THE GREEN MILE
Screenplay by
Frank Darabont
from the novel by
Stephen King
First Draft
11/4/97
We each owe a death, there are no exceptions...
A SONG BEGINS, distant as a faded memory on an old Victrola:
Once I built a railroad, made it run... Made it race against
time...Once I built a railroad, now it's done...Brother, can
you spare a dime...
Opening credit sequence
plays against footage of the Great Depression, images
haunting and sepia-toned, defining an era. The bread
lines...the soup kitchens...the dust bowl refugees heading
west with their possessions on their backs and no hope in
their eyes...the strutting gangster royalty flaunting their
bootleg riches...an entire generation of lost youth riding
the rials...the U.S. army troops raining truncheon blows on
the half-starved and forgotten veterans of World War One as
"Hooverville" is set afire in the very shadow of the nation's
capitol...
All these faces, all these lives, in a world not really so
very long ago...
EXT. FIELD - DAY(SLOW MOTION)
...where cattails sway in the sepia-toned heat. A small scrap
of fabric is snagged in the nettles, fluttering languidly...
COLOR BLEEDS SLOWLY IN as mosquitoes swarm and dragonflies
skitter, showing the fabric scrap to be pale yellow...
Suddenly, a MAN WITH A SHOTGUN comes crashing through the
cattails, wiping through frame and exiting...
...then ANOTHER MAN...and ANOTHER...armed with rifles,
plowing through the brush, exiting frame...
...and now comes KLAUS DETTERICK, a farmer one step above
shirt-tail poor, a double-barrel shotgun in the crook of his
arm. He pauses, horrified, seeing the scrap of cloth. He
pulls it loose, turns back, screaming something in anguish...
...and still more men come crashing into view, flooding by us
with dreamlike, slow-motion grace. ONE MAN is leading a team
of DOGS, trying to untangle the leads. DEPUTY ROB McGEE is
shouting for everybody to stay together...
...and under it all, we hear a sibilant, frightening whisper:
WHISPERING VOICE (V.O.)
You love your sister? You make any
noise, know what happens?
And off that horrible voice, we
CUT TO:
INT. GEORGIA PINES NURSING HOME - MORNING(PRESENT DAY)
A CLOCK RADIO spews the morning weather report, abruptly
pulling us into the present with a prediction of rain. PAUL
EDGECOMB, late 70's/early 80's, wakes to another day...
INT. PAUL'S ROOM - MORNING
Paul stands at his bathroom mirror, meticulously buttoning
his shirt. He picks up a hairbrush, starts tidying his hair...
INT. CORRIDOR - MORNING
THE OLD AND INFIRM haunt these corridors like ghosts. A WOMAN
inches along on a walker. A MAN shuffles by with a rolling
I.V. stand. The floor is a limey, institutional green.
Paul comes into view, spry for his age, murmurs an occasional
greeting.
INT. BREAKFAST ROOM - MORNING
DOZENS OF RETIREES are having breakfast, sipping weak coffee
or tea. Some chat and gossip, other are content to keep their
own company, some just stare slackly into space.
Paul enters, sees ELAINE CONNELLY sitting with a few other
ladies, sipping tea. She's 80, refined and elegant, his best
friend here. She gives him a good-morning smile. He gives her
a rakish wink in return, which makes her smiles all the more.
Paul reaches past the people at the counter and sneaks two
pieces of cold leftover toast off a serving plate. He tosses
Elaine another look--catch ya later--and exits.
INT. HALLWAY PAST KITCHEN - MORNING
Paul slips to the back door unnoticed. Identical red plastic
rain ponchos line the wall on pegs. He helps himself to one
and eases outside, making good his escape.
EXT. NURSING HOME - ESTABLISHING - MORNING
Nestled in a valley of wooded hills, a drizzly mist rolling
over the treetops.
Paul appears f.g., coming up the ridge in his borrowed
poncho. He looks back at the valley below, inhales deeply--
this is a man who loves his walks.
He pulls a piece of toast from his pocket and starts to
nibble as he presses up on the ridge...
Low angle: nursing home and ridge beyond
...and we see Paul from a distance, just a speck trudging up
toward the treeline. A PICKUP TRUCK rumbles into frame and
parks, a bumper sticker looming large: "I Have Seen God and
His Name Is Newt Gingrich".
BRAD DOLAN gets out, an orderly in his late 20's/early 30's,
arriving for work in jeans and cheesy plaid shirt. He gazes
up toward the ridge, scowling and muttering softly:
BRAD
Old fuck.
He slams the door and heads for the nursing home...
EXT. WOODS - MORNING
...as CAMERA BOOMS DOWN through the trees to find Paul
wandering a wooded path, munching a tidbit of toast, looking
for all the world like Red Riding Hood in his plastic poncho.
It's silent here, like a church. The only sounds we hear are
the twittering of the birds and the hammering of the
woodpecker.
A RUSTLING SOUND makes Paul freeze. He turns, becomes
transfixed. Softly:
PAUL
Oh, my...
Reverse angle
reveals a magnificent BUCK, not twenty feet away, misty
breath punching the cold morning air. They watch each other
for an endless moment, both standing stock still...
...and then the animal bounds away, vanishing into the
foliage. Paul lets out a breath, shakes his head in wonder.
He takes another bite of toast, moves on...
...and WE PAN WITH HIM to reveal a pair of old wooden storage
shacks along the path up ahead.
INT. SHACK - MORNING
Dark in here, cobwebby and decrepit. We see Paul approaching
outside the grimy window. He steps up to the glass and shades
his eyes, peering curiously in as we
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. NURSING HOME - DAY
Paul approaches the back door, returning from his walk. He
reaches for the knob...and a figure in white lunges from
behind the dumpster to grab his wrist. He whirls, gasping in
fright--it's Brad Dolan, wearing his orderly's uniform.
BRAD
Out for a little stroll, Paulie?
PAUL
Let go...
Paul tries to pull away, but Dolan's got him tight.
BRAD
What's with this poncho you got
on, huh? This isn't yours.
PAUL
I got it off the wall there.
There's a whole row of them.
BRAD
But not for you, Paulie, that's
the thing. Those are for the staff.
PAUL
I just borrowed it. Don't see what
harm it does.
BRAD
It's not about harm, it's about
rules. You probably don't think an
old fart like you has to mind
rules anymore, but that's just not
true.
Brad's eyes keep shifting--he obviously doesn't mind abusing
the elderly as long as he doesn't get caught doing it.
PAUL
I'm sorry if I broke the rules.
BRAD
You got no business up in those
woods anyway, especially in the
rain. What if you fall and bust a
hip, huh? Who you think's gonna
have to hoss your sorry old bacon
back down here? Me, that's who.
PAUL
You're hurting me!
BRAD
What do you do up there, anyway?
You're too old to go jerk off, so
what do you do?
PAUL
Nothing. I just walk, that's all,
I like to walk!
Brad lashes out and grabs Paul's other hand, which he's been
holding tightly clenched shut.
BRAD
Come on. Open up. Let Poppa see.
Paul uncurls his fingers, revealing the crushed remnants of
a bit of toast, his palm slick with a greasy oleo smear.
ELAINE (O.S.)
Paul?
They turn. Elaine stands just inside the screen door with a
cup of tea. Brad's eyes become calculated, wondering how much
she's seen. Elaine keeps her tone level, betraying nothing:
ELAINE
I saw you coming back, thought
you'd like some tea.
(beat)
Are you coming in?
PAUL
Mr. Dolan and I were...chatting.
About the weather. I think we're
through now.
Brad lets Paul loose, leans close:
BRAD
Paulie? You tell anyone I squeezed
your po' ol' hand, I'll tell 'em
you're having senile delusions.
Who you think they'll believe?
Brad walks off. Paul turns, watches him go. The screen door
opens and Elaine steps out, her face pale. Paul gives her a
strained, though grateful, smile as we
CUT TO:
INT. TV ROOM - DAY
Jerry Springer's on the tube, whipping his studio audience
into a frenzy. PAN OFF TO REVEAL DOZENS OF OLD FOLKS watching
on couches and folding chairs. An old black fellow named PETE
is grousing to a GROUP OF ELDERLY LADIES...
PETE
Why we always watch this crap?
ELDERLY LADY #1
It's interesting.
PETE
Interesting? Bunch'a inbred
trailer trash, all they ever talk
about is fucking...
...and WE CONTINUE PANNING to Paul and Elaine sitting near
the back, talking quietly as Paul rubs his bruised hand:
ELAINE
We should report him.
PAUL
That might just provoke him all
the more, make things worse for
everybody.
ELAINE
It's not everybody he has it in
for, Paul. It's you.
(off his look)
What did you do to provoke him in
the first place? Nothing. He's
just an abusive bully, and should
be made to stop.
PAUL
Ellie, please...
Pete
is at the TV, switching channels while:
ELDERLY LADIES
...no, the Movie Classic channel
is further down...past the Home
Shopping...keep going...
He finds the Movie Classic channel, which is playing an old
black and white musical--"Top Hat," with Fred Astaire and
Ginger Rogers. A delighted reaction:
ELDERLY LADY #2
Oh! This is wonderful...
Paul
idly shifts his gaze to the TV...and his expression goes
slack with recognition and dismay. Elaine sees the look in
his eyes.
He glances away...even briefly considers walking out...but in
the end, he can't help himself. The past just caught up with
him with a freight-train wallop, and, for one, he decides to
ride the rails...
He looks back at the TV. On screen, Fred and Ginger have
begun their famous "Cheek to Cheek" number, with Astaire
singing in that sublime, easy-go-lucky way of his:
FRED ASTAIRE
Heaven, I'm in heaven...and my
heart beat so that I can hardly
speak...
SLOW PUSH IN on Paul, watching. He'd like to take his eyes
off the screen, but the movie has him in a grip tighter than
Brad Dolan's. Elaine is watching him with puzzled concern:
ELAINE
Paul? What is it?
No response. All he can hear is that music, all he can see
are those dancers. The figures on TV are gliding with
ghostlike grace in their silvery, phosphor-dot world of long
ago...
Paul abruptly bursts into tears.
The room goes quiet, everything comes to a standstill. All
eyes turn, some concerned, others merely curious. Paul just
sits sobbing into his hands, shoulders heaving.
ELAINE
Paul...my God...
ORDERLY
(rushing over)
What is it? What's wrong?
PAUL
It's okay...I'll be okay...
Another orderly appears--Brad Dolan. He puts his hand on
Paul's shoulder and leans close, feigning concern.
BRAD
S'matter, Paulie? Why the boo-hoo-
hoo? Something nasty happen?
Elaine shoves his hand away, eyes flashing with anger.
ELAINE
Mr. Edgecomb will be perfectly
fine without your help, thank you.
Brad back off with a "hey, suit yourself" gesture. Elaine
helps Paul to his feet and leads him out.
CUT TO:
INT. SUN ROOM - DAY
Paul is staring out the windows, pensive and drained. It's
raining now, pattering the glass and the lawn beyond. Elaine
waits across from him, wishing he would speak. Softly:
PAUL
I guess sometimes the past just
catches up with you, whether you
want it to or not. It's silly.
ELAINE
Was it the film?
(off his look)
It was, wasn't it?
PAUL
I haven't spoken of these things
in a long time, Ellie. Over sixty
years.
She reaches out, gently takes his hand.
ELAINE
Paul. I'm your friend.
PAUL
Yes. Yes you are.
Paul wonders if he's even up to talking about it after all
this time...and decides that perhaps he is:
PAUL
I ever tell you I was a prison
guard during the depression?
ELAINE
You've mentioned it.
PAUL
Did I mention I was in charge of
death row? That I supervised all
the executions?
This does come as a surprise. She shakes her head.
PAUL
They usually call death row the
Last Mile, but we called ours the
Green Mile, because the floor was
the color of faded limes. We had
the electric chair then. Old
Sparky, we called it.
(beat)
I've lived a lot of years, Ellie,
but 1935 takes the prize. That was
the year I had the worst urinary
infection of my life. That was
also the year of John Coffey, and
the two dead girls...
FADE TO BLACK
In blackness, a title card appears:
"The Two Dead Girls"
CUT TO:
EXT. GEORGIA COUNTRYSIDE - DAY (1935)
HUNDREDS OF PRISONERS work the fields, pickaxes rising and
falling in waves, a prison song being sung in cadence with
the work. GUARDS patrol on horseback, rifles aimed at the sky.
A late 20's Ford PRISON TRUCK comes chugging into view along
the road, kicking up a long trail of dust in the heat. It
seems to be riding unusually low on its rear suspension.
EXT. COLD MOUNTAIN PENITENTIARY - ESTABLISHING - DAY
A Depression-era prison in the south. The prison truck sways
down the rutted dirt road toward the main gate...
INT. E BLOCK TOILET - DAY
...while Paul Edgecomb, early 40's, stands in a cramped
toilet in his guard's uniform, trying to piss. His face is
pained, his forehead beaded with sweat.
INT. E BLOCK (THE GREEN MILE) - DAY
BRUTUS HOWELL(nicknamed "Brutal" for his intimidating size,
but he's actually rather thoughtful by nature) stands at the
entry door of the cellblock, peering out through a viewing
slot. He sees the prison truck arrive at the main gate.
He turns and nods to fellow guard DEAN STANTON sitting at the
duty desk, then cross the Green Mile--a wide corridor of
faded green linoleum running some sixty paces top to bottom,
with four large cells to a side.
Brutal steps to the bathroom, listen a moment, knocks softly.
BRUTAL
Paul? Prisoner.
PAUL (O.S.)
Christ. Gimme a minute.
Brutal waits patiently, a bit embarrassed. He finally hears
a THIN TRICKLE, accompanied by a stifled groan of pain.
BRUTAL
You all right in there?
PAUL (O.S.)
For a man pissing razor blades.
The door opens, revealing Paul's pale and sweaty face.
BRUTAL
You should'a took the day off,
gone to see the doctor.
PAUL
With a new arrival? You know
better. Besides, it's not as bad
as it was. I think it's clearing
up.
They hear the truck HONKING as it rumbles up outside. Paul
gives them a nod to resume their positions. Paul walks down
the Mile, passing the cells where two inmates reside--the
first is ARLEN BITTERBUCK, a Washita Cherokee; the second is
EDUARD DELACROIX("DEL"), a skinny Cajun.
DEL
New boy coming in, boss?
PAUL
Never you mind, Del, you just keep
your nose quietly on your business.
Paul arrives at the end of the Mile, takes up a position at
an empty cell. (Down at this end, past the cells, is E
Block's version of the "hole" -- a padded room where violent
inmates are sent to cool off. It isn't used very often...in
fact, at the moment, it's doubling as storage space.)
Brutal
peers out the viewing slot as the truck stops outside.
BRUTAL
Damn, they're riding on the axle.
What'd they do, bust the springs?
GUARDS PERCY WETMORE AND HARRY TERWILLIGER OF E BLOCK emerge
from the back of the truck and step down, turn back...
Tighter angle on back of truck
We get our first glimpse of the new inmate as a pair of
GIGANTIC BLACK FEET step down into the yard...and the rear of
the truck bounces back up on its springs where it belongs.
Brutal
sees what's coming, eyes widening slightly.
BRUTAL
Paul? You might wanna reconsider
getting in the cell with this guy?
PAUL
Why's that?
BRUTAL
He's enormous.
PAUL
Can't be bigger than you.
Brutal tosses him a look--just wait. He swings the door open
in a hot flood of daylight, giving us our first good look at:
John coffey
is a huge black man, nearly 7 feet tall and 300 pounds, his
massive head shiny and bald, his skin a tapestry of old
scars, his prison overalls (the biggest size they had) ending
at mid-calf. He looks dull and confused, as if wondering
where he is and how he got there. Percy and Harry lead him
toward E Block in shackles. Percy's got his hickory baton out
of it custom-made holster, hollering:
PERCY
Dead man walking! Dead man walking
here!
Inside the cellblock
Paul can't see them approach from where he stands, but he can
certainly hear Percy:
PAUL
Jeezus, pleeze-us, what the hell's
he yelling about?
Up by the door, Brutal just rolls his eyes. Percy is the
first one through the door, still hollering...
PERCY
Dead man walking!
...then Coffey enters, ducking low to get through, his shadow
blotting out Brutal and Dean as his massive frame fills the
door. Everything hangs suspended for a moment, a look of
"hold shit" written on everybody's faces. Percy keeps yanking
on the big man's cuffs, leading him along with a cry of:
PERCY
Dead man walking! Dead man--
PAUL
Percy, that's enough.
Percy falls reproachfully silent. Paul doesn't dignify it,
just motions for them to come on. The procession comes down
the Mile, with Brutal and Dean bringing up rear.
BRUTAL
You sure you wanna be in there
with him?
PAUL
(looks to Coffey)
Am I gonna have trouble with you,
big boy?
Coffey shakes his head slowly. Paul takes the clipboard
transfer papers from Harry, turns and enters the cell.
Coffey just stands outside the cell and waits, as if he
doesn't understand the concept. Paul motions him to come on
in. Coffey starts to comply, but Percy raps him smartly with
the tip of his hickory baton to get him moving faster.
Coffey flinches, enters the cell. Paul stares angrily at
Percy, who stands slapping his hickory baton against the palm
of his hand like a man with a toy he's itching to use.
PAUL
Percy. They're moving house over
in the infirmary. Why don't you go
see if they could use some help?
PERCY
They got all the men they need.
PAUL
Why don't you just go make sure?
(off his look)
I don't care where you go, Percy,
as long as it's not here at this
very moment.
Percy flushes red, the baton hovering near his palm. He looks
like he's about to say something, but thinks better of it and
stalks angrily up the Mile instead...
...and sees Del at his bars, smiling. Infuriated, Percy
swings his baton and smashes Del's fingers with a LOUD CRACK.
Del jerks back, howling in pain:
DEL
OWW, GOD, HE BUS' MY FINGERS!
PERCY
Wiped that grin off your shitpoke
face, didn't I
PAUL
Goddamn it, Percy! Get the hell
off my block!
Percy throws Paul a look of disdain--your block, huh? He
swaggers out. Del's on his knees, weeping from the pain:
DEL
Oww, damn, boss, he done bus' my
fingers for true...
PAUL
We'll get it looked at, Del, now
keep yourself quiet like I said!
Del falls silent, moaning over his hand. Paul turns to
Coffey, who looks unsettled by all the commotion.
PAUL
If I let Harry take those chains
off you, you gonna be nice?
Coffey nods. Harry enters to remove Coffey's shackles.
PAUL
Your name is John Coffey.
COFFEY
(deep and quiet)
Yes, sir, boss, like the drink,
only not spelt the same.
PAUL
So you can spell, can you?
Coffey shakes his head. Harry steps out.
PAUL
My name is Paul Edgecomb. If I'm
not here, you can ask for Mr.
Terwilliger, Mr. Howell, or Mr.
Stanton...those gentlemen there.
(beat)
This isn't like the rest of the
prison. It's a quiet place, we
like to keep it that way.
Coffey considers this carefully, puzzled.
COFFEY
It weren't me making all the
noise, boss.
PAUL
(eyes narrowing)
You having a joke on me, John
Coffey?
COFFEY
No, sir.
Paul sees he isn't joking, continues:
PAUL
Your time here can be easy or
hard, depends on you. If you
behave, you get to walk in the
exercise yard every day.
We might even play some music on
the radio from time to time.
Questions?
Coffey doesn't miss a beat, as if he's been waiting to ask:
COFFEY
Do you leave a light on after
bedtime?
Paul blinks. It's the last thing he expected. Coffey smiles
uneasily, as if they might think him foolish for asking.
COFFEY
Because I get a little scared in
the dark sometimes. If it's a
strange place.
Paul looks to his men. The guards are trading glances.
PAUL
It's pretty bright in here all
night long. We keep half the
lights burning in the corridor.
COFFEY
Cor'der.
Coffey looks confused. Paul points to the lights lining the
ceiling of the Green Mile in wire mesh cages.
PAUL
Right out there.
Coffey nods, relieved. Then he surprises everybody by
offering Paul his hand, as if to show proper manners. Paul
hesitates, oddly touched, then surprised his men even more by
accepting. Coffey's hand swallows his. Coffey shakes gently,
lets go.
Paul steps from the cell. Brutal slides the door shut, locks
it. Coffey stands a moment as if unsure what to do, then
sinks onto the cot with his hands clasped between his knees.
He looks up at Paul, his voice soft as a whisper:
COFFEY
Couldn't help it, boss. I tried to
take it back, but it was too late.
Paul turns, leads his men up the Mile...
PAUL'S INNER OFFICE
...and they enter a few moments later. Paul is furious, but
keeping a lid on his temper:
PAUL
Dean, run Delacroix up to the
infirmary and see if his fingers
are broken.
BRUTAL
Course they're broken, I heard the
damn bones crack. Goddamn Percy.
HARRY
You hear what he was yelling when
we brought the big dummy in?
PAUL
How could I miss it, Harry? The
whole prison heard.
This makes Brutal snort, breaking the tension--the others
can't help smiling.
BRUTAL
You'll probably have to answer for
sending him off the Mile. He's
gonna cause you trouble over this,
you mark me.
PAUL
I'll chew that food when I have
to. Right now I wanna hear about
the new inmate...aside from how
big he is, okay?
BRUTAL
(smiles)
Monstrous big. Damn.
PAUL
Seems meek enough. Looks like they
sent us an imbecile to execute.
