Script Analysis: “Nightmare Alley” — Scene-By-Scene Breakdown

Here is my take on this exercise from a previous series of posts — How To Read A Screenplay:

After a first pass, it’s time to crack open the script for a deeper analysis and you can do that by creating a scene-by-scene breakdown. It is precisely what it sounds like: A list of all the scenes in the script accompanied by a brief description of the events that transpire.

For purposes of this exercise, I have a slightly different take on scene. Here I am looking not just for individual scenes per se, but a scene or set of scenes that comprise one event or a continuous piece of action. Admittedly this is subjective and there is no right or wrong, the point is simply to break down the script into a series of parts which you then can use dig into the script’s structure and themes.

The value of this exercise:

• We pare down the story to its most constituent parts: Scenes.
• By doing this, we consciously explore the structure of the narrative.
• A scene-by-scene breakdown creates a foundation for even deeper analysis of the story.

Today: Nightmare Alley (2021). Download the screenplay here.

Screenplay by Guillermo del Toro & Kim Morgan, novel by William Lindsay Gresham

Plot summary: A grifter working his way up from low-ranking carnival worker to lauded psychic medium matches wits with a psychiatrist bent on exposing him.

Nightmare Alley
Scene-By-Scene Breakdown
By Valerie Kalfrin
GoIntoTheStory.com

PP. 1: Thirtysomething Stan Carlisle drags a corpse into a grave in the floorboards of a country house, then sets the house on fire. He catches a bus, checks his watch, and falls asleep. At the last stop, Stan sees a diminutive man, The Major, exit a café with a takeout bag. Stan follows him into the woods where he hears calliope music and encounters a carnival.

PP. 2–4: Stan takes in the sights, including Molly, “The Amazing Electrical Girl,” and Bruno, a protective, aging strongman. The barker, Clem, lures people into a tent with an excavated pit, where the “Geek,” a ragged, grimy man who appears barely human, bites the head off a chicken. The crowd cheers.

PP. 4–5: Stan accidentally steps into the carnies’ behind-the-scenes space. Bruno offers him work. Stan helps them pack up the carnival during a rainstorm. Clem offers him a meal if he stays till their next site.

PP. 6: Workers assemble the carnival at its next spot. Stan and Molly exchange glances. Clem gives him a flashlight, says the Geek got loose.

PP. 7–8: Stan checks the funhouse, which a worker activates so he can see inside. Stan walks through a doorway decorated like a devil’s face and finds the Geek, crouched in a corner. The Geek keeps saying, “I’m not like this,” grabs a rock, and strikes Stan in the head. Clem bursts in. Stan attacks the Geek, knocking him unconscious.

PP. 9–10: Stan and Clem drag the Geek into a cage. Clem checks Stan’s head wound, offers him a place to sleep and a steady job.

PP. 10: Stan dreams of an infirm old man in bed, looking at him, and the Geek in the pit.

PP. 11–14: Stan gets the lay of the land at the carnival. He asks Zeena, on the porch of a bungalow, if she has a tub. She charges him to use it. She wakes up Pete, her husband, who steps out to get breakfast. Stan says he’s helping Clem, and she suggests he work during their mind-reading show. She flips over a Tarot card: the Star. He’s easy on the eyes, Zeena says, kissing him.

PP. 15- 17: At Zeena’s show, she explains that Stan collects cards and envelopes with the audience’s questions for her. Stan playfully asks Molly if she has a question; she says no. He tips his hat at her. Stan switches his basket of envelopes to a prop for Zeena while Pete, drunk below the stage, reads the real questions and writes shorthand on a blackboard. Zeena lights the prop envelopes on fire with alcohol, then reads Pete’s notes through a cutout in the floor. As she “reads” a woman in the audience, Stan tells Molly that Pete’s drunk. She leaves to help.

PP. 18–20: Zeena can’t “read” anything more because Pete has mixed up the envelopes. The crowd starts to heckle until Zeena improvises, making the woman think Zeena can see her dead brother. The crowd applauds. Afterward, Zeena apologizes to the woman and gives her an amulet, telling her she had to use a trick to ease the crowd; but the woman was hurt. Stan asks Zeena why she fessed up — is it so bad to give hope? Pete says no good comes from “a spook show,” and that it’s not hope if it’s a lie.

PP. 20–22: Pete and Zeena reminisce about Paris, where they perfected their act. Stan asks how to do it. With Zeena’s approval, Pete shows him, focusing on the watch Stan wears. Stan agrees it was his father’s; he seems shaken that Pete could tell Stan hated him. Pete says reading people is easy; everyone’s had trouble, and they’re desperate to be seen.

