The Birds

by Evan Hunter

Based on the novel "Birds" by Daphne Du Maurier

FINAL DRAFT 2nd Revision March 2, 1962

FADE IN:

FULL SHOT - GRANT STREET - SAN FRANCISCO - DAY

It is mid-afternoon, and there is a tempo and pace to the 
people walking, the doorman HOOTING for taxicabs, the 
policemen directing traffic.

PAN SHOT - PEDESTRIANS

waiting at street corner for light to change.

CLOSE SHOT - MAN

at the end of line of pedestrians. He is looking up at the 
sky.

TWO SHOT - MAN AND WOMAN NEXT TO HIM

as she follows his gaze upward.

LONG SHOT - THE SKY

with hundreds of gulls in it, wheeling.

MED. SHOT - THE STREET CORNER

as the light changes and people begin to cross. In the crowd 
walking the other way, a man turns to look up at the wheeling 
gulls in the sky overhead. The CAMERA LOCATES:

MED. SHOT - MELANIE DANIELS

in the crowd of pedestrians, approaching Davidson's Pet Shop.  
She is a young woman in her mid-twenties, sleekly groomed, 
exquisitely dressed, though hatless. She walks with the quick 
sureness of the city dweller, a purposefulness in her stride, 
a mischievous grin on her face. She continues toward the 
front door of a pet shop and enters.

INT. BIRD SHOP - MED. SHOT

Melanie opens the door and comes through, still looking back 
toward the street and skywards. The proprietor, a MRS.  
MacGRUDER, comes toward her.

			MELANIE
	Hello, Mrs. MacGruder, have you ever 
	seen so many gulls?

			MRS. MACGRUDER
	Hello, Miss Daniels.

			MELANIE
	What do you suppose it is?

MED. SHOT

Mrs. MacGruder takes a look out at the sky. A puppy is 
BARKING, o.s.

			MRS. MACGRUDER
		(shaking her head)
	There must be a storm at sea. That 
	can drive them inland, you know.

They are climbing the short flight of steps into the bird 
department now. The BARKING of the dog SEGUES into the clamor 
of innumerable birds, TWEETING, TWITTERING, CAWING as Melanie 
and Mrs. MacGruder go to the counter at the far end.  There 
is a circular cage in the center of the room, and the walls 
are lined with wire-mesh cages and smaller wooden cages so 
that the effect is one of being surrounded by birds, contained 
birds to be sure. The birds are quite beautiful, mostly exotic 
birds, small splashes of color behind the wire-mesh cages, 
larger bursts of brilliant hue on the parrots and parakeets 
in the bigger cages. As they walk:

			MRS. MACGRUDER
	I was hoping you'd be a little late, 
	Miss Daniels.
		(apologetically)
	You see, he hasn't arrived yet.

			MELANIE
	You said three o'clock.

			MRS. MACGRUDER
	I know. Oh, I know.
		(she is more distressed 
		now)
	I've been calling all morning. Oh, 
	you have no idea. Miss Daniels, 
	they're so difficult to get, really 
	they are. We get them from India, 
	you know, when they're just little 
	chicks, and then we have to...

			MELANIE
	Well, this one won't be a chick, 
	will he?

			MRS. MACGRUDER
	Certainly not. Oh, no. Certainly 
	not. This will be a full grown myna 
	bird. Full grown.

			MELANIE
	And he'll talk?

			MRS. MACGRUDER
	Well, yes, he'll talk. Well, no, no. 
	You'll have to teach him to talk.

			MELANIE
	Yes.

			MRS. MACGRUDER
	Yes.
		(pause)
	Oh my, I suppose I should call them 
	again. They said three o'clock.
		(pause)
	Maybe it's the traffic. I'll call.  
	Would you mind waiting?

			MELANIE
		(judiciously)
	I think maybe you'd better deliver 
	him. Let me give you my address.
		(she begins taking 
		off her gloves)

			MRS. MACGRUDER
		(producing pencil and 
		pad)
	Oh. Oh, well, all right.

As Melanie starts writing:

			MRS. MACGRUDER
	I'm sure they're on the way, though.  
	Could I just call?

