"The audience takes irresponsible delight in vigorous events." ~ William Shakespeare
One of the reasons why I love the song "Convoy" is because it is jam-packed with words -- colorful descriptions -- catchy turns-of-phrase.... It's sort of the same reason I love the film, Manhattan Murder Mystery -- it is words and conversation, realistic, like real life, where people sometimes cut off, or stammer, or rethink, or talk over each other. It isn't like some films where each character is carefully making a specific speech. With the CAMERA on his face for a close-up....
...Headin' for bear On I - One - O, 'Bout a mile out of Shakey town I says, Pig Pen, this here's the Rubber Duck And I'm about to put the hammer down... ...What do you mean, you snuck into his apartment? Are you nuts? ... You'll end up rooming with John Gotti...
PAUL It's funny. I found those glasses under my bed. CAROL That's because I must have dropped them and they probably got kicked under. LARRY Kicked under, right, because what she'll do, she'll drop... CAROL They were just -- LARRY She'll always drop things and she'll kick them all around the house. CAROL They could -- PAUL The mousse? He walks away to the kitchen. LARRY She's always -- she's always kick... Carol gives him an intense, meaningful look signaling him to stop rambling.
CAROL (speaking up, toward the kitchen) Anyway, I'd love to have some mousse. LARRY Yes, really? Remember there was the time you kicked the mousse under the bed in the house. Remember that? It was... Carol walks away, toward the kitchen. CAROL I remember. LARRY It took -- took six months to get the... EXT. A New York street - day
MEDIUM FULL SHOT of Carol, waiting under the awning of a building. She hears a car stopping and she looks toward the street. TED (voice over) Hi. I'm sorry I'm late. The traffic's murder. CAROL (hurrying to the car) I know, but where... Where are we going? TED I looked up, looked up Helen Moss in the phone book. Carol gets into the car, closes door. CAROL (voice over from inside the car) Yeah. TED It was just H. Moss. CAROL Right. TED So I -- it's on Bank Street... The car drives away. EXT. Bank Street - day FULL VIEW of the corner of two very quiet streets. A brick building with vines climbing. CAMERA PANS away from the building to Ted's car parked on the other side of the intersection. MEDIUM SHOT of the inside of the car, through the open window on the passenger side. TED There's her house. CAROL Right. So we should just sit here and wait, huh?
TED Yeah. CAROL Okay. They look at each other and laugh. Slightly later. MEDIUM SHOT through the windshield. View is a little blurred by daylight reflection on the glass. TED Maybe he thought that if he, if he, if he divorced her, she'd -- she'd hit him for a ton of alimony. Or maybe she, maybe she controls the family fortune. What do you think of that? CAROL Oh, I don't know. Yeah, maybe we're wrong, Ted. Maybe we're just, you know... I mean, maybe she died of natural causes, like the doctor said, and we're just two people with, you know, hyperactive imaginations, whose lives need a little shot of adrenaline. Ted looks through the paper bag of snacks he brought. TED Does yours? I'll tell you, mine needs something.
__________________________________________ {Manhattan Murder Mystery, 1993. Producer: Robert Greenhut. Directed by Woody Allen. Written by Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman. Starring Alan Alda, Woody Allen, Anjelica Huston, Diane Keaton. Dist.-TriStar Pictures.}
{Manhattan Murder Mystery} PAUL You know, I found your glasses. CAROL Mine? PAUL These are yours, aren't they? CAROL Yes. LARRY No. CAROL Uh, no. Yeah. Uh... No no no no no. They... They... Oh, God.... She takes the glasses from his hand.
LARRY No, no, those aren't yours. These are the same, actually. They are, aren't they? These-These-These ones, are. CAROL They are actually... They're mine. Honey, they're mine! I... You know what happened? I think the other night, I must have left them here. It's the strangest thing. PAUL Did you? I didn't notice that. CAROL No, no. Yeah. I know. Because, remember, you were saying that you thought that I left them at your mother's house? LARRY At your mother's house. CAROL That's right. Of course, so... She turns toward Paul, who has remained very calm. PAUL That mousse looks fabulous. CAROL Anyway, it's so good. I love mousse. PAUL Thank you very much. CAROL Hey, listen, are you looking forward to going snorkeling in the Caribbean? PAUL Very much. Very much. CAROL Uh huh... PAUL It's funny. I found those glasses under my bed.
