[DISSOLVE TO: TITLE UP - 6:30 A.M.]
[We hear car door open in front of house.]
CUT TO: KAREN AND KAREN'S MOTHER open the door together and WE SEE HENRY standing in doorway, a little drunk.
[Behind HENRY WE SEE a car with TOMMY DESIMONE still parked at the curb.]
[KAREN is happy to see him. She smiles.]
KAREN'S MOTHER *angrily*: Where were you? Where have you been? Why didn't you call? We were all worried to death! A married man doesn't stay out like this!
[WE SEE HENRY look at KAREN, look at KAREN'S MOTHER and turn around and get back in the car and drive away.]
[KAREN BEGINS TO CRY.]
[KAREN'S FATHER sleepily comes to the door.]
KAREN'S MOTHER *as Henry drives away*: Normal people don't live this way.
[INT. LIVING ROOM - JIMMY AND MICKEY'S ARCHIE-BUNKER HOUSE - NIGHT]
[KAREN and MOST of the WOMEN we saw at the wedding are at MICKEY's cosmetic party. There are large cardboard posters of glamorous models using the cosmetic's at MICKEY'S feet.]
KAREN *V.O.*: We weren't married to nine-to-five guys, but the first time I realized how different was when Mickey had a hostess party.
CUT TO: MICKEY Brushing another woman, ANGIE's, hair while showing off a new brush.
MICKEY *to Angie*: Angie, sweetheart, you want it fluff?
CUT TO: ANGIE'S TIRED FACE black-ringed eyes and thin mouth.
ANGIE: He's the one with the hands. I'd like to smack his face.
WOMAN #1: The red-haired guy? He looks a like a farmer?
ANGIE: Sonofabitch. I swear. You can't go through the gate without his hands. I told him. Keep' your fucking hands off, you Sonofabitch, or I'll cut them off.
[WE SEE the WOMEN laugh.]
ANGIE: He don't know bow lucky he is. It I just mentioned it to Vince, I don't even want to know.
WOMAN #1: That's the problem. How can you mention it? Vince 'd kill him.
ANGIE: You think I don't know? You think I like to keep this inside? But I gotta, or he'll kill the miserable bastard and he'll be there for life. It's disgusting what you have to put up with.
MICKEY *while fluffing Angle's hair*: Look at Jeannie's kid.
ANGIE: What? What happened?
MICKEY: The oldest one. He was in an argument. A lousy ten-dollar card game. The kid pulls out a gun. It goes off. The kid gets killed. The grandmother hears it and finds out he's been arrested. She has a heart attack. She drops dead right on the spot. Now Jeannie's got a husband and son in jail and a mother in the funeral parlor.
ANGIE: But he was always a bad kid, that one.
MICKEY: No. Come on. It was the younger one that was the bad one.
KAREN *V.O.* *continuing over dialogue*: They had bad skin and wore too much makeup. I mean they didn't look very good. They looked beat-
up.
[CLOSE UP - WOMEN Talking.]
KAREN *V.O.*: You never saw teeth like that where I was growing up and the stuff they wore was thrown together and cheap. A lot of pants suits and double-knits. And they talked about how rotten their kids were and about beating them with broom handles and leather belts, but that the kids still didn't pay any attention. When Henry picked me
up, I was dizzy.
[INT. BEDROOM - KAREN'S MOTHER'S HOUSE - NIGHT]
[WE SEE they are getting ready for bed.]
KAREN: I Don't know. I don't know if I could live that way. What if, God forbid, you go to prison. Mickey said Jeannie's husband --
HENRY *angrily interrupting*: Are you nuts? Jeannie's husband went to the can just to get away from her, she's such a pain in the
ass. Let me tell you. Nobody goes to jail unless they want to, unless
they make themselves get caught. They do stuff with the wrong people. They don't have things organized. You know who goes to jail? Nigger
stickup men. That's who. And they only get caught because they fall
asleep in the getaway car.
[KAREN looks down. She listening.]
HENRY: Listen, we're beginning to make real money for the first time. It's business. Do you think I'm going to walk away from that?
[HENRY puts his arm around KAREN and begins to hug her.]
