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(writer), John Irving
THE CIDER HOUSE RULES (1999)
Director Lasse Hallström's nostalgic look at the past takes on racism, romance and the difficulty of saying goodbye to those you love. A young man (Tobey Maguire) leaves the orphanage where he was raised to see the world, learning in the process that the real world is wherever you are. John Irving's carefully hewn script and supporting actor Michael Caine won Oscars.
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(writer), John Irving. THE CIDER HOUSE RULES
FADE IN. BEGIN TITLE SEQUENCE.
EXT. ST CLOUD’S - TRAIN STATION - DAWN
An establishing shot of the rundown train station on an
overcast morning. There’s snow on the station platform. A
train arrives and departs.
LARCH (V.O.)
In other parts of the world, young
men of promise leave home to make
their fortunes, battle evil, or solve
the problems of the world.
Behind the station, at the top of the hill, lies the St.
Cloud’s orphanage.
LARCH (V.O.)
I was myself such a young man, when
I came to save the orphanage in St.
Cloud’s... many years ago.
EXT. ST. CLOUD’S - ORPHANAGE - EARLY MORNING
A man and woman (COUPLE #1) make their way toward the main
entrance of the large brick building.
LARCH (V.O.)
Here in St. Cloud’s, I have come to
understand that promises are rarely
kept, that the battle isn’t so much
against evil as ignorance, and that
being successful can’t hold a candle
to being of *use*.
The couple enters the orphanage, where we hear the sound of
babies.
LARCH (V.O.)
Nor have I solved the problem I came
here to solve.
INT. ORPHANAGE - MORNING
Two nurses, EDNA and ANGELA, chase CHILDREN--a morning
routine.
LARCH (V.O.)
Even in the most enlightened times,
unwanted babies will manage to be
born. That there will always be
orphans is simple not a problem to
be solved. Here is St. Cloud’s, we
don’t regard the sordid facts of
life as problems.
The camera goes up the stairs with some of the kids.
INT. LARCH’S OFFICE - DAY
We enter an office where DR. LARCH shows couple #1 their
newly adopted son, HOMER, an infant who lies smiling in Dr.
Larch’s arms.
LARCH (V.O.)
In truth, we’ve only had one real
problem.
We close in on the infant until his face fills the screen.
LARCH (V.O.)
His name was Homer Wells.
Dr. Larch hands over the infant to the adopting parents.
LARCH
I named him after the Greek writer.
You know Homer, of course?
Hesitant nods. (They don’t look as if they read.)
LARCH
I made his name "Wells" because I
could tell he was very deep.
The parents look with pride at their adopted son.
LARCH (V.O.)
In truth, Nurse Angela named him--
her father *drilled* wells, and
"Homer" was one of her family’s
umpteen cats.
INT./EXT. ORPHANAGE - DAY
At the front door, Larch and the nurses wave and call good-
bye to Homer, they close the door.
INT./EXT. ORPHANAGE - NIGHT
The same door swings open; it’s another night. The same couple
is bringing Homer back. There is concern in their faces as
Nurse Edna lets them in.
INT. BOY’S DIVISION, DOORWAY - NIGHT
Larch is delivering his benediction to the boys.
LARCH
"Good night, you Princes of Maine,
you Kings of New England!"
As he turns, he is startled by Nurse Edna, waiting with couple
#1 and baby Homer.
ADOPTING MOTHER
There’s something wrong with him! He
never makes a sound.
Larch looks quickly at Homer.
LARCH (V.O.)
He didn’t cry enough for them, if
you can believe it.
ADOPTING FATHER
Do you think we could have a look at
someone a little different?
The mother hands over the baby to Larch. Baby Homer lets out
a happy squeal as soon as he’s in Larch’s arms. The parents
stare in disbelief.
LARCH (V.O.)
Thus was Homer Wells returned. He
was too happy a baby.
EXT. ORPHANAGE - DAY
Angela and Edna call and wave good-bye to a two-year-old
Homer, leaving with COUPLE #2. Larch stands on the porch and
watches the family head down the hill.
LARCH (V.O.)
The second family has an unfortunate
gift for getting sounds out of Homer.
INT. COUPLE #2’S HOME - DAY
Larch bursts into the home of the second couple and lifts a
crying and bruised Homer out of his bed. There is rage in
Larch’s eyes as he looks at the couple.
LARCH (V.O.)
The rumor was true. They beat him.
He couldn’t stop crying.
EXT. HILL, ST. CLOUD’S - DAY
Larch carries Homer up the orphanage hill.
LARCH (V.O.)
Here is St. Cloud’s, I try to
consider, with each rule I make or
break, that my first priority is an
orphan’s future.
INT. DELIVERY ROOM - DAY
The naked belly of a VERY PREGNANT WOMAN.
LARCH (V.O.)
Easier said than done.
A tiny hand comes in with a stethoscope and puts it on the
big belly. Young Homer’s head, with the stethoscope around
his neck, pops up behind the belly; he closes his eyes as he
concentrates on listening to the sounds of the unborn child.
Larch stops in the doorway, catching sight of Homer. He smiles
faintly.
EXT. COUPLE #3’S HOME - DAY
The door opens to a THIRD COUPLE smiling at us, welcoming
and embracing a sixteen-year-old Homer. Behind them waits
the would-be STEPSISTER--an attractive girl, a little older
then Homer.
LARCH (V.O.)
I told the third family to take good
care--this was a special boy.
INT. STEPSISTER’S BEDROOM - NIGHT
Homer and the stepsister are in bed together. The parents
burst in on them--the father chasing Homer around and around
the bed, the mother beating her daughter, who covers herself
with a pillow.
LARCH (V.O.)
It was Homer who took too much good
care of himself.
EXT. COUPLE #3’S HOME - NIGHT
From her window, the stepsister watches Homer leave the house
carrying his suitcase. Homer looks up at her as he walks to
the street.
EXT. ORPHANAGE - EARLY MORNING
It’s after dawn, but still a little dark, as Homer walks to
the orphanage door, suitcase in hand. A HUGELY PREGNANT WOMAN
arrives at the same time. They stand awkwardly next to each
other, waiting for someone to answer the door. The woman is
crying. Homer reaches out and takes her hand.
HOMER
Don’t be frightened. Everyone is
nice here.
PREGNANT WOMAN
Do you live here?
HOMER
I just belong here.
The woman sniffles; she nods vaguely. The door opens. Nurse
Edna lets the woman in and embraces Homer.
LARCH (V.O.)
What could I do with him? He kept
coming back!
INT. LARCH’S OFFICE - DAY
Larch instructs an older Homer from "Gray’s Anatomy." Homer
is bored and looks out the window.
LARCH
Homer, if you’re going to stay at
St. Cloud’s, I expect you to be of
use.
INT. DELIVERY ROOM - DAY
Homer looks adoringly at Dr. Larch as Larch examines ANOTHER
PREGNANT WOMAN. Larch waves Homer over; he places the boy’s
hand on the woman’s abdomen, to feel the fetus kicking.
LARCH (V.O.)
But, in failing to withhold love,
had I created a true and everlasting
orphan? I had been too successful
with Homer Wells. I had managed to
make the orphanage his *home*.
INT. OPERATING ROOM - DAY
Larch closes a door quickly behind him (so that Homer doesn’t
see the ABORTION PATIENT in the O.R.)
INT. DELIVERY ROOM - DAY
Homer assists Larch in delivering a BABY.
EXT. INCINERATOR - DAY
Homer carries a white enamel pail to the incinerator. He
looks inside the pail; he stops.
LARCH (V.O.)
God forgive me. I have *made* an
orphan by loving him too much. Homer
Wells will belong to St. Cloud’s,
forever.
Hold on Homer’s disgusted expression as he stares at the
contents of the pail.
END TITLE SEQUENCE. FADE OUT. We hear a song playing on an
old phonograph.
INT. DISPENSARY - DAY
We see the song playing on the old phonograph. Dr. Larch is
taking ether. He holds the bottle in one hand, the cone over
his mouth and nose with the other.
SUPER: ST. CLOUD’S, MAINE, MARCH 1943.
When Larch dozes off, his hand loosens its grip on the cone;
the cone falls off his face, and he wakes up. Then he puts
the cone back in place, dripping more ether from the bottle
to the gauze covering the cone.
Pan the dispensary, which also serves as Larch’s photo gallery
and bedroom apartment. The ether-bed is separated from the
room by a hospital curtain (the kind on casters). We see the
recording revolving, the glass-encased cabinets of medical
supplies, the old photographs of St. Cloud’s.
Homer enters, he stands uncomfortably, watching Larch for a
moment. Then he turns around and walks back into the corridor.
INT. CORRIDOR - DAY
Homer calls out as though he’s just coming down the corridor.
HOMER
Dr. Larch! Dr. Larch!
INT. DISPENSARY - DAY
Larch wakes up; he shakes off the ether haze. Homer reenters.
HOMER
We’ve got two new patients, one to
deliver.
Dr. Larch and Homer leave together.
INT. CORRIDOR - DAY
The *two* doctors walk briskly down the hall, a couple of
professionals.
LARCH
First pregnancy?
HOMER
Yes, for both.
LARCH
(sarcastically)
I presume you’d prefer handling the
delivery.
HOMER
(tiredly; an old topic)
All I said was, I don’t want to
perform abortions. I have no argument
with *you* performing them.
LARCH
You know *how* to help these women--
how can you not feel *obligated* to
help them when they can’t get help
anywhere else?
HOMER
One: it’s illegal. Two: I didn’t ask
how to do it--you just showed me.
LARCH
What *else* could I have showed you,
Homer? The only thing I can teach
you is what I know! In every life,
you’ve got to be of use.
Homer and Larch split off and disappear into two different
operating rooms. As he goes, Homer mumbles to himself, "Of
use, of use, of use."
INT. OPERATING ROOM - DAY
Larch and Angela are preparing the ether for DOROTHY, a not
visibly pregnant woman. The sounds of labor across the hall
can be heard Over.
LARCH
(holds the cone)
Have you ever had ether, Dorothy?
DOROTHY
Once, when they took out my appendix.
ANGELA
(looks for scar)
No one’s touched your appendix.
DOROTHY
Whatever it was... the ether made me
sick.
LARCH
It won’t make you sick this time,
Dorothy--not the way I do it, just a
drop at a time.
DOROTHY
I can’t pay for this, you know--I
got no money.
LARCH
One day, Dorothy, if you have any
money, a donation to the orphanage
would be very much appreciated.
ANGELA
Only if you can afford it.
LARCH
(holds the ether bottle)
Try to think of nothing, Dorothy.
Angela puts the cone over Dorothy’s mouth and nose; Larch
drips the ether on the cone. A newborn wails in the other
O.R. Over.
INT. DELIVERY ROOM - DAY
Homer has delivered CARLA. A newborn baby is screaming in
Edna’s arms. Homer is attending to Carla, who is panting.
HOMER
That was good, Carla--that was
*perfect*. Everything’s fine.
CARLA
I don’t wanna see it!
EDNA
You don’t have to see it, dear. Don’t
worry.
CARLA
I don’t even wanna know what sex it
is--don’t tell me!
HOMER
We won’t tell you, Carla. You’re
going to be okay.
EDNA
Your *baby’s* going to be okay, too.
CARLA
I don’t wanna know!
Larch pops into the delivery room; he peers at the baby.
LARCH
He’s a big boy!
CARLA
Let me see him, for Christ’s sake--I
wanna see him.
Edna shows the baby to Carla, who stares, then turns away.
Larch whispers to Homer.
LARCH
Would you mind having a look at
Dorothy?
INT. OPERATING ROOM - DAY
Angela sits with the still-etherized Dorothy while Larch and
Homer confer over a basin containing Dorothy’s uterus.
HOMER
There was no visible wound?
LARCH
No. The fetus was dead. Her uterus
was virtually *disintegrating*--my
stitches pulled right through the
tissue!
HOMER
(mystified)
It looks like scurvy.
