|
EXT. WOODEN GARAGE - DAY The ten Dodge trucks, their backs covered in O.D. green canvas, each containing four men and two big, Hotchkiss machine guns, sit in a line with the their engines running, all waiting . . . Our Marines with their Vietnamese driver pull up beside the first truck in the line. Capt. Houghton speaks to Lt. Cates. HOUGHTON CATES HOUGHTON CATES HOUGHTON Capt. Houghton points his stick and the column of trucks drives off up the road. The Marine's truck falls in behind and they all speed off in a caravan. DISSOLVE: EXT. THE PARIS-METZ HIGHWAY - DAY The ten trucks of the 7th Motorized Machine Gun Battalion, as well as the one truck of Marines, race up the main road running east, the Paris-Metz Highway - a paved, two-lane road. The trucks are brought to a dead halt as they are engulfed in a multitude of REFUGEES. Old women, old men, young kids - no men anywhere near draft age - carts, wagons, goats, cows. Also quite a few French soldiers, their blue uniforms shredded, bloody, and torn; they are defeated and drunk on stolen wine. The battered FRENCH SOLDIERS say to the passing Americans: FRENCH
SOLDIER #1 FRENCH
SOLDER #2 INT. MARINE'S TRUCK - DAY In the back of the truck Bonner asks Daly. BONNER DALY BONNER DALY Everybody nods and grunts. EXT. CHATEAU-THIERRY/ THE MAIN BRIDGE - LATE AFTERNOON The sun is beginning to set on the small town of Chateau-Thierry, with the Marne River running right beside it. Most of the town has been bombed to smithereens and the place is deserted. All that remains of the French army are SIX, BLACK, FRENCH COLONIAL SENEGALESE SOLDIERS (including a SERGEANT, a CORPORAL, and four Privates) guarding the main bridge across the Marne River. These are magnificent-looking, jet-black men with white helmets, white uniforms with short pants. They have appropriated colorful cloth and tied it around their heads, on the sleeves of their uniforms, and around their necks as capes. They also each have their own pile of booty: a bird cage, a painting, a clock, a goat, a chair, etc. A TITLE READS: "CHATEAU-THIERRY - MAY 31st" The 7th Motorized Machine Gun Battalion cautiously approaches the main bridge into Chateau-Thierry. The Senegalese soldiers put down their booty and take defensive positions. The trucks grind to a quick halt. Captain Houghton calls out: HOUGHTON The SENEGALESE SERGEANT, who speaks English well with a French accent, calls back: SENEGALESE
SERGEANT HOUGHTON SENEGALESE
SERGEANT Houghton points over his shoulder with his thumb. HOUGHTON All six Senegalese soldiers step out into the open, their colorful cloth flying. The Americans look at them in astonishment. BISSELL SENEGALESE
SERGEANT BISSELL SENEGALESE
SERGEANT HOUGHTON The Senegalese soldiers shake their heads. SENEGALESE
SERGEANT HOUGHTON A SENEGALESE CORPORAL nods and salutes.
HOUGHTON The soldiers salute, pick up their junk and move it off the bridge. The 7th Motorized Machine Gun Battalion, as well as the 6th Marines, all gather around Captain Houghton, who points with his walking stick. HOUGHTON CATES Cates nods at his men and they all run off. HOUGHTON Lt. Bissell and the guys of the 7th dash off. Sgt. Daly looks at Capt. Houghton quizzically. DALY HOUGHTON Captain Houghton points to the main bridge into Chateau-Thierry, directly in front of them. Daly nods. DALY HOUGHTON DALY HOUGHTON DALY Sgt. Daly runs over to the Senegalese soldiers. Capt. Houghton points his walking stick at the town across the bridge. He looks back over his shoulder and sighs. DISSOLVE: EXT. BRIDGE - LATE AFTERNOON EXT. A STREET IN CHATEAU-THIERRY - LATE AFTERNOON Lt. Cates and his men move in quick bursts through the streets of Chateau-Thierry. The Marines kick in doors and burst into houses and businesses - but there's no one there. EXT. THE BANKS OF THE MARNE RIVER - LATE AFTERNOON The 7th Machine Gun Battalion digs in setting up the big Hotchkiss guns on the south bank of the Marne River, on the opposite side as the town of Chateau-Thierry. The Hotchkiss guns are water-cooled like automobiles. Beside the main bridge, there is also a railroad trestle spanning the river. The men dig holes, set up the guns, load in