Script To Screen: “Charade”

If you haven’t seen the 1963 movie Charade [screenplay by Peter Stone, story by Peter Stone and Marc Behm], you really should, a terrific combination of mystery, romance, and comedy.

Setup: Dyle [Cary Grant] is led up to the rooftop by Scobie [George Kennedy], he of a metal claw for a hand, intent upon dispatching Dyle.

EXT. AMERICAN EXPRESS -- ROOFTOP -- NIGHT A spectacular view of the Paris rooftops and the city
lights beyond. DYLE and SCOBIE come out onto a level
portion of roof. On the street side, the roof angles
down abruptly into a steep, slate-covered pitch,
broken only by two widely separated oval-shaped
dormer windows. Below these is a rain gutter, then nothing -- for
seven stories. DYLE
Very pretty. Now what? SCOBIE
I'll give you a chance, Dyle -- which
is more than you'd give me. Where's
the money? DYLE
Is that why you dragged me all the
way up here -- to ask me that? She
has it -- you know that. SCOBIE
And I say maybe you both have it!
One more time, Dyle -- where is it? DYLE
Supposing I did have it -- which I
don't -- do you really think I'd
hand it over? SCOBIE
You're out, Dyle -- right now! SCOBIE aims the gun and starts advancing toward DYLE. SCOBIE
Step back. DYLE turns and looks -- there is nothing behind him
but a sheer drop to the street. DYLE
Back where? SCOBIE
That's the idea. Moving quickly, DYLE lashes out and hacks SCOBIE's
gun hand with the side of his palm and the gun falls\
to the roof. Following through, DYLE punches the large man full in
the jaw, but instead of falling, SCOBIE wraps his arm
around DYLE, holding on tightly until his head
clears. Then, to his amazement, DYLE is lifted into the air
and, unable to break the bear-hold, carried toward
the edge of the roof. Working his arms between their
two bodies, DYLE suddenly flails them out with all
his strength and the hold is broken, but at the price
of his coat and the flesh on his back as SCOBIE's
metal claw rips through both, a wound extending from
the center of DYLE's back to his shoulder. Both men look around for the gun, spot it
simultaneously and leap for it, both landing short of
the mark. Now they grapple with one another, each
trying to break free and reach for the gun. CLOSE SHOT -- THEIR HANDS Two hands, one real, one metal, inch toward the gun. MED. SHOT -- DYLE AND SCOBIE The battle is going to SCOBIE whose weight and
strength are beginning to tire DYLE, who is now on
his back, trying to stop SCOBIE from crawling over
him. He has the large man by both lapels of the
raincoat in a last-ditch effort to hold him. But
SCOBIE, his face horribly distorted from the strain,
continues to inch forward toward the gun. Suddenly, DYLE releases his hold. With nothing
restraining him, SCOBIE lurches forward, tumbling
past the gun, his momentum carrying him onto the
sloping part of the roof, where he begins sliding
down. SCOBIE beats wildly at the the slate with his
claw, trying to gouge a grip. CLOSE SHOT -- SCOBIE'S CLAW As it slides across the slate, making a hideous
scratching sound and causing sparks to fly. MED. SHOT -- SCOBIE As he slides over the edge and disappears. CLOSE SHOT -- DYLE As he watches, hypnotized. CLOSE SHOT -- ROOF EDGE There appears to be no sign of SCOBIE. Then CAMERA
ZOOMS IN FOR A TIGHT CLOSE SHOT OF SCOBIE'S metal
hand, gripping the rain gutter at the very edge. MED. SHOT -- DYLE Having seen the claw, he rises and walks to the very
edge of the level part of the roof. DYLE
Herman? MED. SHOT -- SCOBIE As he hangs, seven stories over the street, by his
metal hand. SCOBIE
Yeah? MED. SHOT -- DYLE He finds it hard to believe. DYLE
How are you doing? SCOBIE'S VOICE (O.S.)
How do you think? DYLE
If you get bored, try writing 'Love
thy neighbor' a hundred times on the
side of the building. DYLE turns and leaves going down the stairs.

Here is the movie scene:

First off, great scene description. “Two hands, one real, one metal, inch toward the gun.” I mean, come on!

Second, watch the choreography of the fight in the movie in which Scobie ends up careening down the roof. Different than the script in that Scobie flails away at Dyle one… two… three times, the last one missing and off-balance sends Scobie to his demise. Note the corresponding orchestral blasts to accentuate the armed battle. Great stuff!

One of the single best things you can do to learn the craft of screenwriting is to read the script while watching the movie. After all a screenplay is a blueprint to make a movie and it’s that magic of what happens between printed page and final print that can inform how you approach writing scenes. That is the purpose of Script to Screen, a Go Into The Story series where we analyze a memorable movie scene and the script pages that inspired it.

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