.

-· ..· ...

·_·:_The· Airshow continu~s ··as· planes. rocket .overhead~----':··c1iff. . , *-~~.·-_· -~: pilots· his motorcycle; through the·· ·crowd· and stops by Hangar· . -· L:.. __i':fu:ee:~.·----~s_J~e leap~__ off, ___ Pe~vy~s.. up __ to___ him._. ______ -··------ ....... _________ _

---~ ..... ,. -..- ...... -···"' .·. - .. ....-. PEEVY-- ....... ·_ .. .

:_:·{ti:;::\:--\?,··;:~:_;~iiet~? .~~i~~~;~~- /;~'.~ts_\ __~~7~. --~>':

-'- (CONTINUED)

CLIFF I had to see Jenny! Give me a * second to get into that stupid clown suit and I'll---

He is interuppted by a cheer from the stands and the I • * ANNOUNCER'S voice over the PA system.

;=~~:·:'~.1-';~> ·:4g.,-::

The standard flies overhead, weaving and dipping ·* precarious_ly ._ The crown laughs with delight.

,

Mabel?

cliff and Peevy whip their heads around. Patsy. is working * the crowd, lugging Malcolm's heavy bag and wearing his cap, which hangs over her ears.

Cliff and Peevy exchange stunned looks, then turn back toward th~ sky •.

Malcolm, in the clown suit. and red rubber nose, gasps in. sheer terror, white-knuckling the stick, as he·fights for control.

Cliff & Peevy head for the grandstand.

1··--

_ Bigelow watches _from _the: dec_k,. perplexed ..~d ar,gry •

..·:-~- : ---~~~: :___ .·.:~_-_1:lell _is Seco~ __ try~ng ___ ~~ .. P_Ull? ___ -~-- -~~- ______________ _:__ ..

He .turns -as Cliff.. and Peevy step onto the deck •.. :

-::·WJio' s.~k- the;_~-.:: . ~:~ .. , __ _

..... It!s· Malcolml -:--(CONTINUED)--

I Sl. INT./EXT. STANDARD - DAY 51

The Standard drifts into the path of three oncoming racers. * The two lead pilots barrel-roll away in two different directions. The third plane cli:!Dbs hard as Malcolm yells with panic and jams his stick forward and to the side. The standard heels over.

·52 EXT. OBSERVATION PLATFORM - DAY 52

The flag man signals frantically as the Standard dives * directly at him. Everyone hits the deck, as the plane roars past, clipping a banner from the ~bservation deck.

The standard climbs, engine sputttering and trailing smoke.

PEEVY

Cliff seizes Peevy 1 s arm and speaks in a low, intent voice.

stash what?

...I

:-:-·- PEEVY In the tool chest. Why-- *

He turns but Cliff is gone. Peevy sees him dashing toward the- hangar •.

Malcolm. is overcome- with te~:,i::· as he fights the contr9ls •.

Peevy dashes across the runway. I

Peevy races in. He finds Cliff struggling with the rocket's harness._

But·, we ain't had a chance to test her right! ·

Cliff heads for the rear doors of the hangar.

,. PEEVY. Okay; listen, ·I reworked the: ~ throttle! Just give her pressure like a gas pedal! You wanna shut her down, punch the button and let go!

CLIFF-

.. / .. Anything else? -. - -· • •··•·

Peevy yanks a wad of gum_out of his mouth.

· · PEEVY

·.~-: ......~.~---..:·~ ·~:. -- · ·- .... : .-~~····· ............ ··:·•···-·:-:'·r· ··--••-:·•..., ···-.- 1_-:-··· •-·- _,..,,,. ., .......... -·-··· ••• ·~· .. : He slaps . the . ~ .~itt~ --th~ -top· of the rocket's injector·· * housing •.. Cliff puts the helmet on his head and buckles the :~·_strap •. :. ____ --..~-::.-·::·~---:·:.:~~----=:::--.:-.-:~-:--:~~-~-~=:.-=.=.:~:=·:-::.:..::: · · .... ~:~. ~-: =. _____ : ·:·~=-~ _-

a • -- --· .

How da· 'I 1ook·?. ·· . ··.> :~.: ~- · .......·~-·- . . .. .. __ , .... - - ~,,. -••' --·· · <'.,::~L-- -~-..;·_::.::.. :•:;.,;:i...;. .::, _: PEEVY Like..·~~hood~ ornament --:-

[,"'•t .......__..;;.:.-::: ·.u.. •1 ,,_,·:":,.,~·..·r:~,::""-~··.. ·•.~¥,~~-~j'. -.~-... _,_ •.:-;·-:?.-. ~-- •.•; ....... •;._•·~: ..PROCKETEER;.-:,.;..~an-•r'.;,~. . .. . . . .. ~-. :·, ~- -· .,..... -· ReV-,110/5/9.... ~ .:,.. . ..... 0 ·.t..:

'. ~5 6 ·. ·, ~-· EXT': ,-~'HANGAR - DAY ·

Cliff steps out the hangar door ••• sets his feet ••• takes a. deep breath ••• aims his gleaming helmet toward the sun •• ~

KA-BLAM! The Rocketeer shoots into the sky. The concussion knocks Peevy off his feet and sends him ass- over-teakettle.

n Li 57 OMIT 57 *

The Rocketeer ZOOMS over the grandstand-~ The astonished crowd CHEERS, then SHRIEKS and ducks as the flying man D WHISTLES over their heads like a torpedo. Barely in control, Cliff aims himself skyward. Eddie reacts in amazement. ·

Newsreel cameras swing frantically to follow the action •

Tell me you're getting this!

CAMEaAMAN I'm gettin' it, whatever it is!

J.

Cliff blasts by a racing plane and goes after the smoking Standard -- but can't stop himself in time and smashes head-first into the underside. His helmeted head erupts _through the floorboards right at· Malcolm's feet.

Malcolm SCREAMS in terror.·. He rips the control stick right · out of the shattered floorboard and bashes himself between ... the eyes with it •. He slumps forward, unconscious.

Dangling wildly from the bottom of the plane, Cliff manag~$ to pry his helmet out of the hole. He drops free and slams · ·· into the landing gear, holding on for dear life in the ...::·.. splitstrsam •. --~.. ·... · .. ··· .. ·· ·

· .( c;_oNTINUE~)

~R0CKETEER~-T.an ·t\~~~i Rev:}1:0/S/!JQ·' :.:.,, ... _, .... ·.~ ~ . ; ~ ··~-· : ,.:.:. .... _. . . (:- ~ ':'"~ -., .....··~'.~J;~.- ~-.)~~-... ~~... :.-,~- ss ··•··•-:'CONTINUED:··

...

;"-.L: \ Cl.it:f reaches out and grabs the.lower wing. He manages tc:i , I •1 I climb onto it. He inches toward the cockpit, holding onto. -~ the wing struts. He tries to rouse Malcolm. out cold.

The standard's .wing_ dips sharply. Cliff falls back ana-··· ·._· --·- sl.ides on his ass down the length of the wing -- into empty space. ·

Cliff hits the rocket and zooms back to the plane. He .

grabs onto the fuselage. The rocket's thrust pushes him inexorably head-first toward the scything propeller. The toe of his boot hooks the open cockpit and halts his progress an inch from the blade. The fin on his helmet sparks as the edge of-the-propeller strikes it.

Cliff shuts the rocket down. The plane abruptly· lurches- toward the -heavens, trying to stand on its tail. screaming, Cliff slides down the length of the standard and smash s through the rudder, ·ripping half of it cl~an off.

C1iff plummets into a freefall vanishing into a cloud. A [J moment l.ater, the cloud i1luminates with a FLASH of rocket· ,_. lI ignition-"".' and the_ Rocke.teer.soars free,_climl:>ing·toward the heavens again. ·

C1if:e reaches the Standard and grabs the cockpit. The ·plane hits the apex of its climb, stalls on its tail, and drops back toward earth. Cliff rides ·the spiraling Standard toward its doom. He struggles frantically to unfasten Malcolm's seatbelt.

: J:::' .. Malcol111 comes around -- which only makes ·'·things worse. He 1,-_ .•,

:- . ~

CLIFF

Don't fight me. damn it! It's me. Cliff! .. ·-··· . . .

But there's no reasoning with panic. Malcolm rams the· _controL stick back,.·.· pounding-_ Cliff _on the.. head -:-:- . KLONNNG ! __ ..... •,•··-- ------- .:----·- ·---·----· .,; --·-•••·· . - ·-·•··•··-- --·· -· ... --·-·· ........ ,

them •. Moments away. Cliff head butts Malcolm unconscious:· ~-~gai~~~- _He_ thrC?ws·_ h~s; arms· aroun~ him,· ~Z::<?~ ~E!hin~-~- _-____ ·.... ~~---···-·

.. .. - - . . ~ ....

·.··· ( continuing) C'mon. you···tub·of guts!"

He punches the rocket KA-BLAH! and rips Malcolm out· of the Standard, seat and all. They punc~ through the top~. wing in a shower of shattered wood and canvas an instant before --

Tiq:: STANDARD

hits ground zero, which in this case is Bigelow's brand-n~w D fuel truck. Airplane and truck go up in an ENORMOUS EXPLOSION that rocks the airfield.

Cliff seems to rocket out of the blossoming ball of flame. He dips over the CHEERING spectators and deposits Malcolm on the runway. The Rocketeer blasts off again as the crowd goes ~razy.

Malcolm comes to, stunned to discover himself safely on the ground. He sits on the runway, still strapped into the standard's seat, wondering how the hell he got there. Reporters start jostl.ing for the best angle· to take· his· picture. Malcolm grins and raises the control stick above his head as flashbulbs POP.

Peevy and Bigelow whip around as the·Rocketeer ROARS overhead.

PEhVY Five hundred bucks a show?

BIGELOW

I . Easy!

_._ ·: ... .,.._: ... ·_- .. ·.. Bigelow· shoots him a stunned loc!:., · He realizes ~eevy just. ·--·•··-.-:.~:.~-,-··. · - ·.:.negotiated a deal. - Peevy runs toward the truck. ..-··. _ - - --· ·..:·. ··-·····-·· - .: '. .. ·:.:__ . -- ·-· ······-. . .. . --~--.. ·· .··.. ~-. . - ... .: --· .... : .. ·:·.-- .. -- .

·· · BIGELOW:

~---- - ... - ··-·····-. . ....--··-·:._·· .:·You mean· to-tell me that's·--:.... ··~-... ·--··········-·· tllll . . . ... ____ ... -- . ·-··· ·-··· :···- -· ... -_·:-_: .. ··... ~·:~:--~---·-:--:··-·PEEVY

~.".:·:·<·:·;..~-\'. __ ,..·..·-····.···.· ---··· .. _: ... ·-~-·.·. You don;t· know who he isl That's·. ..;, - ····· -··· ·•··· .•• +.:,.,• .•. ---- part~.·o;t-·the··deal,.understand?--.e..-.~~.'.'·'- ·····-·•.· '"···.·, .

... -·- •· .•

:.~-~:t-:.,;_"';./~-..·~- ,-... ::·: .. -·:: -~!,'-, ~.. :~·~'~!!'.:~-;-:. ;;-:-•\--: --~~.. t:·,:,J.~:. ~_-1:<.1;:-:11:~ t"?~.cKETEER:-~~Ta~iS't::J!-.R~vl?:J?Z~~Jt~ ~;--~1:-:,:i~:.-c6w.r±~ri}•::··;~,~·}~'t·t;t:¥1·\?

Peevy hops in the truck and peels out. after the Racketeer.~

ANGLE OVER to Eddie and the boys piling into their cars, . also after the Racketeer. They pull, forward, HONKING at the crowds blocking their way --- ·-- - - -- ' - ----- -------· I

D ANGLE OVER to the mob of reporters swarming to the pay phones, trying to call the story in. Fist-fights are breaking out as:

REPORTER- #1

n You h2ard me! Hold the front page! I I

REPORTER #2 That's right, a flying man! And I got the pictures·to prove it!