LARCH
(derisively sarcastic)
Scurvy! Ah yes, the curse of the old-
time sailor, suffering long periods
at sea with no fresh fruits or
vegetables. Homer, Dorothy isn’t a
*sailor*!
ANGELA
She’s a prostitute, isn’t she?
HOMER
(to Angela)
Did you look in her purse?
LARCH
(frustrated)
I looked everywhere else!
Angela hands Larch a bottle of brown liquid.
ANGELA
It’s called French Lunar Solution.
Larch wrinkles his nose at the odor.
LARCH
It’s not ergot, it’s not pituitary
extract, it’s not oil of rue...
ANGELA
It claims to restore monthly
regularity.
HOMER
It’s obviously an aborticide.
LARCH
Obviously.
Larch wets his finger with the stuff, then touches it to his
tongue.
LARCH
(spits)
Christ, it’s oil of tansy!
HOMER
I don’t know it.
LARCH
If you take enough of it, your
intestines lose their ability to
absorb Vitamin C.
HOMER
In other words, scurvy.
LARCH
Good boy. Good job. And you call
yourself "not a doctor"!
(to Angela)
Keep an eye on her--she’s in trouble.
As Homer turns to leave, Larch stops him; he points to the
basin.
LARCH
Take care of that, will you?
Homer stops, annoyed; he picks up the basin and empties the
contents into a white enamel pail.
INT. DINING HALL - AFTERNOON
MISS TITCOMB is teaching math to some distracted boys and
girls in a corner of the dining room. A blackboard on wheels
is a mass of numbers. Homer, passing through the dining room
with the white enamel pail, attracts the attention of BUSTER,
a sixteen-year-old who is picking over a plate of pastries
on a table. Buster immediately goes with Homer.
BUSTER
I’ll help you.
Homer shakes his head, keeps walking. Buster follows. Dr.
Larch passes close to Buster. Buster makes a face, disgusted.
EXT. INCINERATOR - AFTERNOON
Buster and Homer tramp through the snow toward the
incinerator. Homer still carries the pail.
BUSTER
He *sniffs* that ether! I’ve seen
him do it!
HOMER
It’s because he’s too tired to sleep.
He has to.
BUSTER
He *smells* like he could put you to
sleep!
HOMER
He’s a doctor, Buster--doctors smell
like ether.
BUSTER
*You’re* a doctor, Homer--you don’t
smell like ether.
HOMER
I’m *not* a doctor. I haven’t been
to medical school--I haven’t even
been to high school!
BUSTER
But you’ve studied with the old man
for *years*!
HOMER
I’m *not* a doctor!
BUSTER
I’m sorry, Homer.
Buster stands watching as Homer empties the pail into the
incinerator.
INT. DISPENSARY - NIGHT
With his head inclined to the giant ear of Larch’s phonograph,
FUZZY--six, thin, and pale and looking remarkably like an
embryo--is listening to a recording. He can’t hear what Larch
and Homer are saying about him as they construct a humidified
tent over a small hospital bed on wheels. The humidifier is
operated by a car battery.
LARCH
Fuzzy is not uncommon. I tell you,
there’s something about the premature
babies of alcoholic mothers. They
seem susceptible to every damn thing
that comes along.
HOMER
I haven’t read that.
LARCH
I haven’t, either. But you *will*.
The morons who write the books should
do a little research *here*.
HOMER
But isn’t Fuzzy just... well,
underdeveloped?
LARCH
When *doesn’t* he have bronchitis? I
wouldn’t call his bronchial infections
"underdeveloped." Would you?
Larch plucks Fuzzy from in front of the phonograph and zips
him into the breathing tent. Fuzzy smiles. As larch leaves,
MARY AGNES, a pretty but tough-looking teenager, comes into
the dispensary.
HOMER
What is it, Mary Agnes?
Mary Agnes smiles at Homer; then she sticks her tongue out
at him. Homer looks at her impassively, but as the moment
continues his expression suggests his annoyance. Fuzzy starts
to cough; he wheezes as he breathes. Homer leans down; he
peers at Fuzzy through a hole by the zipper of the tent.
MARY AGNES
(garbled because of
her tongue)
Look!
Homer examines Mary Agnes’ tongue.
HOMER
Did you bite it?
MARY AGNES
I don’t remember.
HOMER
(dismissively)
It looks like you bit it--it’ll be
all right.
MARY AGNES
Maybe I was kissing someone and he
bit me.
HOMER
(looks at her tongue
again)
No, you did it yourself. Maybe in
your sleep.
MARY AGNES
I must have been *dreaming* of kissing
someone.
Homer is not responding to her come-on. He wheels Fuzzy into
the hall.
HOMER
Story time, Fuzzy!
INT. GIRLS’ DIVISION - NIGHT
In the girls’ bunk room, Nurse Edna is saying prayers. The
girls lie with their palms pressed together on their chests.
EDNA
"Oh Lord, support us all the day
long..."
EXT. ST. CLOUD’S - THE HILL - NIGHT
The building of St. Cloud’s is silhouetted against the sky.
Carla, the woman we saw deliver the baby, is heading down
the hill alone, she sobs, not looking back.
EDNA (O.S.)
"...until the shadows lengthen and
the evening comes, and the busy world
is hushed, and the fever of life is
over, and our work is done."
INT. GIRLS’ DIVISION - NIGHT
In the bunk room again, with Edna and the girls.
EDNA
"Then in Thy mercy grant us save
lodging, and holy rest, and peace at
the last."
ALL THE GIRLS
Amen! Amen! Amen!
INT. BOYS’ DIVISION - NIGHT
Dr. Larch is reading from Oliver Twist--the death scene of
Bill Sike’s dog. The boys listen in horror in their beds.
LARCH
"A dog, which had lain concealed
till now, ran backwards and forwards
on the parapet with a dismal howl,
and collecting himself for a spring,
jumped for the dead man’s shoulders."
Homer enters; he walks quietly to his bed in the far corner
of the room, where he starts to undress.
LARCH
"Missing his aim, he fell into a
ditch, turning completely over as he
went; and striking his head against
a stone, dashed his brains out.
Larch turns out the lights. From the open doorway to the
hall, Larch delivers his nightly benediction.
LARCH
Good night, you Princes of Maine!
You Kings of New England!
Larch closes the door, leaving them in the semi-darkness.
One young boy runs into Homer’s bed, nervously giggling.
FUZZY
(in his breathing
tent)
Why does Dr. Larch *do* tht every
night?
CURLY
(about seven)
Maybe to scare us...
COPPERFIELD
(about eleven)
No, you jerk.
STEERFORTH
(about nine)
Dr. Larch *loves* us!
FUZZY
But why does he do *that*?
BUSTER
He does it because we like it.
The boys silently agree, Homer among them.
EXT. ST. CLOUD’S - EARLY MORNING
The girls, led by Mary Agnes, round a corner of the orphanage,
towing a sled piled high with snowballs.
MARY AGNES
Buster is mine. You two get
Copperfield and Curly. Nobody touches
Fuzzy.
They shriek as the boys suddenly surprise them. Buster throws
two hard snowballs that hit Mary Agnes and CLARA (eight or
nine) before Mary Agnes overwhelms him and repeatedly sticks
his head in the snow. Copperfield, terrified of Mary Agnes,
escapes. Curly misses, then tips over the sled of snowballs
as Clara and the adorable HAZEL (five or six) throw him to
the ground. Fuzzy drops his one snowball; he runs aimlessly
in circles, coughing, as Nurse Edna explodes from a door of
the orphanage.
EDNA
Stop it! No fighting! *Share* the
snowballs!
BUSTER
(mouth full of snow)
They’re *our* snowballs! They *stole*
them!
MARY AGNES
They attacked us--just like the Japs!
Fuzzy coughs and wheezes, trying to catch his breath.
EDNA
Listen to you, Fuzzy! You’ve been
running. You get to the shower!
A NEW COUPLE comes up the hill. The orphans stop and stare,
brushing snow off themselves, struggling to make themselves
look presentable. Curly is desperate to look his best. Mary
Agnes doesn’t bother to pretty herself. She whispers to Clara
and Hazel.
MARY AGNES
I know the type--they’ll take one of
the babies.
INT. DINING HALL - MORNING
The children are eating breakfast as the would-be parents
walk around the tables, looking over the assembled orphans.
Curly works on his table manners; he forks and eats a piece
of pancake with elegance. Angela and Edna try to make the
couple slow down by the older children, but the couple stop
and stare at the adorable Hazel.
INT. BABY ROOM - MORNING
Larch and Homer are examining the babies. The doctors are
checking the babies’ grips, their eyes, ears, and throats.
Angela appears in the doorway.
ANGELA
Wilbur, the adopting couple is waiting
in your office.
LARCH
(irritated)
Life is waiting.
Angela disappears. Larch looks at the next baby’s record
(attached to the bed).
LARCH
Where’s the name sheet?
HOMER
Nobody’s named this one yet.
LARCH
It’s my turn!
Homer is tired of this game. Larch touches the child’s
forehead with his index finger.
LARCH
Henceforth you shall be... Little
Dorrit!
The baby starts to cry.
HOMER
He doesn’t like it.
(looks at the record)
He’s a boy, That’s why.
LARCH
Can’t a boy be a Dorrit?
HOMER
I don’t think so.
LARCH
You do it then.
Homer points his finger at the child’s forehead like a gun.
HOMER
Henceforth you shall be... Little
Wilbur.
LARCH
I’m not crazy about the "Little..."
Homer is writing the name.
HOMER
Okay, he’s just a Wilbur then.
LARCH
We haven’t had a Wilbur here in a
year or so, have we? We used to have
*dozens*!
They are interrupted by Copperfield, who comes running from
the corridor.
COPPERFIELD
They picked Hazel! The idiots chose
Hazel!
INT. GIRLS’ DIVISION - DAY
Hazel is being fussed over by Edna. Hazel clutches a cardboard
suitcase and a tattered rag doll. Mary Agnes, by far the
oldest, sits on a bed.
MARY AGNES
If people want to adopt one of us,
they should have to take the oldest
first.
EDNA
Please, Mary Agnes! This is Hazel’s
special day--don’t make her feel
sad.
MARY AGNES
Hazel’s practically the youngest of
us. She should be the *last* to leave!
CLARA
At least Hazel can talk. Usually
they take one of the stupid babies.
MARY AGNES
They take the babies so they won’t
ever have to tell them that they
were orphans!
HAZEL
(begins to cry)
I’m not a baby!
MARY AGNES
If you cry, Hazel, they’ll just send
you back.
EDNA
Mary Agnes, that’s not true!
Hazel cries harder.
MARY AGNES
That’s what they did to me!
EDNA
You *wanted* to come back--that’s
why you cried.
(to Hazel)
You can cry if you feel like it,
Hazel. You cry as much as you want.
INT. LARCH’S OFFICE - DAY
Homer is in the corridor outside the office, overhearing
Larch’s lecture to the couple adopting Hazel.
LARCH
It is strictly for our orphans’ sake
that I destroy any record of their
natural mothers. Of course they will,
one day, want to know. But orphans,
especially, should look forward to
their *futures*. Not back to their
pasts.
INT. WINDOW, CORRIDOR - DAY
Homer sees Curly standing all alone by a window in the
corridor; a suitcase is next to him.
HOMER
Hi, Curly. You going somewhere?
Curly shakes his head.
CURLY
I thought they might take me.
HOMER
They wanted a girl.
CURLY
Nobody ever wants me!
Homer embraces Curly and lifts him up, he grabs the suitcase
and continues down the corridor.
HOMER
You’re one of the best, Curly--we
couldn’t let just anyone take you.
CURLY
Dr. Larch wouldn’t let just anyone
take *any* of us!
HOMER
That’s true.
CURLY
Nobody’s asked for me, have they?
HOMER
Nobody special enough, Curly.
CURLY
You mean somebody asked?
HOMER
Only the right people can have you,
Curly.
Homer disappears into the boys’ bunk room carrying Curly and
his suitcase, leaving the corridor empty.
