THE WEREWOLF OF THE USO - episode 9 (Patreon)

THE WEREWOLF OF THE USO - episode 9

STEAM WHISTLE OF A BOAT

SOUND OF WAVES AND SEAGULLS

ANNOUNCER Set sail for Excitement
Set sail for intrigue
Adventure is on the Horizon!

ANNOUNCER The Werewolf of the USO, episode 9

SHIP’S BELL RINGS - 6 BELLS - 3PM

ANNOUNCER While filming proceeds with the Rampart pictures crew – despite the baffling absence of actress Joanette Ferrell – Bertie and Duke nap away the afternoon, getting ready for a busy night, while Mac and Rose finish the drive to Silhouette pictures with an injured man in Kal's back seat – the barefoot stranger they collided with along the way.

MUSIC SWELLS

SCENE 1. SILHOUETTE PICTURES, BIG GATE

SOUND CAR IDLING NEARBY

SOUND BIG BRASS KNOCKER

ROSE Nice place. Is this how real Hawaiians live, Kal?

KAL Family that owns the Schumacher estate wouldn’t be real Hawaiians, Rose. Not Kanaka. Plantations like this are always owned by rich haole who bought in generations back when land was ... up for grabs.

MAC Rich or not, they don’t seem to be spending much on upkeep. This place is falling apart.

KAL Could just be the gate.

ROSE It does have a lovely crumbling gothic sort of feel, doesn’t it, Mac?

LULU [from above] A girl after my own heart.

KAL, ROSE, MAC [gasps of surprise]

LULU Atmosphere is everything.

MUSIC

SCENE 2. RAMPART PICTURES

SOUND PEOPLE NOISES, BETWEEN SCENES

OLIVIA Please tell me we’re done with the pier this time, Oscar. I will personally escort the reels wherever they need to go, if you will just let me rip myself out of this horrible costume and ceremonially burn it.

OSCAR Have Gumper get you out of it, Olivia. We can’t let anything go to waste just yet.

OLIVIA [annoyed, storming off] Ancy’s off in town. Maybe for the whole afternoon!

SOUND SHE LEAVES

MAISIE Looks like you need her, too, sir.

OSCAR What?

MAISIE You’ve lost a button. On your vest, there.

OSCAR Whatever. So Ancy’s out - Did Joanette maybe go with her?

MAISIE Miss Ferrell was absent long before Miss Gumper left.

OSCAR Does no one understand the meaning of a shooting schedule???

MUSIC

SCENE 3. SCHUMACHER ESTATE

SOUND OUTSIDE

SOUND FOLIAGE RUSTLES

MAC [recovering from the surprise] Are you, miss, perhaps, the gatekeeper here?

ROSE [to mac] Do gatekeepers hang out in trees, dressed all in black?

LULU [laughs] I can come down and open the gate… Ifyou convince me.

MAC We have an injured man in the car, and were hoping we could get some help.

KAL [quickly]  He jumped out in front of us before I could stop.

LULU Where were you headed, to be out this way?

ROSE Here. At least if this is Silhouette Pictures. I’m Rose, a friend of Amaya. I wanted to make sure she’s all right.

LULU Ahhhhh.

ROSE This is my brother Mac and our friend Kal.

SOUND CAR DOOR OPENS QUIETLY

LULU [appreciative and amused] ooh. And who’s that?

[NOTE: Rose, Mac, Kal, all turn in surprise as Zorion steps out of the car]

KAL Hey!

ROSE You shouldn’t—

MAC Look, we haven’t been--

ZORION [exhausted but determined] You will not keep me from her.

ROSE What?

LULU [laughs] I hope he means me.

ZORION [annoyed, louder]  Where is my promised bride?

MUSIC

SCENE 4. RAMPART PICTURES

SOUND GENERAL MOVEMENT, BACKGROUND NOISES

OSCAR Wells! Finally! Give me some good news!

WELLS [weak and ill sounding] Um, sir, good news?

OSCAR Where’s Joanette?

