Devil In a Blue Dress

DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS by Carl Franklin From the novel by Walter Mosley March 9, 1994 3rd Draft 1 INT. CHAMPION AIRCRAFT - BENNY GIACOMO'S OFFICE 1 A battered wooden desk drawer groans open and light brown skinned hands with dirty fingernails twist the cap off a pint of rye whiskey and pour liquor into a coffee cup. O.S. VOICE You know, when you fire somebody you have to stick to your guns. They screw the cap back on and lay the bottle in the drawer. (continuing) The men might get to thinkin' that I'm weak if I take you back. The cup rises to the face of BENNY GIACOMO, late forties, with salt and pepper hair that was once jet black. Skin darker than a Louisiana Creole. He takes a sip and bares his teeth in a grimace from the whiskey. As he talks we gradually see more of him -- feet kicked up on the desk, fully in charge. A Betty Grable like pin-up girl is giving us background in more ways than one in a swimsuit and high heels on a calendar tacked to the wall: May, 1948. BENNY (continuing) And I didn't tell Dupree that I'd give you your job back...