INT./EXT. ORPHANAGE - DAY
Faces in the windows; the orphans watch Hazel walking across
the snowy lawn with her new parents.
INT. GIRLS’ DIVISION - NIGHT
Edna (with the girls) gives her good-bye blessing to Hazel.
EDNA
Let us be happy for Hazel. Hazel has
found a family. Good night, Hazel.
THE GIRLS
Good night, Hazel! Good night, Hazel!
Good night, Hazel!
INT./EXT. ORPHANAGE - FRONT DOOR - DAY
The front door opens. The orphans excitedly run outside onto
the green lawn, into the warm weather of spring.
INT. DISPENSARY - MORNING
Angela is singing along with the song on the phonograph, a
more romantic song then before, which rouses Larch from his
ether. He is grumpy, but she sings the song in his ear and
won’t give him back the ether cone; he rolls away from her,
but she tickles him and bites his ear, coaxing him into a
more playful mood.
LARCH
I was dreaming about you. How
beautiful you were!
ANGELA
You weren’t dreaming about me.
LARCH
I was!
Playfully, she slips out of his embrace.
ANGELA
Then I wasn’t beautiful.
LARCH
You were! You *are*! It was fantastic.
ANGELA
It was just the ether, Wilbur...
INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - NIGHT
Homer wheels a tray with glasses of water between the beds.
A DISTRAUGHT PREGNANT WOMAN stops him by her bed.
HOMER
Are you okay? Can I get you anything?
DISTRAUGHT WOMAN
No one but me ever put a hand on me,
to feel that baby. Don’t you want to
touch it or put your ear down to it?
HOMER
Okay.
Homer touches the woman’s belly.
DISTRAUGHT WOMAN
Put your ear there. Go on.
Homer cautiously lays his ear against her belly.
DISTRAUGHT WOMAN
You shouldn’t have a baby if there’s
no one who wants to put his face
right there!
She holds Homer’s head against her belly; she presses his
face into her. She shuts her eyes. Homer’s eyes stare widely.
Dr. Larch stops in the doorway; he watches with concern.
DISTRAUGHT WOMAN
Stay right there. Right where you
are. Stay right here. Right here.
EXT. ST. CLOUD’S - TRAIN STATION - DAY
Homer at the train station, staring down the empty tracks.
Buster is hanging around with him, kicking a rock.
BUSTER
Do you ever think about leaving this
place to go find them?
Homer makes no response. As the train approaches, Homer and
Buster go sit on a loading cart. They see the distraught
woman (no longer pregnant) from Homer’s experience of a few
nights ago; she is leaving St. Cloud’s without her baby,
waiting for the approaching train. Her face is a mask. The
DISAPPROVING STATIONMASTER gives her a hard look.
BUSTER
I mean your parents.
HOMER
I know who you mean. I think about
leaving here, but not to find *them*.
BUSTER
Why not?
HOMER
Whoever they were, they didn’t *do*
any of the things parents are supposed
to do. Dr. Larch did those things,
and Nurse Edna, and Nurse Angela.
BUSTER
Yeah. But sometimes I wish I could
meet mine, anyway.
HOMER
What for, Buster? What would you do
if you met them?
BUSTER
Uh... I’d like to show them that I
can cook, a little.
HOMER
You cook very well!
BUSTER
And that I can drive a truck!
HOMER
(laughing)
Better than I can!
BUSTER
Sometimes I want to meet them so I
can kill them. Just sometimes.
Buster is ashamed; he knows he’s said the wrong thing.
BUSTER
Homer, you know I would never kill
anyone--you know I wouldn’t.
HOMER
I know.
The slowly moving train has stopped. There are SOLDIERS
leaning out the windows. Buster turns to see Mary Agnes
walking past the train--she’s doing her best to look grown-
up, sophisticated. One of the soldiers reaches out and gently
tugs on her hair. Mary Agnes is enraged; she spits at the
soldier.
BUSTER
I think Mary Agnes could kill someone.
HOMER
I doubt it. She’s just an...
Mary Agnes spits at *all* the soldiers.
HOMER
...emotional girl.
The soldiers roll up the windows as Mary Agnes improvises
some verbal abuse.
BUSTER
What’s she so emotional about?
HOMER
(shrugs)
I don’t know. She got left here,
like the rest of us, didn’t she?
Camera closes on Homer.
INT. DINING HALL - NIGHT
The orphans are watching King Kong, the part when the giant
ape first captures the screaming Fay Wray. Intercut Kong
with the orphans’ rapt faces. Homer sits near the front,
mesmerized by the film. Dr. Larch and Angela sit by the
projector; Larch is reading a letter. Fuzzy points to the
screen.
FUZZY
(coughing)
He thinks she’s his *mother*!
King Kong is undressing Fay Wray in the cave.
COPPERFIELD
He doesn’t think she’s his mother,
Fuzzy.
FUZZY
He does so! He *loves* her!
CARLA
How could she be his *mother*?
Larch shakes the letter in front of Angela.
LARCH
(a harsh whisper)
They want to replace me! The Board
of Trustees wants to *replace* me!
ANGELA
(whispering back)
They just want you to hire some new
help.
LARCH
Some new *things* would be useful. I
don’t need any "new help."
The film breaks--to huge cries of disappointment from the
orphans. Fuzzy coughs and coughs while Larch fumbles with
the projector. Angela turns on the light while Larch squints
at the broken film. The orphans are chanting, "Kong! Kong!"
LARCH
Homer! I need you!
Homer gets up and walks to the projector.
LARCH
I thought you took care of this. It
always breaks in the same place.
It’s your splice, isn’t it?
HOMER
(angry)
It’s *your* splice! You blame me for
everything!
Larch abruptly lets go of the film.
LARCH
Angela, we need a new movie, a new
projector, a new typewriter--*that’s*
what they should replace around here!
Edna comes in; she speaks to Larch, then quickly leaves.
EDNA
We have a delivery. Imminent, in my
estimation...
Larch turns to Homer.
LARCH
Homer, would you get this one?
Homer shifts his weight to the other foot; aggravated; he
stands there.
HOMER
She’s a patient, right? She should
see a doctor.
Homer and Larch stare at each other.
LARCH
(trying to stay calm)
Homer, you are a skilled and gifted
surgeon. You have near-prefect
obstetrical and gynecological
procedure.
Homer is also trying to avoid a fight.
HOMER
I just mean I’d rather fix the movie.
Tonight.
Larch can’t hide his disappointment.
LARCH
Sure. Okay. You splice. I’ll deliver.
It is an uneasy peace.
INT. BOYS’ DIVISION - NIGHT (LATER)
Homer is adjusting Fuzzy’s breathing tent as the other boys
climb into bed.
FUZZY
Homer... doesn’t King Kong think the
woman is his *mother*?
HOMER
Uh, sure--that’s what Kong thinks,
all right.
FUZZY
That’s why Kong loves her!
Larch comes in and walks over to Homer and Fuzzy. Larch and
Homer exchange a look.
HOMER
I thought it was my turn.
LARCH
It is. I’ll get this. You go ahead.
Homer sits down with ’David Copperfield.’ There is quiet
anticipation while Homer readies himself to read.
HOMER
(reading)
"Whether I shall turn out to be the
hero of my own life, or whether that
station will be held by anybody else,
these pages must show."
Larch continues to adjust Fuzzy’s breathing tent.
HOMER
"I was a posthumous child. My father’s
eyes had closed upon the light of
this world six months, when mine
opened on it."
FUZZY
(whispers to Larch)
His father’s dead, right?
LARCH
(whispering back)
That’s right, Fuzz.
Close on Fuzzy.
HOMER (O.S.)
(continues reading)
"There is something strange to me,
even now, in the reflection that he
never saw me..."
As Larch bends over Fuzzy to fix the breathing apparatus,
Fuzzy whispers.
FUZZY
Is *your* father dead?
LARCH
(nods, whispers)
Cirrhosis--it’s a disease of the
liver.
FUZZY
*Liver* killed him?
LARCH
*Alcohol* killed him--he drank himself
to death.
FUZZY
But did you know him?
LARCH
Barely. It hardly mattered that I
knew him.
FUZZY
Did you know your mother better?
LARCH
(nods, still whispers)
She’s dead now, too. She was a nanny.
FUZZY
What’s a nanny do?
LARCH
She looks after other people’s
children.
FUZZY
Did you grow up around here?
LARCH
No. She was an immigrant.
FUZZY
What’s an immigrant?
LARCH
Someone not from Maine.
EXT. ST. CLOUD’S - NIGHT
The orphanage in moonlight. Not a sound.
EXT. ST. CLOUD’S - MORNING
The children are chasing a ball near the incinerator.
A VERY FRIGHTENED GIRL---not one of the orphans--is lying
next to the incinerator.
Edna kneels by the strange girl, who cringes with fear.
EDNA
No one’s going to hurt you, dear.
Have you come to visit us? We have
beds, you know. Have you had any
breakfast? What’s your name?
The girl won’t speak; when Edna touches the girl’s forehead,
she pulls back her hand in alarm.
INT. OPERATING ROOM - MORNING
Edna is holding the head of the frightened young girl. The
girl is feverishly hot and whimpering; she keeps looking at
her feet in the stirrups as if she’s an animal caught in a
trap. Larch and Homer stand on either side of her.
EDNA
Her temperature is a hundred and
four.
LARCH
(very gently)
How old are you, dear? Thirteen?
The girl shakes her head. The pain stabs her again.
LARCH
Twelve? Are you twelve, dear?
(the girl nods)
You have to tell me how long you’ve
been pregnant.
(the girl freezes)
Three months?
Another stab of pain contorts the girl.
LARCH
Are you *four* months pregnant?
The girl holds her breath while he examines her abdomen;
Homer very delicately examines the girl’s abdomen, too.
HOMER
(whispers to Larch)
She’s at least *five*.
The girl goes rigid as Larch bends into position.
LARCH
Dear child, it won’t hurt when I
look. I’m just going to *look*.
Homer assists Larch with the speculum.
LARCH
Tell me: you haven’t done something
to yourself, have you?
TWELVE-YEAR-OLD GIRL
It wasn’t me!
LARCH
Did you go to someone else?
TWELVE-YEAR-OLD GIRL
He said he was a doctor. I would
never have stuck that inside me!
HOMER
Stuck *what* inside you?
Homer holds the girl still--she is babbling on and on while
Larch is examining her.
TWELVE-YEAR-OLD GIRL
It wasn’t me! I would never do no
such thing! I wouldn’t stick that
inside me! It wasn’t me!
Larch, his wild eye peering into the speculum, makes an
audible gasp from the shock of what he sees inside the girl.
Larch tells Homer to have a look. Larch then whispers
something to Edna; she brings the ether bottle and cone
quickly. Larch starts putting the cone in place, over the
nose and mouth of the frightened girl. Homer bends to the
speculum.
LARCH
(to the twelve-year-
old)
Listen, you’ve been very brave. I’m
going to put you to sleep--you won’t
feel it anymore. You’ve been brave
enough.
Homer stares into the speculum; he closes his eyes. The girl
is resisting the ether, but her eyelids flutter closed.
EDNA
That’s a heavy sedation.
LARCH
You *bet* it’s a heavy sedation! The
fetus is unexpelled, her uterus is
punctured, she has acute peritonitis,
and there’s a foreign object. I think
it’s a crochet hook.
Homer has pulled off his surgical mask. He leans over the
scrub sink, splashing cold water on his face.
LARCH
(to Homer)
If she’d come to you four months ago
and asked you for a simple D and C,
what would you have decided to do?
*Nothing*? *This* is what doing
nothing gets you, Homer. It means
that someone else is going to do the
job--some moron who doesn’t know
*how*!
Homer, furious, leaves the operating room. Edna lifts the
girl’s eyelids for Larch so that he can see how well under
the ether she is.
LARCH
I wish you’d come to *me*, dear child.
You should have come to me, instead.
