THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION



Written by


Frank Darabont




Based upon the story
Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption
by Stephen King
INT -- CABIN -- NIGHT (1946)

A dark, empty room.

The door bursts open. A MAN and WOMAN enter, drunk and
giggling, horny as hell. No sooner is the door shut than
they're all over each other, ripping at clothes, pawing at
flesh, mouths locked together.

He gropes for a lamp, tries to turn it on, knocks it over
instead. Hell with it. He's got more urgent things to do,
like getting her blouse open and his hands on her breasts.
She arches, moaning, fumbling with his fly. He slams her
against the wall, ripping her skirt. We hear fabric tear.

He enters her right then and there, roughly, up against the
wall. She cries out, hitting her head against the wall but
not caring, grinding against him, clawing his back,
shivering with the sensations running through her. He
carries her across the room with her legs wrapped around
him. They fall onto the bed.

CAMERA PULLS BACK, exiting through the window, traveling
smoothly outside...

EXT -- CABIN -- NIGHT (1946)

...to reveal the bungalow, remote in a wooded area, the
lovers' cries spilling into the night...

...and we drift down a wooded path, the sounds of rutting
passion growing fainter, mingling now with the night sounds
of crickets and hoot owls...

...and we begin to hear FAINT MUSIC in the woods, tinny and
incongruous, and still we keep PULLING BACK until...

...a car is revealed. A 1946 Plymouth. Parked in a clearing.

INT -- PLYMOUTH -- NIGHT (1946)

ANDY DUFRESNE, mid-20's, wire rim glasses, three-piece suit.
Under normal circumstances a respectable, solid citizen;
hardly dangerous, perhaps even meek. But these circumstances
are far from normal. He is disheveled, unshaven, and very
drunk. A cigarette smolders in his mouth. His eyes, flinty
and hard, are riveted to the bungalow up the path.

He can hear them fucking from here.

He raises a bottle of bourbon and knocks it back. The radio
plays softly, painfully romantic, taunting him:
 2.


You stepped out of a dream... You are too wonderful... To be
what you seem...

He opens the glove compartment, pulls out an object wrapped
in a rag. He lays it in his lap and unwraps it carefully --

-- revealing a .38 revolver. Oily, black, evil.

He grabs a box of bullets. Spills them everywhere, all over
the seats and floor. Clumsy. He picks bullets off his lap,
loading them into the gun, one by one, methodical and grim.
Six in the chamber. His gaze goes back to the bungalow.

He shuts off the radio. Abrupt silence, except for the
distant lovers' moans. He takes another shot of bourbon
courage, then opens the door and steps from the car.

EXT -- PLYMOUTH -- NIGHT (1946)

His wingtip shoes crunch on gravel. Loose bullets scatter to
the ground. The bourbon bottle drops and shatters.

He starts up the path, unsteady on his feet. The closer he
gets, the louder the lovemaking becomes. Louder and more
frenzied. The lovers are reaching a climax, their sounds of
passion degenerating into rhythmic gasps and grunts.

WOMAN (O.S.)
Oh god...oh god...oh god...

Andy lurches to a stop, listening. The woman cries out in
orgasm. The sound slams into Andy's brain like an icepick.
He shuts his eyes tightly, wishing the sound would stop.

It finally does, dying away like a siren until all that's
left is the shallow gasping and panting of post-coitus. We
hear languorous laughter, moans of satisfaction.

WOMAN (O.S.) (CONT’D)
Oh god...that's sooo good...you're
the best...the best I ever had...

Andy just stands and listens, devastated. He doesn't look
like much of a killer now; he's just a sad little man on a
dirt path in the woods, tears streaming down his face, a
loaded gun held loosely at his side. A pathetic figure,
really.

FADE TO BLACK:
1ST TITLE UP
 3.


INT -- COURTROOM -- DAY (1946)

THE JURY listens like a gallery of mannequins on display,
pale-faced and stupefied.

D.A. (O.S.)
Mr. Dufresne, describe the
confrontation you had with your
wife the night she was murdered.

ANDY DUFRESNE
is on the witness stand, hands
folded, suit and tie pressed, hair
meticulously combed. He speaks in
soft, measured tones:

ANDY
It was very bitter. She said she
was glad I knew, that she hated all
the sneaking around. She said she
wanted a divorce in Reno.

D.A.
What was your response?

ANDY
I told her I would not grant one.

D.A.
(refers to his notes) I'll see you
in Hell before I see you in Reno.
Those were the words you used, Mr.
Dufresne, according to the
testimony of your neighbors.

ANDY
If they say so. I really don't
remember. I was upset.

FADE TO BLACK:
2ND TITLE UP

D.A.
What happened after you and your
wife argued?

ANDY
She packed a bag and went to stay
with Mr. Quentin.

D.A.
Glenn Quentin. The golf pro at the
Falmouth Hills Country Club.
(MORE)
 4.

D.A. (CONT'D)
The man you had recently discovered
was her lover. (Andy nods) Did you
follow her?

ANDY
I went to a few bars first. Later,
I decided to drive to Mr. Quentin's
home and confront them. They
weren't there...so I parked my car
in the turnout...and waited.

D.A.
With what intention?

ANDY
I'm not sure. I was confused.
Drunk. I think mostly I wanted to
scare them.

D.A.
You had a gun with you?

ANDY
Yes. I did.

FADE TO BLACK:
3RD TITLE UP

D.A.
When they arrived, you went up to
the house and murdered them?

ANDY
No. I was sobering up. I realized
she wasn't worth it. I decided to
let her have her quickie divorce.

D.A.
Quickie divorce indeed. A .38
caliber divorce, wrapped in a
handtowel to muffle the shots,
isn't that what you mean? And then
you shot her lover!

ANDY
I did not. I got back in the car
and drove home to sleep it off.
Along the way, I stopped and threw
my gun into the Royal River. I feel
I've been very clear on this point.
 5.


D.A.
Yes, you have. Where I get hazy,
though, is the part where the
cleaning woman shows up the next
morning and finds your wife and her
lover in bed, riddled with .38
caliber bullets. Does that strike
you as a fantastic coincidence, Mr.
Dufresne, or is it just me?

ANDY
(softly)
Yes. It does.

D.A.
I'm sorry, Mr. Dufresne, I don't
think the jury heard that.

ANDY
Yes. It does.

D.A.
Does what?

ANDY
Strike me as a fantastic
coincidence.

D.A.
On that, sir, we are in accord...

FADE TO BLACK!
4TH TITLE UP

D.A. (CONT’D)
You claim you threw your gun into
the Royal River before the murders
took place. That's rather
convenient.

ANDY
It's the truth.

D.A.
You recall Lt. Mincher's testimony?
He and his men dragged that river
for three days and nary a gun was
found. So no comparison can be made
between your gun and the bullets
taken from the bloodstained corpses
of the victims. That's also rather
convenient, isn't it, Mr. Dufresne?
 6.


ANDY
(faint, bitter smile)
Since I am innocent of this crime,
sir, I find it decidedly
inconvenient the gun was never
found.

FADE TO BLACK:
STH TITLE UP

INT -- COURTROOM -- DAY (1946)

The D.A. holds the jury spellbound with his closing
summation:

D.A.
Ladies and gentlemen, you've heard
all the evidence, you know all the
facts. We have the accused at the
scene of the crime. We have foot
prints. Tire tracks. Bullets
scattered on the ground which bear
his fingerprints. A broken bourbon
bottle, likewise with fingerprints.
Most of all, we have a beautiful
young woman and her lover lying
dead in each other's arms. They had
sinned. But was their crime so
great as to merit a death sentence?

He gestures to Andy sitting quietly with his ATTORNEY.

D.A. (CONT’D)
I suspect Mr. Dufresne's answer to
that would be yes. I further
suspect he carried out that
sentence on the night of September
this year of our Lord, 1946, by
pumping four bullets into his wife
and another four into Glenn
Quentin. And while you think about
that, think about this...

He picks up a revolver, spins the cylinder before their eyes
like a carnival barker spinning a wheel of fortune.

D.A. (CONT’D)
A revolver holds six bullets, not
eight. I submit to you this was not
a hot-blooded crime of passion!
That could at least be understood,
if not condoned. No, this was
revenge of a much more brutal and
cold-blooded nature. Consider!
(MORE)
 7.

D.A. (CONT’D)
Four bullets per victim! Not six
shots fired, but eight! That means
he fired the gun empty...and then
stopped to reload so he could shoot
each of them again! An extra bullet
per lover...right in the head. (a
few JURORS shiver) I'm done
talking. You people are all decent,
God-fearing Christian folk. You
know what to do.

FADE TO BLACK: 6TH TITLE UP

INT -- JURY ROOM -- DAY (1946)

CAMERA TRACKS down a long table, moving from one JUROR to
the next. These decent, God-fearing Christians are chowing
down on a nice fried chicken dinner provided them by the
county, smacking greasy lips and gnawing cobbettes of corn.

VOICE (O.S.)
Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty...

We find the FOREMAN at the head of the table, sorting votes.

FADE TO BLACK: 7TH TITLE UP

INT -- COURTROOM -- DAY (1946)

Andy stands before the dias. THE JUDGE peers down, framed by
a carved frieze of blind Lady Justice on the wall.

JUDGE
You strike me as a particularly icy
and remorseless man, Mr. Dufresne.
It chills my blood just to look at
you. By the power vested in me by
the State of Maine, I hereby order
you to serve two life sentences,
back to back, one for each of your
victims. So be it.

He raps his gavel as we

CRASH TO BLACK: LAST TITLE UP.

AN IRON-BARRED DOOR

slides open with an enormous CLANG. A stark room waits
beyond. CAMERA PUSHES through. SEVEN HUMORLESS MEN sit side
by side at a long table. An empty chair faces them. We are
now in:
 8.


INT -- SHAWSHANK HEARINGS ROOM -- DAY (1947)

RED enters, removes his cap and waits by the chair.

MAN #1
Sit.

Red sits, tries not to slouch. The chair is uncomfortable.

MAN #2
We see by your file you've served
twenty years of a life sentence.

MAN #3
You feel you've been rehabilitated?

RED
Yes, sir. Absolutely. I've learned
my lesson. I can honestly say I'm a
changed man. I'm no longer a danger
to society. That's the God's honest
truth. No doubt about it.

The men just stare at him. One stifles a yawn.

CLOSEUP -- PAROLE FORM

A big rubber stamp slams down: "REJECTED" in red ink.

