DANNY'S TOYS By David Bishop

Short Film Script

14 Pages

Represented by: Katie Williams The Agency 24 Pottery Lane London W11 4LZ T: 020 7727 1346 E: kwilliams@theagency.co.uk

1 EXT. PROVINCIAL TOWN - DAY Summer. A BUMBLEBEE flies across the sky, defying gravity. The bee bumbles over grey homes and warehouses. One factory dominates the town, its tall chimney belching black fumes. A neglected graveyard huddles in the factorys shadow. SUPER: EUROPE, 1933

EXT. HOSPITAL - DAY The bumblebee approaches a Gothic hospital. It bumps into a leaded glass window, before flying away. INT. HOSPITAL CORRIDOR - DAY Careworn RUTH (42) carries a box wrapped in wrinkled brown paper, tied with knotted twine. She passes ward after ward of SICK CHILDREN. INT. DANNYS WARD - DAY Ruth approaches the bed of DANNY (8), a tousle-haired boy with an infectious grin. She hands him the box. RUTH Happy birthday, Danny. Gleeful, Danny unwraps his present. RUTH Your father wanted to be here, but Mr Vollmer has everyone on double shifts at the factory. Now open, the box contains a treasure trove of broken metal toys, rusted Meccano, wooden off-cuts, coils, cogs and keys - even a tiny screwdriver. DANNY Wow! Thank you! RUTH You can create anything with your imagination, Danny. The boys too busy examining his present to listen. Ruth gently but firmly closes the box. RUTH Later. You need to rest. Ruth puts his present beneath the bed, kisses him goodbye.

2 INT. CORRIDOR - DAY Later: Danny sits on the floor, primitive callipers binding his legs. He tests a handmade clockwork giraffe. It lurches a few steps before falling, legs kicking the air. BUMP - a sun-drunk bumblebee bounces against a nearby window, before flying away into the clear blue sky. Inspired, Danny reaches for his box of delights. EXT. HOSPITAL - DAY The sun arcs overhead as morning becomes afternoon. INT. CORRIDOR - DAY On the floor Danny assembles a new toy, grease smudging his nose. A NURSE (39) emerges from a door marked PRIVATE, leaving it ajar. She walks past Danny. NURSE You should be in bed. Danny adjusts his new creation: a clockwork bumblebee, made of yellow and black metal strips, with tiny silver wings. Danny winds the key in the side of his invention, holding the bee in place. It comes alive, wings a blur of motion. DANNY You can do it... Set free, the bee turns a somersault before bouncing toward the door marked PRIVATE. It leaps through the doorway. INT. HELENAS ROOM - DAY Beautiful HELENA (9) stands by a window, looking outside. The setting sun warms the room, but there are dark rings under Helenas sad, lonely eyes. The creak of door hinges makes her look round. Danny crawls in, searching for his toy. He sees Helenas feet and looks up. The sun creates a halo behind her head. DANNY Have you seen my bumblebee? Helena shakes her head.

3 INT. CORRIDOR - DAY Rich, bloated businessman VOLLMER (45) stomps along. VOLLMER Why has the door to my daughters room been left open? The nurse appears, arms full of bed linen. NURSE Sorry, Mr Vollmer. I was just-VOLLMER I instructed the door stay shut, to safeguard Helenas health! INT. HELENAS ROOM - DAY Helena jumps into bed. HELENA Quick - hide! Danny crawls under the bed. His bumblebee lurks nearby. DANNY There you are... Sshhh! HELENA

Vollmer enters. His brusqueness softens on seeing Helena. VOLLMER Hows my princess today? HELENA A little better, papa. Vollmer spies Dannys hand reaching out from under the bed. INT. CORRIDOR - DAY Dannys thrown from Helenas room. The door slams shut. DANNY But what about my bumblebee? VOLLMER (O.S.) Dont worry about him, princess. He wont bother you again. Danny limps away, callipers creaking.

