Short script based on a short story. |
Death of A Prizefighter Based on the short story by Robert Switzer INT. DRESSING ROOM - NIGHT A crowd of men, including a DOCTOR, boxing manager BILLY MURDOCH, as well as several boxers and reporters stand around a deceased young pugilist, TONY CASINO, whose body lies on a rubbing table. A dangling ceiling light illuminates a dark bruise on the boxer's left temple. SUPERIMPOSE: BOSTON, 1949 The Doctor lifts the stethoscope from Casino's chest. DOCTOR He's dead. Cerebral hemorrhage, probably. BILLY MURDOCH This is terrible. He had a solid record, a promising career. A dark skinned lightweight BOXER, and a REPORTER speak. BOXER He was too tall for a welter. REPORTER He should have been a middle with that height, only his bones weren't big enough. BOXER You gotta have that bone, bone soaks it up. REPORTER He was knocked out in Philly last month. He went down like he'd been shot. DOCTOR (sharply to Murdoch) Was he unconscious long? Last month, I mean. BILLY MURDOCH No, I've seen them out longer. It happens a lot more than you'd think. A man with the bearing of a police officer, OFF-DUTY COP, tall with a military style haircut, gets involved. OFF-DUTY COP How long was he out? BILLY MURDOCH Not very long. OFF-DUTY COP About how long? BILLY MURDOCH It was only a few minutes. OFF-DUTY COP How long is a few minutes? BILLY MURDOCH I don't remember exactly, but he was in great shape for tonight's fight. The room goes silent. BOXER I was there. Tony was out at least ten minutes, maybe more. BILLY MURDOCH So what? I'd like to have a nickel for every guy that's been out ten minutes. BOXER He looked awful pale when he came out of it. Said he was feeling dizzy. I sat with him for a while after Mr. Murdoch left. He was sick too, but he couldn't throw up anything. Just some of that green stuff that burns. OFF-DUTY COP (to Murdoch) Hmm. Did you ever see him dizzy? BILLY MURDOCH No. Not on my watch. REPORTER I saw him fight in Cleveland about six months ago. He took one of the worst beatings I've ever seen. It was enough to finish most fighters. DOCTOR Did he lose often? REPORTER No. He had a whole lot of guts and was usually a safe bet. Murdoch slowly edges away from the rubbing table. REPORTER How was he between rounds tonight? BILLY MURDOCH I asked him how he was. He said he was all right. REPORTER They're always all right. How did he look? BILLY MURDOCH He didn't look perfect, but he was alert. OFF-DUTY COP Where's the handler. The HANDLER steps forward. HANDLER Right here. OFF-DUTY COP How did he look? HANDLER He looked bad. I don't think he could see. OFF-DUTY COP (to Murdoch) And you let him continue? BILLY MURDOCH You're trying to blame me? I don't have to take this. Murdoch walks to the door. OFF-DUTY COP I wish I could figure out a way to get you bastards! Murdoch hurriedly exits the room. INT. BOXING ARENA TUNNEL - NIGHT Murdoch is moving quickly through the tunnel when a sleazy looking, disheveled overweight BOXING PROMOTER catches up to him. BOXING PROMOTER Billy, you leaving town? BILLY MURDOCH I'm flying out first thing in the morning. A couple of my boys are on the undercard in Detroit tomorrow night. BOXING PROMOTER If I was you, I'd hop on the next plane outta Logan. Word's out. The papers are gonna have a field day with this. It'll be better if you're not around. BILLY MURDOCH I can handle them. BOXING PROMOTER I'm tellin' ya, no one's gonna come up to bat for you on this one. BILLY MURDOCH Maybe I will head out tonight. BOXING PROMOTER About the kid, who do we contact? BILLY MURDOCH I don't know. I think his folks are in Brooklyn. BOXING PROMOTER Don't worry about it, I'll take care of it. The boxing promoter waves then departs. Murdoch takes off in the opposite direction. BILLY MURDOCH (mumbles) Guess you're keeping the purse, you bighearted rat. INT. AIRPORT - NIGHT Murdoch, looking pale and stressed out, walks towards the waiting area with a small suitcase in hand when