			MELANIE
		(with a resigned sigh)
	Well, all right, but...

She scurries out behind the counter and out of sight.  Melanie 
finishes writing her address and stands impatiently by the 
counter. She taps her teeth with the pencil.

			MRS. MACGRUDER (O.S.)
	Hello, this is Betty MacGruder at 
	Davidson's.
		(pause; accusingly)
	It's past three, you know.
		(pause)
	Well, how long do you think...? All 
	right, would you check it please?  
	Yes, I'll wait.

Melanie sighs. Leaving her gloves and purse on the counter, 
she begins wandering around the shop, still tapping her lips 
with the pencil. There is no menace in the birds surrounding 
her. They are active and beautiful as they dart behind the 
bars and mesh of their cages. Off screen, the puppy begins 
BARKING again as the front door opens. Melanie looks up.

MED. SHOT - MITCH BRENNER

as he closes the entrance door behind him and starts up the 
steps to the bird department. He is a handsome man, about 
twenty-nine or thirty, well-dressed, and carrying a felt 
hat.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

seeing him, and then turning away to bend before the cage of 
strawberry finches. She pokes the pencil through the mesh.  
The birds are startled into scarlet flight.

TWO SHOT - MELANIE AND MITCH

as they pass each other in the aisle. He gives a polite little 
nod, and she gives a polite little smile. But as he passes 
her, and unknown to her, he turns for a second look -- and 
then vanishes behind the circular cage as he turns he corner.

MED. SHOT - MELANIE

looking at her watch as she wanders around the other side of 
the cage and then comes face to face with Mitch again.

			MITCH
	I wonder if you could help me.

			MELANIE
	What?

			MITCH
		(deliberately, and 
		with a touch of 
		hauteur)
	I said I wonder if you could help 
	me.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

a trifle annoyed by his manner at first. She is about to 
inform him, if you please, that she is not a shopgirl. But 
then something rebellious flashes in her eyes and an idea 
comes to her.

			MELANIE
		(solicitously)
	Yes, what was it you were looking 
	for, sir?

TWO SHOT - MELANIE AND MITCH

			MITCH
		(deadpan)
	Lovebirds.

			MELANIE
	Lovebirds, sir?

			MITCH
	Yes. I understand there are different 
	varieties, it that true?

			MELANIE
	Well... yes, sir, there are.

			MITCH
	These are for my sister... her 
	birthday you see. As she'll be eleven 
	and... well, frankly, I wouldn't 
	want a pair of birds that were too 
	demonstrative.

			MELANIE
	I understand completely, sir.

			MITCH
	As the same time, I wouldn't want 
	birds that were aloof, either.

			MELANIE
		(leading him around 
		shop)
	No, of course not.

			MITCH
	Do you have a pair that are just 
	friendly?

			MELANIE
	I think so, sir.
		(she looks around)
	Now then, let me see.

			MITCH
		(at the finches)
	Aren't these lovebirds?

			MELANIE
	No, sir, those are... redbirds.

			MITCH
	The sign says strawberry finches.

			MELANIE
		(airily)
	Yes, we call them that too.
		(she moves away)
	Ahhh, here we are, Lovebirds...
		(and stops before a 
		cage of canaries)

			MITCH
	Those are canaries, Miss.
		(pause)
	Doesn't this make you feel awful?

			MELANIE
		(baffled)
	Doesn't what make me...?

			MITCH
	All these innocent little creatures 
	caged up like this?

			MELANIE
	Well, we can't just let them fly 
	around the shop, you know.

			MITCH
	I suppose not. Is there an 
	ornithological reason for keeping 
	them in separate cages?

			MELANIE
	Oh, certainly. It's to protect the 
	species.

			MITCH
	I imagine that's very important.  
	Especially during the moulting season.

			MELANIE
	Yes, that's a particularly dangerous 
	time.

			MITCH
	Are they moulting now?

			MELANIE
	Some of them are.

			MITCH
	How can you tell?

			MELANIE
	Well... they get a sort of hangdog 
	expression.

CLOSE SHOT - A CAGED BIRD - MITCH'S P.O.V.

The bird is wearing a distinctly hangdog expression.

