45 EXT. COUNTRY PUB. NIGHT
It is late at night now; the
streets are deserted. BEA and NEIL stand
on the verandah of the pub, illuminated by light spilling through the open
front doors.
NEIL (awkward) Listen,
I don’t want you to get me wrong, but...would you like to come and see me tin
mine?
BEA (excited) I’d
love to, but …
NEIL What?
BEA I want to get
to Thursday before 'the Wet'.
NEIL Fair enough.
Well, maybe on y’way back.
BEA Yes, in a few
weeks.
NEIL Good, Well, I
guess...(I’d better be off)
BEA Thanks
Neil. It’s...
There is a moment’s awkward
silence between them as they try and work out how they are going to say
goodbye.
NEIL Can I kiss
you, Beatrice?
BEA Please.
NEIL kisses her. It is BEA's first kiss and she finds the
experience quite delightful. They look at each other for a moment.
NEIL Well...I’ll
see you in a few weeks then?
BEA I promise.
NEIL 'Night
Beatrice.
BEA 'Night Neil.
NEIL walks off. BEA watches him go, excited by the encounter.
46 INT/EXT. TRAIN/COUNTRYSIDE. PRE-DAWN.
BEA, FOUR ITINERANTS and an
ABORIGINAL MAN, in a goods carriage filled with crates of chickens, her travel
journal on her lap, looks through the slats at the country passing by - the
pre-dawn sky filled with wispy pink and orange clouds. The ABORIGINAL MAN plays
a harmonica. The other three are asleep
- on the floor and propped up against crates.
There is a look of peace and contentment on BEA’s face as she takes the
cap off her fountain pen and writes JUMPING THE RATTLER in perfect italics at
the top of the page.
LATER
The train is stationary now,
at a railway siding. BEA and the others
sit in fearful expectation; listening to voices and the sound of approaching
feet on the gravel outside. The doors
are flung open to reveal a uniformed STATION MASTER and TWO POLICEMEN.
STATION MASTER Alright! Everyone out.
47 INT. DINING ROM. MILES' HOME. NIGHT.
BEA, in good spirits, talks
animatedly at the dinner table. MR. MILES' amusement is muted by parental
concern. MRS. MILES is upset. Younger
sister CONNIE is resentful that BEA is the centre of attention and the other
children obviously think BEA is a little odd. GRANDMA ELLIE is concerned about
both BEA and MRS. MILES.
BEA ...And Police
Constable O’Dougherty says (thick Irish brogue) "But apart from not being
in possession of a ticket, Miss Miles, y'uv no visible means of support and I’m
afraid I’m going to have t’charge you with vagrancy." Did you know it’s
against the law to be broke? You can be thrown in jail for being poor!?
MRS. MILES puts her head in
her hand as if about to cry. GRANDMA
ELLIE touches her arm soothingly: 'Come on, it’s not that bad.'
MRS. MILES She’s throwing her life away.
BEA I’m not
mother, honest. I know what I’m doing. And anyhow I wasn’t broke. I had a
couple of quid in the bottom of my sock that Neil had given me but...
MR MILES (shocked) Neil!?
BEA Neil
Jenkins...a bosker chap I met in a pub. And I was broke so he...
MRS MILES O my
god! And he gave you money?
MR MILES (exerting his
authority) I don’t think this is the
time or the place...
A deathly silence falls over
the table for the moment it takes for BEA to understand the origin of her
parents' fears.
BEA (laughs) Don’t
worry dad. I’m still a virgin, if that’s what you’re worried about.
MR MILES (angry) Beatrice!
MRS. MILES starts to cry. The
Miles children look daggers at BEA.
BEA (exasperated)
Oh, Jesus!
48 INT. SUBURBAN STREET. DAY
BEA, in exceptionally good
spirits, dressed flamboyantly and a little eccentrically, stands on the running
board of a chauffer driven car as it makes its way down a tree-lined North
Shore street; oblivious to the shocked reactions of its occupants. When the car slows at a corner, BEA waves her
‘thanks’ through the window and leaps off.
49 EXT. KINDERGARTEN. DAY.
Bea rushes through the gates
of an old mansion that has been converted into a kindergarten and in through the front door.
50 INT. CLASSROOM. DAY. DAY.
MRS HENDERSON, looking every
bit the headmistress, with FOUR TRAINEE TEACHERS in tow, stands in front of a
classroom full of noisy SCHOOLCHILDREN, clapping her hands.
MRS.HENDERSON Silence!