EXT -- EXERCISE YARD -- SHAWSHANK PRISON -- DUSK (1947)

High stone walls topped with snaky concertina wire, set off
at intervals by looming guard towers. Over a hundred CONS
are in the yard. Playing catch, shooting craps, jawing at
each other, making deals. Exercise period.

RED emerges into fading daylight, slouches low-key through
the activity, worn cap on his head, exchanging hellos and
doing minor business. He's an important man here.

RED (V.O.)
There's a con like me in every
prison in America, I guess. I'm the
guy who can get it for you.
Cigarettes, a bag of reefer if
you're partial, a bottle of brandy
to celebrate your kid's high school
graduation. Damn near anything,
within reason.

He slips somebody a pack of smokes, smooth sleight-of-hand.
 9.


RED (V.O.)
Yes sir, I'm a regular Sears &
Roebuck.

TWO SHORT SIREN BLASTS issue from the main tower, drawing
everybody's attention to the loading dock. The outer gate
swings open...revealing a gray prison bus outside.

RED (V.O.)
So when Andy Dufresne came to me in
and asked me to smuggle Rita
Hayworth into the prison for him, I
told him no problem. And it wasn't.

CON
Fresh fish! Fresh fish today!

Red is joined by HEYWOOD, SKEET, FLOYD, JIGGER, ERNIE,
SNOOZE. Most cons crowd to the fence to gawk and jeer, but
Red and his group mount the bleachers and settle in
comfortably.

INT -- PRISON BUS -- DUSK (1947)

Andy sits in back, wearing steel collar and chains.

RED (V.O.)
Andy came to Shawshank Prison in
early 1947 for murdering his wife
and the fella she was bangin'.

The bus lurches forward, RUMBLES through the gates. Andy
gazes around, swallowed by prison walls.

RED (V.O.)
On the outside, he'd been vice-
president of a large Portland bank.
Good work for a man as young as he
was, when you consider how
conservative banks were back then.

TOWER GUARD
All clear!

GUARDS approach the bus with carbines. The door jerks open.
The new fish disembark, chained together single-file,
blinking sourly at their surroundings. Andy stumbles against
the MAN in front of him, almost drags him down.

BYRON HADLEY, captain of the guard, slams his baton into
Andy's back. Andy goes to his knees, gasping in pain. JEERS
and SHOUTS from the spectators.
 10.


HADLEY
On your feet before I fuck you up
so bad you never walk again.

ON THE BLEACHERS

RED
There they are, boys. The Human
Charm Bracelet.

HEYWOOD
Never seen such a sorry-lookin'
heap of maggot shit in my life.

JIGGER
Comin' from you, Heywood, you being
so pretty and all...

FLOYD
Takin' bets today, Red?

RED
(pulls notepad and
pencil)
Bear Catholic? Pope shit in the
woods? Smokes or coin, bettor's
choice.

FLOYD
Smokes. Put me down for two.

RED
High roller. Who's your horse?

FLOYD
That gangly sack of shit, third
from the front. He'll be the first.

HEYWOOD
Bullshit. I'll take that action.

ERNIE
Me too.

Other hands go up. Red jots the names.

HEYWOOD
You're out some smokes, son. Take
my word.

FLOYD
You're so smart, you call it.
 11.


HEYWOOD
I say that chubby fat-ass...let's
see...fifth from the front. Put me
down for a quarter deck.

RED
That's five cigarettes on Fat-Ass.
Any takers?

More hands go up. Andy and the others are paraded along,
forced by their chains to take tiny baby steps, flinching
under the barrage of jeers and shouts. The old-timers are
shaking the fence, trying to make the newcomers shit their
pants. Some of the new fish shout back, but mostly they look
terrified. Especially Andy.

RED (V.O.)
I must admit I didn't think much of
Andy first time I laid eyes on him.
He might'a been important on the
outside, but in here he was just a
little turd in prison grays. Looked
like a stiff breeze could blow him
over. That was my first impression
of the man.

SKEET
What say, Red?

RED
Little fella on the end.
Definitely. I stake half a pack.
Any takers?

SNOOZE
Rich bet.

RED
C'mon, boys, who's gonna prove me
wrong?
(hands go up)
Floyd, Skeet, Joe, Heywood. Four
brave souls, ten smokes apiece.
That's it, gentlemen, this window's
closed.

Red pockets his notepad. A VOICE comes over the P.A.
speakers:

VOICE (AMPLIFIED)
Return to your cellblocks for
evening count.
 12.


INT -- ADMITTING AREA -- DUSK (1947)

The new fish are marched in. Guards unlock the shackles. The
chains drop away, rattling to the stone floor.

HADLEY
Eyes front.

WARDEN SAMUEL NORTON strolls forth, a colorless man in a
gray suit and a church pin in his lapel. He looks like he
could piss ice water. He appraises the newcomers with flinty
eyes.

NORTON
This is Mr. Hadley, captain of the
guard. I am Mr. Norton, the warden.
You are sinners and scum, that's
why they sent you to me. Rule
number one: no blaspheming. I'll
not have the Lord's name taken in
vain in my prison. The other rules
you'll figure out as you go along.
Any questions?

CON
When do we eat?

Cued by Norton's glance, Hadley steps up to the con and
screams right in his face:

HADLEY
YOU EAT WHEN WE SAY YOU EAT! YOU
PISS WHEN WE SAY YOU PISS! YOU SHIT
WHEN WE SAY YOU SHIT! YOU SLEEP
WHEN WE SAY YOU SLEEP! YOU MAGGOT-
DICK MOTHERFUCKER!

Hadley rams the tip of his club into the con's belly. The
man falls to his knees, gasping and clutching himself.
Hadley takes his place at Norton's side again. Softly:

NORTON
Any other questions?
(there are none)
I believe in two things. Discipline
and the Bible. Here, you'll receive
both.
(holds up a Bible)
Put your faith in the Lord. Your
ass belongs to me. Welcome to
Shawshank.
 13.


HADLEY
Off with them clothes! And I didn't
say take all day doing it, did I?

The men shed their clothes. Within seconds, all stand naked.

HADLEY (CONT’D)
First man into the shower!

Hadley shoves the FIRST CON into a steel cage open at the
front. TWO GUARDS open up with a fire hose. The con is
slammed against the back of the cage, sputtering and
hollering. Seconds later, the water is cut and the con
yanked out.

HADLEY (CONT’D)
Delouse that piece of shit! Next
man in!

The con gets a huge scoop of white delousing powder thrown
all over him. Gasping and coughing, blinking powder from his
eyes, he gets shoved to a trustee's cage. The TRUSTEE slides
a short stack of items through the slot -- prison clothes
and a Bible. All the men are processed quickly -- a blast of
water, powder, clothes and a Bible...

INT -- INFIRMARY -- NIGHT (1947)

A naked CON steps before a DOCTOR and gets a cursory exam. A
penlight is shined in his eyes, ears, nose, and throat.

DOCTOR
Bend over.

The con does. A GUARD with a penlight in his teeth spreads
his cheeks, peers up his ass, and nods. Andy is next up. He
gets the same treatment.

INT -- PRISON CHAPEL -- NIGHT (1947)

CAMERA TRACKS the naked newcomers shivering on hard wooden
chairs, clothes on their laps, Bibles open.

CHAPLAIN (O.S.)
...maketh me to lie down in green
pastures. He leadeth me beside the
still waters. He restoreth my
soul...

INT -- CELLBLOCK FIVE -- NIGHT (1947)

Three tiers to a side, concrete and steel, gray and
imposing. Andy and the others are marched in, still naked,
carrying their clothes and Bibles.
 14.


The CONS in their cells greet them with TAUNTS, JEERS, and
LAUGHTER. One by one, the new men are shown to their cells
and locked in with a CLANG OF STEEL.

RED (V.O.)
The first night's the toughest, no
doubt about it. They march you in
naked as the day you're born, fresh
from a Bible reading, skin burning
and half-blind from that delousing
shit they throw on you...

Red watches from his cell, arms slung over the crossbars,
cigarette dangling from his fingers.

RED (V.O.)
...and when they put you in that
cell, when those bars slam home,
that's when you know it's for real.
Old life blown away in the blink of
an eye...a long cold season in hell
stretching out ahead...nothing left
but all the time in the world to
think about it.

Red listens to the CLANGING below. He watches Andy and a few
others being brought up to the 2nd tier.

RED (V.O.)
Most new fish come close to madness
the first night. Somebody always
breaks down crying. Happens every
time. The only question is, who's
it gonna be?

Andy is led past and given a cell at the end of the tier.

RED (V.O.)
It's as good a thing to bet on as
any, I guess. I had my money on
Andy Dufresne...

INT -- ANDY'S CELL -- NIGHT (1947)

The bars slam home. Andy is alone in his cell, clutching his
clothes. He gazes around at his new surroundings, taking it
in. He slowly begins to dress himself...

EXT -- SHAWSHANK PRISON -- NIGHT (1947)

A malignant stone growth on the Maine landscape. The moon
hangs low and baleful in a dead sky. The headlight of a
PASSING TRAIN cuts through the night.
 15.


INT -- RED'S CELL -- NIGHT (1947)

Red lies on his bunk below us, tossing his baseball toward
the ceiling and catching it again. He pauses, listening.
FOOTSTEPS approach below, unhurried, echoing hollowly on
stone.

INT -- CELLBLOCK FIVE -- NIGHT (1947)

LOW ANGLE. A CELLBLOCK GUARD strolls into frame.

GUARD
That's lights out! Good night,
ladies.

The lights bump off in sequence. The guard exits, footsteps
echoing away. Darkness now. Silence. CAMERA CRANES UP the
tiers toward Red's cell.

RED (V.O.)
I remember my first night. Seems a
long time ago now.

Red looms from the darkness, leans on the bars. Listens.
Waits. From somewhere below comes faint, ghastly tittering.
VOICES drift through the cellblock, taunting:

VARIOUS VOICES (O.S.)
Fishee fishee fisheeee...You're
gonna like it here, new fish. A
whooole lot...Make you wish your
daddies never dicked your
mommies...You takin' this down, new
fish? Gonna be a quiz later.
(somebody LAUGHS)
Sshhh. Keep it down. The screws'll
hear...Fishee fishee fisheeee...

RED (V.O.)
The boys always go fishin' with
first-timers...and they don't quit
till they reel someone in.

The VOICES keep on, sly and creepy in the dark...

INT -- VARIOUS CELLS -- NIGHT (1947)

thru thru 25 ...while the new cons go quietly crazy in their
cells. One man paces like a caged animal...another sits
gnawing his cuticles bloody...a third is weeping
silently...a fourth is dry-heaving into the toilet...
 16.