In Manhattan Murder Mystery, after Carol Lipton tells her husband she left her reading glasses in their neighbor's apartment (when she sneaked in while he was away and "tossed" the place, looking for clues), there's a CUT to INT. Mr. House's doorway He's letting the two Liptons in; they're bringing him chocolate mousse. (Sort of like they're getting into a tradition -- 'we bring you a dessert every now and then, you let us in and serve coffee and we all share the dessert and make small talk' -- only this time of course it's -- 'we bring you a dessert and you go in the kitchen to make tea and we hope we can find the pair of reading glasses Carol lost here, before you come back out.')
In this scene, Paul asks them, "Coffee or tea?" and the answer is "Tea" -- probably because they think maybe that will take him longer, so they can have more time to search. While he's in the kitchen, Carol and Larry are wildly searching (if it's possible to search wildly -- it is...) for her glasses. Hurrying fast, trying to look everyplace the glasses could be, making crazy hand gestures, shooshing each other -- come on! Hurry! Keep it down!... Larry calls toward the kitchen, solicitously, "You all right? Y'need any help in there?" Trying to keep all the balls in the air... keep the bases covered.... INT. Paul's living room - Night Carol and Larry, stopping their search and looking up as Mr. House enters, gingerly holding the reading glasses in his hand. PAUL You know, I found your glasses.
Yeah, breaker one-nine This here's the Rubber Duck You got a copy on me Pig Pen, c'mon? Uh, yeah, Ten-Four Pig Pen, fer sure, fer sure By golly it's clean clear to Flag Town, c'mon Yeah, it's a big Ten-Four there, Pig Pen Yeah, we definitely got the front door, Good Buddy Mercy sakes alive, looks like we've got us a convoy It was the dark of the moon On the sixth of June In a Kenworth, pullin' logs Cabover Pete with a reefer on And a Jimmy haulin' hogs We was headin' for bear On I - One - O, 'Bout a mile out of Shakey Town I says, Pig Pen, this here's the Rubber Duck And I'm about to put the hammer down
'Cause we got a little 'ole convoy Rockin' through the night Yeah, we got a little 'ole convoy, Ain't she a beautiful sight C'mon and join our Convoy Ain't nothin' gonna get in our way We gonna roll this truckin' convoy 'Cross the USA Con - voy! Con - voy! Yeah, breaker Pig Pen, this here's the Duck And uh, you wanna back off them hogs Uh, ten-four 'bout five mile or so Ten-Roger, them hogs is gettin' intense up here By the time we got into Tulsa Town We had eighty-five trucks in all But they's a road block up on the clover leaf And them bears was wall to wall Yeah, them smokies was thick as bugs on a bumper They even had a bear in the air I says, Callin' all trucks, This here's the Duck, We about to go a-huntin' bear 'Cause we got a great big convoy Rockin' through the night Yeah, we got a great big convoy Ain't she a beautiful sight C'mon and join our convoy Ain't nothin' gonna get in our way We gonna roll this truckin' convoy 'Cross the U-S-A Convoy! Convoy! Uh, you wanna give me a ten-nine on that Pig Pen Uh, negatory Pig Pen you're still too close Yeah, them hogs is startin' to close up my sinuses Mercy sakes, you'd better back off another ten Well we rolled up Interstate forty-four Like a rocket sled on rails We tore up all of our swindle sheets And left 'em settin' on the scales By the time we hit that Chi-Town Them bears was a-gettin' smart They'd brought up some reinforcements From the Illinois National Guard There's armored cars and tanks and jeeps And rigs of every size Yeah, them chicken coops was full of bears And choppers filled the skies Well, we shot the line We went for broke With a thousand screamin' trucks And eleven long-haired Friends of Jesus In a chartreuse microbus Yeah, Rubber Duck this's Sod Buster, c'mon there Yeah, Ten-Four Sod Buster Listen, you wanna put that microbus In behind that suicide jockey Yeah, he's haulin' dynamite And he needs all the help he can get Well, we laid a strip for the Jersey Shore Prepared