No sooner has the class
quietened down than BEA flies through the doorway, apologizing breathlessly to
Mrs. Henderson.
BEA Sorry. Caught
the wrong tram.
MRS. HENDERSON Punctuality,
Miss Miles! Punctuality!
BEA nods, catches her breath.
MRS. HENDERSON Children, I
want to introduce our new trainees.
A YOUNG BOY smiles
toothlessly at Bea and she makes a funny face in response.
MRS. HENDERSON Miss Emily
Mathison...
En masse, the class erupts in
laughter at the funny face BEA has pulled. MRS. HENDERSON is surprised,
flustered and finally angry.
51 EXT. PALM BEACH. DAY
BEA, alone in a vast blue
expanse of sea, swims breaststroke one hundred yards out from the shore,
humming happily to herself. Her peace
and quiet is short-lived. A wooden surf
boat with FOUR SURF LIFE-SAVERS aboard approaches quietly; at first unnoticed
by Bea.
1ST LIFE-SAVER (polite) Excuse
me sir...
BEA (startled) What!
2ND LIFE-SAVER (exclaims) It’s
a bloody sheila!
The LIFE SAVERS exchange
amused looks.
1ST. LIFE-SAVER What do you
think you’re doing, Miss?
BEA Knitting a
sweater for my mother.
The life-savers exchanged
looks.
1ST. LIFE-SAVER You're
swimming, miss.
BEA That's very
observant of you, mister.
1ST. LIFE-SAVER Yes, well you
can’t do it this far out.
BEA Why's that?
1ST. LIFE-SAVER Y'just
can't...
BEA (startled) Yes
I can and I am. I’m a strong swimmer. I
don’t need to be saved, thank you very much. Goodbye.
BEA swims off. She is alone
again for a few moments before the boat reappears.
1ST. LIFE-SAVER I’m only
going to ask you one more time, Miss.
BEA Why can’t you
just leave me alone?
1ST. LIFE-SAVER It’s my job
to see that no-one drowns.
BEA (angry) I’m
not drowning.
1ST. LIFE-SAVER We’ve seen
sharks out here three time this summer.
BEA In the event
of a shark attack I am fully prepared.
BEA stops swimming, reaches
down and extracts a large sheath-knife from a belt around her waist. The life-savers are astonished.
2ND. LIFE-SAVER She’s barmy!
1ST LIFE-SAVER (angry) Miss,
give me that knife and get in the boat. This minute.
BEA No.
The 1st LIFE-SAVER dives into
the water and surfaces close to BEA. He
reaches for the hand holding the knife.
BEA (upset) I’m
not hurting anyone.
Holding BEA’s right hand with
his left, he hits her hard with a right hook.
52 EXT. PALM BEACH. DAY
BEA, hands on hips, confronts
the 1st LIFE-SAVER - close to the water’s edge.
She is furious. Around her waist
is a leather belt with a sheath attached.
The 1st LIFE-SAVER is holding Bea’s knife. A small crowd of curious and amused bathers
has gathered - one of them a handsome young man of athletic build - JOHNNO.
BEA (rubbing her chin)
Bully.
1 ST LIFE-SAVER If you were
taken by a shark I’d be in big trouble.
BEA If I want to
risk being eaten by a shark it’s none of your business. I’m going to charge you
with assault and theft. Interfering cretin.
The crowd laughs. JOHNNO is impressed. The 1st LIFE-SAVER does not like to be
laughed at.
1 ST LIFE-SAVER And I’m going
to have you charged with threatening me with a dangerous weapon.
BEA Liar.
1 ST LIFE-SAVER Ratbag.
BEA takes a swing at the 1st
LIFE-SAVER, hitting him fair and square on the chin. The blow has no power in
it, however and he barely flinches. The crowd laughs. BEA turns on her heels
and storms off. The 1st LIFE-SAVER shouts after her.
1 ST LIFE-SAVER You can pick
this up at Manly police station.
BEA turns and shouts back.
BEA You can keep
it. It’s a present. And you know what you can do with it?
The crowd laughs. BEA turns and strides off down the
beach. JOHNNO runs after her, catching
up and walking alongside her. He has an English accent.
JOHNNO You should
have led with your left.
BEA What!
JOHNNO (demonstrating
as he talks) It’s all a question of
balance, you see. Weight on the ball of the left foot, a few quick jabs with
your left and then come in swinging with your right.
BEA stops walking, looks at
JOHNNO for a moment, them imitates him.
