Monday, February 10, 2014

Blackthorne--Scene Twenty-Two



image borrowed from bing


Blackthorne

Cinemagenic Twenty-Two

Dead Time

“When my time comes, just skin me, stuff me, & put me up
there on Trigger, just as though nothing had ever changed.”
--Roy Rogers.

1(sound cue) leather creaking & cicadas chirping.
2(two-shot) over Millie’s shoulder, angle on Buck slipping on
his black leather vest.
3(sound cue) Spanish guitar strumming.
4(close-up) Buck thumping down red & green shotgun shells
on one side, and tall brass .50 caliber Sharps shells on the other.
5(medium close-up) Millie watching him, her eyes sad, her 
lips pursed.
6(close-up) Buck: Thor Bronson--my guess is that he is slippery
fast & mean as a scorpion in your boot.
7(close-up) Millie, shaking her head in agreement.
8(sound cue) soft drumstick baps, & twinkling cymbals. 
9(medium close-up) Buck tying down the lethal Colt to his right leg,
the inlaid silver stallion on the holster reflecting the sunlight.
--Buck: so mean he kills men before breakfast for farting at the table.
10(sound cue) four muffled rapid pistol shots, overlapped by guitar
strumming rapidly.
--he kicks dogs & children, pistol whips women as foreplay, and uses
a Gaucho bullwhip for ticks.
11(close-up) Millie:
--sure, something like that, they say he’s run out of room to put
notches on his guns. 
12(sound cue) banjo & bassoon. 
13(medium close-up) Buck pops the snap on his strange wide left 
holster, extracts & examines the sawed off hog’s leg; checks the load,
and shoves it back into the holster.
--Buck: Sweet Millie, will you remember me?
14(close-up) Millie: hell no--I like you.
15(medium close-up) Buck raising his eyebrows, a twinkle in his blue
eyes:
--Millie: I’m afraid you’ll be shot dead before lunch.
--Buck: the name’s Rod, Roderick Buck.
16(close up) Millie.
17(sound cue) her door closing, & the heavy thump of his footsteps
moving down the hall.
--Millie (in narration) from what savage breast did this man appear, 
from what darkness?
18(medium shot) Millie’s silhouette standing at her window watching
the old yellow tomcat creeping up on a dirty brown starling pecking
at caterpillars that had nested between the split shingles--then
the hunter stepped into sight.
19(medium crane shot) camera moves out over the roof, & down
onto the street, falling in behind Buck.
20(switch to reverse traveling steadi-cam shot) Buck walking toward
the camera as it pulls backward away from him--his tall body striding
with a graceful ease for a big man walking into the hot morning. 
21(sound cue) violin & harmonica.
22(medium close up) a neat stack of five silver dollars on the
doilyed night stand, alongside a half-empty bottle of whiskey.
23(close-up) the teddy bear’s blank face in the wicker basket.
24(medium shot) Millie folding up the burgundy colored blanket
that she had wrapped around herself, her back to the window;
25(sound cue) the tomcat killing a bird.
26(hold the shot) Millie standing naked, her heavy arms folded
over her breasts, in the harsh light.
27(close-up) Millie with silent tears rolling down her powdered
cheeks, her eyes closed.
28(sound cue) strident notes on saloon piano. 


Glenn Buttkus

Posted over on dVerse Poets OLN132

Would you like to hear the author read this Cinemagenic poem to you?

13 comments:

Brian Miller said...

nice...i like how he gave her his name...the full one...in case he does not return...the feeling she has for one she barely knows....for she knows what is coming....

Mary said...

Hmmm, are we finding a softer Buck appearing here??? I hope so!

Claudia said...

i like the emotions you wove in here... like bri i love that he told her his name - that means much

brudberg said...

Wow.. what a set of emotions here.. and the symbolism of the tomcat killing the bird... wonder who's that bird... I hold my thumbs for Buck

Ron Shields said...

Well, I am definitely on Buck's side...Great idea to reveal his first name to Millie.

Anonymous said...

Names make it personal, and lasting. I like how you parallel his reveal with her revealing her body and tears. ~

Gabriella said...

I too like the revealing of the name! I wonder if what she sees is what will happen.

Scarlet said...

Liking the update Glenn ~ Thor Bronson sounds menacing ~ She weeps at the end, hopefully she will see him again (that's the romantic side of me)

Morgan said...

Amazing...so powerful!

Katie Mia Frederick said...

My mind usually moves back to Gunsmoke when i visit your saloon..and i think about the 'moled'
'matron'..that well..
could have been a woman of the night too..
but like i dream of Jeannie..i love Lucy..those were the things..still kept hidden then..
from the prying eyes..of young
boys like me....
but anyway..i miss those gun smoke days..
and glad to be reminded of them here..in part
ing ways..

kaykuala said...

Roy Rogers astride Trigger! Joyful recollection of bygone days! Great write Glenn!

Hank

Mystic_Mom said...

Any tinhorn who notches his gun, or belt, is probably more legend than fact. Shoot straight Buck, shoot straight. Nice mood with Millie, and the tomcat and the bird.

Victoria` said...

You are so good at tropes: mean as a scorpion in your boot. This reminded me of when I studied nursing in Phoenix when it was still total desert and they told us to always check our shoes for scorpions before putting them on...no kidding.