HARRY
Imbecile or not, he deserves to
fry for what he done. Here...
Harry tosses a pair of manila envelopes bound with rubber
bands on the desk before Paul--Coffey's file.
HARRY
...make your blood curdle.
CUT TO:
EXT. E BLOCK PRISON YARD - DAY
A small are reserved for inmates of the Mile, fenced-off from
the main prison yard. Arlen Bitterbuck walks the perimeter
under the watchful eyes of guard BILL DODGE.
We find Paul sitting by himself on the bleachers with
Coffey's file on his knees, thoughtfully unwrapping his brown-
bagged sandwich. PUSH SLOWLY IN as he begins to read...
EXT. DETTERICK FARM - DAWN (FLASHBACK)
...and we see Klaus Detterick walk from his house to the barn
with a milking pail, a solitary figure against a brightening
horizon. He disappears into the barn...
...and we hold for a long moment, the house silent
b.g.,chickens clucking and scratching in the front yard...
...until a WOMAN'S SCREAM shatters the silence. Klaus
reappears, dropping the pail, running toward the house...
PAUL ON BLEACHERS
...as Paul turns the page, keeps reading...
INT. DETTERICK HOUSE - DAWN (FLASHBACK)
...and Klaus bursts in to find his wife MARJORIE absolutely
frantic with terror:
KLAUS
WHAT? GOD SAKES, WHAT?
MARJORIE
THE GIRLS! THE GIRLS ARE GONE!
She drags him through the house to a screened-off porch area
where their 12 year old son HOWIE is pointing and shouting--
HOWIE
Papa! Papa, look! The blood!
--and Klaus freezes there, stunned to see blood spattered on
the floor and the screen door hanging off its hinges...
KLAUS
Oh my God.
PAUL ON BLEACHERS
...as Paul absently takes another bite of his sandwich, not
really tasting it, keeps reading...
INT. DETTERICK HOUSE - DAWN (FLASHBACK)
...plunging us back into the screaming chaos: Klaus grabbing
up shotgun shells, Howie loading the .22 rifle he got for
Christmas, Marjorie sobbing incoherently...
KLAUS
GODDAMN IT, WOMAN, GET ON THE
PHONE NOW! YOU TELL 'EM WE HEADED
WEST! MIND WHAT I'M SAYING! WEST,
Y'HEAR?
...and she goes stumbling through the house, grabbing for the
phone as her men disappear toward the porch b.g.:
MARJORIE
Central! Central, are you on the
line? Oh, God, please, somebody
took my little girls...
OUTSIDE THE HOUSE
Klaus and his son race from the house, following spatters of
blood across the yard...
PAUL ON THE BLEACHERS
...as Paul lets out a long breath, turns the page...
EXT. COUNTRY ROAD/FIELD - DAY (FLASHBACK)
---and we see CARS AND TRUCKS pulling up, MEN jumping out
with rifles, pouring down the incline toward the field where
Klaus is hollering and waving his arms. Deputy McGee comes
sliding down from the road, taking charge at the top of his
lungs--
McGEE
I WANT ALL THE WEAPONS UNLOADED,
Y'HEAR? TAKE OUT YOUR SHELLS, I
WON'T HAVE A MAN SHOT BY ACCIDENT
TODAY! BOBO, WHERE THEM DOGS?
--and the dogs come bounding out of the back of a truck,
howling down the incline to lead the chase...
VARIOUS ANGLES
...which takes us through the cattails and bulrushes...to the
spot where Klaus finds the little scrap of pale yellow
fabric, turns and screams...
KLAUS
Oh, Lord, this belongs to my
Katie...
...and they keep going, stopping abruptly as they find: A
blood-drenched area of tramped grass. A little girl's bloody
nightgown hangs in the low branches of a tree. Some of these
strong men look like they might throw up or faint at the
sight of it. Their blood freezes in their veins as an INHUMAN
HOWLING commences up ahead. It's like nothing they've ever
heard before, raising the hackles of men and dogs alike.
PAUL ON BLEACHERS
...as Paul quietly turns another page, shaking his head...
PAUL
Jesus.
EXT. FIELD - DAY (FLASHBACK)
The men reload their weapons. Everybody's terrified. McGee
starts off, the other following his lead toward--
THE RIVER
--where they emerge from the treeline, drawing ever closer to
the source of that INHUMAN HOWLING...
...and they stop, gazing in horror:
John Coffey sits on the riverbank in bloody overalls, his
huge feet splayed out before him. He's making that inhuman
howling sound, face twisted in monstrous grief, pausing
occasionally to take in a great hitching breath of air.
Curled in his massive arms are the naked bodies of
Detterick's 9 year-old twin girls, their once-blonde hair now
matted to their heads with blood.
A tableau. The men staring. John Coffey howling. A train
puffing smoke across the landscape.
Klaus Detterick breaks the moment, lunging down the riverbank
in a headlong rush. The others try to grab him, but he shrugs
them off and throws himself on Coffey with a scream of
inarticulate rage, kicking and punching, fists flying. Coffey
barely seems to notice.
The others catch up with Klaus, drag him off. He falls to his
knees on the riverbank, sobbing into his hands. Howie runs to
him, throws himself into his father's arm. They hug each
other tightly, overwhelmed with grief.
A semblance of quiet descends, except for Coffey's
heartbroken wailing. A ring of rifle toting men forms around
him, though he hardly seems aware of it. McGee steps forward,
uncertain:
McGEE
Mister.
Coffey goes quiet at once, eyes still streaming tears.
McGEE
Mister? Can you hear me?
(Coffey nods)
You have a name?
COFFEY
John Coffey. Like the drink, only
not spelt the same.
McGee hunkers carefully down, watching for any sudden moves.
McGEE
What happened here, John Coffey?
You want to tell me that?
COFFEY
I couldn't help it. I tried to
take it back, but it was too late.
McGEE
(pause)
Boy, you are under arrest for
murder.
McGee spits in Coffey's face...
PAUL ON BLEACHERS
...as Paul looks up with a slight start, jarred from his
reading to find WARDEN HAL MOORES standing before him.
HAL
I interrupt?
PAUL
I'm just about done.
Paul stows the file as Hal settles onto the bleachers.
PAUL
How's that pretty gal of yours?
HAL
Melinda's not so well, Paul. Not
so well at all. Got laid up with
another headache yesterday. Worst
one yet. She's also developed this
weakness in her right hand.
PAUL
Doctor still think it's migraines?
Hal gives a slight shake of his head.
HAL
I'll be taking her up to Indianola
next day or so for some tests. Had
X-rays and the like. She is scared
to death. Truth to tell, so am I.
PAUL
If it's something they can see
with an X-ray, maybe it's
something they can fix.
HAL
Maybe.
He pulls a letter, hands it to Paul.
HAL
This just came in. D.O.E. on
Bitterbuck.
Paul glances toward Bitterbuck, scans the letter, nods.
PAUL
You didn't come all the way down
here just to hand me a D.O.E.
HAL
No. I had an angry call from the
state capital about twenty minutes
ago. Is it true you ordered Percy
Wetmore off the block.
PAUL
It is.
HAL
I'm sure you had reason, but like
it or not, the wife of the
governor of this state has only
one nephew, and his name happens
to be Percy Wetmore. I need to
tell you how this lays out?
PAUL
Little Percy called his aunt and
squealed like a schoolroom sissy.
(Hal nods)
He also mention he assaulted a
prisoner this morning out of sheer
petulance? Broke three fingers on
Eduard Delacroix's left hand.
HAL
I didn't hear that part. I'm sure
she didn't either.
PAUL
The man is mean, careless, and
stupid. Bad combination in a place
like this. Sooner or later, he's
gonna get somebody hurt. Or worse.
HAL
You and Brutus Howell will make
sure that doesn't happen.
PAUL
Easy enough to say. We can't watch
him every minute, Hal.
HAL
Stick with it. May not be much
longer. I have it on good
authority that Percy has an
application in at Briar Ridge.
PAUL
The mental hospital?
HAL
(nods)
Administration job. Better pay.
PAUL
Then why's he still here? He could
get that application pushed
through...hell, with his
connections, he could have any
state job he wants.
Hal has no answer. Paul look off toward Bitterbuck.
PAUL
Tell you what I think. I think he
just wants to see one cook up
close.
Hal follows Paul's gaze, takes his meaning.
HAL
Well, he'll get his chance then,
won't he? Maybe then he'll be
satisfied and move on. In the
meantime, you'll keep the peace.
PAUL
Of course.
HAL
Thank you, Paul.
Hal rises, slapping yard dust off his trousers.
PAUL
You give Melinda my love, okay? I
bet that X-ray turns out to be
nothing at all.
Hal walks off looking like he's got the weight of the world
on his shoulders. Paul looks at the letter again...
TIGHT ON LETTER
...which is head: Date Of Execution."
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. PAUL'S HOUSE - NIGHT
Paul is at the kitchen table in the wee hours of the morning,
drinking buttermilk and listening to SOFT MUSIC on the radio.
JANICE EDGECOMB appears, shuffling sleepily downstairs.
JAN
Paul?
PAUL
Hey, you. Music too loud?
JAN
No. There's just this big empty
spot in the bed where my husband
usually sleeps.
PAUL
He said to tell you he's having a
little trouble with that tonight.
She comes into the kitchen, strokes his hair. There's an easy
familiarity and a deep love between these two.
JAN
Worried about Melinda and Hal? Is
that what's got you up?
PAUL
Yeah, that. Things.
JAN
Things.
She sits on his lap and gives him a crooked smile--you're not
getting off that easily.
PAUL
Got a new inmate today. Big,
simple-minded fella.
JAN
Do I want to hear what he did?
PAUL
No. One sleepless member of this
family's enough.
(softly)
The things that happen in this
world. It's a wonder God allows it.
She gives him a tiny kiss above his left eyebrow, in that
special spot that makes him prickle.
JAN
Why don't you come to bed? I've
got something to help you sleep,
and you can have all you want.
PAUL
Don't I wish. I've still got
something wrong with my
waterworks, I don't want to pass
it on.
JAN
You see Doc Sadler yet?
PAUL
No, because he'll want me to take
sulfa tablets and I'll spend the
rest of the week puking in every
corner of my office. It'll run its
course all by itself, thank you
very much for your concern.
She kisses that spot above his eyebrow again. He smiles.
JAN
Poor old guy...
DISSOLVE TO:
IN TIGHT ANGLES: Copper plugs are cleaned, switches are
oiled, circuits are tested...
INT. EXECUTION CHAMBER - NIGHT
...as maintenance is performed on Old Sparky by JACK VAN HAY
and a small crew. Paul is carefully sanding a connector plug.
Dean is waxing Old Sparky's wooden arms to a gleam.
Paul and Dean pause, thinking they hear a LAUGH drifting in
from E Block...and then Brutal calls softly to them:
BRUTAL (O.S.)
Paul? Dean?
INT. E BLOCK - NIGHT
Paul and Dean enter to find Brutal trying not to wake the
cons in their cells by laughing too loudly. They follows his
gaze down the Mile, see nothing, turn to him like he's crazy.
BRUTAL
I guess the legislature loosened
those purse-strings enough to hire
on a new guard.
(off their looks)
Look again. He's right there.
Paul and Dean look again and this time they see it:
A tiny brown mouse is coming up the Mile. It trots a short
distance, peers right and left as if checking the snoring
inmates in their cells, then makes another forward spurt.
PAUL
He's doing a cell check.
This gets them all trying not to laugh. The mouse draws ever
closer. Dean starts to look worried.
DEAN
It ain't normal for a mouse to
come up on people that way. Maybe
it's rabid.
BRUTAL
Oh, my Christ. The big mouse
expert. The Mouse Man. You see it
foaming at the mouth, Mouse Man?
DEAN
(dubious)
I don't see its mouth at all.
That does it--Paul and Brutal burst out laughing. The mouse
stops before them and peers up, curling its tail primly
around its paws as if to wait. The guards fall silent,
fascinated. Bitterbuck stirs in his cell, sits up to watch.
Brutal tears off a piece of his half-eaten corned beef
sandwich, holds it delicately out with two fingers. The mouse
rises up, appraising the morsel with shiny black eyes.
DEAN
Aw, Brutal, no! We'll be hip-deep
in mice around here...
BRUTAL
(to Paul)
I just wanna see what he'll do. In
the interests of science, like.
Paul shrugs. Brutal drops the scrap. The mouse grabs it and
eats, sitting up like a dog doing a trick.
The mouse turns and scurries back down the Mile, vanishing
under the restraint room door at the far end. Dean throws
Paul an "I told you so" look.
DEAN
He's in the damn restraint room.
You know he's gonna be chewing the
padding out of walls and making
himself a nice little nest.
Brutal give Paul a sheepish look--well? Paul sighs.
PAUL
All right. Let's get the damn
mouse.
They stride grimly down the Mile to the restraint room door,
men on a mission. Coffey's awake now, peering from his cot.
COFFEY
Saw me a mouse go by.
PAUL
It was a dream. Go back to sleep.
COFFEY
Weren't no dream. It was a mouse
all right.
PAUL
Can't put anything over on you.
Paul unlocks the door, revealing a padded room filled with
storage: cleaning supplies, buckets of paint, mops and
ladders, you name it. Brutal shrugs off his jacket. Paul
grabs a mop from a steel bucket, hands it to Dean.
PAUL
Dean, watch the door. He tries to
get past you, whack him.
DEAN
Brutal or the mouse?
BRUTAL
Har har, Mouse Man.
Brutal and Paul start doing the heavy lifting, muscling an
unused filing cabinet out the door...
DISSOLVE:
...and they finally relay the last few heavy buckets of paint
onto the Mile. Paul and Brutal catch their breath, scanning
the empty restraint room. Their eyes go glaringly to Dean.
PAUL
You let him get past you.
DEAN
No I didn't, I was here all the
time!
BRUTAL
Then where the hell is he?
They move slowly into the room, peering into every nook and
cranny, utterly mystified. Brutal shakes his head.
BRUTAL
Three grown men. Outsmarted by a
mouse.
DEAN
Well, bright side is, all this
commotion probably scared him off
for good.
PAUL
Yeah, that's right. That's the
last we'll see of him...
FADE TO BLACK
IN BLACKNESS, A TITLE CARD APPEARS:
"The Mouse on the Mile"
CUT TO:
INT. E BLOCK - DAY
A low, static shot. Green floor stretching before us. Harry
and Bill Dodge are at the desk b.g., doing paperwork and
filing chores. Percy is idling nearby, whistling softly and
combing his hair...
...and into this quiet shot, deep in foreground, creeps the
mouse. He starts walking the Mile as before...
...right toward Percy.
COFFEY
stares through his bars as the mouse goes by...
PERCY
keeps combing his hair, unaware...
DEL
sits quietly picking his nose in his cell. The mouse appears
outside the bars, cruising inexorably up the Mile. Del turns
slowly, watches the mouse go by...
PERCY
still grooming himself, still unaware...
THE MOUSE
keeps coming closer. ANGLE UP to Bitterbuck peering through
his bars, watching him go by...
PERCY
keeps working that comb--and freezes at the sound of a TINY
SQUEAK. His head swivels slowly...
...and there's the mouse. Staring at him.
That moment of eye contact reveals an enmity older than time
itself. If mice have a natural enemy, Percy is it.
PAUL
You little son of a bitch.
Harry and Bill glance up from their work.
HARRY
Well, I'll be damned. There he is,
big as Billy-be-frigged. I thought
Brutal was pulling my leg.
BILL
That's a goddamn mouse.
HARRY
Yeah. Brute said he was in here
last night begging for food, came
right up to the desk.
BILL
My ass. Give him some room, Percy,
see what he does.
Percy takes a few careful steps back, eyes never leaving the
mouse. (Percy's hand starts easing toward the handle of his
baton.) The mouse comes up to the desk as before.
HARRY
Brave little bastard, gotta give
him that.
Harry breaks off a small piece of cracker and drops it. The
mouse picks it up, starts to eat. (Percy's hand inches ever
closer to his baton).
BILL
Here, lemme try.
Bill drops a piece of cracker. The mouse ignores it
completely, keeping its beady little eyes on Harry. (Percy's
hand starts easing his baton from its holster.)
BILL
Maybe he's full.
HARRY
(grins)
Maybe he knows you're just a
floater. Gotta be an E Block
regular to feed the E Block mouse,
don'cha know...
Harry drops another piece--and sure enough, the mouse starts
to eat. Harry's smile fades. He and Bill trade a look.
HARRY
I was just kidding ab--
Percy lets rip a BELLOWING WAR CRY ("Yaaaahhh!") and launches
his baton like a spear, scaring the crap out of everyone.
The mouse ducks (yes, actually ducks) and the baton sail over
his head close enough to ruffle its fur, bouncing off the
floor. Apparently remembering a pressing engagement
elsewhere, the mouse takes off in a flash toward the
restraint room.
Percy roars with frustration and takes off after it, trying
to squash it with his heavy work shoes, leaping and stomping
with great big galloping strides, missing the mouse by
inches...
...and thus is the Green Mile traversed, with Percy stomping
and hollering like a spastic flamenco dancer, the convicts
yelling at their bars, the mouse zigging and zagging like Jim
Thorpe heading for the endzone...
The mouse wins, zipping to safety under the restraint room
door. Percy pounds his fist against the door in frustration:
PERCY
FUCK!
He fumbles with his keys, unlocks the door, yelling all the
while:
PERCY
I'M GONNA RIP YOUR DISEASED HEAD
OFF, YOU LITTLE PIECE OF SHIT!
OUTSIDE E BLOCK
Paul and Brutal are arriving for work--they pause, hearing
PERCY'S YELLS drifting from the windows. The regular CONS in
the yard are drifting curiously to the fence, wondering if a
riot's brewing. Paul and Brutal take off running--
INSIDE E BLOCK
--and rush in to find:
HARRY
Percy met your mouse.
Harry points. Percy's down at the far end, rummaging wildly
in the restraint room, tossing shit out onto the Mile.
PERCY
It's in here somewhere! I'm gonna
squish the little son of a bitch!
He starts muscling the filing cabinet out the door, kicking
buckets out of his way. Brutal calls out to him:
BRUTAL
Percy, we already tried that--
PERCY
What? Whad'ja say?
BRUTAL
I said--
Paul stops Brutal with a look--don't you dare stop him.
BRUTAL
--uh, knock yourself out. Hope you
nail the bastard.
Paul crosses his arms and smiles, leans back against the desk
to wait...
DISSOLVE:
...and Percy hauls the last of the stuff out, exhausted. He
steps back in and looks around, unable to believe there's no
mouse cowering in the corner. Paul and the men approach,
keeping straight faces, navigating the crap in the corridor.
BRUTAL
Gosh. Ain't in there, huh? Don't
that beat the mousie band?
Percy keeps scanning the restraint room. The others all look
to Paul, waiting for him to speak--you're the boss.
PAUL
Percy. You want to think about
what you were doing just now.
PERCY
(turns, glaring)
I know what I was doing. Trying to
get the mouse. You blind?
HARRY
You also scared the living crap
out of me and Bill. And them.
He cocks a thumb at the inmates in their cells.
PERCY
So what? They aren't in cradle-
school, case you didn't notice...
(directed at Paul)
...although you treat them that
way half the time.
BRUTAL
We don't scare 'em any more than
we have to, Percy. They're under
enough strain as it is.
PAUL
Men under strain can snap. Hurt
themselves. Hurt others. That's
why our job is talking, not
yelling. You'll do better to think
of this place like an intensive
care ward in a hospital--
PERCY
I think of it as a bucket of piss
to drown rats in. That's all.
(scans their faces)
Anybody doesn't like it can kiss
my ass. How's that sit?
Brutal steps forward, wanting to slug the little bastard.
Percy shies back, but keeps his bravado up:
PERCY
Try it. You'll be on the bread
lines before the week is out.
PAUL
We all know who your connections
are, Percy...
(steps close)
...but you ever threaten a man on
this block again, we're all gonna
have a go. Job be damned.
PERCY
Big talk. You done?
PAUL
Get all this shit back in the
restraint room. You're cluttering
up my Mile.
They turn and walk away, leaving Percy as we
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. E BLOCK - NIGHT
A SLOW TRACKING SHOT OF THE GREEN FLOOR takes us past a tiny
scrap of break...and then another...and then past a mousetrap
primed with a scrap of bacon...
...and we keep following a long trail of bread scraps and
mousetraps until we come to Percy, alone on the Mile,
carefully laying the last mousetrap down...
...and he scoots back against the desk to wait, crouched and
holding his breath, eyes riveted to the restraint room door
for any sign of his furry nemesis...
...and CAMERA BOOMS SLOWLY DOWN off his face, dipping down to
floor level...
...where the mouse is revealed under the desk, peering in the
same direction as Percy, wondering what the hell's so
interesting down there. It hops further out to see...
ANGLE OF PERCY FROM FLOOR LEVEL
...and the mouse enters frame, hopping out a few more steps,
mouse and man staring in the same direction.
A long beat. Percy turns, looks down at the mouse. The mouse
turns, looks up at Percy...
...and all hell breaks loose again. They race the Mile as
before, Percy hollering and stomping all the way, mousetraps
snapping and flying up into frame as they go charging wildly
past the cells.
The mouse wins again. Percy pauses, furious...and sees Coffey
staring at him from his cell.
COFFEY
Saw me a mouse go by.