INT. CORRIDOR - MORNING
Homer storms down the hall, then stops, pulling off his white
coat. Angry, pacing, he kicks at nothing.
EXT. ST. CLOUD’S - GRAVEYARD - EARLY MORNING
Buster and Homer are digging the pit. Larch paces by the
coffin of the 12-year-old girl.
BUSTER
What’d she die of?
LARCH
(inhales deeply)
She died of *secrecy*, she died of
*ignorance*...
Buster nods, but he’s totally bewildered.
LARCH
(to Homer)
If you expect people to be responsible
for their children, you have to give
them the right to decide whether or
not to *have* children. Wouldn’t you
agree?
Buster doesn’t get it. Homer has heard this too many times;
he rolls his eyes.
HOMER
How about expecting people to be
responsible enough to control
themselves to begin with?
LARCH
How about this child? You expect
*her* to be responsible?
Homer looks away.
HOMER
I didn’t mean her. I’m talking
about... adults.
(annoyed)
You know who I mean!
Larch studies him.
EXT./INT. ST. CLOUD’S ROAD - TRUCK CAB - DAY
Buster is driving the old pickup truck, with the shovels and
a wheelbarrow in the back. Larch and Homer are in the cab,
they are being bounced all over the cab by Buster’s wild
driving. Larch looks at Homer; he stares at him with a curious
smile.
HOMER
What?!
Larch says nothing. Homer gives him a look.
LARCH
(smiling)
It’s just a marvel to me that you
still have such high expectations of
people.
HOMER
I’m happy I amuse you.
LARCH
(to Homer)
Try to look at it this way. What
choice does Buster have? What are
his options? Nobody will ever adopt
him.
(Buster considers
this)
HOMER
Try to look at it *this* way. Buster
and I are sitting right here beside
you. We could have ended up in the
incinerator!
(Buster grins)
LARCH
Happy to be alive, under any
circumstances--is that your point?
Buster is distracted; he drives the truck into a ditch and
it bounces around, missing a tree by an inch. He is up on
the road again in a few seconds.
HOMER
Happy to be alive... I guess so.
They are all distracted by a luxurious convertible that
overtakes them on the hill to the orphanage. The fast car is
driven by a handsome man in the uniform of the Army Air Corps--
a YOUNG OFFICER. From the passenger seat, a BEAUTIFUL YOUNG
WOMAN smiles at them, rendering them speechless.
EXT. ORPHANAGE DRIVEWAY - DAY
The luxurious convertible (now parked) has drawn all the
orphans to it. The handsome young officer (WALLY) and the
beautiful young woman (CANDY) stand confused by the car;
they are surrounded by the curious orphans, with whom they
are painfully self-conscious. They are overly friendly to
the children as they are anxious of Larch and Homer and Buster
(in their gravedigging attire), who are getting out of the
truck. Nervously, Wally gives the children chocolates.
CANDY
So many children. Are they all
orphans?
WALLY
Well, this *is* an orphanage.
The kids climb into Wally’s car.
CANDY
Oh, they’re getting into the car...
watch your fingers!
Curly tugs on Candy’s dress, staring up at her, his face
already smeared with chocolate.
CURLY
I’m the best.
CANDY
(sweetly)
You are?
WALLY
(good with kids)
The best? Wow! The best at *what*?
CURLY
I’m the best one.
Curly’s nose is streaming snot. Candy kneels beside him and
holds her handkerchief to his nose.
CANDY
Here, blow...
Curly tries to talk while she’s holding his nose.
CURLY
I really *am* the best, I just have
a cold.
CANDY
Blow! There, I bet that feels better.
CURLY
(sniffs)
Yeah.
The other orphans are dying with envy--Candy is so beautiful.
(Some, like Buster, are torn between Candy and the car.)
LARCH
Curly, come here!
CURLY
(to Larch)
*Tell* them! I’m the one.
Virtually all the orphans have climbed into Wally’s car.
HOMER
(to Wally)
I’m sorry. They’re not used to seeing
a car like this.
WALLY
It’s okay--I don’t mind.
Larch, scowling, presents himself to the new couple.
WALLY
We brought some chocolates for the
kids.
LARCH
(witheringly)
Chocolates. How *thoughtful*.
Larch picks up Curly and carries him toward the boys’
division.
CURLY
I’m the best! *Tell* them!
LARCH
You’re the best, Curly.
INT. LARCH’S OFFICE - DAY
Homer is seated in the desk chair. The impressive couple sit
in front of him.
HOMER
So, Mrs...
CANDY
Candy. Candy Kendall.
Wally jumps up to his feet to shake Homer’s hand.
WALLY
Wally. Wally Worthington.
Wally sits down. The three sit still for an awkward moment.
HOMER
(to Candy)
How many months are you?
CANDY
(whispers)
Two.
Homer writes on a piece of paper. Candy and Wally exchange a
worried look.
WALLY
So, now, uh... you’re not... I mean,
do *you* do the--
HOMER
No. Dr. Larch will be performing the
procedure.
WALLY
(relieved)
Ah, well... okay. Good! I just
wondered...
Edna pokes her head in the door.
EDNA
Excuse me, Homer. Dr. Larch said
this one is your turn.
Edna quickly sees that all three of them have misunderstood
her.
EDNA
Oh, dear--I’m sorry. I meant the
circumcision. That boy you delivered
on Tuesday...
HOMER
Sure. Fine. Have you prepped him?
EDNA
I’ll get started.
Candy and Wally can’t conceal how impressed they are with
the young Homer.
INT. CORRIDOR - DAY
Homer walks down the corridor, dressed in his operating gown,
as the door to the O.R. opens and Wally stumbles out,
hurriedly opening a window. Wally breathes deeply to regain
his composure.
WALLY
I think it was the ether--the smell
got to me.
(pause)
God. This is all my fault.
Edna comes down the hall with a dirt-stained, crying Curly
who’s covering one eye.
EDNA
(over the din)
Steerforth got into the pantry--he’s
eaten all the pie dough.
CURLY
(sobbing)
He wasn’t sharing it, either.
EDNA
He’s down the hall, throwing up.
Homer nods to Edna, who is marching off with Curly. Wally
smiles at Homer.
HOMER
What kind of plane are you flying?
WALLY
A B-24 Liberator.
HOMER
Liberator...
WALLY
Have you enlisted?
HOMER
They wouldn’t take me. I’m Class IV--
I’ve got a heart defect.
WALLY
Really! Is it serious?
HOMER
No, it’s not serious. I’m just not
supposed to get excited. You know--
no strain, no stress. I try to keep
calm all the time.
Wally hears Homer’s facetiousness--how tired he is of his
heart condition.
WALLY
Oh, well. I don’t imagine there’s
any strain or stress around *here*!
Homer appreciates the joke.
The door to the operating room that Wally exited opens into
the corridor; Candy is being wheeled out on a gurney by Larch
and Angela. Wally rushes to Candy’s side. Homer follows
slowly. Candy is groggy, coming out of the ether.
WALLY
How is she doing?
LARCH
Just fine.
CANDY
(slurred speech)
Boy or girl?
ANGELA
It was nothing--it’s all over.
WALLY
It’s all over, honey.
They walk Candy on her gurney. Homer looks after them.
CANDY
(slurred speech)
I would like to have a baby, one
day. I really would.
ANGELA
Why, of course--you can have as many
children as you want. I’m sure you’ll
have very beautiful children.
Larch wheels Candy behind a curtain.
LARCH
You’ll have Princes of Maine! You’ll
have Kings of New England!
Larch has a different tone of voice when he speaks to Wally.
LARCH
I suggest you find yourself some
fresh air, Lieutenant.
Wally is left alone in the corridor.
INT. BOYS’ DIVISION - DAY
Cranked at three-quarters, Fuzzy sits in bed, wheezing and
coughing. He’s drawing with great intensity, using crayons
on a piece of paper held by a clipboard. Homer sits on the
end of Fuzzy’s bed, cleaning up Steerforth. Homer pauses to
look out of the window; he sees Wally, dashing and spotless
in his uniform beside his flashy car. A life Homer might
have had crosses his face.
FUZZY (O.S.)
Homer, when is Halloween?
Homer turns to Fuzzy, who holds up his picture--a big pumpkin
with a jack-o-lantern face.
HOMER
(distracted)
Uh... it’s the end of October.
FUZZY
Is that soon?
Homer looks at Fuzzy; his little body is working hard just
to breathe.
STEERFORTH
That’s a few months away, Fuzz.
(to Homer)
I still don’t feel so good.
FUZZY
(disappointed)
Oh. It’s the best time! How come we
only get pumpkins once a year?
Fuzzy coughs and coughs.
HOMER
Don’t get too excited, Fuzzy.
FUZZY
Why can’t we have pumpkins for
Christmas, too? We don’t get any
good presents at Christmas, anyway.
Homer looks out the window at Wally again. His decision forms.
EXT. ORPHANAGE DRIVEWAY - DAY
Homer approaches the flashy car, where Wally is still pacing.
HOMER
Has anyone offered you anything to
eat?
WALLY
Actually, someone did. I just didn’t
think I could eat anything.
An awkward silence, which Homer covers by examining the car.
HOMER
(trying to sound casual)
I wonder if you might give me a ride.
WALLY
Sure! Be glad to! Uh... a ride where?
HOMER
(unprepared)
Where are you going?
WALLY
We’re heading back to Cape Kenneth.
Homer nods, but he has no idea where Cape Kenneth is.
HOMER
Cape Kenneth...
Wally nods.
HOMER
That sounds fine.
INT. STAIRWAY/CORRIDOR - DAY
Homer runs up the stairs, two steps at a time; he races into
a corridor at full speed, exhilarated. Suddenly Dr. Larch
appears in front of him. Homer stops abruptly, out of breath,
unable to speak.
INT. LARCH’S OFFICE - DAY
As Homer stands guiltily, Larch rifles through an X-ray file,
holding various X rays up to the lit screen. He quickly finds
the one he’s looking for, attaching it briefly to the screen
for a confirming look--a heart X ray, which Larch waves at
Homer as he talks.
LARCH
(sarcastic)
Doubtless you’ll let me know what
immensely worthwhile or at least
*useful* thing it is that you find
to do.
HOMER
(restrained)
I wasn’t intending to leave here in
order to be entirely useless--I expect
I’ll find some ways to be of use.
LARCH
In other parts of the world, I suppose
there are other ways.
HOMER
(still restrained)
Of course.
LARCH
(blows up)
Are you really so *stupid* that you
imagine you’re going to find a more
gratifying life? What you’re going
to find is people like the poor people
who get left here--only nobody takes
care of them as well! And you won’t
be able to take care of them, either.
There’s no taking care of *anybody*--
not out there!
HOMER
(feeling trapped)
You know I’m grateful for everything
you’ve done for me...
LARCH
(calmly)
I don’t need your gratitude.
Larch hands Homer the heart X ray.
HOMER
(exasperated)
I don’t need this--I know all about
my condition.
LARCH
It’s your heart--you ought to take
it with you.
Camera closes on Homer with the X ray.
INT. KITCHEN - LATE AFTERNOON
Buster and Mary Agnes are serving the evening meal while
Larch rails at Angela and Edna, who are helping Buster and
Mary Agnes. The sound of children in the dining hall is
intermittent and chaotic.
EDNA
Going where? Does he have a plan of
some kind?
ANGELA
Will he be back soon?
LARCH
I don’t know! He’s just leaving--
(to Angela)
you’re the one who says he needs to
see the world!
(to Edna)
*That’s* what he’ll do--he’ll see
the world!
EDNA
(stunned)
He’s leaving...
ANGELA
He’ll need clothes... some money...
LARCH
Let him try to *make* some money!
That’s part of "seeing the world,"
isn’t it?
ANGELA
(angrily)
Oh, just stop it! You knew this was
going to happen. He’s a young man.
LARCH
(almost breaking)
He’s still a boy--out in the world,
he’s still a boy.
ANGELA
Just find him some clothes, Wilbur.
He could use some clothes.