to cross the line I could see the bridge was lined with bears But I didn't have a doggone dime I says, Pig Pen this here's the Rubber Duck We just ain't a-gonna pay no toll So we crashed the gate, doin' 98, I says, Let them truckers roll, Ten-Four 'Cause we got a mighty convoy Rockin' through the night Yeah, we got a mighty convoy Ain't she a beautiful sight C'mon and join our convoy Ain't nothin' gonna get in our way We gonna roll this truckin' convoy 'Cross the U-S-A Convoy Convoy Ah, Ten-Four Pig Pen, what's your Twenty Omaha Well, they oughtta know what to do with them hogs out there, fer sure. Well, mercy sakes, good buddy We gonna back on outta here So keep the bugs off yer glass And the bears off yer ... tail We'll catch you on the flip flop. This here's the Rubber Duck on the side We gone Bye - bye
--------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------- The original version of this iconic song is on You Tube. title of the video: "Mcall-convoy (original version)" uploader: H8ted by all The picture on the video is of open highway, with light green grass, and light blue sky. (There's one flaw in the recording -- after the "crashed the gate doing 98" part, there's a big scratchy sound but it only lasts for like a second, and then it's back to good sound. So don't worry, there's nothing wrong with your computer or your phone.) -30-
"I hire very good actors, and I don't get in their way." ~ Woody Allen ____________________________________ Comment on You Tube: Steve Fortuna ------------------ Exactly, why would a ruling elite give anything but the ILLUSION of choice and power to the masses? You can buy 300 types of toothpaste but a nation of 300 million has two corrupt choices for leader of the free world? How's that working out for us? We need 5 - 6 - 10 political parties that fragment power and force coalitions to work together to get things done. This makes it much more difficult for the elites to control all the politicians in the system. Starve the Democratic and Republican parties of votes and establish parties based on specific issues like income equality, environment, peace etc. and the big parties will have to make deals with them to share power. ------------------------ ----------------------------------
The phone rings. LARRY Now? That's a possibility. He picks up the phone. LARRY You know, we could, we could do... (talking into the telephone) Hello. Yes? Where are you? CAMERA PANS back to Marcia, sitting on chair, smoking cigarette. LARRY Is everything okay? Really? No, I could, sure. PAN -- back to Larry
LARRY I could. Yeah. I need-I need, you know, five minutes, or so. Okay. Yes. Yes. I know where it is. Okay, hold on. LARRY (hangs up phone) I can't do it. I have to... My wife, I have a little thing I have to do. I'll do the cheeseburger with you next week, or something. MARCIA (smiling; crushing cigarette in ashtray; standing up) Story of my life! EXT. a park - Day Larry and Carol by a big fountain -- the water splashing behind them as they converse. LARRY (incredulous) What do you mean, you snuck into his apartment? Are you nuts? CAROL Oh, stop being such a fuddy-dud. LARRY A fuddy-dud?
Carol starts walking around the fountain. Larry follows her. CAROL Yeah. LARRY What are you talking about? That's a crime. You can't do that. You... That's-That's burglary, and breaking and entering. But... What has gotten into you lately? For crying out loud, save a little craziness for menopause. CAROL It was a cinch. I took the key and I just let myself in. LARRY Hey, look. Do... I don't want to... You-You'll wind up rooming with John Gotti. You can't do that. You can't just steal the key and then go into somebody's apartment.
CAROL Listen. He's not going snorkeling with his brother, okay? Okay? LARRY I don't wanna know. I don't wanna be an accessory. CAROL He's going to Paris, to a fancy hotel with a woman named Helen Moss. LARRY Tell Ted. I don't want to know. Leave me alone. CAROL I told Ted. LARRY You told Ted before you told me? CAROL Yeah. Well -- he's more open-minded about these things.