4 EXT. HOSPITAL - DAY Autumn leaves blow past as Danny and Ruth depart, hand in hand. Ruth carries a cardboard suitcase. Danny looks up at a first floor window. RUTH Have you forgotten something? DANNY My bumblebee. I made it from my birthday box. It flew - almost. Helena appears at a first floor window. She holds up the bumblebee and smiles, waving to Danny. He returns her wave. RUTH We can go back for it. Vollmer appears at the window, ushers Helena away. DANNY No, its okay. They walk away, Dannys callipers creaking. DISSOLVE TO: EXT. VOLLMER MANSION - DAY Calliper continues as Danny (now 17) walks into view. He wears a school uniform, satchel over one shoulder. His callipers give Danny a distinctive, almost mechanical gait. SUPER: NINE YEARS LATER

Danny approaches a forbidding mansion, guarded by a wrought iron fence. Danny stops, checks his watch. Helena (17) appears at a window, now a beautiful young woman. She holds up the bumblebee and waves. Danny waves back, a sense of ritual to their actions. A pinch-faced GOVERNESS (55) appears behind Helena. GOVERNESS (V.O.) Your father should stop that boy loitering outside every day. Danny walks away. His satchel slips, reveals a six-pointed star of yellow fabric sewn to his threadbare jacket. GOVERNESS (V.O.) His kind shouldnt be allowed round here.

5 EXT. MAIN STREET - DAY Barrage balloons crowd the wintry sky as Danny ker-clomps along, whistling a happy tune. He passes modest homes, windows crisscrossed by white tape. Danny nods to a weary newspaper vendor (62) on a corner. Headlines announce MORE TROOPS CALLED UP. EXT. DANNYS STREET - DAY Danny turns into a dead end road - and stops. A black car bearing the initials VM lurks outside the last house. Danny runs home fast as he can, callipers squeaking. Lightning strobes the street and thunder rumbles, heralding a rainstorm. EXT. DANNYS HOME - DAY Looking through a rain-lashed window into a simple kitchen, where Ruth listens to the factory FOREMAN (52). He fumbles with a cloth cap, words drowned out by the downpour. Ruth sinks into a wooden chair, devastated. Danny comforts his grief-stricken mother. EXT. GRAVEYARD - DAY Snow falls on a Jewish cemetery. Ruth and Danny stand by a grave, staring at the simple pine coffin in the ground. A shrill whistle calls from the nearby factory. RUTH Your father lived by that whistle. Twenty years, and all we saved was enough for his coffin. DANNY Itll be okay. RUTH How? Factory staff dont have to pay rent, but now... DANNY Ill get a job. Danny looks at the factory, looming over the graveyard.

6 EXT. FACTORY - DAY Danny walks through the gates, passing beneath the words VOLLMER MUNITIONS. His satchel bulges with drawings. INT. ANTE-CHAMBER TO VOLLMERS OFFICE - DAY Helena sits on a leather sofa. A closed door bears the words OTTO VOLLMER, PROPRIETOR on its frosted glass. VOLLMER (O.S.) Im sorry, but we cannot do business any longer. Goodbye! Vollmer emerges from his office. VOLLMER Sorry Im late, princess. HELENA Something wrong, papa? He forces a smile. VOLLMER Some people wont take no for an answer. Shall we go to lunch? INT. FACTORY FLOOR - DAY Helena and Vollmer pass assembly line after assembly line. The workers all wear aprons bearing the initials VM. They move like robots, dark shadows falling across blank faces. INT. LOADING DOCK - DAY Danny shows his drawings to the foreman. FOREMAN We need workers, not daydreamers! The sound of Vollmers approach makes the foreman spin round, knocking the drawings from Dannys grasp. The lad kneels to reclaim his work. FOREMAN Morning, Mr Vollmer! HELENA Hello, Danny. Danny looks up at Helenas smiling face. Vollmer scowls at the foreman, demanding an explanation.

