"MALCOLM X"
Screenplay by
Arnold Perl, Spike Lee
and
James Baldwin (uncredited)
Based on the book
"The Autobiography of Malcolm X"
by
Malcolm X and Alex Haley
Fourth Draft
1991
FADE IN:
EXT. ROXBURY STREET - THE WAR YEARS - DAY
It is a bright sunny day on a crowded street on the black
side of Boston. PEOPLE and KIDS are busy with their own
things.
SHORTY bops his way down the street. He is a runty, very
dark young man of 21 with a mission and a smile on his face.
He wears the flamboyant style of the time: the whole zoot-
suit, pegged legs and a wide brim hat with a white feather
stuck in the hat band.
EXT. STREET - DAY
FOLLOW SHOT. Shorty dodges through the crowd with his
packages.
His smile is one of anticipation. He nods to a PAL without
stopping; eyes a COUPLE OF CHICKS dancing on the street, but
is not dissuaded.
INT. BARBER SHOP - DAY
Shorty has his jacket and hat off, his sleeves rolled up. He
is like a surgeon preparing for an operation. His equipment
is spread out on a table: can of lye, large mason jar, wooden
stirring spoon, knife, the eggs. His actions have the
character of a ritual: each thing being done just so, in
time-honored fashion.
He slices the potatoes and drops the thin slices into the
mason jar.
He adds water and makes a paste of the starch.
Behind Shorty is a spirited barbershop conversation. ONE MAN
is getting a haircut; TWO OTHERS are watching (TOOMER, JASON)
one of them from behind a newspaper. A middle-aged barber,
CHOLLY, is doing most of the talking.
CHOLLY
After I hit the number that woman
wasn't no good to me at all.
The men laugh.
ANGLE - Shorty pries open the can of lye, whiffs it. It's
good and strong. He pours some in the mason jar, stirring
with the wooden spoon. He cracks the eggs into the mixture
and stirs. He waits as fumes rise and feels the outside of
the jar as it gets hot.
ANOTHER ANGLE - The barbershop SEEN from a door, slightly
ajar. A woolly head, entirely in shadow, peers out.
CHOLLY'S VOICE
She says I'm cheap cuz I won't cop
her a diamond ring. Had the
indignation to call me a cheap black
sunovabitch to boot.
TOOMER
And when a black woman call you a
cheap black sunovabitch you've been
called a cheap black sunovabitch.
Cholly is annoyed. It's _his_ story.
CHOLLY
Will you let me tell it?
ON SHORTY - He opens the bulky package he has been carrying,
unfolds a large rubber apron and gets into it. Now he dons a
pair of rubber gloves.
SHORTY
Where's Homeboy?
He is all ready; one of his hands is filled with a huge glob
of Vaseline. His manner is indignant as if he were asking
the whereabouts of an exasperating child.
CHOLLY
Red's in the head, man.
TOOMER
You mean hiding in the head.
CHOLLY
Hey, Red. Your man's here and waiting
on you.
His hands full, Cholly opens the door with his feet and
MALCOLM comes out, a big, gawky, bright-faced country boy,
wearing downhome clothes and an expression of apprehension.
TOOMER
Gonna get that first conk laid on,
hunh, Homeboy?
CHOLLY
Man, don't scare him more than he's
scared already. Ain't too bad...
Malcolm allows himself to be led to an empty chair, where
Cholly drapes him with a double sheet, tucking it tightly
around his neck and adding a protective collar of paper.
CHOLLY
...Like anything else. First time a
chick gets her cherry popped, she
might put up a little fight. But
pretty soon you can't give her enough.
Right, Homeboy?
CLOSE - MALCOLM
Malcolm gulps, his eyes on the fuming mason jar.
Shorty starts massaging a great quantity of Vaseline into
Malcolm's scalp, covering his neck and ears as well. All the
men have gathered around, involved in the ritual. For Malcolm
it is closer to being a kind of execution.
CHOLLY
Git his forehead and eyebrows.
SHORTY
I know what I'm doing.
Shorty applies the Vaseline to that area. Now he brings
over the steaming jar and places it nearby.
SHORTY (CONTD)
Listen. You pull my coat if it's
still stinging when I get through
'cause this shit can burn a hole
through cement.
CHOLLY
Hold tight, baby, and keep your eyes
shut.
Malcolm nods his head, clenches his eyes and grits his teeth.
Shorty applies the congolene with a comb, working it into
Malcolm's hair.
CLOSE - MALCOLM
MALCOLM
I thought you said it was gonna
sting... this ain't nothin'.
For a moment nothing happens, then the heat hits him. He
yells, tries to catch his breath: his head is on fire.
MALCOLM (CONTD)
You motherfucker. You're killing
me. I'm burning up. My damn head is
on fire.
He nearly leaps out of the chair, but the barber restrains
him.
Shorty, utterly unmoved by the outburst, continues working
the congolene into his hair.
Malcolm breaks out of the chair wildly. But the three men
drag him to a basin where Shorty has attached the shower
spray. His cries filling the room, Malcolm is ducked under
the spray. Shorty starts rinsing out his hair.
SHORTY
Don't fight me, man. Let me git it
out.
Malcolm is a little relieved, he tentatively opens his eyes,
then he feels the congolene again and there is another
outburst. Shorty forces his head under the spray, spurts the
water all over his head, wetting Malcolm and the shop in the
process.
INT. CLOTHING STORE - DAY
SHORTY
Well, Homeboy, you almost there.
Turn around.
Shorty is supervising as Malcolm tries on a zoot suit. He
slips into the jacket...
Shoes-off, Malcolm steps into the tight-fltting peg-legged
pants... dons a wide-brimmed hat with a bright blue feather...
Finally, fully outfitted, he leans forward toward his new
image in the full-length mirror, twirling a long, dangling
key chain.
SHORTY
Well, all right, then.
MALCOLM
Well, all reet, then.
The transformation is complete. The two laugh and slap hands.
EXT. ROXBURY STREET - DAY
Malcolm and Shorty come strutting down the street: two conked,
zoot-suited sharpies. Hometown boy has departed. And the
CHICKS on the street notice them, especially Malcolm, the
taller of the two, the lighter-skinned, the more dominant.
They walk imperiously past, fully aware of their impact.
CLOSE SHOT - MALCOLM
FREEZE FRAME. He becomes a STILL.
VOICE OF MALCOLM X
When my mother was pregnant with me,
she told me later, a party of Klansmen
on horseback surrounded our house in
Omaha.
ANGLE. KLAN on horses in front of house.
VOICE OF MALCOLM X
They brandished guns and shouted for
my father to come out. My mother
went to the door where they could
see her pregnant condition...
ANGLE. A pregnant Louise Little on porch.
VOICE OF MALCOLM X
...and told them my father was in
Milwaukee, preaching.
ANGLE. The Klan breaks all the windows in the house then
rides off into the glorious D.W. Griffith _Birth of a Nation_
moonlit night.
CLOSE - LOUISE LITTLE
VOICE OF MALCOLM X
The hooded Klansman said the good,
white Christians would not stand for
his troublemaking, and to get out of
town.
ANGLE. The terrified Little children look out a broken window
at their mother.
ANGLE. AN OLD FRAME HOUSE IN OMAHA
VOICE OF MALCOLM X
They broke every window with their
rifle butts before riding off into
the night, their torches flaming.
ANGLE. FRONT PORCH OF THE LITTLE HOUSE - AN EMPTY ROCKER ON
IT.
VOICE OF MALCOLM X
My father was not a frightened Negro
as most were then and as many still
are today. He was six feet four and
very black...
CLOSE - EARL LITTLE
He looks directly into the camera, wearing a Baptist
Minister's robe.
VOICE OF MALCOLM X
...and had a glass eye. He believed,
as did Marcus Garvey, that freedom,
independence and self-respect could
never be achieved by the Negro in
America...
CLOSE - EARL LITTLE
He wears a Garvey hat, ornate with gold braid.
VOICE OF MALCOLM X
...that, therefore, black men should
leave America and return to the land
of their origin.
ANGLE. Earl Little, in a wagon with little Malcolm.
CLOSE - EARL LITTLE:
VOICE OF MALCOLM X
My father dedicated his life to his
beliefs because he had seen four of
his six brothers die violently...
WIDER ANGLE. WE SEE Earl in front of a podium in church. He
is preaching.
VOICE OF MALCOLM X
...three killed by white men and one
lynched.
There are nine children in our family.
ANGLE. The nine Little children.
CLOSE - LOUISE LITTLE
She is a pretty, mature woman and white-looking.
VOICE OF MALCOLM X
My mother was an attractive woman,
an educated woman, a strong woman.
CLOSE - LOUISE AND EARL
A posed wedding picture, serious but sweet.
VOICE OF MALCOLM X
She was very light, her mama was
raped by a white man. One of the
reasons she married my father was
because he was so black, she disliked
her complexion and wanted her children
to have some color.
CLOSE SHOT
Flash bulb of camera flashes.
INT. ROSELAND STATE BALLROOM - NIGHT
CLOSE - MALCOLM AND SHORTY
They both were posed for a picture. The music "FLYING HOME"
is blaring as LIONEL HAMPTON and his band is killing. The
music is WILD, the dancing is frantic, the clothes are OUT,
and the crowd is predominately BLACK, although there is a
peppering of WHITES, especially white chicks.
And Malcolm is a little bug-eyed as he nudges Shorty, watching
mixed couples on the floor.
A BOY in extreme zoot-suit flips him; a WHITE GIRL in long
blond hair wigs him. Malcolm is a little open-mouthed.
A VOICE
SHOWTIME, SHOWTIME!