WELLS [almost breaking down] I- I haven’t seen her.

OSCAR What in sam hill’s wrong with you?

WELLS I – I don’t feel at all well, sir.

OSCAR Great. Everyone’s either missing or sick, and I'm coming apart at the seams! This day can’t get any worse.

WELLS [loud gasping sob]

SOUND WELLS RUNS OFF, GASPING

OSCAR  You’d think someone died. [on megaphone] Next one I can’t find is fired! Set up for scene 154! Get Monteith!

BUSTER [forwarding the command] Set up for scene 154!

MUSIC

SCENE 5. SCHUMACHER ESTATE

SOUND OUTSIDE NOISE

ROSE While I’m glad you’re not hurt, stranger, I don’t think you’re well enough to—

ZORION [almost a growl] Out of my way!

MAC [firm, annoyed] All right, that’s it.

SOUND STRUGGLE, MAC GRABS ZORION AND HOLDS HIM

MAC [up close, gritted out] You. Don’t. Growl. At. My. Sister.

ZORION [breathing hard, struggling a bit]

MAC [commanding, but less threatening] Say you’ll be civil, and we’ll help you as much as we can.

ZORION [A moment of his breathing, then he grunts assent] Mm-hmm.

MAC [still in charge] Good.

SOUND HE LETS GO

MAC I’m Mac, and my sister is Rose. Your name is…?

ZORION Zorion. [zoh-ree-ON]

LULU [butting in] I’m Lulu, and you boys are so entertaining!

ROSE Zorion, are you looking for Amaya?

ZORION [perking up, a bit desperate] Yes! Amaya! I must get her back.

ROSE You stay calm, and – like Mac said – we’ll help any way we can.

AMAYA [distant scream]

ZORION [roars and charges off]

SOUND HE CLIMBS OVER THE GATE AND LANDS ON THE OTHER SIDE WITHOUT EVEN SLOWING DOWN – VOICES CONTINUE OVER THESE SOUNDS

ROSE Wow.

LULU Ooh, I gotta see this!

SOUND CRASHING OF FOLIAGE AS SHE LEAVES

MAC Darn you, Lulu! Let us in, first!

ROSE Open the gate!

MUSIC

FAKE COMMERCIAL

ANNOUNCER Americans are no-nonsense purchasers. We like to know costs up front. That's why stores put price tags on their goods. We go shopping, do some basic addition, and voila! We have a budget.

SOUND MUSIC TURNS DARK

ANNOUNCER But what's the cost of negligence? The cost of not looking ahead to the future? A fathom of prevention can save you leagues of cure. The cost of travel without insurance can be significant.

SOUND MUSIC BRIGHTENS

ANNOUNCER That's why the Farwest Aid Society for Travelers F-A-S-T FAST! [fast effect] Is the best friend a traveler in the Pacific has. FAST [fast effect] offers the most reasonable travel insurance rates and is opening more offices every day to make sure you get where you're heading. Put your money where your life is, with FAST.

SCENE 6. SCENE SHOOTING AT SILHOUETTE

SOUND CAMERA IN BACKGROUND

SOUND FIRE CRACKLES

[NOTE Movie scene, both are emoting and intense]

AMAYA You are mine, Lionel Kingsley! You can never be rid of me! I will kill any woman who comes between us!

KINGSLEY [overdone yet unconvincing British accent] I’ve no wish to hurt you, Christina, but I can’t have you following me. I've a home and family tradition to protect.

AMAYA You swore you loved me! You made many promises!

KINGSLEY I know… but I never expected father to allow me to return. I wish you could have been reasonable – I would have provided for you. [rising sentence, ending with his hitting her>] But now, I fear I must make absolutely sure you cannot follow!

SOUND THUMP OF BLOW, BODY FALLS

AMAYA [scream as if injured, passes out, all acting]

KINGSLEY Now to reclaim my birthright—

SOUND ZORION'S BARE FOOTSTEPS APPROACH RAPIDLY

CROWD [noises of surprise and consternation]

ZORION [roaring as he approaches] You do not touch her!!