7 FOREMAN Someone looking for a job, sir. VOLLMER Come along, princess. As father and daughter depart, Helena whispers something. Vollmer stops, summons his foreman. Danny stuffs his drawings back into the satchel, trying not to eavesdrop on the conversation. The foreman returns as Danny straightens up. FOREMAN You can take your fathers place. INT. ASSEMBLY LINE - DAY Danny stamps the letters VM on bombs as they pass. He wears an apron bearing the same initials. A whistle sounds. The robotics workers down tools, march out. Danny follows. EXT. LOADING BAY - DAY Danny emerges from the factory, yawns in the twilight. The other workers file toward the gates. INT. DANNYS KITCHEN - NIGHT Danny brings his mother a bowl of broth. Ruth sits by the fire, her hair going grey. EXT. FACTORY - DAY The buildings a grim silhouette as the whistle sounds. EXT. FACTORY - DAY Dawn. Danny enters, part of a THRONG OF WORKERS - but his distinctive gait still marks him out. A VENDOR sells news papers with the headline WAR ESCALATES. INT. ASSEMBLY LINE - DAY Danny stamps VM on bombs until the whistle sounds.

8 INT. DANNYS KITCHEN - NIGHT Danny wearily eats soup from a bowl. His mother sleeps by the fire, her hair turning silver. EXT. FACTORY - DAY Dawn. Danny and throng shuffle through the gates. INT. ASSEMBLY LINE - DAY Danny stamps bombs, his actions now robotic as the others. INT. DANNYS KITCHEN - NIGHT Danny sits at the table making clockwork toys. Ruth dozes by the fire, hair turning white. EXT. HOSPITAL - NIGHT A full moon rises over the hospital. DANNY (O.S.) I made these for the children. INT. CORRIDOR - NIGHT Danny offers a handful of clockwork toys to the nurse. NURSE Ill take you to their ward. They walk past ward after ward of injured men. NURSE Most of our beds are for the wounded these days. Danny stops, looks into one ward. The patients are all missing eyes, arms or legs. Danny frowns, walks away. INT. DANNYS KITCHEN - NIGHT/DAY Danny sits at the table, sketching a design. Outside the window, darkness turns to dawn as morning approaches.

9 INT. ANTE-CHAMBER TO VOLLMERS OFFICE - DAY Danny enters with his drawings. Helena sits at a desk outside her fathers office. DANNY What are you doing here? HELENA Helping my father. She notices the designs under his arm. HELENA What are those? INT. VOLLMERS OFFICE - DAY Danny unrolls drawings of a bomb on a broad oak desk. Helena and a sceptical Vollmer look on. DANNY Its still our basic design, but I added this clockwork mechanism. Danny points to a section marked HUMANE GAS CYLINDER. DANNY It releases sleeping gas. Battles could be won without a shot! VOLLMER You devised this? On your own? HELENA Dannys a born inventor, papa. VOLLMER Hmm. Leave these with me. DANNY Thank you, sir. Once theyve gone, Vollmer scores out the word HUMANE. INT. ANTE-CHAMBER TO VOLLMERS OFFICE - DAY Danny stands with both hands over his eyes. HELENA (O.S.) You can look now. Helena stands beside a new desk, opposite her own. HELENA Everything you need is in there.

10 DANNY Oh. Were sharing the office? HELENA Dont you want to? Danny grins: hes teasing her. She punches him in the arm. Danny catches hold of Helena, pulls her near. Their heads move closer, about to kiss... BUZZ! The intercom comes to life, making them jump apart. Helena moves to the intercom, presses a button. HELENA Ill be right in, papa. Danny opens his top drawer. The clockwork bumblebee sits inside. Underneath it is a note: MAKE ME FLY. EXT. LOADING BAY - DAY Vollmer calls to Helena as he gets into a black sedan. VOLLMER Ill be back by three, princess! Helena waves as the sedan leaves. Danny emerges from the factory, takes Helenas hand. DANNY Ive something to show you. EXT. GRAVEYARD - DAY Helena has both hands over her eyes. DANNY (O.S.) You can look now. Helena uncovers her eyes. Danny stands by an unmarked grave, a few green shoots springing up from the soil. DANNY This is my father, Samuel. Id have introduced you to him if he was still alive, so... Helena hugs Danny. He cradles her face to kiss her... But a wailing SIREN destroys the moment. DANNY We need to find a shelter.

11 HELENA

Not yet.