PP. 23–26: Stan observes Pete begging Clem for booze; Clem gives it to him. Stan visits Clem, who pops open a trunk and offers Stan a drink of sugar cane booze, same as he gave to Pete. Stan says he never drinks. Clem points out the wood alcohol that he keeps, poisonous but used in Zeena’s show. Stan delivers a box to Pete. He tells Pete he’d love to learn from him, which flatters Pete.

PP. 26–27: Stan watches Molly’s electrical show, unimpressed. He sketches an electric chair. He hears moaning from the Geek’s cage and gives him a cigarette.

PP. 27–29: Stan shows Molly his sketches and how he’d make her show more theatrical. He’s sketched her too. Molly says she’s not special, but he says maybe he sees something in her that she doesn’t.

PP. 29–32: Stan has built the electric chair from his sketches. He tells Molly and The Major how to pull the lever for the power, as if struggling. Molly likes his ideas. Bruno tells Stan that he promised Molly’s father he’d take care of her and threatens to beat up Stan if he hurts her.

PP. 32–34: Stan notices Molly on a carousel horse. She’d had a dream about her father and can’t get back to sleep. He wants to know more about her. He starts the carousel and dances with her. He says if he can get his hands on a two-person act, they could be headliners; he could give her the world.

PP. 35–37: Clem collects Stan. The Geek’s head wound is infected, and he has a fever. He’s dying. They dump him behind the Salvation Army. Stan asks Clem how he gets a guy to geek. Clem says you need a broken drunk, then hook them on opium. You can find them in “nightmare alleys,” flop houses, etc. Emphasize that the job is “just temporary.” Stan has pity for the “poor soul.”

PP. 37–39: Stan works with Pete. Pete says if you’re good at reading people, that’s because you learned to stay ahead of whatever tormented you as a child. But if they really did a number on you, there’s a crack in there you’ll never fill. The two hear Clem breaking in a new Geek. Pete asks Stan to get him a bottle of sugar cane alcohol. Stan tells him to go to bed, then says he’ll see what he can do. Stan sneaks into Clem’s area, pops open a chest of alcohol, grabs a jar, and leaves payment. He sets the jar next to Pete, who appears asleep. Stan tries to look in Pete’s code book for the mind-reading act, and Pete wakes. Pete says this power can’t be misused; if a man believes his own lies, people get hurt.

PP. 40–41: Stan practices the moves Pete showed him. The next morning, a frantic Zeena searches for Pete. The workers gather and find her cradling his dead body.

PP. 41–46: Patrol cars approach the carnival. Stan hurries to Clem, who says if the cops find the Geek, they’re finished. As Clem hides the man, deputies shoo away the patrons and herd the workers toward a stage. Stan spies the sheriff’s name on a warrant. The sheriff says he has a complaint about an illegal performance of animal and human cruelty. He orders Molly, strapped in the electric chair for her show, off the stage for indecency. Stan notices the sheriff wears an orthopedic shoe. He says the current to the chair is active. The Major and Molly play along, throwing the switch while Molly screams to “purge” the current, Stan says. Stan then “reads” the sheriff, saying his late mother is proud of him and how a powerful man shows mercy. The carnival celebrates the law’s retreat, and Stan boasts to Clem.

PP. 47–50: Stan finds Molly, who says she’s ready to leave the carnival with him. He says he thinks he’s found something he’s good at and he’ll look out for her. They kiss. Bruno interrupts and punches Stan. Molly gets between them, saying she loves Stan and wants to leave with him. The next morning, Stan finds Zeena and offers her Pete’s book back. She says he earned it. He and Molly drive away.

PP. 50–51: Two years later, Molly studies Pete’s notebook code in a hotel while Stan sleeps. He dreams of his dying father and the house on fire.

PP. 51–56: Stan performs at a swanky club. Molly assists from the audience but flubs a cue; he still pulls off the reading. Everyone claps except Lilith. Backstage, Stan berates Molly, who cries. During their second show that night, Lilith interrupts Stan’s reading of Judge Kimball, Lilith’s guest, and asks Stan about her purse instead. He checks out her stance and “reads” that she has a small pistol in her bag, astonishing Lilith and the audience. He deduces more about Lilith, then circles back to Kimball and asks about a recent loss. Kimball mentions “Julian.” Stan says he’s beside him, then pretends to collapse.

PP. 56–57: A fired-up Stan asks Molly if she saw how that woman came after him. Molly asks why he kept reading her. Stan said he had to, or the crowd would have turned on them. She criticizes him for turning Kimball’s read into a “spook show,” but Stan loved the crowd’s response. A stagehand says someone wants to meet him. Molly knows it’s the judge and tells Stan to tell him the truth.