ANGLE - THE BALLROOM - NIGHT
People start moving off the floor, making room for the
dancers. The music begins to get faster and more furious.
CLOSE - HAMPTON'S BAND - NIGHT
It is a fast Lindy. People start clapping to the beat as
they form a U around the DANCERS, with the band at the open
end.
INT. THE DANCE FLOOR
TWO COUPLES are on the floor, dancing wildly. They are quickly
joined by a half dozen OTHERS. These are the best dancers
and constitute the main event of a Saturday night black dance.
People crowd and push to get better vantage points and the
competition is under way.
ANGLE ON THE CROWD
It is dominantly black, but there are some whites in the
audience, mostly women. One is SOPHIA, a spectacular blonde
with a degree of refinement, something of a thrill-seeker.
Many of the men try to catch her eye, but for the moment
Sophia is just watching, looking for no one in particular,
but nonetheless looking.
ANGLE: - COUPLE ON THE DANCE FLOOR
Getting ready to enter the fray, the GIRL takes off her shoes
and bounces out on the floor barefoot with her partner. Their
advent is greeted with cheers and ad libs. Clearly the crowd
has its favorites.
WIDER SHOT
The music gets faster and the dancing takes on a more frantic
and more remarkable quality.
FOLLOW SHOT - MALCOLM
He is looking for his partner, the girl he brought and now
he sees her.
He makes his way through the watching audience.
CLOSE - LAURA
She is a fine chick, cool and beautiful. She smiles as she
sees Malcolm approaching.
TWO-SHOT. Laura and Malcolm stand together, delighted to be
with one another, starting to move to the music, as they
watch the dancers.
MALCOLM
Come on, baby, let's show 'em how.
Laura smiles shyly; she's willing.
MALCOLM
You better get out of them shoes,
girl.
Laura laughs, goes quickly to a bench and changes into a
pair of sneakers.
INT. THE DANCE FLOOR
Because of the competition, Laura and Malcolm begin at high
speed. In a moment they are executing the most intricate
steps of the "flapping eagle" and the "kangaroo." Malcolm
starts boosting her over and around his hips, then boosting
her over his shoulders. Laura is the perfect partner. She
loves it.
ANGLE WITH THE CROWD
So does the crowd, who loves new stars. There are ad lib
remarks: "Go, man, go." "Hey, Red." "Mmmmmm ummm."
ANGLE - SHORTY
A big, fat, hefty BLACK WOMAN takes Shorty out to the dance
floor, and she takes the lead. As they do the Lindy she is
slinging Shorty around like a rag doll. This woman slides
him through her legs and Shorty has had enough, he runs off
the dance floor, and hides.
TWO-SHOT. Laura and Malcolm are, in the phrase, cooking on
all burners now; and when they execute an especially intricate
step, even Hamp waves over.
Malcolm is sweating and flushed and enormously elated. He
sees that people are watching him, goading him on. He notices
that Sophia, in particular, has not taken her eyes off him;
she is clapping in time to his steps.
Seeing new stars in the making, the other dancers move to
the side of the floor, marking time, yielding the dance floor
to them. Laura and Malcolm go into a solo.
ANGLES
The crowd loves it. Malcolm and Sophia are very aware of
each other.
The finale is the classic drag, with Laura hanging limp around
Malcolm's neck as he capers off the dance floor to the
spontaneous applause of the audience.
CLOSE SHOT - SOPHIA (SLO-MO)
Clapping enthusiastically -- in open admiration.
CLOSE SHOT - SHORTY
Waiting to catch them as they come off. Shorty is whistling
and shaking his hand appreciatively. He is also looking out
for his dance partner.
SHORTY
Hey, man, gimme some skin.
MALCOLM
Shorty, this is Laura.
Laura is flushed and out of breath and joyous.
LAURA
'Lo. I've got to freshen up.
MALCOLM
Now you come back.
Laura laughs as she goes. She surely will be back.
SHORTY
That's a fine chick.
MALCOLM
Fine as May wine.
SHORTY
Except she live on the hill and got
a grandma.
MALCOLM
Make it too easy and it ain't no
fun.
Then his vision catches Sophia, who is approaching him. She
makes a simple, direct gesture, "Want to dance?" Malcolm
eyes Shorty and wordlessly glides into Sophia's arms.
ANGLE - THE DANCE FLOOR
Immediately from the glances of the other men at the dance,
he is the cynosure of all eyes. He has new status. It's a
heady feeling because she is the first white girl he has
ever been with socially who is not an obvious whore. He begins
to show off a little, cuts a few fine steps.
TWO-SHOT. They are dancing closer than before. Sophia begins
to rock his black world.
CLOSE - MALCOLM
Trying to play it cool -- but he is beginning to pant. Not
from the dancing, but from the situation: a gorgeous white
chick asking for it.
SOPHIA
Why don't you take your little girl
home, Red, and come on back?
He stops in his tracks. He can't believe it.
SOPHIA
Just walk. Don't run. It'll be here
when you get back.
He can only grin.
EXT. LAURA'S HOUSE - ROXBURY - NIGHT
The porch of a respectable house. Malcolm with Laura; he
anxious to get away.
MALCOLM
I better not come in.
LAURA
I ain't stupid.
MALCOLM
I mean it's late, baby.
LAURA
I know where you're going.
MALCOLM
I'm going to bed. I gotta work
tomorrow, need my rest.
Laura walks to the door.
MALCOLM
Baby, I'll call you tomorrow.
LAURA
What for? I ain't white and I don't
put out.
The front door opens, it's Laura's grandmother, MRS. JOHNSON.
MALCOLM
'Night, Mrs. Johnson.
He runs down the porch steps.
INT. SOPHIA'S CAR - NIGHT
The lone light emits from the car radio which plays The
Inkspots' "IF I DIDN'T CARE."
ANGLE - SOPHIA
Sophia pulls her tight sweater over her head to expose two
full ripe white breasts. Malcolm's eyes are popping out of
his head. NOTE: It's very unusual for women not to wear a
bra back in that day but you might say Sophia was way ahead
of her time.
SOPHIA
Malcolm, look at them. Have you ever
seen white breasts like these?
CLOSE - MALCOLM
He shakes his head.
SOPHIA
Put your black hands on them.
He is paralyzed.
SOPHIA
Please do as I say.
Malcolm mumbles something. He then kisses Sophia as if his
black life depended on it and he commences to kill it.
SOPHIA
Hey, baby.
She stops him for a moment, but he buries his head in her
long neck.
SOPHIA
Am I the first white woman you've
been with?
She already knows the answer. He laughs.
MALCOLM
Sheeet, you ain't. I had aplenty.
SOPHIA
...That isn't a whore?
Knowing she's right, Sophia becomes the aggressor.
A beat -- both panting -- then Malcolm stops abruptly. He
raises his hand to his face, then to Sophia's hand which is
still caressing him.
SOPHIA
That's alright. Baby, take your time.
Sophia's not going anywhere. I told
you to walk, don't run.
MALCOLM
Shhhh! I don't like women that talk.
CLOSE - SOPHIA
She shrugs, then moves to embrace him.
SOPHIA
Who wants to talk?
The couple starts at it again.
INT. MOVIE THEATRE - DAY
On the screen, Bogart and Cagney are blasting away the dirty,
flat-footed coppers with machine guns. It's one of those
great Warner Brothers gangster B movies, maybe The Roaring
Twenties.
ANGLE - MALCOLM AND SHORTY
Malcolm and Shorty sit, transfixed in their seats.
MALCOLM
Don't you know, you can't hump the
Bogart.
SHORTY
Eat lead, coppers.
EXT. BOSTON COMMONS - DAY
A bright, sunny day, long shadows in the park. The Commons
is almost empty. Two improbable zoot-suited blacks race past
trees, and run over the grass. Malcolm and Shorty are playing
Cops and Robbers while PASSERSBY stare.
SHORTY
Bang, bang. You're dead.
MALCOLM
Naw, you missed me, copper. Try this
on for size.
Malcolm fires an imaginary tommy machine gun at Shorty.
SHORTY
I forgot to tell you I'm wearing a
bulletproof vest.
MALCOLM
The hell you are.
SHORTY
I'm tired of always playing the cops.
I wanna be Bogart sometimes.
MALCOLM
You're too small to be Bogart.
SHORTY
I'm not too short to be Cagney.
Shorty shoots Malcolm from behind.
SHORTY
Pow. Take that.
Malcolm acts as if he's been hit.
MALCOLM
Ahhh! You got me, you dirty, filthy,
rotten, stinking copper, only a low-
down yellow rat bastard would shoot
a man in the back.
Malcolm starts to stagger, this is a long drawn out Hollywood
drawn-out death a la Cagney death in Public Enemy.
LOW ANGLE - MALCOLM
Malcolm falls directly into the camera, face first, and Shorty
stands over him.
SHORTY
He use to be a big shot.
EXT. THE TROLLEY TRACKS - NIGHT (REMEMBERED TIME)
MATCH CUT
CLOSE EARL LITTLE
Earl Little's face is in the same exact position as Malcolm's
from the previous scene. His mouth opens in terror as the
moving trolley comes closer and closer to the black man lying
on the tracks.
INT. A HEARING ROOM - DAY
A room, clinically empty; table, chair, and MR. HOLWAY. He
is putting papers into his briefcase; the hearing is
concluded.
LOUISE
What you mean took his own life?!
HOLWAY
I'm sorry, ma'am. You heard the
verdict. A man bash in the back of
his head with a hammer, lay down on
the tracks and kill himself! We merely
act on the verdict. We don't make
them.
He is nearly out the door.
LOUISE
Do you pay or don't you?