JOHNNO That’s better, but don’t swivel your hips...
He places his hands firmly on
her hips.
JOHNNO Alright. Left, left, left; right.
BEA’s 'right' almost hits
JOHNNO's chin; he has to pull his head back to avoid contact.
JOHNNO That’s it.
John...John Sinclair. Johnno to my friends...
He holds out his hand. BEA takes it.
BEA Beatrice...Bea
to my friends.
JOHNNO (smiles) "To
be or not to be."
BEA laughs. They continue
walking.
JOHNNO To be decided by the sharks, eh?
BEA Cripes, I
hope not. I’d go for my life if I saw one.
JOHNNO Be a bit late by then, don’t you think?
BEA Not
necessarily, because a shark, you see, before it can attack, has to turn on its
back and...
BEA looks at JOHNNO, who is
grinning: obviously not taking her seriously.
JOHNNO Mmmm...
BEA Anyhow, what
would you know!? You’re a Pom. Probably can’t even swim!
JOHNNO Don’t care for
Poms?
BEA Not much. With
rare exceptions.
JOHNNO Ah! Well,
that’s me.
BEA A rare
exception?
JOHNNO (nods) And I
can swim.
BEA Oh! How long’ve you been here?
JOHNNO Six months.
BEA Like it?
JOHNNO (deadpan) Bit
backward.
BEA (deadpan) When’re
you leaving?
JOHNNO (laughs) God
knows! Was only going to stay six months...but you know how it is.
BEA No.
JOHNNO You plan to do
one thing but something else always happens, doesn’t it?
BEA What happened?
JOHNNO Chap offered
me a job.
BEA Boxing?
JOHNNO Journalist.
BEA rolls her eyes and
groans.
BEA Oh dear!
JOHNNO Journalist of
necessity; writer by inclination.
BEA looks directly at JOHNNO
for a moment: she likes him.
JOHNNO I could do an article on you...(WITH
DRAMATIC FLAIR) "Has Nature Girl Got Sharks Scared?"
BEA bursts out laughing.
JOHNNO I’m serious.
BEA (thinks for a moment)
Only if you tell the truth.
JOHNNO Always.
BEA And if you
buy me a milkshake.
JOHNNO It’s a deal.
53 EXT. BEACH COTTAGE. DAY
BEA, clad in her white
bathing costume, her hair dripping wet, rides her bicycle down the driveway of
the Miles’ cottage and around to the side of the house. MR.MILES is supervising two men who are in
the process of erecting a large red and white marquee in the backyard. Another man is unloading trestle tables and
chairs from the back of a truck. BEA is
in good spirits as she rushes past her father, into the house.
MR. MILES How’s the
water?
BEA Wonderful.
54 INT. BEA'S BEDROOM. BEACH COTTAGE. DAY
BEA stands in front of a full
length mirror in her bedroom, looking at her reflection; appraising the line of
her body. She slides the straps of her bathing suit off her
shoulders and begins to peel it off.
MR. MILES walks down the
hall, past BEA’s bedroom. Through the
part-open door he catches a glimpse of BEA - the upper part of her body naked
now. He stops and watches unobserved as
BEA steps out of the bathing costume and looks at her naked body.
She watches the reflected
image of her hand caressing her neck; her shoulder, her breast. She sees her father reflected in the mirror
and they look at each other. BEA makes
no attempt to cover her nakedness and MR. MILES remains frozen, for a moment,
before continuing on down the hall.
55 EXT BEACH COTTAGE - GARDEN. DUSK
It is a little after sunset
on a warm summer’s evening. A FEW DOZEN
GUESTS have arrived for the Miles’ Christmas party. They sit and stand in small groups, talking
as a uniformed WAITER moves amongst them serving drinks. A band has set up under the red and white
marquee - tuning their instruments; preparing to play.
MR and MRS. MILES greet newly
arrived guests in the driveway that runs alongside the house and in which are
parked several shiny expensive cars. As
MR and MRS. MILES - stylishly dressed - greet their equally stylishly dressed
guests, their attention is diverted by the arrival of a mud bespattered motor-bike,
on which sits a man in an old worn leather coat, leather helmet and dirty
goggles. He pulls up, dismounts, removes
his goggles and helmet. It is
JOHNNO. He looks at his insect
bespattered goggles, holds them up and as if by explanation calls out:
JOHNNO (grins) Insects!
MR and MRS MILES have no idea
who this man is and are lost for words.
JOHNNO walks up to them, his hand outstretched: a perfect gentleman.