			MITCH
	Yes, I see.
		(pause)
	About those lovebirds, Miss...

			MELANIE
	Are you sure you wouldn't like to 
	see a canary instead? We have some 
	very nice canaries this week.

			MITCH
	All right.
		(he smiles)
	She smiles back.

			MITCH
		(he waits)
	All right, may I see one, please?

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

as she realizes she is expected to take one of the canaries 
out of the cage. She smiles feebly, glances toward the counter 
where she expects Mrs. MacGruder to reappear momentarily, 
and then takes a deep breath. She opens the door to the canary 
cage, and cautiously puts her hand into it.

			MELANIE
		(feebly)
	Here, birdie. Here, birdie, birdie.

One of the canaries suddenly flutters out of the cage and 
into the room. Melanie leaps back, startled.

			MELANIE
	Oh!  Ohhhhh!

FULL SHOT - THE BIRD DEPARTMENT

as the canary flies frantically about the room, Melanie and 
Mitch in pursuit. Mrs. MacGruder appears at the counter, 
finally confronted with the chaos she's been expecting all 
day.

			MRS. MACGRUDER
	What is it? Oh! Oh my, one of the 
	birds is loose!

She joins in the chase around the room. The bird flutters up 
to the ceiling, and then lands on the counter and watches 
them suspiciously.

			MITCH
	Shhh! Shhhh!

He tiptoes up to the bird, hat in hand. Quickly, he covers 
the bird with his hat, then reaches under to grab it.

CLOSE SHOT - MITCH

the canary in his hand.

			MELANIE
	There we are!

			MRS. MACGRUDER
	Oh, good! Oh, wonderful.

FULL SHOT - THE BIRD DEPARTMENT

as Mitch carries the canary back to the cage. He opens the 
door.

			MITCH
		(putting the canary 
		in)
	Back into your gilded cage, Melanie 
	Daniels.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

startled.

			MELANIE
	What did you say?

TWO SHOT - MELANIE AND MITCH

			MITCH
		(savoring this)
	I was merely drawing a parallel, 
	Miss Daniels.

			MELANIE
	But how... how do you know my name?

			MITCH
		(secretly)
	A little birdie told me.
		(he smiles politely)
	Good day, Miss Daniels.
		(he bows to Mrs.  
		MacGruder)
	Madam.
		(he starts out)

			MELANIE
	Hey, wait a minute!

She goes after him. Mitch turns, stops, smiles, enjoying her 
bafflement immensely. Melanie studies him. Then:

			MELANIE
	I don't know you.

			MITCH
	Ahhh, but I know you.

			MELANIE
	How?

			MITCH
	We met in court.

			MELANIE
	We never met in court or anyplace 
	else.

			MITCH
	That's true. I'll rephrase it. I saw 
	you in court.

			MELANIE
	When?

			MITCH
	Do you remember one of your practical 
	jokes that resulted in the smashing 
	of a plate glass window?

			MELANIE
	I didn't break that window!

			MITCH
	No, but your little prank did. The 
	judge should have put you behind 
	bars!

			MELANIE
	What are you? A policeman?

			MITCH
	I simply believe in the law, Miss 
	Daniels, and I'm not too keen on 
	practical jokers.

			MELANIE
	What do you call your lovebird story 
	if not a practical...

			MITCH
	Ahhh, but I really do want those 
	birds.

			MELANIE
	You knew I didn't work here. You 
	deliberately...

			MITCH
	Right. I recognized you when I came 
	in. I thought you might like to know 
	what it felt like to be on the other 
	end of a gag. What do you think of 
	that, Miss Daniels?

			MELANIE
	I think you're a louse.

			MITCH
	I am.
		(he tips his hat)
	Good day.
		(to Mrs. MacGruder)
	Madam.
		(and he goes down the 
		steps)

			MELANIE
	And I'm glad you didn't get your 
	lovebirds!

			MITCH
		(breezily, as he goes 
		out)
	I'll find something else.
		(he gives a slight 
		bow)
	See you in court some day.

The door closes. The puppy begins BARKING.

			MELANIE
		(angrily)
	That... that... who was that?

