The City on the Edge of Forever (25 page)

FRAME TO BLACK.

78 EXT. NEW YORK STREET—NIGHT

BLACK FRAME becomes the back of Kirk, as he walks AWAY FROM CAMERA hand-in-hand with Edith Keeler. Street dressed for a Saturday night, people out on the sidewalk, cars passing, women leaning out of upstairs windows calling their kids to come in, men sitting on stoops talking, the activity, the life of the city, consistent with the image of the times. CAMERA GOES WITH THEM. As they pass a series of shops, we begin to HEAR MUSIC from one of them, a jaunty tune of the times, played on a raggy piano, being sung by one of those girls who sang from sheet-music in the Thirties. She is singing “Please.”

Please, lend your little ear to my pleas
.

Lend a ray of cheer to my pleas
.

Tell me that you love me, too
.

Please let me hold you tight in my arms
.

I could find delight in your charms
.

Ev’ry night my whole life through
.•

• Copyright © 1932 by Famous Music Corp.

As they pass the down-below-street-level music shop, Edith stops, turns and cocks her head to one side. CAMERA IN CLOSE. She smiles, rocks to the music. Kirk grins.

EDITH

Let’s go down for a minute, Jim. We have time before I speak, and I love this song.

79 2-SHOT—KIRK & EDITH

CAMERA PULLS BACK SLIGHTLY as Kirk nods agreement. Edith starts down the wrought iron stairs to the shop as Jim walks behind her. CAMERA BACK to give us FULL SHOT now. Edith slips. She starts to fall, Jim Kirk reaches out to catch her as CAMERA ZOOMS IN on his hand. Just before he could catch her arm, his hand closes, spastically. 

80 FULL SHOT—ANOTHER ANGLE

as she falls down the stairs. CAMERA ZOOMS IN on Kirk’s face. He let her fall. He remembered what he was there for. CAMERA ZOOMS BACK out and for a beat we think Edith may have died. But we see she is merely lying there bruised. CAMERA ZOOMS IN AGAIN on
her
face, as she looks at Jim with his clenched hand still extended. She seems to know he let her fall, and a confused hurt expression crosses her face. CAMERA OUT AGAIN and Kirk rushes down to her, helps her up.

KIRK

(means it)

Are you all right?

EDITH

(slowly, mixed up)

Yes…I’m all right…Jim…

CAMERA HOLDS on their faces as Kirk turns away slightly and we see the torment in his expression…and the confusion on Edith’s face.

DISSOLVE TO:

81 EXT. NEW YORK STREET—SAME SCENE AS 47—DAY

the street with the CCC Camp shop and the bread line shop, now minus the lamppost Kirk vaporized with the phaser. But there is nothing happening in front of the two shops. The cars and trucks still roll, but very few people on the sidewalks. Kirk and Spock in XTREME F.G. MOVE INTO FRAME from opposite sides, looking at each other, then turn to stare at the street opposite. They form the left and right sides of the FRAME with the sliver of scene between them.

SPOCK

My computations could be wrong.

KIRK

Let’s hope not.

SPOCK

Where is Miss Keeler?

KIRK

At the Free Milk Kitchen. She’ll be out of the way for at least two hours.

As they stand there waiting, a large stake-bed TRUCK filled with barrels thunders past. We NOTE the truck in this SHOT.

KIRK (CONT’D.)

Edith told me that’s the bootleg beer wagon.

SPOCK

“Bootleg?”

KIRK

They’re in something called “The Great Depression.” They’re also undergoing something called “The Great Prohibition.”

SPOCK

Trucks like that are prohibited?

KIRK

Sometimes, Mr. Spock, your tendency to take things literally is a pain in the fundament.

SPOCK

But you said…

KIRK

No, not the truck, what it’s carrying, what’s
in
those barrels. Beer. An alcoholic beverage. Liquor is prohibited.

SPOCK

Ah yes, I remember the spools mentioning this “great experi—”

(suddenly)

There!

They BACK OUT OF FRAME so we have a FULL SHOT of the street opposite, and CAMERA MOVES IN so we see the brick wall and a sudden shimmering (NOT THE TRANSPORTER MATERIALIZATION EFFECT—ANOTHER) as Beckwith abruptly becomes substantial, standing there looking around, trying to get oriented, still wearing his
Enterprise
garb. Then Kirk and Spock dash INTO FRAME from XTREME CLOSEUP so the FRAME IS BLACK for a beat as they race away from us.

82 REVERSE ANGLE—PAST BECKWITH—HIS POV

as he looks across the street and sees Spock and Kirk coming for him. He recognizes them instantly and turns first one way, then another, to run—but he doesn’t know which way. Spock gets across the street, but as Kirk moves to follow, just a beat behind him, another huge bootleg beer truck in the caravan rumbles down the street, and Kirk is cut off. Spock reaches Beckwith, who falls back against the brick wall, and raises a booted foot. He catches Spock in the stomach with the foot, and hurls him back. Then Beckwith rushes OUT OF FRAME RIGHT as the truck passes and Kirk reaches Spock. He helps him up. CAMERA ANGLE NARROWER now.