a reporter, REPORTER # 2, approaches him to get a statement. REPORTER # 2 I heard your fighter died tonight. Can I get a statement about what happened? BILLY MURDOCH Tony was hit harder than any of us realized. REPORTER # 2 Did you consider stopping the fight? BILLY MURDOCH He seemed normal. You can't stop the fight every time your boy gets hit. What would happen to the sport if you stopped a fight every time somebody got hit? REPORTER # 2 How long were you his manager for? BILLY MURDOCH About a year and half. REPORTER # 2 Were you two close? BILLY MURDOCH Whatta you mean? REPORTER # 2 (insincerely) Was he like a son to you? BILLY MURDOCH What's wrong with you? This isn't a joke. Murdoch walks away and continues to the waiting area. INT. INSIDE OF AIRPLANE IN FLIGHT - NIGHT MURDOCH is sitting in the rear of the plane. He closes his eyes and replays the fatal fight in his mind. INT. A SMALL ARENA - NIGHT - FLASHBACK A boxing match is taking place between Tony Casino and another WELTERWEIGHT (140-147 lbs.). In Casino's corner there's Billy Murdoch and the handler. In the welterweight's corner there's a short stocky TRAINER and an older grey- haired SECOND. The crowd is cheering and jeering. Both fighters' corners are yelling out instructions to their respective fighters. BILLY MURDOCH Watch the hook! Stay off the ropes! TRAINER That's it! Keep working the body! SECOND Quit dropping your head! In the last seconds of the round Casino suffers a heavy blow to the left temple. The bell rings and he stands dazed. Murdoch and the handler get inside the ring and walk him over to his corner. The handler treats Casino's cuts and bruises as Murdoch throws water on his face to snap him back into alertness. BILLY MURDOCH How you feeling? TONY CASINO I'm all right. BILLY MURDOCH Good. Good. Now listen. Stay away from him. Just keep away from him this round. TONY CASINO Okay. The bell rings. Casino goes in and moves around trying to avoid getting hit. He is unable to maintain a proper defense and is struck with a left jab, followed by a right cross. He falls to the canvas unconscious. INT. A CORRIDOR - NIGHT - FLASHBACK(CONT'D) Murdoch, the handler, and the lightweight boxer are rushing down the corridor carrying Tony Casino on a stretcher to the dressing room. Several other fighters as well as reporters are following closely behind. BOXER He's barely breathing. BILLY MURDOCH C'mon, stay with me kid. INT. A HOTEL ROOM - DAY - BACK TO PRESENT Murdoch is sitting beside a desk drinking coffee and reading the Detroit Free Press. He puts the paper down, stares at the back page with the large bold headline, "25-YEAR-OLD BOXER KILLED IN RING. WHO'S TO BLAME?" then shakes his head in frustration. He puts his coat and hat on, grabs his small suitcase, and leaves the hotel room. INT. TAXI - DAY Murdoch closes the door and settles into the backseat. The CAB DRIVER, a man in his late 40s, drives away. CAB DRIVER Where you going? BILLY MURDOCH Drop me off at the Motor City Gym. CAB DRIVER You got it. BILLY MURDOCH Thanks. CAB DRIVER You in the fight game? BILLY MURDOCH Small venues here and there, nothing big. CAB DRIVER That's a tough racket. A young fella just got killed. It's all over the news. They're talkin' about shutting the whole thing down. It'll never happen. (looks at Murdoch in rear-view mirror) People need champions. BILLY MURDOCH Yeah, and they're willing to ignore the brutality of boxing to get those champions. CAB DRIVER Ain't dat the truth. The driver drops Murdoch off in front of the MOTOR CITY GYM. INT. MOTOR CITY GYM - DAY Promoter MAX GREEN is standing near the ring watching a sparring match. On the other side of the ring there's a coach also observing the match. Several men are training (jumping rope, striking heavy and speed bags) at one end of the gym. As Murdoch walks over to talk to Max Green he's startled when he sees a pallid Tony Casino shadowboxing in front of the wall mirror, a large black bruise on his