the ammo, cock the bolts to make sure they recoil, setting fields of fire, getting ready. DISSOLVE: EXT. THE MAIN BRIDGE ACROSS THE MARNE - LATE AFTERNOON As the sun sets, Capt. Houghton paces back and forth in front of the main bridge across the Marne. He swings his walking stick and smokes a cigarette. Lt. Bissell runs up to Capt. Houghton and salutes. BISSELL Houghton brings his stick to the brim of his cap. HOUGHTON BISSELL HOUGHTON BISSELL Lt. Bissell runs off. A moment later Sgt. Daly and the six Senegalese soldiers come dashing up holding a big reel of black wire which is unspooling behind them. HOUGHTON DALY The Senegalese Corporal takes out a detonator, licks his index and middle fingers, and places them on the contacts beside the upraised plunger. He pushes the plunger down, quickly recoiling as his two licked fingers get shocked. SENEGALESE
CORPORAL They step to their left and crouch down in a freshly dug hole, the first machine gun emplacement. The Senegalese Corporal strips the ends of the wire and attaches it to the contacts on the detonator. He hands the rigged detonator to Sgt. Daly, who in turn offers it to Capt. Houghton. He shakes his head and declines, pointing at the detonator. HOUGHTON DALY HOUGHTON DALY Capt. Houghton turns to Lt. Bissell. HOUGHTON BISSELL Bissell runs off to the next machine gun emplacement. Daly turns to Capt. Houghton. DALY HOUGHTON DALY HOUGHTON DALY Suddenly they all hear the chatter of distant small arms fire. Everybody looks up. The small arms fire gets louder and more insistent. Brows furrow; eyes squint; fingers on triggers tense; Sgt. Daly's hand tightens on the plunger. Suddenly, there's Lt. Cates and his men running as fast as they can, their weapons held at high port, dashing through the streets of Chateau-Thierry toward the bridge, looking highly unnerved. As yet, the cause of their consternation is not visible. Lt. Cates and the Marines are two hundred yards from the bridge when GERMAN SOLDIERS, wearing black boots and pointed Kaiser helmets, can be seen chasing them. Ten German soldiers, twenty, thirty, forty . . . The Marines are just reaching the far side of the bridge when it can now be seen that there are innumerable Germans all over the place, as well as troop-filled trucks rolling up behind them. German soldiers pour out of the trucks and join the chase. As the Marines get on the bridge they have several hundred Germans behind them, firing their weapons while running. Bullets are whizzing all over the place, tearing out hunks of stone on the bridge. The Marines duck as they scuttle hastily across the bridge. Daly counts the men as they come off the bridge. DALY But nine seems to be it. Capt. Houghton turns to the wide-eyed Daly, detonator and plunger tightly in his hands. The Marines are all off the bridge. HOUGHTON The lead German soldiers step onto the bridge and Sgt. Daly jams down the plunger - KABOOM!!! - the bridge explodes right in the German's face. Five German soldiers go sailing into the air, and at least twenty go down with shrapnel wounds. The rest scatter. Captain Houghton raises his hand and waves it. HOUGHTON The Hotchkiss guns all open fire. Hot lead streams across the river, pouring into the crowds of Germans, caught in a state of total confusion. German soldiers drop everywhere, the rest turn and run. Finally, no more Germans remain upright across the river. Capt. Houghton raises his hand. HOUGHTON Bit by bit the Hotchkiss guns stop their racket. In a moment all is quiet; just the sound of running water. Simultaneously, all of the Americans bust into a wild war cheer. MEN They've tasted blood. The war for the Americans has finally begun. Capt. Houghton turns to Lt. Cates. HOUGHTON CATES Capt. Houghton nods thoughtfully. INT. BARN - LATE AFTERNOON Crouched behind a wagon and sundry other barn items are privates Bonner and Swenson, their rifles held tightly in front of their faces. All around the barn is the sound of massive movement: trucks, marching men, orders barked in German. Pvt. Swenson whispers to Pvt. Bonner. SWENSON Bonner nods in agreement. BONNER SWENSON BONNER SWENSON As their stomachs gurgle, we . . .