KIRK

Which way?

SPOCK

Toward the Milk Kitchen…

They tense, and race off down the street as we

DISSOLVE TO:

83 INT. TENEMENT—SAME AS 74—DAY

on the vestibule door, as it opens, and Kirk brings Edith Keeler in behind him. He is rushing her, holding her by the arm.

EDITH

Jim…what
is
this?

KIRK

You shouldn’t be out there alone.

She pulls away, stands her ground. She’s wearing the cape with the sunburst, but a different dress of the period.

EDITH

What in the world are you
talking
about? You come dashing into the Milk Kitchen and practically
abscond
with me! Now, Jim, I’ve got responsi—

Kirk moves to her, takes her lovely face in his hands, and if we are ever to see the inner man, James Kirk, this is the moment. Gathered here in his hands is everything that means anything to him. Kirk is deeply in love.

KIRK

Edith, do you trust me?

EDITH

Jim…I…

KIRK

No, please,
do you trust me
?

EDITH

(looks down demurely)

I trust you…and I love you, Jim.

A stricture of pain/pleasure crosses his face. She does not see it. He tilts her face up and stares at her for a long moment, then kisses her. She clings to him. After a long beat they move apart a bit and CAMERA COMES CLOSER.

KIRK

Edith…

EDITH

Do you love me, Jim? It’s the first time for me, so I don’t know.

KIRK

Very much. More than anyone I’ve ever known. You’ve become very important to me. You can’t know how important…

EDITH

And you’re afraid, Jim, what is it?

KIRK

It’s nothing, I just want you to be—

He can’t finish. She stares at him, with wonder.

84 ANOTHER ANGLE—FEATURING STAIRWELL

as Mr. Spock appears. He is carrying a burlap parcel. It contains the phaser, but we don’t know it. He stops on the stairs. Kirk looks at him, and draws away from Edith. She looks, sees only a Chinese laborer. Spock watches them with silent understanding, then moves down the stairs and past them. He goes out.

KIRK

You’d better go upstairs. Please trust me…I know you want to go back to the mission to work, but if you would…please, go upstairs, get some rest, an hour of sleep…please. I have to go out for a while, but I’ll be right back.

EDITH

(deeply troubled)

Jim, if it’s something you’ve done…some trouble…

KIRK

Nothing, Edith. I’ll be right back. I
promise
. Just stay in your room…and keep the door locked.

EDITH

Please tell me, Jim!

He moves to the front door, opens it, starts to go.

EDITH (CONT’D.)

(softly)

I love you, James Kirk.

CAMERA ON KIRK as he pauses, without turning, hearing her words. Then his jaw muscles tighten, and he goes out the door. HOLD ON HER staring after him.

85 EXT. STREET—ANGLE ON ALLEY—DAY

as Kirk passes, sees Spock waiting, the burlap wrapped package still in his arms. He moves into the alley as CAMERA GOES WITH him. Spock is looking at him with a silent condemnation.

KIRK

Mr. Spock…you can’t know how it is with her…

He stops. A silent bit of character flow. He knows how Spock feels about all this. But he can’t defend himself.

SPOCK

Are they still alive in the Transporter Chamber, Captain?

KIRK

You don’t understand. You’re not—

SPOCK

I am not
what
, Captain? A human, subject to the pains and pleasures of love? No, that is true. I am merely
part
human; and I am merely concerned with saving the lives of the ones who trusted us to save them.

KIRK

I can’t let her die! I can’t.

SPOCK

Then Beckwith wins. Time is changed.

Spock starts past him. Kirk grabs his arm. The package slips out of Spock’s grasp, falls, and the phaser is revealed.

KIRK

You can’t use that on Beckwith. We have to bring him back ali—

He stops, his eyes widen.

KIRK (CONT’D.)

(almost a whisper)

It wasn’t
for
Beckwith, was it, Mr. Spock?

Spock stares at him. They stand there across a sudden abyss of conflicting interests. Spock says nothing. He gathers up the phaser, rewraps it and leaves the alley. CAMERA HOLDS on Kirk’s expression of growing helplessness. He turns away abruptly as we

SMASH-CUT TO:

86 BACK STREET—DEAD NIGHT—ESTABLISHING

as Mr. Spock slips through shadows. There is a rustle of cloth behind him. He carries the phaser now. He turns suddenly, and Beckwith is there. The scuffle is only a moment in duration, with the two of them wrestling among wooden crates and cans of refuse. Spock falls, Beckwith grabs the phaser and dashes off with it. Spock follows as CAMERA IN ARRIFLEX GOES WITH. Beckwith snaps off a shot, and Spock dives sideways to escape the lethal blast.

87 ON SPOCK

as he looks up from sidewalk and HEARS the SOUND of FOOTSTEPS RUNNING AWAY in the darkness. HOLD on his fixed expression which says time is growing deathly, inescapably short.

FADE OUT.

END ACT THREE