INT -- RED'S CELL -- NIGHT (1947)

Red waits at the bars. Smoking. Listening. He cranes his
head, peers down toward Andy's cell. Nothing. Not a peep.

HEYWOOD (O.S.)
Fat-Ass...oh, Faaaat-Ass. Talk to
me, boy. I know you're in there. I
can hear you breathin'. Now don't
you listen to these nitwits, hear?

INT -- FAT-ASS' CELL -- NIGHT (1947)

Fat-Ass is crying, trying not to hyperventilate.

HEYWOOD (O.S.)
This ain't such a bad place. I'll
introduce you around, make you feel
right at home. I know some big ol'
bull queers who'd love to make your
acquaintance...especially that big
white mushy butt of yours...

And that's it. Fat-Ass lets out a LOUD WAIL of despair:

FAT-ASS
OH GOD! I DON'T BELONG HERE! I
WANNA GO HOME!

INT -- HEYWOOD'S CELL -- NIGHT (1947)

HEYWOOD
AND IT'S FAT-ASS BY A NOSE.'

INT -- CELLBLOCK -- NIGHT (1947)

The place goes nuts. Fat-Ass throws himself screaming
against the bars. The entire block starts CHANTING:

VOICES
Fresh fish...fresh fish...fresh
fish...fresh fish...

FAT-ASS
I WANNA GO HOME! I WANT MY MOTHER.'

VOICE (O.S.)
I had your mother! She wasn't that
great!

The lights bump on. GUARDS pour in, led by Hadley himself.

HADLEY
What the Christ is this happy shit?
 17.


VOICE (O.S.)
He took the Lord's name in vain!
I'm tellin' the warden!

HADLEY
(to the unseen wit)
You'll be tellin' him with my baton
up your ass!

Hadley arrives at Fat-Ass' cell, bellowing through the bars:

HADLEY (CONT’D)
What's your malfunction you fat
fuckin' barrel of monkey-spunk?

FAT-ASS
PLEASE! THIS AIN'T RIGHT! I AIN'T
SUPPOSED TO BE HERE! NOT ME!

HADLEY
I ain't gonna count to three! Not
even to one! Now shut the fuck up
'fore I sing you a lullabye!

Fat-Ass keeps blubbering and wailing. Total freak-out.
Hadley draws his baton, gestures to his men. Open it.

A GUARD unlocks the cell. Hadley pulls Fat-Ass out and
starts beating him with the baton, brutally raining blows.
Fat-Ass falls, tries to crawl.

The place goes dead silent. All we hear now is the dull
THWACK-THWACK-THWACK of the baton. Fat-ass passes out.
Hadley gets in a few more licks and finally stops.

HADLEY (CONT’D)
Get this tub of shit down to the
infirmary.
(peers around)
If I hear so much as a mouse fart
in here the rest of the night, by
God and Sonny Jesus, you'll all
visit the infirmary. Every last
motherfucker here.

The guards wrestle Fat-Ass onto a stretcher and carry him
off. FOOTSTEPS echo away. Lights off. Darkness again.
Silence.

INT -- RED'S CELL -- NIGHT (1947)

Red stares through the bars at the main floor below, eyes
riveted to the small puddle of blood where Fat-Ass went
down.
 18.


RED (V.O.)
His first night in the joint, Andy
Dufresne cost me two packs of
cigarettes. He never made a
sound...

INT -- CELLBLOCK FIVE -- MORNING (1947)

LOUD BUZZER. The master locks are thrown -- KA-THUMP! The
cons step from their cells, lining the tiers. The GUARDS
holler their head-counts to the HEAD BULL, who jots on a
clipboard. Red peers at Andy, checking him out. Andy stands
in line, collar buttoned, hair combed.

INT -- MESS HALL -- MORNING (1947)

Andy goes through the breakfast line, gets a scoop of glop
on his tray. WE PAN ANDY through the noise and
confusion...and discover BOGS DIAMOND and ROOSTER MacBRIDE
watching Andy go by. Bogs sizes Andy up with a salacious
gleam in his eye, mutters something to Rooster. Rooster
laughs.

Andy finds a table occupied by Red and his regulars, chooses
a spot at the end where nobody is sitting. Ignoring their
stares, he picks up his spoon -- and pauses, seeing
something in his food. He carefully fishes it out with his
fingers.

It's a squirming maggot. Andy grimaces, unsure what to do
with it. BROOKS HATLEN is sitting closest to Andy. At age
65, he's a senior citizen, a long-standing resident.

BROOKS
You gonna eat that?

ANDY
Hadn't planned on it.

BROOKS
You mind?

Andy passes the maggot to Brooks. Brooks examines it,
rolling it between his fingertips like a man checking out a
fine cigar. Andy is riveted with apprehension.

BROOKS (CONT’D)
Mmm. Nice and ripe.

Andy can't bear to watch. Brooks opens up his sweater and
feeds the maggot to a baby crow nestled in an inside pocket.
Andy breathes a sigh of relief.
 19.


BROOKS (CONT’D)
Jake says thanks. Fell out of his
nest over by the plate shop. I'm
lookin' after him till he's old
enough to fly.

Andy nods, proceeds to eat. Carefully. Heywood approaches.

JIGGER
Oh, Christ, here he comes.

HEYWOOD
Mornin', boys. It's a fine mornin'.
You know why it's fine?

Heywood plops his tray down, sits. The men start pulling out
cigarettes and handing them down.

HEYWOOD (CONT’D)
That's right, send 'em all down. I
wanna see 'em lined up in a row,
pretty as a chorus line.

An impressive pile forms. Heywood bends down and inhales
deeply, smelling the aroma. Rapture.

FLOYD
Smell my ass...

HEYWOOD
Gee, Red. Terrible shame, your
horse comin' in last and all. Hell,
I sure do love that horse of mine.
I believe I owe that boy a big
sloppy kiss when I see him.

RED
Give him some'a your cigarettes
instead, cheap bastard.

HEYWOOD
Say Tyrell, you pull infirmary duty
this week? How's that winnin' horse
of mine, anyway?

TYRELL
Dead.
(the men fall silent)
Hadley busted his head pretty good.
Doc already went home for the
night. Poor bastard lay there till
this morning. By then...
 20.


He shakes his head, turns back to his food. The silence
mounts. Heywood glances around. Men resume eating. Softly:

ANDY
What was his name?

HEYWOOD
What? What'd you say?

ANDY
I was wondering if anyone knew his
name.

HEYWOOD
What the fuck you care, new fish?
(resumes eating)
Doesn't matter what his fuckin'
name was. He's dead.

INT -- PRISON LAUNDRY -- DAY (1947)

A DEAFENING NOISE of industrial washers and presses. Andy
works the laundry line. A nightmarish job. He's new at it.
BOB, the con foreman, elbows him aside and shows him how
it's done.

INT -- SHOWERS -- DAY (1947)

Shower heads mounted in bare concrete. Andy showers with a
dozen or more men. No modesty here. At least the water is
good and hot, soothing his tortured muscles.

Bogs looms from the billowing steam, smiling, checking Andy
up and down. Rooster and PETE appear from the sides. The
Sisters.

BOGS
You're some sweet punk. You been
broke in yet?

Andy tries to step past them. He gets shoved around, nothing
serious, just some slap and tickle. Jackals sizing up prey.

BOGS (CONT’D)
Hard to get. I like that.

Andy breaks free, flushed and shaking. He hurries off,
leaving the three Sisters laughing.

INT -- ANDY'S CELL -- NIGHT (1947)

Andy lies staring at the darkness, unable to sleep.
 21.


EXT -- EXERCISE YARD -- DAY (1947)

Exercise period. Red plays catch with Heywood and Jigger,
lazily tossing a baseball around. Red notices Andy off to
the side. Nods hello. Andy takes this as a cue to amble
over. Heywood and Jigger pause, watching.

ANDY
(offers his hand)
Hello. I'm Andy Dufresne.

Red glances at the hand, ignores it. The game continues.

RED
The wife-killin' banker.

ANDY
How do you know that?

RED
I keep my ear to the ground. Why'd
you do it?

ANDY
I didn't, since you ask.

RED
Hell, you'll fit right in, then.
(off Andy's look)
Everyone's innocent in here, don't
you know that? Heywood! What are
you in for, boy?

HEYWOOD
Didn't do it! Lawyer fucked me!

Red gives Andy a look. See?

ANDY
What else have you heard?

RED
People say you're a cold fish. They
say you think your shit smells
sweeter than ordinary. That true?

ANDY
What do you think?

RED
Ain't made up my mind yet.

Heywood nudges Jigger. Watch this. He winds up and throws
the ball hard -- right at Andy's head.
 22.


Andy sees it coming out of the corner of his eye, whirls and
catches it. Beat. He sends the ball right back, zinging it
into Heywood's hands. Heywood drops the ball and grimaces,
wringing his stung hands.

ANDY
I understand you're a man who knows
how to get things.

RED
I'm known to locate certain things
from time to time. They seem to
fall into my hands. Maybe it's
'cause I'm Irish.

ANDY
I wonder if you could get me a rock-
hammer?

RED
What is it and why?

ANDY
You make your customers' motives a
part of your business?

RED
If you wanted a toothbrush, I
wouldn't ask questions. I'd just
quote a price. A toothbrush, see,
is a non-lethal sort of object.

ANDY
Fair enough. A rock-hammer is about
eight or nine inches long. Looks
like a miniature pickaxe, with a
small sharp pick on one end, and a
blunt hammerhead on the other. It's
for rocks.

RED
Rocks.

Andy squats, motions Red to join him. Andy grabs a handful
of dirt and sifts it through his hands. He finds a pebble
and rubs it clean. It has a nice milky glow. He tosses it to
Red.

RED (CONT’D)
Quartz?

ANDY
Quartz, sure. And look. Mica.
Shale. Silted granite.
(MORE)
 23.

ANDY (CONT'D)
There's some graded limestone, from
when they cut this place out of the
hill.

RED
So?

ANDY
I'm a rockhound. At least I was, in
my old life. I'd like to be again,
on a limited scale.

RED
Yeah, that or maybe plant your toy
in somebody's skull?

ANDY
I have no enemies here.

RED
No? Just wait.

Red flicks his gaze past Andy. Bogs is watching them.

RED (CONT’D)
Word gets around. The Sisters have
taken a real shine to you, yes they
have. Especially Bogs.

ANDY
Tell me something. Would it help if
I explained to them I'm not
homosexual?

RED
Neither are they. You have to be
human first. They don't qualify.
(off Andy's look)
Bull queers take by force, that's
all they want or understand. I'd
grow eyes in the back of my head if
I were you.