HOLWAY
Read the policy, ma'am. It clearly
states.
INT. SOPHIA'S APARTMENT - MORNING
Malcolm lies in bed, naked under the sheet. A half-empty
whiskey bottle and an ashtray full of butts are on the night
table: last night's partying.
SOPHIA
You like 'em scrambled soft or hard,
sweetie?
MALCOLM
C'mere.
WIDEN TO SHOW SOPHIA at the stove fixing eggs. She wears an
apron and nothing else. It's a nicely furnished middle-class
apartment.
SOPHIA
Sweetie, they're almost ready.
MALCOLM
You hear me, girl?
She shrugs, shuts off the burner, smiles and ambles toward
him.
SOPHIA
You the man.
MALCOLM
You better believe it.
She starts to sit down on the bed next to him.
MALCOLM
Sit over there.
He points to a nearby chair. Sophia makes an amiable hand-
shrug and complacently goes.
SOPHIA
You evil this morning.
MALCOLM
What's your story, baby?
He doesn't want to hear her; he wants to talk. He goes right
on:
MALCOLM
You one of them white bitches can't
get enough black dick. Is that what
you are?
Sophia smiles. She aims to please. Malcolm smacks the bed
next to him.
She gets up and comes over.
MALCOLM
Take it off.
She takes off the apron.
MALCOLM
Now kiss my feet. Kiss 'em!
CLOSE - SOPHIA
As Sophia bends to do so.
MALCOLM
Feed me.
ANGLE. Sophia now has the scrambled eggs on a plate at
Malcolm's side.
She spoons some into his mouth. He chews and swallows slowly,
then grabs her head and brings it to his. A long, brutal
kiss. Then he pulls her head away by the hair. She looks at
him: anything he wants.
MALCOLM
Yeah, girl; that's your story. When
you gonna holler "rape," sister?
SOPHIA
Me?
MALCOLM
You will, baby -- if the time come.
SOPHIA
Lemme feed you, sweetie, while they
hot.
Malcolm lays back on the pillow and she holds out the eggs
to him.
MALCOLM
Sure wish your mama and papa could
see you now. And that ofay you gonna
marry.
EXT. A BEACH - BRIGHT SUNLIGHT - DAY
Malcolm and Laura are on a deserted Cape beach. They are
dressed but have their shoes and socks off, and he has his
trousers rolled up. They walk, like birds, avoiding getting
their feet wet as the waves roll in.
LAURA
Malcolm, you can be anything you
want. You got class and you're smart.
MALCOLM
All them books you read and you still
don't know nuthin.
LAURA
I do know I love you.
Laura stops him and moves to him. Her kiss is a tender one,
exploratory.
Then Malcolm responds, embracing her fully. Her arms go around
him as they both drop into the sand.
CLOSE - MALCOLM AND LAURA
LAURA
Oh, Malcolm, I love you. Please,
there's no one around. Now?
Malcolm turns his head from her, he gets up.
MALCOLM
Let's go.
LAURA
Why? Is it because of your white
gal? Folks say you're running around
town with her.
MALCOLM
Save it, baby. Save it for Mr. Right,
'cause your grandma's smarter than
ya think.
She looks at him.
LAURA
She raised me, my mother died when I
was six.
Is your mother alive?
MALCOLM
Yeah, she's alive.
INT. DRUGSTORE - EVENING
Laura is eating a banana split. Malcolm is smoking and
drinking coffee.
MALCOLM
You know how dumb I was? I used to
think that "Not For Sale" was a brand
name.
Laura looks over. She doesn't understand.
INT. LITTLE KITCHEN - DAY
Louise's hand reaches for a small sack of flour stamped "Not
For Sale."
She brings it down on the table with a hard, controlled whap.
MISS DUNNE'S VOICE
I did knock.
Louise doesn't look up.
LOUISE
Did you hear me say come in?
WIDEN TO SHOW Louise with a WHITE SOCIAL WORKER, MISS DUNNE
complete with pad, pencil and goodwill. Huddled out of sight,
but nonetheless visible, are five small BLACK CHILDREN.
MISS DUNNE
There's no point in fighting about
it. I'm sorry. May I sit down?
Louise is very aware of the children and struggling for self-
possession.
LOUISE
As you nice enough to ask, we'll git
you one.
One of the children brings over a chair. Miss Dunne sets out
her papers.
MISS DUNNE
It's the same questions, Mrs. Little.
Since the death of your husband --
LOUISE
Murder.
MISS DUNNE
-- there is a serious question as to
whether --
LOUISE
These are my children. Mine. And
they ain't no question. None.
MISS DUNNE
I think sometimes, Mrs. Little, candor
is the only kindness.
PAN THE CHILDREN'S FACES
MISS DUNNE
All of your children are delinquent,
Mrs. Little, and one, at least,
Malcolm is a thief.
LOUISE
Get out.
MISS DUNNE
(still sitting)
Your control over your children,
therefore --
LOUISE
Did you hear me?!
MISS DUNNE
You'll regret this, Mrs. Little.
LOUISE
If you don't move out through that
door, you're going to be past all
regretting.
The terror-stricken children huddle together.
FREEZE FRAME. It becomes a still.
MALCOLM'S VOICE
We were parceled out, all five of
us. I went to this reform school and
lived at this woman's house. She was
in charge.
A SMALL CLEAN ROOM WITH A COT, A CHAIR AND A BUREAU.
MRS. SWERLIN
(motherly, friendly)
This is your room, Malcolm. I know
you'll keep it clean.
A DINING ROOM TABLE. FIVE WHITE BOYS AROUND IT.
MRS. SWERLIN
This is Malcolm, our new guest. We'll
treat him like a brother.
A CLASSROOM.
MALCOLM'S VOICE
I was special. The only colored kid
in class. I became a sort of mascot.
Like a pink poodle.
KIDS PLAYING IN THE SCHOOL YARD.
MALCOLM'S VOICE
I didn't know then that I was a
nigger.
MALCOLM PLAYING BASKETBALL.
MALCOLM SPEAKING BEFORE HIS CLASS.
MALCOLM DOING HOMEWORK.
A HORSE HAVING ITS TEETH EXAMINED.
MRS. SWERLIN
He's bright.
MALCOLM'S VOICE
They talked about me like
MRS. SWERLIN
Good grades. Fine
athlete. President of
his class.
MALCOLM'S VOICE
I wasn't there. Like I was
some kind of pedigreed dog
or a horse. Like I was
invisible.
INT. OSTROWSKI'S CLASSROOM - DAY
OSTROWSKI is talking to Malcolm, it's after school, the
classroom is empty.
OSTROWSKI
The important thing is to be
realistic. We all like you. You know
that. But you're a nigger and a lawyer
is no realistic goal for a nigger...
MALCOLM
But why, Mr. Ostrowski? I get the
best grades. I'm the class president.
I want to be a lawyer.
INT. THE DRUGSTORE - P.M.
Laura and Malcolm. Neither is talking. She is simply watching
him as he sips his coffee and puffs on a cigarette.
INT. OSTROWSKI'S CLASSROOM - DAY
OSTROWSKI
...Think about something you can be.
You're good with your hands. People
would give you work. I would myself.
Why don't you become a carpenter?
That's a good profession for a nigra.
Wasn't your pa a carpenter?
Malcolm is silent.
OSTROWSKI
Jesus was a carpenter.
INT. THE DRUGSTORE - P.M.
CLOSE - LAURA
LAURA
It's not the end of the world,
Malcolm.
EXT. A SIGN - BLINDING SUNLIGHT - DAY
It reads "KALAMAZOO STATE HOSPITAL FOR THE MENTALLY INSANE"
INT. A ROOM IN THE HOSPITAL - DAY
The room is totally white and Louise sits in a white smock
at a window in a rocking chair.
CLOSE LOUISE
As she rocks.
LOUISE
I said it just as plain, I said,
don't let them feed that boy no pig,
because he got enough of the devil
in him already. I told her she ain't
got no reason talk to me that way
cuz' my hair blow in the wind. You
want my skin. All right, I'll give
it to you. I'll scrape it off. See
how you like it.
ANGLE - Louise starts to sing a Negro spiritual.
CLOSE - MALCOLM
He has been standing there in deep pain all along.
THE SOUND OF A SPEEDING TRAIN IS HEARD.
EXT. THE YANKEE CLIPPER - DAY
The crack train of the New York, New Haven & Hartford speeds
through the New England countryside.
INT. GALLEY OF TRAIN - NIGHT
THREE ELDERLY BLACK WAITERS and Malcolm wearing a
sandwichman's uniform are crowded around a portable radio in
the galley where food is prepared. The four stand around
TULLY, a bland-faced personification of fine Pullman service.
They are all listening to the JOE LOUIS-BILLY CONN heavyweight
championship fight.
TULLY
Nigger, shut up so we can hear.
MALCOLM
C'mon, Joe.
WAITER #1
Turn it up, Tully.
TULLY
It is up. Fool be quiet.
WAITER #2
Tully, move the antenna...
Tully turns some knobs.
WAITER #3
This Mick is tough.
TULLY
Joe is just playing possum. He's
waiting for an opening.
The waiters are acting as if they are at ringside.
RADIO ANNOUNCER
A left jab to the jaw and a right
cross, scored by Louis and Conn is
hurt, as Louis rips a right to the
jaw. Conn is staggering, but he won't
go down. Conn bops a left hook, he's
reeling around the ring. Louis hooks
a left and a right to the jaw and
Conn is down.
The waiters are going crazy.
RADIO ANNOUNCER
He's taking the count, four, five,
six, seven, he's on his back, eight,
nine, he's getting up, no! The referee
says it's over. The bout has stopped.