At the third phone booth an ELDERLY SPINSTER'S on the· phone to her sister.

· . ELDERLY LADY Hello, Louise?

A REPORTER pulls her out of the booth. : ,.. ., ..,:... I

Pardon me, Toots. Your time's up.

A puffy white cloud floats serenely in a brilliant blue sky.· Cliff suddenly bursts through,· trailing whisps of vapor. He lets out a HOWL of pure joy •

/. ... ... ........ CLIFF

Yaaaa-Hooooooo!

This is total freedom, boundaries all gone, as close to heaven -as anybody ·~an get.. - --

~~-=---~::~-:~~~::.:· .. :~~::-~~:=-6{iff-sees · a:··J1~~~::.iih;a~ ..:~.-~:~;,::\i:tb:i. tli~: thi-ust· ~d soon.

:=-~--~~:..¢·~;~~:~~-~/:·_·.:;-~.;.. i~~;.-~i~e~;e:__ P~}-_l!~~- ~~~-~-~~~d~ __ c1 M~~ct1ry __ :A~~ys __ Tri~ - -·. .. •' ... .. . ..... .. - .· ..-_... ·--... ···-·· - --··. ---·-·. ~-ra----~~---:-: ---~ --·- He -·cruises past' the windows· .as -;~t~~i~h~d f;-~~; ~~e~;~- .. ... ... - .. -- .....,.:- ··_.--~-:~:· :~::.. against the glass, pointing ·and·gawking~ · A pretty

Q]~~:; __"___ ··' · --~~~-=~~~~d::~ui:e::__ o~t·:.-.:~~~-~,f~--~~~8_5--~-~~- ~~~ -~~- ~~:.es __ h~--- _

· (CONTINUED}· ---.- ··---:~ - • J • :~: -_ .. ::-.

______ .__ _,,·= ___ _.,

60. CONTINUED~ 60

and· spirals wildly out of control, dropping like a stone.

D 61 EXT. ROAD - DAY 61

Peevy races the truck down a dirt road, his eyes riveted to the tumbling speck in the sky. He veers sharply onto another road

as Cliff drops toward a farm below. He pulls out of it at the last moment and ROARS along about five feet off the grbund -- scaring a woman hanging laundry and ripping a sheet out of her hands.

Cliff thrashes wildly, trying to get the sheet off his face as he .r:ockets through an orchard and upsets a pair of wooden ladders. Fruit pickers are left hanging from the branches, gaping after the ghostly apparition.

Cliff finallj gets free of the sheet. Be tosses it aside and screams as he sees --

hurtling toward a fence bordering a cornfield. CRASEl

A giant furrow chews from one end of the cornfield to the other as Cliff plows unseen through the stalks. BAM! a scarecrow is uprooted and sent spinning into the air.

, TWO GU\..~O CL' BOYS sitting on the fence exchange a ~low

look.

Cliff bursts from the cornfield - and finds himself on a

collision course with Peevy's speeding truckl He veers in

one direction and Peevy veers in the other, spinning·out.

-· I : i

C~iff skips across the surface of a pond like a stone. The _Ro~keteer's bold maiden flight ends rather ingloriously as he crashes into a thicket of reeds.

Peevy jumps from the truck and races over, expecting to find Cliff dead. Instead, he finds him.sitting in the steaming water.

0 PEEVY

You damn fool, you had to show off! Lucky you didn't break your neck! And what were you gonna do, fly to Paris?! Bow much fuel do you think she holds?

:7 Peevy removes the helmet. Cliff is grinning ear to ear.

For a moment, Peevy stares at him. Then, the success of Cliff's flight sinks in~ The old mechanic grins back.

Peevy extends a hand.and pulls Cliff to his feet. Whooping, Cliff picks him up in a bear-hug.

Cliff drops him with a SPLASH! _They fall silent. Serious~ · ·

f They start back to the truck ••• and turn a~ the SOONO of cars ~pproaching. Eddie and his men.

hang of it. Let's get out of here.

Cliff starts to shrug out of his harness as Peevy hops I ! behind the wheel and turns the key -- the engine GRINDS, refusing to start. ·

They throw a panicked glance at the approaching sedans.

Cliff tosses the helmet on the passenger seat and hops onto the truck bed. He bends over the cab.

Puzzled, Peevy does. Cliff braces himself against the back of the cab.

Peevy's words vanish in the rocket's ROAR and the truck BLASTS down the road at incred:i.ble speed. It's all Peevy can do to keep it on the road.

The sedans swerve to a stop, abandoning the futile chase. Eddie and the others pile out as the fire-breathing pickup truck recedes in the distance.

Johnny starts icribbling.

Be sees Mike who watches the distant smoke trail and munches on popcorn. Eddie gives him a look and slaps the box out of his hand.

&igelcw faces a mob of jostling REPORTERS and shouted ~;~:~t·; questions: ·~

{CONTINUED)

--i I

Si.

C REPORTERS

How 'bout some background on the flying m~n! -- Yeah, where'd you find him? -- What's his name?

D Besides, it's part of the mystery!

Let's just call him ••• uh, Rocket Boy!

Bigelow's mind races. He gazes out his office window and sees the Pioneer Petroleum billboard.

66 NEWSPAPER INSERT 66

A newspaper headline comes spinning out of the void and slams to a stop: "WHO IS THE ROCKETEER?"

The paper is held by two hands. We _DOLLY around to reveal Sinclair. Bis ey~s bulge and veins pulse. Dazed, he lowers the paper.

I A different newspaper slaps onto a desktop: "ROCKETEER

SAVES PILOT". T:~T UP to Wooly and Fitch entering the room like a coupie of kids bei~g called before the- principal. They carry an object bundled in a dirty ·o-J.d blanket. They lay it on the desk before Hughes.

-··-

i(t(J

Hughes tosses the blanket back and stares at the charred,

/_J twisted "rocket" salvaged from the fuel truck explosion.

He abruptly pushes the object to the floor. Charred pieces go flying. A cast metal brand name bounces across

,the floor and comes to a stop next to Fitch's shoe.

"HOOVER".

A.bundle of newspapers slams to the pavement. A newsboy slits the twine and begins selling them as fast as he can hand them out.

Cliff pulls up in the foreground on his motorcycle. He grabs a paper, smiles as .he reads the headli,pes.1 and stuffs the paper into his saddlebag and drives off.

A car SCREECHES up. Wooly and Fitch jump out and go to Bigelow's office. A light burns inside. Wooly kn~cks.·

No answer. The·Feds exchange a glance. Wooly tries the knob. The "door CREAKS open. They enter cautiously --

f

-- and they find the place ransacked. Drawers emptied, papers everywhere. A single desklamp provides illumination. On the desk, in the pool of light, sits a

\ small pad of paper. Wooly trips over something iu ~he

:i1ll; .;;_

(CONTINUED}

WOOLY

C

Mother of Mercy.

Fitch approaches and looks down. Bigelow's lying dead on the floor, eyes glazed and bulging. Next to his £ace is

"his foot. n I I FITCH LJ

He's been folded in half.

Wooly spots a pencil gripped in Bigelow's litele~s fingers.

WOOLY

n He was writing something. i:::::,

The men turn back to -the notepad on Bigelow's desk. Wooly squints at the pad, tilting it toward the light. Indented nu,μibers and letters take form: "1635 Palm Terrace."

Penciled on a sheet of paper torn from Bigelow•s pad is the same address. Thick fingers crumple the paper, then a huge shape moves silently from view to reveal Cliff and

Peevy s house.

Peevy sits at the kitchen table, the rocket pack before him. The helmet rests.to one side, its dents smoothed out. Peevy puts the finishing st~oke on an annotated schematic d_rawing detailing t~~ pa·ck 's workings.

__ JI

Peevy inserts a funnel in the rocket's fuel port and tops off its tank with alcohol. Then he hears a CREAKING from the back of the house. Tensing, he stands, the rocket in one hand and a ball-peen hammer in the other.

Cliff pulls up on his motorcycle •. With newspapers under his arms, he starts up the porch.

I

A heavy CRASH, BREAKING furniture, and SHATTERING glass is heard inside. Cliff drops everything and grabs the doorknob. It is locked. .;;_

74 CONTINOEO: 74

Cliff pounds on the door, then pust1s against it. the door does not move.

Peevy picks himself up from the floor as a wide shadow looms above him. Be flings the hammer with all his strength.

[

Lothar ducks effortlessly. The hammer SINGS past his head and BASHES into a mirror on the wall, sending glass across the living room.

Lothar steps toward the· old mecha·nic. Peevy backs. against

I. r the fireplace, looking about for a weapon. He seizes a

large air race trophy from the mantel and throws it like a harpoon. The trophy strikes Lothar between the eyes with a heavy "THUMP1" ..

The huge assassin staggers back towards the front door. He shakes his head like a dazed bull. As Cliff continues

to pound frantically on the door, Lothar looks at Peevy

and gives him a cold grin.

l,,_) 76 EXT./INT. CLIFF ANO PEEVY'S BOUSE - NIGHT 76

Cliff is set to bust the door down with his shoulder when it swings open. He is yanked in and thrown across the carpet where he lands on a coffee table.

Peevy jumps on Lothar's back. The giant thug grabs Peevy's collar and tosses him aside. Peevy lands on an easy chair, which topples backwards with the impact.

Several carloads of police and FBI pull up onto Cliff and Peevy's lawn, their headlights off. Fitch, Wooly and two other agents hurry onto the porch.

f 76B INT. CLIFF AND PEEVY'S BOUSE - NIGHT 76B

Cliff tries to get up. He is grabbed by the face and lifted off the floor. Lothar shakes Cliff like a rag doll. The pilot's feet dangle above the carpet.

·LOTRAR Where is it?

(CONT!°NUEDJ

76B CONTINUED: 7GB

CLIFF

[I

Where's what?

Looking past Lothar's shoulder, Cliff spies the rocket pack on an end table with the fringed shade the quick-

C thinking Peevy had set o~it, the pack resembles an Art

Deco lamp.

Snarling, Lnthar lifts Cliff off the floor, jamming his head through the lath.and plaster ceiling.

Lothar and Cliff are Suddenly blinded by the headlight's glare.

Lothar throws Cliff aside, draws twin .45's, and begins BLASTING through the door.

An agent standing next to Fitch is blown off the porch and hits the ground dead. Fitch, Wooly, and two other G-Men

,.- scramble and dive for cover. Tommy guns and pistols are

yanked out and a furious BARRAGE of return fire begins.

Bullets SPLINTER the home. Cliff and Peevy are flattened on the floor. Lothar ignores them, FIRES and moves with combat precision around the house.

Lothar spots the back door. Be makes his getaway through the k:tchen. Peevy's rocket diagram catches Lothar's eye. He snatches it from the table and stuffs it in his pocket.

~ooly stands at the door, ready to rush through it when suddenly the door bursts free of the frame. He is s~~mmed to the ground as Lothar.escapes toward the alley.

i {CONTINUED) i 'i

··-·······-------··---..:

79 CONTINu~i.. ~ 79 t:~1;0::c,

7 Wooly tries to rise from under the door. Two more pair of ·L feet stomp across. Carrying the helmet and rocket, Cliff and Peevy jump a hedge and disappear into the darkness.

ri 79A INT. SOOTH SEAS CLOB 79A I LJ A clarinet FILLS THE SCREEN and delivers a high, sweet cascade of notes. POLL BACK to reveal the BANOLEADER/ CLARINETIST as he leads his big band through ~n upbeat, rousing intro. On the stage, a large clamshell opens. A beautiful female vocalist emerges and begins to sing a sultry torch song. PAN AROONO to reveal:

The decor is deco/tropical. Full-sized palms and glowing lanterns. Sarong-clad cocktail girls wear gardenias in their hear. Pools of rippling water reflect shimmering p_atterns. A live mermaid smiles at patrons from a circular aquarium. The music swells. ,Q ',__ Ii

-- the hottest spot in town. Tuxedoed doormen admit the Hollywood gentry, while photographers and AUTOGRAPH BOUNDS jostle for the position at the velvet-rope ba~ricade, rubber-necking each new arrival. -

·A black limousi·ne purrs to the curb. A uniformed valet rushes to open the door. Betty and Sinclair proceed up the carpeted walk. Sinclair is impeccable in black tie and tails. Betty, on his arm, has been poured into a - stunning evening d~ess. ' i ....::) Sinclair's fans besiege him fer autographs. An autograph book gets shoved into Betty's hands. She starts to pass -. it to Sinclair, but

Be~ty's face lights up. Delighted, she signs the book and ha:,ds .i.t back.

