Blackthorne--Scene Twenty-Three

image borrowed from bing

Blackthorne

Cinemagenic Twenty-Three

Errands

“You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish

yourself if you forget the errand.”--Woodrow T. Wilson.

1(medium reverse shot) Buck crossing the wide dusty street,

the black dog trotting in his shadow.

2(sound cue) guitar & muted coronet.

3(wide shot) the sun is approaching late morning, and it is

brightly baking the buildings; steam is rolling off horse troughs.

4(medium wide shot) Buck stops in front of Wallace’s Store,

putting his hands on his hips.

5(traveling steadicam-shot) through one of the windows--

the store was full of thin raw-boned women in washed-out

calico dresses, wearing plain cotton bonnets, with pods

of their children in over-sized hand-me-down clothes standing

& eying fat jars of tall peppermint sticks, colorful gum drops,

and thick bars of chocolate in dark wrappers.

6(sound cue) banjo strumming & harp plucking.

7(medium close up) Buck shaking his head & smiling, then

patting his big red roan on the neck, 

8(close-up) the roan bobbing its head.

9(close-up) the man smoothing & petting its silken coat, as

the skin shivered some under his gentle touch.

10(medium close-up) the empty saddle, with no sack of

provisions hanging from its pommel.

11(three-shot) the hunter, his horse & dog:

--Buck: well fellas, no vittles yet, so this might be a good

time for me to scrape my face & chop my mane.

12(close-up) Buck scratches behind the dog’s large ears.

13(sound cues) dog softly whining, the horse stamping its

back hoof, flies buzzing over a saloon piano in background.

14(medium close-up) Buck pushing his hat back, stroking his

beard, and staring across the street at the CHINA DOLL.

15(medium wide shot) the front of the saloon, with a lot of

commotion going on inside, with two porch riders, the fat man

& the beanpole, standing watch from their bench.
16(sound cue) soft six-string guitar chords & harmonica.

17(medium close-up) angle on Buck, pulling his hat back down,

his blue eyes in shadow.

18(traveling crane shot) panning the side of the street Buck

was on; the Barber Shop was a couple of blocks down, next

to the tiny Mexican cantina.

19(sound cue) Spanish guitar.

20(medium shot) Buck’s POV, angle on his back

as the porch loafers are now on their feet.

--Buck: fuck it.

21(medium close-up) He jerks out the long-barreled

Sharps from its buffalo hide boot, its sixteen lethal

pounds felt good in his calloused hands. He loosened

the thumb screw at the base of the open sight, & reset

the aperture disc for under a 100 yards; then he put

the rifle to his shoulder and sighted at the two men.

22(zoom into medium close-up) the two loafers on the

saloon porch quickly sitting back down, then shifting

their gaze to a checkerboard set up on a pickle barrel

between them. 

23(close up) Buck’s face, eyes still in shadow:

--that’s it, assholes, pretend you didn’t notice.

24(sound cue) violin & piano.

25(shift to medium wide-shot) the hunter begins walking

toward the Barber Shop, staying out in the street, with

the black dog behind him; a freight wagon moves past

him pulled by a team of chestnut geldings, then a fancy

buggy with a young couple in it, the man wearing a green

suit & matching bowler hat, & several cowpokes with gray-

white dust on their leather chaps & boots.

26(crane shot) slow pan as Buck walks--several people

passing him from up on the boardwalk, but no one

acknowledging him. One young girl pointed at him, but

her mother grabbed her hand & hurried on. No one

asked him if he needed aid, advice, or directions. 

27(hold the traveling shot) as it reveals an alley between

the blocks, and we see two Mexican whores sitting on

boxes & pallets, wearing bright colored blouses and flowing

pleated skirts, smoking long brown cigarettes, and petting

a collie.

28(medium close-up) one of the prostitutes waves at Buck,

blowing blue smoke-ring kisses from her smiling red lips.

29(sound cue) castanets & accordion.

30(medium close-up) Cheewa touching noses with the female

collie, her head & tail down & motionless.

31(return to medium wide-shot) Buck stopping in front of Barnes'

Barber Shop, its thick barber pole freshly painted red & white,

the false front white-washed, the twin windows trimmed in red.

32(medium close-up) Buck opens the front door. 

33(reverse shot) the door swinging open with Buck 

entering the shop.

34(sound cue) two cow bells clanging.

35(two-shot) over Buck’s shoulder, the barber looking

up from reading a newspaper, then quickly rising from

one of his two swivel barber chairs.

36(close-up) Barber:  Wheeeehew! what is that

wonderful smell?

37(close-up) Buck: buffalo blood, beer, & pussy.

38(close-up) Barber: thanks for sharing. 

Glenn Buttkus

Posted over on dVerse Poets OLN133

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