The waiters are all jumping up and down when the galley door
opens. MR.
COOPER, the white man in charge of the kitchen, pops his
head in.
COOPER
What in hell's going on?
In a moment's notice Tully and the others have resumed their
customary servient roles.
TULLY
Nothing, Mr. Cooper.
COOPER
Got a lot of hungry customers out
there.
TULLY
Yes sir, Mr. Cooper, soup done
finished.
MALCOLM
On my way, Mr. Charlie.
Cooper eyes him narrowly.
COOPER
The name is Mr. Cooper and don't you
forget it. Mr. Cooper.
RADIO ANNOUNCER
The winner and still champion, Joe
Louis, but what a fight Billy Conn
gave.
INT. A PASSENGER TRAIN - DAY
As Malcolm hefts his sandwich basket and a large container
of coffee down the aisle, hawking as he goes.
MALCOLM
Get your good haaaam and cheeeeese
sandwiches. I got coffee, I got cake
and I got ice cream too. Right chere.
ANGLE FAVORING A WHITE CUSTOMER, BLADES.
BLADES
Hey, boy. Gimme a cheese on white
and coffee.
Malcolm's mood is exuberant: the fight is still in his ears.
He makes the delivery with a flourish and a smile.
MALCOLM
Yes, sir. Best in the house.
BLADES
You mighty pleased with yourself,
boy.
MALCOLM
Yes, sir. I aims to please.
BLADES
I like you, boy.
INSERT - FANTASY PROJECTION. Malcolm picks up a slab of cream
pie and pushes it in Blades' face.
BACK TO THE PASSENGER CAR
Normality again: Malcolm finishes serving him with complete
servility.
He pulls out a bill.
BLADES
Keep the change.
And takes a satisfying bite out of his thin sandwich.
EXT. THE RAILROAD TRACKS IN HARLEM - P.M.
As the Clipper surfaces in Harlem, pulls up to the 125th
Street station.
EXT. 125TH STREET STATION - P.M.
Malcolm, out of uniform and dressed in his zoot suit, comes
down from the Park Avenue station in Harlem. He is hit with
the sights and sounds.
Everything delights him: the noise, the lights, the women,
the pimps, the signs, the windows, the crowds, the laughter,
the music.
ANGLE - CROWD
A CROWD OF PEOPLE run by Malcolm yelling and screaming.
CROWD
The Brown Bomber, The Brown Bomber,
Joe Louis, the heavyweight champion
of the world. Joe got the belt back.
Lawd have mercy. Great day in the
morning.
CLOSE - MALCOLM
He runs after them.
EXT. 125TH AND LENOX AVENUE
All traffic has stopped, there is a huge spontaneous
celebration going on. Black folks are everywhere, it seems
as if all of Harlem is out on the streets. The citizens of
Harlem are hugging, kissing, drinking, dancing, folks are
hanging from street lamps, yelling out their windows, holding
up hand-made JOE LOUIS banners, everyone has great reason to
be joyous. The heavyweight champion of the world is a BLACK
MAN -- JOE LOUIS, THE BROWN BOMBER, he has regained his
championship.
CLOSE: - MALCOLM
Malcolm quickly looks at his watch, he's running late for
his train, as he fights his way through the crowd like a
salmon going upstream, the CAMERA CRANES up to see him
eventually get lost in a sea of BLACK HUMANITY "cutting
loose."
FADE OUT.
FADE IN:
EXT. SEVENTH AVENUE - NIGHT
Malcolm, newly conked and sharp as a tack (zoot suit, trouser
crease like a knife's edge, orange knob-toed shoes) walks
toward his goal:
Small's Paradise.
The street is crowded with PEOPLE, KIDS and HUSTLERS.
YOUNG HOOKER
Slow down, daddy, what's your hurry?
Lemme show you somepin brand new.
Malcolm smiles "No thanks" keeps moving.
HUSTLER
Hey, man, hundred-dollar ring --
diamond; and a ninety dollar watch.
Take the both of them for a quarter;
twenty-five bucks.
Malcolm waves; he's not having any. Goes on.
EXT. SMALL'S PARADISE - NIGHT
Before entering, Malcolm sharps himself a bit, picking off
some lint, cocking his hat. And enters.
INT. SMALL'S PARADISE - NIGHT
The restaurant is crowded, both at the bar and at the tables
beyond.
The immediate impression is of subdued well-being, of decorum,
of easy affluence. This is the world Malcolm wants into. He
digs it, drinking in its details.
ANGLE - BAR
A big man, FOX, accidentally bumps into Malcolm almost
knocking over.
MALCOLM
The word is excuse me.
FOX
Look, country boy, you shouldn't
have been in my way.
Everyone becomes quiet in the bar.
FOX
So what are you gonna do? Go run
home to your Mama.
Malcolm grabs a bottle off the bar counter and with lightning
speed brings it crashing down on Fox's head. As he lays on
the floor with head bleeding, Malcolm kicks him in the stomach
two times. It's done, the fight is over and people pull him
off of Fox.
MALCOLM
Don't ever again in life step on my
Florsheims again, and never talk-
bout my mother.
ANGLE WITH MALCOLM AND THE BARTENDER
MALCOLM
Gimme a whiskey.
BARTENDER pours him a double.
MALCOLM
I ordered a single, Jack.
BARTENDER
The double's on that gentleman. Jack!
He points.
ARCHIE AT THE TABLE - FROM MALCOLM'S POV
The elderly man nods. He is big, he is very black. The same
color as Malcolm's father.
CLOSE - MALCOLM
He raises his glass, toasts Archie and downs it. Then leaning
into the bar, asks:
MALCOLM
Who is he, man?
BARTENDER
That's West Indian Archie.
MALCOLM
Whut's he do?
The bartender would not normally answer this, but Malcolm is
the man of the moment, so the bartender speaks:
BARTENDER
This and that.
Malcolm nods, then looks over again at Archie -- in
appreciation.
Archie wiggles a finger for him to come over.
AT ARCHIE'S TABLE
Malcolm is standing.
ARCHIE
Sit down. We ain't fixing to eat
you. You look brand new in town.
Pretty handy with a bottle.
MALCOLM
He had it coming.
Malcolm sits. There are no introductions. He just nods at
SAMMY and CADILLAC.
ARCHIE
What they call you?
MALCOLM
Red, and I ain't no punk.
ARCHIE
You better not be. Cause if a cat
toe you down in this town, you better
stand up or make tracks.
SAMMY
Man live by his rep.
ARCHIE
That's a fact. What you do, boy?
MALCOLM
I'm working trains. Selling.
ARCHIE
Bet you like that shit.
MALCOLM
Keeps me out of the army.
ARCHIE
When they want your ass, won't nothing
keep you out.
MALCOLM
Not this boy... I ain't fighting
their war. I got my own. Right chere.
Heard tell you're a good man to know.
ARCHIE
Heard where?
MALCOLM
Where I come from. Boston.
Sammy and Cadillac are watching a little skeptically. Archie
is flattered.
ARCHIE
Sombitch and I ain't never been to
Beantown.
MALCOLM
Man's rep travels.
ARCHIE
How 'bout that?
Then seeing Sammy and Cadillac's dubious visages, Archie
adds:
ARCHIE
You ain't bullshitting me, is you,
boy?
MALCOLM
My papa taught me one thing: don't
never bullshit a West Indian bullshit
artist.
Archie laughs. Even Sammy smiles. Cadillac still holds his
judgment.
ARCHIE
Is your papa West Indian?
MALCOLM
No, my mama. She's from Grenada.
ARCHIE
I like you, country.
SAMMY
Only where'd you get them goddam
vines.
CADILLAC
And them shoes. Oh, my.
ARCHIE
Yeah, got to do something about you.
SAMMY
You putting a hurtin' on my vision.
Sammy covers his eyes. Malcolm plays off the insults.
MALCOLM
Where can I get a hold of you?
ARCHIE
YOU can't. I'll get a hold of you.
MALCOLM
Lemme write it down for you.
Malcolm reaches for a pencil.
ARCHIE
Don't never write nothing down. File
it up here, like I do.
(touching his head)
'Cause if they can't find no paper
they ain't got no proof. Ya dig?
MALCOLM
Yes, sir.
Archie looks at him sharply.
ARCHIE
Boy, look me in the face.
Malcolm does so.
ARCHIE
Did you just now con me?
MALCOLM
Yes, sir.
ARCHIE
Why?
MALCOLM
'Cause I want in. And it don't take
a lot to know you there, daddy.
Archie and Sammy laugh at his directness. Cadillac smiles.
Archie pushes back his chair, about to get up.
ARCHIE
I got me a little run to make.
Malcolm has suddenly been excluded and he wants desperately
back in.
MALCOLM
Can I run with you, Mr. Archie?
Archie eyes him, weighing him seriously.
ARCHIE
I like your heart and I like your
style. You might just do, Little.
Lessen you got to git back to that
train job.
MALCOLM
I done told the man what he could do
with his train.
ARCHIE
When?
MALCOLM
Just now.
The three established hustlers smile at the newcomer in their
midst.
ARCHIE
Come on, baby. We going shopping...
INT. ARCHIE'S ROOM - NIGHT
Malcolm is looking at himself in a mirror in Archie's room.
He has on the full outfit now, together with a new white on
white shirt and a Sulka tie. Looks great.
ARCHIE
Just the middle button, baby. Just
the middle one.
Malcolm buttons the jacket and turns around, demonstrating
for Archie's inspection.
ARCHIE
You looking good, Little. Real clean.
Clean as the Board of Health. But
you missing something.