I I BETTY

Thank you.

Sinclair sweeps her into the nightclub.

The MAITRE D' leads Betty and Sinclair aero•• the club. Betty takes in the ■ urroundings with barely-concealed •w• .. Sinclair i• nodding and tossing an occasional wave of greeting. They arrive at their table. As Betty i• seated, w.c. PIELOS, aartini in hand~ passes by.

Fields takes her hand, gallantly clicking his heels.

Monk appears and whispers discreetly in Sinclair'• ear.

i,;;;; SINCLAIR I '•• I Forgive me, Betty, I've rec•ived an

urgent call. I won't be a moment • (to Fields)

• ri Bill, look after the young lady. ,. ___,/

Eddie, agitated, peers out the window overlooking the club. • Stevie's at the desk, mixing a bicarb as he talks on the ph0ne. •

He hands Eddie the bicarb. Eddie downs it in on~ 9Ulp. Sinclair • enters. Eddie belches, glares at him. *

Eddie alaps a newspaper onto the deak: •WHO XS '1'HE ROCKETEER1" •

apart looking for this •Rocket- • Head," and you're out ateppin' with • a011e dame!

Rocketeer'• girlfriend.

Eddie blinks in surprise. He peers out the window into the club.•

in half? - *

American expression, isn't it?

on any more of my aen without •Y * aay ao, you'll wind up kissing fish * under some pier. Another American * expression.

SINCLAIR

:~·⇒ One word from Wilmer to the police liJ ·

would have hung us both. Are you • too stupid to see that?

_i f

elbows with stars like me. And ·

catering to our whims. •

I (steely amile)

Don't ever forget your place in the .;:_

scheme of things, Eddie.

(CONTINUED}

Sinclair crosses to the doer.

•

dempolish your shabby little empire • with a phone call. I want that

rocket. Tonight.

Sincla~r exits. Eddie is left glaring across hi• desk.

STEVIE Boss? I promised my girl I'd get

C his autograph. This a bad time

to ask?

I - Eddie stews for a moment, then snatches up the newspaper and

hurls it at him.

8 CUT TO: J ' :_J

- I

I

The giant bul-ldog sits serenely in the moonlight. · Warm light spills inviting through the doors.

Malcolm comes hurrying up to the Bulldog and goes inside. The CAMERA BOOMS OP AND POSHES IN toward the giant bulldog head. Inside, a RADIO plays.·

Cliff and Peevy huddle over a small table in the attic. A RADIO sits on the table between them.

I ; Bigelow promises is birdman will

return. Until then, all of Los Angeles is buzzing ••• Who is the Rocke teer? -

Peevy turns OFF the radio.

Whoever these people are, -they re playing for keeps. I'm ·tellin' you - somebody's gonna get hurt.

(CONTlNUE~)

L--·'

ROCKETEER Green Rev 9/11/90

There's a pounding from below •• Cliff and Peevy hurry t9 the trap door, throw the bolt and lift it. Millie and Malcolm are below.

It's Bigelow •••

The news hits Cliff hard. Millie looks scared.

( .

Cliff and Peevy descend the ladder. Cliff walks to the phone, Having just heard th~ news, Goose and Skeets watch him solemnly. Cliff picks up the receiver. Malcolm exits.

SSA EXT. BULLDOG CAFE - NIGHT SSA

As Malcolm walks back toward the airfield, two shiny, black sedans pull up in the shadows.

Cliff stands at the payphone as it rings at the other end. * Suddenly, the bell over the door JANGLES as somebody enters. Cliff turns. ·

Spanish Johnny, Rusty, Jeff and Mike amble in. Expensjve suits, shined shoes~ an air of casual violence beneath their-smiles. ·

u6A

ROCKETEER Green Rev 9/11/90

85B CONTINUED: {2) 85B

Cliff feels their eyes on him as, on the line, a voice * answers:

VOICE (over phone) Federal Bureau of Investigation, Agent Gorman speaking.

-CLIFF Uh -- yeah, I'll be home soon, honey. Love you, too.

ROCKETEER Green Rev 9/11/90

VOICE Huh? Who is this?

9liff hangs up, giving the·gangsters a bland, pleasant smile. Moves to the counter and sits, painfully casual. Millie, thinking quickly, places a plateful of food before * him. Peevy sits at the counter ·next to Skeets and Goose.

Millie looks at the pilots who say nothing.

:_ i

No one responds.

,. (_ --'

PErn Secord? Yeah, I know him. Little guy, cu_rly hair?

Spanish Johnny leans down, putting his face in inch from * Cliff's.

Howsa' 'bout you, bub? You know * this Secord?

ROCKETEER Green Rev 9/11/90

8 5 B CONTil!Trl:'.T": ( 4) 85B

C Johnny turns to Millie, fixing her with a cold stare.

Johnny suddenly seizes the rack of pies from tlie counter D and sends it crashing against the wall. Cliff and the others scramble to their feet, but find themselves gazing down the barrels of the guns that materializes in the gangsters' fists.

Johnny throws a full carafe against the wall, spraying glass and hot coffee across the flyer's photos.

He fires ·two rounds into the radio.· *

l_j ,· • PEEVY

I'm tellin' you, we don't know where he is.

Johnny contemptously wipes his hands on a counter towel, * nodding slowly.

He nods to Rusty, who seizes Peevy from behind, twisting his arm. Rusty drags him to the counter, then goes behind *

- i

Rusty grabs Peevy by the back of the neck and shoves h,Js ace slowly, inexoribly toward the grill.

ROCKETEER Green Rev 9/11/90 69.

SSB (CONTINUED) 85B

Cliff gropes on the counter behind him. He tinds a ketchup bottle, grasps it -- and suddenly finds Mike's gun in his ·face. Mike yanks the bottle fr0111 Cliff's fingers.

Naughty boy.

Peevy's face is inches from the sizzling grill. Rusty turns· up-the flame.

Cliff cannot bear it a moment longer. He is about to blurt out a confession, when:

Rusty keeps a firm grip on Peevy, but lifts his :face from Q * the grill. Johnny walks toward Cliff-- then past him to the phone.

The wall around it has numbers scrawled across· .it. Johnny

pulls Jenny's autographed photo from his pocket and compares it to a name on the wall: "JENNY.ft on both photo

and wall, the name is written with a heart a.round it. Johnny grins. «-

Johnny picks up the phone. Cliff and the others watch, holding their breath.

86· INT. BOARDING HOUSE - NIGHT 86

The hall telephone in the Stage Club =ings. Irma comes out her door in bathrobe and curlers. f'

Hello?

••I

SPANIS:a JC~Y Hello? This is the, uh, fL:>rist. I have a lovely bouquet for a * Jenny, but I can't read the address.

ROCKETEER Green Rev. 9/11/90

86A (CONTINUED) (2) 86A

I

room. I know it well.

Rusty snickers. *

n 'J

0 SPANISH JOHNNY ' ' L. ; ••• Cliff Secord. *

Is that right! Well, he's-too late, she's gone to the south Seas Club with Mister Neville Sinclairl (the line goes dead) * ,· . Hello-?

SPANISH JOHNNY

Rusty, this'll slay ya. Guess __ j *

where the dish went? She's with the limey ••• at the South Seas Club!

Cliff shoots Peevy a desperate look.

one on Eddi~? ·

70A.

ROCKETEER Green Rev 9/11/90

87 ( CONTINUED) ( 2) 87

SPANJ:SH JOHNNY (continuing) Let's go. * '

Spanish Johnny and Rusty exit. Mike saunters to the counter and sits. Steals himself a doughnut. he plays with the lever action on his gun as he spins on the c.Junter stool. Jeff, gun held loosely, strolls along the wall. of C photos. The tension gets thicker by the moment. Jeff pauses at a picture of Peevy in his early flying gear.

n Jeff moves closer and closer to a prominent picture of J. Cliff and Jenny. Millie's·hand goes to a large skille~ on the grill. Cliff braces himself on the counter. Peevy gauges the distance to Mike and his gun. The tension is so thick you can cut it with a knife.

••

L' .. ,

.. I__

ROCKETEER Green Rev 9/ll/90'

;;~~;~() ~? Jeff starts to ~ove on, but pauses, staring more intently I~ at the photo of c:iZf and Jenny embracing in front of the * Standard.

D so that ~akes you--

He turns to see Cliff's fist coming right at his face. All hell breaks loose.

A series of QUICK CUTS follow: Cliff bounces the thug off the wall with a flurry of punches while Mike jumps from his J. stool, doughnut in mouth. He levels his gun, but Peevy grabs his arm from behind and wrenches his aim toward the ceiling. Skeets jumps on his back. Mike fires reflexively, BLASTING holes in the ceiling.

Cliff finishes Jef£ o£f with a roundhouse punch that spins him around and sends him crashing to the floor. At the counter, Millie swings an iron skillet and does a Babe Ruth on the back of Mike's head -- KLONNNG! Mike crumples like a sack of beans.

PEEVY

I: Dirty bastards! : I j_j Skeets picks,up a gun and holds it on the mo~ning Mike.

Cliff races up the ladder and hurries through the trap door.

_J In the tiny storeroom of the Bulldog's head, the rocket sits next to a rickety table. Cliff seizes the machine and swinc':;s it onto his back. Peevy's hand wraps about Cliff's wrist.··

PEEVY

III

Cliff, no! Not again!

~ ~;~itj;.i , CLIFF

ri~lf the ·city's lookin' for us. I can-fly to that nightclub i~ five minutes and nobody can follow me!

--- - --- -=-------- - -- -- ---- - ---

rocket•s goin is straight to the Feds. We agreed!

n__j · But Betty's in trouble now •• , and

that girl means more to me than •••

Pause.

Cliff searches for the right words. He suddenly feels

n very helpless. _J

Cliff and Peevy•s eyes meet.

Brother, you got my word! I'm sorry I ever laid eyes on itt

;~ i Cliff slams on his helmet and races out onto the upper ~ deck.

Peevy wrinkles his nose, smelling something. He glances at the floor and sees --

A TRAIL OF SPLATTERED FUEL

leading right up to Cliff, who stands ready to blast off.

~- . PEEVY 1 •• (eyes go wide)

Hold itl tou're leaking fuel all over the. place! Touch that button and we all go ·upt

(CONTINUED}

i.~.fti>--\

88 CONTINUED: ( 2) 88_

Peevy rushes over and fingers a crease in the rocket's housing.

PEEVY

D She caught a ricochetl Must'~

ruptured a fuel tank!

Peevy pauses, mind racing. He sees the wad of "good luck" gum stuck to the top of the rocket's injector housing.

Peevy jams the gmn over the fuel leak. Being overly

~ 1-,

_j his bronze face towar~ the sky.

CLI:p:F (muffled) Stand clear!

··Peevy opens the door and sticks his head out --

-- as Cliff punches the button. ·KA-BLAM! Peevy gets knocked on his ass once again and slams into shelves of canned goods as the Racketeer streaks into the heavens like ~ shooting star.

As Peevy picks himself up from among the cafe's supplies -- a massive .45 automatic drifts from the shadows and levels itself straight at him. The hammer cocks back with a SOFT

... CLICK. Peevy freezes and raises his hands •

89 ·OMITTED 89

{CONTINUED)

ROCKETEER Pink Rev 8/31/90

[·

A ceremony is in progress. Searchlights scan the sky. , Limousines line the curb. Stars and fans pack he for~court.