Percy loses it, kicking and punching the restraint room door
in a screaming rage as we
FADE TO:
INT. E BLOCK - DAY
Paul appears at Bitterbuck's bars with a group of guards.
PAUL
Arlen? Your daughter and her
family are here.
Bitterbuck steps from his cell. Bill Dodge escorts him off
the block. The moment they're gone:
PAUL
Let's move. I want at least two
rehearsals before he gets back.
INT. VISITOR'S ROOM - DAY
Bitterbuck is led in. His DAUGHTER rises...an awkward
hesitation...and she touches his face, kisses him. He takes
her hands, kisses them, tries not to cry. The rest of the
family is there: SON-IN-LAW, GRANDCHILDREN, COUSINS. They
form around him, murmuring hellos, shaking hands...
INT. E BLOCK - DAY
...while TOOT-TOOT takes Bitterbuck's place in the cell. He's
a wiry and toothless old trusty, crazy as a tick. He sits:
TOOT
Sittin' down, sittin' down,
rehearsing now! Everybody settle!
He glances to Paul--okay, hit it.
PAUL
Arlen Bitterbuck, step forward.
Toot springs to his feet and steps from the cell.
TOOT
I'm steppin' forward, I'm steppin'
forward, I'm steppin' forward...
Toot turns, shows the top of his head to Dean.
PAUL
Is his head properly shaved?
DEAN
No, it's dandruffy and it smells.
PAUL
I'll take that for a yes. All
right, Arlen, let's go.
Toot starts up the corridor, ringed by guards.
TOOT
I'm walkin' the Mile, I'm walkin'
the Mile, I'm walkin' the Mile...
PAUL'S INNER OFFICE
Toot throws himself to his knees as soon as they enter:
TOOT
I'm prayin', I'm prayin', I'm
prayin'. The Lord is my shepherd,
so on an' so forth...
PAUL
Toot, you have to wait till I tell
you to pray.
(Toot waits)
Okay, pray.
TOOT
Still prayin', still prayin'...
HARRY
Paul, we're not gonna have some
Cherokee medicine man in here
whoopin' and hollerin' and shaking
his dick, are we?
PAUL
Well, actually--
TOOT
Still prayin', prayin', gettin'
right with Jesus...
HARRY
Do it quietly, you old gink!
Harry slaps Toot upside the head to shut him up.
PAUL
As I was saying, I don't believe
they actually shake their dicks,
Harry. Be that as it may, Mr.
Bitterbuck is a Christian, so we
got Reverend Schuster coming in.
DEAN
Oh, he's good. Fast, too. Doesn't
get 'em worked up.
PAUL
On your feet, Toot. You've prayed
enough for one day.
TOOT
Gettin' to my feet, walkin' again,
walkin' on the Green Mile...
EXECUTION CHAMBER
They enter. Brutal is waiting for them, gun drawn. Percy
peers out from behind the partition wall from the switch room.
PERCY
What do I do?
PAUL
Watch and learn.
Paul motions Percy behind the wall. Percy sighs, takes his
spot next to Jack Van Hay, peers through the wire mesh as
Toot plops into Old Sparky, wriggling his skinny ass to get
comfy.
TOOT
Sittin' down, sittin' down, takin'
a seat in Old Sparky's lap...
Paul and Dean kneel to apply the ankle clamps. Brutal steps
in from the side, pressing down on the condemned man's left
arm to keep him in place until the ankle clamps are secure.
Harry moves in from the other side, securing the right arm
clamp.
TOOT
Gettin' clamped, gettin' clamped,
gettin'--ow, shit, watch the skin!
Paul signals "ankles secure." Brutal holsters his pistol,
applies the final clamp to the left arm.
BRUTAL
Roll on one.
BEHIND THE PARTITION
Van Hay mimes turning the generator knob up, whispering:
VAN HAY
"Roll on one" means I turn the
generator up full. You'll see the
lights go brighter in half the
prison...
RESUME MAIN CHAMBER
as Brutal steps before the "condemned" and pronounces:
BRUTAL
Arlen Bitterbuck, you have been
condemned to die by a jury of your
peers, sentence imposed by a judge
in good standing in this state.
Do you have anything to say before
the sentence is carried out?
TOOT
(gleefully)
Yeah! I want a fried chicken
dinner with gravy on the taters,
I want to shit in your hat, and I
got to have Mae West sit on my
face, because I am one horny
motherfucker!
Brutal tries to hold on, but it's impossible--he cracks up.
Everybody falls apart, howling helplessly with laughter. Even
Jack Van Hay is guffawing behind his partition.
Only Paul is reining it in--he's a little too pissed to go
with it. He waits until the laughing fit starts to pass, then:
PAUL
Shut up, Brutal. That goes for
everybody. I want quiet in here.
(turns)
Toot, another remark like that,
I'll have Van Hay roll on two for
real.
BRUTAL
(beat, gently)
It was pretty funny.
PAUL
That's why I don't like it.
Tomorrow night we're doing this
for real. I don't want somebody
remembering a stupid joke like
that and getting going again.
(off their looks)
Ever try not laughing in church
once something funny gets stuck in
your head. Same goddamn thing.
BRUTAL
Sorry, Paul. You're right. Let's
keep going. Harry...
Harry takes a black mask and snugs it down over Toot's head,
leaving only the crown of his head exposed. Brutal takes a
large sponge, dips it in a steel bucket, mimes soaking it...
BEHIND THE PARTITION
PERCY
What's with the sponge?
VAN HAY
You soak it in brine, get it good
and wet. Conducts the electricity
directly to the brain, fast like
a bullet. You don't ever want to
throw the switch on a man without
that.
RESUME MAIN CHAMBER
as the sponge is placed atop Toot's head. Harry now lowers
the steel cap and Brutal secures the straps.
BRUTAL
Arlen Bitterbuck, electricity
shall now be passed through your
body until you are dead, in
accordance with the state law. God
have mercy on your soul.
(to Van Hay)
Roll on two.
BEHIND THE PARTITION
Van Hay mimes flipping the switch, looks to Percy:
VAN HAY
And that's that.
RESUME MAIN CHAMBER
Toot can't resist--he starts bucking and flailing:
TOOT
Now I'm fryin'! Fryin'! Geeaaah!
Fryin' like a done tom turkey!
Paul rolls his eyes at Brutal. Brutal shifts his gaze past
him and nods--look behind you.
BRUTAL
One of the witnesses showed up a
day early.
Paul turns. Sitting on the door sill, watching them with
beady eyes, is the mouse. Paul turns back, addresses the room:
PAUL
All right, let's go again and do
it right this time! Get that idiot
out of the chair...
HIGH WIDE ANGLE OF EXECUTION CHAMBER
Brutal and Harry start undoing Toot's clamps. Everybody
relaxes, drifting from their positions...
DISSOLVE TO:
SAME ANGLE AS ABOVE - NEXT NIGHT
...and the room is now quietly filling up with WITNESSES
trickling in. People speak in whispers, if at all.
INT. BITTERBUCK'S CELL - NIGHT
Bitterbuck, the top of his head now shaved, is speaking
quietly as Paul listens:
BITTERBUCK
You think if a man sincerely
repents on what he done wrong, he
might get to go back to the time
that was happiest for him and live
there forever? Could that be what
heaven is like?
Paul doesn't think so--but that's not what Bitterbuck needs
to hear, so the lie comes easy:
PAUL
I just about believe that very
thing.
Pause. Bitterbuck smiles.
BITTERBUCK
Had me a young wife when I was
eighteen. Spent our first summer
in the mountains. Made love every
night. She'd just lie there after,
bare-breasted in the firelight,
and we'd talk sometimes till the
sun come up.
(beat)
That was my best time.
Brutal appears at the door, checks his pocketwatch, nods to
Paul. Bitterbuck takes a deep breath, getting himself ready.
PAUL
It'll be fine. You'll do fine.
INT. EXECUTION CHAMBER - NIGHT
THE SPONGE is pulled sopping wet from the bucket of brine,
dripping a trail of water across the floor. Brutal places it
atop Bitterbuck's head. Water courses down the sides of the
condemned man's mask and neck, pooling on the floor.
The cap is lowered, the straps secured. All we hear now is
the sound of Bitterbuck's BREATHING growing louder and faster
under the mask...until, softly:
BRUTAL
Roll on two.
WHAM! The switch is thrown. Bitterbuck surges forward against
the straps, riding the powerful current.
Some witnesses turn away. Paul and Brutal maintain grim eye
contact with each other, waiting.
Behind the partition, Percy watches through the mesh with
gleaming eyes, wishing he could see better.
Van Hay kills the current. Bitterbuck goes limp. A DOCTOR
steps forward, checks for a heartbeat, shakes his head.
BRUTAL
Again.
The switch is thrown a second time. Bitterbuck surges forward
again, riding the current all the way...
CUT TO:
INT. E BLOCK ACCESS TUNNEL - NIGHT
Bitterbuck's dead face stares up at us from a gurney. A hand
reaches down, gives his cheek a squeeze. TILT UP to:
PERCY
Adios, Chief. Drop us a card from
hell, let us know if it's hot
enough.
Brutal knocks Percy's hand away, shoves him aside.
BRUTAL
He's paid what he's owed. He's
square with the house again, so
keep your goddamn hands off him.
He draws the sheet over Bitterbuck's face, wheels the gurney
down the tunnel. Percy throws a look to Paul.
PERCY
What's up his ass?
PAUL
You, Percy. Always you.
Paul brushes past him, but:
PERCY
You gotta hate the new boy? That
the way it is around here?
PAUL
(turns back)
Why not just move on? Go to Briar
Ridge.
(off his look)
Yeah, I know about it. Sounds like
a good job.
PERCY
I might take it, too. Soon as you
put me out front.
Paul cocks his head--excuse me?
PERCY
You heard me. I want Brutal's spot
for the next execution.
PAUL
(beat)
What's with you? Seeing a man die
isn't enough? You gotta be close
enough to smell his nuts cook?
PERCY
I wanna be out front, is all. Just
one time. Then you'll be rid of me.
PAUL
If I say no?
PERCY
I might just stick around for
good, make me a career of this.
Paul just shakes his head in wonder and walks away.
FADE TO:
INT. COFFEY'S CELL - DAY
Coffey's lying on his bunk, weeping quiet tears. He stirs at
the sound of GIGGLING. He sits up, peers curiously through
the bars. Softly:
COFFEY
Del?
AT THE GUARD STATION
Paul glances up from writing in the daily log. Silence now.
He goes back to writing--and the GIGGLING comes again.
PAUL
Delacroix? That you?
No answer. Just more giggling. Paul rises, walks down the
Mile to Delacroix's cell--and stops, staring in through the
bars.
PAUL'S INNER OFFICE
Brutal and Dean are having lunch. Paul pokes his head in.
PAUL
You are not gonna believe this.
RESUME E BLOCK
The men follow Paul onto the Mile. By now, Del is CACKLING
WILDLY in his cell. Brutal shoots Paul a look--has he gone
insane? Paul gestures "see for yourself."
They arrive at the bars...and find the mouse sitting on Del's
shoulder. Del looks up, giggling like a kid at Christmas.
DEL
Look! I done tame me dat mouse!
PAUL
We see that.
DEL
Watch dis! Watch what he do!
He stretches out his left arm. The mouse crawls over the top
of his head, scampers along his arm to the wrist, turns
around and scampers back. The guards just stand there,
staring.
DEL
Ain't he sumpthin now? Ain't Mr.
Jingles smart?
PAUL
Mr. Jingles?
DEL
Dat his name. He whisper it in my
ear. Cap'n, can I have a box for
my mouse so he can sleep in here
wi' me?
PAUL
I notice your English gets better
when you want something.
DEL
Wanna see what else he can do?
Watch, watch, watch...
He puts the mouse on the floor, grabs a small wooden spool.
The mouse sees it, poises like a man getting ready for a race.
DEL
We play fetch, Mr. Jingles? We
play fetch?
He tosses the spool across the floor, bounces it against the
wall. The mouse goes after it like a dog after a stick--and
proceeds to push it back to the bunk, rolling it with its
front paws all the way to Delacroix's feet.
By now, the guard's jaws are hanging open. Paul's got a funny
little chill running up his spine.
DEL
He fetch it ever' time. Smart as
hell, ain't he? We do da trick
again, watch, watch, watch...
Again he throws the spool. Again the mouse goes after it,
starts rolling it back. Del howls with laughter, claps his
hands like a kid. Brutal murmurs to the others:
BRUTAL
Who's training who here?
COFFEY
That's some smart mouse, Del. Like
he's a circus mouse or something.
DEL
A circus mouse! Dat jus' what he
is, too! A circus mouse! I get
outta here, he make me rich, see
if he don't!
He picks up the spool again, makes a drumroll sound, tosses
it. The mouse does its thing, rolling the spool back...
...as Percy enters the scene. Del catches sight of him and
scoops up his mouse, drawing fearfully back on his bunk. He
tries to hide Mr. Jingles in his hands--but the mouse
wriggles from his grasp and scampers up on top of his head,
where he regards Percy with mistrustful, beady mouse eyes.
PERCY
Well, well. Looks like you found
yourself a new friend, Eddie.
Del tries to offer some defiance--but all he can manage is:
DEL
Don' hurt him, 'kay? 'kay?
Percy shrugs as if to say "no skin off me", looks to Paul.
PERCY
That the one I chased?
PAUL
(level)
Yes, that's the one. Only Del says
his name is Mr. Jingles.
PERCY
Is that so?
Paul trades a look with the others, everybody wondering just
what the hell's going through Percy's mind.
PAUL
Del was just asking for a box. He
thinks the mouse will sleep in it,
I guess. That he might keep it for
a pet. What do you think?
PERCY
I think it'll shit up his nose
some night and run away, but I
guess that's Del's lookout.
(beat)
We oughtta find a cigar box. Get
some cotton batting from he
dispensary to line it with. That
should do real nice.
Percy walks away, leaving them dumbstruck. Paul turns to the
others. Of all the things they've seen in the last few
minutes, Percy being nice is the most amazing of all.
PAUL
Man said get a cigar box.
CUT TO:
INT. PRISON ADMINISTRATION BUILDING - DAY
Paul comes up the stairs to the warden's office...
INT. WARDEN MOORES' OFFICE - DAY
...and enters to find Hal staring out the window.
PAUL
Hal? You wanted to see me?
HAL
Yeah. Paul. Close the door.
Hal's speech is halting, his thoughts disjointed and slow:
HAL
Uh. So you know. You got a new
prisoner coming in tomorrow.
William Wharton. Young kid. Wild
as hell, judging from this...
He picks up the report, trying to focus his thoughts:
HAL
...been rambling all over the
state last few years, causing all
kinds of trouble. Finally hit big
time. Killed three people in a
holdup, including a pregnant
woman. Got "Billy the Kid"
tattooed on his left arm...bad
news all around...
He trails off, no longer able to focus on the words. Paul is
shocked to see tears spill silently down his cheeks.
PAUL
Hal?
HAL
It's a tumor, Paul. A brain tumor.
Paul doesn't know what to say. Hal looks at him.
HAL
They got X-ray pictures of it.
It's the size of a lemon, they
said, and way down deep inside
where they can't operate. They say
she'll be dead by Christmas. I
haven't told her. I can't think
how. For the life of me, Paul, I
can't think how to tell my wife
she's going to die.
Hal Moores, one of the toughest and steadiest men you'd ever
meets, starts to cry. He dissolves into great big gasping
sobs, losing all control.
CUT TO:
INT. PAUL'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
Paul lies awake, watching Jan sleep. He looks troubled--not
to mention feverish. It occurs to him how badly he has to
pee. He sits up, clutching at a queasy stab of pain in his
groin...
LIVING ROOM STAIRS
...and comes hurrying down the steps, clutching himself...
EXT. HOUSE - NIGHT
...and he's moving even faster as he exits the kitchen,
racing for the outhouse. He realizes he's not going to make
it, stops to piss near the woodpile at the corner of the
house...
...and as he does, he's hit with the most stunning pain of
his life. He buckles to his knees--it's only his flailing
hand against the woodpile that prevents him from going face-
first into his own piss. He crams his other hand to his mouth
in an enormous effort not to scream and wake his wife.
He manages to ride it out until his bladder empties. He falls
onto his side, rolls over on the grass, and stares up at the
sky with both hands pressed to his groin.
PAUL
...oh God...oh God...
FADE TO BLACK
IN BLACKNESS, A TITLE CARD APPEARS:
"Coffey's Hands"
CUT TO:
INT. PAUL'S KITCHEN - MORNING
Paul looks feverish and clammy as he buttons up his uniform
jacket. Jan is packing his lunch, throwing him looks, knowing
how sick he is.
PAUL
I'm going.
JAN
What?
PAUL
To the doctor. I'm going.
(off her look)
Today. Just as soon as we get the
new inmate squares away.
JAN
That bad?
PAUL
Oh yeah.
She hands him his brown-bagged lunch, kisses his face.
CUT TO:
INT. BRIAR RIDGE MENTAL HOSPITAL - MORNING
We see a tattoo: "Billy the Kid." TILT UP to WILLIAM WHARTON
staring out the window, wearing a hospital gown, his face
utterly blank. He looks heavily medicated.
Harry, Dean, and Percy enter. Billy doesn't react, just keeps
staring out. Harry waves his fingers in Billy's face.
HARRY
Boy's doped to the gills. Dean,
hand me them clothes...
Dean relays some folded prison clothes to Harry.
HARRY
William Wharton! Hey! I'm talking
to you! Put these clothes on!
Billy turns with a vacant look, takes the clothes. He fumbles
with the shirt, drops the pants. Harry and Dean sigh.
They strip Billy's hospital gown off and proceed to put the
shirt on him, guiding his limp arms through the sleeves.
PERCY
Hellraiser, huh? Looks more like
a limp noodle to me. Hey! Hey, you!
Billy looks up, meets Percy's eyes.
PERCY
You been declared competent! Know
what that means? Mean's you're
gonna ride the lightning, son!
Percy does a quick impression of a man jittering and jerking
in the electric chair.
PERCY
Bzzzzzzzzt-zap! Just like that!
How's it feel to know you're gonna
die with your knees bent?
DEAN
C'mon, Percy, give us a hand.
Laughing, Percy picks up the pants. They proceed to help
Billy into them one leg at a time...
CUT TO:
INT. E BLOCK TOILET - DAY
Paul is trying to piss. Except for a few drops hitting the
bowl, excruciating pain seems to be the only result. He gives
up, grabs a towel, wipes the sweat from his feverish face...
INT. E BLOCK - DAY
...and steps gingerly from the toilet. Del's watching.
DEL
Don' look so good, boss. Look like
you runnin' you a fever.
Paul shoots him a baleful look--no kidding. Another voice
calls softly from further down the Mile:
COFFEY (O.S.)
Boss Edgecomb? Needs ta see you
down here, boss.
PAUL
Got things to tend to just now,
John Coffey. You be still in your
cell now, y'hear?
Coffey falls silent. Paul goes to the entrance door and peers
through the viewing slot, anxious to have this over with...
EXT. COLD MOUNTAIN PENITENTIARY - DAY
The prison truck appears, swaying along the rutted road...
IN THE TRUCK
...while Billy Wharton stares at nothing, drool dripping from
his slack mouth in long strings.
INT. E BLOCK - DAY
Paul watches the truck pull in. He draws away from the slot,
proceeds toward the empty cell which used to be
Bitterbuck's...
ANGLE ON TRUCK
The rear doors are swung open. Harry emerges. Dean and Percy
are guiding Billy by the arm, helping him down...
INSIDE E BLOCK
Paul waits at the empty cell. ANGLE PANS TIGHT to Coffey at
his bars, eyes widening in a blossoming of some nameless fear
or dread. Something bad's coming. A whisper:
COFFEY
Careful.
OUTSIDE E BLOCK
Billy is brought to the door. Dean pulls his keys, starts to
unlock it. We PUSH IN on Billy's face, where the tiniest
trace of a smile is starting to grow...
INSIDE E BLOCK
...and Coffey's unease grows with it. he presses his face to
the bars, his whispering becoming more urgent:
COFFEY
Careful. Careful.
Paul hears him, glances back with a puzzled look. Coffey's
gaze is directed at the door, which is being unlocked...
THE DOOR
...and opened. In that moment, the slack look on Billy's face
gives way to a wild grin. A CRAZED SCREECH leaps from his
throat, a cross between a rebel yell and a dog being
tortured, freezing everybody's blood in their veins--
BILLY
Yeeeeeeehaaaawwwwwwrooooo!
--and he drops his wrist-chain down over Dean's head, jerks
it tight, begins to strangle him. Dean lurches forward, Billy
riding/propelling him through the door onto the Mile.
Percy stands frozen in the doorway, stunned. Harry shoves him
aside and jumps on Billy from behind, trying to get him off
Dean. Dean is choking, turning purple.
Paul rushes from the cell to join the fray. Billy whirls,
delivering a stunning kick to Paul's groin. Paul's bladder
pain goes nuclear--he falls back in agony, clutching himself
and sucking air through his teeth, unable even to scream.
Billy rams an elbow into Harry's face, knocks him sprawling
on the desk, screaming and laughing and howling all the while:
BILLY
WHOOOEE, BOYS! AIN'T THIS A PARTY,
NOW? IS IT, OR WHAT?
Paul forces himself to his feet, pulls his revolver, draws
down on Billy...
PAUL
LET HIM GO!
...but Billy jerks Dean around, using him as a shield...