MALCOLM
What?
ARCHIE
Frisk me, baby. Give me a real pat
down.
Malcolm doesn't understand, but he senses something -- and
becomes excited. Archie has walked over to him.
ARCHIE
Go ahead. Do me.
Malcolm frisks him carefully: pats his sides, his pockets,
under his arms, his legs. Archie is clean to the touch.
ARCHIE
(triumphantly)
And I'm still carrying.
He smacks the small of his back. Then, reaching under his
coat, he takes a revolver out from the middle of his back.
And hands it to Malcolm.
CLOSE - MALCOLM
Holding the deadly instrument, fascinated by it, hefting it,
feeling its power.
ARCHIE
It's yours, baby. Put it on.
Malcolm slips it carefully into the small of his back, behind
his trouser belt. His first gun: the feeling shines in his
eyes, Bogart has become a black man.
ARCHIE
How's it feel?
MALCOLM
Solid, daddy.
ARCHIE
Okay, baby. Now you outfitted. You
ready to tackle the street?
MALCOLM
Let 'em come. I'm ready.
INT/EXT. VARIOUS LOCATIONS - SERIES OF CLOSE SHOTS
A FIVE DOLLAR BILL. CAMERA GOES IN for the last three digits.
STOCK MARKET BOARD at the end of a day's trading. GO IN for
the last three numbers.
PREACHER in a pulpit, reading from the Bible.
PREACHER
Let us turn to the Gospel according
to St. John. Chapter 3, Verse 83.
A VOICE
3, 8, 3.
Malcolm scribbles the number onto a piece of paper.
A CASH REGISTER
Ringing up an amount: $2.98.
A VOICE
2, 9, 8.
Malcolm's hand writes out the number.
CLOSE - TRAIN TERMINAL SIGN
It reads "New York to Chicago." PAN DOWN TO SHOW "Train
arrives 1:05."
VOICE
1, 0, 5.
Archie with Malcolm as the latter writes down "1, 0, 5."
ARCHIE
I told you less paper, less trouble.
MALCOLM
I'm working on it.
ARCHIE
I keep all my numbers in my head.
I've never written any down.
He taps his head.
CLOSE - FACE OF AN ELDERLY WOMAN
ELDERLY WOMAN
I saw it in my dream. 5, 5, 5. And
last week my sister had a dream and
she hit.
CLOSE - FACE OF AN ELDERLY BARBER
BARBER
I got it from Ching Chow. It got to
be 2, 5, 1.
INT. MOVIE THEATRE - NIGHT
CLOSE - MALCOLM
WE ARE TIGHT ON Malcolm's intense face, he is pulling on a
fat joint.
We hear BOGART blasting his way out of a police blockade.
A phone rings.
INT. ARCHIE'S ROOM - NIGHT
There is music playing. Wordlessly, Archie sprinkles a few
grains of fine crystal onto a round shaving mirror. He slides
it across a table to Malcolm and hands him a short straw.
Sophia sits next to Malcolm; she and Archie are already high.
Malcolm leans over the mirror, placing the straw in his
nostril.
TIGHT CLOSE SHOT - MALCOLM'S FACE
In the mirror (something satanic about him) -- as he sniffs
the cocaine well into his nose.
A beat as he leans back waiting for the drug to take hold,
Malcolm looks into dressing mirror.
ARCHIE
It hit?
MALCOLM
Nnnnnnn!
Malcolm with gun in hand does his Bogart gangster imitation.
ARCHIE
Ain't nuthin' in the world to give
you that real deep cool. Like girl.
You there?
MALCOLM
I'm there, daddy. Wheww. I'm cool
enough to kill.
ARCHIE
Bet you are.
CLOSE - MALCOLM
FREEZE FRAME
SOPHIA'S VOICE
Malcolm, you're so funny.
She continues to laugh.
BACK TO REAL TIME.
MALCOLM
You got any money.
Before Sophia can answer he grabs her pocketbook, dumping
all the contents on the floor but the dough.
SOPHIA
Baby, I was gonna give it to you.
MALCOLM
Well, bitch you move too slow.
ARCHIE
Sometimes you got a big ugly mouth.
MALCOLM
Yeah, and I'm putting my money where
my ugly mouth is. I'm putting you
back in the numbers right now.
(to Sophia)
Baby, what's today?
Sophia is not sure of this, or anything else.
SOPHIA
August 2nd. I think. Yeah.
She laughs at her achievement.
MALCOLM
Daddy, put me down for a combination.
Combinate me, daddy: 8, 2, 1. You
got me? 8, 1, 2; 1, 8, 2...
With each number he throws a bill at Archie.
MALCOLM
1, 2, 8; 2, 8, 1. I git 'em all?
ARCHIE
(angrily taking the
money)
I'll take your goddam bet.
Malcolm slides his tongue down Sophia's throat.
EXT. SMALL'S PARADISE - NIGHT
A miserable night, raining and cold. Malcolm turns into the
bar.
INT. THE BAR - NIGHT
Shaking off the rain as Malcolm walks through. He is now a
familiar figure to the bar's DENIZENS. He is met with ad lib
cries: "Hey, Little," "Have a taste," from the men; and from
the women: "Come here, sugar," "Where you been?"
Malcolm acknowledges the greetings, strolls down in the bar.
It's immediately clear that a subtle change has come over
him. He is no longer the neophyte but a well-groomed, smooth,
fully polished hustler.
ANGLE - BOOTH
Malcolm sits into the booth and motions for the waitress.
ANGLE - HONEY
A fine copper tan waitress comes to him.
HONEY
I thought you said we were going to
the movies last night.
MALCOLM
I say a lot of things.
HONEY
And like a fool I believe it.
MALCOLM
Do your job, Get me a bourbon on the
rocks and a pack of Lucky's.
Honey stares at him.
MALCOLM
I said now.
She leaves. He leans his head back against the booth --
A FEMALE VOICE
Daniel come in yet, Honey?
Malcolm turns his head sharply at the sound of the voice.
It's familiar, a sound from the seemingly distant past. He
looks toward the bar and sees the women who asked the
question.
LAURA - MALCOLM'S POV
It's Laura, but not the Laura we last saw. She is still young,
still vulnerable, but she is bolder, more self-assured, more
vividly dressed.
She is unaware of Malcolm.
HONEY
Ain't that him now?
ANGLE FAVORING DANIEL. He is a young, cocky, nervous,
gingerbread colored boy who comes over to her quickly. He
goes to the corner of the bar and quickly grabs Laura's neck
and kisses her hungrily.
DANIEL
Hey, gorgeous, how you been? Waiting
long? Lemme see you. Wow!
It's obvious he's a junkie. And in need of a fix. QUICK!
SHOT - MALCOLM
Honey places his drink and cigarettes before him. He's
watching, taking it all in immediately. Laura is clearly
crazy about Daniel.
CLOSE - MALCOLM
He looks, then belts down his drink.
CLOSER - LAURA AND DANIEL
Daniel motions to her pocketbook and she takes out a five-
dollar bill.
He grabs it, and bolts for the door.
WITH MALCOLM AND HONEY
She has been watching Malcolm.
HONEY
You know that gal?
MALCOLM
Mind your own goddamn business...
She comes in a lot?
HONEY
'Bout every other night, Red.
MALCOLM
With him?
Honey nods.
MALCOLM
She know?
HONEY
If she got eyes, she do.
ANGLE - LAURA
Walking toward the door, looking for Daniel. She leaves the
bar.
CLOSE - MALCOLM AND HONEY
MALCOLM
Is she hooking?
HONEY
Not yet. But the way things going,
that boy gonna turn her out any day.
Malcolm smacks the table in frustration.
HONEY
You stuck on her?
CLOSE - GLASS
Malcolm's glass on the table is trembling.
MALCOLM
Shut up, bitch.
He raises his arm to hit her and it is held back before it
can find its mark.
ARCHIE
Don't do that.
Archie is standing above him. Malcolm nods, and Archie lets
his arm go; standing next to him is Sophia.
ARCHIE
Honey, he didn't mean it.
Archie wiggles his fingers and Honey goes, but not before
throwing daggers at Malcolm and Sophia. Archie sits down,
takes out a cigar. For a good beat there is a coolness between
them. Then Malcolm reaches over and lights Archie's cigar.
Sophia stares at her man, he then motions for her to sit
down beside him.
ARCHIE
Thanks. You got it. Who's beating on
you, Red? You looking a little up
tight.
The father-son thing is back, but Malcolm will never again
be the student.
MALCOLM
Daddy, where's my money?
ARCHIE
What you talking?
MALCOLM
You owe me six big ones.
Archie looks at him, non-comprehending.
MALCOLM
1, 2, 8 hit, didn't it?
ARCHIE
You din't have no 1, 2, 8.
MALCOLM
Was you that high? Old man, I threw
the slats at you. I said to combinate
me.
ARCHIE
You never had it.
MALCOLM
The bitch was there.
Archie doesn't even look at Sophia.
ARCHIE
Shit, what else she gonna say?
MALCOLM
Then skip it, man. But you slipping,
baby. You done slipped.
Archie is controlling himself. Everyone in Small's is all
ears, a falling out between Malcolm and Archie -- their reps
are at stake.
ANGLE. Archie looks at Sammy. Sammy is neutral. Archie digs
in his pockets, comes up with a roll. He peels off six $100
bills and throws them on the table in front of himself, as
he gets up.
MALCOLM
Oh, sit down, man. What you tasting?
I'm buying.
ARCHIE
I ain't drinking hot piss with you.
Come on, Sam.
SAMMY
Be right there.
Archie goes.
SAMMY
Twenty-two years he didn't never
forget no number.