SOUND THUMP, TUSSLE

KINGSLEY [screaming, REAL panic, no accent] Ahh! Ahh! Yah!!! Get off ME!!!! Help!

TIMOTHY [director, on a megaphone] CUT! CUT dammit!!!! Who the heck is that?

SOUND OTHERS RUNNING UP

MAC [slightly out of breath] I’m guessing that is the lady in question?

ROSE [slightly out of breath too] Yeah.

MUSIC

SCENE 7. HOTEL ROOM

SOUND WASHING NOISES FROM BEHIND BATHROOM DOOR

SOUND PHONE RINGS

BERTIE [waking up a bit] Ohh. Mmm.

SOUND PICKS UP PHONE

BERTIE Hello?

SOUND TAP TURNS OFF IN BATHROOM

BERTIE Perfect. Thanks very much.

SOUND HANGS UP PHONE

SOUND BATHROOM DOOR OPENS, DUKE LEANS OUT

DUKE Yeah?

BERTIE Rasmussen came through, all right. He says he left an envelope for us at the front desk.

DUKE Is this when I ask you what we’re getting ourselves into, Bertie?

BERTIE You and I, Duke, are taking a brief excursion into the local underworld.

MUSIC

SCENE 8. SILHOUETTE, THE LADIES

SOUND CROWD MUMBLES IN BACKGROUND

AMAYA I will not speak with him. You may take him away.

ROSE You never even met him, Amaya. You should at least talk to him.

LULU Doesn’t hurt, he’s good looking. All dark and broody and shoeless.

AMAYA I am busy making movie. Talk when finish. Maybe.

ROSE What are we supposed to do with him in the meanwhile?

LULU I know what I want to--

AMAYA This much do I care.

SOUND SNAP OF FINGERS

AMAYA And no more.

MUSIC – JUST A SWOOP ACROSS

SCENE 9. SILHOUETTE

SOUND SAME SCENE, THE BOYS SIDE

MAC You can’t just go barging into the middle of things, like that, Zorion.

ZORION It is for this I travel so far – to rescue this woman.

KAL Don’t seem like she need rescuing, bruddah.

ZORION Her parents say she is stolen.

MAC Rose says Amaya left home of her own free will.

ZORION Why would sheknow?

MAC My sister spent a long night talking with Amaya, and apparently got a pretty good idea of her side of the story.

SOUND TIMOTHY WALKS UP

TIMOTHY Have you sorted out this … person…? We really need to get back to work.

ZORION Amaya must return with me.

MAC [sigh] Not if she doesn’t want to. Come on.

MUSIC

SCENE 10. IN A CAB IN CITY

SOUND CAR NOISE, CITY SOUNDS PASS BY

DUKE Can ya clue me in a bit, Bertie?

BERTIE I’ve been pondering what sort of outfit might need full size film stock, Duke, and only one answer came to mind.

DUKE [duh] A movie company?

BERTIE [prompting] Butone which might resort to underhanded methods?

DUKE Uh, someone making Illegal movies, I guess. [excited]  Is it spies, maybe?

BERTIE Spies are more likely to want microfilms. Not feature films.

DUKE Well, something else underhanded, then?

BERTIE Precisely. So I asked Rasmussen if there were any known producers of “blue movies” in the area. He checked his contacts and found that there was a general embargo on importing film stock to the territory, due to the recent proliferation of the vile trade.

DUKE Blue movies? Stag films? I know they’re pretty shady, but why d’you sound so het up over 'em?

BERTIE Wherever there’s compromising photos and films, there’s always blackmail as well. Too many young and naive women fall under the spell of these illicit producers and endanger their chances for a decent future.

DUKE Now lookee here, Bertie, I’ve gone out with more than a few striptease artists in my day, and none of them gals would call themselves victims. They got pride in what they do!

BERTIE [grim] They're hardly the type who get tricked, either – it’s innocent girls on vacation who get their first taste of island air and rum, and get taken advantage of - that’s who I’m concerned about.

