On the Waterfront

ON THE WATERFRONT by Budd Schulberg FADE IN EXT�ESTABLISHING SHOT�WATERFRONT�NIGHT Shooting toward a small building (Hoboken Yacht Club) set upon a wharf floating about twenty-five yards off shore. A long, narrow gangplank leads from the wharf to the shore, and on either side of the wharf are large ocean liners which are being unloaded by arc light. In the B.G. is the glittering New York skyline. A great liner, blazing with light, is headed down river. A ferry chugs across to Manhattan. There is a counterpoint of ships' whistles, some shrill, others hauntingly muted. CLOSER SHOT�SMALL BUILDING�ON WHARF�NIGHT It is the office of the longshoremen's local for this section of waterfront. Coming along the gangplank toward the shore is an isolated figure. He is TERRY MALLOY, a wiry, jaunty, waterfront hanger-on in his late twenties. He wears a turtleneck sweater, a windbreaker and a cap. He whistles a familiar Irish song. A SERIES OF WALKING SHOTS�TERRY MALLOY�WATERFRONT�NIGHT Reaching the shore and turning away from the union office. Passing the burned-out piers. Turning up a waterfront tenement street lit by a dim street lamp that throws an eerie beam. He is holding something inside his jacket but we cannot see what it is.