MALCOLM
Got to be a first time, daddy-o.
SAMMY
He gonna, check the collector he
turn into. His rep is on the line,
boy, and so's yours. If you lying,
one of you is dead.
MALCOLM
Ain't gonna be this mother.
Sammy goes.
MALCOLM
Come on, sweetlips, I got us some g-
i-r-l, girl. Let's you and me fly.
EXT. ONYX CLUB - NIGHT
The well-known 52nd Street nightspot features Billie Holiday.
A stand-up cutout of her is outside.
INT. ONYX CLUB - NIGHT
This is a plush nightclub, with a mixed black and white
AUDIENCE. Some of the hustlers from Small's are in evidence.
CLOSE - BILLIE
Lady Day starts into "YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT LOVE IS."
ANGLE - TABLE
Malcolm and Sophia high as a kite and on the town.
CLOSE - ARCHIE
He makes his way toward Malcolm's table. There is murder in
his eyes.
ANGLE - TABLE
ARCHIE
You're a damn liar.
CLOSE - ARCHIE
ARCHIE
You _took_ me, you bastard, and now
I'm taking you.
ANGLE - TABLE
MALCOLM
It's me or you, ain't it, Pops?
ARCHIE
You know it.
MALCOLM
I'll give you back the 600.
ARCHIE
I don't want your money.
MALCOLM
I'm wearing, Archie.
ARCHIE
There's two guns on you.
His eyes gesture. Malcolm looks:
MALCOLM'S POV
Sammy at the nearby bar: his hand in his coat pocket.
CLOSE - ARCHIE
His hand is also in his pocket.
MALCOLM
And every cat's watching, ain't they?
It's a toe-down.
ARCHIE
That's what it is. Walk on out.
MALCOLM
Let Billie finish.
ARCHIE
Now.
Archie backs away from the table, his gun on Malcolm.
ANGLE. As Sammy moves a step toward Malcolm, Malcolm rises
in his seat.
SOPHIA
You had the number.
MALCOLM
Baby, I got to let this old man win.
Keep the faith, and tell Billie I'll
see her later.
CLOSE - BILLIE
She knows what's going on.
ANGLE - Sammy and Archie are walking behind Malcolm, when he
pushes a waitress into their path with drinks flying
everywhere, Malcolm darts away.
INT. ENTRANCE TO THE TOILET
He races into the men's room.
ANGLE. Archie and Sammy run after him.
INT. MEN'S ROOM - NIGHT
There is an open window. Archie is leaning out, looking both
ways.
EXT. OUTSIDE THE MEN'S ROOM WINDOW - NIGHT FROM ARCHIE'S POV
A tiny alleyway. No one is visible.
ARCHIE
The dirty yellow rat bastard.
INT. MENS ROOM - NIGHT
SAMMY
Don't push it. You way ahead. You
back on top. That boy loves you,
man.
ARCHIE
What you say?
SAMMY
He gave it to you, Archie. He did.
EXT. THE STREET - NIGHT
Malcolm comes running out of an alleyway and onto the street.
He stops to catch his breath, to regain his composure. He is
shook up, frustrated, but mostly saddened. He then runs down
the block and into a CLOSEUP.
INT. LITTLE HOUSE - LANSING MICHIGAN - NIGHT (REMEMBERED
TIME) - FINAL FLASHBACK
CLOSE - EARL
Earl is sitting up in bed, he wakes his sleeping wife Louise,
next to her is a baby in a crib, another child. Malcolm sleeps
between Earl and her.
ANGLE - HOUSE
Outside the house are 5 members of THE BLACK LEGION. They
are dressed in the style of the KKK, but in black sheets
rather than white. WE SEE gasoline cans being passed around.
EARL
Somebody out there. Wake the children.
Earl starts to put on his overalls and reaches for his gun
which sits on a nearby chair when an explosion of flames
greets the house.
EARL
Everybody out. OUT! OUT! Get the
kids.
ANGLE - CHILDREN'S BEDROOM
Flames roar through the room and the Little kids are
hysterical. Louise rushes in and pushes them past the fire,
she has infant in hand covered in a blanket.
CLOSE - EARL
EXT. HOUSE - NIGHT
The entire house is in flames. The Little family stands in
front of it, just out of harm's way.
ANGLE - BLACK LEGION
They sit on their horses watching the results of their work.
CLOSE - BLACK LEGION LEADER
BLACK LEGION LEADER
Boy, good thing we're good Christians.
Nigger, it's time for you to leave
this town.
CLOSE - EARL
EARL
This here is 'pose to be a free
country.
CLOSE - BLACK LEGION LEADER
BLACK LEGION LEADER
Rev, we warned you 'bout that Garvey
preaching, stirring up the good nigras
here. Boy, next time you're a dead
nigger.
CLOSE - EARL
EARL
I ain't a boy. I'm a man, and a real
man don't hide behind no bedsheets.
Earl takes his pistol out from behind his back and fires
above their heads.
EARL
Take these here bullets for dem
sheets.
ANGLE - BLACK LEGION
The bullets send the Black Legion flying into the glorious
D.W. Griffith moonlit night.
ANGLE - HOUSE
The burning house collapses behind the Little family.
ANGLE - EARL AND LOUISE
LOUISE
Earl, I know you a better shot than
that. You shoulda killed 'em all,
shot 'em dead.
EARL
Just wanted to scare 'em, they won't
be bothering us no more.
CLOSE - YOUNG MALCOLM
Young Malcolm stares at his father while the house still
burns behind him, no doubt drawing on the great courage
displayed by his father.
EARL
They won't be here no time soon. I'm
a MAN!
EXT. STREET - LANSING - NIGHT (REMEMBERED TIME)
It's raining cats and dogs and it's foggy. We hear a big
thud, then a grunt and Earl Little falls across the trolley
tracks, the sound of men running away is heard in the
distance.
ANGLE - A STREETCAR APPROACHES ANGLE - EARL ON TRACKS
He has been beaten to a bloody pulp.
ANGLE - CLOSER SHOT OF STREETCAR APPROACHING
CLOSE - EARL
He opens his one good eye.
CLOSE - STREETCAR MOTORMAN
He sees something ahead in the fog and rain.
ANGLE - MOTORMAN'S POV
CLOSE - HAND REACHES BRAKE LEVER CLOSE - STREETCAR WHEELS
STOPPING, SPARKS FLY
CLOSE - MOTORMAN
Winces and then makes the Sign of the Cross.
ANGLE - LONG SHOT OF PASSENGERS
Jumping out of the streetcar to attend to Earl.
PASSENGER'S VOICE
Somebody get a doctor.
MOTORMAN'S VOICE
No doctor, get him a priest.
VOICE OF MALCOLM
My father's skull, on one side was
crushed in, and then laid across
some tracks, for a streetcar to run
him over. His body was cut almost in
half. My father, Earl Little lived
two and a half hours in that
condition. Negroes were stronger
than they are now.
INT. A CAR - NIGHT
Shorty is driving with Sophia in the front seat. Malcolm is
in the back. They are in the country -- outside New York.
SHORTY
Man, I'm glad we got you out of there.
With West Indian Archie on your ass,
your name on the wire -- Boston the
best goddam place in the world for
you -- things are too hot and it's
not even summer.
Malcolm has withdrawn within himself. He takes out a packet
of cocaine and sniffs it.
SOPHIA
We'll take it easy. I got a place
fixed up on Harvard Square. How's
that sound?
SHORTY
Yeah. Cool it and lay dead for a
while, Homeboy. And don't worry none.
The drug takes hold. Malcolm is out of it.
SHORTY
I'll stake you, baby. I got my band.
I'm blowing great sax. Hell, you
ain't even heard us --
He and Sophia keep talking it up, trying to bolster Malcolm.
CLOSE - MALCOLM
Stoned, his nose running, Malcolm stares out of the window
at the receding landscape. FREEZE FRAME.
VOICE OF MALCOLM X
Like every hustler I was trapped.
Cats that hung together trying to
find a little security, to find an
answer -- found nothing. Cats that
might have probed space or cured
cancer -- (Hell, Archie might have
been a mathematical genius) -- all
victims of whitey's social order.
Music of a dance combo heard in BG.
VOICE OF MALCOLM X
Three things I was always scared of:
a job, a bust and jail. I realized
then I wasn't afraid of anything. I
didn't care.
INT. HARVARD SQUARE APARTMENT - DAY
Shorty, Sophia and PEG face Malcolm -- stoned in a chair.
PEG is 17, Sophia's kid sister and Shorty's date.
SHORTY
You got to eat somethin', Red.
SOPHIA
You want eggs, baby?
MALCOLM
Yeah and get a slave, too, huh, baby?
SHORTY
I ain't doing bad.
MALCOLM
Man, the name musicians ain't got
shit. How you gonna have something?
I need a stake, a bundle, a grand.
My woman can't afford it; my homey
ain't got it. How about you baby?
What you got?
Peg smiles, afraid of Malcolm.
SHORTY
Jesus, Red, she's just a kid.
MALCOLM
Jesus ain't got nothin' to do with
this.
Shorty eyes him with amazement. The degree of Malcolm's
depravity surprises even him.
MALCOLM
Surprise you, baby? Well, that's the
way it is. What kind of scratch you
got on you? Turn out. Let me have
it. All of you --
Glances exchanged among Shorty, Sophia and Peg. Shorty reaches
into his pocket.
INT. HARVARD SQUARE APARTMENT - NIGHT
Malcolm with Sophia, Shorty and Peg around him.
MALCOLM
We gone rob this town blind. Anybody
want out say so.
Nobody answers; they'll go with Malcolm.