ANDY
Thanks for the advice.

RED
That comes free. But you understand
my concern.

ANDY
If there's trouble, I doubt a rock-
hammer will do me any good.
 24.


RED
Then I guess you wanna escape.
Tunnel under the wall maybe?
(Andy laughs politely)
I miss the joke. What's so funny?

ANDY
You'll know when you see the rock-
hammer.

RED
What's this item usually go for?

ANDY
Seven dollars in any rock and gem
shop.

RED
My standard mark-up's twenty
percent, but we're talkin' about a
special object. Risk goes up, price
goes up. Call it ten bucks even.

ANDY
Ten it is.

RED
I'll see what I can do.
(rises, slapping dust)
But it's a waste of money.

ANDY
Oh?

RED
Folks who run this place love
surprise inspections. They turn a
blind eye to some things, but not a
gadget like that. They'll find it,
and you'll lose it. Mention my
name, we'll never do business
again. Not for a pair of shoelaces
or a stick of gum.

ANDY
I understand. Thank you, Mr...?

RED
Red. The name's Red.

ANDY
Red. I'm Andy. Pleasure doing
business with you.
 25.


They shake. Andy strolls off. Red watches him go.

RED (V.O.)
I could see why some of the boys
took him for snobby. He had a quiet
way about him, a walk and a talk
that just wasn't normal around
here. He strolled. like a man in a
park without a care or worry. Like
he had on an invisible coat that
would shield him from this place.
(resumes playing catch)
Yes, I think it would be fair to
say I liked Andy from the start.

INT -- MESS HALL -- DAY (1947)

Red gets his breakfast and heads for a table. Andy falls in
step, slips him a tightly-folded square of paper.

INT -- RED'S CELL -- NIGHT (1947)

Lying on his bunk, Red unfolds the square. A ten dollar
bill.

RED (V.O.)
He was a man who adapted fast.

EXT -- LOADING DOCK -- DAY (1947)

Under watchful supervision, CONS are off-loading bags of
dirty laundry from an "Eliot Nursing Home" truck.

RED (V.O.)
Years later, I found out he'd
brought in quite a bit more than
just ten dollars...

A certain bag hits the ground. The TRUCK DRIVER shoots a
look at a black con, LEONARD, then ambles over to a GUARD to
shoot the shit. Leonard loads the bag onto a cart...

INT -- PRISON LAUNDRY -- DAY (1947)

Bags are being unloaded. We find Leonard working the line.

RED (V.O.)
When they check you into this
hotel, one of the bellhops bends
you over and looks up your works,
just to make sure you're not
carrying anything. But a truly
determined man can get an object
quite a ways up there.
 26.


Leonard slips a small paper-wrapped package out of the
laundry bag, hides it under his apron, and keeps sorting...

INT -- PRISON LAUNDRY EXCHANGE -- DAY (1947)

Red deposits his dirty bundle and moves down the line to
where the clean sheets are being handed out.

RED (V.O.)
That's how Andy joined our happy
little Shawshank family with more
than five hundred dollars on his
person. Determination.

Leonard catches Red's eye, turns and grabs a specific stack
of clean sheets. He hands it across to Red --

TIGHT ANGLE

-- and more than clean laundry changes hands. Two packs of
cigarettes slide out of Red's hand into Leonard's.

INT -- RED'S CELL -- DAY (1947)

Red slips the package out of his sheets, carefully checks to
make sure nobody's coming, then rips it open. He pulls out
the rock-hammer. It's just as Andy described. Red laughs
softly.

RED (V.O.)
Andy was right. I finally got the
joke. It would take a man about six
hundred years to tunnel under the
wall with one of these.

INT -- CELLBLOCK FIVE -- 2ND TIER -- NIGHT (1947)

Brooks Hatlen pushes a cart of books from cell to cell. The
rolling library. He finds Red waiting for him. Red slips the
rock-hammer, wrapped in a towel, through the bars and onto
the cart. Next comes six cigarettes to pay for postage.

RED
Dufresne.

Brooks nods, never missing a beat. He rolls his cart to
Andy's cell, mutters through the bars:

BROOKS
Middle shelf, wrapped in a towel.

Andy's hand snakes through the bars and makes the object
disappear. The hand comes back and deposits a small slip of
folded paper along with more cigarettes.
 27.


Brooks turns his cart around and goes back. He pauses,
sorting his books long enough for Red to snag the slip of
paper. Brooks continues on, scooping the cigarettes off the
cart and into his pocket.

INT -- RED'S CELL -- NIGHT (1947)

Red unfolds the slip of paper. Penciled neatly on it is a
single word: "Thanks."

INT -- PRISON LAUNDRY -- DAY (1947)

We are assaulted by the deafening noise of the laundry line.
Andy is doing his job, getting good at it.

BOB
DUFRESNE! WE'RE LOW ON HEXLITE!
HEAD ON BACK AND FETCH US UP SOME!

Andy nods. He leaves the line, weaving his way through the
laundry room and into --

INT -- BACK ROOMS/STOCK AREA -- DAY (1947)

-- a dark, tangled maze of rooms and corridors, boilers and
furnaces, sump pumps, old washing machines, pallets of
cleaning supplies and detergents, you name it. Andy hefts a
cardboard drum of Hexlite off the stack, turns around --

-- and finds Bogs Diamond in the aisle. blocking his way.
Rooster looms from the shadows to his right, Pete Verness on
the left. A frozen beat. Andy slams the Hexlite to the
floor, rips off the top, and scoops out a double handful.

ANDY
You get this in your eyes, it
blinds you.

BOGS
Honey, hush.

Andy backs up, holding them at bay, trying to maneuver
through the maze. The Sisters keep coming, tense and
guarded, eyes riveted and gauging his every move, trying to
outflank him. Andy trips on some old gaint sugglies. That's
all it takes. They're on him in an instant, kicking and
stomping.

Andy gets yanked to his feet. Bogs applies a chokehold from
behind. They propel him across the room and slam him against
an old four-pocket machine, bending him over it. Rooster
jams a rag into Andy's mouth and secures it with a steel
pipe, like a horse bit.
 28.


Andy kicks and struggles, but Rooster and Pete have his arms
firmly pinned. Bogs whispers in Andy's ear:

BOGS (CONT’D)
That's it, fight. Better that way.

Andy starts screaming, muffled by the rag. CAMERA PULLS
BACK, SLOWLY WIDENING. The big Washex blocks our view. All
we see is Andy's screaming face and the men holding him
down...

...and CAMERA DRIFTS FROM THE ROOM, leaving the dark place
and the dingy act behind...MOVING up empty corridors, past
concrete walls and steel pipes...

RED (V.O.)
I wish I could tell you that Andy
fought the good fight, and the
Sisters let him be. I wish I could
tell you that, but prison is no
fairy-tale world.

WE EMERGE into the prison laundry past a guard, WIDENING for
a final view of the line. The giant steel "mangler" is
slapping down in brutal rhythm. The sound is deafening.

RED (V.O.)
He never said who did it...but we
all knew.

PRISON MONTAGE: (1947 THROUGH 1949)

ANDY PLODS THROUGH HIS DAYS. WORKING. EATING. CHIPPING AND

shaping his rocks after lights-out...

RED (V.O.)
Things went on like that for a
while. Prison life consists of
routine, and then more routine.

ANDY WALKS THE YARD, FACE SWOLLEN AND BRUISED.

RED (V.O.)
Every so often, Andy would show up
with fresh bruises.

ANDY EATS BREAKFAST. A FEW TABLES OVER, BOGS BLOWS HIM A
KISS

RED (V.O.)
The Sisters kept at him. Sometimes
he was able to fight them off...
sometimes not.
 29.


ANDY BACKS INTO A CORNER IN SOME DINGY PART OF THE PRISON,

wildly swinging a rake at his tormentors.

RED (V.O.)
He always fought, that's what I
remember. He fought because he knew
if he didn't fight, it would make
it that much easier not to fight
the next time.

The rake connects, snapping off over somebody's skull. They
beat the hell out of him.

RED (V.O.)
Half the time it landed him in the
infirmary...

INT -- SOLITARY CONFINEMENT ("THE HOLE") -- NIGHT (1949)

A stone closet. No bed, sink, or lights. Just a toilet with
no seat. Andy sits on bare concrete, bruised face lit by a
faint ray of light falling through the tiny slit in the
steel door.

RED (V.O.)
...the other half, it landed him in
solitary. Warden Norton's "grain &
drain" vacation. Bread, water, and
all the privacy you could want.

INT -- PRISON LAUNDRY -- DAY (1949)

Andy is working the line.

RED (V.O.)
And that's how it went for Andy.
That was his routine. I do believe
those first two years were the
worst for him. And I also believe
if things had gone on that way,
this place would have got the best
of him. But then, in the spring of
1949, the powers-that-be decided
that...

EXT -- PRISON YARD -- DAY (1949)

Warden Norton addresses the assembled cons via bullhorn:

NORTON
...the roof of the license-plate
factory needs resurfacing. I need a
dozen volunteers for a week's work.
(MORE)
 30.

NORTON (CONT'D)
We're gonna be taking names in this
steel bucket here...

Red glances around at his friends. Andy also catches his
eye.

RED (V.O.)
It was outdoor detail, and May is
one damn fine month to be workin'
outdoors.

EXT -- PRISON YARD -- DAY (1949)

Cons shuffle past, dropping slips of paper into a bucket.

RED (V.O.)
More than a hundred men volunteered
for the job.

Red saunters to a guard named TIM YOUNGBLOOD, mutters
discreetly in his ear.

EXT -- PRISON YARD -- DAY (1949)

Youngblood is pulling names and reading them off. Red
exchanges grins with Andy and the others.

RED (V.O.)
Wouldn't you know it? Me and some
fellas I know were among the names
called.

INT -- PRISON CORRIDOR -- NIGHT (1949)

Red slips Youngblood six packs of cigarettes.

RED (V.O.)
Only cost us a pack of smokes per
man. I made my usual twenty
percent, of course.

EXT -- LICENSE PLATE FACTORY -- DAY (1949)

A tar-cooker bubbles and smokes. TWO CONS dip up a bucket of
tar and tie a rope to the handle. The rope goes taught.
CAMERA FOLLOWS the bucket of tar up the side of the building
to --

THE ROOF

-- where it is relayed to the work detail. the men are
dipping big Padd brushes and spreading the tar. ANGLZ OVER
to Byron Hadley bitching sourly to his fellow guards:
 31.