LARRY Yes, I know. I'm - I'm-I'm a bore. I'm -- Because I - Because I don't break the law, you know? CAROL Yeah. LARRY I live within the Constitution, so I'm dull. CAROL Listen. Perhaps he got rid of the urn, okay? LARRY I-I don't wanna hear. Leave me alone. Don't tell me. CAROL He talked on the phone with a woman. LARRY How do you know? CAROL Because he... Well, he came back while I was there, you know, so... LARRY (letting out a loud, shocked, scandalized GASP) Huuuhhhh??!!! He did? CAROL Yeah, but I hid under the bed.
LARRY You hid under his bed? CAROL He didn't see me, Larry. He didn't see me at all. LARRY I cannot believe this. My stomach is curdling, here I... CAROL He was - He was very lovey-dovey with this kind of bimbo, you know? He kept saying stuff like, you know, "don't worry, it's gonna be all right. We're gonna be together." That kind of thing. LARRY But what would you have done if he, if he found you out? CAROL I know, listen, I-I couldn't think that far ahead. LARRY That far ahead? You're talking two seconds. CAROL No, I-- LARRY He could have looked under the bed and there you are. What do you... CAROL Yeah, but... Larry, listen. And then, listen to this. He-He called this woman back. Probably this-this Helen Moss woman, right?
LARRY I don't wanna know. Leave me alone. CAROL And when he calls her back, she's not there. And then he leaves this message, and he says: "Tell her Tom called." You know what I'm saying? Tom. Tom, Larry. LARRY Yeah, yeah. I... I know, I get it, his name is Paul, but I don't care. I don't wanna hear. CAROL Well, okay. Well, I'll tell you. I thought I did... LARRY I just don't... CAROL I thought I did a great job, and so did Ted. I don't think a private eye could have done any better than me. I put everything back where I found it, I was very careful. I made one mistake. LARRY What? CAROL I left my reading glasses on his table.
About a year or so ago, while taking a hike on You Tube, I thought I should listen to the jazz music of Dave Brubeck. And I really had no idea why: I didn't know why that name looked familiar to me after I listened to some other jazz-related music and "Dave Brubeck Take Five" appeared nearby on the screen. There's a Dave Brubeck album, Time Out, and a Take Five album, and "Take Five" the song. When I listened to the song "Take Five" it sounded familiar, and I didn't know why. Now, as I look at the musical pieces used in Manhattan Murder Mystery, I realize I must have recognized that tune from this movie. In the "Take Five" restaurant scene, the music is perfectly low, so it doesn't interfere with the dialogue. Brubeck's notes trickle and gently splash around the conversation and the scene.
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INT. Larry's office - Day MARCIA You know, you're the only editor in the world I'll take suggestions from, but even you shouldn't push it. LARRY No, I'm not pushing it. I think the book is great. Absolutely great. You know, but, uh... how much, how much of Dorothy is you? As I was reading it, I kept thinking how much is... you know, how much did you base it on your own life? MARCIA Well, I was a waitress. I lived with a poet. I was a film critic. LARRY Right, but not -- not a blackjack dealer, right? MARCIA No, but I put myself through school playing poker. LARRY Oh, really? Do you still play? MARCIA No, but I still know how. LARRY Yes? Are you good? MARCIA Yeah.
LARRY Yeah, because maybe you could give me some pointers. MARCIA I could turn your game around in two hours. LARRY Could you? That's great. That's... you know, you-you have all these skills, and you're beautiful, and you can write so well... and now it turns out you play poker. This is, uh, too good to be true. MARCIA Well, I wouldn't say beautiful. LARRY Oh, I would. MARCIA But I do have tremendous sex appeal. LARRY (with a light laugh in his tone) Okay, yah sold me! Are - are you seeing anybody? MARCIA No. Don't let my confidence fool you, it's a facade. Why do you ask? LARRY Because I have a friend who became single recently, and I-I know he would get a big kick out of you. MARCIA Oh. So, when do you want your poker lessons? LARRY Uh, next week. I could take you to lunch. We could -- we could, um, I'll put you on my expense account, and you could... teach me when to... bet and when to fold. MARCIA How about a cheeseburger right now? -------------------------------------------------