On the theatre's roof, a SPOTLIGHT MAN notices a fiery streak in the sky.

--.:. 'I As he streaks over Hollywood, Cliff is suddenly blinded by

a shaft of light.

As the excited spotlight man tries to track-the Racketeer, his foot slips over the edge of the roof. He stumbles, slides down the steep roof and rolls over the brink, han~s clawing. His fingers seize on a gutter and he hangs precariously over the forecourt.

Down below, all attention centers on the roped off pad of wet cement.

,. j - . . BETTE DAVIS

Thank you. It's a great honor to be invited here tonight. I have all of you to thank, all my lovely fans--

She is interrupted by a scream.

r:.:"'; --~{fj;Y, ONLOOKER (O.S)

Oh my God! Look up there!

All attention shifts to the spotlight man dangling from the theatre's main tower. The other spotlights sweep over to illuminate him~ .. Helpless, the spectators hold their breath- -·

-

ROC:KETEER Pink Rev 8/31/90

9 0 B CONTINUED ( 2 ) 90B

Then the man's fingers lose their desperate grip. An explosive roar thunders down from above. The crowd gasps in horror as the.man drops towards the pavement. r

The Racketeer's paT.h is drawn by a fiery trail as ·he scoops up the falling man just before impact. Barely managing the

D

extra weight, Cliff swoops low, then drops the man safely into the crowd.

He executes a loop and lands proudly, feet spread, hands at his side. The crowd goes berserk. Every spotlight, camera and eye is on the Racketeer. ·

· It's his best landing yet except that his feet are planted firmly in the wet cement. Recognition ripples through the crowd.

SECOND REPORTER

, ,: .. Mr. Racketeer! Who are you! Where

do you--!

•. 1__1

Cliff's moment of glory is short lived. The exci t·ed crowd surges forward. A panicked Cliff blastsoff into the night sky •. The rocket's thrust carves a craterin the cement between his footprints.

Bette Davi~ graps a pencil from a reporter. She reaches

J.::.:.: down and quickly etches "THE ROCKETEER" in the cement.

F~T REPORTER Miss Davis! Miss Davis!

Flustered, the actress moves to one·side. The reporters air.their cameras. Flashbulbs explode as the cement slab is photographed.

A flashbulb pops as a camera girl snaps a shot. We PULL BACK.to reveal Betty and Sinclair posing for their picture.

{CONTINUED}

A waiter pou:s more champagne. Sinclair is watching Betty. She's aglcw, intoxicated by the setting, the glamour ... most of all, by his warm attentive smile.

'7I ,

L-1 SINCLAIR

Not nearly so elegant as you. You look positively radiant. And that dress is stunning.

Betty blushes, soaking in the compliment ... then leans

n forward confidentially:

Sinclair laughs.

lied to you ••• I ve never been here before.

Setty just melts through the floor as she sips her

i.J

champagne. Sinclair can't take his eyes off her. There's definitely a spark here.

Betty looks around, confused. The band isn't playing.

D

A '_, I

Be takes her hand, pulls her gently but firmly to her feet, and walks her out onto the vast, empty dance floor. People start to notice them and a hush falls. Betty looks ~round, self-conscious. ·

He takes her i.n his arms and starts to dance. By now the

: ' place.is so quiet you ·could hear a pin drop. All we hear '--;

is the whisper of their shoes on the dance floor.

{\~;~--- -~t-!i~c_;: Op in the balcony, the follow-spot operator turns on his

light. ae pins them in .the beam, follows them across the floor.

Backstage, the Bandleader peeks through the curtains to find out wy everything got so quiet out there.

The musicians ditch their cigarettes and straighten their ties. They take to the stage, pick up their instruments, settle in. The Bandlead~r raises his clarinet •••• looks over his shoulder tc:i gauge the dancers' temrci ••• and starts the band into a soft, romantic ballad.

f

Betty feels light-headed. This was either the most embarrassing moment of her life ••• or the most romantic. Other couples start drifting onto the floor, joining them.

SINCLAIR · (continuing} If you have a dream, ·aetty, you must act on it. Cance ••• and -the •, world will follow •

dance •••

ti>-, \fi\, ____./ 92

L.J A flash of light, a dropping shadow, smoke drifts throngh

the air. The Racketeer peers around a corner in the foreground, removes his helmet and pulls the folded duffel bag from his jacket flap.

; I I 92A EXT. SOUTH SEAS CLUB - NIGHT 92A :.J

Cliff approaches the club carrying the rocket and helmet in the duffel bag. Ee stares at the crowded club entrance. Only black ties and evening gowns ar• getting in. Cliff glances at his own meager clothes, then hurries around the corner.

The SOUND of breaking glass. Cliff's hand snakes through akhole in a transom window and pushes the latch over. He opens the window, drops inside, and finds himself in a

q

service hallway. -Busboys pass f.g. Cliff ducks into --

93A THE LAUNDRY ROOM 93A

Be finds ~ashing machines, sinks, and racks of waiter's unif.orms. No windows, just a laundry chute, beneath whi"ch

I i lies two large sacks of dirty laundry. Cliff grabs an •..I -1' empty sack off the shelf, wrestles the duffel bag into it

and adds it to the two laundry sacks on the floor.

Cliff exits the kitchen through a swinging door wearing an ill-fitting busboy's uniform over his own clothes. Be

moves self-consciously into the club, looking for Betty s table. Be suddenly sees

-- Betty and Sinclair on the dance floor, still in the spotlight, the center of attention among 01!-her couples. Cliff's jaw tighten~. So that's how it isl

_,

The song en~s and the dancers applaud -- mostly fot Sinclair and Betty. Sinclair escorts her back toward their table. The band goes into another dance number, and more couples drift onto the dance floor. ·

BETTY ANO SINCLAIR

sit down at their table. Betty seems· pensive, a bit melancholy.

1-i:~tJ 94 CONTINUED: 94 ,--

They both laugh. Betty is grateful for the understanding.

u

Betty looks at Sinclair trying to discern how serious he's being.

Betty shows Sinclair a charm bracelet on her wrist. She picks out a tiny silver orange.

Betty nods. She searches for a little silver plane on her bracelet.

I_.

miniature GeeBee.

Suddenly a bowl.comes down in front of Sinclair. He

lq i glances up. i.

SINCLAIR

·: -fti?f),- .. (continuing) ·,-s,_)

We haven't ordered anything!

l

WAITER (O.S.)

<.-' 1-~I Yes, sir. Compliments of the _.;· ·-' 4 house. The owner insisted. :\i

Another empty bowl comes down in front of Betty. She looks down. A piece of paper torn from a menu lies in the bottom of the bowl. On it is written: NMeet me by the

·1 big fish. ~! : '

Betty looks up. She can't believe her eyes. It's Cliff, glaring at her and motioning toward a large sculpted _ dolphin surrounded by thick foliag~. Betty draws her hand away from Sinclair as if from a ~~t poker. Cliff ladles hot soup into Betty's bo~l, covering the note.

SINCLAIR

I :

(to Betty) Go on. You were saying ••• ? (off Betty's glazed look) The accident at the airfielc? - Betty shoots Cliff a furious .lo·ok. He• s motioning

·, vigorously toward the dolphin as he fills Sinclair's bowl.

c~~~i (CONT!'NOEOJ

,~:}?7', 94 94 CONTINUED: (3) ,:::,,((\ __ _,, i-~

BETTY

1__: It's kind of silly when you stop

to think about it. He missed the airstrip altogether. Bit the only tree for miles around. It's surprising the real pilots let him use the runway.-

I r; LJ Cliff clenches his teeth. He gives Betty a d~sperate

look.

Betty smiles sweetly at Sinclair. Cliff eyes Sinclair with a~"Why, I oughtau look. Cliff continues to place glasses and silverware on the table while pleading with his eyes for Betty to get away.

Sinclair peers ~t Cliff -- something familiar about this guy.

SlNCLAIR (continuing) Have you worked here long?

l

Sinclair and Betty exchange an embarrassed glance. Cliff shoots more frantic looks at Setty trying to signal her away from the table. She shoots them right back -- drop _dead.

f Cliff is tired of having his signals ignored. He picks up

the .champagne bottle and pointedly misses Betty's glass, pouring icy champagne into her lap. She lets out a yell and jumps to her feet. So does Sinclair.

'Cliff heads off on a circuitous route to the dolphin sculp~u~e, signalling to Betty as he goes.

□· SINCLAIR

I'm sorry, darling!

Betty hurries off toward the ladies' lounge. When she's sure that Sinclair isn't watching, she heads for the island of foliage around the dolphin. When she gets near,

Cliff s hand reaches out and yanks her in. She lands on top of him and they both fall to the floor. Betty gets to her knees and a~grily pushes him away.

({f.~ Are you out of your mind?!! What '.G~l,_ __) are you doing here? l

Cliff can see from Betty•s face that she doesn't know if she believes him.

(CONTINUED.)

94 CONTINUED: { 5) 94

CLIFF

[ (continuing)

Honey, get ready for a shock. I'm the Rocketeer.

□ Setty searches Cliff's eyes. She wants to believe him. I

That was the last answer she expected, and the one that works. Cliff grabs her and kisses her hard. Releasing her, he glances over his shoulder and sees Spanish Johnny and Rusty enter the club.

Cliff drags Betty down .as the two thugs walk to the head of the steps overlooking the dance floor. Rusty is standing aboq~__tour feet above Cliff and Betty, looking around the room. ·

,-··-. Rusty and Spanish Johnny stroll down the stairs onto the

dance floor, casting watchful eyes through the crowd. -~"''l'he

:::itb~ dance floor is crowded wi.th happy, swinging couples. ~

94 CONTINUED: {6) 94

CL!FF Go! Right nowt

She clings to him another mome~t. Then, giving him a brave smile, she rises and makes her way toward the main entrance.

Cliff parts the foliage to make his getaway -- then sees

I 1] Rusty and Spanish Johnny standing at Sinclair's table ••.

talking to him! Sinclair looks anxiously around the rom • Cliff sinks back and watches.

B~tty fights the crowd at the coat check. She waves her ticket, keeping an anxious eye for the two men.

l

Lothar steps out of a cab and heads for the entrance, pushing through a group of Hollywood gentry. The bouncers blink, none daring to question the grotesque henchman.

' Betty finally gets her wrap and heads for the doors. She i exits one as Lothar comes through the other. Patrons give

the giant startled glances and a wide berth.

As Cliff watches, Sinclair gives orders to Rusty and Spanish Johnny. They leave to do his bidding The import of what he has just seen shows on his face. Sinclair? After the rocket?!!

Cliff leaves his hiding place and hurries up the stairs and a~~ost runs face to face into Lotharl The giant ape- man lets out a low animal growl ~nd starts for Cliff.

Cliff turns,. dashes back down the stairs onto the dance floor and disappears into the crowd of dancers. Lothar chases him, bowling people over and eliciting screams and curses.

Sinclair looks up at the disturbance and sees the head and shoulders of his henchman· cutting a wide swath through the crowd.

.. . . . - ---

Cliff barges through the swinging doors nailing a waiter

L. with a tray. Dishes go flying. Lothar comes through a

beat later like an express train.

n

J ,__1 the room. He slams the door and bolts it. He turns and

looks to where he had hidden his duffel bag and its precious cargo.

Where once had stood two laundry sacks, twenty more have joined them. In desperation, Cliff dives onto the pile - and frantically tears through them. A heavy THUMPING is heard on the door as Lothar tries to break in.

Betty stands at the curb outside the club. A cab pulls up. Betty head~ for it. Somebody beats he~ to it, Another cab arrives. She makes a beeline for it, but a couple get there first.

The door bursts open -- torn from its hinges. Panting, Lothar charges in like an enraged bull -- the room is empty. No Cliff. Laundry everywhere.

