*For Introduction with submission guidelines go to Oct 13
*Heywood Gould is the author of 9 screenplays including “Rolling Thunder,”Fort Apache, The Bronx,”Boys From Brazil”and “Cocktail.”
EMPIRES OF CRIME /Part 12
By Heywood Gould
ACT 7
EXT. EL FAY’S. DAY
In broad daylight, a TRUCKER is unloading cases of BEER, while his HELPERS roll them into the club. VINCENT “MAD DOG” COLL,a wild eyed Irish gangster crosses the street with his CREW.
MAD DOG
Get lost. Maranzano’s supplyin’
this joint.
TRUCKER
(squaring off)
This is a Dutch Schulz
territory.
MAD DOG
Not anymore.
Mad Dog draws a gun and pistol whips him down. The Trucker’s helpers run to his aid, guns drawn. Coll and his crew start shooting, spraying the truck,the beer, the helpers. BYSTANDERS run screaming for cover.
A LITTLE GIRL
is shot. Her FATHER tries to shield her and is also hit.
MAD DOG
drags a WOUNDED TRUCKER into a car and speeds away.
INT. US ATTORNEY’S OFFICE. DAY
A BULLETIN comes off the POLICE TICKER…FIVE SHOT ON BROADWAY OUTSIDE SPEAKEASY…A SECRETARY tears off the sheet and brings into an office where Tom Dewey sits behind a mountain of paperwork.
INT.CHARLEY’S BEDROOM. DAY
Gay Orlova is lounging languidly on Charley’s yellow silk sheets. The PHONE RINGS. Charley comes out of the dressing room, resplendent in a golfing outfit—knickers, high socks and two toned golf shoes.
GAY
You look like somethin’
out of Esquire magazine,
Charley.
CHARLEY
I’m goin’ golfin’ with
Walter Chrysler. He’s
puttin’ up a big office
buildin’ and he wants me
to help with the unions…
(picks up the phone with a
wink at Gay)
Luciano residence…Hiya
Meyer, guess who I’m goin’
golfin’ with…Yeah, yeah,
I’ll be right there.
(slams down the phone)
You believe these crums.
I’m tryin’ make a business
out of this thing and
they’re runnin’ around
blastin’ little girls…
INT. MEDAILLIE’S OFFICE. DAY.
Tom, quivering with indignation, confronts Medaillie.
TOM
A five year old girl was
killed instantly. Her
father is in critical
condition. All this took
place in front of El Fays,
a known speakeasy frequented
by mobsters and celebrities
and operating in flagrant
violation of the law! We
need more manpower, George.
How can we expect people
to take us seriously if we
can’t protect them on the
streets?
MEDAILIE
One of the last things
Rothstein did was to get
our Republicans in
Washington to cut our
funding.
TOM
We can get it back. This
is our chance, George. We
can use this to mobilize
public opinion. Press
conference, radio coverage.
Cause an uproar. If we can
make an arrest in this case
the tide will turn.
INT. DUCORE’S BACK ROOM. DAY
DUTCH SCHULZ, stocky, sloppy in a cheap suit, a borderline psychotic is ranting at Meyer and Benny.
SCHULZ
Your guys are too rough,
Dutch, you said. Keep’em
off Broadway. We’ll take
care of your operations.
But you didn’t so I took
over.
MEYER
And you shot a five year
old girl, Now Dewey’s
gettin’ a posse after us…
SCHULZ
It’ll blow over like it
always does.
MEYER
Dewey’s gonna splash that
little girl’s funeral all
over the paper. He’ll make
a big name for himself and
then he will be a problem.
Charley enters,impeccable in a dark suit.
CHARLEY
Thought I gave orders, nobody
from the Bronx was allowed in.
What’s with the cheap suit,
Dutch? A man in your position
oughta dress the part.
SCHULZ
Only queers wear silk shirts.
BENNY
You oughta know…
CHARLEY
C’mon we’re all friends here.
We told ya we’d handle your
beefs in Manhattan, Dutch.
Why the gunplay?
SCHULZ
That greaseball Maranzano is
tryin’ to take my spots in
the Bronx. He hired this
Irishman, Mad Dog Coll,
Guy’s been shootin’ up my
joints…
BENNY
And you been shootin’ back.
SCHULZ
Whaddya expect? Mad Dog’s
snatchin’ my collectors.
Beats the crap outta them,
hangs ‘em from meat hooks
and holds ‘em for ransom.
I’m at war with this guy,
Charley.