She kisses him. Danny responds. EXT. PROVINCIAL TOWN - DAY Bombs stamped VM tumble from the sky. INT. VOLLMERS OFFICE - DAY A newspaper on Vollmers desk announces AIR RAID DEVASTATES TOWN and MUNITIONS MAGNATE KILLED BY HIS OWN BOMB. A grim OFFICIAL, 49, addresses Danny and grieving Helena. OFFICIAL This factory sold munitions to the enemy. HELENA But that was before the war-OFFICIAL All Vollmer assets are forfeit. HELENA Where will I live? OFFICIAL Not my concern. From today youll work on the assembly line. INT. ASSEMBLY LINE - DAY Helena does Dannys old job. She looks up to the mezzanine. Danny stands at the window. He waves, and she waves back. The official appears at the window, ushering Danny away. INT. ANTE-CHAMBER TO VOLLMERS OFFICE - DAY Danny sits at a desk awash with designs. He opens a drawer, revealing the clockwork bumblebee. Wings flutter into life, making him smile. Danny reaches for a tiny screwdriver. EXT. LOADING BAY - DAY Helena stands on the loading bay, exhausted. Danny emerges from the factory, callipers creaking as always.

12 DANNY It isnt a mansion, but youd be welcome to stay with us. More than welcome. Helena smiles, nods. DANNY Id better make sure its okay. Stay here, be back fast as I can. EXT. MAIN STREET - DAY Danny hurries along when a siren wails. He stops, stares at the ominous grey sky. Enemy bombers cast silhouettes on the clouds. EXT. LOADING DOCK - DAY Sire wail continues. Helena looks up, fearful, as another sound becomes audible - the whistle of an approaching bomb. EXT. FACTORY - DAY Danny stares, wide-eyed and bereft. No... DANNY

The bomb-blasted factory is a mess of metalwork and broken bricks, the chimney blown to bits. Greasy smoke billows. Dust-smeared survivors stagger away from the wreckage, including the foreman. Danny grabs him by the arm. DANNY What happened to Helena - Miss Vollmer? She was by the doors. The foreman shakes his head. FOREMAN After the first bomb, she went in looking for survivors. Said it wasnt safe, but she wouldnt listen-- Then the second one hit. Dannys face hardens. DANNY We have to search for survivors. We have to try.

13 EXT. FACTORY. NIGHT. Danny and the foreman search by moonlight. A chain gang removes debris. Danny finds a mans hand protruding from the rubble. Dust-coated fingers twitch. DANNY Heres another! Danny crouches, clasps the hand. DANNY Its okay, weve got you. EXT. FACTORY - DAY Morning. A dozen bodies lay under sheets by the devastated factory. Only Danny and the foreman are still searching. Hello...? The two men stop. DANNY You hear that? Danny? HELENA (O.S.) HELENA (O.S.)

Danny scrambles across to a tangle of twisted girders, huge slabs of brickwork atop it. He peers into the rubble. DANNY Helena? Helena! HELENA Over here... Theres movement amid the ruptured metalwork and masonry. DANNY Hold on, Im coming for you. Theres a narrow path to Helena, whos trapped by a girder. Danny sits, unbuckles his callipers. FOREMAN Its too dangerous. That whole lot could come down any moment. Danny throws his calipers away, free at last. He crawls into the rubble, inching his way forward.

14 Helena watches Danny get close. He pushes past a girder, and brick dust rains down on him. HELENA I knew youd find me... Something shifts overhead. Danny looks up. Brickwork tumbles toward him, blotting out the sun. A BEAT of blackness, sounds of masonry calling, crushing. Then silence, eerie, unnerving - until someone coughs. Danny opens his eyes, blinks. Brick dust covers him. Helena? DANNY

HELENA Im here, Danny. Danny tries to move, but cant. Theyre both trapped now, pinned beneath a mass of brickwork and twisted metal. A shaft of sunlight creeps through the debris. DANNY Thought I could save you. Helena looks over, her heart breaking a little. You did. HELENA

She reaches for his hand, but they cant quite touch. The young lovers gaze at each other, thwarted to the last. A muffled sound perplexes Danny, until realisation dawns. He pulls the clockwork bumblebee from his pocket. Helena sees it and smiles. Danny winds the key, before releasing his toy. It hovers over them for a moment, as if saying goodbye. Then the clockwork bumblebee flies into the sky. Defying gravity. FADE OUT.