Lothar starts tearing through the piles, then pauses. Lothar spots a pair of boots in the laundry chute. He makes a grab for them. KA-BLAMl! Lothar is blown off his feet by the rocket's BLAST as Cliff BLASTS up the chute.

In the ornate lounge, several WOMEN check their makeup in the mirrors. A towel girl hands towels to the Ladies from a low cart and drops the used ones down the chute.

I

There is a RUMBLE in the wall behind them: The laundry chute door bursts open with a NCLANG!• as the Rocketeer's

,-/.~">,_. __

helmet smashes through. .,•.

<sti}

The Women scream as Cliff flies from the chute and lands on top of the Society Matron, pinning her to the cart in Q rude sort of missionary position. Racketeer, $Creaming Woman and cart go BLASTING out of the room under rocket power.

•n 101

L.3

The cart bursts through the lounge doors onto the upper mezzanine, bowling over a couple df men waiting for their dates, and plows through the tables. People dive out of the way as the Society Woman kicks and screams.

The cart SLAMS to a stop against the railing, ejecting Cliff out over the club. The Society Matron sails into one of the full-size palm trees which gives way at th.e base, depositing her in one of the pools of water.

Barely under control, Cliff zooms over the heads of the musicians, bouncing off the wall, ricocheting across the room.

Astonished Patrons yell and scream, some diving for cover. A few stand and point at Cliff.

Sinclair watches in shock as the Racketeer makes a low sweep past his table. Be runs for the mezzanine.

Cliff does touch-and-go hops across a series of tables,

: j scattering dishes and setting fire to napkins and

tablecloths. Panic begins to break out. People lunge from their tables and stampede for the exit.

l0lA INT. EDDIE'S OFFICE - NIGHT l0lA

if· Eddie hears the SCREAMS and SOUNDS of chaos. Be goes to is aquarium window. All he can see is a surge of people.

He runs out his off ice door an·d is caught in the flood of panicked Patrons. Be fights his way back toward the main room like a salmon swimming upstream.

lOlB EXTSGSOBTB~.s.EAS::CLOB - NIGHT ffJD I I ... A.<aab pulls up ~at the c~ ?:'b. Betty looks. Not a soul u around.,. She s,t-arts for tl.s =ab. Suddenly, the doors to

the:i6011th Sea~:.:.Club burst open and a tidal wave of people pOU4'uOut.

'lOlC INTSCSOllTH SEAS CLUB - Nl:HT h•lOlC n tJ Clif£?atakes another pass ov~r the musicians, who are now

trying~to flee along with the Patrons. He bumps the giant plasteeldlamshell from b~~ind, tipping it shut. Six musiaians ·a-re :t.rapped in the mammoth mollusk, their arms and legs protruding.

·:l Sinclaireaeaches Rusty and Spanish Johnny. j

Spanish Johnny pulls a .45 and begins BLASTING away. Stevie and Monk take the shots as a signal to OPEN FIRE, and lead peppers the club.

Betty hears the SHOTS and runs to one of the porthole windows in the club's facade. At that moment the Rock:eteer :.WHISTLES past. Betty pulls away and runs for the~main doors just before a slug BLOWS the window from its ·frame.

Beaty rea-.ehes the.doors just as they are SLAMMED shut and· loo~ed. 3h9he tugs and pounds on the doors, to no avail.

Cliff rockets around the club, bouncing off walls and

-ite~ring through decorations. Eddie's men seal off all

:possible escape routes trapping· Cliff iand about half the . ,~atrons ••• Cliff keeps veering off in new directions. 1 Smoke fills the club. Eddie fights his way free of the trapped and panicked Patrons and runs up to Sinclair.

EDDIE

I

(yelling over mayhem) Goddamn it, Sinclair! Stop!

EDDIE

L You're wrecking my clubl

A stray·bullet SHATTERS Eddie's mermaid tank. Like a

ll tidal wave, a thousand gallons of water and a startled u mermaid ride a white-water cascade down the stairway to

the dance floor. Sinclair steps aside, but Eddie is bowled over by the flopping mermaid.

Lothar comes out the service door, his clothes singed and hate in his eyes.

Cliff comes swooping in under the mezzanine and slides the length of the bar, knocking glasses and bottles in all directions. At the end of the bar lies an escargot buffet table.

Cliff SLAMS onto the back of a giant half-ton snail ice

q

sculpture, tipping the table. He rocket-sleds the snail across the floor toward the exit hanging onto the protruding eye-stalks like handlebars, leaving an icy slime trail behind him.

Sinclair grabs the .45 out of Stevies hands' and OPENS FIRE on the speeding snail. BULLETS chew into the snail, SPRA~ING crushed ice into the air. Cliff's eye-stalks snap off. Cliff veers, swooping out from under the mezzanine and arcing high across the floor.

~he snail keeps going, hurtling on its own. The snail SMASHES through the doors, knocking them off their hinges. Patrons stream out the opening. Betty fights her way in. She ducks in and hides behind a column, searching through the smoke for Cliff.

Cliff aims himself toward the new escape route. Sinclair looks up and sees the fishnet hanging. Grabbing Monk's Tommy gun, he BLAZES away at the support ropes as the

f Rocketeer swoops to make his escape.

The net falls. Cliff is snared· and comes CRASHING to the floor, bringing the net down with him. Cliff cuts his engine.

j~) ,r-i

Loth-ar converges on Cli.ff_, Cliff thumbs his ignition

L_;

buttons. Like a rocket-powered wrecking ball, Cliff leaps off the ground, shrouded in the net and collides with Lothar. Cliff drags Lothar around in circles on the dance floor. They roll to a tumbled stop.

Dazed, Cliff struggles to his feet. Lothar grabs nim in a bear nug, pinning Cliff's arms to his sides. The palm fronds behind Lothar stir. Suddenly, a plaster sea horse CRASHES down on Lothar's head. Betty sinks back in the foliage.

The stunned giant groans and drops to his knees. Through thickening smoke, Cliff staggers across the dance floor.

n Eddie's goons move in, weapons ready. As the thugs close _j in on him, Cliff gives his ignition buttons a desperate

jab.

The engine FIRES. Cliff shoots straight up as the rocket SCREAMS. At the last second, Cliff sees the skylight in his path. He instinctively throws his arms over his head.

The Rocketeer hits the skylight like an artillery shell. The stained glass tropical scene EXPLODES, dropping rainbow shards on the dance floor.

( Rusty aims a Tommy gun through the broken skylight and

stitches a line of SLUGS through• the night·.

A BULLET catches Cliff a glancing blow to his helmet, creasing the bronze. The Rocketeer spirals away through the Hollywood sky.

Sett~, ·emerges f_rom a line of potted palms and runs for the door. A shadowy-figure emerges from the smoke and grabs her by t~e arm. Betty gasps and struggles to get free. A small automatic pist~l is pressed into her ribs.

SINCLAIR

' Don't go. Our evening has just

begun.

Lothar appears behind Betty and drags her off into the gloom.

The giant bulldog is baleful in the silver moonlight. The neighborhood is dark and quiet. Not a soul in sight.

Cliff enters through the back, limping, the worse for

L wear. No dutf~l bag. He looks around. Nobody here.

Cliff climbs a few steps of the storeroom ladder and looks cautiously into the bulldog's head,

Startled, Cliff drops the trapdoor on his head and slips

n off the ladder, landing heavily on the cafe floor. The

bathrobe-clad Patsy emerges from a shadow.

PATSY

i Sorry! '· '

[

Cliff looks at Patsy in shock. Suddenly, the phone JANGLES loudly. Cliff jumps to his feet and snatches up the receiver.

CLIFF

i- j Peevy? I'.. <J

EDDIE (0. S.)

, Wanna talk to your girlfriend?

I

I' ,I E.uOIE (O.S.) '...J (cutting in)

Ah-ah! Just a taste, loverboy, so you know we're serious.

Cliff grabs a pencil, then a ·diner receipt from a spindle

l;;j by the cash register. I

l

be waiting. And Secord? Come alone or the girl's dead.

Eddie hangs up. Cliff stuffs the receipt into his pocket. Patsy is frightened by the conversation she's just overheard.

Patsy holds back tears. Cliff is immediately remorseful and kneels to comfort the girl.

Patsy looks excitedly at Cliff. She dries the tear on her

, cheek.

Cliff looks at her, unsure of the answer.

PATSY

[7

(continuing)

J Can't he?

Cliff puts his hands on her small shoulders, looking into her eyes.

Patsy throws her arms around Cliff's neck, hugging him tight.

Suddenly, both the front and rear doors of the diner are kicked in. Four large men with guns rush in -c·o surround Cliff. Fitch steps into a wash of light and smiles.

f

I

5_-,.1) ·~,1::jC?0

C

'7 • I -"

INT- SINCLAIR'S HOUSE, HALLWAY- NIGHT

Dressed in a smoking jacket, Sinclair moves down a hallway, bearing a bottle ot brandy and two snifters. He steps at a door, smooths his hair, unbolts the lock and enters.

INT- SINCLAia'S HOUSE, BEDROOM- NIGHT

Dim 1ight barely defines a richly furnished guest room. Then, the door opens and a bar of light falls across Sally's face. There is a gag stuffed in her mouth. Her eye-s-watch , a man-shaped shadow crawl across the wall.

The lights are switched on,- revealing that Sally is sitting up on a wide, opulent bed. Her wrists are tied behind her to the rails of the headboard, and another cord ••cures her ankles. She is still dressed in her evening gown, her image reflected in a large. gilt-edged mirror on the ceiling.

' ·-- -- i

Sinclair crosses to a bedside table and sets down a tray with brandy and two snifters. Sitting on the edge of the bed, his cold appraising eyes rake over the bound young woman. He reaches for her. She recoils. Smiling, he removes her gag.

Sinclair pours acme brandy and holds the glass to her lips tor her to drink. Sha sniffs at it auspiciously. C

·SINCLAIR (cent) Don't worry. I wouldn't spoil a fifty-year-old brandy. Go on, you'll feel more relaxed.

He pauses, considering the ropes.

SIN~ We don't want to mar that 1·ovely

I-·, skin. I i i__.J Sinclair releases the ropes, beginning with her wrists.

Neville, why are you doing this, what's going on?

I

,::1(. ))~'.t{i'

He steps back, smoothing his hair. A wolfish smile plays on his lips as Sally rubs her reddened wrists_. D

SALLY

J You do?

Sinclair gazes at her.

He steps in close to her.

; He attempts to kiss her. Sally places a·hand against his I .. chest, stopping him.

I

He runs his fingertip along the strap other dress.

Re crosses to an armoire and opens it with a flourish, revealing a dozen negligees.

Sally rises from the bed and goes to the wardrobe. She fingers the fine laces and silks.

Be selects a sheer black lace gown and passes it to her. Sally holds it against her body, studing the reflection in the arm.oire's mirror. He steps up l:)ehind her, eyeing her hungrily.

SALLY

; I . What girl didn't? I dreamt of tha~ l::d

scene a hundred times, I-

Catching herself, Sally lowers the negligee self-consciously.

I ' SALLY : ; (cont)

What am I saying? You kidnapped me! I don't know what to think, you've got me so confused ••• !

Sinclair seizes her and crushes his mouth to hers. After a moment, Sally pulls away.

She goes _into the bathroom, leaving the door ajar. Sinclair begins to unbutton his shirt while attempting to sneak A glance into the bathroom.

0 SALLY

( 0.s. ) Neville? Would you come in here, please?

He eagerly goes towards the door. n ~ INT- BATHROOM- NIGHT

Sinclair enters the gilt and marble bathroom. Sally's evening gown is open in the back, exposing a wedge of smooth pale skin. She looks at him demurely over her spoulder.

Sinclair steps forward. Sally suddenly turns, whipping up a perfume atomizer. She sprays him square in the face. Sinclair staggers back, eyes burning.