MUSIC

SCENE 11. SILHOUETTE

SOUND GENERAL CROWD COMMOTION AS SCENE RESETS

TIMOTHY Can you please see yourselves out? We have work to do. [on megaphone] Re-set the scene!

MAC I have a few questions for you, if you’re the one in charge here. They said I should just look for the big hat.

TIMOTHY You’d wear one too, if you burned as quickly as I do.

MAC I’ve heard that about gingers. But you arethe director?

TIMOTHY I’m Timothy Schumacher, yes.  Perhaps you've heard of me?

MAC [musing, significant] No, but you do look oddly familiar.

TIMOTHY [annoyed sigh] What do you need?

MAC [suddenly struck] As a matter of curiosity, is it typical in movie making, to have a perfectly fine house to use, and yet build whole rooms out on the grounds, instead?

TIMOTHY [oddly evasive] Movie sets need space. There's a lot more machinery than anyone realizes. Most rooms in most houses are just too ...constricted. And this way, we can use the sun for lighting.

MAC [slightly suspicious] Oh.

LULU Plus, the family doesn’t want to be tripping over us, all over the house.

MAC Hmm.

TIMOTHY [overexplaining] Of course, we had limited budget to set all this up, so the set’s not a permanent building. We’ve used a couple of the old outbuildings, that won’t get in the way of the family. We have the old stable kitted up as a crew barracks, and the icehouse set aside for film storage.

MAC Interesting. [brisker] What I actually came out here to ask, is - perhaps you’re aware there’s another film crew on the island?

TIMOTHY [slightly off, as if he’s lying, but just a little] They’ve got nothing to do with us. [aside, to Lulu] Have you seen where I left my glasses?

MAC Hmm. They’re experiencing some thefts—

LULU They’re on your head.

TIMOTHY Oh. [to Mac, annoyed] And they accused us?

SOUND TIM REMOVES GLASSES AND VIGOROUSLY CLEANS THEM (this is a nervous habit that will appear periodically in next story)

MAC Actually—

TIMOTHY [defensive] We may be a small company, but we—

MAC Stop!

TIMOTHY Hmph!

SOUND TIM PUTS GLASSES BACK ON

MAC [firm] I came all the way out here find out if you’d been experiencing similar problems – thefts of raw film stock, and other items, that only another film crew might have any use for?

TIMOTHY [a bit less hostile] Oh. No. Nothing like that. [heavily passive aggressive] Just strangers bursting in and ruining our very careful scene setups. Hmm?

MUSIC

SCENE 12. PEONY LOUNGE, HOSTESS BAR

AMB CHINESE MUSIC PLAYS, CHATTER OF LADIES’ VOICES, DRINKS

SOUND DOOR SHUTS

DUKE [whispered] Imma let you do the talking, Bertie.

BERTIE [whispered] We’re supposed to ask for—

PEONY [plastic friendly, charming Chinese accent]  Aloha, handsome gentlemen! You here for drink? Girl to... talk?

DUKE Oh, I – Well, aren’t you a purty little thing?

BERTIE We wish to speak to Madame Ting.

PEONY [less friendly] Madame Ting very busy. You want drink?

BERTIE  I was told to ask for Madame Ting. We can compensate her for her time.

PEONY [slowly, hinting]  Mmmm. Compensate?

BERTIE Of course.

SOUND FOLDING MONEY PASSED

PEONY [all business] Come, now.

MUSIC

SCENE 13. IN KAL’S CAB, RETURNING

ZORION I wish to remain with Amaya—

ROSE You promised.

ZORION [grunt]

ROSE Amaya is busy. When she’s done, she will talk with you.

ZORION [griping] I have traveled so far--

ROSE I know. And it’s very romantic of you, but someone gave you bad information, and you have to realize Amaya doesn’t need rescuing. [hinting] Mac?

MAC [sigh] We, however, can use your help.

