"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 blemish; innocent, pure, without evil intent, harmless. Honest, square- dealing, honorable. Malcolm stumbles through the definition as well as he can. Bembry takes over the reading, giving it ironic emphasis. MALCOLM That's bullshit. That's a white man's book. Ain't all these white man's books? SHOT - THE SHELVES OF BOOKS BEMBRY They sure ain't no black man's books in here. MALCOLM Then what you telling me to study in them for? BEMBRY You got to learn everything the white man says and use it against him. The truth is laying there if you smart and read behind their words. It's buried there. You got to dig it out. MALCOLM Man, how'm I gonna know the ones worth looking at? Bembry smiles at Malcolm. He is a remarkable man who always takes careful measure of his listener. He never talks down to his audience; he talks to them. (A manner Malcolm later will adopt.) Bembry can talk funky or salty or, as we will see, in the cadence and eloquence of the Bible. Right now he goes into street talk. BEMBRY I'll pull your coat, daddy. Cause lots of these can't nobody read, be he black or white or a Ph.D. with their suspenders dragging the ground with degrees. Malcolm laughs. He likes and admires the man. Then caught by a passage he does not understand: MALCOLM Man, I'm studying in the man's book. I don't dig half the words. BEMBRY Look 'em up and and out what they mean. MALCOLM Where am I gonna start? BEMBRY Start at the beginning. Page one, the first one. Here -- CLOSE SHOT As Bembry's hand opens the book to page one. CLOSE IN ON A PICTURE OF AN AARDVARK WITH ITS DEFINITION MALCOLM Aardvark, noun. An earth pig; an ant- eating African mammal. Man, that sounds like the dozens. ANGLE - TWO-SHOT BEMBRY Read it and keep on reading. Malcolm's finger runs down to the next definition: DICTIONARY Abacus, noun. An ancient and primitive Chinese counting device. BEMBRY If you take one step toward Allah, He will take two steps toward you. INT. MALCOLM'S CELL - NIGHT He is reading on his bunk as B