Sally r~aches·for a large ceramic pitcher and brings it down id:· en Sinclair's head. The pitcher shatters and Sinclair drops sa unconscious to th4 floor. Sally shudders in revulsion.

_ SALLY ~inally played a scene with Neville Sinclair.

INT- SINCLAIR'S HOUSE, BEDROOM- NIGHT

Sally hurries from the bathroom. She crosses to the bedroom door and opens it silently, then slips out into the hall.

INT- SINCLAIR'S HOTJ'SE, HALLWAY- NIGH'r

Sally creeps to the stairway landing. An escape down "clle stairs is impossible. Lothar sits in the foyer below eating a plate of cold chicken as he lJ.stensto "Amos and Andy" on the radio.

r

As silently as possible, Sally moves to anoth·er door on the second floor hallway and goes in.

Sally looks about, panicked. She hurries to the window and opens it. Looking down, she aees a sheer drop to the driveway below.

Suddenly, there are angry voices out in the hall, quickly approaching. TUrning, Sally spies a sliver ot dim light emanating from a seam in the wall panelling. She goes to it, and discovers the radio room door has been left slightly ajar. Sally slips into the cubbyhole and closes the panel.

·7 ' 1 - INT- RADIO ROOM- NIGHT

As her eye~. become accustomed to the light, Sally sees the transmitter. She quickly glances at the various docwnents and codebooks piled on the radio table.

She finds a sheaf of papers clipped together, "Rocketeer" news clippings, handwritten notes. Printed at the top of one paper is "AMBROSE PEABODY- Aviation Mechanic", with Peevy's roc~et pack diagram, stolen by Lothar. Sally folds the diagra.Jll and hides it in the bosom of her gown •..-

The voices have entered the library. Desperate, Sally seizes the radio microphone and hits switches until the transmitter lights up and static crackles from the speaker.

A reply barks from the radio, in gutteral German. Sally ■tarts, realization dawning. Her eyes find the code book I with its swastika-emblazoned cover. i _i

t~fb

[. She whirls tc see Sinclair in the doorway of the radio room, a handkerchief held to the back of his head. Lothar hovers ominously at his elbow.

D ( anarling)

All of the above.

n

I I

ROCKETEER Tan Rev (Second Set) 11/19/90

Seated at a corner of Hughes' massive desk, with a cup of coffee and a sandwich beside him, is Peevy. Hughes is listening intently, nodding, as Peevy speaks.

The oak ~oors swing open. Peevy turns in surprise as Cliff is led in by the agents.

, .. I PEEVY

Cliff! Alil I glad to see you!

Fitch dumps a~ envelope onto·the desk-Cliff's wallet, :_j coins, pocket knife, chewing gum - and the folded·diner receipt.

Hughes rises, facing Cliff.

CLIFF

; '.I What pilot doesn't Mr. Hughes? , __ I

-- .... -- --· ··-· .. I--~--·- -··· .... -~ HUGHES - ...

I .. designed the Cirrus X-J, the

rocket pack •. - . It was stolen from my factory. ... ... ___ ·___ _

CLIFF

(C()NTINUED)

ROCKETEER Tan Rev (Second Set) 11/19/90

He believes us. Give him the rocket.

C

anyway.

n That's him. : I ' Cliff's only response is an anxious tight lipped stare. *

The room dims as a screen lowers and a projector flutters to life behind a wall port. cfiO

r--- A grainy, silent black and white film unspools on the , screen •. Adolph Hitler is seen shaking hands and exchanging "heils 11 with various high-ranking German military officials.

The Germans are busly adjusting a crude rocket pack tied to a test pilot's back. The German engine is much_ heavier and bulkier than the Hughes design.

if- The Germans move back to safety as the pilot readies himself. The pilot fire the ignition button. A plume of flame scorches the ground around him as he lifts off_ - ---- - awkwardly. Twenty feet up, the rocket sputters, pitching the pilot towards the earth. The rocket fires again, slamming him.into the ground~

___ HUGHES _ The combustion chamber would · overhead and explode-. My boys finally figured it out. A double walled chamber through which the fuel is pumped. Cool- the chamber --- and pre-heat the fuel at the same -- -··time-~ ---- --- ----- -- ·---- - ..... ·- ----- ·- ------ --

ROCKETEER Tan Rev {Second Set) 11/19/90

['1:?t-:~; 117 CONTINUED ( 3) 117

I~;· The Germans rush towards him. The pilot writhes helplessly, one pantleg afire. Just as the others reach him, the rocket fires once more. The Germans are blown back by its blast.

I

The pilot spins across the ground, striking the side of the bunker. The ruptured rocket bursts into flame, D engulfing the unfortunate man's tangled remains.

The imag~ on the screen abruptly changes to an animated map of Europe, swarming with flying soldiers - rocket- outfitted Storm Troopers. Rocket men blanket the skies, , I flying in formation above ruined, burning cities. The unstoppable winged c?mmandoes sweep across the Continent.

Cliff and Peevy stare at the animated film, faces sober. · The next · image is the bleakest yet.

A map of the qnited States appears, suddenly assaulted by dark arro~s which spread from points East. Rocket-borne assault troops. advance on Washington, o.c. As the Capitol burns, searing flames leap up to engulf a proud Federal eagle. The s}'lllbol melts like wax, then reforms as a Nazi eagle.

The film ends. The screen rises out of view. All sit stone-faced. After a momenr 1 Hughes clears his throat. He places a hand on Cliff's shoulder •

Where's my rocket pack, Secord?

Cliff stares at the floor, unable to answer •

••• --~~~-~~.:-~:.:::. • ••••••• -· ··-··~~ •• H~ •••• FITCH... , ___ _ · · I'm tired of square dancing with you! I can· slap you with grand theft, espionage, treason - and.

·· ---~~-=--~::---·----- ·that's just my short· list!·

Wooly, cuff this punk!

CLIFF.

~~rit~rt

Th,::,.v.'ve got.my gir.i •.:.. : .. ·. ·•

r

PEEV:Y--.-

ROCKETEER Tan Rev (Second Set) 11/19/90

C but you've got to let us Landle

this.

l;,;;;;J guys are playing for keeps-- I

·-· -- -.. -We~ re taking. thelll- downtown . and--

locking 'em up. ·--· (-CONTINUED} ......

"· ROCKETEER Tan Rev (Second Set) 11/19/90

Suddeply, Cliff jumps onto the desk. He leaps up, • grabbing the understructure that supports the large wings of the "Spruce Goose" model. The support wires snap. :=JI I ;. j ,_j Tha model rides on an overhead track, heading straight for the windows. Fitch and the other agents duck as the "Spruce Goose" smashes through the windows, catches air and carries Cliff away like a hang-glider. Fitch and Wooly draw their weapons.

The model carries Cliff over the ocean, disappearing as _it banks'•away. Hughes grins as the large model soars off.

The wind has blown the folded diner receipt onto Peevy's shoe. Not±ng the writing on the back, Peevy picks ~t up; 1, He reads it - "Griff Obs--4am--". · ., ' I - u

CUT TO: *

ROCKETEER Buff Rev '(Second Set) ll/2/90

It is close to four in the m~rning as low clouds move above a sleeping Los Angeles. Diffused moonlight splashes over white walls, curved parapets and copper do~es of the Observatory. Behind the domes, the cliffs drop off sheer aud straight, and city lights glimmer likP- a jeweled c~rpet.

The forecourt is a dark lawn crossed by wide concrete paths. In the c~nter of the lawn, a tall stone obelisk is surrounded by statues of famous astronomers, who stand solemn watch. Three Valentine gang sedans are parked at the base of the steps. Eddie, Rusty, Spanish Johnny and several auxiliary goons wait impatiently on the lawn, Tommy guns in hand.

Sinclair's auto rolls up. Lothar exits the car, then opens the passenger door and drags Jenny from her seat. Sinclair takes a tuxedo jacket from the backseat and nands it to her.

I i i SINCLAIR

You forgot this.

Jenny, rea1izing how exposed she is in her thin dress;

snatches the jacket, and puts it on. Sinclair smiles as Lothar takes her to the grass. Eddie approaches, scowling.

EDDIE,

,. Good, 'cause I've got a club to

repair, a new reputation to buy and· an ulcer to plug.

I 'i' Every.one looks up to the heavens. A "shooting star" streaks across the night over the city, quickly gi:·<Jwing ~iK11r' larger and brighter. Eddie signals his mell, who qui(.;kly form a loose circle about the lawn, Tommy gun barrels swinging up.

(CONTIN~ED}

, I lOOA*.

ROCKETEER Buff Rev 11/2/90

A distant whistling whine soon becomes a roar as the Racketeer swoops overhead.

Watched warily by the gangsters, Cliff descends and lands on the grass. He remo7es his helmet to face the 7 surrounding thicket oi gun barrels. LJ Cliff locks eyes with Jenny.

ROCKETEER Goldenrod Rev (Second Set) 11/2/90

118 CONTINUED (2)

She nods.

ni.._J

When she's driven down the hill, I'll --

r Secord. I have the girl ••• I

He pulls Jenny away from Lothar, pulls a luger from his coat and presses the gun to her temple.

t%.~J?~- EDDIE ,:~~(;t-... .____/•• I

Come on,kid! Hand it over so we

,:t can all go home! ... '· i ___: Cliff holds his breath, wheels turning.

Sinclair tenses slightly.•. ·

Deutchem.arks?

As Sinclair barely covers his shock, Eddie whips on him, _eyes narrowed.

.... EDDIE · What's he yappin' about?

' . ·- -~-' I

CLIFF

~:1s\/ I heard it straight.from the

Feds, Sinclair. The spy racket, .. ___ flying_ commandos, . the works •.

ROCKETEER Goldenrod Rev (Second Set) 11/2/90

Sinclair is smooth, but desperation and rage an~ beginning to light his eyes. Eddie is glaring at him, suspicion growing.

D too thin.

apd the Germans on the radio!

n Sinclair glances at Eddie's men, who have been listening J intently. Several of the Tommy gun.muzzles have drifted in Sinclair's direction.

Lothar starts to reach into his coat, only to find Rusty's Tommy gun in his face.

RUSTY

L.; Relax, Frankenstein. You ain't

bulletproof.

Eddie steps in close, bristling.

EDDrE Adolph and his goose-stepping rats?!

Cliff allows himself a small grin - the seeds of discord have been sown.

;.._

··-··. EDDIE (to. Cliff) - Shut -up. _____ _. ___________ _

SINCLAIR

(suddenly tough) Now, listen - !

~)~ .. __ (CONTINUED).. _

ROCKETEER Goldenrod Rev (Second Set) 11/2/90

Ignoring Giuclair, Eddie nods to his men. All but Spanish Joht.~y swing their attention and gun barrels away D from Cliff antl on·to Sinclair and Lothar.

Sinclair tightens his grip on Jenny.

j

Suddenly, to everyone's surprise, Sinclair hollers to the surrounding canyons.

Twenty German commandoes in grey jumpsuits rush from the bushes or appear atop the Observatory's staircases and d9mes, surrounding Eddie and his men. They aim their Schmeisser machine guns at the stunned gangsters.

Sinclair flashes a serpent g_rin at Eddie.

Acknowledging that he is outgunned and outmanned, Eddie signals his men to drop their weapons.

Sinclair checks his watch, then looks expectantly up to the low-;;lung clouds. He smiles as the sound of whirring engines can be heard. cliff, Jenny, Lothar and the gangsters turn their gaze to the sky. f Jaws drops as the vast silver belly of a zeppelin lowers toward the observatory, gondola softly aglow with its running lights. And·, emblazoned· on the airship's side, · is the name Luxembourg.

ROCKETEER Goldenrod Rev. (Second Set) 11/2/90

I , one of the commandos runs to Cliff and starts to work on L_ unbuckling the rocket harness. Cliff's mouth tightens as he restrains himself from swinging his fists, eyes on Jenny and the ominous mouths of the Schmeissers.