JOHNNO John
Sinclair!
MR MILES (polite but
distant) William Miles. My wife, Mrs. Miles.
JOHNNO shakes MR. MILES' hand
and nods to MRS MILES.
JOHNNO (charming) Yes,
you’re obviously Bea’s mother.
A moment of awkward silence.
JOHNNO I’m a friend
of Bea’s.
MR MILES (cool) Ahh...Yes.
MRS MILES (polite) Can
I take your coat?
JOHNNO Thank you.
JOHNNO removes his leather
coat. Underneath he is dressed neatly,
if somewhat eccentrically.
LATER
The band plays under the
marquee in the garden. It is almost dark
now. A few couples dance but most stand
in small groups, talking and drinking.
MRS. MILES in engaged in conversation with two women. MR. MILES, hands clenched tightly behind his
back, is engaged in a battle of wills with JOHNNO; attempting, at the one time,
to be both polite and to assert his age and authority. MR. MILES does not like JOHNNO.
MR. MILES Anti-social?
JOHNNO No. Merely
anti the existing social order.
MR. MILES Only the
young and the foolish believe that the world can be changed overnight.
JOHNNO What do the old and wise believe?
MR. MILES That society
changes slowly. That life is short. That
it is better to achieve what is possible than to merely dream of achieving the
impossible.
JOHNNO Nothing less
than the impossible interests me.
MR. MILES Romantic
nonsense.
Along with several other
people, MR. MILES and JOHNNO turn to see BEA, dressed in a stunning and quite
revealing white dress, walk from the verandah down onto the lawn. MR. MILES is shocked, caught between looking
at BEA as a man and looking at her as a father.
JOHNNO smiles in appreciation of BEA’s daring beauty. MRS. MILES is quite upset - not just by BEA’s
dress, but by her husband’s response.
BEA walks up to JOHNNO and MR. MILES.
She shakes JOHNNO’s hand and kisses her father.
BEA John. Dad.
MR. MILES stands back a pace
to look at BEA, smiling approvingly.
BEA Do you really
like it?
MR. MILES You look
beautiful.
JOHNNO (nodding in
agreement) Yes. Very.
BEA is flattered.
MR. MILES Did it cost
me an arm and a leg?
BEA (grimaces) Yes.
MR MILES (smiling) You
can repay me on the dance floor.
As BEA and MR. MILES move
onto the dance floor, JOHNNO can be seen approaching MRS. MILES and asking her
for a dance. She accepts graciously,
succumbing to JOHNNO’s charm but her attention on BEA and her husband
dancing. BEA looks directly at her
father.
MR. MILES You’re
leading.
BEA Mmmm.
MR. MILES That’s my
job.
BEA Why?
MR MILES (smiles) Because
the man always leads. And the woman always...follows...
He twirls her. She resists.
They both enjoy this sparring.
BEA Except among
the Tchambuli in New Guinea. Where the men wear rouge and the women dig in the
fields.
MR. MILES But an
ordered society, nevertheless. You’d be bored very quickly. Not enough
conflict. Not enough chaos.
BEA smiles at her father
warmly; decides not to continue the sparring any more. She relaxes in his arms
now and allows MR. MILES to lead her in the dance. JOHNNO and MRS. MILES dance close by.
MR. MILES I had lunch
with the Chancellor last week. He agreed with me that you should finish your
course...
BEA Dad!
MR. MILES (reluctantly)
Alright! But I reserve the right to continue to pester you.
JOHNNO cuts him off in
mid-sentence.
JOHNNO (mischievous)
Change partners.
BEA Righto.
JOHNNO releases MRS. MILES at
the same moment BEA moves away from her father and into JOHNNO’s arms. MR. MILES is angry that the initiative has
been taken away from him in this way but tries to hide it. He has no choice but
to dance with MRS. MILES now.
He watches BEA and JOHNNO
dance - reacting negatively to their obvious infatuation with each other. MRS. MILES is hurt - well aware that his
attention is with BEA and not with her.
56 INT/EXT. KINDERGARTEN. DAY
Through the windows of a classroom,
MRS. HENDERSON - hands behind her back - can be seen as one of her students
conducts a class for a room full of attentive children, all sitting with their
hands on their small desks. When she
holds up a card on which is drawn a yellow lion, several of the children put
their hands up. The teacher points to
one small child who stands at attention and we see her lips mouthing the word
'lion'. As the windows are closed we do
not hear anything from inside this class-room but we do hear, from the classroom
next door, a loud roar followed by the slightly muffled sounds of uproarious
children's laughter.