A barn sits at the edge of Chateau-Thierry. Just past the barn we can see a whole troop of Germans, with trucks and tents, bunking in for the night. INT. BARN - NIGHT Privates Bonner and Swenson are still stuck in the barn, crouching behind the wagon, their weapons in hand. They can clearly hear the Germans talking while they eat, metal spoon on metal plates, etc. BONNER SWENSON BONNER SWENSON They both nod their heads in a one, two, three count, then dash to the barn door. EXT. BARN - NIGHT Swenson and Bonner come out the barn door, their weapon before them. They both peer around the corner of the barn and see the troop of encamped Germans. The privates duck back around the corner, look at each other and wince. Staying low, the two move off in the other direction, toward the river. EXT. THE REMAINS OF THE MAIN BRIDGE - NIGHT Privates Swenson and Bonner arrive at the remains of the main bridge over the Marne. BONNER SWENSON They both look up the river, to the railroad trestle that still spans the waterway. EXT. RAILROAD TRESTLE/ GERMAN SIDE - NIGHT Privates Swenson and Bonner arrive at the railroad trestle, a thin-gauge, very narrow bridge over the Marne River. It's not that it's that perilous to walk on, it's that to be out on the trestle means you are in plain view of the Germans. BONNER SWENSON BONNER SWENSON They look at each other for a moment, then shake their heads. BONNER Pvts. Swenson and Bonner nod one, two, three, then take off running, their weapons in both hands up in front of them. They turn the corner onto the trestle, stepping a lot more gingerly as they go from railroad tie to railroad tie, twenty-five feet over the water. A third of the way across the railroad trestle the two soldiers are spotted by both sides. Bullets start to whiz over their heads, and dig chunks out of the wooden railroad ties they're stepping on. The privates try to stay as low as they can. EXT. THE GERMAN SIDE OF THE MARNE - NIGHT We can see the FOUR GERMAN SOLDIERS firing at the privates on the railroad trestle, two hundred yards away. The soldiers step out into the open and laugh as they fire, this is like a shooting gallery. Suddenly, four Hotchkiss guns open fire from across the river - RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT - mowing down the laughing Germans. EXT. RAILROAD TRESTLE/ AMERICAN SIDE - NIGHT Privates Swenson and Bonner come off the railroad trestle, alive and in one piece, to the greetings of their pals of the 6th Marines, led by Daly and Cates. They all slap the privates on the back. Suddenly, German Maxim guns open fire across the river. The Americans all hit the dirt as bullets whiz over their heads. DISSOLVE: EXT. THE BANKS OF THE MARNE RIVER (THE AMERICAN SIDE) - DAY Capt. Houghton, Lt. Bissell and the men of the 7th Motorized Machine Gun Battalion and the 6th Marines still hold their positions in their dugout machine gun emplacements along the Marne River. Meanwhile, across the river and in the town of Chateau-Thierry, it's nothing but Germans: truckloads of them, lines of troops marching up, horse-drawn wagons pulling Maxim machine guns - no tanks, interestingly, were used on either side in this battle. EXT. BELLEAU WOOD (AERIAL VIEW) - DAY A TITLE READS: "BELLEAU WOOD - JUNE 1st, 7:59 A.M." Belleau Wood is a hilly, scrubby, bolder-strewn, wooded area, surrounded by fields of waist-high, green wheat, speckled with red poppies. At the northern end of the wood is the old, round, stone hunting lodge. Belleau Wood is alive with movement as the Germans move in their equipment. One Maxim machine gun after another after another. In short order the Germans turn Belleau Wood into a giant, one-mile-square machine gun nest containing literally hundreds of lethal-looking Maxim guns. Two red German Fokker Tri-wing planes fly over going south. We follow with the planes, which begin to follow the Marne River. EXT. THE BANKS OF THE MARNE (AMERICAN SIDE) - DAY The German Fokkers fly over Capt. Houghton and the 7th Machine gunners and Sgt. Daly and the 6th Marines. Everyone looks up and around with increasing consternation. And meanwhile, the Germans keep arriving across the river. Capt. Houghton, fancy walking stick in hand, checks his watch - it's 8:00 A.M. CATES HOUGHTON CATES HOUGHTON Just then, right behind them a motorcycle comes puttering down the hill. Riding the motorcycle is STAFF SERGEANT WOOD. WOOD
HOUGHTON WOOD HOUGHTON WOOD HOUGHTON Sgt. Wood salutes, turns his motorcycle around, and putters away. Capt. Houghton turns to Lt. Cates. They look at each other for a second, then shake their heads and sigh. They all look across the river at the massing Germans, then begin to prepare to leave, and the sooner the better. DISSOLVE: EXT. CROSSROAD - DAY American troops are marching in columns up to a crossroad, then being sent north or south by officers who are directing traffic. Among the officers is Captain Williams. Infantry is sent south, Marines to the north. Our guys of the 6th Marines march up. Lt. Cates salutes Capt. Williams. CAPT.
WILLIAMS LT.
CATES Just then, in the woods behind them, a blue-coated FRENCH MAJOR and six French officers step out holding their hands in the air. The Americans all turn and look. FRENCH
MAJOR Capt. Williams turns to the French Major and his men. WILLIAMS FRENCH
MAJOR WILLIAMS The French Major looks at his men, then they all lower their hands. Suddenly, the French Major takes on an imperious, commanding attitude. FRENCH
MAJOR Capt. Williams looks like he just bit
into a lemon and winces. FRENCH
MAJOR WILLIAMS
Lt. Cates and his men all grin, marching off to the north. FRENCH
MAJOR Capt. Williams points at a group of American officers, which includes COLONELS CATLIN and NEVILLE. WILLIAMS The French Major and his men walk off to speak to the American officers. Capt. Williams rolls his eyes in disgust. DISSOLVE: EXT. THE LUCY-TORCY ROAD - DAY Sgt. Daly walks along the edge of the Lucy-Torcy road, just as it goes through a small stretch of woods, supervising his men as they entrench. DALY The men of the 6th, stripped down to their undershirts, dig trenches with bayonets and mess-kit lids. MATTHEWS
|