BILLY
G'WAN, SHOOT! SEE WHO YA HIT!
Dean is choking, dying. Paul is shifting his aim, trying for
a clear shot, not getting one. Percy's still just inside the
doorway, pressed against the wall with fear...
PAUL
HIT HIM, PERCY! GODDAMN IT, HIT
HIM!
BILLY
C'MON, PERCY, HIT ME! HIT ME, YOU
LIMP NOODLE, HIT ME! YEEHAWWW!
...and suddenly a hand comes in, grabs the hickory stick out
of Percy's grasp, raises it high--
--it's Brutal coming through the door. He swings the baton
and lands an awesome blow to Billy's head--THUMP! The force
of it spins Billy off his feet and slams him flat on his back.
Dean crawls away, gulping ragged breaths of air. Amazingly,
Billy's still conscious--he looks up at Brutal and laughs:
BILLY
Big fucker. Snuck up on me. No
fair.
Still laughing, he makes another grab at Dean. Brutal whacks
him again, turning his lights out for good. Brutal drops to
Dean's side, helping him hack air back into his lungs:
BRUTAL
Breathe...breathe...that's it...
Everybody's reining in their adrenaline. Paul glares at Harry.
HARRY
We thought he was doped.
(to Percy)
Didn't we? Didn't we all of us
think he was doped?
Percy nods, still numb. Paul is furious:
PAUL
You didn't ask? I guess that's not
a mistake you'll be need to make
again anytime soon, is it?
Harry shakes his head miserably. Paul grabs Billy by the feet.
PAUL
Grab his arms! You too, Percy!
(off Percy's
hesitation)
Percy, goddamn it, get your feet
out of cement and help us out here!
Percy finally unfreezes. The three of them hoist Billy up in
a dead-lift, get him in his cell, toss him on the cot. They
step out, slam the door, lock it. Paul looks to Harry and
Brutal.
PAUL
Get Dean looked at right away,
make sure he's all right.
Percy, you go make a report to the
warden for me. Start off by saying
the situation is under control--
it's not a story, he won't
appreciate you drawing out the
suspense.
BRUTAL
What about you? You look about
ready to collapse.
PAUL
I've got the Mile till you all get
back. Go on now.
They all exit. As soon as he's alone, Paul gives in to the
pain, holding his crotch and sinking to his knees with a
moan. It's so bad he actually lays down on the Mile, face
pressed against the cool linoleum, wishing he were dead. A
stretch of silence...and then:
COFFEY (O.S.)
Boss? Needs ta see ya down here.
PAUL
This is not a good time, John
Coffey. Not a good time at all.
COFFEY (O.S.)
But I needs ta see ya, boss. I
needs ta talk t'ya.
Paul sighs. Things couldn't get much worse than this. He
rises with a supreme effort, walks painfully down the Mile...
COFFEY'S CELL
...and finds Coffey waiting at his bars.
COFFEY
Closer.
PAUL
I'm alone here right now, John.
Figure this is close enough.
COFFEY
Boss, please. I got to whisper in
your ear.
Paul blinks. Maybe it's the fever clouding his brain, or
maybe...hell, is this what being hypnotized is like? He tries
to shake the sensation off, comes a little closer.
DEL
Boss? You know you not s'pose to
do dat.
PAUL
Mind your business, Del. What do
you want, John Coffey?
COFFEY
Just to help.
His hand shoots out, grabs Paul by the collar, jerks him
close. Paul makes a panic-grab for his revolver...
...but Coffey lays his free hand atop Paul's, eases his grip
from the gun--no need for that. Coffey's hand then drifts
slowly down, easing to Paul's crotch...
PAUL
(stunned, frozen)
What are you...doing?
...and something goes WHUMP through Paul's body. He arches
back with his mouth agape and arms outstretched as a rush of
energy seems to pass from Paul through Coffey's hand...
...and then it's over. Paul comes back to the real world,
weak against the bars, realizes Del is hollering in his cell:
DEL
HELP! JOHN COFFEY'S KILLING BOSS
EDGECOMB! HELP!
PAUL
Del, Chrissake, settle down, I'm
fine...
It dawns on him that he really is fine. Fever's gone. So is
the pain in his groin. John Coffey, though, seems to be
having trouble. He sits down on his bunk, bends forward,
gagging like a man with a chicken bone caught in his throat.
PAUL
John? John, what's wrong?
Paul fumbles his keys to the lock, unsure if he should open
the door, watching the big man's contortions grow stronger
like a cat trying to cough up a hairball...
...and then comes an unpleasant, gagging/retching sound as
Coffey's lips draw back from his teeth in a kind of godawful
sneer...and he exhales a cloud of what look like tiny black
insects. They swirl furiously in front of his face, turn
white...and disappear. Paul just stares, stunned. Softly:
PAUL
What did you do, big boy? What did
you do to me?
COFFEY
I helped it. Didn't I help it?
PAUL
Yes, but...how?
Coffey shrugs--it's something that just is.
COFFEY
Just took it back, is all. Awful
tired now, boss. Dog tired.
He rolls onto his bunk, faces the wall. Paul just stares at
him, stunned. He turns and walks up the Mile, his stiffness
and pain now gone. Del watches him go by, also stunned:
DEL
What dat man do to you? He throw
some gris-gris on you?
(off Paul's look)
You look diff'int! Even walk
diff'int. Like y'all better!
PAUL
You're imagining thing. Lie down,
Del. Get you some rest.
Paul continues up the Mile...
E BLOCK TOILET
...and steps back into the toilet. Not trusting this
situation for even a moment, Paul opens his fly, takes a deep
breath to prepare himself for the pain, starts to pee...
...and we hear a healthy stream of water hitting the bowl.
The look on Paul's face says it all--blessed relief.
CUT TO:
INT. PAUL'S HOUSE - DUSK
Paul comes home from work, still looking numb about the whole
thing. He drifts to the kitchen door. Jan's at the counter,
slicing vegetables for dinner. She glances at him.
JAN
Hi, honey. How are you feeling?
PAUL
Um...not too bad.
She turns back. Paul's eyes drift down to admire her ass.
JAN
What did the doctor say?
No response. He's too busy staring. She turns again--he
glances hastily up.
PAUL
Oh, you know doctors. Gobble-de-
gook mostly.
She turns back, keeps working. He crosses the room, eyeing
her ass all the way...and surprised her by pressing up
against her from behind, running his hands along her hips.
JAN
Paul? What are you doing?
He starts laying kisses on the back of her neck, giving her
pleasant shivers, murmuring:
PAUL
What's it feel like?
JAN
I know what it feels like...it
feels great...but...Paul...
He's getting her breathless. She turns into his arms and they
get into some passionate kissing. It's not too long before
they're frantically peeling each other's clothes off...
INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT
...and we find them having a wild tumble in the sheets, both
moaning and groaning, sweating and panting. She pushes him
flat on the bed, pauses to catch her breath...
JAN
Those must've been some pills.
...and they keep going, rutting like crazed weasels...
EXT. HOUSE - NIGHT
...as their moans go drifting into the night...
FADE TO:
SAME ANGLE AS ABOVE - DAWN
...and they're still moaning up there as the sun creeps up.
INT. BEDROOM - MORNING
Jan falls back, exhausted after the latest go-round. She
catches her breath, looks over at Paul, and finally:
JAN
Paul? Not that I'm complaining.
But we haven't gone four times in
one night since we were nineteen.
(off his look)
You wanna tell me just what the
hell's going on?
PAUL
Well...thing is...I never actually
got to the doctor yesterday...
She gives him a look--oh?
CUT TO:
INT. LIVING ROOM - MORNING
Paul is on the phone:
PAUL
Brutal? Listen...I'm thinking of
taking the morning off sick. You
cover the fort for me?
(beat)
That's swell. Thanks. Yeah, I'm
sure I'll feel better. Okay.
He hangs up, turns to Jan.
JAN
You sure you ought to do this?
PAUL
I'm not sure what I'm sure of.
CUT TO:
EXT. ROAD TO TEFTON - DAY
Paul's model T comes putt-putting up the road past a sign:
"Trapingus County Welcomes You."
EXT. HOUSE IN TEFTON - BACK PORCH - DAY
BURT HAMMERSMITH, public defender for Trapingus County, sits
with a cold soda and a magazine, watching his TWO CHILDREN
playing on a swing at the far end of the backyard. The screen
door opens and CYNTHIA HAMMERSMITH ushers Paul out.
CYNTHIA
I offer you a cold drink?
PAUL
Yes, ma'am, a cold drink would be
fine. Thank you.
She goes back inside. Burt rises.
PAUL
Mr. Hammersmith. Your office said
I'd find you at home today. I hope
I'm not troubling you.
BURT
That depends, Mr.--?
PAUL
Paul Edgecomb. I'm the E Block
superintendant at Cold Mountain.
BURT
The Green Mile. I've heard of it.
Lost a few clients your way.
PAUL
That's why I'm here. I'd like to
ask you about one of them.
Burt settles back down, motions "please sit".
BURT
Which client? Now you got my
curiosity aroused.
PAUL
John Coffey.
BURT
Ah, Coffey. He causing you
problems?
PAUL
No, can't say he is. He doesn't
like the dark. He cries on
occasion. Other than that...
BURT
Cries, does he? Well, he's got a
lot to cry about, I'd say. You
know what he did.
PAUL
(nods)
I read the court transcripts.
Cynthia reappears, hands Paul a cold root beer.
PAUL
Thank you, Missus.
CYNTHIA
My pleasure. Kids! Lunch is about
ready! Y'all come on up!
She goes back inside, but the kids aren't quite able to tear
themselves away from their play.
BURT
What exactly are you trying to
find out? Satisfy my curiosity,
I'll see if I can satisfy yours.
PAUL
I've wondered if he ever did
anything like that before.
BURT
Why? Has he said anything?
PAUL
No. But a man who does a thing
like that has often developed a
taste for it over time. Occurred
to me it might be easy enough to
follow his backtrail and find out.
A man his size, and colored to
boot, can't be that hard to trace.
BURT
You'd think so, but you'd be
wrong. Believe me, we tried. It's
like he dropped out of the sky.
PAUL
How do you explain that?
BURT
We're in a Depression. A third of
the country's out of work.
People are drifting by the
thousands, looking for work,
looking for that greener grass.
Even a giant like Coffey wouldn't
get noticed everywhere he goes...
not until he kills a couple of
little girls.
PAUL
He's...strange, I admit. But there
doesn't seem to be any real
violence in him. I know violent
men, Mr. Hammersmith. I deal with
'em day in and day out.
Burt smiles, realizing:
BURT
You didn't come up here to ask me
whether he might have killed
before. You came up here to see if
I think he did it at all. That's
it, isn't it?
PAUL
Do you?
BURT
One seldom sees a less ambiguous
case. He was found with the
victims in his arms. Blurted out
a confession right then and there.
PAUL
Yet you defended him.
BURT
Everyone is entitled to a defense.
Cynthia hollers from an open window:
CYNTHIA
Kids! Lunch!
BURT
Y'all listen to your Momma, now!
The kids start this way. Burt turns back to Paul.
BURT
Tell you something. You listen
close, too, because it might be
something you need to know.
PAUL
I'm listening.
BURT
We had us a dog. No particular
breed, but gentle. Ready to lick
your hand or fetch a stick. Just
a sweet mongrel, you know the kind.
(Paul nods)
In many way, a good mongrel dog is
like you negro. You get to know
it, and often you get to love it.
It is of no particular use, but
you keep it around because you
think it loves you. If you're
lucky, Mr. Edgecomb, you never
have to find out any different. My
wife and I were not so lucky.
Caleb. Come here for a second.
The little boy comes to him, staring at his feet. Burt tires
to raise the boy's chin. The boy resists for a moment...
BURT
Please, son.
...and then his face comes around. He's horribly scarred on
that side, the eye missing.
BURT
He has the one eye. I suppose he's
lucky not to be blind. We get down
on our knees and thank God for
that much at least. Right Caleb?
(the boy nods shyly)
Okay, go on in now.
The boy races inside after his sister. Paul follows Burt's
gaze off toward the rear of the property, where an unoccupied
doghouse stands weathered and sad in the weeds.
BURT
That dog attacked my boy for no
reason. Just got it into his mind
one day. Same with John Coffey. He
was sorry afterwards, of that I
have no doubt...but those little
girls stayed raped and murdered
nonetheless. Maybe he's never done
it before--my dog never bit
before, but I didn't concern
myself with that. I went out there
with my rifle and grabbed his
collar and blew his brains out.
PAUL
I'm sorry for your trouble.
Burt acknowledges the condolence with a gracious nod.
BURT
I'm as enlightened as the next
man, Mr. Edgecomb. I would not
bring back slavery for all the tea
in China. I believe we have to be
humane and generous in our efforts
to solve the race problem. But we
have to remember that the negro
will bite if he gets the chance,
just like a mongrel dog will bite
if it crosses its mind to do so.
(beat)
Is Coffey guilty? Yes, he is.
Don't you doubt it, and don't you
turn your back on him. You might
get away with it once or even a
hundred times...but in the end...
He raises his hand, making biting motions with his fingers.
BURT
You understand?
Paul says nothing. Burt gazes out again. Softly:
BURT
I'm gonna have to tear that old
doghouse down one of these days.
CUT TO:
INT. PAUL'S MODEL T - DAY
Paul drives back to Cold Mountain, his heart conflicted...
INT. E BLOCK - DAY
...and he walks onto the Mile with a bundle wrapped in a dish
towel. Brutal glances up from the desk, sniffing the air.
PAUL
No, it's not for you.
Paul continues down the Mile. Whatever he's carrying, the
smell of it brings Del to his bars. Even Mr.Jingles comes
skittering out of his cigar box, sniffing.
DEL
Oh. Oh my.
Paul arrives at Coffey's cell. Coffey's on his bunk facing
the wall. His head comes around, drawn by the aroma. He sits
up, wipes the tears leaking from his eyes, looks at Paul.
COFFEY
I'm smelling me some cornbread.
Paul speaks softly so the others can't hear:
PAUL
It's from my missus. She wanted to
thank you.
Coffey nods thoughtfully, absorbing this notion. Then:
COFFEY
Thank me for what?
PAUL
You know. For helping me.
COFFEY
Helping you with what?
Paul motions discreetly to his crotch.
COFFEY
Ohhh.
(beat)
Was your missus pleased?
PAUL
Several times.
Paul hands him the bundle through the bars. Coffey takes it,
uncovers the cornbread reverently, gazes back up.
COFFEY
This all for me?
Paul nods. Across the way, Del is pressing his face longingly
through the bars while Mr. Jingles crawls on his shoulder.
DEL
Oh my. John, I can smell it from
here. I surely can.
COFFEY
(looks to Paul)
Can I give some to Del?
PAUL
It's yours, John. You do with it
as you please.
John carefully scoops a big chunk of cornbread out with his
enormous hand, holds it through the bars to Paul.
COFFEY
Here's for Del and Mr. Jingles
then.
BILLY
Hey! What about me? I'm'a get some
too, ain't I
Coffey looks to Paul--do I have to?
PAUL
It's yours, John. As you please.
COFFEY
Well. Fine. I think I'll keep the
rest, then.
He smiles like a big kid, digging in with his fingers. Paul
crosses the Mile to Del's cell, hands him his share.
PAUL
Courtesy of the gentleman across
the way.
DEL
Oh, John. So very fine of you. So
very kind. Mr. Jingles t'ank you.
COFFEY
(mouth full)
...wel'cm...
BILLY
Hey! What about me? Don't you hold
out on me, ya big dummy nigger!
Paul's temper flares--he steps to Billy's cell.
PAUL
You'll keep a civil tongue on my
block.
Beat. Billy spits in Paul's face and follows it up with a big
grin--what are you gonna do about that? Paul is seething as
he wipes the spit off, but keeps his temper where it belongs.
PAUL
You get that one for free. But
that's the last one.
Paul walks away. Billy laughs, hollering after him:
BILLY
That's it? Just that little bitty
one? Guess I'll have to pay out
for the rest, huh?
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. E BLOCK - DAY
Harry is walking the Mile, doing a cell check and jotting on
a clipboard. He pauses, making a notation...
...and a long stream of piss hits his leg. Billy's at his
bars, peeing on him. Harry jumps back, stunned. Billy howls
with laughter, hosing his aim wildly from side to side.
BILLY
Yeehaaw! Good shot, weren't it?
Oh, the look on your face!
Paul and Brutal come running. Harry's just flabbergasted:
HARRY
You believe this? Son of a bitch
pissed on me!
BILLY
Hey, d'jall like that? I'm
currently cooking some turds t'go
with it! Nice soft ones! I'll have
'em out t'yall tomorrow!
Paul stays calm, turns to Brutal, nods at the restraint room.
PAUL
We've been looking to clear that
room out anyway.
TIMECUT:
A STREAM OF GUARDS comes toting the last of the restraint
room stuff past Billy's cell while he heckles them from the
bars...
BILLY
Hey! Whassit now, movin' day?
Y'all wanna come in and dust a
little? Y'can shine my knob for me
while yer at it!
...and he pauses as Paul and Brutal step to the bars. Paul
has a canvas straitjacket. Brutal pulls his nightstick.
BILLY
You can come in here on your legs,
but you'll go out on your backs,
Billy the Kid guarantee ya that.
(motions to Brutal)
C'mon, fuckstick. No sneakin' up
on me this time. We'll go man to
man, see who's the better fel--
Brutal unlocks the cell--and sidesteps, revealing Harry
pointing a fire hose. The hose erupts, driving Billy across
the cell with bone-jarring force. They batter him half-
senseless, then cut the water. Billy collapses in a heap.
Paul and Brutal drag him semi-conscious from his cell and get
the straitjacket on him. He comes around as they draw the
straps tight and pull him to his feet.
PAUL
C'mon, Wild Bill. Little walky
walky.
BILLY
Don't you call me that! Wild Bill
Hickock wasn't no range rider! He
was just a bushwackin' John Law!
Dumb sonovabitch sat with his back
to the door and kilt by a drunk!
BRUTAL
Oh, my suds and body! A history
lesson! You just never know what
you're gonna get when you come to
work everyday on the Green Mile.
Thank you, Wild Bill.
Billy lets out a scream of rage and throws himself at Brutal.
Brutal, bored, shoves him back toward Paul, who then propels
him down the Mile toward the open restraint room door. Billy
sees where they intend to put him, resorts to pleading:
BILLY
Oh, not in there! C'mon now, I'll
be good! Honest Injun I will! No!
No! Ummmmhhhh...urg...ah!
He suddenly drops to the floor, bucking and jerking wildly,
spewing drool. Harry's eyes go wide.
HARRY
Holy Christ, he's pitchin' a fit!
Paul reaches down and unceremoniously starts dragging Billy
kicking and writhing the rest of the way.
PAUL
He'll be fine, boys. Trust me on
this one.
Brutal helps Paul toss Billy headlong into the padded room.
They slam the door...
RESTRAINT ROOM
...and Billy staggers to his feet in the straitjacket,
inarticulate with rage, starts throwing himself against the
door, screaming at the top of his lungs.
BILLY
ALL I WANTED ME WAS A LITTLE
CORNBREAD, YOU MUTHERFUCKERS!
FADE TO:
INT. E BLOCK - NEXT DAY
Paul and Brutal unlock the restraint room. Billy looks up
from the corner, pale and drained. Softly:
BILLY
I learnt my lesson. I'll be good.
CUT TO:
INT. E BLOCK - DAY
Billy's back in his cell, quiet for a change. Toot-Toot is
outside the bars, mopping the floor. Billy notices a
chocolate Moon Pie in Toot's shirt pocket.
BILLY
Pssss. Hey. Give'ya nickel for
that Moon Pie.
Toot looks around. Nobody's watching, and a nickel's a
nickel. He steps to Billy's bars, swaps the Moon Pie for the
money.
Toot hurries away. Billy unwraps the Moon Pie, makes sure
he's not being watched...and crams the entire thing into his
mouth...
DISSOLVE:
...and here comes Brutal strolling down the Mile, doing a
cell check and jotting on a clipboard. He pauses, seeing:
Billy at his bars. Just standing there staring. His cheeks
bulging way out.
Brutal steps closer, fascinated...what the fuck is that.
Billy waits until he's just a bit closer--
--and he slams his fists against his own cheeks, propelling
a disgusting spew of liquefied chocolate sludge into Brutal's
face. Billy falls back onto his bunk, shrieking with laughter:
BILLY
Li'l Black Sambo, yassuh, boss,
yassuh, howdoo you do?
BRUTAL
(beat, calmly)
Hope your bags are packed.
TIMECUT:
...and once again, Billy gets dragged to the restraint room,
kicking and screaming all the way. They toss him in, slam the
door. Brutal turns, still wiping traces of sludge off.
PAUL
The Moon Pie thing was pretty
original. Gotta give him that.
Brutal nods. They walk away as we
FADE TO:
INT. E BLOCK - DAY
Paul and Brutal appear at Del's bars with Harry and Dean.
PAUL
Del, grab your things. Big day for
you and Mr. Jingles.
DEL
Whatchoo talkin' bout?
PAUL
Important folks heard about your
mouse, wanna see him perform. Not
just guards, either. One of them's
a politician all the way from the
state capital, I believe.
Del swells with pride upon hearing this. He scrounges up Mr.
Jingles props, steps from his cell, looks to Harry and Dean.