Camera closes on Larch, fighting tears.
INT. BOYS’ DIVISION - AFTERNOON
Homer is packing his things--we see the heart X ray, and
some photos of Larch and Edna and Angela.
Larch approaches Homer with a small bundle of clothes.
LARCH
(gently, almost
reverently)
I think these will fit you.
Homer is grateful and ashamed. Before he can speak, Edna is
there--a wad of bills in her hand. She tries to put the money
in his pocket; when he refuses it, she simply puts the money
in his open suitcase, stuffing the bills under his clothes.
EDNA
You’ll need some money--just a little
something, until you find a job.
Larch and Edna retreat from him, humbly, as if they were his
servants.
EXT. DRIVEWAY - AFTERNOON
As Homer puts his stuff in the truck of Wally’s car, Angela
can’t resist touching his face. She is too upset to speak.
From a window, Larch is watching the departure. He sees Homer
saying goodbye to the children, embracing them.
From another window, Fuzzy just stares. (Of course he’s
coughing.)
We see Wally carrying Candy to the car.
CANDY
(groggy)
I’m okay--I can walk.
WALLY
I don’t want you to walk--I want to
carry you. Should I put the top up?
It might get cold.
CANDY
No--keep it down. I want to feel the
air.
She speaks to Homer, touching his sleeve, like a sleepy
person, as Wally puts her gently in the backseat.
CANDY
(still groggy)
Coming with us? It’s always a good
idea to have a doctor along for the
ride.
Homer gets in the passenger seat beside Wally, who starts
the car; suddenly there is Curly. Homer can’t look at Curly,
who looks betrayed. Edna picks up Curly and carries him to
the passenger-side window. Curly is sobbing.
HOMER
I have to go, Curly. I’m sorry.
(to Edna)
I couldn’t find Buster. Will you
tell him...
He can’t finish what he has to say. Edna kisses him good-
bye.
From the window, Larch watches the car leave.
Buster, whittling a stick, isn’t watching.
INT./EXT. WALLY’S CAR - ON THE ROAD - AFTERNOON
There is quiet as the journey gets underway. Wally keeps
glancing at Candy in the rear-view mirror; she seems distant,
lost in thought. Homer is taking everything in--the speed,
the road, the wind in his face.
INT. BOYS’ DIVISION - NIGHT
Angela speaks to the boys.
ANGELA
Let us be happy for Homer Wells...
INT. GIRLS’ DIVISION - NIGHT
In the girls’ washroom, in front of the mirror by the row of
sinks, Mary Agnes is repeatedly slapping her face. Angela’s
benediction to the boys plays Over this scene of violent
self-abuse. Except for the sound of the slaps. Mary Agnes
doesn’t make a sound.
ANGELA (O.S.)
Homer Wells has found a family. Good
night, Homer!
ALL THE BOYS (O.S.)
Good night, Homer!
INT. DISPENSARY - NIGHT
On his bed, Larch is taking ether. We hear the refrain from
the boys in the bunk room Over.
ALL THE BOYS (O.S.)
Good night, Homer! Good night, Homer!
Good night, Homer Wells!
INT. WALLY’S CAR - NIGHT
The radio is playing. Candy is lying down, her knees drawn
up, in the backseat; she appears to be asleep, oblivious to
Homer and Wally’s conversation.
WALLY
Actually, the Army has given me leave
twice. First when my father died,
and now I’m on leave to help my mother--
I’m just trying to get her ready for
the harvest. She’s no farmer. Apples
were my dad’s business. And with the
war on, she’s short on pickers.
Candy’s eyes are open but her voice is groggy.
CANDY
(to Homer)
Wally thinks apples are boring.
WALLY
(to Homer)
I never said they were boring.
CANDY
You said, "Apples aren’t exactly
flying."
WALLY
Well, they aren’t.
Homer looks back at Candy. Her eyes close.
HOMER
I think I’d probably like the apple
business.
WALLY
You’re a little overqualified, aren’t
you?
HOMER
No, I’m not. I need a job.
WALLY
The only jobs are picking jobs.
Picking apples is truly boring.
Candy’s eyes snap open and she sits up a little.
CANDY
There! You said it was boring.
WALLY
Well, *picking* them is! It’s about
as exciting as... walking!
Candy seems irritated with Wally. Homer tries to engage her.
HOMER
Is your family in the apple business,
too?
CANDY
No, but I work there--I like it. My
dad’s a lobsterman.
HOMER
I’ve never seen a lobster.
CANDY
Really?
HOMER
I’ve never seen the ocean, either.
WALLY
(amazed)
You’ve never seen the *ocean*?
Homer shakes his head, smiles.
WALLY
That’s not funny... that’s *serious*.
EXT./INT. ROADSIDE/CAR - NIGHT
The car is parked at the side of the road. Wally is half-
hidden behind a tree. Candy and Homer are left alone in the
car; there’s an awkward silence as Homer pretends not to
hear Wally’s excessive peeing. Suddenly Candy starts to sob.
CANDY
I couldn’t have a baby with someone
who’s leaving me--I didn’t know what
else to do!
Homer is a doctor--he’s used to postabortion reactions.
HOMER
I know.
CANDY
He’s going to be dropping bombs on
Mandalay! They’re going to be shooting
at him!
HOMER
Where’s Mandalay?
CANDY
Burma!
HOMER
Oh...
CANDY
I can’t have a baby alone. I don’t
even know if he’s coming back!
HOMER
I understand.
He doesn’t, really. Wally returns. Wally leans over Candy to
hug her.
WALLY
Honey, honey... of course I’ll come
back.
Candy pounds on his chest with her fists.
CANDY
You don’t *know*, Wally. You have no
*idea*!
Wally backs away. Candy sobs uncontrollably.
CANDY
Stay away from me!
Wally signals to Homer to get out of the car.
Later, Wally and Homer stand outside the car, overhearing
Candy’s weeping. Homer is smoking nervously.
HOMER
(strictly medical)
This is all normal. Don’t worry. The
abortion procedure... it affects
you. It’s the ether, too. It’ll take
a little time.
WALLY
I don’t *have* any time. There’s a
*war*!
HOMER
It’s all very normal.
Wally looks at Homer, who takes a nervous drag on his
cigarette.
WALLY
You ought to cut that shit out--it’s
terrible for you.
Homer looks at Wally; he sees the authority in his eyes.
Homer drops his cigarette and puts it out with his foot.
They notice that Candy has stopped crying. Wally finds Candy
asleep in the backseat.
EXT. WALLY’S CAR - ON THE ROAD - LATE AT NIGHT
The lone car on the road. Snatches of war news from the radio
are the only sound as the headlights illuminate the dark
highway.
EXT. COAST OF MAINE - MORNING
The car is parked, with Homer sleeping in it alone. The sounds
of the ocean increase as Homer opens his eyes. Homer gets
out of the car and walks toward the beach, enchanted. There
it is: his first view ever of an ocean, the horizon, the sun
glimmering on the water. Candy is lying on a blanket in the
sand. Wally is throwing rocks in the water. Homer takes it
all in. When Candy calls for him, Homer walks up to her.
CANDY
I’m a little worried about the...
(she gestures below
her waist)
...about how much bleeding is okay.
HOMER
It should taper off tomorrow, but it
can come back again. You have cramps?
(Candy nods)
They’ll ease up, almost entirely. As
long as the bleeding isn’t heavy,
it’s normal.
WALLY (O.S.)
Catch!
A football comes flying through the air toward Homer; it
bounces off his chest. Wally laughs.
WALLY
(meaning the football)
Give it here!
Homer throws the football; it’s clear he’s never thrown one
before.
WALLY
What was *that*?! Come over here!
Homer runs over to Wally, who proceeds to show him how to
pass the ball. Snatches of his instruction drift to Candy,
who closes her eyes. "Put your fingers on the laces--no, it
rests in your palm, like this! You want the laces up--yes,
like that!"
EXT. COAST OF MAINE - DAY (LATER)
Homer and Wally sit on the beach a short distance from Candy’s
blanket. She appears to be asleep. Wally looks in her
direction before he speaks to Homer.
WALLY
It’s called the Burma run. It’s about
a seven-hour round-trip flight between
India and China.
Wally draws a crude map in the sand.
HOMER
"Burma run" because you fly over
Burma...
WALLY
*And* over the Himalayas. That’s
called flying over the hump.
On Candy’s face: she’s not asleep; she’s listening.
HOMER (O.S.)
At what altitude?
WALLY
I’ve got thirty-five minutes to climb
to fifteen thousand feet--that’s the
first mountain pass.
Homer looks at Wally, thoughtfully.
HOMER
What lousy luck--I mean your orders...
to draw an assignment like that!
WALLY
(conspiratorially)
Actually, I volunteered.
Homer is shocked; he looks back at Candy, lowers his voice.
HOMER
It’s the flying, right? You love to
fly, don’t you?
Wally nods; he also gives a look in Candy’s direction before
he responds.
WALLY
I love the bombing, too. But there’s
also the Himalayas--they have the
most wicked air currents in the world.
I wouldn’t miss flying there for
anything.
Homer’s smile suggests that he’s impressed, but that he
wouldn’t have Wally’s enthusiasm for the task. Wally laughs
and puts his hand on Homer’s shoulder.
WALLY
Uh, look... if you’re serious about
wanting a job, picking apples isn’t
that boring.
HOMER
Oh, I would love that, Wally.
EXT. CAPE KENNETH - LOBSTER POUND - AFTERNOON
The car is parked at a lobster pound. Homer sits in the car
watching Wally carrying Candy’s bag to the door. Candy stands
outside the car; she shakes Homer’s hand.
CANDY
I guess I’ll see you around the
orchards. Thanks for everything.
HOMER
Sure... I’ll see you around.
Candy turns and heads toward the house to catch up with Wally.
A lobsterman in his boat is approaching the dock. It’s RAY,
Candy’s father. Candy waves. "Hi, Daddy!" Homer glances at
Candy and Wally on the dock, kissing good-bye.
CANDY
(whispering)
I love you, Wally.
WALLY
I love you, too. See you tomorrow.
EXT. OCEAN VIEW - WORTHINGTON HOUSE - LATE AFTERNOON
Wally drives up to the Worthington house; he gets out of the
car. Homer sits in the car, admiring the beautiful farmhouse.
WALLY
Come on. You have to meet my mom.
(conspiratorially)
If it comes up, I’ve been at a
wedding. That’s where I met you, at
the wedding.
INT. WORTHINGTON HOUSE - WALLY’S BEDROOM - LATE AFTERNOON
Homer as never seen such a room: the sports trophies, the
photos of athletic teams, and of Candy with Wally. Model
airplanes are everywhere. Mrs. Worthington’s voice comes
from the hall.
OLIVE (O.S.)
Wally? I expected you earlier...
She appears in the doorway of Wally’s room. Mrs. Worthington
(OLIVE) is an elegant, fiftyish New Englander, as handsome
as Wally, but more reserved. She is surprised to see Homer.
WALLY
This is Homer Wells--he’s the most
overqualified apple picker you’ll
ever meet, but he’s dying to learn
the apple business.
Wally is taking his uniform off as he speaks, just dropping
it on the floor as he quickly puts on some farm clothes.
OLIVE
How do you do, Homer Wells...
Homer has never met anyone like her.
HOMER
How do you do...
Mrs. Worthington starts picking up her son’s uniform from
the floor. She is politely curious about Homer.
OLIVE
Were you a friend of the bride or
the groom?
Homer looks confused; he seems to have forgotten about the
alleged wedding. Wally puts his arm around Homer, urging him
into the hall.
WALLY
Homer is everybody’s friend, Mom...
the bride’s, the groom’s, mine,
Candy’s, *everybody’s*.
Homer is embarrassed, but Olive is obdurately well-mannered.
OLIVE
Well, perhaps you’ll come to dinner,
Homer...
Wally calls to her as he pushes Homer down the hall.
WALLY
Not tonight, Mom--he’s got to meet
*Mr. Rose*!