			MRS. MACGRUDER
	I have no idea.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

seething as she stares after him. Suddenly, she gets an idea.

MED. SHOT - MELANIE

going down the steps and to the front door of the shop. She 
looks through the glass.

LONG SHOT - MITCH - MELANIE'S P.O.V.

getting into his car at the curb.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

looking after the car at the curb.

CLOSE SHOT - THE LICENSE PLATE CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

seeing the plate, giving a brief, determined, angry nod. She 
begins to repeat the numbers to herself as she turns.

FULL SHOT - MELANIE

as she comes up the steps again and walks toward the counter.

MED. SHOT - MELANIE - MRS. MACGRUDER'S P.O.V.

as she comes up to the counter.

			MELANIE
	Have you got a pencil?

			MRS. MACGRUDER
	What? Oh, yes, certainly.

As Melanie begins writing:

			MRS. MACGRUDER
	They said the myna bird would be 
	here later this afternoon. If you'd 
	care to come back...

			MELANIE
	No, you'd better send him. May I use 
	your phone?

			MRS. MACGRUDER
		(bewildered by 
		everything)
	Yes, certainly.
		(she puts phone on 
		counter)

			MELANIE
		(as she dials)
	Do you have any lovebirds?

			MRS. MACGRUDER
	No, not in the shop. But I can order 
	them for you.

			MELANIE
	How soon?

			MRS. MACGRUDER
	Well... well, how soon would you 
	want them?

			MELANIE
	Immediately.
		(into phone)
	Is this the Daily News? Melanie 
	Daniels. Would you get me the city 
	desk, please?

			MRS. MACGRUDER
	I might be able to have them by 
	tomorrow morning. Would that be all 
	right?

			MELANIE
		(with an edged anger)
	That would be just fine.
		(into phone)
	Hello, Charlie, this is Melanie. I 
	want you to do a favor for me.
		(pause)
	No, this is a small one.
		(pause)
	Pressure you? Why, Charlie darling, 
	would I try to pressure you?  Will 
	you call the Department of Motor 
	Vehicles for me and find out who 
	owns this license plate? DKQ dash 
	one seven six.
		(pause)
	Yes, a California plate.
		(pause)
	No, I'll stop up there in a little 
	while. Is daddy in his office?
		(pause)
	Oh. No, no, I don't want to break in 
	on a meeting. Just tell him I'll see 
	him later. Thank you, Charlie.
		(she hangs up)

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE ICY DETERMINATION ON HER FACE.

			MELANIE
	Now. What time tomorrow morning?

FADE IN:

FULL SHOT - MELANIE'S SPORTS CAR

pulling up in front of Mitch's building, the top down. She 
glances up at the address, gets out of the car, comes around 
to the other side, and opens the door.

CLOSE SHOT - THE LOVEBIRDS

in a cage as Melanie reaches for them.

MED. SHOT - MELANIE

turning from the car and going into the building. She pauses 
in the lobby, studies the names alongside the bell buttons.

CLOSE SHOT - HER GLOVED HAND

running down the list of names slowly. It stops.

INSERT - THE CARD

her finger beside it.

BRENNER, M. 3B

CLOSE SHOT - HER GLOVED HAND the forefinger extended as she 
runs it down over every bell button in one column, and then 
does the same for the next column.

MED. SHOT - MELANIE

as she turns from the bells to the inner door of the lobby, 
grabbing the knob. A BUZZ SOUNDS. She opens the door.

REVERSE SHOT - MELANIE

coming through the door and into the lobby. She walks swiftly 
toward the elevator where a well-dressed man is standing, 
waiting. Behind her, the inner door is BUZZING wildly with 
answering BUZZES. Melanie and the man stand waiting for the 
elevator, silently. Behind her, the BUZZING STOPS. The 
elevator doors open. The man smiles pleasantly and allows 
her to enter first. She does so with a small nod.  The 
elevator doors close.

TWO SHOT - MELANIE AND THE MAN - IN THE ELEVATOR

The birds are CHIRPING wildly in their cage. The man and 
Melanie stand silently side by side. The man's eyes wander 
down to the bird-cage. Melanie's eyes move toward him.  Self-
consciously, she stands with the cage of CHATTERING birds. 
The man is dead-panned, unsmiling. The elevator stops. The 
doors begin to open.