KAREN *V.O.*: After a while, it all got to be normal. None of it seemed like crimes. It was more that Henry was enterprising. That he and the guys were making a few bucks hustling, while other men were sitting on their asses waiting for handouts. Our husbands weren't brain surgeons. They were blue collar guys, and the only way they could get extra money, real extra money, was to go
out and cut a few corners.
CUT TO: INT. TRUCK - NIGHT
[ANGLE ON HENRY AND TOMMY who is carrying a brown paper bag as though it were a gun, pulling a DRIVER out of his truck and shoving him toward ANOTHER HOOD who pushes him into the rear seat of a car Where WE SEE - ANOTHER HOOD.]
CUT BACK TO: HENRY AND TOMMY getting into the truck.
CUT TO: ROAD where HE SEE the truck drive off.
CUT BACK TO: TRUCK Where WE SEE the paper bag in TOMMY'S hand explode in a red burst as he wildly fixes shots into the air.
[He hear HENRY's laughter.]
KAREN *V.O.*: And we were also very close. I mean, there were never any outsiders around. Absolutely never! And being together all the time made everything seem even more normal.
[INT. HENRY'S DOORWAY]
[WE SEE KAREN looking at a search warrant being shown to her by DETECTIVES who are being very polite. The CHILDREN are looking on.]
KAREN *V.O.*: There was always a little harassment. They always wanted to talk to Henry about this or that. They'd come with their subpoenas and warrants and make me sign. But mostly they were just looking for a handout. A few bucks to keep things quiet, no matter what they found.
KAREN *signing the paper*: Can I make you some coffee?
[The DETECTIVES smile and, taking off their hats, walk into the house where KIDS and KAREN resume watching TV.]
KAREN *V.O.*: I always asked them if they wanted coffee. Some of the wives, like Mickey Burke, used to curse at them and spit on the floor. Imagine. She'd spit on her own floor. That never made any sense to me. It was better to be polite and call the lawyer.
CUT TO: IN BACKGROUND HE SEE the DETECTIVES going through the house.
CUT TO: INT. DINING ROOM - JIMMY HORSE'S HOUSE - NIGHT
[WE SEE JIMMY and MICKEY and HENRY and KAREN and TODDY and WIFE, TOMMY and GIRLFRIEND, MARTY and FRAN KRUGMAN, ANGELO SEPE and WIFE and the ASSORTED CHILDREN, all wearing party hats and blowing out the candles on nine-year-old JESSE JAMES BURKE's huge layer cake.]
KAREN: We did everything together and we were always the same crowd. Anniversaries. Christenings. We only want to each other's houses.
CUT TO: SNAPSHOT OF JIMMY HOGGING KAREN AND MICKEY AT TABLE
KAREN *V.O.*: The woman played cards. When my kids were born. Jimmy and Mickey were always the first at the hospital.
CUT TO: SNAPSHOT OF BEAMING JIMMY, MICKEY AND HENRY EMBRACING AGAINST THE WINDOW OF MATERNITY HOSPITAL WHILE A NURSE HOLDS OP A BABY. MICKEY IS IN TEARS.
KAREN *V.O.*: When we went to the Islands or Vegas for vacation, we always . went together.
CUT TO: SNAPSHOT OF JIMMY AND MICKEY AND HENRY AND KAREN IN BATH-
SUITS STANDING NEXT TO THEIR POOLSIDE CHAIRS HOLDING TALL TRADER VIC'S-STYLE DRINKS WITH TINY UMBRELLAS AND PINEAPPLE STICKING OUT OF THEM.
KAREN: It got to ba normal. I got to where I was even proud that I had the kind of husband who was willing to go out and risk his neck just to get us the little extras.
CUT TO: INT. HENRY AND KAREN'S SUBURBAN HOUSE - MORNING
[ANGLE ON HENRY'S BEDROOM CLOSET]
[CAMERA TRACKS row after row of neatly hung suits and sports jackets and racks of sharp shoes.]
[WE SEE HENRY getting undressed. He neatly hangs his jacket and then lifts the front of his sport shirt to his neck, REVEALING thick packets of crisp $50 and $100 bills be has wedged all around his waist.]