EXT. CIDER HOUSE - DUSK
Homer and Wally get out of the jeep at the cider house, a
barnlike building with adjacent sheds and, behind it, line
after line of trees--the apple orchards.
Homer sees an outdoor shower where THREE BLACK MEN are
showering. It is a wooden stall that leaves the shower’s
occupants visible above and below their midsections. A FOURTH
BLACK MAN is caught naked, running behind the cider house
and out of sight as he wraps a towel around himself.
JACK
You already used up the hot water!
MUDDY
You’re usin’ my soap, ain’t you?
JACK
I ain’t usin’ no soap--it’s too cold
to bother with soap!
MUDDY
There ain’t never enough hot water,
soap or no soap.
WALLY
They’re migrants.
HOMER
(no clue)
Migrants?
WALLY
Yes. They pick fruit, all kinds.
They travel up and down the coast
with the seasons.
(leaning close to
Homer)
The trick to Mr. Rose is, you have
to let him be the boss.
Homer wonders what that means as Wally reaches for the door
of the cider house. Before Wally can knock, a pretty young
black girl, ROSE ROSE, bumps open the screen door with her
hip and throws a bucket of water in the grass--almost hitting
Homer and Wally.
ROSE ROSE
That sink’s backed up again, Wally.
I thought you was gonna get me a
plumber.
WALLY
Rose, this is Homer--Homer, this is
Mr. Rose’s daughter, Rose.
HOMER
Rose Rose?
ROSE ROSE
Pretty, ain’t it? You a plumber?
WALLY
No, no--Homer is a new *picker*.
He’s going to stay here with you.
This gets the attention of the men on their way from the
showers. They walk over, towels around their waists.
ROSE ROSE
(suspiciously)
He’s stayin’ *here*?
The screen door swings open and shut again, startling them
all, as MR. ROSE comes out of the cider house.
MR. ROSE
That daughter of mine sure is Miss
Hospitality, ain’t she, Wally?
Grinning, Mr. Rose shakes Wally’s hand. Rose Rose goes back
inside the cider house as Mr. Rose shakes Homer’s hand. Homer
introduces himself.
MR. ROSE
You got lots of experience pickin’,
I suppose.
WALLY
Homer’s got no experience, Arthur,
but he’s smarter then I am. He’s a
fast learner.
Mr. Rose looks briefly at the men, who wait for his reaction.
MR. ROSE
This is history. Ain’t that what
you’re sayin’, Wally? I guess we
makin’ *history*... havin’ this young
man stay with us!
Wally slaps Homer on the back; he goes inside the cider house
to help Rose Rose with the plumbing.
WALLY
(over his shoulder)
See you later.
Homer looks at Mr. Rose for instructions. Mr. Rose stares
back at him with his enigmatic smile.
HOMER
So. What should I do now?
MR. ROSE
Out back, there’s a shed. It’s just
a mess. If that shed was better
organized, I could put my truck in
there.
Homer looks at Mr. Rose with an uncomprehending expression.
MR. ROSE
If you’re as smart as Wally says,
you know you sometimes gotta do one
job before you do another.
Homer thinks that over.
Later, Homer is cleaning out the shed.
EXT. CIDER HOUSE - EVENING
The pickers all sit down to supper around a picnic table.
Homer with Mr. Rose, Rose Rose, and the other black pickers.
Mr. Rose takes an apple from a bowl on the table. Then he
pulls out a knife and opens it in one fluid motion; he’s so
fast, the knife seems to come out of nowhere. He begins to
peel the apple. Homer eyes Mr. Rose, but Mr. Rose’s focus is
riveted to his apple and the long, perfect strand of peel
dangling from it.
MR. ROSE
You did a good job with that shed,
Homer.
Peaches breaks the awkward silence.
PEACHES
What kind of a name is Homer?
HOMER
It’s the name of a cat. Originally.
Well, not *originally*.
Homer decides to stop. Another silence.
MR. ROSE
Now, now--we all got names, sensible
or not.
(to Homer)
Peaches is from Georgia, where we
met him pickin’ peaches. He’s still
better with peaches than hs is with
apples.
(Peaches grins)
Jack here is new. And this here is
Hero, ’cause he was a hero of some
kind or other once. Ain’t that right,
Hero?
There are some disrespectful suggestions from the pickers
concerning what his heroism might have been.
MR. ROSE
And this here sensitive-lookin’ fella
is Muddy. The less said about Muddy,
the better. Ain’t that right, Muddy?
Muddy scowls at Homer, but he smiles at Mr. Rose.
INT. BUNKHOUSE - NIGHT
Homer unpacks his suitcase. (His bed should be nearest Muddy’s
and Mr. Rose’s.) Jack lies on his bed, smoking. Muddy, also
smoking, is sitting on his bed, sharpening a knife. Hero and
Peaches are playing cards on one of their beds. Mr. Rose is
finishing shaving. Rose Rose watches Homer unpack.
ROSE ROSE
What’s that?
HOMER
It’s just my heart.
ROSE ROSE
What you got a picture of your heart
for?
He holds up the X ray, in order to show her.
HOMER
There’s a little something wrong
with it. Just this part here--the
right ventricle. It’s slightly
enlarged.
ROSE ROSE
So what?
HOMER
Yes, so what. It’s nothing serious,
really. Just a small defect.
MR. ROSE
It’s big enough to keep you out of
the war, I suppose. Ain’t that right?
HOMER
Right.
Rose Rose picks up the book that Homer has put on the bed.
She studies the cover; it’s "Great Expectations" by Charles
Dickens. She puts it down, restlessly.
MR. ROSE
They told me I was too old to serve.
PEACHES
They told Muddy his feet was too
flat!
Everybody laughs, except Muddy.
MUDDY
(to Peaches)
And you was "generally unfit," as I
recall.
Finished unpacking, Homer sits on his bed; he picks up "Great
Expectations" and begins to read. Rose Rose sits down next
to him, watching him read. Homer notices her interest.
HOMER
Do you like to read?
ROSE ROSE
(embarrassed)
I can’t read. Nobody taught me.
Homer smiles politely and goes back to his book. Rose Rose
keeps looking over his shoulder at the pages.
ROSE ROSE
(pointing to the page)
What does it say there?
Homer looks around at the pickers lying in their beds,
smoking, listening. (Like bedtime stories at the orphanage,
he thinks; however, the picker’s attitude is suspicious,
reserved.)
HOMER
(reading)
"I looked at the stars, and considered
how awful it would be for a man to
turn his face to them as he froze to
death, and see no help or pity in
all the glittering multitude."
Homer looks up; there’s no response.
HOMER
(to Rose Rose)
More?
Some muttering, some giggling, mostly silence. Rose Rose
wants more, but suddenly Jack jumps out of bed and stomps to
the kitchen end of the cider house, where a piece of paper
is tacked to the wall. Jack is talking to Homer all the way.
JACK
Since you’re the one who’s smart
enough to read... what’s this?
Jack points at the piece of paper. Homer gets up and looks
at it.
HOMER
It’s a list of rules, it seems.
All the men groan--Jack swears and Peaches laughs.
ROSE ROSE
*Whose* rules?
MUDDY
They’re for us, I suppose.
JACK
Go on and read ’em, Homer.
HOMER
"One. Please don’t smoke in bed."
ROSE ROSE
It’s too late for that one!
All the smokers laugh and cough in their beds.
MR. ROSE
(uncharacteristically
blunt)
Stop it, Homer. They aren’t our rules.
We didn’t write them. I don’t see no
reason to read them.
HOMER
Okay...
Rose Rose stomps back to her bed. Her father absently snaps
his towel.
INT. BUNKHOUSE - NIGHT (LATER)
Everybody is asleep, except Homer. He is staring at the
ceiling in the quiet semi-darkness, the book lying on his
chest.
LARCH (O.S.)
(distant echoing)
Good night, you Princes of Maine!
You Kings of New England.
INT. BOYS’ DIVISION - NIGHT
Dr. Larch is standing in the doorway to the boys’ room; he
closes the door.
INT. BUNKHOUSE - NIGHT
Homer, on his bed, closes his eyes.
INT. DISPENSARY - NIGHT
Larch lies in bed with his eyes open. (No ether.)
EXT. CIDER HOUSE - NIGHT
The cider house and the apple orchard in the moonlight.
EXT. ORCHARDS - MORNING
Wally in his farm clothes at the wheel of the Jeep--he is
racing through the orchards, dodging trees, with Homer in
the passenger seat, hanging on for dear life.
WALLY
Remember this! In the morning, when
the tall grass is wet, you can make
the Jeep slide on the grass. Can you
feel it?
Homer is excited as Wally weaves among the trees--faster and
faster.
WALLY
It’s almost like flying.
HOMER
What about the trees?
WALLY
The trees are flak--antiaircraft
fire from those geeks on the ground.
Wally brakes hard. The Jeep comes to a stop in the packing-
house area.
Candy has been waiting on the loading platform. The pickers
are working in the background.
WALLY
(defensively to Candy)
I was just showing Homer the
orchards... kind of a geography
lesson.
CANDY
(good-naturedly)
I know what you’ve been doing.
She pulls an apple branch, with an apple to two, out of the
vehicle’s grille--or else the branch is wedged in the front -
bumper or headlight area. Candy playfully starts poking Wally
with the branch.
CANDY
(to Wally)
You’ve been giving him a *flying*
lesson!
WALLY
(teasing her)
He *loved* it!
(to Homer)
Didn’t you?
HOMER
Yeah, it was great.
Wally gets the apple branch away from Candy. He pins her
arms at her sides--he hugs her, kisses her. She doesn’t
struggle.
CANDY
(laughing to Homer)
He thinks people *like* to get whacked
by branches.
WALLY
*Homer* liked it!
(to Homer)
Didn’t you?
HOMER
Yeah, sure. There’s no stress or
strain around here...
They all laugh. Homer observes the happy couple.
EXT. ORCHARDS - DAY
Homer is walking with Wally and Candy. The orchards are
beautiful.
EXT. PACKING HOUSE - MORNING
Much activity: the pickers are unloading apple crates from a
full flatbed trailer. An angry-looking VERNON gives Homer an
evil glare. Homer spills some apples lifting the crate to
the loading platform.
VERNON
What’s wrong with you?
Mr. Rose takes Homer aside.
MR. ROSE
That’s Vernon. You best stay away
from him until he gets to know you
better--then you best stay away from
him *more*!
Wally, in full uniform, appears from inside the packing house;
he calls for Homer.
MR. ROSE
Out lieutenant’s calling you, Homer.
Mind your ass.
Homer smiles are runs toward Wally.
INT./EXT. PACKING HOUSE - MORNING
Homer and Wally walk through the packing house, where the
HEFTY, LOUD WOMEN sort through the apples rolling by on the
conveyor tracks. Wally snatches an apple from one of them,
giving it to Homer.
WALLY
(to Homer)
You getting along okay?
Before Homer can answer, the women interrupt.
BIG DOT
Where is that Candy?
FLORENCE
Did she leave you, Wally?
DEBRA
Who’s the boy?
Wally makes an effort to introduce Homer, but he’s
interrupted.
FLORENCE
Wally, you can marry Debra if Candy
leaves you!
BIG DOT
Wally’s gonna marry *me* if Candy
leaves him!
DEBRA
You can marry all three of us, Wally!
FLORENCE
We can take turns.
Wally puts his hand to his heart.
WALLY
You girls make it hard for a guy to
go off to war.
(points to Homer)
But I’ll leave my best man here to
pinch-hit for me.
As the women are left behind giggling, Wally continues talking
to Homer.
WALLY
Uh... I’m shipping out sooner than I
thought. I just wanted to be sure
you were settled in--and happy enough,
considering...
(grabbing another
apple from a crate)
Are you bored stiff? Or can you stick
it out for a bit?
HOMER
Uh... actually, picking apples is as
much excitement as I want for a while.
I’m grateful for the job.