HADLEY
...so this shithead lawyer calls
long distance from Texas, and he
says, Byron Hadley? I say, yeah. He
says, sorry to inform you, but your
brother just died.

YOUNGBLOOD
Damn, Byron. Sorry to hear that.

HADLEY
I ain't. He was an asshole. Run off
years ago, family ain't heard of
him since. Figured him for dead
anyway. So this lawyer prick says,
your brother died a rich man. Oil
wells and shit, close to a million
bucks. Jesus, it's frigging
incredible how lucky some assholes
can get.

TROUT
A million bucks? Jeez-Louise! You
get any of that?

HADLEY
Thirty five thousand. That's what
he left me.

TROUT
Dollars? Holy shit, that's great!
Like winnin' a lottery...
(off Hadley's shitty
look)
...ain't it?

HADLEY
Dumbshit. What do you figger the
government's gonna do to me? Take a
big wet bite out of my ass, is
what.

TROUT
Oh. Hadn't thought of that.

HADLEY
Maybe leave me enough to buy a new
car with. Then what happens? You
pay tax on the car. Repairs and
maintenance. Goddamn kids pesterin'
you to take 'em for a ride...
 32.


MERT
And drive it, if they're old
enough.

HADLEY
That's right, wanting to drive it,
wanting to learn on it,
f'Chrissake! Then at the end of the
year, if you figured the tax wrong,
they make you pay out of your own
pocket. Uncle Sam puts his hand in
your shirt and squeezes your tit
till it's purple. Always get the
short end. That's a fact.
(spits over the side)
Some brother. Shit.

The prisoners keep spreading tar, eyes on their work.

HEYWOOD
Poor Byron. What terrible fuckin'
luck. Imagine inheriting thirty
five thousand dollars.

RED
Crying shame. Some folks got it
awful bad.

Red glances over -- and is shocked to see Andy standing up,
listening to the guards talk.

RED (CONT’D)
Hey, you nuts? Keep your eyes on
your pail!

Andy tosses his Padd in the bucket and strolls toward
Hadley.

RED (CONT’D)
Andy! Come back! Shit!

SNOOZE
What's he doing?

FLOYD
Gettin' himself killed.

RED
God damn it...

HEYWOOD
Just keep spreadin' tar...
 33.


The guards stiffen at Andy's approach. Youngblood's hand
goes to his holster. The tower guards CLICK-CLACK their
rifle bolts. Hadley turns, stupefied to find Andy there.

ANDY
Mr. Hadley. Do you trust your wife?

HADLEY
That's funny. You're gonna look
funnier suckin' my dick with no
fuckin' teeth.

ANDY
What I mean is, do you think she'd
go behind your back? Try to
hamstring you?

HADLEY
That's it! Step aside, Mert. This
fucker's havin' hisself an
accident.

Hadley grabs Andy's collar and propels him violently toward
the edge of the roof. The cons furiously keep spreading tar.

HEYWOOD
Oh God, he's gonna do it, he's
gonna throw him off the roof...

SNOOZE
Oh shit, oh fuck, oh Jesus...

ANDY
Because if you do trust her,
there's no reason in the world you
can't keep every cent of that
money.

Hadley abruptly jerks Andy to a stop right at the edge. In
fact, Andy's past the edge, beyond his balance, shoetips
scraping the roof. The only thing between him and an ugly
drop to the concrete is Hadley's grip on the front of his
shirt.

HADLEY
You better start making sense.

ANDY
If you want to keep that money, all
of it, just give it to your wife.
See, the IRS allows you a one-time-
only gift to your spouse. It's good
up to sixty thousand dollars.
 34.


HADLEY
Naw, that ain't right! Tax free?

ANDY
Tax free. IRS can't touch one cent.

The cons are pausing work, stunned by this business
discussion.

HADLEY
You're the smart banker what shot
his wife. Why should I believe a
smart banker like you? So's I can
wind up in here with you?

ANDY
It's perfectly legal. Go ask the
IRS, they'll say the same thing.
Actually, I feel silly telling you
all this. I'm sure you would have
investigated the matter yourself.

HADLEY
Fuckin'-A. I don't need no smart
wife-killin' banker to show me
where the bear shit in the
buckwheat.

ANDY
Of course not. But you will need
somebody to set up the tax-free
gift, and that'll cost you. A
lawyer, for example...

HADLEY
Ambulance-chaaing, highway-robbing
cocksuckers!

ANDY
...or come to think of it, I
suppose I could set it up for you.
That would save you some money.
I'll write down the forms you need,
you can pick them up, and I'll
prepare them for your signature...
nearly free of charge.
(off Hadley's look)
I'd only ask three beers apiece for
my co-workers, if that seems fair.

TROUT
(guffawing)
Co-workers! Get him! That's rich,
ain't it? Co-workers...
 35.


Hadley freezes him with a look. Andy presses on:

ANDY
I think a nan working outdoors
feels more like a man if he can
have a bottle of suds. That's only
my opinion.

The convicts stand gaping, all pretense of work gone. They
look like they've been pole-axed. Hadley shoots them a look.

HADLEY
What are you jimmies starin' at?
Back to work, goddamn it!

EXT -- LICENSE PLATE FACTORY -- DAY (1949)

As before, an object is hauled up the side of the building
by rope -- only this time, it's a cooler of beer and ice.

RED (V.O.)
And that's how it came to pass,
that on the second-to-last day of
the job, the convict crew that
tarred the plate factory roof in
the spring of '49...

EXT -- ROOF -- SHORTLY LATER (1949)

The cons are taking the sun and drinking beer.

RED (V.O.)
...wound up sitting in a row at ten
o'clock in the morning, drinking
icy cold Black Label beer courtesy
of the hardest screw that ever
walked a turn at Shawshank State
Prison.

HADLEY
Drink up, boys. While it's cold.

RED (V.O.)
The colossal prick even managed to
sound magnanimous.

Red knocks back another sip, enjoying the bitter cold on his
tongue and the warm sun on face.

RED (V.O.)
We sat and drank with the sun on
our shoulders, and felt like free
men. We could'a been tarring the
 36.


roof of one of our own houses. We were the Lords of all
Creation.

He glances over to Andy squatting apart from the others.

RED (V.O.)
As for Andy, he spent that break
hunkered in the shade, a strange
little smile on his face, watching
us drink his beer.

HEYWOOD
(approaches with a beer)
Here's a cold one, Andy.

ANDY
No thanks. I gave up drinking.

Heywood drifts back to others, giving them a look.

RED (V.O.)
You could argue he'd done it to
curry favor with the guards. Or
maybe make a few friends among us
cons. Me, I think he did it just to
feel normal again...if only for a
short while.

EXT -- PRISON YARD -- THE BLEACHERS -- DAY (1949)

Andy and Red play checkers. Red makes his move.

RED
King me.

ANDY
Chess. Now there's a game of kings.
Civilized...strategic...

RED
...and totally fuckin'
inexplicable. Hate that game.

ANDY
Maybe you'll let me teach you
someday. I've been thinking of
getting a board together.

RED
You come to the right place. I'm
the man who can get things.
 37.


ANDY
We might do business on a board.
But the pieces, I'd like to carve
those myself. One side done in
quartz... the opposing side in
limestone.

RED
That'd take you years.

ANDY
Years I've got. What I don't have
are the rocks. Pickings here in the
exercise yard are pretty slim.

RED
How's that rock-hammer workin' out
anyway? Scratch your name on your
wall yet?

ANDY
(smiles)
Not yet. I suppose I should.

RED
Andy? I guess we're gettin' to be
friends, ain't we?

ANDY
I suppose we are.

RED
I ask a question? Why'd you do it?

ANDY
I'm innocent, remember? Just like
everybody else here.

Red takes this as a gentle rebuff, keeps playing.

ANDY (CONT’D)
What are you in for, Red?

RED
Murder. Same as you.

ANDY
Innocent?

RED
The only guilty man in Shawshank.
 38.


INT -- ANDY'S CELL -- NIGHT (1949)

Andy lies in his bunk after lights out, polishing a fragment
of quartz by the light of the moon. He pauses, glancing at
all the names scratched in the wall. He rises, makes sure
the coast is clear, and starts scratching his name into the
cement with his rock-hammer, adding to the record.

RAY MILLAND

fills the screen in glorious (and scratchy) black & white,
suffering a bad case of DT's...

INT -- PRISON AUDITORIUM -- NIGHT (1949)

...while a CONVICT AUDIENCE hoots and catcalls, talking back
to the screen. We find Red slouched in a folding chair,
watching the movie. Andy enters, backlit by the flickering
glare of the projector, and takes a seat next to him.

RED
Here's the good part. Bugs come out
of the walls to get his ass.

ANDY
I know. I've seen it three times
this month already.

Ray Milland starts SCREAMING. The entire audience SCREAMS
with him, high-pitched and hysterical. Andy fidgets.

ANDY (CONT’D)
Can we talk business?

RED
Sure. What do you want?

ANDY
Rita Hayworth. Can you get her?

RED
No problem. Take a few weeks.

ANDY
Weeks?

RED
Don't have her stuffed down my
pants this very moment, sorry to
say. Relax. What are you so nervous
about? She's just a woman.

Andy nods, embarrassed. He gets up and hurries out. Red
grins, turns back to the movie.
 39.


INT -- AUDITORIUM CORRIDOR -- NIGHT (1949)

Andy exits the theater and freezes in his tracks. Two dark
figures loom in the corridor, blocking his path. Rooster and
Pete. Andy turns back -- and runs right into Bogs. Instant
bear hug. The Sisters are on him like a flash. They kick a
door open and drag him into --

THE PROJECTION BOOTH

-- where they confront the startled PROJECTIONIST, an old
con blinking at them through thick bifocals.

BOGS
Take a walk.

PROJECTIONIST
I have to change reels.

BOGS
I said fuck off.

Terrified, the old man darts past and out the door. Pete
slams and locks it. Bogs shoves Andy to the center of the
room.

ANDY
I know. I've seen it three times
this month already.

Ray Milland starts SCREAMING. The entire audience SCREAMS
witt him, high-pitched and hysterical. Andy fidgets.

ANDY (CONT’D)
Can we talk business?

RED
Sure. What do you want?

ANDY
Rita Hayworth. Can you get her?

RED
No problem. Take a few weeks.

ANDY
Weeks?

RED
Don't have her stuffed down my
pants this very moment, sorry to
say. Relax. What are you so nervous
about? She's just a woman.
 40.


Andy nods, embarrassed. He gets up and hurries out. Red
grins, turns back to the movie.