KAREN *O.S.*: But I got my mother to watch the kids tomorrow night.
CUT TO: KAREN'S BEDROOM CLOSET
[CAMERA TRACKS past rows of KAREN'S dresses, pants suits, blouses, shoes and fur coats.]
HENRY *O.S.*: I told you I can't.
CUT TO: KITCHEN
[WE SEE HENRY, now shaved and dressed in a different suit. He is on his way out.]
KAREN *annoyed*: I'm gonna need some money.
HENRY: How much?
[WE SEE KAREN hold her thumb and forefinger about an inch apart.]
[WE SEE HENRY take about an inch and a half of money from his inside jacket pocket, slap it on the table and go out the door.]
[INT. THE SUITE - NIGHT]
[A plush, overdecorated cocktail lounge and nightclub on Queens Boulevard, where we hear Sergio Pranchi on the jukebox.]
*NOTE: REPLAY THE OPENING OF THE FILM AT 9 TIMES NORMAL
SPEED -- HENRY SLAMMING THE TRUNK CLOSED.*
HENRY *V.O.*: For most of the guys, killing got to be accepted. They were routine. Murder was the only way everybody stayed in line. It was the ultimate weapon. Yon got out of line, you got whacked. Everyone knew the rules.
CUT TO: TOMMY SMASHING GUN INTO BILLY BATT'S HEAD
HENRY *V.O.*: But sometimes, even if people didn't get out of line, they'd get whacked. Hits just became a habit for some guys. It didn't take anything to get yourself killed.
CUT TO: SILHOUETTE OF TOMMY, HENRY AND JIMMY Stuffing BILLY'S body into the trunk.
HENRY *V.O.*: Guys would get into arguments over nothing and before you knew it, one of them was dead. They were shooting each other all the time. Shooting people was a normal thing. It was no big deal.
CUT TO: TOMMY'S MOTHER'S KITCHEN AND BREAKFAST.
HENRY *V.O.*: You didn't have to do anything and nobody was immune. You just had to be there.
CUT TO: TOMMY smashing shovel into soft, bloodied matress cover in the trunk of the car.
HENRY *V.O.*: But we had a problem with Billy Batts. This was a touchy thing. Tommy had killed a made man. Billy was a part of the Bambino crew and untouchable.
CUT TO: EXT. CONNECTICUT WOODLAND - NIGHT
[WE SEE TOMMY, HENRY and JIMMY burying BATTS.]
HENRY *V.O.*: Before you could touch a made guy, you had to have a good reason. There had to be a sit-down. And you better get an okay, or you'd be the one who got whacked. *HENRY slams down trunk.*
CUT TO: INT. COPACABANA - LATE SHOW - NIGHT
[ANGLE ON TABLE being quickly set up by WAITERS and MAITRE D' as HENRY, TOMMY, ANGELO SEPE, and JOE MANRI sit down. In BG, WE SEE OLDER HOODS with YOUNG SHOWGIRL TYPES.]
[WE SEE LINDA, a cheery, California blonde, and SOME GIRLFRIENDS seated at a table directly behind HENRY'S table.]
CUT TO: STAGE AND AS STAGE LIGHTS DIM
HENRY *V.O.*: Saturday night was for wives, but Friday night at the Copa was always for the girlfriends.
CUT BACK TO: HENRY'S TABLE
[HENRY is now sitting next to LINDA. TOMMY is with GIRL #l. SEPE is with GIRL #2.]
GIRL #1: Last week I saw Sunny Davis. What a performer. You gotta see him. You gotta catch him. He does imitations I swear you'd think it
was the real people.
GIRL #2: Yeah, the way he moves. It's unbelievable. I mean, you can understand how a white girl could fall for him.
TOMMY: What are you talking about?
GIRL #2: I don't mean me. Not me. I just mean, you can see how some girls could. Like that Swedish girl. You can see how she fell for him. You can see how he has this, this, personality.
CUT TO: COPA STAGE spotlight. BOBBY DARKEN is singing.
[EXT. LINDA'S APARTMENT BUILDING - NIGHT]
[HENRY'S convertible pulls up. HENRY has his arm around LINDA'S neck. WE SEE them go into the building.]