WALLY
(his hand on Homer’s
shoulder)
You’re the one who’s helping *me*,
Homer. You’re going to give my mom a
little peace of mind while I’m gone.
Candy, too.
HOMER
Well, sure... that’s good, then.
(awkward pause)
All I mean is, I’m lucky I met you.
WALLY
I don’t think so, Homer. *I’m* the
lucky one.
Homer shakes his head. Wally stops walking; they both stop.
WALLY
(more serious)
You want to fight about it?
Homer is unfamiliar with this kind of kidding around; at
first he is startled, but then he laughs. Wally laughs, too.
They shake hands.
Mr. Rose calls out to Homer from the tractor. The pickers
are impatiently waiting for him on the flatbed; they’re going
back to the orchard. Homer has to run to catch up to them.
He jumps on the flatbed; he sees Wally waving good-bye.
EXT. ORCHARDS - DAY
High up in a tall tree on a couple of ladders, Mr. Rose and
Homer are picking side by side. Mr. Rose is picking with
high-speed perfection, but Homer is slower and fumbling--he
drops an occasional apple to the ground.
MR. ROSE
You pickin’ more cider apples then
anythin’ else. Them drops is good
only for cider. And you pickin’ the
stems with the apples only half the
time. They good only for cider, too--
if you don’t pick them stems.
(Homer watches him)
The rule is, you wanna pick the apple
*with* the stem, Homer. And see
here... see that *bud* that’s just
above the stem? That’s the bud for
*next year’s* apple--that’s called
the *spur*. You pick the spur, you
pickin’ two years in one--you pickin’
next year’s apple ’fore it have a
chance to grow. You leave that on
the branch, you hear?
Homer nods; he picks more carefully, with more concentration.
MR. ROSE
(approvingly)
That’s better. I can tell you got
yourself some education. Them’s good
hands you got, Homer. Them hands you
got, they know what they’re doin’--
ain’t that right?
HOMER
I guess so...
Homer can see over the apple mart parking lot from the top
of the tree. He can see the driveway of the Worthington house,
where Candy and Olive are saying a tearful good-bye to Wally.
Distracted, Homer drops another couple of apples, which Mr.
Rose observes with a wry smile.
ANGELA (O.S.)
Wilbur! Wilbur!
INT. LARCH’S OFFICE - DAY
Larch is doing something at his desk when Angela comes in.
ANGELA
Wilbur, you should read this.
Larch stares at Angela, who holds a letter.
ANGELA
It’s from the Board. Another letter.
INT. LARCH’S OFFICE - NIGHT
Dr. Larch stands in front of a mechanical drawing easel. He
works intently with a calligraphic pen, but we don’t see
what he’s working on. Angela and Edna sit at the desk; they’re
looking over the letter.
ANGELA
(quoting the letter)
Uh... "merely suggesting that some
new blood might benefit you all...
someone with new ideas in the
obstetrical and pediatric fields."
(she looks up at Larch)
I think they’re just testing some
ideas for our next meeting.
EDNA
Dr. Holtz seems nice. I think he
only wants to help...
LARCH
He is a goddamn psychiatrist--of
*course* he wants to "help"! He’d be
happy if he could help *commit* me!
ANGELA
It’s that Mrs. Goodhall you have to
be careful of, Wilbur.
LARCH
One has to be more than "careful" of
Mrs. Goodhall--she has sufficient
Christian zeal to start her own
country! I’d like to give her a little
ether.
EDNA
So what are you going to do?
Larch puts down the pen, comes around the easel, opens a
drawer in a filing cabinet, and hands Edna a folder containing
a few cleanly typed pages. Larch returns to the easel, to
his painstaking work. Edna opens the file; as she and Angela
read the contents, Larch recites from memory as he works.
LARCH
"Homer Wells, born Portland, Maine,
March 2, 1915..."
EDNA
Homer was born *here*, in, what was
it, 1922?
LARCH
"...graduated Bowdoin College, 1935,
and Harvard School of Medicine, 1939."
ANGELA
This is *your* life story, Wilbur!
You just changed the dates!
LARCH
"An internship and two years of
training at the Boston Lying-in,
South End Branch. For his age, he
was judged an accomplished
gynecological obstetrical surgeon;
he is also experienced in pediatric
care..."
ANGELA
You *invented* him! You’ve completely
made his up!
LARCH
Don’t you understand? The board is
going to *replace* me! That’s what
the "new blood" is *for*!
EDNA
You mean they’ll replace you with
someone who won’t perform abortions.
LARCH
(sarcastically)
Well, we can only guess about that,
Edna. They *are* against the law.
ANGELA
These *credentials* are against the
law!
LARCH
We all know who trained Homer--his
credentials are as good as mine are.
Don’t you be holy to me about the
*law*! What has the law done for any
of us here?
Edna and Angela think this over.
LARCH
(points at file)
So here is my candidate. What do you
think?
EDNA
But what about school records? Homer
doesn’t have any *diplomas*...
Larch turns the easel around. Attached is a parchment headed:
"HARVARD MEDICAL SCHOOL"--it’s a diploma-in-progress.
LARCH
He *will* have them, Edna.
The women are shocked, awed.
ANGELA
Oh, Wilbur, I don’t know...
(sudden thought)
We don’t even know where he is!
EXT. CIDER HOUSE, ROOF - NIGHT
ROSE ROSE (O.S.)
Where’s that Homer?
Homer stands in front of a ladder that leans against the
cider house; he starts to climb up, drawn by the murmuring
voices, the soft laughter.
JACK (O.S.)
Who cares?
MR. ROSE (O.S.)
Now, now. He’s a good boy.
JACK (O.S.)
Shit. We don’t know what he is.
MR. ROSE (O.S.)
Jack, you gotta watch your language
’round my daughter.
Homer arrives at the top and sees everyone sitting on a long
plank, a bench attached to the apex of the roof--obviously a
popular spot.
MR. ROSE
Here he is.
No one moves.
MR. ROSE
Where’s your manners? Make room for
Homer, so’s he can enjoy the view.
MUDDY
What view?
Peaches slides over and Homer sits down.
HOMER
Are we supposed to be up here? The
rules said...
MR. ROSE
Homer, you the only one who’s read
them rules, so you the only one who
feels like he’s doin’ somethin’ wrong.
The others laugh.
MUDDY
*What* view?
MR. ROSE
Well, Muddy, we can look at all these
angry stars Homer’s been readin’ to
us about.
More laughter; Homer smiles, enjoying the teasing.
JACK
(gesturing toward the
Worthington farmhouse)
I bet the view looks better from the
Worthin’tons’.
MR. ROSE
You think so, Jack? Well... I wouldn’t
want to be in that Wally’s shoes
tonight.
ROSE ROSE
(playfully, teasing
him)
Daddy, I’d like to be in that Wally’s
shoes *every* night.
MR. ROSE
(teasing her back)
You lucky you in your work boots
tonight, girl...
ROSE ROSE
What’s lucky about that?
Rose Rose is being physically affectionate with her father--
lightly punching his arm, rubbing the top of his head.
MR. ROSE
You know where that Wally is tonight,
darlin’? He’s up there in them angry
stars.
(gesturing at the
dark sky)
He’s flyin’ all around up there...
with them Japs shooting at him.
They all look up, imagining that. Homer more than the others.
Rose Rose, looking thoughtful, rests her head on her father’s
shoulder. They are completely natural together.
EXT. CAPE KENNETH - APPLE MART - DAY
Homer and the pickers are loading crates of apples into a
shipping truck. Olive and Candy are consulting some papers
(the shipping tally) on a clipboard; Mr. Rose is standing
beside them.
MR. ROSE
They all on board, Mrs. Worthin’ton.
OLIVE
Thank you, Arthur.
(see is looking at
Homer)
And how is our Homer working out?
She catches Homer’s eye; he smiles, then joins them. Mr.
Rose puts his arm around him.
MR. ROSE
Oh, he’s a smart young man, most of
the time--Wally was right about him.
Olive is looking over the rest of the picking crew.
OLIVE
No rotten apples?
MR. ROSE
(it’s an old way of
speaking that they
have)
No, no--not this year. Well... maybe
we got *one*, but it ain’t Homer.
He means Jack, who gives Olive and Candy and Mr. Rose a
furtive look. Olive smiles at Rose Rose, who comes up to her
and Candy. Olive touches Rose Rose with affection.
OLIVE
Rose... dear girl, I’m sure I can
find you some other clothes.
(to Candy)
You must have some things that would
fit her.
Candy takes Rose Rose by the shoulders and turns her around.
Rose Rose is enjoying this.
CANDY
I have a *ton* of things that would
fit you.
MR. ROSE
Now, now, Candy--this girl don’t
need no more clothes, not for pickin’.
He starts leading his daughter away.
OLIVE
(charming)
Arthur, there’s no such thing as a
young woman who’s got all the clothes
she needs.
Olive waves good-bye as she moves toward her car. Candy turns
to Homer.
CANDY
So. Not bored yet?
HOMER
I’m *never* bored! It’s all very...
different for me... here.
Homer has the hardest time looking at Candy.
HOMER
Uh... have you been *feeling* okay?
CANDY
When I’m not thinking about Wally.
I’m not good at being alone.
(realizing)
Oh, goodness. You meant... yes, I’m
fine. I...
(struggling to change
the subject)
...I don’t suppose you’ve seen a
lobster yet.
Homer shakes his head. He looks at the tractor and the empty
trailer. Mr. Rose and the pickers are just watching them.
CANDY
(more seriously)
You have to come to my dad’s lobster
pound and see one, then.
HOMER
Okay...
Homer looks toward the pickers sitting on the flatbed when
he hears the tractor start. Candy follows his gaze.
HOMER
I better go.
CANDY
I don’t think Mr. Rose would leave
without you.
Mr. Rose gestures for Muddy to drive off; the tractor trailer
pulls away.
CANDY
(laughing)
Sorry!
Homer has to run to catch up.
CANDY
(calling)
Come next week!
He jumps on the back of the departing flatbed between Mr.
Rose and Rose Rose, as Candy watches him.
INT. BUNKHOUSE - DUSK
An anxious-looking WHITE PLUMBER is fixing the kitchen sink
while the pickers (in their towels) stand around and watch.
Homer is putting on his best shirt. Peaches admires the shirt
as Rose Rose cooks the night’s supper on the wood stove.
PEACHES
Whoa--look at that Homer! He’s gettin’
all dressed up for supper tonight!
ROSE ROSE
He ain’t gettin’ dressed to have
supper with *us*, Peaches!
The pickers all look at Homer, who looks guilty as he leaves.
MR. ROSE
(to the plumber)
Don’t let us make you nervous or
nothin’--we know you gotta job to
do.
MUDDY
Yeah, we can wait all night for the
water to come back on--you just go
on and take your time.
EXT. INLAND ROAD - DUSK
Homer pedals a bicycle down a dirt road.
EXT. LOBSTER POUND - DUSK
Ray holds a lobster up to the camera. We see the old-fashioned
wooden pens, floating dockside.
RAY
Hungry?
Homer looks uncertain.
EXT. GANGPLANK, DOCK - DUSK
Homer and Ray and Candy go up the gangplank from the dock to
the lobster pound.
RAY
They’re the garbage-eaters of the
ocean’s floor. The seagulls clean up
the shore. The lobsters clean up the
bottom of the sea.
HOMER
They eat everything?
RAY
Everything that falls to the bottom.
CANDY
It’s time somebody ate *them*.
RAY
(to Candy)
I was lookin’ for Wally’s letter. I
was gonna show it to Homer...
(to Homer)
They made him a captain already--
*Captain* Worthington!
CANDY
Daddy, it’s a letter to *me*.
RAY
He mentions Homer, too, you know.
CANDY
(awkwardly)
Wally said to say, "Hello."
HOMER
(equally awkward)
Oh! That’s... nice.
RAY
(to Homer)
Wally said the most spectacular hits
were in the oil fields at Yenangyat.
Later, through the window of the lobster pound, we see them
eating lobster around a kitchen table. Laughter and some
unclear dialogue drift to us.