INT -- AUDITORIUM CORRIDOR -- NIGHT (1949)

Andy exits the theater and freezes in his tracks. Two dark
figures loom in the corridor, blocking his path. Rooster and
Pete. Andy turns back -- and runs right into Bogs. Instant
bear hug. The Sisters are on him like a flash. They kick a
door open and drag him into --

THE PROJECTION BOOTH

-- where they confront the startled PROJECTIONIST, an old
con blinking at them through thick bifocals.

BOGS
Take a walk.

PROJECTIONIST
I have to change reels.

BOGS
I said fuck off.

Terrified, the old man darts past and out the door. Pete
slams and locks it. Bogs shoves Andy to the center of the
room.

BOGS (CONT’D)
Ain't you gonna scream?

Andy sighs, cocks his head at the projector.

ANDY
They'd never hear me over that.
Let's get this over with.

Seemingly resigned, Andy turns around, leans on the rewind
bench -- and curls his fingers around a full 1.000 foot reel
of 35mm film. Rooster licks his lips, pushes past the
others.

ROOSTER
Me first.

ANDY
Okay.

Andy whips the reel of film around in a vicious arc,
smashing it into Rooster's face and bouncing him off the
wall.
 41.


ROOSTER
Fuck! Shit! He broke my nose!

Andy fights like hell, but is soon overpowered and forced to
his knees. Bogs steps to Andy, pulls out an awl with a
vicious eight-inch spike, gives him a good long look at it.

BOGS
Now I'm gonna open my fly, and
you're gonna swallow what I give
you to swallow. And when you d
mine, you gonna swallow Rooster's.
You done broke his nose, so he
ought to have somethin' to show for
it.

ANDY
Anything you put in my mouth,
you're going to lose.

BOGS
You don't understand. You do that,
I'll put all eight inches of this
steel ii your ear.

ANDY
Okay. But you should know that
sudden serious brain injury causes
the victim to bite down. Hard.
(faint smile)
In fact, I understand the bite-
reflex is so strong the victim's
jaws have to be pried open with a
crowbar.

The Sisters consider this carefully. The film runs out of
the projector, flapping on the reel. The screen goes white.

BOGS
You little fuck.

Andy gets a bootheel in the face. The Sisters start kicking
and beating the living shit out of him with anything they
can get their hands on. In the theater, the convicts are
CHANTING AND CLAPPING for the movie to come back on.

RED (V.O.)
Bogs didn't put anything in Andy's
mouth, and neither did his friends.
What they did do is beat him within
an inch of his life...
 42.


INT -- INFIRMARY -- DAY (1949)

Andy lies wrapped in bandages.

RED (V.O.)
Andy spent a month in traction.

INT -- SOLITARY CONFINEMENT -- DAY (1949)

RED (V.O.)
Bogs spent a week in the hole.

Bogs sits on bare concrete. The steel door slides open.

GUARD
Time's up, Bogs.

INT -- CELLBLOCK FIVE -- 3RD TIER -- DUSK (1949)

Bogs comes up the stairs, smoking a cigarette. Not many cons
around; the place is virtually deserted. A VOICE echoes
dimly over the P.A. system:

VOICE (O.S.)
Return to your cellblocks for
evening count.

Bogs enters his cell. Dark in here. He fumbles for the light
cord, yanks it. The sudden light reveals Captain Hadley six
inches from his face, waiting for him. Mert steps in behind
Bogs. hemming him.

Before Bogs can even open his mouth to say "what the fuck,"
Hadley rams the tip of his baton brutally into his solar
plexus. Bogs doubles over, gagging his wind out.

GROUND FLOOR

Ernie comes slowly around the corner, rolling a steel mop
cart loaded with supplies.

2ND TIER

Red is darning a sock in his open cell. He pauses, frowning,
hearing strange THUMPING sounds. What the hell is that?

3RD TIER

It's Hadley and Mert methodically and brutally pulping Bogs
with their batons, and kicking the shit out of him for good
measure. He feebly tries to ward them off.

2ND TIER
 43.


Puzzled, Red steps from his cell, following the sound. It
dawns on him that it's coming from above. He moves to the
railing and leans out, craning around to look up --

RED'S POV

-- just as Bogs flips over the railing and comes sailing

directly toward us, eyes bugging out, SCREAMING as he falls.

RED (SLOW MOTION)

jumps back as Bogs plummets past, missing him by inches,
arms swimming and trying to grab the railing (but missing
that too), SCREAMING aaaaalll the way down --

GROUND FLOOR

-- and impacting on Ernie's gassing mop cart in an enormous
eruption of solvents and cleansers. The cart is squashed
flat, shooting out from under Bogs and skidding across the
cellblock floor like a tiddly wink, kicking up sparks for
thirty yards. Ernie is left gaping in shock at Bogs and all
the Bogs-related wreckage at his feet.

2ND TIER

Red is stunned. He very tentatively leans out and looks up.
Above him, Hadley and Mert lean on the 3rd tier railing.
Hadley tilts the cap back on his head, shakes his head.

MERT
Damn, Byron. Look'a that.

HADLEY
Poor fella must'a tripped.

A tiny drop of blood drips off the toe of Hadley's shoe and

splashes across Red's upturned cheek. He wipes it off, then
looks down at Bogs. Cons and guards are racing to the scene.

RED (V.O.)
Two things never happened again
after that. The Sisters never laid
a finger on Andy again...

EXT -- PRISON YARD/LOADING DOCK -- DAY (1949)

Bogs, wheelchair-bound and wearing a neck brace, is loaded
onto an ambulance for transport. Behind the fence stand Red
and his friends, watching.
 44.


RED (V.O.)
...and Bogs never walked again.
They transferred him to a minimum
security hospital upstate. To my
knowledge, he lived out the rest of
his days drinking his food through
a straw.

RED
I'm thinkin' Andy could use a nice
welcome back when he gets out of
the infirmary.

HEYWOOD
Sounds good to us. Figure we owe
him for the beer.

RED
Man likes to play chess. Let's get
him some rocks.

EXT -- FIELD -- DAY (1949)

A HUNDRED CONS at work. Hoes rise and fall in long waves.
GUARDS patrol on horseback. Heywood turns up a rocky chunk,
quickly shoves it down his pants. He maneuvers to Red and
the others, pulls out the chunk and shows it to them.

FLOYD
That ain't quartz. Nor limestone.

HEYWOOD
What are you, fuckin' geologist?

SNOOZE
He's right, it ain't.

HEYWOOD
What the hell is it then?

RED
Horse apple.

HEYWOOD
Bullshit.

RED
No, horse shit. Petrified.

Cackling, the men go back to work. Heywood stares at the
rock. He crumbles it in his hands.
 45.


RED (V.O.)
Despite a few hitches, the boys
came through in fine style...

INT -- PRISON LAUNDRY -- BACK ROOM -- DAY (1949)

A huge detergent box is filled with rocks, hidden in the
shadows behind a boiler furnace.

RED (V.O.)
...and by the week Andy was due
back, we had enough rocks saved up
to keep him busy till Rapture.

ANGLE SHIFTS to Red as he plops a bag of "laundry" on the
floor. Leonard and Bob toss a few more down. Red starts
pulling out contraband, giving them their commissions.

RED (V.O.)
Also got a big shipment in that
week. Cigarettes, chewing gum,
shoelaces, playing cards with naked
ladies on 'em, you name it...
(pulls a cardboard tube)
...and, of course, the most
important item.

INT -- CELLBLOCK FIVE -- NIGHT (1949)

Andy, limping a bit, returns from the infirmary. Red watches
from his cell as Andy is brought up and locked away.

INT -- ANDY'S CELL -- NIGHT (1949)

Andy finds the cardboard tube lying on his bunk.

GUARD (O.S.)
Lights out!

The lights go off. Andy opens the tube and pulls out a large
rolled poster. He lets it uncurl to the floor. A small scrap
of paper flutters out, landing at his feet. The poster is
the famous Rita Hayworth pin-up -- one hand behind her head,
eyes half closed, sulky lips parted. Andy picks up the scrap
of paper. It reads: "No charge. Welcome back." Alone in the
dark, Andy smiles.

INT -- CELLBLOCK FIVE -- MORNING (1949)

The BUZZER SOUNDS, the cells SLAM OPEN. Cons step from their
cells. Andy catches Red's eye, nods his thanks. As the men
shuffle down to breakfast, Red glances into Andy's cell --
 46.


RED'S POV -- DOLLYING PAST

-- and sees Rita in her new place of honor on Andy's wall.
Sunlight casts a harsh barred shadow across her lovely face.

INT -- CELLBLOCK FIVE -- NIGHT (1949)

Ernie is mopping the floor. He glances back and sees Warden
Norton approach the cellblock with an entourage of a DOZEN
GUARDS. Still mopping, Ernie mutters to the nearest cell:

ERNIE
Heads up. They're tossin' cells.

Word travels fast from cell to cell. Cons scramble to tidy
up and hide things. Norton enters, nods to his men. The
guards pair off in all directions, making their choices at
random.

GUARD
What kind'a contraband you hiding
in there, boy?

Cells are opened, occupants displaced, items scattered,
mattresses overturned. Whatever contraband is found gets
tossed out onto the cellblock floor. Mostly harmless stuff.

A GUARD pulls a sharpened screwdriver out of a mattress,
shoots a nasty look at the CON responsible.

NORTON
Solitary. A week. Make sure he
takes his Bible.

CON
Too goddamn dark to read down
there.

NORTON
Add another week for blasphemy.

The man is taken away. Norton's gaze goes up.

NORTON (CONT’D)
Let's try the second tier.

2ND TIER

Norton arrives, makes a thin show of picking a cell at
random. He motions at Andy on his bunk, reading his Bible.
The door is unlocked. Norton enters, trailed by his men.
Andy rises.
 47.


ANDY
Good evening.

Norton gives a curt nod. Hadley and Trout start tossing the
cell in a thorough search. Norton keeps his eyes on Andy,
looking for a wrong glance or nervous blink. He takes the
Bible out of Andy's hand.

NORTON
I'm pleased to see you reading
this. Any favorite passages?

ANDY
Watch ye therefore, for ye know not
when the master of the house
cometh.

NORTON
(smiles)
Luke. Chapter 13, verse 35. I've
always liked that one.
(strolls the cell)
But I prefer: "I am the light of
the world. He that followeth me
shall not walk in darkness, but
shall have the light of life."

ANDY
John. Chapter 8, verse 12.

NORTON
I hear you're good with numbers.
How nice. A man should have a
skill.

HADLEY
You wanna explain this?

Andy glances over. Hadley is holding up a rock blanket, a
polishing cloth roughly the size of an oven mitt.