CHARLEY
And you’re bringin’ heat
down on the whole
organization.
SCHULZ
Who’s gonna bother us? We
run the city.
CHARLEY
Only as long as nobody
knows we do. We got the
Mayor, the DA and the
Commissioner, but they can’t
help us if we’re on the front
page blastin’ each other. Now
you gonna listen to your Uncle
Charley?
SCHULZ
If I like what I hear.
CHARLEY
Tell us which one of your
marksmen hit that little
girl. We slip his name to
our cops. He’s killed
resistin’ arrest.
(offers his hand)
Case closed?
SCHULZ
You get Maranzano off my
back?
CHARLEY
Deal.
They shake.
INT. MARANZANO’S OFFICE.DAY.
A luxurious suite overlooking Park Avenue. Seated in a thronelike chair behind a mahogany desk, a HOOD lights Maranzano’s cigar as another HOOD pours demi tasse.
MARANZANO
So business is good?
Charley produces an ENVELOPE bulging with cash.
CHARLEY
Very good.
MARANZANO
(beaming)
You’re a good earner.
CHARLEY
Because of your good decisions,
Don Salvatore. I’ve watched
and I’ve learned as you built
up this organization. But if
I could respectfully offer a
suggestion…
MARANZANO
Go ahead my friend.
CHARLEY
Ease up on Dutch Schulz for
awhile.
MARANZANO
Salvatore, my gumbare Tom
Gagliano controls the
Bronx for me. This animal
Schulz burns out our spots,
kills our people on the
street.
CHARLEY
He’s nuts. We all know
we’re gonna have to do
somethin’ about him. But
startin’ a war is the
wrong way.
MARANZANO
You know the Pax Romana,
Salvatore? The Roman legions
killed all their enemies and
ruled conquered territory
with an iron hand. And there
was peace in the world for
five centuries.
CHARLEY
With respect, this ain’t
Rome. In America the public
rules.
MARANZANO
(points out of the window)
You mean those frightened
people running to get out
of the rain?
CHARLEY
Yeah, them. See they let us
live because we give ‘em
what they want. But we
start shootin’ little girls
they’ll howl for our blood.
A thousand guns and all the
money in the world won’t do
us no good. Sit down with
Schulz. Make a deal, you can
break it later on.
MARANZANO
You’ve gone soft in your
Waldorf Astoria penthouse
with your fancy friends,
Salvatore.
CHARLEY
I’ve got a position to
protect. I can’t solve
my problems on the street.
Neither can you.
MARANZANO
(negotiating)
I won’t lower myself to sit
down with your animal Schulz.
But I will call off my Irish
mad dog. If you return the
favor.
CHARLEY
Fair enough.
MARANZANO
This pig Masseria: He shouldn’t
breathe the same air that I do.
CHARLEY
I got some boys who can
take him out nice and
quiet…
MARANZANO
Not quiet. Not with poison
or a garrotte, but with a
gun so the world can see
he has been executed. And
not by a killer with no
name. I want it to be
known that you, one of his
lieutenants, have done
this with the approval of
his soldiers.
CHARLEY
So you can come in later
like it wasn’t your idea.
Albert Anastasia works for
Masseria. He can do it.
MARANZANO
It must be you, personally,
Salvatore.
CHARLEY
I know the rules in our thing.
Kill a boss you can’t take
his place.
MARANZANO
The man who sits at my right
hand will have incredible
power. But only I can be the
boss of all bosses…
CHARLEY
(rising)
I kiss your hand, Don
Salvatore, I give you all
my respect, but I won’t
lower myself to be your
hired killer.
MARANZANO
You defy me? You present
yourself as my equal?
CHARLEY
This is America, Don Salvatore.
All men are equal here.
INT. CATERING HALL. DAY.
Meyer’s wedding day. The GUESTS applaud as Meyer in tie and tails and Anne, radiant in a white bridal gown take the first turn around the dance floor.
AT CHARLEY’S TABLE
A PHOTOGRAPHER moves in for a picture as Genovese and Anastasia snarl at each other.
ANASTASIA
You got three whore houses
by the docks…You think I
don’t know?
GENOVESE
Whores are a separate
business…
CHARLEY
You guys are makin’ millions
runnin’ booze and you’re
goin’ to war over a two
dollar cathouse…
He applauds vigorously as Meyer and Anne dance by.
COSTELLO
Hey Annie I got a car waitin’
if you wanna change your
mind….