PP. 58–59: Kimball is indeed waiting in the club for Stan with Lilith, who says Kimball wanted her opinion before hiring him privately. Molly says they don’t do private consultations, but Stan cuts her off as Kimball offers double their nightly rate. Lilith gives Kimball her business card on which to write his number for Stan. She’s a consulting psychologist.

PP. 60–66: Molly, angry, gets change for the pay phone. Meanwhile, Stan visits Lilith’s office. She offers him whiskey, but he says he never drinks. He notices microphones under her desk. She says she records all her sessions. She asks how he knew she had a pistol; he tells her what he deduced. Kimball’s wife is her patient; the judge is a friend of her father’s. Stan says he’ll make it worth Lilith’s while if she gives him some info on Kimball. She tells him that the judge’s only child, Julian, died in No Man’s Land. He’d enlisted in the military against his mother’s wishes. In exchange, she wants the truth about Stan.

PP. 67–72: Molly, on the phone, asks Bruno if he can visit. She lies when he asks if she’s OK. Meanwhile, Lilith analyzes Stan. He doesn’t drink because his father was a drunk, although he later went “white ribbon” (sober). She asks why he winced when she poured the whiskey. He says it smelled like wood alcohol, which killed a guy he knew. He briefly talks about his mother, who ran off with a vaudeville man. Lilith circles back to the man he knew at the carnival: How did he get the alcohol? Stan says he gave it to Pete, but it was a mistake. Lilith probes deeper. Did he have stutter? Was he ever abused? Stan shuts her down, saying he knows he’s a hustler, but he’s nothing like his father and never will be.

PP. 73–76: Stan arrives at his and Molly’s hotel suite to find Molly entertaining Zeena, Bruno, and The Major. As the others catch up, Zeena tells Stan not to do the spook show. Stan scoffs. She tells him to pull three cards from the Tarot deck for a quick reading. Stan pulls the Tower, which means danger. He turns over the Lovers, meaning an urgent choice. The last card is what’s coming to him, Zeena says. He draws the Hanged Man, but upside down. Zeena recoils and says he still has a choice. Stan falters, then flips the card, saying he’s fixed it.

PP. 76–77: Stan meets with Mrs. Kimball. He tells her that her son loved her, and although he died suddenly, he felt no pain. He also says they’ll all be together again in time. Mrs. Kimball sobs, saying she didn’t want him to enlist, and now she’s left with nothing.

PP. 77–79: Stan visits Lilith again. He gives her half of his payment, but she’s not interested. She toasts his success. Stan says Kimball wants him to meet a friend of his. He asks if she can hold the money in her safe so that Molly doesn’t find out. Lilith says he barely knows her; he says he knows she’s no good because neither is he.

PP. 79–80: Stan and Molly rehearse at the club. He says he loves her and will take her out after the show that night. Lilith calls on the club’s phone and says that Kimball wants to introduce Stan to Ezra Grindle, a former patient of hers. He’s unstable, she warns. Stan asks for an angle.

PP. 81–85: Kimball accompanies Stan to Grindle’s business, where Grindle brings in a man with a polygraph machine. Stan is uncomfortable, but Grindle says they’ve dealt with “snake charmers.” The polygraph operator asks if Stan is a true medium. He says yes, and the machine’s needles jump — a lie. Can you read minds? Another lie. Stan decides to go all in, shuts his eyes, and says there’s a female presence who wants to communicate with someone in the room: Grindle. He goes on. The woman died years ago and had a baby… Grindle and the others are stunned. Grindle asks the others how Stan could know that.

PP. 86–88: Stan tells Lilith that Grindle is hooked. She says she can’t tell him anything more because he’d know she was the source. While she’s in the washroom, Stan makes a wax impression of the key for her patient audio files. She emerges wearing only a robe. Stan kisses her. He later returns to the office with his own key and listens to Grindle’s file.

PP. 88–91: Stan researches public records to learn more about Grindle’s lost love, Dorrie, who died at 19. He tracks down a box of her unclaimed belongings, including a postcard. Stan then meets Grindle at his mansion. Grindle asks about the girl that Stan saw during the polygraph. Stan talks about her profound sadness and mentions a baby boy. Grindle is desperate to see her again. He says he’ll pay $10,000 for every session with Stan. Stan accepts.

PP. 91–92: Stan deposits the money with Lilith. Lilith asks if he’s sure that Molly will pose as Dorrie. He says she will. Lilith says she needs to have blood on her hands so that Grindle won’t examine her closely. She pours a drink, kisses Stan, and sets the drink down. He takes the glass and drinks it.