ANDY
It's called a rock blanket. It's
for shaping and polishing rocks.
Little hobby of mine.

Hadley glances at the rocks lining the window sill, turns to
Norton.

HADLEY
Looks pretty clean. Some contraband
here, nothing to get in a twist
over.
 48.


Norton nods, strolls to the poster of Rita.

NORTON
I can't say I approve of this...
(turns to Andy)
...but I suppose exceptions can
always be made.

Norton exits, the guards follow. The cell door is slammed
and locked. Norton pauses, turns back.

NORTON (CONT’D)
I almost forgot.

He reaches through the bars and returns the Bible to Andy.

NORTON (CONT’D)
I'd hate to deprive you of this.
Salvation lies within.

Norton and his men walk away.

RED (V.O.)
Tossin' cells was just an excuse.
Truth is, Norton wanted to size
Andy up.

INT -- PRISON LAUNDRY -- DAY (1949)

Andy is working the line. Hadley enters and confers briefly
with Bob. Bob nods, crosses to Andy, taps him. Andy turns,
removes an earplug. Bob shouts over the machine noise:

BOB
DUFRESNE! YOU'RE OFF THE LINE!

INT -- WARDEN NORTON'S OFFICE -- DAY (1949)

Andy is led in. Norton is at his desk doing paperwork.
Andy's eyes go to a framed needle-point sampler on the wall
behind him that reads: "HIS JUDGMENT COMETH AND THAT RIGHT
SOON."

NORTON
My wife made that in church group.

ANDY
It's very pretty, sir.

NORTON
You like working in the laundry?

ANDY
No, sir. Not especially.
 49.


NORTON
Perhaps we can find something more
befitting a man of your education.

INT -- MAIN BUILDING -- STORAGE ROOMS -- DAY (1949)

A series of bleak rooms stacked high with unused filing
cabinets, desks, paint supplies, etc. Andy enters. He hears
a FLUTTER OF WINGS. An adult crow lands on a filing cabinet
and struts back and forth, checking him out. Andy smiles.

ANDY
Hey, Jake. Where's Brooks?

Brooks Hatlen pokes his head out of the back room.

BROOKS
Andy! Thought I heard you out here!

ANDY
I've been reassigned to you.

BROOKS
I know, they told me. Ain't that a
kick in the ass? Come on in, I'll
give you the dime tour.

INT -- SHAWSHANK PRISON LIBRARY -- DAY (1949)

Brooks leads Andy into the bleakest back room of all. Rough
plank shelves are lined with books. Brooks' private domain.

BROOKS
Here she is, the Shawshank Prison
Library. Along this side, we got
the National Geographics. That
side, the Reader's Digest Condensed
books. Bottom shelf there, some
Louis L'Amours and Erle Stanley
Gardners. Every night I pile the
cart and make my rounds. I write
down the names on this clipboard
here. Well, that's it. Easy, peasy,
Japanesey. Any questions?

Andy pauses. Something about this doesn't make any sense.

ANDY
Brooks? How long have you been
librarian?

BROOKS
Since 1912. Yuh, over 37 years.
 50.


ANDY
In all that time, have you ever had
an assistant?

BROOKS
Never needed one. Not much to it,
is there?

ANDY
So why now? Why me?

BROOKS
I dunno. Be nice to have some
comp'ny down here for a change.

HADLEY (O.S.)
Dufresne!

ANDY STEPS BACK INTO THE OUTER ROOMS AND FINDS HADLEY WITH

another GUARD, a huge fellow named DEKINS.

HADLEY (CONT’D)
That's him. That's the one.

Hadley exits. Dekins approaches Andy ominously. Andy stands
his ground, waiting for whatever comes next. Finally:

DEKINS
I'm Dekins. I been, uh, thinkin'
'bout maybe settin' up some kinda
trust fund for my kids' educations.

Andy covers his surprise. Glances at Brooks. Brooks smiles.

ANDY
I see. Well. Why don't we have a
seat and talk it over?

BROOKS
Pull down one'a them desks there.

Andy and Dekins grab a desk standing on end and tilt it to
the floor. They find chairs and settle in. Brooks returns
with a tablet of paper and a pen, slides them before Andy.

ANDY
What did you have in mind? A weekly
draw on your pay?

DEKINS
Yuh. I figured just stick it in the
bank, but Captain Hadley said check
with you first.
 51.


ANDY
He was right. You don't want your
money in a bank.

DEKINS
I don't?

ANDY
What's that gonna earn you? Two and
a half, three percent a year? We
can do a lot better than that.
(wets his pen)
So tell me, Mr. Dekins. Where do
you want to send your kids?
Harvard? Yale?

INT -- MESS HALL -- DAY (1949)

FLOYD
He didn't say that!

BROOKS
God is my witness. And Dekins, he
just blinks for a second, then
laughs his ass off. Afterward, he
actually shook Andy's hand.

HEYWOOD
My ass!

BROOKS
Shook his fuckin' hand. Just about
shit myself. All Andy needed was a
suit and tie, a jiggly little hula
girl on his desk, he would'a been
Mister Dufresne, if you please.

RED
Makin' yourself some friends, Andy.

ANDY
I wouldn't say "friends." I'm a
convicted murderer who provides
sound financial planning. That's a
wonderful pet to have.

RED
Got you out of the laundry, didn't
it?

ANDY
Maybe it can do more than that.
(off their looks)
(MORE)
 52.

ANDY (CONT'D)
How about expanding the library?
Get some new books in there.

HEYWOOD
How you 'spect to do that, "Mr.
Dufresne-if-you-please?"

ANDY
Ask the warden for funds.

LAUGHTER all around. Andy blinks at them.

BROOKS
Son, I've had six wardens through
here during my tenure, and I have
learned one great immutable truth
of the universe: ain't one of 'em
been born whose asshole don't
pucker up tight as a snare drum
when you ask for funds.

INT -- MAIN BUILDING HALLWAY -- DAY (1949)

DOLLYING Norton and Andy up the hall:

NORTON
Not a dime. My budget's stretched
thin as it is.

ANDY
I see. Perhaps I could write to the
State Senate and request funds
directly from them.

NORTON
Far as them Republican boys in
Augusta are concerned, there's only
three ways to spend the taxpayer's
hard-earned when it come to
prisons. More walls. More bars.
More guards.

ANDY
Still, I'd like to try, with your
permission. I'll send a letter a
week. They can't ignore me forever.

NORTON
They sure can, but you write your
letters if it makes you happy. I'll
even mail 'em for you, how's that?
 53.


INT -- ANDY'S CELL -- NIGHT (1949)

Andy is on his bunk, writing a letter.

RED (V.O.)
So Andy started writing a letter a
week, just like he said.

INT -- GUARD DESK/NORTON'S OUTER OFFICE -- DAY (1949)

Andy pops his head in. The GUARD shakes his head.

RED (V.O.)
And just like Norton said, Andy got
no answers. But still he kept on.

INT -- PRISON LIBRARY/ANDY'S OFFICE -- DAY (1950)

Andy is doing taxes. Mert Entwhistle is seated across from
him. Other off-duty guards are waiting their turn.

RED (V.O.)
The following April, Andy did tax
returns for half the guards at
Shawshank.

INT -- PRISON LIBRARY -- ONE YEAR LATER (1951)

Tax time again. Even more guards are waiting.

RED (V.O.)
Year after that, he did them all...
including the warden's.

EXT -- BASEBALL DIAMOND -- DAY (1952)

A BATTER in a "Noresby Marauders" baseball uniform WHACKS
the ball high into left field and races for first.

RED (V.O.)
Year after that, they rescheduled
the start of the intramural season
to coincide with tax season...

INT -- PRISON LIBRARY/ANDY'S OFFICE -- DAY (1952)

The Batter sits across from Andy. The line winds out the
door.

RED (V.O.)
The guards on the opposing teams
all remembered to bring their W-
2's.
 54.


ANDY
Moresby Prison issued you that gun,
but you actually had to pay for it?

THE BATTER
Damn right, and the holster too.

ANDY
See, that's all deductible. You get
to write that off.

RED (V.O.)
Yes sir, Andy was a regular H&R
Block. In fact, he got so busy at
tax time, he was allowed a staff.

ANGLE SHIFTS to reveal Red and Brooks doing filing chores.

ANDY
Say Red, could you hand me a stack
of those 1040s?

RED (V.O.)
Got me out of the wood shop a month
out of the year, and that was fine
by me.

INT -- GUARD DESK/NORTON'S OUTER OFFICE -- DAY (1953)

Andy enters and drops a letter on the outgoing stack.

RED (V.O.)
And still he kept sending those
letters...

INT -- ANDY'S CELL -- NIGHT (1953)

Dark. Andy's in his bunk, polishing a four-inch length of
quartz. It's a beautifully-crafted chess piece in the shape
of a horse's head, poise and nobility captured in gleaming
stone.

He puts the knight on a chess board by his bed, adding it to
four pieces already there: a king, a queen, and two bishops.
He turns to Rita. Moonlight casts bars across her face.

EXT -- EXERCISE YARD -- DAY (1954)

Floyd runs into the yard, scared and winded. He finds Andy
and Red on the bleachers.

FLOYD
Red? Andy? It's Brooks.
 55.


INT -- PRISON LIBRARY/ANDY'S OFFICE -- DAY (1954)

Floyd rushes in with Andy and Red at his heels. They find
Jigger and Snooze trying to calm Brooks, who has Heywood in
a chokehold and a knife to his throat. Heywood is terrified.

JIGGER
C'mon, Brooksie, why don't you just
calm the fuck down, okay?

BROOKS
Goddamn miserable puke-eatin' sons
of whores!

He kicks a table over. Tax files explode through the air.

RED
What the hell's going on?

SNOOZE
You tell me, man. One second he was
fine, then out came the knife. I
better get the guards.

RED
No. We'll handle this. Ain't that
right, Brooks? Just settle down and
we'll talk about it, okay?

BROOKS
Nothing left to talk about! It's
all talked out! Nothing left now
but to cut his fuckin' throat!

RED
Why? What's Heywood done to you?

BROOKS
That's what they want! It's the
price I gotta pay!

Andy steps forward, rivets Brooks with a gaze. Softly:

ANDY
Brooks, you're not going to hurt
Heywood, we all know that. Even
Heywood knows it, right Heywood?

HEYWOOD
(nods, terrified)
Sure. I know that. Sure.
 56.


ANDY
Why? Ask anyone, they'll tell you.
Brooks Hatlen is a reasonable man.