CHARLEY
Annie, I haven’t gotten a
chance to know you yet, but
if you could trap this night
owl you must be one hell of
a woman.
Everybody laughs. Charley puts his arm around Meyer.
CHARLEY
But this guy… I gotta say
there is no more finer or
more loyal friend on earth
than Meyer Lansky. I trust
this man with my life. And
I know you can, too.
MEYER
Thanks, Charley. That means
a lot to me.
As they hug, Benny slips in and lifts the envelopes out of Meyer’s pocket. Everybody laughs as he runs away.
MEYER (CONT’D)
Hey, somebody call a cop.
EXT. ATLANTIC CITY BOARDWALK. DAY.
A balmy, May afternoon. TOURISTS stroll past THE PRESIDENT hotel.
INT. BRIDAL SUITE. DAY.
Sun drenched. Strewn with gifts and flowers. Meyer is on the couch reading the paper. Anne, tousled and dreamy in a white negligee, sneaks up and puts her hand over his eyes.
ANNE
Guess who…
MEYER
Pola Negri? Mary Pickford?
Oh, it’s little Annie
Citron, the grocer’s
daughter.
There is a loud KNOCK on the door. Outside we hear:
BENNY
This is the house detective.
Do you have a woman in
there?
Laughing, Meyer opens the door and Benny comes bursting in.
MEYER
What are you doin’ here?
BENNY
I came down for the weekend
with Esther. Look who I
found pickin’ pockets in
the lobby…
Charley enters, respectfully, hat in hand.
CHARLEY
What a coincidence, huh.
BENNY
We’re gonna steal the
blushing groom away for
a second. Give him some
pointers…
MEYER
(kisses Annie)
I won’t be long…
INT. HOTEL CORRIDOR. DAY.
Charley, Meyer and Benny walk quickly down the corridor.
CHARLEY
Capone’s here..
MEYER
Ricca and Guzik are the
brains behind the Chicago
mob, Charley…
CHARLEY
Yeah, but Capone’s the balls.
BENNY
How you gonna con these
hardheads into making you
boss?
CHARLEY
Just like AR said: Give
‘em a good proposition.
Then step back and hope
they don’t kill each other…
They walk past a BEEFY HOOD into:
INT. CONFERENCE ROOM. DAY.
It looks like a gathering of prosperous businessmen, amiable, well-dressed. They are grazing around a buffet table stocked with plates of cold cuts and bottles of premium whiskey.
CHARLEY
Gentlemen, having a good time?
AL CAPONE, stocky and moonfaced, responds:
CAPONE
Where’s the broads, Charley?
CHARLEY
I gotta play Cupid for Al
Capone? Meyer, make the
introductions.
Meyer steps to the table. CAMERA PANS where he points.
MEYER
This, of course, is Al
Capone, the boss of
Chicago…Over here,from
Boston, we got King Solomon
who’s as wise as his name.
Lou Rothkopf–all the
showgirls call him Uncle
Louie–from Cleveland, along
with, Moe Dalitz and Chuck
Polizzi. Joe Bernstein from
Detroit, Commodore of the
Little Jewish Navy, bringing
all that premium liquor down
from Canada. Nig Rosen from
Philly,the City of Brotherly
Love, we hope. My good friend
Longie Zwillman from Newark.
John Lanzia, representing Mr
Prendergast in Kansas City.
Frank Erickson and Benny
Siegel from New York along
with Mr. Buchalter from the
Garment Center. And I’d like
to thank our host, Mr. Nucky
Johnson, a very influential
man here in Atlantic City…
SOLOMON
It’s nice that you’re pickin’
up our rooms, Charley. But
what do we gotta do for you?
LUCIANO
Well, for openers, you can
stop shootin’ each other.
END ACT SIX
Next: Part 13/Act Eight: Board Meeting (Wednesday, 11/30/11)
In a new department the Daily Event will reoffer some of these scripts. Read them and decide: would you like to have seen this movie?
Our first script is EMPIRES OF CRIME. Seven years in development it is a six part mini-series commissioned by a broadcast network and later reacquired by a cable station.
The story is about the founders of Organized Crime, Meyer Lansky, and “Lucky” Luciano, their fifty year partnership and the empire they created. Their friendships and families, lives and loves. It is also about their implacable enemy Thomas Dewey, a young Republican attorney who built a political career prosecuting the Mob that propelled him to the NY Governor’s Mansion and almost to the White House.
*For Introduction with submission guidelines go to Oct 13. Use Contact Us, above, for submissions.
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