DEL
You fellas comin'?
HARRY
We got other fish to fry just now,
Del, but you knock 'em for a loop.
Del nods, beaming happily, looks to Coffey in his cell.
COFFEY
You knock 'em for a loop like Mr.
Harry says, Del.
Brutal leads Del up the Mile, Paul and the others at their
heels. Percy's at the duty desk. He smirks and rolls his eyes
as Del goes by. The moment Brutal and Del are out the door...
...Toot emerges from Paul's office where he's been hiding.
PAUL
Let's move along briskly, folks.
There's not much time.
Toot hurries down to take his place in Del's cell.
TOOT
I'm sittin' down, I'm sittin'
down, I'm sittin' down.
INT. OFFICE/ADMINISTRATION BUILDING - DAY
A HALF DOZEN GUARDS are waiting. We find Bill Dodge fixing
the tie of a fat good ol' boy named EARL.
EARL
Been sweepin' floors here ten
years, never had to wear no damn
tie before.
BILL
You're a V.I.P. today, Earl, so
just shut up.
A KNOCK at the door. Everybody takes a seat. Del is ushered
in by Brutal. Del faces his audience, puts his hands to his
chest in a "thank you" gesture worthy of Lillie Langtry
before her adoring public, then announces grandly:
DEL
Messieurs et mesdames! Bienvenue
au cirque de mousie!
INT. EXECUTION CHAMBER - DAY
The steel cap is lowered over Toot's head, the straps
tightened. TILT UP to Percy as:
PERCY
Roll on two.
Behind his partition, Van Hay mimes flipping the switch.
VAN HAY
That's that.
A pause. Percy looks anxiously to Paul, who's trading glances
with the other guards. Finally:
PAUL
Very good. Very professional.
Percy smiles. Harry and Dean step up, slapping his back and
shaking his hand...
INT. E BLOCK - DAY
...and they're still chatting a short time later, waiting for
Del's return. Percy actually looks happy for a change,
feeling genuinely accepted for the first time...
Billy is watching from his cell. Just watching.
The door opens. Del returns with Mr. Jingles on his shoulder,
escorted by Brutal. Brutal is toting the cigar box and spool
like a magician's assistant carrying the boss' props.
PAUL
Well?
DEL
They love Mr. Jingles! They laugh
and cheer and clap they hands!
PERCY
Well, that's just aces. Pop back
in your cell, old-timer.
The generosity of Percy's tone catches Del completely off
guard. Del gives him a look of almost comical mistrust...
...and the old Percy comes back. He bares his teeth in a mock
snarl and curls his fingers as if to grab Del. It's a joke,
but Del doesn't know that--he jerks back in fear and trips
over Brutal's big feet. Del goes down hard, hitting the
linoleum with the back of his head. Mr. Jingles jumps clear,
goes squeaking down the Mile. Del sits up, painfully
clutching his head. Brutal helps him up...
BRUTAL
Percy, you shit.
...and moves him toward his cell. Percy is actually moved to
apologize--he starts after them with a half-laugh, drifting
much too close to Wild Bill's side of the Mile...
PERCY
Del! Hey, you numb wit, I didn't
mean nothin' by it! You all ri--
...and Wild Bill's arms thrust out, grabbing Percy and
slamming him back against the bars with an arm around his
throat. Percy squeals like a pig in a slaughter-chute,
thinking he's gonna die. The guards scramble, drawing their
clubs--as Billy strokes Percy's hair and whispers in his ear:
BILLY
Ain't you sweet. Soft. Like a
girl. I druther fuck your asshole
than your sister's pussy, I think.
Billy kisses Percy's ear--and his hand drops down to squeeze
Percy's crotch. Paul pulls his sidearm, taking aim...
PAUL
Wharton!
...and Billy lets go, stepping back with his hands raised,
laughing. Percy darts across the Mile in terror and cringes
against the cell opposite, breathing so loud and fast it
almost sounds like sobbing.
BILLY
I let 'im go, I'us just playin'
and I let 'im go! Never hurt a
hair on his purty head!
(grins at Percy)
Your noodle ain't limp at all,
loverboy! I think you sweet on ol'
Billy the Kid...
(sniffs his fingers)
...oooh, but smell you.
Down at his cell, Del starts laughing shrilly. Everybody else
starts to realize it, including Percy himself...he looks
down, sees the huge dark stain spreading at his crotch.
DEL
Lookit, he done piss his pants!
Look what the big man done! He
bus' other people wid 'is stick,
mais oui some mauvais homme, but
someone touch him, he make water
in his pants jus' like a baby!
Percy just stares. Brutal shoves Delacroix into his cell.
BRUTAL
Shut up, Del.
Paul steps to Percy, puts a hand on his shoulder. Percy
shakes his hand off, looks around at their faces, whispers:
PERCY
You talk about this to anyone,
I'll get you all fired. I swear
that to God.
PAUL
What happens on the Mile, stays on
the Mile. Always has.
The men nod solemnly. Nobody's going to talk about this.
Percy looks at Delacroix still snorting in his cell, points
at him.
PERCY
You keep laughing, you French-
fried faggot. You just keep
laughing.
Del falls silent. Percy turns and storms away as we
FADE TO BLACK
IN BLACKNESS, A TITLE CARD APPEARS:
"The Bad Death of Eduard Delacroix"
CUT TO:
INT. DEL'S CELL - DAY
Paul is sitting with Delacroix. Brutal is leaning against the
bars. Del is throwing the spool. Mr. Jingles is fetching it.
The silence is thick. Just the clack-clatter of the spool,
and the skitter skitter of tiny mouse paws on concrete. It's
getting on Paul's nerves in a big way. Softly:
PAUL
What about Dean? He's got a little
boy would love a pet mouse, I bet.
Del looks horrified at the thought.
DEL
How could a boy be trust wid Mr.
Jingles? Maybe forget to feed him.
And how he keep up wid his
trainin', just a boy, n'est-ce pas?
Del tosses the spool again--clack-clatter, skitter-skitter.
PAUL
All right, I'll take him.
DEL
T'ank you kindly, merci beaucoup,
but you live out in the woods, and
Mr. Jingles, he be scared to live
out dans la foret.
PAUL
He whisper that in your ear?
Del nods, tosses the spool again--clack-clatter, skitter
skitter. Paul is completely out of ideas. But then:
BRUTAL
How about Mouseville?
DEL
Mouseville?
BRUTAL
Tourist attraction down in
Florida. Tallahassee, I think. Is
that right, Paul? Tallahassee?
PAUL
(level)
Yeah, that's right. Tallahassee.
Just down the road apiece from the
dog university.
Brutal's mouth twitches, but he manages to keep a straight
face. He gives Paul a look--don't blow this.
BRUTAL
You think they'd take Mr. Jingles?
You think he's got the stuff?
PAUL
Might. He's pretty smart.
DEL
Hey! What dis Mouseville?
BRUTAL
Tourist attraction, I said. They
got this big tent you go into--
DEL
Like a cirque? You have to pay?
BRUTAL
You shittin' me? Course you pay.
Dime a piece, two cents for the
kids. And inside the tent there's
this mouse city made out of boxes
and toilet paper rolls...
Percy is drifting up the block, listening too, but nobody's
really paying him much mind.
BRUTAL
...plus they got the Mouseville
All-Star Circus. There's mice that
swing on trapeze, mice that roll
barrels, mice that stack coins...
DEL
Dat's it! Dat's da place for Mr.
Jingles! You gonna be a circus
mouse after all! Gonna live in a
mouse city down in Florida!
Del tosses the spool extra hard--it takes a bad bounce off
the wall and goes clattering through the bars onto the Mile.
The mouse goes after it like a shot, too intent to notice:
His old enemy Percy.
BRUTAL
Percy, no!
Percy stomps the heel of his heavy work shoe down on Mr.
Jingles. There's a SOFT SNAP as the mouse's back breaks.
Del screams in horror and throws himself at the bars, sobbing
the mouse's name. Percy looks to Brutal and Paul, smiles.
PERCY
Knew I'd get him sooner or later.
Just a matter of time, really.
He turns and strolls up the Mile, leaving Mr. Jingles dying
in a tiny pool of blood. Up at the duty desk, Dean and Harry
get up from a cribbage game, stunned and furious.
Percy strolls past, exits to the execution chamber. Del is
still screaming, all his pent-up terror and grief pouring out
at the dying mouse. And then comes a soft, urgent voice:
COFFEY
Give'm to me.
They turn. Coffey's got his arms out through his bars, one
massive hand spread open.
COFFEY
Give'm to me. Might still be time.
Paul hesitates, scoops the mouse up off the floor, wincing at
the feel of it. Splintered bones are poking at the hide.
BRUTAL
What are you doing?
Paul doesn't answer, just lays Mr. Jingles into Coffey's
hand. Coffey pulls the mouse in through his bars and lays his
other hand gently over it, cupping the creature. All we see
now is the tail hanging out the side, twitching weakly.
BRUTAL
Paul, what the hell--
Paul motions him quiet. Del is pleading softly at his bars:
DEL
Please, John. Oh Johnny, help him,
please help him, s'il vous plait.
Harry and Dean join the group. Everybody watching now.
Coffey puts his mouth to his cupped hands, inhales sharply.
The world hangs suspended for a moment. Coffey raises his
face, contorting as if desperately ill, starts making those
horrendous choking sounds in his throat...
BRUTAL
(softly)
Oh, dear Jesus. The tail. Look at
the tail.
They do. The tail is no longer weak and dying. It's snapping
briskly back and forth, as if ready to play.
Coffey makes that retching/gagging sound...and again exhales
a cloud of swirling black "insects" from his nose and mouth.
The men watch, speechless, as the bugs turn white and
disappear.
Coffey bends down, opens his hand. Mr. Jingles bounds off his
fingers through the bars, racing past the guards' feet. They
turn to see Del gather the mouse up, laughing and crying.
Dean turns back to Coffey with a stunned whisper:
DEAN
What did you do?
COFFEY
I helped Del's mouse. He a circus
mouse. Goan live in a mouse city
down in...down in...
BRUTAL
(numb)
Florida?
Coffey nods, remembering.
COFFEY
Boss Percy's bad. He mean. He step
on Del's mouse.
(softly)
I took it back, though.
And with that, he lies back on his bunk and faces the wall.
The others look to Paul, don't even know what to say.
PAUL
Brute, come along with me.
(to Harry and Dean)
You fellas go on back to you
cribbage game.
Harry nods numbly. Paul leads Brutal up the Mile...
EXECUTION CHAMBER
...and they enter to find Percy polishing Old Sparky's arms.
PERCY
Don't start in on me. It was just
a mouse. Never belonged here in
the first place.
PAUL
The mouse is fine. Just fine.
You're no better at mouse-killing
than anything else around here.
PERCY
You expect me to believe that? I
heard the goddamn thing crunch.
Paul steps closer, angry as we've ever seen him:
PAUL
Aren't you glad Mr. Jingles is
okay? After all our talks about
how we should keep the prisoners
calm? Aren't you relieved?
PERCY
What kind of game is this?
PAUL
No game. See for yourself.
Beat. Percy stalks past them, heads out onto the Mile. Paul
and Brutal just wait, saying nothing. Brutal picks up the rag
left by Percy, resumes polishing chores on Old Sparky. Paul
stretches, cracks his neck. The silence heavy...
...until Percy reappears.
PERCY
You switched them! You switched
them somehow, you bastards!
BRUTAL
I always keep a spare mouse in my
wallet for occasions such as this.
PERCY
You're playing with me, the both
of you! Just who the hell do you
think you are--
Brutal grabs him , slams him bodily into the electric chair.
Paul bends close, gets right in Percy's face.
PAUL
We're the people you work with,
Percy, but not for long. I want
your word.
PERCY
My word?
PAUL
I put you out front for Del, you
put in your transfer to Briar
Ridge the very next day.
PERCY
What if I just call up certain
people and tell them you're
harassing me? Bullying me?
PAUL
Go ahead. I promise you'll leave
your share of blood on the floor.
PERCY
Over a mouse? You think anyone's
gonna give two shits?
PAUL
No. But four men will swear you
stood by while Wild Bill tried to
strangle Dean to death. About that
people will care, Percy. Even your
uncle the governor will care.
BRUTAL
Thing like that goes in your work
record. Work record can follow a
man around a long, long time.
Percy looks from one man to another, knowing he's trapped.
PAUL
I put you out front, you put in
your transfer. That's the deal.
Percy thinks it over, nods. He tries to get up, but Paul keep
him pinned...and pointedly offer his hand.
PAUL
You make a promise to a man, you
shake his hand.
Percy hesitates, shakes Paul's hand...
HIGH WIDE ANGLE OF EXECUTION CHAMBER
...and Paul pulls him out of the electric chair as we
DISSOLVE TO:
SAME ANGLE AS ABOVE - NEXT NIGHT
Witnesses are trickling in, filling the seats. A storm is
brewing, sending FLASHES OF LIGHTNING across the floors.
INT. DEL'S CELL - NIGHT
Del sits with Mr. Jingles in his lap, stroking the mouse
between the ears. Paul, Brutal, and Harry appear at the bars.
DEL
Hey, boys. Say hi, Mr. Jingles.
PAUL
Eduard Delacroix, will you step
forward?
DEL
Boss Edgecomb?
PAUL
Yes, Del?
DEL
Don' let nothin' happen to Mr.
Jingles, okay?
Paul nods--I promise. Del rises, steps to Paul.
DEL
Here, take him.
Del lifts his hand. Mr. Jingles steps off onto Paul's
shoulder with no hesitation. Gently:
PAUL
Del. I can't have a mouse on my
shoulder while...you know.
COFFEY
I'll take him, boss. Jus' for now.
If Del don' mind.
DEL
Yeah, you take 'im, John. Take him
til' dis foolishment done--bien!
(to Paul and Brutal)
After, you take him down to
Florida? To dat Mouseville?
BRUTAL
We'll do it together, most likely.
Maybe take a little vacation time.
Paul moves to Coffey's cell. The mouse skitters off Paul's
shoulder onto Coffey's hand.
DEL
People pay a dime apiece to see
him. Two cents for the kiddies.
Ain't dat right, Boss Howell?
BRUTAL
That's right, Del.
DEL
You a good man, Boss Howell. You
too, Boss Edgecomb. Wish I could'a
met you bot' someplace else.
Del gives Mr. Jingles one last look, starts to cry.
DEL
Au revoir, mon ami. Je t'aime, mon
petit.
And they start to walk the Mile...
EXECUTION CHAMBER
Sweltering in the damp heat. Rain is pissing down, drumming
the tin roof. People glance up uneasily as THUNDER BOOMS. A
FAT LADY is staring grimly at the electric chair.
FAT LADY
Hope he's good and scared. Hope he
knows the fires are stoked, and
that Satan's imps are waiting.
ANGLE ON DOOR
Del enters, horrified to see Percy waiting at Old Sparky.
Paul gives Del's arm a reassuring squeeze, leads him
forward...
IN A TIGHT SERIES OF SHOTS:
The clamps are applied. The straps are drawn tight.
PERCY
Roll on one.
The lights brighten on a RISING HUM. Witnesses look up.
ON THE MILE
Coffey looks up as the overheads flare hotter and hotter,
whispers to the mouse in his hands:
COFFEY
You be still, Mr. Jingles. You be
so quiet and so still.
RESUME EXECUTION CHAMBER
PERCY
Eduard Delacroix, you have been
condemned to die by a jury of your
peers, sentence imposed by a judge
in good standing in this state.
You have anything to say before
sentence is carried out?
Del tries to speak. Doesn't quite manage the first time.
Licks his lips and tries again.
DEL
I sorry for what I do. I give
anything to take it back, but I
can't. God have mercy on me.
(whispers to Paul)
Don' forget 'bout Mouseville.
Paul and Brutal nod--and are stunned as:
PERCY
No such place. That's just a fairy
tale these guys told you to keep
you quiet. Just thought you should
know, faggot.
The stricken look in Del's eyes tells us a part of him had
known all along. Paul and Brutal would both like to deck
Percy right about now, and he knows it--he gives them a "what
are you gonna do about it" smile.
Nothing they can do. Paul nods to Harry, who takes the black
mask from the back of the chair and rolls it down over Del's
head, leaving the top of his shaved head exposed.
PERCY
takes the sponge and bends down to the bucket of brine. The
other don't see it, but we do:
Percy only pretends to dip the sponge and soak it. It never
touches the water. He straightens up and places the sponge
atop Delacroix's head, hiding it with his hands.
The cap is lowered. Paul and the others haven't yet realized
what's happened. THUNDER BOOMS and LIGHTNING CRASHES as Percy
hides a smile, steps back to address the condemned:
PERCY
Electricity shall now be passed
through your body until you are
dead, in accordance with state
law. God have mercy on your soul.
TIGHT ON PAUL
as realization starts to dawn. He stares at the bucket, then
across the floor to Delacroix, coming to terms with the
evidence of his eyes--there's no water on the floor or
dripping down the sides of Del's neck.
Paul's eyes widen. A stunned beat of horror. He starts to
open his mouth to scream "NO!", but Percy beats him to it
with:
PERCY
Roll on two.
Van Hay flicks the switch. WHAM. The electricity hits home
and Del rocks forward, riding the current.
Then things start to go horribly wrong.
The HUMMING loses its steadiness and starts to waver with a
CRACKLING SOUND. Tendrils of smoke begin curling from under
the cap, a mixture of burning hair and sponge. Brutal shoots
Paul a horrified look. Paul responds with a harsh whisper:
PAUL
It's dry!
Delacroix begins twisting and jittering in the chair, his
masked face snapping violently from side to side, his legs
pistoning up and down in his restraints.
There's a MUFFLED POP from under the cap, like a pine knot
exploding in a hot fire. Smoke starts coming through the
fabric of the mask, puffing upward. Del is being cooked
alive. Paul spins to the partition, hollering--
PAUL
JACK!
--but Brutal grabs his arm, whispers fiercely:
BRUTAL
Don't you tell him to stop. Don't
you do it. It's too late for that.
Paul turns back, helpless. The other guards are trading wild
looks, unable to believe what's happening. Even Percy looks
aghast--he was expecting something, but not this.
Del begins SCREAMING--the wild, hysterical sound of an animal
being shredded alive in a hay baler. The HUMMING goes uneven
and ragged, the lights rising and falling...
ON THE MILE
...as Del's screams rise and fall with them, echoing up the
corridor. Coffey's shaking and screaming too, as if feeling
Del's pain. Mr. Jingles squirms out of his grasp and goes
squeaking in terror toward the restraint room door...
BILLY
HE'S COOKIN' NOW! THEY COOKIN' HIM
GOOD! NEAR ABOUT DONE, I RECKON!
RESUME EXECUTION CHAMBER
Wrong. Del's nowhere near about done. He's slamming back and
forth in the chair hard enough to shake the platform,
twisting hard against the leather restraints. We hear BONES
BREAKING. A WOMAN'S SCREAMS. Witnesses start rising to their
feet:
WITNESSES
What the hell's happening to
him?...Are those clamps going to
hold?...Christ, the smell!...Is
this normal?
The mask bursts into flame on Delacroix's face. Van Hay
hollers through the wire mesh, horrified:
VAN HAY
SHOULD I KILL THE JUICE?
PAUL
NO! ROLL, FOR CHRIST'S SAKE, ROLL!
Harry scoops up the bucket of water to throw it.
PAUL
No water! No water! You crazy?
Harry backs off with a look of dazed understanding--you don't
throw water on a man getting juiced. Right. He drops the
bucket, races to get the chemical fire extinguisher instead.
The flaming mask peels away, revealing Del's charring face.
His eyeballs are misshapen globs of burning white jelly blown
out of their sockets. The ATTENDING DOCTOR faints dead away.
Pandemonium now in the room. People shouting and hurrying to
exit, chairs falling over, women screaming:
FAT LADY
Stop it, stop it, oh can't you see
he's had enough?
Hal grabs Paul by the shoulder, spins him around.
HAL
Why don't you shut it down?
PAUL
He's still alive! You want me to
shut down while he's still alive?
Hal is horrified at the thought. Del is jittering and
screaming, rocking from side to side, smoke pouring from his
nostrils and mouth, his tongue sizzling purple-black.
The witnesses are crowding and shoving to get out, but the
back door is locked. All they can do is cluster there.
Paul sees Percy with his head turned away. He grabs him,
forces his head around.
PAUL
You watch, you son of a bitch!
Harry steps up, the extinguisher in his hands. Waiting. Del
finally slumps over. He still vibrating, but now it's just
the effect of current flowing through his body.
PAUL
Kill it!
Van Hay kills the current. The HUMMING DIES. Brutal grabs the
extinguisher from Harry, shoves it into Percy's hands.
BRUTAL
You do it. You're running the
show, ain't you?
Percy, sick and dazed, aims the extinguisher and hoses the
smoking corpse. Hal is near the back, calming the crowd:
HAL
It's all right, folks, it's all
under control. Just a power surge
from the storm, that's all,
nothing to worry about...
PAUL
Dean, get doc's stethoscope.
Dean drops to the doctor's bag, digs through it, hands up the
stethoscope. Paul plugs them into his ears. People are
moaning and sobbing at the back of the room:
MAN
Oh my God! Is it always like this?
Why didn't somebody tell me? I
never would have come!
Paul wipes some foam away from Delacroix's chest, places the
stethoscope pad to the raw flesh. He nods to Brutal--it's
over.