RED
(cuing nods all around)
Yeah, that's right. That's what
everybody says.

ANDY
You're not fooling anybody, so just
put the damn knife down and stop
scaring the shit out of people.

BROOKS
But it's the only way they'll let
me stay.

Brooks bursts into tears. The storm is over. Heywood
staggers free, gasping for air. Andy takes the knife, passes
it to Red. Brooks dissolves into Andy's arms with great
heaving sobs.

ANDY
Take it easy. You'll be all right.

HEYWOOD
Him? What about me? Crazy old fool!
Goddamn near slit my throat!

RED
You've had worse from shaving.
What'd you do to set him off?

HEYWOOD
Nothin'! Just came in to say fare-
thee-well.
(off their looks)
Ain't you heard? His parole came
through!

Red and Andy exchange a surprised look. Andy wants to
understand. Red just motions to let it be for now. He puts
his arm around Brooks, who sobs inconsolably. Softly:

RED
Ain't that bad, old hoss. Won't be
long till you're squiring pretty
young girls on your arm and telling
'em lies.
 57.


EXT -- PRISON YARD BLEACHERS -- DUSK (1954)

ANDY
I just don't understand what
happened in there, that's all.

HEYWOOD
Old man's crazy as a rat in a tin
shithouse, is what.

RED
Heywood, enough. Ain't nothing
wrong with Brooksie. He's just
institutionalized, that's all.

HEYWOOD
Institutionalized, my ass.

RED
Man's been here fifty years. This
place is all he knows. In here,
he's an important man, an educated
man. A librarian. Out there, he's
nothing but a used-up old con with
arthritis in both hands. Couldn't
even get a library card if he
applied. You see what I'm saying?

FLOYD
Red, I do believe you're talking
out of your ass.

RED
Believe what you want. These walls
are funny. First you hate 'em, then
you get used to 'em. After long
enough, you get so you depend on
'em. That's "institutionalized."

JIGGER
Shit. I could never get that way.

ERNIE
(softly)
Say that when you been inside as
long as Brooks has.

RED
Goddamn right. They send you here
for life, and that's just what they
take. Part that counts, anyway.
 58.


EXT -- SHAWSHANK PRISON -- DAWN (1954)

The sun rises over gray stone.

INT -- ANDY'S CELL -- DAWN (1954)

ANGLE ON RITA POSTER. Sexy as ever. The rising sun sends
fingers of rosy light creeping across her face.

INT -- LIBRARY -- DAWN (1954)

Brooks stands on a chair, poised at the bars of a window,
cradling Jake in his hands.

BROOKS
I can't take care of you no more.
You go on now. You're free.

He tosses Jake through the bars. The crow flaps away.

EXT -- SHAWSHANK PRISON -- MAIN GATE -- DAY (1954)

TWO SHORT SIREN BLASTS herald the opening of the gate. It
swings hugely open, revealing Brooks standing in his cheap
suit, carrying a cheap bag, wearing a cheap hat.

Brooks walks out, tears streaming down his face. He looks
back. Red, Andy, and others stand at the inner fence, seeing
him off. The massive gate closes, wiping them from view.

INT -- BUS -- DAY (1954)

Brooks is riding the bus, clutching the seat before him,
gripped by terror of speed and motion.

BROOKS (V.O.)
Dear Fellas. I can't believe how
fast things move on the outside.

EXT -- STREET -- PORTLAND, MAINE -- DAY (1954)

Brooks looks like a kid trying to cross the street without
his parents. People and traffic a blur.

BROOKS (V.O.)
I saw an automobile once when I was
young. Now they're everywhere.

EXT -- BREWSTER HOTEL -- DAY (1954)

Brooks comes trudging up the sidewalk. He glances up as a
prop-driven airliner streaks in low overhead.
 59.


BROOKS (V.O.)
The world went and got itself in a
big damn hurry.

He arrives at the Brewster. It ain't much to look at.

INT -- BREWSTER HOTEL -- DAY (1954)

A WOMAN leads Brooks up the stairs toward the top floor. He
has trouble climbing so many stairs.

WOMAN
No music in your room after eight
p.m. No guests after nine. No
cooking except on the hotplate...

BROOKS (V.O.)
People even talk faster. And
louder.

INT -- BROOKS' ROOM -- DAY (1954)

Brooks enters. The room is small, old, dingy. Heavy wooden
beams cross the ceiling. An arched window affords a view of
Congress Street. Traffic noise drifts in. Brooks sets his
bag down. He doesn't quite know what to do. He just stands
there, like a man waiting for a bus.

BROOKS (V.O.)
The parole board got me into this
halfway house called the Brewster,
and a job bagging groceries at the
Foodway...

INT -- FOODWAY MARKET -- DAY (1954)

Loud. Jangling with PEOPLE and NOISE. Brooks is bagging
groceries. Registers are humming, kids are shrieking.

WOMAN
Make sure he double-bags. Last time
your man didn't double-bag and the
bottom near came out.

MANAGER
You double-bag like the lady says,
understand?

BROOKS
Yes sir, double-bag, surely will.

BROOKS (V.O.)
It's hard work. I try to keep up,
but my hands hurt most of the time.
(MORE)
 60.

BROOKS (V.O.) (CONT'D)
I don't think the store manager
likes me very much.

EXT -- PARK -- DAY (1954)

Brooks sits alone on a bench, feeding pigeons.

BROOKS (V.O.)
Sometimes after work I go to the
park and feed the birds. I keep
thinking Jake might show up and say
hello, but he never does. I hope
wherever he is, he's doing okay and
making new friends.

INT -- BROOKS' ROOM -- NIGHT (1954)

Dark. Traffic outside. Brooks wakes up. Disoriented. Afraid.
Somewhere in the night, a LOUD ARGUMENT is taking place.

BROOKS (V.O.)
I have trouble sleeping at night.
The bed is too big. I have bad
dreams, like I'm falling. I wake up
scared. Sometimes it takes me a
while to remember where I am.

INT -- FOODWAY -- DAY (1954)

BROOKS (V.O.)
Maybe I should get me a gun and rob
the Foodway, so they'd send me
home. I could shoot the manager
while I was at it, sort of like a
bonus.

INT -- BROOKS' ROOM -- DAY (1954)

Brooks is packing his worldly possessions into the carry
bag. Undershirts, socks, etc.

BROOKS (V.O.)
But I guess I'm too old for that
sort of nonsense anymore.

INT -- BROOKS' ROOM -- SHORTLY LATER (1954)

Brooks is dressed in his suit. He finishes knotting his tie,
puts his hat on his head. The letter lies on the desk,
stampe3 and ready for mailing. His bag is by the door.
 61.


BROOKS (V.O.)
I don't like it here. I'm tired of
being afraid all the time. I've
decided not to stay.

He takes one last look around. Only one thing left to do. He
steps to a wooden chair in the center of the room, pulls out
s pocketknife, and glances up at the ceiling beam.

He steps up onto the chair. It wobbles queasily. Now facing
the beam, he carves a message into the wood: "Brooks Hatlen
was here." He smiles with a sort of inner peace.

BROOKS (V.O.)
I doubt they'll kick up any fuss.
Not for an old crook like me.

TIGHT ON CHAIR

His weight shifts on the wobbly chair -- and it goes out
from under him. His feet remain where they are, kicking
feebly in mid-air. His hat falls to the floor.

ANGLE WIDENS. Brooks has hanged himself. He swings gently,
facing the open window. Traffic noise floats up from below.

EXT -- EXERCISE YARD -- SHAWSHANK -- DAY (1954)

Andy reads the letter to Red and the others:

ANDY
P.S. Tell Heywood I'm sorry I put a
knife to his throat. No hard
feelings.

A long silence. Andy folds the letter, puts it away. Softly:

RED
He should'a died in here, goddamn
it.

INT -- PRISON LIBRARY -- DAY (1954)

Andy is sorting books on the cart. He replaces a stack on
the shelf -- and pauses, noticing a line of ants crawling up
the wood. He glances up. The ants disappear over the top. He
pulls a chair over and stands on it, peers cautiously over.

ANDY
Red!

Red steps in with an armload of files. Andy gingerly reaches
in, grabs a black feathered wing, and pulls out a dead crow.
 62.


RED
(softly)
Is that Jake?

INT -- WOOD SHOP -- DAY (1954)

Red is making something at his bench, sanding and planing.

RED (V.O.)
It never would have occurred to us,
if not for Andy. It was his idea.
We all agreed it was the right
thing to do...

EXT -- FIELDS -- DAY (1954)

Low hilly terrain all around. A HUNDRED CONS are at work in
the fields. GUARDS patrol with carbines, keeping a sharp
eye. We find Andy, Red, and the boys working with picks and
shovels. They glance over to the pickup truck. Hadley's
chewing the fat with Mert and Youngblood. A WHISTLE BLOWS.

GUARD
Water break! Five minutes!

The work stops. Cons head for the pickup truck, where water
is dispensed with dipper and pail. Red and the boys look to
Andy. Andy nods. Now's the time. The group moves off through
the confusion, using it as cover. They head up the slope of
a nearby hill and quickly decide on a suitable spot. The
guards haven't noticed.

Jigger and Floyd start swinging picks into the soft earth,
quickly ripping out a hole. Red reaches into his jacket and
pulls out a beautiful wooden box, carefully stained and
varnished. He shows it around to nods of approval.

ANDY
That's real pretty, Red. Nice work.

HEYWOOD
Shovel man in. Watch the dirt.

Heywood jumps in and starts spading out the hole.

BY THE TRUCK

Youngblood glances up and sees the men on the slope.

YOUNGBLOOD
What the fuck.
 63.


HADLEY
(follows his gaze)
HEY.' YOU MEN UP THERE.' GET YOUR
ASSES OFF THAT SLOPE!
(works his rifle bolt)
YOU HAPPY ASSHOLES GONE DEAF? YOU
GOT FIVE SECONDS 'FORE I SHOOT
SOMEBODY!

Suddenly, other cons start breaking away in groups, dozens
of them heading toward the slope. The guards look around.

HADLEY (CONT’D)
What am I, talkin' to myself?

ON THE SLOPE

Andy pulls a towel-wrapped bundle from his jacket and
unfolds it. Jake. Andy lays him in the box, followed by
Brook's letter. Red places the casket in the hole. A moment
of silence. Andy gives Red with an encouraging nod.

RED
Lord. Brooks was a sinner. Jake was
just a crow. Neither was much to
look at. Both got
institutionalized. See what you can
do for 'em. Amen.

Muttered "amens" all around. The boys shovel dirt onto the
small grave and tamp it down.