MALCOLM
Okay. I got the stake and I got a
fence. I need a driver.
PEG
How about Rudy?
MALCOLM
Who's Rudy?
SHORTY
Yeah, Rudy.
JUMP CUT:
SAME LOCATION - LATER
RUDY is with them. He is a good-looking, very-light skinned
black, tough as they come.
RUDY
I'm half wop, half nigger and ain't
afraid of no one.
MALCOLM
What can you do?
They are in the process of appraising each other, seeing
which one has the bigger penis.
RUDY
You name it, feller.
SHORTY
Rudy does catering. Rich joints on
Beacon Hill.
MALCOLM
That ain't bad.
SHORTY
Tell him about Baldy.
RUDY
Yeah. This rich ofay, like he's 60.
I give him a bath on Friday.
Peg and Sophia are listening, a little horrified.
RUDY
Then I put him to bed and pour talcum
powder on him like a baby. He gets
his jollies off.
MALCOLM
So what about him?
RUDY
So? The man got silver, china, rugs --
MALCOLM
Might be all right.
RUDY
Might be, shit. Man, I know this
town. I got my own fences. Who the
hell are you? Who put you in charge?
Malcolm smiles easily.
MALCOLM
You want to be the head man?
RUDY
That's right.
MALCOLM
Head nigger in charge?
RUDY
I'm the man.
MALCOLM
Okay, baby. Let's flip for it. Flip
this.
He takes out his gun, a .38 revolver. He dumps the shells on
the table, then reinserts one shell and twirls the barrel.
MALCOLM
I'll flip first.
He puts the revolver to his own head.
PEG
Don't.
Malcolm squeezes the trigger. It clicks. Now he twirls the
barrel again and hands the gun to Rudy.
MALCOLM
Your flip, baby.
Rudy is staring at him; so are they all. Malcolm puts the
gun to his temple again.
SOPHIA
Red, for God's sake --
He pulls the trigger a second time. Click. Now he twirls it
again.
SHORTY
Christ, Red, no --
PEG
I can't stand it.
Malcolm puts the gun to Rudy's head.
MALCOLM
Your turn, Rudy. You want me to flip
for you?
RUDY
Jesus Christ, no. Okay, okay. You
got it, you got it! You're the boss.
A beat.
MALCOLM
Don't never try to cross someone who
ain't afraid to die.
SHORTY
You the man!
Nodding accord from Rudy and Shorty. Sophia can hardly stand.
MALCOLM
All right. We'll start with Old Talcum
Powder. You draw the house, where
everything is. You and Peg go out
and buy them tools like I told you.
We hit tonight on account of in the
daytime some of us got that high
visibility. Ya dig?
Rudy is at a table drawing a diagram; the girls have left.
Shorty and Malcolm alone at a window.
SHORTY
What did you do, Homey, palm it?
MALCOLM
Yeah.
He breaks open the gun -- the bullet is in the next slot to
be fired.
MALCOLM
Palmed it right in the goddam chamber.
SHORTY
Jesus Christ, Homey, you are nuts.
Malcolm starts laughing: a silent, hysterical laugh.
EXT/INT. A BEACON HILL HOUSE - NIGHT
THE ROBBERY, IN QUICK CUTS:
-- A door lock is picked by Sophia.
-- Pencil flashlight passes an upstairs window.
-- Rudy in the car.
-- Silver removed from a drawer by Shorty.
-- Peg walking down the street, as lookout.
-- Malcolm takes off his shoes.
-- The sleeping OLD MAN, OLD TALCUM POWDER, as Malcolm takes
a watch, a wallet from within inches of his pillow. Then,
more boldly, picks up the man's hand and removes a ring from
one of his fingers. Shorty watching with bated breath, he's
about to have a heart attack.
INT. MANSION - DAY
A Boston matron, MRS. CRAWFORD, is showing the girls her
collection of U.S. silver. In a fine New England home.
PEG
Beacon Hill survey.
SOPHIA
We're doing a survey for the Athenaeum
Society -- We wondered if you'd permit
us to include your collection in the
catalog of Great New England Antiques --
?
MRS. CRAWFORD
Now these are my prizes. My Paul
Revere silver coffee service.
SHOT -- AN ARRANGEMENT OF MUSEUM-QUALITY PIECES
PEG
Lovely, just lovely.
Sophia is casing the room carefully as the matron continues.
MRS. CRAWFORD
And my husband's collection of
scrimshaw should be included.
SOPHIA
May we see it?
MRS. CRAWFORD
Won't you step this way?
INT. A COURTROOM - DAY
The prisoners face the bench: Peg, Sophia, Shorty, Rudy and
Malcolm.
VOICE OF MALCOLM X
The average first offender gets two
years for burglary. We were all first
offenders. That's what Sophia and
Peg drew --
JUDGE
Two years in the Women's Reformatory
at Framingham.
VOICE OF MALCOLM X
But our crime wasn't burglary. It
was balling white girls. They gave
us the book.
JUDGE
Burglary, count one -- 8 to 10 years;
count two, 8 to 10 years; count three,
8 to 10 years...
He continues giving them 8 to 10 years, behind Malcolm's
comment:
VOICE OF MALCOLM X
Fourteen counts of 8 to 10 years.
JUDGE
The sentences to run concurrently.
VOICE OF MALCOLM X
Shorty thought he hit us with 114
years till I explained what
concurrently meant. It meant a minimum
sentence of 10 years hard labor at
the Charlestown State Prison. The
date was February 1946. I wasn't
quite 21. I had not yet begun to
shave.
CAMERA HAS GONE IN for a TIGHT CLOSE SHOT of Malcolm's face:
a hardened hustler, pimp, dope peddler and now jailbird at
the ripe old age of 20.
FREEZE FRAME.
CUT TO BLACK.
FADE IN:
INT. THE CELL CORRIDOR - DAY
It is the afternoon lockup: about 3:30 P.M. The line of
PRISONERS stands in front of their cells, as two guards,
WILKINS and BARNES, one white, one black, slowly walk past
the P.M. check.
The procedure is routine, done without emotion, as it is
done three times a day: the black guard calls out the
prisoner's name, the prisoner answers with his number, then
steps into his cell. Whereupon the white guard slams the
door shut and locks it.
GUARD WILKINS
Jackson.
PRISONER
A 231549.
Door is slammed and gate locked.
CLOSE - MALCOLM
Each time a gate is locked his tension increases. His face
is a mask hiding his fury, violence and the hunger of an
advanced junkie who has not had a fix in over a week.
GUARD WILKINS
Crichlow.
SECOND PRISONER
A 5991301.
Same procedure.
ANGLE. SHOOTING PAST MALCOLM, FAVORING TWO OTHER PRISONERS.
The guards are approaching Malcolm's cell. Past Malcolm are
two experienced PRISONERS who have been watching Malcolm
during the scene. They whisper surreptitiously without moving
their bodies, and barely moving their
lips. One of the prisoners is PETE, a huge barrel of a man,
a lifer -- beaten by the system and a lifetime of
incarceration. The other is BEMBRY, a man of no great
physicality, but who possesses immediately the gift of
leadership. It is clear that Pete and others look up to him
with great respect.
PETE
Looka Satan.
BEMBRY
I see him.
Bembry's language is very unhip. He speaks carefully. He
respects words and he respects himself, something which sets
him apart from all the other prisoners.
PETE
He bout to bust.
BEMBRY
No, he's not gonna bust. But he's
not gonna fix his face to please
them, neither.
ANGLE. The check-in has reached the man next to Malcolm.
GUARD WILKINS
Harrington.
THIRD PRISONER
B 775717.
GUARD BARNES
Yeah. Lucky Seven.
Door slammed and locked.
CLOSE SHOT - MALCOLM
The guards are now in front of him.
GUARD WILKINS
Little.
Malcolm doesn't move.
GUARD BARNES
State your number.
Malcolm doesn't answer, doesn't blink.
GUARD WILKINS
Little.
ANGLE. Bembry in the FG of the scene.
BEMBRY
He's a new fish, Mr. Barnes. Give
him a break.
It's a bold step by Bembry and the prisoners look over at
him with admiration. Barnes accepts the irregularity and
calls over to Bembry.
GUARD BARNES
Okay, I'll give him a break. Now
state your number, Little.
CLOSE - MALCOLM
MALCOLM
I forgot it.
CLOSE SHOT - BEMBRY
Shaking his head in anguish. He knows what's coming.
ANGLE. Barnes makes a small gesture and Wilkins seizes
Malcolm, grabbing his head and uniform at the same time.
Stenciled on the chest of his faded dungarees is Malcolm's
number. The guard bends Malcolm's head to the number, shoving
the material in Malcolm's face.
GUARD WILKINS
Can you read, boy? Thass your number.
GUARD BARNES
Now say it.
MALCOLM
I'm Malcolm Little, not no goddam
number.
GUARD WILKINS
Oh, yes you is, baby; thass all you
is.
And slams Malcolm hard. He slumps to the floor.
GUARD BARNES
Two days in the hole. Take him.
Wilkins drags Malcolm off as Barnes resumes the roll call.
GUARD BARNES
Burnham.
FOURTH PRISONER
A 551613, sir.
JUMP CUT:
INT. A SOLITARY CELL - DAY
Only the faintest light comes into the hideous room, which
consists of a mattress and a slop bucket. If Malcolm were to
stretch out his arms, he could touch both walls. He lies
half on the stone floor, half on the mattress.
A clang as the heavy door is opened.
GUARD CONE
Time's up. Get on your feet.
Malcolm stands.
GUARD CONE
Little, state your number.