CUT TO:
INT. ACCESS TUNNEL - NIGHT
Paul and the others bring the stretcher down, lay the corpse
on the gurney. Percy starts stammering excuses:
PERCY
I didn't know the sponge was
supposed to be wet--
Brutal hauls off and slugs him. A scuffle ensues as the
others grab Brutal and pull him off.
PAUL
Brutal, no!
BRUTAL
What do you mean, no? How can you
say no? You saw what he did!
PAUL
Delacroix's dead, nothing can
change that, and Percy's not worth
it!
BRUTAL
So he just gets away with it? Is
that how it works?
Hal comes lunging down the stairs, furious:
HAL
What the fuck was that? Jesus
Christ, three witnesses puked all
over the floor up there! And the
smell! I got Van Hay to open both
doors, but that smell won't come
out for five damn years, that's
what I'm betting! And that asshole
Wharton is singing about it! I can
hear him!
PAUL
(quietly)
Can he carry a tune, Hal?
This pulls the plug on the moment--Hal snorts, triggering
laughter among the men, a wild release of tension and fear.
Everybody starts feeling a bit saner again as it dies down:
HAL
Okay, boys. Okay. Now what the
hell happened?
All eyes go to Percy. Hal turns, sees Percy's bloody lip.
HAL
Percy? Something to say?
PERCY
I didn't know the sponge was
supposed to be wet.
Beat. A look of utter contempt from Hal.
HAL
How many years you spend pissing
on the toilet seat before somebody
told you to put it up?
PAUL
Percy fucked up, Hal. Pure and
simple.
HAL
Is that your official position?
PAUL
Don't you think it should be?
Hal considers it, nods.
PAUL
He'll be putting in a transfer
request to Briar Ridge tomorrow.
Moving on to bigger and better
things. Isn't that right, Percy?
Percy nods. Hal steps close, gives him a tight, icy smile.
HAL
You're a little asshole, and I
don't like you a bit.
(off Percy's look)
Have that transfer request on my
desk first thing.
Hal heads back up the stairs. Brutal shoves Percy aside and
wheels Delacroix's body down the tunnel.
INT. E BLOCK - NIGHT
Paul returns to find Wild Bill making up a song in his cell:
BILLY
(singing)
Barbecue! Me and you! Stinky,
pinky, phew-phew-phew! Weren't
Billy or Jilly or Hilly or Roy--it
was a French-fried faggot named
Delacroix!
PAUL
You're about ten seconds away from
spending the rest of your life in
the padded room.
Billy falls silent. Paul continues down the Mile to Coffey's
cell. Coffey's on his bunk, face streaked with tears. He
wipes his eyes with the heels of his hands like an exhausted
child.
COFFEY
Poor Del. Poor old Del.
PAUL
Yes. Poor old Del. John, are you
okay?
COFFEY
I could feel it from here.
PAUL
What do you mean? You could hear
it? Is that what you mean?
COFFEY
He's out of it now, though. He's
the lucky one. No matter how it
happened, Del's the lucky one.
Paul realizes he won't get a coherent answer.
PAUL
Where's Mr. Jingles?
COFFEY
(points vaguely)
Ran down there. Don't think he'll
be back.
(beat)
Awful tired now, boss. Dog tired.
Coffey lays down, turns to face the wall.
PAUL
Me too, John. Me too.
CUT TO:
INT. PAUL'S HOUSE - NIGHT
Paul enters in darkness, hangs his hat. He drifts into the
kitchen, clicks on the radio. SOFT MUSIC BEGINS: Gene Austin
singing "Did You Ever See A Dream Walking?"
He pours a drink at the kitchen table, takes a sip, lays the
glass down. Jan sleepily appears from the darkness behind
him, entering the kitchen. He realizes she's there, glances
back.
She can sense the weight on his soul. She comes to him, folds
his head into her arms. They stand that way, he drawing
strength and she giving it, as the music plays on...
DISSOLVE TO:
SEQUENCE WITH MUSIC:
INT. CHURCH - MORNING
CAMERA TRACKS the pews to find Paul and Jan seated together
in the congregation, voices raised in hymn...
EXT. COUNTRY ROAD - MORNING
Paul's Model T comes sputtering up the road. He and Jan are
taking a drive, still in their Sunday best...
EXT. HAL'S HOUSE - MORNING
Paul and Jan wait at the front door. Jan holds a baking dish.
PAUL
I hate this.
JAN
I know.
The door opens. Hal, looking tired, ushers them inside...
EXT. BACKYARD - MORNING
...and they walk outside to find MELINDA MOORES sitting in
the sun, frail and wasted, a blanket on her knees. She'd be
beautiful if not for the cancer killing her.
Paul is shocked at her appearance, hides it as best as he
can. Jan covers this for him--she drops to Melinda's side
with a warm smile and a kiss, takes the woman's frail hands
in hers.
Paul catches Jan's eye. The look he gives her says it all--I
don't know what I'd do without you...
DISSOLVE:
...and we find Paul and Hal talking quietly over beers while
the women visit b.g.:
HAL
She's having one of her good days.
I thank God for that.
PAUL
What a bad day?
HAL
(beat)
Sometimes she's...not herself
anymore. She swears.
PAUL
Swears.
HAL
It just pops out, the most awful
language you can imagine. She
doesn't even know she's doing it.
I didn't know she'd ever heard
words like that...and to hear her
say them in her sweet voice...
(gazes off)
I'm glad she's having a good day,
Paul. I'm glad for you and Jan.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. PAUL'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
Paul is wide awake, staring at the dark. Jan can sense him
brooding. She rolls over sleepily.
JAN
Honey? If you don't say what's on
your mind, I'm afraid I'll have to
smother you with a pillow.
PAUL
I'm thinking I love you. I'm
thinking I don't know what I'd do
if you were gone.
JAN
Oh.
PAUL
(beat)
I'm also thinking I'd like to have
the boys over tomorrow.
Off Jan's look, we
CUT TO:
INT. DINING ROOM- DAY
Brutal, Harry, and Dean are seated at the table with Paul and
Jan. Serving plates are being passes, everybody digging in:
THE MEN
(various, ad-lib)
Ma'am, you sure know how to fry up
some fine chicken...Brutal, don't
hog the taters now...Try that corn
yet? It's something special...
Paul softly interjects:
PAUL
You saw what he did with the mouse.
This stops everybody cold. Dean puts his chicken down, wipes
his hands. Looks are traded in the silence.
BRUTAL
I could'a gone the rest of the day
without you bringing that up.
DEAN
I could'a gone the rest of the
year.
PAUL
He did it to me too. He put his
hands on me and took my bladder
infection away.
The men absorb this. Brutal glances to Jan.
JAN
When he came home, he was...all
better.
DEAN
You're talking about an authentic
healing. A praise-Jesus miracle.
PAUL
I am.
BRUTAL
If you say it, I accept it. But
what's it got to do with us?
Jan looks to Paul, realization starting to dawn:
JAN
Melinda? Oh, Paul...
BRUTAL
Melinda? Melinda Moores?
Paul nods--that's who we're talking about.
JAN
You really think you can help her?
PAUL
It's not a bladder infection, or
even a busted-up mouse. But there
might be a chance.
HARRY
Hold on now. You're talking about
our jobs. Sneak a sick woman onto
a cellblock?
PAUL
Hal would never allow that. You
know him, he wouldn't believe
something unless it fell on him.
BRUTAL
So you're talking about taking
John Coffey to her. That's more
than just our jobs, Paul.
DEAN
Damn right. That's prison time if
we get caught.
HARRY
Let's not discuss this like it's
even an option. Brutal, help me
out here...
Brutal lets out a deep breath, considering. He looks to Paul.
BRUTAL
I'm sure she's a fine woman...
JAN
The finest.
PAUL
What's happening to her is an
offense, Brutal. To the eyes and
the ears and the heart.
BRUTAL
I have no doubt. But we don't know
her like you and Jan do...do we?
PAUL
That's why it's a lot to ask.
HARRY
It is. Let's not forget Coffey's
a murderer. What if he escapes?
I'd hate losing my job or going to
prison, but I'd hate having a dead
child on my conscience even more.
PAUL
I don't think that'll happen...
(beat, softly)
...in fact, I don't think he did
it at all.
The men are stunned by this. Off their looks:
PAUL
I just can't see God putting a
gift like that in the hands of a
man who would kill a child.
DEAN
Well, that's a tender notion, but
the man's on death row for the
crime. Plus, he's huge. If he
tried to get away, it'd take a lot
of bullets to stop him.
BRUTAL
We'd all have shotguns in addition
to sidearms. I'd insist on that.
(to Paul)
He tried anything, we'd have to
take him down. You understand.
PAUL
I understand.
BRUTAL
(beat)
So. Tell us what you had in mind.
FADE TO BLACK
IN BLACKNESS, A TITLE CARD APPEARS:
"Night Journey"
CUT TO:
INT. INFIRMARY BUILDING/DISPENSARY - NIGHT
A FLASHLIGHT BEAM plays across a glass cabinet, scanning the
contents. The beam pauses. A hand enters frame, unlocks the
cabinet, pulls out a bottle of morphine tablets...
...and WE ANGLE TO Brutal as he shakes half a dozen pills
onto his palm, pockets them, replaces the bottle on the
shelf. He turns and slips five bucks to a NIGHTSHIFT ORDERLY.
BRUTAL
I was never here.
ORDERLY
Shit, for five bucks, you was
never nowhere.
INT. E BLOCK ACCESS TUNNEL - NIGHT
A MORPHINE PILL is being crushed to powder on the stainless
steel gurney. TILT UP to Paul crushing the pills. Brutal
carefully scrapes the powder onto a small sheet of paper...
INT. PAUL'S INNER OFFICE - NIGHT
Percy is parked in Paul's chair with his feet up, reading a
book titled: "CARING FOR MENTAL PATIENTS."
INT. E BLOCK - NIGHT
Harry and Dean are playing cards at the duty desk, tension
thick, cards slapping softly as the seconds tick by. Paul and
Brutal finally show up toting bottles of RC cola:
BRUTAL
Fellas thirsty? Fresh out of the
icebox.
DEAN
Oh, thanks. That's swell.
HARRY
Yeah, hot in here.
They begin popping the caps off, swigging cola. The sound of
it brings Billy to his bars.
BILLY
Hey. Hey, I'm'a get some too.
BRUTAL
My ass you get some too.
PAUL
You think you deserve any?
HARRY
(checks a clipboard)
Day report says he's been okay.
BILLY
Hell, yes, I been behaved. C'mon,
now, don't be stingy hogs.
Paul shrugs to Brutal--why not? Brutal pops the top off a
bottle, passes it to Paul. Paul grabs a tin cup, sets it on
the desk...and we see it contains the morphine powder. He
pours the cola, swirls it around...
ANGLE THROUGH COFFEY'S BARS
...as Coffey looks up, sensing something happening. He peers
up the Mile as Paul walks to:
BILLY'S CELL
Billy reaches for the cup, but Paul keeps it out of reach.
PAUL
You gonna stay behaved?
BILLY
C'mon, you clunk, gimme that.
PAUL
You promise me, or I'll drink it
myself right here in front of you.
BILLY
C'mon now, don't be that way. I be
good.
Paul lets him take the cup. Billy knocks it back, draining it
in three huge swallows. He lets out an awesome belch.
PAUL
Cup.
BILLY
We'll break out the fire hose and
take it anyway. And you will have
drunk your last R.C. cola. Unless
they serve 'em down in hell.
Billy's smile fades. He hands the cup through the bars. Paul
takes it, turns and heads back to--
THE DUTY DESK
--where Brutal, Harry, and Dean have been watching the entire
exchange with their hearts in their throats...
DISSOLVE:
...and we find Billy staring glassy-eyed at the ceiling. He
keels over on his bunk. ANGLE to Paul and Brutal stepping to
the bars with Harry and Dean.
PAUL
Anybody wants to back out, now's
the time. After this, there's no
turning back.
(off their looks)
So? We gonna do this?
A voice comes softly from down the way:
COFFEY
Sure. I'd like to take a ride.
Their heads come slowly around, staring at Coffey in shock.
BRUTAL
(to Paul)
Guess were all in.
INT. PAUL'S OFFICE - NIGHT
Percy looks up from his book as the door opens. Paul enters
with Brutal and Harry, ominously hemming the desk.
PERCY
What is this?
Paul pulls the canvas straitjacket from behind his back.
PAUL
Payback.
Percy jumps up and tries to the execution chamber, but Harry
grabs him, spins him back. A wild scuffle ensues as:
PERCY
Let go of me! Let go!
PAUL
Settle down, Percy!
Percy tries to jerk away, crashes into the desk. The book he
was reading falls to the floor--
--and a "Tijuana Bible" is revealed within the pages. It's a
pornographic cartoon book of the type popular in the '30's,
featuring crude drawings of famous cartoon characters or
movie stars engaged in outlandish sexual acts. This one has
Olive Oyl getting it doggy-style from Popeye. The word
balloon over his head features his famous laugh: "Uk-uk-uk-
uk!"
BRUTAL
Oooo, Poicy! What would your
mother say?
PERCY
Let go, you ignoramus! I know
people! Big people!
PAUL
So you've said. C'mon, stick out
your arms like a good boy.
PERCY
I won't. And you can't make me.
BRUTAL
You're dead wrong about that, you
know.
Brutal grabs Percy by the ears, twisting hard. Percy lets out
a shriek--not just of pain, but a dismayed understanding that
he's not going to bluster his way out of this one.
BRUTAL
You gonna put your arms up? I'll
rip your ears off. Use 'em for tea
caddies. You know I will.
PAUL
The man's ripping your ears off,
Percy. I'd do as he says.
Percy jerks his arms up before him. They get the straitjacket
on him within seconds. Percy turns to Paul on the verge of
tears. Softly:
PERCY
Please, Paul. Don't put me in with
Wild Bill. Please.
PAUL
You would think that.
Paul gives him a hard, angry shove...
INT. E BLOCK - NIGHT
...and they bring him down the Mile to the restraint room
door. Brutal takes Percy's holster and baton.
BRUTAL
You'll get 'em back, don't worry.
PERCY
That's more than I can say about
your jobs. All your jobs! You
can't do this to me! You can't!
Paul steps forward with a roll of strapping tape.
PAUL
Let you in on a little secret. We
can and we are.
He slaps the tape over Percy's mouth and shoves him back into
the restraint room. Percy stands breathing heavily through
his nose, making muffled mmmmph-mmmph! sounds under the tape.
PAUL
You're going to have a few hours
of quiet time now, so you can
reflect on what you did to Del.
BRUTAL
(grins)
If you get lonely, think about
Olive Oyl...
(thrusting his hips)
...uk-uk-uk-uk!
And they slam the door, shutting Percy into darkness.
A WALL-MOUNTED GUN SAFE
is unlocked, shotguns pulled out. The men load up, heading
down the Mile as:
PAUL
One more time--what do you say if
somebody comes by?
DEAN
Coffey got upset, so we put him in
the restraint room. They hear any
noise, they'll think it's him.
They come to Coffey's cell.
COFFEY
We goan for the ride now?
PAUL
That's right.
The cell is unlocked. Coffey emerges. Paul motions them
along, still grilling Dean:
PAUL
What about us?
DEAN
You're over in Admin, going over
Del's file. Brutal and Harry are
in the laundry doing their wash--
A skinny white arm suddenly shoots out from Wild Bill's cell
and grabs Coffey by the wrist. The men gasp, shocked to see
Billy on his feet, grinning and weaving like a punch-drunk.
Coffey's reaction is beyond simple surprise; he's actually
trembling at Billy's touch as if some electrical circuit were
engaged. His eyes are wide and horrified, as if he'd just put
his hand in a basket full of snakes. He tries to pull away,
but Billy has him tight, that mysterious circuit blazing.
BILLY
(slurring wildly)
Where you fink you're goin'?
Coffey responds softly, with utmost horror:
COFFEY
You're a bad man.
BILLY
S'right, nigger. Bad as you'd want.
Paul plucks Billy's hand off Coffey's arm--and Coffey
flinches back as the circuit is broken.
BILLY
Whooeee. Whole room's spinning.
Like I'm shit-ass drunk. I have me
some shine or what?
He turns and staggers back to his bunk, muttering all the way:
BILLY
Niggers oughtta have they own
'lectric chair. White man oughtn't
havta sit in no nigger 'lectric
chair, nossir...
He goes face-first onto his bunk. Coffey is still staring.
COFFEY
He's a bad man.
INT. EXECUTION CHAMBER - NIGHT
Coffey is brought in...and freezes in horror at the sight of
Old Sparky. A whisper:
COFFEY
They're still in there. Pieces of
them, still in there. I hear them
screaming.
All eyes go to the electric chair. It sits shrouded in shadow
like an ominous throne. Never before has this place felt so
haunted to the men. It makes the hairs on the neck stand up.
PAUL
John, come along! Right now,
y'hear? C'mon! Toward that door!
Coffey finally responds, pulling away...
INT. E BLOCK ACCESS TUNNEL - NIGHT
...and they come down the steps. They realize Coffey will
have to stoop all the way down the tunnel. Paul pats the
gurney.
PAUL
Lie down on this.
(off Coffey's look)
It'll be easier for you and no
harder for us.
Coffey eases carefully onto the gurney, lying on his back.
His knees hang over the edge and his toes touch the ground,
but it works. They push him along, traversing the pools of
light.
Coffey actually starts to smile. He reaches out his arms,
fingertips touching the tunnel walls as they go by.
COFFEY
Say. This is fun.
EXT. PRISON WALL - NIGHT
A massive iron door SQUEALS open onto a little-used fenced
enclosure. Paul and the others bring Coffey up from the
tunnel below, emerging into the night. Coffey's breath
catches as he gazes wondrously up at the stars, pointing:
COFFEY
Look, boss! It's Cassie, the lady
in the rocking chair!
PAUL
Shhh. John, you have to be quiet
now.
COFFEY
(whispering)
You see her? You see the lady?
BRUTAL
We see her, John.
Harry goes first, hugging the shadows as he pulls his keys to
unlock the gate...
WIDE SHOT OF PRISON
...while TOWER GUARDS huddle in their enclosure atop the
walls. An occasional SPOTLIGHT cuts the darkness. FIREFLIES
dance in the fields and trees as far as the eye can see.
Four dark figures detach from the shadows, hurrying across
the lonely country road into the fields on the far side...
EXT. WOODS - NIGHT
Coffey's hand scoops up some fallen leaves. TILT UP to his
face as he crunches them under his nose, inhaling their smell.
He see the guards throwing him anxious looks. He misreads
this, holds out his hand so they can smell too. They do it,
just to make him happy.
PAUL
C'mon, big boy, keep moving.
A FEW FIREFLIES come winking through frame as the group
presses on...
ANOTHER AREA/WOODS
The trees are growing sparser, opening onto fields. MORE
FIREFLIES are flitting into view, trailing in their wake...
BRUTAL
How far is it?
HARRY
Just up ahead...
Harry brings them to a thicket of trees. They start removing
branches and boughs, uncovering a battered old FARMALL TRUCK
hidden in the brush.
The men pause. Even more fireflies are swirling around them,
growing in number. It's getting downright weird.
Coffey laughs softly, drawing their attention. A childlike
smile has utterly transformed his face. He raises his hand,
letting a firefly weave playfully in and out of his fingers.
COFFEY
Hey there, little firefly. Where's
Mrs. Firefly this evening?
Another firefly joins the first, both now dancing and
blinking around his fingers. Coffey laughs again.
COFFEY
Oh, there you is. You come out to
play too?
The men stand gaping. The fireflies are flitting to Coffey as
if to a beacon. He waves his hands slowly, fireflies blinking
and trailing from his fingertips like magic dust.
They begin orbiting his shiny bald head like tiny glowing
planet orbiting a sun, their light kicking a mellow sheen off
his ebony skin. Coffey's eyes meet Paul's.
PAUL
They seem...drawn to you.
COFFEY
I love 'em, is why. They don't
think no hurtful thoughts. They's
just happy to be. Happy little
lightning bugs...
The men don't know whether to be enchanted or terrified.
Harry gives Paul a look--can we go? Please?
PAUL
C'mon, big boy. Upsy-daisy.
Coffey clambers up on the stakebed. Paul and Brutal join him.
Harry gets in behind the wheel, jabs the starter button...
ON THE STAKEBED
...while Coffey sits with his back to the cab.
PAUL
John? Do you know where we're
taking you?
COFFEY
Help a lady?
PAUL
That's right. Help a lady. But how
did you know?
COFFEY
Dunno. Tell the truth, boss, I
don't know much'a anything. Never
have.
The truck pulls out. Coffey waves as the fireflies get left
behind, dwindling away like stars.
COFFEY
Bye, fireflies. Bye.
WIDE ANGLE OF COUNTRYSIDE
The truck rumbles from the fields onto a dirt road, countless
fireflies swirling in its wake...
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. MOORES HOUSE - NIGHT
Headlights come over the rise. The truck appears, rumbling
down toward the house. The world is isolated and still.
IN THE TRUCK CAB
Harry stops and cuts the engine, leaving the headlights on.
Silence now, save for the trilling of crickets.
IN THE STAKEBED
Paul and Brutal both look terrified now that they're actually
here. An urgent whisper:
BRUTAL
We can still turn back.
Paul hesitates, wanting to do just that, but:
COFFEY
Boss, look. Someone's up.