[DISSOLVE TO: DAWN.]
[INT. VARIO'S HOUSE - DAY]
[Sunday. There are LOTS OF RELATIVES and FRIENDS present. HENRY and KAREN arrive. KAREN ia carrying their NEW BABY and HENRY has his TWO-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER by the hand. A great fuss is made over the NEW BABY and over KAREN by the WOMEN, including VARIO'S WIFE. VARIO puts an arm around HENRY and leads him into an alcove.]
VARIO: What did you hear about that thing?
HENRY: What thing? The Brooklyn thing?
VARIO: No. No. The guy from downtown.
HENRY: The guy from near where Christie used to live?
VARIO: No. The other one. The one who disappeared up the block from
Christie. The one they made a beef on.
HENRY: Oh I Him.
VASIOL: You know the one I mean?
HENRY: Oh yeah. Sure. That guy. I know him.
VASIO: That Batts was a miserable fuck, but his people are looking still for him.
HENRY: Oh yeah. Yeah. I know. I even looked into it myself. Nobody knows what the fuck happened to him. He came in the joint that one night and then he disappeared.
VARZO: Hell, keep your eyes open. They're busting my balls looking for the fuck.
[INT. THE SUITE - NIGHT]
[HENRY and LINDA, with the CREW, are drinking. MARTY KRUGMAN is reluctantly paying off a bet at the bar. JIMMY calls HENRY aside.]
JIMMY: We got a problem, that thing we took care of upstate?
HENRY *surprised*: Paulie was just talking about him.
JIMMY: Well, we gotta dig him up again.
HENRY *shocked*: What?
JIMMY: The guy just sold the property. They're gonna build condominiums and I don't want anybody digging up the little bastard.
HENRY *horrified*: It's been six months.
JIMMY: It's still better than letting somebody find him.
HENRY *nodding in agreement and concerned*: If Paulie finds out, we got problems.
JIMMY: Fuck Paulie. If Batts' crew finds we whacked him, we got real
problems.
[EXT. HENRY'S CAR PARKED ON DESERTED COUNTRY ROAD - NIGHT]
[A hot summer night. The car trunk is open. HENRY, JIMMY and TOMMY are struggling with shovels. HENRY, sickened by the stench, is wearing his handkerchief over his nose and mouth. HENRY looks at JIMMY and TOMMY. They do not appear to be bothered by the stench.]
[EXT. HENRY AND KAREN'S SUBURBAN HOME]
[HENRY is homing out the trunk of his car. He has all of the mats, the spare tire, and the jack out of the trunk.]
KAREN: What happened to the car? *annoyed at Karen's prying* I hit a skunk.
[HENRY sprinkles in a bottle of perfume and slams the trunk shut.]
[INT. LINDA'S APARTMENT - BEDROOM - NIGHT]
[WE SEE LINDA showing off her new apartment to the GIRLS, including ROBIN, a sexy, dark-haired girl. We hear HENRY, TOMMY, SEPE and MANRI laughing in BG. The apartment is decorated in Ocean Parkway Ring. There are thick velvet- covered sofa and blue-glass coffee table in bedroom and WE SEE a satin-covered, king-size bed with a doll propped
against the pillows. WE SEE LINDA lean over and show her GIRLFRIENDS, including ROBIN, the bed ruffles.]
HENRY *V.O.*: I set up Linda in an apartment around the corner from the Suite. That way I was able to stay over a couple of nights a week. Karen was home with the kids anyway and she never asked any questions anyway.
[INT. BRIDAL SHOP - BACKROOM]
[HENRY is strangling the OWNER of a bridal shop with his own tie while TOMMY and JIMMY laugh.]
HENRY *V.O.*: Linda and I were having so much fun, she started screwing up at work, and I had to straighten out her boss a little bit.
[INT. LINDA'S APARTMENT - BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS NIGHT]
[WE SEE LINDA suddenly lifted off her feet and thrown on the bed. WE SEE HENRY and the GIRLS laughing. As HENRY lifts LINDA off her feet, he winks at ROBIN, who smiles back.]