MRS. HENDERSON hears it but
does not pay too much attention until the roar is followed by a wolf-like howl
and more laughter. As she strides
angrily out of the room the children all rush to the window to see what is
going on. As they do so the camera
tracks along the outside of the building to the next classroom, on the
windowsill of which BEA - her hair and clothes in total disarray - is crouched,
scratching her armpit and behaving like an ape.
The children are all crouched on top of their desks playing at being
apes also.
The door to the classroom
opens and in strides MRS. HENDERSON, a look of outraged horror freezing on her
face at what she is seeing. It is not
necessary for MRS. HENDERSON to say anything for the terrified children to stop
laughing instantaneously and to climb quietly down from their desks.
BEA is initially at a bit of
a loss to understand what is going on but it soon registers on her that she has done something
wrong. MRS. HENDERSON stands back from
the door, opens it wider, points through it with her outstretched trembling
arm.
MRS. HENDERSON Go! At once!
The expression on Bea's face
is one of pain and confusion.
57 EXT. TRAM/CITY STREET. DAY
BEA, angry and upset, stands
in the open doorway of a moving tram, her face streaked with tears. She leans out a little way, placing one foot
on the running board, closing her eyes and savouring the rush of wind on her
face. Her spirits begin to improve. A loud and angry voice intrudes from off
screen:
TRAM CONDUCTOR Hey you!
BEA ignores the voice. A fat TRAM CONDUCTOR appears.
TRAM CONDUCTOR What do you
think you’re doing?
BEA looks around, takes in
his large blue-uniformed body and scowling face and turns away - studiously
ignoring him.
TRAM CONDUCTOR Did you hear
me?
BEA (without
looking around) Yes.
TRAM CONDUCTOR Get in here.
BEA Why?
TRAM CONDUCTOR Because I’m
telling you.
BEA Not a good
enough reason.
The fat TRAM CONDUCTOR pulls
the cord. Ding. The tram grinds to a noisy halt. With his hands on his hips the tram conductor
glares at BEA.
TRAM CONDUCTOR This tram
will not move another inch until you get inside.
BEA glares back at him for a
moment, then reaches in and pulls the cord.
The tram jolts forward. The
passengers laugh. The red-faced TRAM
CONDUCTOR pulls the cord and the tram stops again.
TRAM CONDUCTOR Get in or get
off!
BEA Well, if that’s the way you feel!
She takes the tram
conductor’s hat off, puts it on her own head, smiles wickedly and dashes out
into the traffic.
58 INT. COURT OF PETTY SESSIONS. DAY.
The fat TRAM CONDUCTOR is in
the witness box at the Court of Petty Sessions.
BEA and her solicitor are seated in the front of the Court. A few rows back, amongst the others waiting
for their cases to be heard, sits Mr. Miles.
TRAM CONDUCTOR ...And I had
to chase her two blocks before she’d give me hat back.
Some chuckling in court. MR. MILES' face is expressionless. The magistrate looks at Bea.
MAGISTRATE Why did you
do this Miss Miles?
BEA A public
service your honor. The man needed exercise.
Laughter in court. MR. MILES smiles.
BEA I was just
having a bit of fun.
The magistrate looks at BEA
and then up to MR. MILES.
MAGISTRATE I suggest, Mr.
Miles, that you take your daughter in hand and discourage...
MR. MILES leaps to his feet.
MR. MILES In my
considered opinion my daughter has broken no law save that of common sense...
MAGISTRATE I will remind
you Mr. Miles that this is a court of law. Your daughter has in fact broken
several traffic regulations and may be guilty of theft.
BEA I was hurting
no-one.
MAGISTRATE Had you
fallen off, Miss Miles, you could have been severely hurt.
BEA That’s my
concern, not yours.
MAGISTRATE Perhaps, Miss Miles, perhaps. But you have
broken the law and that is my concern. You are fined one pound. In default,
five days hard labour.
59 INT. COURT OF PETTY SESSIONS OFFICE. DAY
MR. MILES and BEA in the
office of the Court of Petty Sessions.
MR. MILES taps his fingers on the counter as the clerk finishes writing
out the receipt. BEA looks on a little apprehensively - well aware of her father’s
annoyance. MR. MILES hands the clerk a one pound note and he and BEA walk to
the door.
BEA Thanks dad.
MR. MILES does not reply.
...to be continued...
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