Lights are coming on inside the house. Coffey rises and steps
down from the truck, pulling Paul along. Brutal follows them.
BRUTAL
This is a mistake. Christ, Paul,
what were we thinking?
PAUL
Too late now. Harry, keep John
here until we call you.
Paul and Brutal walk to the front door as the lights inside
the house keep clicking on. The last one finally comes on
over the stoop, the front door opens a crack...and the twin
barrels of a shotgun poke out into the night.
HAL
Who the hell goes there at two-
thirty in the goddamn morning?
PAUL
Hal, it's us! It's Paul and
Brutal--it's us!
The door swings wider, revealing Hal's face gaunt and haggard
in the yellow porch light, stunned to see them:
HAL
Paul, what are you doing here at
this hour? Jesus, it's not a
lockdown, is it? Or a riot?
PAUL
Hal, God's sakes, take your finger
off the trigger...
Hal doesn't, aiming past them at the truck in the yard.
HAL
Are you hostages? Who's out there?
Who's by that truck?
Coffey steps into the glare of headlights with Harry tugging
on his arm, trying to hold him back. Hal cocks both hammers.
HAL
John Coffey! Halt! Halt right
there or I shoot!
His aim wavers as a woman's voice comes from upstairs:
MELINDA (O.S.)
Hal? Who are you talking to, you
fucking cocksucker?
A frozen moment. Hal mortified. Paul gives him a look--is
that Melinda?
Hal's shotgun shifts back to Coffey--but Paul steps in front
of the muzzle.
PAUL
No one's hurt. We're here to help.
HAL
Help what? I don't understand. Is
this a prison break?
PAUL
I can't explain what it is. You
just have to trust me.
Coffey comes up the steps, brushes Paul aside, stops before
the warden. Hal blinks, his thoughts suddenly fuzzy--it's
that benign hypnotic effect Coffey has.
HAL
What do you...want?
MELINDA
Hal! Make them go away! No
salesmen in the middle of the
night! No Fuller brushes! No
French knickers with come in the
crotch! Tell them to take a flying
fuck in a rolling d...d...
We hear the sound of GLASS BREAKING, then she begins to sob.
COFFEY
(a whisper)
Just to help. Just to help, boss,
that's all.
HAL
You can't. No one can.
Coffey pulls the shotgun gently from Hal's grasp, hands it to
Paul. Coffey moves past Hal into the house...
INT. HOUSE - NIGHT
...and comes up the hallway toward the stairs.
HAL
Don't you go up there! Don't you
do it!
COFFEY
Boss, you just be quiet now and
let me be.
Coffey mounts the stairs with the others at his heels,
heading up toward that quavering voice:
MELINDA (O.S.)
Stay out of here! Whoever you are,
just stay out! I'm not dressed for
visitors, you rat's asshole!
INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT
Coffey enters, trailed by the others. Paul pauses, horrified.
The woman propped in bed barely resembles Melinda Moores
anymore--she looks made up like a Halloween witch, her livid
skin hanging in a loose trail of wrinkles, one corner of her
mouth twisted. Yellowish bile stains her chin and the front
of her nightgown. Her hair has gone white and straw-like, her
eyes glowering at Coffey with lively, irrational interest:
MELINDA
Oh, so big! Pull down your pants!
Let's have a look!
Hal groans with despair. Coffey just stands there for a
moment, watching her from a distance, then approaches the
bed...
MELINDA
Don't come near me, pigfucker.
...but as he draws closer, a change occurs. Her features
soften, her eyes become more sane and aware.
MELINDA
Why do you have so many scars? Who
hurt you so badly?
COFFEY
Don't hardly remember, ma'am.
Coffey sits on the edge of the bed. The lights seem to flare
hotter and brighter. Tears are forming in Melinda's eyes.
MELINDA
What's your name?
COFFEY
John Coffey, ma'am. Like the
drink, only not spelt the same.
She lays back, staring at him with shining fascination. The
world seems to be slowing down, growing very still indeed...
...and he starts bending slowly toward her.
COFFEY
Ma'am?
MELINDA
Yes, John Coffey?
COFFEY
I see it. I see it.
He comes closer...closer still...
COFFEY
You be still now. You be so quiet
and so still.
He brushes her forehead with his lips...the gentlest whisper
of a kiss...then moves his mouth down to hers. For a moment
we can see one of her eyes staring past him, filling with an
expression of surprise...
...and then her face is lost to view as Coffey puts his lips
on hers. We hear a soft whistling sound as he begins inhaling
the air deeply from her lungs. Something hot and glowing
starts passing between them, drawn on his breath...
The men watch. The house seems to shudder in that moment, as
if the entire world has shifted an inch to the right...
DOWNSTAIRS PARLOR
...and the grandfather clock stops ticking, the pendulum
stopping dead, the glass face cracking neatly up the center...
BEDROOM
...and a windowpane cracks. Then another. A picture falls off
the wall. A lightbulb bursts, showering glass.
Paul smells smoke, realizes the fringed coverlet of the bed
has caught fire. Moving like a man in a dream, he reaches for
the waterglass on the nightstand, douses the flames.
Coffey keeps kissing Melinda in that deep and mysterious way,
inhaling and inhaling, her hand held in his like a tiny white
bird. For a moment we actually hear something screaming, as
if some willful imp were being extracted by force...
...and then it's over. Coffey raises his head, revealing:
Melinda's beautiful face. Her mouth no longer droops. Color
is coming back to her hair. Her skin is shining with life.
Coffey regards her raptly for a moment or two, then starts
coughing violently.
He turns away and drops to his knees, hacking like a man in
the last stages of tuberculosis.
Paul and his men are expecting Coffey to spit out the "bugs",
but he doesn't--he just keeps coughing, deep and hard, barely
finding time to snatch in the next breath of air.
Hal goes to his wife, beyond stunned, sits at her side. She
looks back at him with amazement, her face like a dirty
mirror that's been suddenly wiped clean.
John's coughing grows even worse. Brutal drops to his side
and slaps his broad, spasming back.
BRUTAL
John! Sick it up! Cough 'em out
like you done before!
Coffey just keeps retching, eyes watering from the strain,
spit flying from his mouth.
BRUTAL
He's choking! Whatever he sucked
out of her, he's choking on it!
Paul starts toward them. Coffey crawls away, pressing himself
into a corner with his face against the wallpaper. He's still
making gruesome deep hacking sounds, but getting it under
control. He weakly waves Paul off--let me be.
Paul looks to the bed. Hal sits with Melinda, stroking her
brow. Color is blooming in her cheeks even as we watch.
MELINDA
How did I get here? We were going
to the hospital in Indianola,
weren't we? We stopped and you
bought me a packet of posies...
HAL
Shhh. It doesn't matter. It
doesn't matter anymore.
MELINDA
Did I have the X-ray? Did I
PAUL
Yes.
They both look at him.
PAUL
It was clear. There was no tumor.
Hal bursts into tears. Melinda sits up, comforting him. Her
eyes are drawn to the corner.
MELINDA
Who is that man?
Coffey is struggling to rise. Brutal does his best to help.
PAUL
John? Can you turn around? Can you
turn around and see this lady?
Coffey turns. His face is ashen gray, seriously ill.
MELINDA
What's your name?
COFFEY
John Coffey, ma'am.
MELINDA
Like the drink, only not spelled
the same.
COFFEY
No, ma'am. Not spelt the same at
all.
She pushes the covers aside to rise. Hal tries to stop her...
HAL
Melly, no...
...but she pushes his hand gently aside. Hal watches in
wonder as she stands, takes a first tentative step...and
walks to Coffey. She gazes up and touches his face.
MELINDA
I dreamed of you. I dreamed you
were wandering in the dark, and so
was I. We found each other. We
found each other in the dark.
She undoes her necklace, holds it up for him. He hesitates,
glances to Paul. Paul nods--it's all right. Coffey lowers his
head. Melinda affixes the delicate chain around his neck.
MELINDA
It's St. Christopher. I want you
to have it, Mr. Coffey, and wear
it. He'll keep you safe. Please
wear it for me.
COFFEY
Thank you, ma'am.
MELINDA
Thank you, John.
Her arms go around his neck, hugging him tightly as if she
might never let go.
EXT. MOORES HOUSE - NIGHT
Paul and the men hustle Coffey out the front door toward the
truck, helping him as best they can. He's weak as a baby,
knees threatening to give out at any moment.
PAUL
C'mon, John, stay on your feet.
HARRY
Christ, he goes down, we'll need
three mules and a crane to pick
him up again...
They get Coffey to the truck and throw their backs into it,
helping him crawl up onto the stakebed. He rolls over on his
back. Harry hops up, covers him with an old blanket. Brutal
pulls aside, speaking low:
BRUTAL
He'll never sit in Old Sparky. You
know that, don't you?
(off Paul's look)
He swallowed that stuff for a
reason. I give him a few days. One
of us'll be doing a cell check and
there he'll be. Dead on his bunk.
PAUL
If that's his choice, he's earned
it.
(beat)
Let's get him back on the Mile.
FADE TO BLACK
IN BLACKNESS, A TITLE CARD APPEARS:
"Coffey on the Mile"
CUT TO:
INT. E BLOCK - NIGHT
Dean starts babbling with relief as they return:
DEAN
Am I glad to see you! You were
gone so long! Wild Bill's making
noises like he's gonna wake up...
(notices Coffey)
What the hell's wrong with him?
BRUTAL
He's hurting, Dean. Hurting bad.
Dean jumps in, helps them steer Coffey into his cell.
PAUL
John, we're gonna set you on your
bunk now. Ready?
Coffey nods, sits heavily on the bunk. He lowers his head,
breath rasping like a rusted hinge. The guards step out.
DEAN
What about Mrs. Moores? Was it
like the mouse? Was it a...you
know...a miracle?
PAUL
Yes. Yes it was.
Paul scans their faces. Smiles are traded. An exultant beat.
HARRY
Damn. I think we got away with it.
BRUTAL
We still gotta convince a certain
somebody to keep his trap shut.
PAUL
Get his stuff.
Dean hurries off to retrieve Percy's holster and baton.
Brutal unlocks the restraint room door, swings it open. Percy
is revealed sitting against the wall, glaring, his mouth
still taped. Paul crouches down. Brutal joins him.
PAUL
I want to talk, not shout. I take
the tape off, you gonna be calm.
Percy nods. Paul takes hold of the tape, preparing to yank.
BRUTAL
My mother always said if you do it
fast, it won't hurt so much.
Paul rips the tape off. Percy's eyes water with pain.
BRUTAL
I guess she was wrong.
PERCY
Get me out of this nut-coat.
PAUL
In a minute.
PERCY
Now! Now! Right n--
Paul slaps him hard, knocks him sideways. Percy looks up,
blinking in surprise. Paul grabs him, yanks him back up.
PAUL
You shut up and listen. You
deserved to be punished for what
you did to Del. You'll accept it
like a man, or we'll make you
sorry you were ever born. We'll
tell people how you sabotaged
Del's execution--
PERCY
Sabotaged!
PAUL
--and how you pissed yourself like
a frightened little girl. Yes,
we'll talk, that's a given--but,
Percy, mind me now...we'll also
see you beaten within an inch of
your life.
Percy blinks, unable to grasp that.
PAUL
We know people, too, are you so
foolish you don't realize that?
People with friends and loved ones
doing time in this prison. People
who'd be happy to amputate you
nose or your penis just so someone
they care about could get an extra
three hours in the exercise yard
every week.
(off Percy's look)
Let bygones be bygones. Nothing's
hurt so far but your pride...and
nobody need ever know about that
except the people in this room.
BRUTAL
What happens on the Mile, stays on
the Mile. Always has.
A long pause. Softly:
PERCY
May I be let out of this coat now?
They pull him to his feet, undo the straps. He shrugs out of
the straitjacket and adjusts his clothes, trying to maintain
a shred of dignity.
PERCY
My things?
Dean hands them over. Percy smooths his hair and puts his hat
on, starts strapping on his holster belt.
PAUL
Think it over, Percy.
PERCY
Oh, I intend to. I intend to think
about it very hard. Starting right
now.
Percy exits the restraint room. Brutal whispers to Paul:
BRUTAL
He'll talk. Sooner or later.
Paul nods with weary resignation--yeah, I know.
ON THE MILE
Percy pauses near Coffey's cell, careless as always, getting
his holster buckled--and a massive black arm grabs him
through the bars. His SCREAM brings Paul and the others from
the restraint room.
Coffey's face is pressed so tight between his bars it looks
like he's trying to push his head through. He draws his lips
back, baring his teeth in an awful sneer...
Percy whacks him with his baton. Coffey barely seems to feel
it. He curls his free hand around the back of Percy's head,
pulling him ever closer...
...and Percy's screams are muffled as their mouths come
together. Coffey begins exhaling as if he'd held his breath
for hours. Percy jerks like a fish on a hook, but can't get
away. The men jump in, try to pry Percy loose, hollering for
Coffey to let him go.
The black "insects" are flowing from Coffey to Percy,
swirling into his mouth, up his nose, down his throat.
Several lightbulbs explode in their steel cages up and down
the Mile. Percy's baton drops from his nerveless fingers and
clatters to the floor, never to be picked up again.
And then Coffey steps back, rubbing his mouth as if he's
tasted something bad. The color has returned to his skin.
Percy, however, is ashen gray. His expression is blank as a
sheet of paper, not a trace of awareness in his eyes.
The men are stunned. Paul raises his hand to Percy's face,
snaps his fingers. Nothing. He tries again, clapping loudly.
Percy reacts slightly, eyes fluttering, swaying a bit.
PAUL
Easy, easy. You all right?
Percy says nothing. He turns and walks slowly up the Mile,
his movements vacant and disjointed. He comes to a swaying
stop at Wild Bill's cell...and turns slowly to look in.
Wild Bill is coming painfully around, groggily clutching his
head. He looks up, see Percy.
BILLY
What'a you looking at, you limp
noodle? You wanna kiss my ass or
suck my dick?
Nothing for the longest moment. Percy just staring...
...and then he pulls his gun and empties it into Wild Bill as
fast as he can pull the trigger. BAM!BAM!BAM!BAM!BAM!BAM!
Bill takes all six rounds in the chest, reeling back across
the cell. He hits the wall and slides down, leaving a smear,
his face registering a final look of stunned surprise.
Paul and the other tackle Percy and bring him down, wrestling
the gun out of his hand. Dean is almost weeping:
DEAN
Oh God, oh God, no...
Percy is flat on his back, staring up at nothing. The black
"bugs" come drifting out of nose and mouth, swirling in the
air over his head. They turn white and disappear.
The men are speechless. Paul turns, sees Coffey sitting on
the floor at his bars, watching.
COFFEY
Punished them bad men.
PAUL
Why Wild Bill? Why?
COFFEY
I saw in his heart. When he grab
my arm, I saw what Wild Billy
done. Saw plain as day. Can't hide
what's in your heart.
PAUL
What? Saw what?
Coffey reaches toward him, straining through the bars.
COFFEY
Take my hand, boss. You see for
yourself.
BRUTAL
Paul, no!
Paul hesitates, torn between reason and Coffey's pleading
eyes. A whisper:
COFFEY
My hand.
Paul can't help it. He has to. Their hands come together.
Paul lurches wildly as that circuit starts blazing between
them...
PAUL
No...please...
COFFEY
Gots to, boss. Gots to give you a
little bit of myself. A gift,
like. A gift of what's in me so
you can see...
...and Paul sees:
The Detterick twins. Kathe and Cora. Laughing and playing
hopscotch in the dust under a later afternoon sun...
A dinner table. Family having supper late in the day, basket
of biscuits being passed. Twelve year old Howie Detterick
taking it, passing it on...
An hand with a paint brush slopping bright red paint on the
side of a barn...
Kathe skipping to the head of the hopscotch squares, turning
and starting back, laughing in the sun...
The paint brush slopping more paint, dripping like blood...
Paul jerks and twists, trying to pull away, trying to break
the circuit, but he can't, not till all is seen and done:
Marjorie Detterick calling from the porch for everybody to
come eat, supper's ready...
A hammer pausing. Klaus looking down from atop the barn...
The Detterick twins finishing their hopscotch, gathering
their jump ropes from the dust, running across the yard...
The basket of biscuits being passed to little Cora, who takes
a biscuit and passes it on...
Klaus coming down the ladder, calling to his daughters. The
little girls running past the man with the paint brush, who
turns and smile as they go by...it's Wild Bill.
The basket of biscuits is passed one last time. A hand pulls
one out, raises it for a bite. It's Wild Bill, smiling at the
little girls as conversation flows around the table...
Paul screams, trying to pull away, but:
The porch door is kicked off its hinges just before dawn, a
figure looming in the doorway. Kathe wakes, her scream cut
short as the man's fist punches her hard in the face...
Paul trembles violently as if riding the lightning himself,
pleading for it to stop, but there's one last thing:
Wild Bill looms over the terrified little girls like a
horrendous boogeyman, whispers to Kathe:
BILLY
You lover your sister? You make
any noise, know what happens? I'll
kill her instead of you.
(to Cora)
And if you make any noise, I'll
kill her.
And he drags them out into the coming dawn...
...as Coffey lets Paul go. Paul is gasping, back in the real
world where his men are staring at him with wide eyes.
COFFEY
He kill 'em with they love. They
love for each other. You see how
it is?
Paul nods, numb. Tears are flowing down Coffey's face. Softly:
COFFEY
That's how it is ever' day. That's
how it is all over the worl'...
CUT TO:
WILD BILL
lies dead, staring with glassy eyes. A FLASHBULB POPS,
rimming him with harsh blue light...
INT. E BLOCK - DAWN
...as Hal arrives, wearing his pajama top under his overcoat.
He sees the POLICE PHOTOGRAPHER taking pictures. The guards
are giving statements to GROUPS OF COPS, everybody murmuring:
DEAN
...well, I dunno, he just snapped,
I guess...
HARRY
...s'right, one minute he's fine,
the next--blammo...
BRUTAL
...bastard grabbed him through the
bars a few days back, scared the
boy so bad he wet himself...
Hal turns, sees:
PERCY
sits handcuffed on the floor of the Mile, eyes glassier than
Wild Bill's. TWO COPS are trying to snap him out of it:
COP #1
Son! Son! Can you hear me?
COP #2
Speak up if you can hear us! We
gotta ask you some questions!
A MEDIC is raising Percy's eyelid with his thumb, shining a
penlight, getting no reaction.
MEDIC
I think this boy's cheese slid off
his cracker.
HAL
sees Paul, motions him aside to talk privately:
HAL
I'll cover you as much as I can,
even if it mean my job, but I have
to know. Does this have anything
to do with what happened at my
house? Does it, Paul?
Paul looks Hal in the eye. As with Bitterbuck, the lie comes
easy:
PAUL
No.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - DAY
TRACKING A PAIR OF FEET shuffling into the room in hospital
slippers, escorted by TWO ORDERLIES. The patient is brought
to a window. The orderlies turn to leave...
...and we BOOM UP to reveal Percy, catatonic, staring out the
same window where we met Wild Bill...
EXT. HOSPITAL - DAY
...and we WIDEN SLOWLY from Percy at the window to reveal his
last stop in life. It's emblazoned on the gate: BRIAR RIDGE
MENTAL HOSPITAL. He finally got that transfer.
CUT TO:
EXT. PAUL'S HOUSE - DUSK
TIGHT ON PAUL as softly:
PAUL
It makes sense. I read the file.
Hal even said it himself. Wharton
rambled all over the state last
few years, causing trouble. Hell,
longer than that. Been at it since
he was ten. Vandalism. Petty
theft. Setting fires.
ANGLE SHIFTS to include Jan, Brutal, Harry and Dean. They're
in the brambly patch that borders the woods behind the house.
The sun is setting, turning the horizon fiery.
JAN
You saw him. You actually saw this
Wild Bill person take those girls.
PAUL
Their father hired him on for a
few days last spring, help repair
the barn. Cheap labor, just
another drifter...
BRUTAL
Only not.
PAUL
Sick bastard came back a month
later, just before dawn. Took the
girls...did what he did. Coffey
found them afterwards and tried to
help. It was too late.
JAN
(absorbs this)
Then you can stop it. The
execution, I mean. Get Coffey a
new trial.
PAUL
Based on what, honey? Some kind of
magical vision I had?
JAN
Show this farmer--what's his name,
Detterick?--show him a picture of
Wild Bill.
(off their looks)
Why not? If Wharton was there...if
the farmer can identify his
picture and they know he was
there...
BRUTAL
Him being there in May doesn't
mean he came back and killed those
girls in June. Even if he was
committing other crimes.
PAUL
They got their killer as far as
they're concerned.
Hell, Coffey's own lawyer would
come throw the switch if we let
him.
JAN
Then lie.
PAUL
Lie? About what?
JAN
Tell them Wharton confessed to the
crime. Brutus, you can back him
up, say you heard it too. You can
say that's what set Percy off. He
shot Wharton because he couldn't
stand thinking of what happened to
those two little girls, it snapped
his mind...
(seeing their looks)
...what? What now?
DEAN
We never reported anything like
that. We would've, too, everybody
knows it. It's part of our job.
BRUTAL
Besides, confessing don't make it
so. Slugs like Wild Bill lie about
everything. Crimes they committed,
women they had, even the weather.
JAN
But he was there! He painted their
barn! He ate dinner with them!
PAUL
All the more reason he might take
credit for the crime. He's gonna
fry anyway, so why not boast?