I{ SINCLAIR Haltet sie in Schach!

n [_..I The commandos swing their Schmeissers at their captives.

Suddenly, car-mounted spotlights stab out to illuminate the Observatory. Tires screech and smoke as police and FBI sedans halt. Led by Fitch and Wooly, the officers leap fro'm their cars, instantly in position with Tommy guns ready.

Cliff throws a glance to the distracted Nazi Commando, who had been unbuckling the rocket harness. The control brackets are still attached. to Cliff's wrists. Cliff suddenly thumbs the button.

She looks on in horror as the rocket fires a shor.t. burst.

The fiery concussion pulls tht! terrified Cliff across the lawn like a rocket sled, dragging along the hapless Commando. The disappear over a ledge, falling roughly into the tangled brush •

Lothar yanks his dual .4S's free of their holsters -- and blasts away. Cops and Feds ·hit ·the decks as slugs punch through fenders and shred tires.

Then,· all hell breaks·· 1oose.·· · The Feds pop up and unload their fire on the Commandos in the forecourt. Sinclair .. 1r. and Lothar head for the stairs to the roof, Jenny pulled along in the giant's grip. At the same moment, Eddie and _Jlt;l~ ... his. me snatch up their fallen Tommy guns.

ROCKETEER Goldenrod Rev. (Second Set) 11/2/90

The gangsters whirl on the commandos, unexpectedly D joining the Feds in the gun battle. Thugs, cops, and commandos fall wounded or dead. ·

Fitch and Wooly, behind the shelter of their bullet- pocked sedan eye the hovering airship. Fl J·

Sinclair, Lothar, and the unwilling girl reach the Observatory roof, where the zeppelin is waiting to meet them. ·

Meanwhile, the Nazi commando ranks ~re being thinned out by the blistering gun fire of the allied G-men and gangsters.

Taking cover behind a polic~_car, Fitch and Wooly glance to their right. They're. are surprised to find Eddie crouched beside them, blasting away at the Germans.

Eddie holds his fire for a moment. He looks over at Fitch and Wooly and gives them a tight grin. ;

- -· . _,.119 EXT GRIFFITH OBSERVATORY - NIGHT 119

- - ·- The zeppelin's pilot has lowered the gondola as close to - - -.. _.... -- _·::._ .. the Observatory roof as he ·dares. A ladder is lowered to the roof. Jenny writhes in Sinclair's grasp as Lothar ~---~ :-··~-~--- -. _.-:..·:·;nimbly climbs_ the rungs.

: :~:j~~(/ Please Neville! I,,.;;.t me go!

Lothar reaches. -down and grabs Jenny, pulling her, kicking -· and screaming,.... .-into. the gondola-..

ROCKETEER Goldenrod Rev (Second Set) 11/2/90

Cliff struggles to his knees, blood dripping from his forehead. Jenny's piercing cries reach his ears. Looking up with glazed eyes, he sees the zeppelin lifting front the roof.

B:e yanks a Mauser machine pistol from the holster of the D d~ad Commando beside him and struggles up the hillside.

Inside the gondola, Sinclair is met by a tense German in [] a dark suit with a swastika lapel pin.

• NAZI AGENT Sie haben die Rakete nicht-?!

I have her. That damned Rocket will come to us! Now get this ship above the clouds!

With the aid of the Valentine. gang, the squad of cops and G-Men have overwhelmed the last of the commandos. The surviving hoods aid their wounded.

Cliff reaches the Observatory lawn. He runs acrQSs the forecourt grabbing up his brass helmet and races up the winding stone staircase.

Fitch and Wooly watch in dismay as the escaping zeppelin lifts towards the clouds.

ROCKETEER Goldenrod Hev (Second Set) 11/2/90

The Racketeer pauses atop one of the copper domes and fastens his helmet. He checks the Mauser's clip. A large American flag flutters in the night breeze. For thab brief moment, with his bronze helmet gleaming in the moonlight and weapon poised for action, he is the stuff myths are made of.

D Then, a blossom of fire and smoke, and he is shooting toward the zeppelin like a flaming arrow.

The Racketeer sails towards the zeppelin. The airship's silver tail rushes to meet the airborne Cliff. He eases off the throttle buttons - but has clearly misjudged his speed.·· His velocity carries him in a descending arc, straight into the zeppelin's tail.

Cliff smashes into the massive rudder. The skin tears with Cliff's impact. He slides down the vertical stabilizer and lands hard on his back, atop the zeppelin's arched body.

'

The rudder swings erratically, thrown off balance as the wind expands the hole.

Using all his strength, Cliff pulls himself to his feet,. fighting the wind.

As Jenny is held by Lothar in the corner of the gondola, Sinclair watches tensely as the airship's pilot and crewman wo~k the ~ontrols with mounting difficulty. The Agent hovers at the Captain's elbow, steadying himself as the gondola lurches.

··-·.. ······-···--·... .,,. .. The rudder ••• something's

interfering with the rudder!

A hopeful look plays across Jenny's face.

--·A-beacon· atop· the. airship flashes red as the Racketeer _ moves along the surface toward the .hatch. . (CONTINUED)

I -

ROCKETEER Buff Rev (Second Set) 11/2/90

}}Wt:·; 126 CONTINUED (2) 126 ) :" L._: As he reaches for the ha~cn cover it springs open knocking the Mauser from Cliff's hand.

They fight.

Racketeer gets knocked 0£f the zeppelin, zips around the other side and shoots at tothar like a missile, knocking C him down the side still attached to his safety tether.

The sweating pilot is fighting to control the zeppelin's n flight.

He is interrupted as Lothar's body suddenly swings down hard, smashing through the gondola windows. Like a wrecking ball, he strikes the pilot and sends him flying into· the door, which bursts. open, propelling him out into · the void. Lothar swings back and dangles for a moment, like a broken marionette, before drifting away into the darkness.

The panicked Agent whirls on Sinclair.

ROCKETEER Goldenrod Rev (Second Set) 11/2/90

All at once, the roof hatch drops and Cliff leaps down. The remaining German crewman jumps at Cliff. Cliff J dodges the man's punch, grabs his wrist, and throws him against the gondola wall, knocking the crewman senseless.

I sinclatr presses the gleaming muzzle of his automatic pistol beneath Jenny's chin. His eyes are wild.

SINC:J:,.AIR I've had a bellyful of you and your cheap heroics. You hand over the rocket -

He yanks back on Jenny's hair for emphasis and the girl ~$-) cries out painfully. :;; --~~

Cliff looks deeply into her eyes.

SINCLAIR._ Slide it across to me.

· Defeated, Cliff slips the rocket's straps from his back •

the wad of luck gum from the creased fuel tank, then slides the rocket across to Sinclair. The spy brutally pushes Jenny to the airship's captain and hands him the ..

·-·

automatic.

llO.

i

~OCKETEER Goldenrod Rev (Second Set) 11/2/90

127 CONTINUED (3} 127 : . I ,: l_

r-; The captain raises the gun. i I u

Before Cliff or Sinclair can react. Jenny stomps her sharp heel into the Captain's· instep. She whirls free of the Captain's grasp, then pushes him hard against the control panel. The Captain slumps unconscious to the deck, the gun falling from his hand. Jenny kicks it across the floor, and it sails out the open door.

"

Cliff lunges at Sinclair, throwing a punch that knock~ him to the gondola floor.

Sinclair leaps to his feet and throws a punch that--- connects with Cliff's jaw. Cliff staggers back.

'-j Cliff looks at him, face a grim mask of determin~tion. )'!"1,.: I __ .. Cliff lands a solid punch. Sinclair recovers and they 1i1 pummel each other, fairly matched in size and ability.

Then, Sinclair knocks Cliff back hard against the cabin wall. Cliff's head bashes open an emergency case. The contents spill out and scatter across the floor - including a wide barreled pistol.

...., -

Bruised and bloodied, Sinclair seizes Cliff by the front ·of his jacket~ He slams him against the cabin wall. He -- is stopped by Jenny's voice. ·__

Sinclair turns to find Jenny standing oppos~,._~ him, the - pistoL. from .. the. emergency. case_- aimed in her trembling hand.. ·

·. (CONTINUED)

ROCKETEER Goldenrod Rev (Second Set) 11/2/90

127 CONTINUED (4} 127

Cliff shakes '.::he sweat and blood from his eyes. He sees what is in Jenny's grip.

Sinclair abruptly lunges at the girl. She screams and n yanks the trigger. Sinclair dives aside - but it is not LJ a bullet he has avoided. It is a signal flare.

The flare ricochets across the gondola, leaving fire wherever it touches. The projectile finally buries itself in the control console, which bursts into·flames.

Cliff looks about frantically. He spots a fire

extinguishe·r on the wall beside the smashed windows. wrenching the cylinder from its bracket he sprays the liquid on the flaming console to no avail. The flames continua.to spread. Smoke is filling the cabin.

At the sound of a distinctive click he turns to see that Sinclair has fastened the .rocket's waist belt and is ,i,l poised in the open gondo~a door. The rocket pack is

I . harness.

miss Hollywood.

The spy fireS!-the rocket and leaps from the gondola.

128 OMIT 128

..

Sinclair rockets away from the doomed zeppelin, the Hollywood Hills spread below him •

Suddenly: the fuel spraying from the leak ignites in the ;~(&~f~ ..... .contrail. 'The fire is sucked into the rocket pack -- ~nd the backpack bursts into flames.

_(CONTINUED)

112-114.*

ROCKETEER Goldenrod Rev (Second Set) 11/2/90

Sinclair twist around, trying to control. the damaged pack, but it is of no use. He corkscrews down towards the earth a spiral of flame with the zeppelin behind him.

Then, Sinclair sees gigantic white. letters rushing up to meet him like a greeting from hell.

D 129 OMIT 129

n Like a comet, Sinqlair strikes the "Hollywoodland" sign _j perched on its hillside.- There is a tremendous explosion, removing both Neville Sinclair and the last four letters of the sign from the face of the earth.

The flaming ruins illuminate the spy's memorial - a gigantic sign which now reads "HOLLYWOOO".

r··, .. I

ROCKETEER Rev Yellow (Second Set) 10/29/90

Cliff and Jenny emerge from the maintenance hatch. He helps her up onto the fuselage. Cliff holds her, protecting her from the wind.

She throws her arms tightly about him, and they kiss. As that moment, flames consume the gondola, licking up into the envelope.

Then, engine sounds and the flap of ro~ors gets their att•ntion. Approaching the airship's tail is an autogyro, * an odd looking aircraft with both a conventional prop and a blade like a helicopter. In the craft's pilot seat is Hughes. In front of him sits Peeavy leaning over the edge, guiding Hughes into position. Hughes fights to keep her steady as Peevy throws down a rope ladder.

Suddenly, a gnarled hand appears as Lothar hauls himself up* atop the zeppelin, having climbed the tether.

He rises in front of Cliff and Jenny. Snarling like a * maddened beast, he blocks their only escape route. The snarl quickly fades from Lothar's face as he looks past the terrified couple to a distant churning ball of flame.

The zeppelin shudders as the pockets of volatile hydrogen gass begins to ignite. Lothar turns and flees away from the fire. Cliff and Jenny follow.

Like a chain reaction, the explosions ripple along the airship's body. A huge fireball is surging towards the tail, hungry to swallow the fleeing trio.

Suddenly, Lothar stops dead--literally at the end of his rope. Thick fingers begin to work on the tether line's release clip as Cliff and Jenny surge past him toward the * hanging ladder.

Lothar turns in time to see a tidal wave of flame upon him. *

Peevy yells out at the top of his lungs.

l?EEVY Jump for it!

',I I.

ROCKETEER Rev Yellow (Second Set) 10/29/90

132 CONTINUED (2) f32

Jenny wraps her arms about Cliff's neck. He tiires his leap to the swinging ladder. Jenny closes her eyes as Cliff graps the rope ladder with both hands.