left temple. MAX GREEN I heard you were in town. Your name's getting dragged through the mud. Green points to a metal folding chair near the ring which has a newspaper on it. Murdoch glances over and sees a headline on the back page of the Detroit Times. It reads, "MANAGER ACCUSED OF PRIZEFIGHTER'S DEATH." BILLY MURDOCH I can't do anything about that. I'll be there with my boys tonight. I'm not letting a bunch of rabble-rousers stop me from doing my job. MAX GREEN Lyle and Ramirez are still on, but I don't want you around. There might be trouble. It's one of those messes and I don't want any part of it. BILLY MURDOCH I'll go to a movie, grab something to eat. MAX GREEN I wouldn't do that either. My advice is you head back to New York and dig in there for a while. A man's better off at home in these kinds of situations. BILLY MURDOCH They're not gonna run me out of every city. MAX GREEN So stay. Stay and get your skull bashed in by some asshole. They'll find you; it'll keep them excited. BILLY MURDOCH When do I receive my cut of the bouts? MAX GREEN (annoyed) You'll get paid. When have I ever stiffed you? BILLY MURDOCH I didn't mean nothing by it. This is getting out of control. The minute something goes wrong you're treated like a leper. MAX GREEN Can't argue you with you there. BILLY MURDOCH (walking away) We'll talk soon. MAX GREEN Take care, Murdoch. Murdoch leaves the gym through the same door he came in. EXT. MIDTOWN MANHATTAN - NIGHT Murdoch is standing on the corner of 9th Avenue & West 56th Street. Across the street, two men, who have been following him, are approaching. He reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out brass knuckles. He slips them onto his hand and positions himself in a southpaw stance. Both men slow down as they get closer. They continue walking without looking back. Murdoch holds his ground until the two men are out of sight. He walks down 56th St. towards 10th Ave. then goes inside the GARRISON HOTEL. INT. A HOTEL HALLWAY - NIGHT Murdoch stands in front of the door of room # 688. He takes a deep breath and knocks a couple of times. The door opens and he walks in. INT. A SMOKY HOTEL ROOM - NIGHT Boxing managers, JACK LATIMER, PETE TORELLI, and MANNY GOLD are in the middle of a poker game. JACK LATIMER (holds door open) Look who's back. Good to see you. Come on in. BILLY MURDOCH (shakes Jack's hand) I was expecting to get thrown out of here too. JACK LATIMER If you keep giving us a bad name we might have to. Murdoch sets his suitcase, coat, and hat down. Pete Torelli and Manny Gold remain seated at a table littered with clay chips, ash trays, and beer bottles. PETE TORELLI Hey, how you doing? You got a tough break. Don't let it get to you. BILLY MURDOCH I appreciate that, Pete. MANNY GOLD You know the drill. Every so often they gotta yell. They'll move on to something else. Sit down and play a hand. It'll take your mind off things. Murdoch sits down at the table. Jack Latimer is across the room pouring a drink for himself. JACK LATIMER What do you like in your Scotch, Billy? BILLY MURDOCH Water, just plain water. Thanks. JACK LATIMER I'ma make it a double. It'll settle your nerves. BILLY MURDOCH That's awful good of you. A while later, a slightly inebriated Murdoch stands up. BILLY MURDOCH I'd like to say a few words. We've lost a good man. He was honest and hard working. Maybe I shouldn't have pushed him so hard. PETE TORELLI Don't beat yourself up, Billy. BILLY MURDOCH No, I gotta say this. I been in this business a long time and I haven't always made the best decisions, but I won't apologize for wanting my boys to be top contenders. MANNY GOLD That's right. BILLY MURDOCH I'll have to live with Tony's death on my conscience. We all know the risks. This is what we choose to do. It's what he chose to do. (raises his glass) To Tony Casino! May his soul rest in peace. JACK/PETE/MANNY (raise their glasses) To Tony! The four boxing managers resume their poker game. THE END |