FULL SHOT - MELANIE

stepping out of the elevator as the doors open. The man is 
right behind her. She begins looking for apartment 3B. The 
man is walking down the corridor beside her. She stops in 
front of the apartment, hesitates, hoping the man will turn 
the corner in the corridor. Instead, he stops at the apartment 
just opposite. He begins fumbling in his pocket for his key. 
He looks at Melanie.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

smiling at him feebly.

FULL SHOT - THE CORRIDOR

The man spread change and an assortment of junk on the palm 
of his hand as he searches for his key. Impatiently, Melanie 
watches him. Making a decision, she puts the birdcage down 
before the door to apartment 3B, and then opens her purse.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE'S GLOVED HAND

reaching into the purse for a white envelope.

INSERT - THE FACE OF THE ENVELOPE

written there in Melanie's handwriting: MR. MITCHELL BRENNER.

MED. SHOT - MELANIE

as she props the envelope against the cage, and then hurriedly 
goes down the hallway, intent on retreat.

			MAN'S VOICE
	Miss...?  She stops, distressed.

FULL SHOT - THE CORRIDOR

the man at the one end, key in his hand; Melanie at the other 
end, near the elevator.

			MAN
	Is that for Mitch Brenner?

			MELANIE
		(curtly)
	Yes.

			MAN
	He's not home.

			MELANIE
	That's all right.

She presses button for the elevator.

			MAN
	He won't be back until Monday. I 
	mean, if those birds are for him....

			MELANIE
	Monday?

			MAN
	Yes. I don't think you should leave 
	them in the hall, do you?

			MELANIE
		(trapped)
	Well, I...

The elevator doors open.

			MELANIE
	Well, where did he go?

			MAN
	Bodega Bay. He goes up there every 
	weekend.

			MELANIE
	Bodega Bay? Where's that?

			MAN
	Up on the coast. About sixty miles 
	north of here.

			MELANIE
	Sixty...
		(her face falls)
	Oh.

			MAN
	About an hour and a half on the 
	freeway. Or two if you take the coast 
	highway.

			MELANIE
	Oh.

			MAN
	I'd hold the birds for him, but I'm 
	going away myself. Someone's got to 
	feed them, I suppose.

			MELANIE
		(in utter despair now)
	Yes. Yes, someone's got to feed them.

			MAN
		(apologetically)
	I'm awfully sorry.

He puts the key into his lock, opens the door, and goes 
inside. The door closes. Melanie is alone in the hallway.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

exasperated. She looks at the open elevator. She turns to 
look at the birds.

LONG SHOT - THE LOVEBIRDS

in their cage outside the apartment door, CHATTERING.

MED. SHOT - MELANIE

surrendering with a gesture of resignation. She walks down 
the hall, picks up envelope and puts it in her purse, picks 
up the bird cage, carries it back to the elevator. The birds 
are COOING and CHIRPING madly.

			MELANIE
	Oh, shut up!

And she steps into the elevator.

						  DISSOLVE

FULL SHOT - MELANIE'S OPEN CAR - (MATTE)

on the coast highway. It is a spectacularly beautiful day, 
with a cloudless blue sky. The montage of SHOTS that follow 
should alternate between the winding, twisting road and the 
ocean below, and CLOSEUPS of Melanie driving with the caged 
birds on the seat beside her. The last shot should be a FULL 
SHOT of the car rounding a particularly sharp curve.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

She turns wheel forcefully.

CLOSE SHOT - THE LOVEBIRDS

in the cage as the car rounds the bend. They lean to one 
side as the car turns, come up straight again as the car 
rounds the curve.

FULL SHOT - (MATTE)

Car approaching Bodega Bay seen high up.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

at the wheel, she glances out toward the bay.

FULL SHOT - A CLUSTER OF BUILDINGS AT WATERFRONT

ahead, through the windshield as the car approaches.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

behind the wheel, leaning forward slightly for a look at the 
town.