EXT./INT. CAPE KENNETH/WALLY’S CAR - NIGHT
With the bicycle stowed in the trunk, Candy is driving Homer
back to the cider house. They pass a drive-in movie theatre,
the marquee announcing "CLOSED FOR THE SEASON." Homer stares
in awe at the giant blank screen.
HOMER
A movie *outside*?
CANDY
Yes. But it’s closed all the time
now, because of the blackout.
HOMER
People watched the movies in their
cars?
CANDY
(smiling)
When they watched at all. Do you
like movies?
HOMER
Yes! I’ve only seen one, though.
Candy looks at him; he isn’t joking.
CANDY
You’ve seen only one movie? Which
one?
HOMER
"King Kong". It’s really good.
Candy laughs.
CANDY
I haven’t seen "King Kong" since I
was a kid!
Homer laughs a little self-consciously; around her, he feels
like he’s *still* a kid.
INT. DINING HALL - EARLY MORNING
At one table, the children are happily eating apples; a few
of the kids are stuffing apples from a big bowl into their
pockets. At another table, Larch, Edna, and Angela sit around
an open packing crate of apples. Larch takes a bite from an
apple and spits it out. Angela takes the apple out of his
hand.
ANGELA
That’s a pie apple, Wilbur. Homer
said you’re not supposed to eat it!
Angela hands him another apple.
LARCH
So he’s an apple expert, is he?
Angela gives him a critical look as Larch takes a bite out
of the new apple.
LARCH
(sarcastically)
Oh my, yes! This is a *far* superior
taste--and crisp, too! You know, so
many apples are disappointingly mealy.
I wonder of most of the apples in my
life weren’t meant for pies!
ANGELA
Wilbur, he picked them for us
himself...
LARCH
(incredulous)
You don’t find it depressing that
Homer Wells is picking apples?
Both Edna and Angela glower at him.
LARCH
Or that he can’t be bothered to write
us a proper letter? A dissertation
on apples, we don’t need!
EDNA
(annoyed)
He probably doesn’t make much money
picking apples--he must have had to
pay to send them, too.
LARCH
I wouldn’t worry, Edna, that he
doesn’t have money. If he gets hungry,
he can pick his dinner!
Larch angrily tosses the half-eaten apple into the garbage.
EDNA
Wilbur, it’s a *gift*! How can you
be angry with Homer for sending us a
*gift*?
Larch stares into space, depressed. Then he examines the
crate and finds the mailing label that says "OCEAN VIEW
ORCHARDS--CAPE KENNETH, MAINE." He rips it off, holds it up
triumphantly.
LARCH
I’ll show him a *gift*! I’ll give
him a gift he can *use*!
Larch storms out of the room.
INT. CAPE KENNETH - MOVIE THEATRE - NIGHT
A newsreel from the war is playing on the screen--soldiers
marching, smiling, waving to the camera. Homer and Candy sit
together watching. Homer is completely fascinated; Candy
watches Homer as much as the news. Her expression changes
when the newsreel cuts to footage from an air raid.
EXT. CAPE KENNETH - MOVIE THEATRE - NIGHT
Candy and Homer walk out of the theatre, under the marquee
and past the poster for "Wuthering Heights."
CANDY
(disappointed)
But you looked as if you liked it.
HOMER
(smiling)
I *did* like it. All I said was,
"It’s not ’King Kong’."
Candy makes a face, but in good fun.
HOMER
First she loved him, then she didn’t,
then no one else could have him...
CANDY
She *did* love him!
(teasing him)
How many women have you known?
Homer is embarrassed; he ducks the question.
HOMER
And what did she die of, exactly?
CANDY
She was torn apart! She died of a
broken heart.
HOMER
Oh, sure!
Homer smiles and shakes his head; Candy starts to laugh.
HOMER
What’s the *medical* explanation?
CANDY
Well, she was in a weakened
condition...
(laughs)
I don’t know! What about "King Kong"?!
Is that medically possible?
Homer smiles; he knows she’s teasing him, and he likes it.
HOMER
(mock serious)
At least King Kong knew what he
*wanted*.
Candy pushes him playfully. They’re both having a good time,
*too* good a time.
EXT. ORCHARDS - DAY
Homer is picking apples in a big tree; Rose Rose is on a
ladder in the tree right beside him. She’s picking about
twice as fast as he is, and he keeps dropping his apples. In
another tree, Muddy is watching.
ROSE ROSE
What is you *doin’* with that Candy,
Homer?
MUDDY
(imitating Mr. Rose)
He’s makin’ history, I suppose.
From the surrounding trees, the other pickers laugh.
ROSE ROSE
You ain’t gettin’ in no trouble, I
hope.
HOMER
No trouble.
In adjacent trees, both Peaches and Hero are picking apples;
they can hear Homer and Rose Rose, too. (So can Mr. Rose.)
PEACHES
That Candy--she’s the nicest girl I
know!
MUDDY
She’s about the most beautiful girl
I ever seen--I don’t know if she’s
the nicest.
HOMER
She’s the nicest *and* the most
beautiful girl I’ve ever known.
The men *oooh* and *aaah* at Homer’s announcement--Mr. Rose,
too.
ROSE ROSE
That sounds like you is in trouble
already, Homer.
MR. ROSE
That’s right--that sounds like trouble
to me.
HOMER
I’m not in trouble.
ROSE ROSE
Yeah, you is. I know when people is
in trouble, and you is.
Camera closes on Homer’s face; he keeps picking.
LARCH (O.S.)
His name is Homer Wells...
INT. ST. CLOUD’S - DINING HALL - EVENING
Edna and Angela face the Board of Trustees around a table.
Larch circles the table as everyone reads the contents of a
folder. Larch has provided a copy for each member. The three
elderly gentlemen on the Board don’t speak; they just nod
their heads to everything Dr. Holtz or Mrs. Goodhall says.
LARCH
...and his *pathetic* resume is the
best I’ve seen. Though I find it
hard to believe the Board would be
interested in this character.
DR. HOLTZ
But he looks like an excellent young
man, a first-rate candidate!
LARCH
He looks like a bleeding-heart
missionary *moron* to me, but that’s
going to be the problem with any
doctor interested in coming here!
MRS. GOODHALL
Do you know him?
LARCH
*No*! I don’t want to know him! He’s
doing *missionary* work--in *India*!
I wrote him *weeks* ago, but he’s
either too holy or too busy to answer.
Maybe he got killed in the war!
Suddenly Steerforth bursts through the door, having been
pushed from behind by Mary Agnes. The two stop when they see
what’s going on--not to mention Larch’s stern expression.
They back out. Mary Agnes winking at Dr. Holtz before the
door closes. Mrs. Goodhall is ready to continue.
MRS. GOODHALL
I fail to see how someone courageous
enough to make a commitment to a
foreign mission is automatically to
be dismissed--that part of the world
requires precisely the kind of
dedication that is needed here.
LARCH
Does it *snow* in Bombay? One winter
here and we’ll be shipping him south,
in a *coffin*!
MRS. GOODHALL
You can’t think that a man who has
*served* under such conditions as
exist over there will be in the
slightest daunted by a little *snow*--
have you no idea how harsh and
primitive and full of *disease* that
part of the world is?
LARCH
Then I suppose we can look forward
to catching various diseases from
him!
DR. HOLTZ
But, Dr. Larch, he seems exceptionally
qualified...
LARCH
I’m not talking about his medical
qualifications. It’s the *Christian*
thing that bothers me--I just don’t
see it being of much *use* around
here.
MRS. GOODHALL
(bitterly)
I fail to see how a little
Christianity could *hurt* anyone
here!
LARCH
Anyway, I was just showing you this
guy as an example of what’s available--
I didn’t think you’d be interested.
DR. HOLTZ
We’re *very* interested!
MRS. GOODHALL
Yes, *very*!
DR. HOLTZ
You wouldn’t be opposed to meeting
with him?
LARCH
I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to *meet*
him. What’s his name again?
ANGELA
Dr. Homer Wells.
LARCH
(mumbling)
I just hope he won’t expect us to
say *Grace* all the time.
The three elderly gentlemen repeat the name.
MRS. GOODHALL
It’s a nice name, very New England.
DR. HOLTZ
Very *Maine*, a very *local*-sounding
name.
EDNA
*Very*!
INT. DISPENSARY - NIGHT
A song plays on the old phonograph as a happy Larch and Angela
dance. Edna interrupts them.
EDNA
I just wanted to ask you...
LARCH
Edna! Come dance with me! Let’s be
foolish tonight.
EDNA
Does he *know* he’s supposed to be
in India? Does he even *want* to
come back?
This causes Larch to take the needle off the record.
LARCH
(angrily)
He’s a field hand! What could possibly
hold him there?
EXT. CIDER HOUSE - RAINY DAY
The rain beats down on Olive’s car. Homer gets soaking wet
as he leans in to talk to Candy, who’s behind the wheel. Mr.
Rose calls to Homer from the doorway of the mill room.
INT. MILL ROOM - RAINY DAY
Mr. Rose is instructing Homer as they stand bottling cider
in their yellow slickers and rubber boots. Rose Rose is hosing
down the pressboards; Muddy and Hero and Peaches are operating
the grinder and the press. Jack is stirring the vat. In a
defiant, contemptuous way, Jack keeps flicking the ash of
his cigarette into the vat. This make everyone uncomfortable;
only Mr. Rose doesn’t appear to notice.
MR. ROSE
Cider don’t have no taste till later
in October--it’s too watery now,
when we’re usin’ just them early
Macs and them Gravensteins. You don’t
get no *good* cider till you’re
pickin’ them Golden Delicious and
them Winter Bananas, them Baldwins
and them Russerts...
HOMER
What about the worms? Most of these
apples are the drops--off the ground,
right? There have to be worms.
MR. ROSE
Of *course* there’s worms, Homer!
And what is them worms, really? They
just *protein*, them worms! They is
*good* for you!
Everyone but Jack laughs. He takes a last drag on his
cigarette, then deliberately drops it into the vat.
MR. ROSE
That just ain’t right, Jack--your
cigarette’s gonna end up in nine or
ten gallons of this batch of cider!
That ain’t right.
JACK
Them people drinkin’ that cider,
they don’t know there’s a cigarette
in there!
MR. ROSE
It’s not that hard to find it in
there, Jack--it’ll take you just a
minute. You just gotta go fishin’.
JACK
You mean *swimmin’*. I ain’t goin’
in that vat to fish out no cigarette!
MR. ROSE
What business is you in, Jack? Just
tell me what your business is...
Jack looks for a translation from the other men, who are
nervous.
MUDDY
Just say you’re in the *apple*
business, man. That’s the only
business you wanna be in. Just say
it.
Jack pulls a knife on Mr. Rose.
PEACHES
(whispers excitedly
to Jack)
You don’t wanna go in the knife
business with Mistuh Rose--just say
you’re in the *apple* business, Jack!
JACK
(to Mr. Rose)
What business are *you* in?
We never see Mr. Rose’s knife. We see the men circle each
other: Jack takes a swipe at Mr. Rose’s head--then he steps
back, his yellow slicker slashed open. His slicker is opened
up, right up the middle. His shirt underneath the slicker is
slashed open, too--he feels his bare chest and stomach,
feeling for the cut. But there’s no cut--Jack’s not bleeding,
he’s not even scratched. Just his clothes have been slashed.
MR. ROSE
I’m in the *knife* business, Jack.
You don’t wanna go in the knife
business with me.
Muddy turns Jack around and views his slashed clothes.
MUDDY
You’re lucky he didn’t cut your
*nipples* off, man.
PEACHES
The good news, Jack, is you’re half-
undressed for *swimmin’*...
MUDDY
Yeah, that cigarette ain’t hard to
find when you’re properly undressed.
Jack starts to undress for the vat.
Mr. Rose ushers Homer and Rose Rose outside.
INT. BUNKHOUSE - RAINY DAY
Mr. Rose has cut his own h |