Hughes pushes the stick and the autogryo banks s.iftly

D ~way, Cliff and Jenny in tow. The autogryo has barely made

a safe distance when the fireball completes it consumation of the zeppelin's silver skin, ripping it to fragments. *

As the airship disintegrates over the San Fernando Valley, the autogyro descends towards the Hollywood Hills. on the rope ladder, Jenny clings tightly to Cliff as the dying

n I glow plays about them. --

,

,".•>~( I _(~j

i \, I

REVISED TAG

L 34 EXT. BULLDOG CAFE- MORNING - lJ4

The morning sun whitewashes the cafe.

;

Cliff, Jenny, and Peevy sit a table, the remains of D breakfast before them. Peevy·reads a newspaper, headlined: "AIRSHIP DISASTER OVER HOLLYWOOD HILLS".

n bolt of lightning, which resulted J

in the loss of the entire German crew. Film fans were sad;iened by news that actor Trevor Sinclair also died in the tragedy when flaming debris fell on his touring car." What a shame •••

Jennv- looks across at Cliff, who stares out the window, lost in thought.

u You're.looking· pretty sad for

a guy who pretty much saved the world.

Peevy _chuckles rueful3:y.

Jenny edges over next to Cliff-and rests per chin on his shoulder . ......f.

Cliff slowly smiles as he gazes into her eyes.

.. ,

suddenly, a familiar droning fills the sky. Oishes·rattle on the counter. Cliff jum~s to his .feet and rushes outside as the sound diminishes in rhe distance.

Cliff stops in the gravel d~iveway outside the Bulldog, searching the sky. J-enny c~mes up beside him.

ii

her, though ••• guess she's· coming in over at the field.

Jenny watches Cliff's face as he strains to hear the distant engine.,. She takes his hand, and together they start back into the cafe.

Suddenly a shiny blue limousine rounds the corner and slides to a stop before the Bulldog. Two men leap out and clear the street, signalling autos and pedestr~ans to make way.

The thunderous roar of a radial engine grows louder. Then, a brand new GEEB~E racer, black and white finish gleaming, '' '' taxies around the corner an~ ~ases to a stop before the diner. The propwash sends autumn leaves dancing. The engine shuts down and the canopy lifts. Howard Hughes emerges, a canvas windbreaker over his brown suit.

Peevy and the rest of the Bulldog regulars emerge fro~ the cafe. His band in Jenny•s Cliff approaches the plane as Hughes climbs from the cockpit.

,

the Nationals. ( smiling at Jenny Miss Blake, would you. excuse us for just a moment?

I

...

Hughes pulls Cliff a few steps to the side. He leans in close, speaking confidentially.

Hughes grins. Cliff looks past him to Jenny, radiant in the

n I ;

Hughes starts back to his limousine. Then, remembering, he turns and tosses something to Cliff.

Cliff catches a pack of ~eeman's chewing gum. Hughes continues to his car. Confused, Cliff looks over at the GEEBEE as one of Hughes' assistants pulls a piece of masking tape away from the rim of the coc~pit. Revealed is hand lettered script: "Pilot, Cliff Secord".

stunned to silence, a wide grin f~rms on Cliff's battered face. He turns, out Hughes has already ducked into his car. His aides join him and the car pulls away. Hughes' hand appears briefly out the window, waving as the limousine whispers around the corner and disappears.

Jenny and Peevy join Cliff. The cafe regulars and locals gather about the gleaming new racing plane.

JEN?{Y Cliff? I have something for you, too. Actually, it bekongs to Peevy.

She takes a folded paper from her purse and hands it to Peevy. He unfolds it.

It is Peevy's schematic of the rocket pack. Cliff and Peevy exchange looks. Peevy shakes his head in consternation. Cliff laughs. He sweeps Jennyup in a joyful embrace as--

An ominous shadow falls across the plaster thigh of the Bulldog Cafe, a shadow· wearing a fedora and ievelling a pistol at Cliff, Jenny and Peevy •••

Suddenly, Patsy swoops from a tree on a tire swing. She wears a tin pot on her head, and a round oatmeal box is tied to her back.

She tackles the would-be assassin- a little boy wearing his ~ather's old, oversized hat, and brandishing a water pistol. Patsy and her playmate roll across the lawn, kicking and laughing.

--- --------····-·-- ·--·- -·- ~··-- ----

-1-

In his car, Sinclair arrives at the Observatory, along with Lothar and the captive Jenny. They are met by Eddie, Spanish Johnny, Rusty, and eight other Valentine gang goons. The mobsters have already secured the area in. anticipation of the Racketeer's arrival to exchange the pack for.Jenny.

An agitated Eddie questions the wisdom of choosing the · Observatory for the rendezvous. Sinclair explains that it is away fr~~ the city, and easily made secure.

Then, a "falling star" rapidly grows in the night sky, resolving into the trail of the Racketeer. Eddie's men spring to action, whipping up their Tommy guns to form a welcoming committee for Cliff.

The Racketeer alights on the Observatory forecourt, amidst the wary gangsters. Sinclair orders Cliff to give up the pack. Cliff boldly refuses, asking that Sinclair first release Jenny, and allow her to drive away, alone, in [l Sinclair's car.

In no mood to negotiate, Sinclair produces a gun and holds it to the terrified Jenny's head. He demands that Cliff turn over the pack or risk the girl's immediate death.

Cliff pulle his trump card. Playing Eddie against Sinclair, Cliff reveals to the gangsters that Sinclair is a Nazi. Sinclair vigorously denies this, arguing that Cliff is merely fabricating desperate lies. Eddie's suspicions leap when Jenny tells about Sinclair's radio room and its contents.

, Confused and angry, Eddie responds- "I may not earn a straight dollar, but I'm a hundred percent American, dammit!" Sinclair replies, "We have an agreement. I'm taking the rocket." Eddie's men put guns on ~inclair and Lothar. Eddie: "Yeah? You and what army?" Sinclair abruptly calls out into the night- in German.

IT i '

-2-

At once, twenty heavily armed German commandos materialize from the shadows- emerging from the brush, appearing atop the st.:..iicases and domes of the Observatory. -The stunned Valentine gang is suddenly outmanned and outgunned. Eddie and his men lower their weapons.

One·of the commandos removes the rocket from Cliff's back. Then, the astonished Valentine gang looks on as a Nazi zeppelin suddenly descends fl:'om the clouds. Cliff and 0 Jenny give up any hope that Sinclair will be thwarted. As some of the commando5 head for the lowering airship to assist its crew, .Sinclair·orders the others to execute Cliff, Jenny, Eddie, and his gang.

Suddenly, searchlights and bullhorns announce that the FBI has arrived. Cliff takes advantage of the momentary shock and confusion, leaping for the commando with the pack. ·As they struggle, the rocket fires, sending Cliff soaring off into the brush, and the Nazi's gun firing reflexively.

The gunfire starts the mayhem as Eddie and his men scoop up their Tommy guns and unload at the commandos. The startled Feds quickly overcome the surprise of their unexpected allies, and join the gangsters in battling the commandos.

Meanwhile, the zeppelin's gondola has lowered enough to take passengers. Sinclair and Lothar drag 3enny to the zeppelin, dodging lead. Although Sinclair has lost the rocket, he can still make his escape with the girl as hostage.

At that moment, Cliff comes to in the brush. He sees the zeppelin lifting away from the domes. Cliff takes a Mauser machine pistol from a fallen commando, then fires the rocket.

His flight carries him across the ·1awn, where the combined force of gangsters and Feds has leveled the commando unit. Cliff snatches the helmet from the.hands of Wooly. He lands briefly atop the Observatory roof to don I I the helmet, then shoots skyward in pursuit of the ascending l_-1 airship. ,

Cliff's rough landing on atop the zeppelin destroys the ship's rudder

..

1l

-3-

Sinclair, Jenny, Lothar, a Nazi Agent, the zeppelin Captain, and his crewmen fill the gondola. The Captain struggles to control the errant ship.

Cliff removes the helmet, and creeps along the ship's spine, D fighting the wind and looking for an entry port. He finds a maintenance hatch. The hatch door suddenly flies up, knocking Cliff's Mauser pistol away into the void- and Lothar emerges from the hatch.

_, □·-. ·. Lothar attaches a safety tether to his waist and ' advances on Cliff. Cliff fights valiantly, but is no match · for the immense Lothar. At last, the giant has Cliff lifted over his head for the back-snapping coup de grace. Using the last of .. his strength, Cliff bashes Lothar in the skull, using the hand controls like brass knuckles.

Dazed, Lothar drops Cliff- who rolls off down the = sloping side and disappears into the night. The satisfied Lothar peers over the rim of the zeppelin- then turns just in time to see the Rocketeer zooming straight at him, Cliff having fired the rocket and looped around from beneath the airship. Lothar is knocked off the zeppelin.

As Sinclair argues with the Captain, Lothar suddenly smashes through the gondola windows at the end of his tether, like a wrecking ball. He sweeps the Nazi Agent out the gondola door. Lothar swings back !!lnd hangs motionless from his tether, just outside the broken windows.

There is a sound above them. stn.~!air drags Jenny into the shadows. Suddenly, the ceiling hatch opens and Cliff drops down into the gondola. He punches out the two crewmen. , Sinclair reappears with Jenny, a gun to her head. Cliff gives in and removes the pack. Jenny is handed over to the Captain, along with the gun. She snaps- "If one-more man puts a gun to me head!"- and knees the Cap.tain in the groin. His head hits the console, knocking him cold and the gun out the gondola door.

Cliff leaps on Sinclair, who proves a lli·orthy adversary with his fists. As they struggle, Sinclair b,::,,shes Cliff against an emergency case on the wall. The contents spill out- including a wide-barrelled pistol.

Sinclair is about finish off the dazed Cliff when Jenny grabs up' the pistol and aims it at Sinclair"' Cliff and Sinclair look at her in terror- the girl is hclding a flare gun. Jenny pulls the trigger. The flare bounc~s around the D cabin and ignites the gondola.

Cliff goes for a fire extinguisher on the wall. Suddenly, Lothar's hands reach in and lock'about Cliff's throat in a death-grip. Cliff is turning blue when- BANG! A gunshot loosens Lothar's fingers, and once more he hangs □·· motionless outside the cabin.

Hughes and Peevy are revealed hovering outside the burni~g gondola in Hughes' autogyro. In Peevy's hand is a smoking revolver. The 'gyro veers away as the out of control zeppelin lurches aside. ~;;fl:),

Recovering, Cliff and Sally turn to find Sinclair standing D in the open doorway with the rocket on his back, about to fly from the doomed airship. As the spy turns to make his exit, Cliff leaps forward and pulls the wad of "lucky gum" from the pack's hull, reopening the fuel leak. He then. delivers a solid kick to Sinclair's rear, booting him from the cabin. -

As Sinclair rockets from the zeppelin, the fuel. leaking from the hull ignites in the pack's contrail. The rocket I I I i itself_bursts into flames. The. panicked Sinclair corkscrews Il.~._J I out of control, plummeting towards the Hollywood Hills ••• ,

Sinclair slams into the "Hollywoodland" sign. The resulting explosion of the rocket pack blows both Neville Sinclair and_ the "land" part of the sign to bits.

I I l_i

-s-

Cliff !l~d Jenny have climbed to the zeppelin's envelope via the maintenance hatch. The burning gondola begins to ignite the volatile .hydrogen pockets in the airship. They run towards the rear ot the zeppelin as explosions begin to eat its length- and find themselves pursued across the spine by the in~estructible Lothar.

The autogyro appears before them, a rope ladder

offering escape from the self-destructing airship. Lothar is nearly upon Clift and Jenny when he stops short- his tether has run out.

As Cliff and Jenny jump for the rope ladder, the Ff trapped Lothar is consumed by the final massive explosion w that engulfs the ship.

The autogyro soars away with Cliff and Jenny clinging to the rope .. ladder, and the dying fire of the Nazi airship turns the night pink.

DD OP SEQUENCE

,