LONG SHOT - DOCKS ON LEFT

through the windshield as Melanie slows her speed.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

behind wheel.

LONG SHOT - STORES

on right of the road as Melanie enters the town. SLOW PAN 
matching car's cruise past BAKERY, SHOE REPAIR, CLEANERS, 
RADIO AND TELEVISION.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

behind wheel.

LONG SHOT - THE TIDES

past the gas station and beyond to the parking area and the 
docks, continuing Melanie's slow observation of the place.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE - (PROCESS)

studying the town. The car turns into road by gas station.

FULL SHOT - THE TOWN

through the windshield. The car turns right. There is life 
in the town now, fishermen crossing the road, women with 
their hair in curlers, old ladies carrying shopping bags.  
This is Saturday morning, and the town -- such as it is -- 
is alive with its inhabitants. We see them from Melanie's

P.O.V. AS SHE SCANS THE PLACE FOR ITS POST OFFICE. (THIS TO 
BE TAKEN ON BACK LOT.)

FULL SHOT - THE CAR

pulling in, in front of the post office. Melanie opens the 
door and steps out. She is smartly dressed in a traveling 
suit and sweater. She looks up at the sign, and then walks 
quickly toward the front door.

MED. SHOT - MELANIE

enters post office.

CLOSE SHOT - POSTAL CLERK

behind cage as Melanie approaches it. He is busy filling out 
a form of some kind, affixing stamps to it, etc. He does not 
look up as she approaches.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

through the bars of the cage.

			MELANIE
	Good morning.

CLOSE SHOT - POSTAL CLERK

			CLERK
		(without looking up)
	Morning.

TWO SHOT - MELANIE AND THE CLERK

			MELANIE
	I wonder if you could help me.

			CLERK
	Try my best.

			MELANIE
	I'm looking for a man named Mitchell 
	Brenner.

			CLERK
	Yep.

He is still busy with his form, still does not look up.

			MELANIE
	Do you know him?

			CLERK
	Yep.

			MELANIE
	Where does he live?

			CLERK
	Right here. Bodega Bay.

			MELANIE
	Yes, but where?

			CLERK
	Right across the bay there.

			MELANIE
	Where?

It seems as if the Clerk will not answer her. Suddenly, he 
leaves the window.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

through the bars, exasperated.

REVERSE SHOT - FULL - MELANIE

as she tries to peek through the bars to see where he's 
vanished. A door to the left of the window opens, and the 
Clerk steps out. He walks a little distance as Melanie watches 
him, then stops, turns and looks at her surprised, as if 
he'd expected her to be right behind him. He stands stock 
still, looking at her, saying nothing. She understands then 
that he wants her to follow him, and she catches up, neither 
speaking. They go to the front door. He opens it, looks at 
her, then looks out across the town and the bay. He extends 
his arm and points.

			CLERK
	See where I'm pointing?

			MELANIE
	Yes?

FULL SHOT - THE BAY - THEIR P.O.V. - (MATTE)

			CLERK (O.S.)
	See them two big trees across there?

			MELANIE (O.S.)
	Yes?

			CLERK (O.S.)
	And the white house?

			MELANIE (O.S.)
	That's where the Brenners live.

TWO SHOT - MELANIE AND THE CLERK

			MELANIE
	The Brenners? Mr. and Mrs. Brenner?

			CLERK
	Nope, just Lydia and the two kids.

			MELANIE
	The two kids?

			CLERK
	Yep. Mitch and the little girl.

			MELANIE
	I see. How do I get down there?

			CLERK
	Follow the road straight through 
	town 'til it curves off on the left.  
	That'll take you right around the 
	bay to their front door.

			MELANIE
	The front door.
		(pause)
	Isn't there a back road I can take?

			CLERK
	Nope. That's the road. Straight 
	through town, stay on your left, 
	right around the bay to the front 
	door.

			MELANIE
	You see, I wanted to surprise them.

			CLERK
	Mmmm.

			MELANIE
	I didn't want to come right down the 
	road, where they could see me.

			CLERK
	Mmmm.

			MELANIE
	It's a surprise, you see.