A beat as Malcolm stares at the man, refusing to answer.
GUARD CONE
You just drew two more days.
And slams the door shut.
INT. SOLITARY - NIGHT
It is almost pitch black. We can almost smell the stench of
the room.
Malcolm sits stony-faced, his back against a wall.
TRUSTEE'S VOICE
Water.
The long spigot of a watering can is pushed through an opening
in the cell door. Malcolm, animal-like, leaps at it and bends
the spout, wrenching it off in his fury.
INT. SOLITARY CELL - DAY
TWO-SHOT - A WHITE CHAPLAIN AND MALCOLM
CHAPLAIN GILL
Do you know what a friend you have
in Jesus, son?
MALCOLM
Preacher, take your tin Jesus and
the Virgin Mary, both, and shove
'em.
Door slam.
INT. SOLITARY - NIGHT
Malcolm is alone at the bars: the hope of freedom filling
his mind.
Malcolm pulls at the bars, tries to shake them in impotent
fury. He pounds the walls. Empty, sick, defeated, his nails
scratching the walls, he slides to the floor of the cell.
It is the low point of his life: nowhere to turn, nothing to
hope for.
INT. SOLITARY - LATER
Guard Cone is shaking him into consciousness.
GUARD CONE
All right, Little. Get up.
Malcolm just about makes it. The guard is in half-focus.
GUARD CONE
State your number.
He is beaten.
MALCOLM
A 859912.
A shower is heard.
INT. SHOWER ROOM - DAY
Malcolm stands with bowed head as the hot water cascades
over his broken body. He lets it run and run, but it cannot
really touch his problems. On a nearby bench are his clothes,
his towel and the makings for a conk: lye, Vaseline, comb,
etc.
He turns for a moment as he sees he is being watched by
someone. It's Bembry standing nearby. Malcolm turns away,
trying to find solace in the water. He wants no part of the
world or anyone, just to be left alone.
BEMBRY
I know how you feel. Like you want
to lay down and die.
Malcolm shows no flicker of interest or understanding.
BEMBRY
I brought you something.
He puts down a small matchbox on the bench next to Malcolm's
things.
Malcolm eyes him like a snake -- but the punishment has
reduced him to deep insecurity and his belligerence is more
cautious than angry.
MALCOLM
Who the hell are you?
BEMBRY
Put it in a cup of water. It's nutmeg.
MALCOLM
Man, what do you want?
BEMBRY
You need something. It's not a reefer,
but it'll help some.
MALCOLM
Man, get outa my face. I ain't
nobody's punk.
But he steps out of the shower, fills a tin cup with water
and empties the contents of the matchbox into it. And drinks
it down quickly.
BEMBRY
Sit down or it might knock you down.
Malcolm sits, toweling himself as the spice hits him. For
the first, he smiles; this is the first relief he has tasted
in prison. He at Bembry wonderingly, unable to figure him
out.
MALCOLM
If you ain't trying to punk me, what's
your hype?
BEMBRY
I can show you how to get out of
prison. And it's no hype.
MALCOLM
Talk, daddy, I'm listening. Hey that
ain't bad. You got some more?
BEMBRY
That's the last stuff you'll ever
get from me.
MALCOLM
What did you give it to me for then?
BEMBRY
'Cause you needed it. 'Cause you
couldn't hear me without it.
This is a new breed of cat; Malcolm has never met anyone
like him. He eyes him closely, as he slips into his clothes.
MALCOLM
What in the hell are you talking
about?
He begins to conk his hair, but is paying attention to what
Bembry is saying.
BEMBRY
I think you got more sense than any
cat in this prison. How come you are
such a fool?
Malcolm looks over, piqued.
BEMBRY
Nobody can bust out like Bogart does
it, in the movies. Because even if
you get out, you are still in prison.
Malcolm is putting the conk into his hair now.
MALCOLM
You ain't lying.
BEMBRY
When you go busting your fists against
a stone wall, you're not using your
brains. Cause that's what the white
man wants you to do. Look at you.
These last words are spoken sharply with disgust. Malcolm
turns his hands massaging the conk into his hair.
BEMBRY
Putting all that poison in your hair.
MALCOLM
Man, you been locked up too long,
everybody conks. All the cats.
BEMBRY
Why? Why does everybody conk?
MALCOLM
Cause I don't want to walk around
with my head all nappy, looking like --
BEMBRY
Like what? Looking like me? Like a
nigger?! Why don't you want to look
like what you are? What makes you
ashamed of being black?
MALCOLM
I ain't said I'm ashamed.
He turns the water on to wash out the conk -- which has begun
to burn.
Bembry restrains him, holding his arm.
MALCOLM
Leggo. I got to wash it out.
BEMBRY
Let it burn. Maybe you'll hear me
then.
But it is burning now.
MALCOLM
Man, you better get off me.
He wrenches away from Bembry and puts his head in the water.
BEMBRY
Sure, burn yourself, pain yourself,
put all that poison into your hair,
into your body -- trying to be white.
MALCOLM
Man, I don't want to hear all that.
BEMBRY
I thought you was smart. But you
just another one of them cats
strutting down the avenue in your
clown suit with all that mess on
you. Like a monkey. And the white
man sees you and he laughs. He laughs
because he knows you ain't white.
Malcolm is drying his hair, finishing his conk. But some of
what Bembry has said disturbs him.
MALCOLM
Who are you?
Malcolm is completely humiliated. Bembry sees this and stops
the barrage.
BEMBRY
The question is, who are you? You
are in the darkness, but it's not
your fault. Elijah Muhammad can bring
you into the light.
MALCOLM
Elijah who?
BEMBRY
Elijah Muhammad can get you out of
prison. Out of the prison of your
mind. Maybe all you want is another
fix. I thought you were smart.
And he is gone. Malcolm stands looking after him, a long
thoughtful moment. He is pulling the comb through his hair.
INT. PRISON LICENSE SHOP - DAY
PRISONERS are working on a beltline that stamps out and
finishes license plates. Bembry is on the stamping machines,
working as he talks to the other prisoners. Malcolm is
painting the plates, a little removed from Bembry, but
listening with interest. Barnes, with rifle, idles by a
window.
A whistle sounds, ending the work shift. The inmates quickly
file out into the yard. Bembry stays. Malcolm is half decided.
GUARD BARNES
You taking the yard?
BEMBRY
I'm staying.
Barnes gestures to Malcolm.
MALCOLM
Me too.
He goes.
BEMBRY
What you sniffing around for? I told
you I gave you your last fix.
MALCOLM
I ain't never seen a cat like you.
Ain't you scared talking like that
in front of an ofay?
BEMBRY
What's he gonna do to me he ain't
already done?
MALCOLM
You the only cat don't come on with
that "Whatcha know, daddy" jive; and
you don't cuss none.
BEMBRY
I respect myself. A man cuss because
he hasn't got the words to say what's
on his mind.
MALCOLM
Tell you this: you ain't no fool.
BEMBRY
Don't con me. Don't try...
MALCOLM
Okay, okay.
BEMBRY
Don't con me.
MALCOLM
What do you do with your time?
BEMBRY
I read. I study. Because the first
thing a black man has to do is respect
himself. Respect his body and his
mind. Quit taking the white man's
poison into your body: his cigarettes,
his dope, his liquor, his white woman,
his pork.
MALCOLM
That's what Mama used to say.
BEMBRY
Your mama had sense because the pig
is a filthy beast: part rat, part
cat, and the rest is dog.
Malcolm has been pondering all this and now grows animated
as he thinks he has come to the essence of a hustle.
MALCOLM
Come on, daddy, pull my coat. What
happens if you give all that up? You
get sick or somethin'? I pulled a
hustle once and got out of the draft.
BEMBRY
I'm telling you God's words, not no
hustle. I'm talking the words of
Elijah, the black man's God. I'm
telling you, boy, that God is black.
MALCOLM
What? Everybody knows God is White.
BEMBRY
But everything the white man taught
you, you learned. He told you you
were a black heathen and you believed
him. He told you how he took you out
of darkness and brought you to the
light. And you believed him. He taught
you to worship a blond, blue-eyed
God with white skin -- and you
believed him. He told you black was
a curse, you believed him. Did you
ever look up the word black in the
dictionary?
MALCOLM
What for?
BEMBRY
Did you ever study anything wasn't
part of some con?
MALCOLM
What the hell for, man?
BEMBRY
Go on, fool; the marble shooters are
waiting for you.
MALCOLM
Okay, okay. Show me, man.
CLOSE SHOT - A DICTIONARY
WE CAN READ the fine print of the definition:
DICTIONARY
Black, (blak), adj. Destitute of
light, devoid of color, enveloped in
darkness. Hence, utterly dismal or
gloomy, as "the future looked black."
MALCOLM'S VOICE
You understand them words?
BEMBRY'S VOICE
Read it.
PULLBACK TO SHOW Bembry and Malcolm in a small PRISON LIBRARY.
No one else is in the book-lined room.
MALCOLM
I can't make out that shit.
BEMBRY
Soiled with dirt, foul; sullen,
hostile, forbidding -- as a black
day. Foully or outrageously wicked,
as black cruelty. Indicating disgrace,
dishonor or culpability.
DICTIONARY
See also blackmail, blackball,
blackguard.
MALCOLM
Hey, they's some shit, all right.
BEMBRY
Now look up "white."
Bembry turns the pages of the dictionary to "w."
BEMBRY
Read it.
CLOSE SHOT - DICTIONARY DEFINITION OF "WHITE"
MALCOLM'S VOICE
White (whit), adj. Of the color of
pure snow; reflecting all the rays
of the spectrum. The opposite of
black, hence free from spot or