PP. 92- 94: Molly reads Dorrie’s postcard, which she wrote to her mother while on a getaway with Grindle. Molly notes the girl never mailed it. Stan tells her his plan to make Dorrie “materialize,” but Molly doesn’t want to do it. Stan says they can give him some hope. Grindle’s servant, Anderson, arrives, saying Grindle wants to see him.

PP. 94–96: Stan holds a seance, urging patience when Grindle insists upon speaking with Dorrie. Grindle says he’s tired of guilt and threatens to “do something” if this goes on any longer. Stan brings Molly a wig and a dress for the Dorrie charade. She’s still reluctant, but he says they’re out of time. She flips through his sketchbook, sees people from the carnival — and Lilith.

PP. 96: At the judge’s house, Mrs. Kimball says she’s been thinking about what Stan said, how they’ll be reunited with their son. She shoots Kimball, then herself.

PP. 97–99: Stan enters his and Molly’s room, pours himself a drink. He finds a note from Molly that she’s leaving. Whatever is missing in him, she says, it’s not her. Stan races to the bus station. Molly walks away from him, saying he smells like booze. She ducks into the men’s room, where Stan follows. He says he knows he’s crossed a line and begs her not to leave him like everyone else.

PP. 99–100: Stan picks a padlock so Molly can enter Grindle’s garden. He describes when to appear, synchronizing their watches. Molly recounts her electricity show, saying how she’d hold on through the current until she couldn’t take it anymore. She’s had enough, she says.

P. 101: Stan meets with Grindle in the garden. Grindle sends Anderson away at Stan’s request. Anderson enters the mansion and turns on the radio.

PP. 101–103: Walking with Stan, Grindle says he’s done things he’s never told anyone — to many young women to purge his anger. Stan suddenly pays attention. What did he do? Then “Dorrie” appears: Molly, backlit in the dress that Stan gave her with fake blood on her palms.

P. 103: Anderson hears a news report of the apparent murder-suicide of the Kimballs.

PP. 103–104: Grindle walks toward Molly. Stan tries to get him to kneel and pray, but Grindle is mesmerized. He races ahead, drops to his knees, and clutches her tight. Molly screams in horror. Grindle realizes she’s not Dorrie and grabs her wrist, demanding to know who she is. Molly apologizes. Stan tells him to release her. Grindle seethes, says he’ll destroy them both, and slaps Molly. Grindle yells for Anderson. Stan yanks Grindle off Molly and punches him repeatedly as Molly cries for him to stop. He orders her to get in the car.

PP. 105–106: Stan checks Grindle, whose face he beat to a pulp. Anderson fires a gun at him. Stan runs. He jumps in the car with Molly, then strikes Anderson with the car. What did you do? Molly yells. Stan drives to an alley. He takes a crowbar and smashes the car windows, saying they’ll think someone stole it. Molly slaps him and walks away. Stan yells that he doesn’t need her.

PP. 107–110: At Lilith’s office, Lilith takes his money out of her safe, puts it in a bag. Stan cleans himself up, drinking some more. She gives him the bag. When she says she loves him, he freezes. Lilith starts recording. Stan dumps out the bag, notices that the rolls of bills inside are mostly singles. He demands to know where the money is. Lilith coolly says he’s delusional, speaking as if he’s a patient. She stops the recording. The money means nothing to her; she just wanted to beat him at his own game. She shoots him, blowing off half his ear, and calls for security. Stan tries to strangle her, then runs.

P. 111: Stan flees, finding a train yard. He hops in an open wagon full of chicken cages. Stan dreams of his dying father. He tells his father he always hated him, then opens a window and watches the frail man freeze to death.

PP. 112–115: Stan wakes to find the train is at a hobo campsite. Stan staggers to a bonfire. The bums pass around a bottle. Stan needs to pay for a drink and gives them his watch. He walks among the tents, discovering he’s at a small carnival. He finds the boss. Stan says he can be of value, suggests his mentalist act. The boss turns him down, saying he doesn’t hire boozers. Then the boss offers him a drink, one carny to another. We do have a job you could do, but it’s only temporary, the boss says. You know what a geek is? Stan drinks, then says, “I was born for it.”

Writing Exercise: I encourage you to read the script, but short of that, if you’ve seen the movie, go through this scene-by-scene breakdown. What stands out to you about it from a structural standpoint?

To download a PDF of the breakdown , go here.

Kudos to Valerie Kalfrin for doing the scene-by-scene breakdown.

To see dozens more screenplay scene-by-scene breakdowns, go here.