Jan stands thinking for a moment, then:
JAN
All right. Then you've got to get
John Coffey out on your own.
HARRY
Ma'am?
JAN
You did it once, didn't you? Only
this time, don't bring him back.
Dean blinks, stunned by this notion. Gently:
DEAN
Ma'am, your son's grown up and
moved away. My kids are just
starting kindergarten. Will you be
the one to explain to them why
their daddy's in prison?
JAN
Work out a plan. Make it look like
a real escape.
HARRY
Better be a plan an imbecile could
dream up. Nobody'd believe it
otherwise.
BRUTAL
Even if we did think of something,
it wouldn't do any good.
JAN
Why not? Just why the hell not?
PAUL
Because he's a six-foot-eight-inch
baldheaded black man with barely
enough brains to feed himself. How
long you think it'd be before he
was recaptured? Two hours? Six?
Jan swipes a tear away with the heel of her hand. Softly:
JAN
Do you mean to kill him, you
cowards? Do you?
Paul tries to take her hand. She wrenches away, furious.
JAN
Don't touch me! Next week this
time you'll be a murderer, no
better than that man Wharton, so
don't touch me!
She runs off toward the house, starting to sob as we
DISSOLVE TO:
INT PAUL'S KITCHEN - NIGHT
Paul is at the kitchen table in the wee hours, at his regular
place, sipping his beer. Irving Berlin's "Remember" PLAYS
SOFTLY on the radio. Jan comes down, looking miserable and
exhausted.
JAN
I'm so sorry I called you a
coward. I feel worse about that
than anything I've ever said to
you in our whole marriage.
PAUL
Even that time we went camping and
you called me Old Stinky Sam?
She can't help smiling at that. He returns the smile, offers
her a sip of beer. She takes it, sits.
JAN
Does Hal know? That Coffey's
innocent, I mean?
(Paul shakes his head)
Can he help? Does he have the
influence to do something about
this?
PAUL
No.
JAN
Then don't tell him. If he can't
help, don't tell him. Ever.
PAUL
I won't.
JAN
(beat)
There's no way out of this for
you, is there?
PAUL
No. I've been thinking about it,
too, believe me.
(beat)
Tell you the truth, honey. I've
done some things in my life I'm
not proud of, but this is the
first time I've ever felt in real
danger of hell.
JAN
Hell? Oh Paul...
(touches his face)
Talk to him. Talk to John. Find
out what he wants.
CUT TO:
INT. E BLOCK - NIGHT
Coffey sits quietly in his cell, a solitary firefly flitting
in circles around his finger. Paul and the men appear. The
firefly flits away, vanishing through Coffey's tiny window.
COFFEY
Hello, boss.
PAUL
Hello, John.
Brutal unlocks his cell. Paul enters.
PAUL
I guess you know we're coming down
to it now. Another couple of days.
(beat)
Is there anything special you'd
like for dinner that night? We can
rustle you up most anything.
Coffey gives it some careful thought.
COFFEY
Meatloaf be nice. Mashed taters
with gravy. Okra, maybe. I's not
picky.
PAUL
What about a preacher? Someone you
could say a little prayer with?
COFFEY
Don't want no preacher. You can
say a prayer, if you want. I could
get kneebound with you, I guess.
PAUL
Me?
Coffey gives him a look--please.
PAUL
S'pose I could, if it came to that.
Paul sits, working himself up to it:
PAUL
John, I have to ask you something
very important right now.
COFFEY
I know what you gonna say. You
don' have to say it.
PAUL
I do. I do have to.
(beat)
John, tell me what you want me to
do. You want me to take you out of
here? Just let you run away? See
how far you can get?
COFFEY
Why would you do such a foolish
thing?
Paul hesitates, emotions swirling, trying to find the right
words.
PAUL
On the day of my judgement, when
I stand before God, and He asks me
why did I kill one of his true
miracles, what am I gonna say?
That is was my job? My job?
COFFEY
You tell God the Father it was a
kindness you done.
(takes his hand)
I know you hurtin' and worryin',
I can feel it on you, but you
oughtta quit on it now. Because I
want it over and done. I do.
Coffey hesitates--now he's the one trying to find the right
words, trying to make Paul understand:
COFFEY
I'm tired, boss. Tired of bein' on
the road, lonely as a sparrow in
the rain. Tired of not ever having
me a buddy to be with, or tell me
where we's coming from or going
to, or why. Mostly I'm tired of
people being ugly to each other.
I'm tired of all the pain I feel
and hear in the world ever' day.
There's too much of it. It's like
pieces of glass in my head all the
time. Can you understand?
By now, Paul is blinking back tears. Softly:
PAUL
Yes, John. I think I can.
BRUTAL
There must be something we can do
for you, John. There must be
something you want.
Coffey thinks about this long and hard, finally looks up.
COFFEY
I ain't never seen me a flicker
show.
CUT TO:
TIGHT ON COFFEY'S FACE
gazing with wide-eyed, open-mouthed wonder, the light of a
motion picture projector flickering on his skin...
INT PRISON AUDITORIUM - NIGHT
...while Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dance up there on the
big screen, images flowing in magical black and silver tone.
FRED ASTAIRE
(singing)
Heaven, I'm in heaven...and my
heart beats so that I can hardly
speak...
Paul and the men are scattered about in the otherwise empty
auditorium, also watching.
PROJECTION BOOTH
Toot operates the projector, peering through the tiny window
into the theater. He yawns, glances at his watch. Late.
IN THE AUDITORIUM
Fred and Ginger are now in the most passionate and graceful
part of the dance. Irving Berlin's music swells.
COFFEY
can't believe what he's seeing. He's so excited his breath is
caught in his throat. Softly:
COFFEY
Why, they's angels. Angels. Just
like up in heaven...
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. E BLOCK - NIGHT
FOUR PAIRS OF FEET come marching up the Green Mile.
ANGLE ON COFFEY
Paul appears at the bars with Brutal, Harry, and Dean.
Nothing is said. Coffey knows why they're here. He rises as
Brutal unlocks the cell, slides the door open. Coffey steps
out, looks around at their dazed and sad faces.
COFFEY
I be all right, fellas. This
here's the hard part. I be all
right in a little while.
Paul indicates St. Christopher medal around John's neck:
PAUL
John, I should have that just for
now. I'll give it back after.
John lets him take the necklace. Paul pockets it. They start
to walk the Mile as:
COFFEY
You know, I fell asleep this
afternoon and had me a dream. I
dreamed about Del's mouse.
PAUL
Did you, John?
COFFEY
I dreamed he got down to that
place Boss Howell talked about,
that Mouseville place. I dreamed
there was kids, and how they
laughed at his tricks! My!
He laughs at the memory of it, then grows more serious:
COFFEY
I dreamed those two little blonde-
headed girls were there. They 'us
laughing, too. I put my arms
around 'em and sat 'em on my
knees, and there 'us no blood
comin' outta their hair and they
'us fine. We all watch Mr. Jingles
roll that spool, and how we did
laugh. Fit to bus', we was.
Behind them, Dean stifles a sob.
PAUL'S INNER OFFICE
Coffey kneels. Paul joins him, self-conscious and uncertain.
PAUL
What should we pray for, John?
COFFEY
Strength?
Paul nods--strength it is. Dean surprises Brutal and Harry by
also kneeling. Brutal and Harry hesitate...then join them.
PAUL
God, please help us finish what
we've started, and please welcome
this man, John Coffey--like the
drink, but not spelled the same--
into heaven and give him peace.
Please help us to see him off the
best we can and let nothing go
wrong. Amen.
Paul starts to rise, but Coffey takes his hand.
COFFEY
I know a prayer I once heard. Can
I say it?
PAUL
You go right ahead, John. Take all
the time you need.
Coffey closes his eyes, frowning in deep concentration.
COFFEY
Baby Jesus, meek and mild, pray
for me...
And Paul sees:
Kathe and Cora Detterick kneeling together in the enclosed
porch that night, just before their bedtime:
KATHE AND CORA
...and every child. Be my
strength, be my friend...
And then the vision is gone as:
COFFEY
...be with me until the end. Amen.
Coffey rises, offers Paul his hand, helps him up.
EXECUTION CHAMBER
Full house tonight. Bill Dodge is waiting at Old Sparky.
Silence as Coffey is led in, all eyes on him. Klaus and
Marjorie Detterick are in the front row. She mutters:
MARJORIE
Die slow, you bastard.
COFFEY
is faltering as Paul and Brutal bring him to the chair.
COFFEY
They's a lot of folks here hate
me. A lot. I can feel it. Like
bees stinging me. It hurts.
BRUTAL
Feel how we feel, then. We don't
hate you--can you feel that?
Coffey tries to take comfort in it, but flinches as:
MARJORIE
Kill him twice, you boys! You go
on and kill that raping baby-
killer twice, that'd be fine!
She dissolves into tears. Klaus pulls her against his
shoulder, looking dazed by the whole thing.
Paul and Brutal turn John around, sit him down. Paul notices
Dean crying again, his back to the witnesses. They kneel to
apply the leg clamps, while Brutal and Harry secure the arms.
PAUL
Wipe you face before you stand up,
Dean.
Dean nods, wiping his face with the sleeve of his coat. They
rise, stepping back. This time, Paul's out front:
PAUL
Roll on one.
Van Hay cranks the generator. The lights flare hotter and
brighter. It's just like in Melinda's bedroom the night
Coffey cured her with a kiss. Airless and bright, dreamlike.
MARJORIE
Does it hurt yet? I hope it does!
I hope it hurts like hell!
PAUL
John Coffey...you have been
condemned to die in the electric
chair by a jury of your
peers...sentence imposed by a
judge in good standing in this
state. Do you have anything to say
before sentence is carried out?
John hesitates, nods.
COFFEY
I'm sorry for what I am.
MARJORIE
You ought to be! Oh, you monster,
you damn well ought to be!
Brutal takes the mask from the hook to draw it over Coffey's
head. Coffey looks to Paul with terrified, pleading eyes.
COFFEY
Please, boss, don't put that thing
over my face. Don't put me in the
dark, I's afraid of the dark.
PAUL
All right, John.
Brutal puts the mask back, proceeds with the sponge.
IN TIGHT ANGLES
The cap is lowered, the straps drawn. Coffey is breathing
fast, terrified, muttering under his breath:
COFFEY
...heaven...I'm in heaven...
heaven...heaven...heaven...
THE WITNESSES
sit and wait, barely breathing.
JACK VAN HAY
is poised at the switch, wondering why the order won't come.
PAUL
is staring at Coffey, unable to say the words.
BRUTAL
(whispers)
Paul. You have to say it. You have
to give the order.
Paul can't. He reaches out and touches Coffey's hand. Their
fingers clasp. In that moment, staring into his eyes, Paul
hears the last thought that ever goes through Coffey's head:
COFFEY
(whispered V.O.)
He kill 'em with they love. That's
how it is ever' day. All over the
worl'...
Their fingers disengage. Paul steps back, eyes still locked
with Coffey's, and says the hardest words he's ever spoken:
PAUL
Roll on two.
Van Hay throws the switch. Coffey surges forward, fingers
splayed and jittering past Old Sparky's arms.
Lights begin blowing out all over the Mile, raining shattered
glass and sparks. Some of the witnesses scream.
A thin line of blood comes trickling out of Klaus Detterick's
nose. He reaches up, absently wipes it away.
Coffey's eyes are locked on Paul's, riding the lightning all
the way. He finally slumps. Van Hay kills the current.
Coffey's expression is peaceful, as if sleeping. A final pair
of tears drift gently down his cheeks.
CUT TO:
INT. ACCESS TUNNEL - NIGHT
Paul ever so carefully replaces the St. Christopher's medal
around Coffey's neck. They wheel him down the tunnel.
CUT TO:
INT. PAUL'S MODEL T - NIGHT
Paul drives home, his heart numb.
EXT. PAUL'S HOUSE - NIGHT
Paul pulls in, cuts the engine. He sits for a moment, then
gets out and heads for the house.
The door opens. Jan steps out in her nightgown and robe to
meet him on the stairs. She takes him in her arms.
Paul can't hold it back anymore. He breaks down sobbing
against her as we
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. NURSING HOME SUNROOM - PRESENT DAY
It's late in the day as:
PAUL
That was the last execution I ever
took part in. Just couldn't do it
anymore after that. Brutal either.
We both transferred out, took jobs
with Boys' Correctional.
(beat, nods)
That was all right. Catch 'em
young, that became my motto. Might
even have done some good.
ANGLE SHIFTS TO Elaine listening. Uncertain.
PAUL
You don't believe me.
ELAINE
I don't imagine you would lie to
me, Paul. It's just that...
PAUL
...It's quite a story.
ELAINE
Yes. Quite a story.
(pause)
One thing I don't understand. You
said you and Jan had a grownup son
in 1935. Is that right?
(Paul nods)
But if that's true...
PAUL
The math doesn't work, does it?
She shakes her head. Paul thinks for a moment, comes to a
decision.
PAUL
You feel up to a walk?
CUT TO:
EXT. GEORGIA PINES - DAY
The rain has mostly stopped. Brad Dolan, back in street
clothes, gets in his pickup truck and drives away...
INT. NURSING HOME - DAY
...while Paul and Elaine watch from a window.
EXT. GEORGIA PINES - DAY
This time, we see two red specks trudging slowly up the ridge
toward the treeline.
CUT TO:
EXT. WOODS - DAY
Paul brings Elaine along the wooded path into view of the
storage shacks. They're both wearing ponchos.
PAUL
There. It's in there.
ELAINE
Paul? This thing you want to show
me. Is it scary?
PAUL
Scary? No. Not really.
He gives her a smile, offers his hand. She takes it.
INT. SHACK - DAY
We see Paul approach through the grimy window as before, this
time bringing Elaine. ANGLE SHIFTS to the door as they
arrive, creaking open on rusty hinges to reveal them.
They enter. Elaine looks around at the musty nooks and
crannies, wondering what they're doing here. Paul touchers
arm, directs her attention:
PAUL
There.
Elaine moves closer, sees it on the dusty floorboards:
An old cigar box.
For a moment, she doesn't know what to make of it.
PAUL
Hey. Wake up, old boy. Wake up.
Elaine's breath catches in her throat...
...as a pair of bright oilspot eyes peer over the edge of the
cigar box. It's a mouse. His fur, once brown, is now all gray.
ELAINE
Paul? It isn't...it can't be...
Paul gets down on the floor, holds out his hand.
PAUL
Come over here, boy. Come on over
her and see this lady.
The mouse tries several times to get over the side of the
cigar box before he finally makes it. He comes to them,
hobbling and crippled with arthritis. Paul pulls a slice of
toast from his pocket, breaks off a small piece for the mouse.
ELAINE
That can't be Mr. Jingles.
Paul says nothing, just pulls a spool from his pocket. Mr.
Jingles might be old, but he's as obsessed as ever. He gets
ready to fetch, eyes riveted to the spool. Softly:
PAUL
Messieurs et mesdames. Beinvenue
au cirque du mousie.
Paul tosses the spool. The mouse limps painfully after it. He
reaches it, goes around...and has to lay down to catch his
breath. Elaine starts forward, but Paul holds her back.
After a moment, Mr. Jingles finds his feet again. He rises
and starts nosing the spool back to Paul.
ELAINE
Oh, Paul. Don't make him do it
again. I can't bear to watch.
PAUL
(softly)
But he loves it so much.
He glances around at the shack with a sad smile.
PAUL
This isn't exactly the Mouseville
we had in mind...but we make do,
don't we, old fella?
BRAD (O.S.)
As I live and breathe!
They gasp and spin. Brad Dolan stands in the doorway.
BRAD
Fooled you, didn't I Got yourself
a little love nest here, I see...
He pauses, seeing Mr. Jingles.
BRAD
...what the fuck? Is that a mouse?
PAUL
Don't hurt him, okay? Okay?
BRAD
It's a goddamn mouse, y'old fool,
they carry all kind'a disease...
Brad grabs an old garden hoe--the blade's rusted, but still
sharp enough to cut a mouse in two.
BRAD
...now step aside.
Paul rushes in front of Brad, fists clenched, yelling:
PAUL
You leave him alone, Percy! You
leave him alone, or by God I'll--
Brad gives Paul a hard shove, pins him against the wall.
BRAD
Who you calling Percy? Name's
Brad, you senile fucker. And I'm
gonna nail that mouse, you can
take that to the everfucking bank.
Elaine is suddenly at Brad's elbow, seething with fury:
ELAINE
How dare you? Get out!
BRAD
Piss off, you wrinkeldy old bitch.
Me and Paulie are talking.
ELAINE
His name is Mr. Edgecomb. If you
ever call him Paulie again, your
days of employment at Georgia
Pines will end.
BRAD
Who the hell you think you are?
ELAINE
I am the grandmother of the man
who is currently Speaker of the
Georgia House of Representatives.
A man who loves his relatives, Mr.
Dolan. All it would take is a
phone call.
Brad's smile falters. Elaine steps closer.
ELAINE
At first I thought I'd let you be.
I'm old, and that seemed easiest.
But when my friends are threatened
and abused, I do not let it be.
(icy beat)
Now get out, or you won't work
another day here. Not another
hour. I swear it.
Brad eases his grip on Paul...and backs off.
BRAD
Don't know what you're getting so
het up about. Just a damn mouse.
ELAINE
Get out, you ignorant man. What
little mind you have is ugly and
misdirected.
Brad flushes red, heads for the door. He pauses.
BRAD
Don't bother coming back here
tomorrow...Mr. Edgecomb Gonna be
a new lock on this door. This is
off-limits to residents, no matter
what Mrs. My Shit Don't Stink has
to say about it.
And off he goes. Paul tries to control the shaking in his
hands, looks to Elaine.
ELAINE
Little trick I learned from Percy
Wetmore.
PAUL
Is your grandson really Speaker of
the House?
ELAINE
He is.
Paul bends down, picks Mr. Jingles up.
PAUL
You gonna thank the lady? She just
saved your old mousie hide.
The mouse stretches his neck forward, nose twitching,
smelling Paul's breath. Paul looks to Elaine. Softly:
PAUL
I think Mr. Jingles happened by
accident. I think when we
electrocuted Del, and it all went
so badly...well, John could feel
it, you know...and I think a tiny
part of whatever was inside of him
just leapt out...
(beat)
Me, I was no accident. John had to
give me a little part of
himself...a gift, like...so I
could see for myself what Wild
Bill had done. When John did that,
a part of whatever power worked
through him spilled into me.
ELAINE
He...what? Infected you with life?
Paul looks at the mouse, strokes him gently between the ears.
PAUL
That's as good a word as any. He
infected us both, didn't he, Mr.
Jingles. With life.
(beat)
I'm a hundred and five years old,
Elaine. I was forty the year John
Coffey walked the Green Mile.
ELAINE
...oh my God...
CAMERA PUSHES SLOWLY IN on Paul as:
PAUL
I haven't even had a cold since
1935. I've had to watch my friends
and loved ones die off through the
years...Hal and Melinda...Brutus
Howell...my wife...my son...
(beat)
...and you, Elaine. You'd die,
too, and my curse is knowing I'll
be there to see it...
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. FUNERAL HOME - DAY
Paul, dressed in a dark suit, comes up the aisle. ANGLE
SHIFTS to reveal Elaine Connelly lying in the open casket.
PAUL (V.O.)
...that's my punishment, you see?
My punishment for letting John
Coffey ride the lightning...for
killing a miracle of God...
Paul lays a rose atop the casket.
PAUL (V.O.)
...you'll be gone, like all the
others, and I'll have to stay...
EXT. CEMETERY - DAY
Paul stands at the graveside as the casket is lowered.
PAUL (V.O.)
I'll die eventually, I imagine. I
have no illusions of immortality.
But I will have wished for death
long before death finds me.
He turns and walks away.
PAUL (V.O.)
In truth, I wish for it already.
INT. E BLOCK - NIGHT(1935)
Empty and silent. Young Paul walks the Mile alone, listening
to the quiet. He pauses, seeing something. A whisper:
PAUL
Mr. Jingles?
It is Mr. Jingles. The little mouse is peering from under the
restraint room door. He's come home, looking bedraggled. Paul
bends down, gently picks him up.
PAUL
Where you been, boy? I've been
worried about you. You hungry?
Paul turns and head back up the Green Mile, carrying the
mouse cupped in his hands as we
MATCH DISSOLVE TO:
INT. NURSING HOME - DAY
Young Paul transforms into Old Paul in the dissolve, the
corridor of the Green Mile becoming the corridor of the
nursing home. He's walking along, holding the little mouse
the same way he did over sixty years ago.
PAUL (V.O.)
I lie in bed most nights, thinking
about it. And I wait...
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. PAUL'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
Paul lies awake, staring at the moon outside his window.
PAUL (V.O.)
I think about all the people I've
loved, now long gone.
I think about my beautiful Jan,
and how I lost her so many years
ago. I think about all of us
walking our own Green Mile, each
in our own time. But one thought,
more than any other, keeps me
awake most nights...
(beat)
...if he could make a mouse live
so long, how much longer do I have?
He looks over at the nightstand...
PAUL (V.O.)
We each owe a death, there are no
exceptions, but sometimes, oh God,
the Green Mile is so long...
...and WE PAN to reveal Mr. Jingles sleeping fitfully in his
cigar box, chasing that spool in his dreams as we
FADE OUT:
THE END