KAL And Rose can tell Amaya all about how much help you were. That should impress her. Girls like that kine thing!

ZORION We were promised.

ROSE This is the nineteen-fifties, Zorion. It just doesn’t work that way any more. You need to actually get her to like you.

MUSIC

SCENE 14. RAMPART

SOUND CROWD NOISES

[NOTE: Maisie and Buster are part of the crowd, and their lines should be in the crowd responses, not separate from them]

OSCAR I suppose you’re wondering why I brought you all together today.

MAISIE Is everything ok?

CROWD [MURMURS]

OSCAR I want to let everyone know what’s happening.  Stop any rumors before they start.

BUSTER Please don’t say we’re out of money.

CROWD [MURMURS]

OSCAR We had some technical difficulties with the pier shot film, so we had to retake. Now it’s done and should be fine. That’s the first thing.

MAISIE That’s a relief!

CROWD [MURMURS]

OSCAR And we do have some extra security on site in the evenings. They’re not here right now - we mostly need them after dark.

BUSTER Those guys from the photo shoot?

CROWD [MURMURS]

OSCAR Yeah, yeah. Finally, I am worried about my dear fiancée Joanette, and need to know if anyone has seen her.

MAISIE I wish I could help.

CROWD [MURMURS, GENERAL “NO”]

OSCAR So we need to search. I worry she wandered off the beaten paths or went for a swim and something happened and she hurt herself. I need everyone’s cooperation on this. Are you with me?

BUSTER We can all help!

CROWD [CHEERS]

OSCAR Good! Antoine, here, will help split everyone into search parties. Let’s find my sweetie!

CROWD [MURMURS]

SOUND PEOPLE MOVING AROUND

MUSIC

SCENE 15. IN CAB

SOUND DRIVING, IN CITY AGAIN

ROSE [getting his attention] Zorion?

ZORION What?

ROSE Amaya told me about being a wolf.

ZORION [horrified] She told you?

ROSE Only because she was afraid she might hurt me.

ZORION It is no business of yours.

MAC But it IS our business. One of my friends was attacked by a wolfman last night, and bitten, and we’re worried about whether he will be infected.

ZORION Another of the folk in this place? I have seen no such sign.

MAC I just want to know if Duke should be concerned.

ROSE Because of the bite.

ZORION I bit none, Amaya bit none. Even if there is some other, a bite is not ... carriable. Folk are only born.

MUSIC

SCENE 16. RAMPART PICTURES

AMB DISTANT VOICES OF SEARCHERS

ANTOINE Shall we check in ze trailer?

OSCAR What would she be doing in there?

ANTOINE It should not 'urt to check.

OSCAR Fine.

SOUND RATTLE DOOR KNOB, LOCKED

OSCAR See? She can’t even have gotten in.

ANTOINE And yet, she can be found nowhere else eizer…

OSCAR [long suffering] All right.

SOUND BIG RING OF KEYS, DOOR UNLOCKED

OSCAR [takes a deep breath]

SOUND DOOR OPENS

ANTOINE Mon dieu!

OSCAR What? [looks] JOANETTE!!!!

MUSIC

SCENE 17. PEONY LOUNGE

AMB MUSIC

SOUND DOOR OPENS, VERY QUIET AND LUSH SOUNDING

PEONY Madame Ting is within. Please step through.

BERTIE You have my gratitude, miss.

DUKE Me, too, little lady.

SOUND THEY GO INTO THE OFFICE – DOOR SHUTS

AMBIANCE NOW IN LARGE ECHOEY SPACE, NO MUSIC

MADAME TING [elderly lady, sweet evil] Give me one good reason I should not make two such pushy representatives of the authorities simply disappear. For ever.

MUSIC TO CLOSING

ANNOUNCER Joanette has been found, but it doesn’t sound hopeful. Bertie and Duke find themselves in the lair of some kind of dragon lady, and Mac and Rose have custody of a self-proclaimed wolf man. And what of Darlene’s inquiries, and the costumer’s mysterious phone call in town?

END