			CLERK
	Mmmmmm.
		(long pause)
	'Course, you could get yourself a 
	boat, cut right across the bay with 
	it. The Brenners got a little dock 
	there you could tie up at. If that's 
	what you wanted to do.

			MELANIE
	Where would I get a boat?

			CLERK
	Down at the dock by the Tides 
	Restaurant. Ever handled an outboard 
	boat?

			MELANIE
		(looking at him)
	Of course.

			CLERK
		(looks back at her)
	D'you want me to order one for you?

			MELANIE
		(surprised)
	Thank you.

			CLERK
	What name?

			MELANIE
	Daniels.

			CLERK
	Okay.

He nods briefly and goes inside. Melanie looks across the 
bay.

FULL SHOT - THE BAY - MELANIE'S P.O.V. - (MATTE)

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

smiling. She gets a new idea. She reaches into her purse for 
the envelope. She looks at the envelope, then tears it up 
and stuffs the torn envelope into her handbag. She turns 
back toward the post office.

INT. THE POST OFFICE - FULL SHOT

as Melanie approaches the Clerk's window. He is still busy, 
still does not look up.

			MELANIE
	I wonder if you could tell me...

			CLERK
	Yep?

			MELANIE
	The little girl's name.

			CLERK
	The little Brenner girl?

			MELANIE
	Yes.

			CLERK
	Alice, I think.
		(he turns, shouts to 
		someone in rear)
	Harry, what's the little Brenner 
	girl's name?

			HARRY'S VOICE
		(shouting)
	What?

			CLERK
		(shouting)
	The little Brenner girl.

			HARRY'S VOICE
		(shouting)
	Lois!

			CLERK
		(shouting)
	It's Alice, ain't it?

			HARRY'S VOICE
		(shouting)
	No, it's Lois!

			CLERK
		(to Melanie)
	It's Alice.

			MELANIE
	Are you sure?

			CLERK
	Well, I ain't positive, if that's 
	what you mean.

			MELANIE
	I need her exact name, you see.

			CLERK
	That case, I tell you what you do.  
	You go straight through town 'til 
	you see a little hotel on your left 
	there. Not the motel, that's the 
	other end of town. This is the hotel. 
	Now you take a right turn there, you 
	got that?

			MELANIE
	Yes?

			CLERK
	Near the top of the hill, you'll see 
	the school and right behind it, the 
	church. You head for the school.  
	Now just past the school, you'll see 
	a little house with a red mail box.  
	That's where Annie Hayworth lives, 
	she's the school teacher. You ask 
	her about the little Brenner girl.

			MELANIE
	Thank you.

			CLERK
	Yep.
		(pause)
	Could save yourself a lot of trouble. 
	Her name's Alice for sure.

			MELANIE
	Can I have the boat in about twenty 
	minutes?

The Clerk nods.

			MELANIE
	How much for the phone calls?

			CLERK
		(brushing this aside)
	It's nothing.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

grinning, as she makes for the door and EXITS.

EXT. GENERAL STORE - MED. SHOT - MELANIE

getting into the car and slamming the door.

						  DISSOLVE

LONG SHOT (MATTE) - MELANIE'S CAR turning in school road.

FULL SHOT - MELANIE'S CAR

passing the school and pulling up outside the teacher's house.

CLOSE SHOT - THE RED MAIL BOX

with the name "Hayworth" on it. PULL BACK to reveal:

FULL SHOT - MELANIE

passing the mail box and going up the walk to the front door.  
The house is a two-story frame with steps leading to the 
front door. There are white curtains in every window of the 
house, and a sign in the window to the left of the doorway 
advises, ROOM TO LET. Melanie rings the doorbell.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

waiting. She RINGS the bell again:

			ANNIE'S VOICE
		(shouting)
	Yes? Who is it?

			MELANIE
	Me!

			ANNIE'S VOICE
	Who's me?

FULL SHOT - MELANIE

walking along the porch of the house. The walk in front of 
the house is lined with beautifully planted and cared-for 
flowers. ANNIE HAYWORTH comes round from the back of the 
house as Melanie reaches the corner. She is a woman of thirty-
two, tall, big-boned, with a strong beautiful face.  Her 
hair is disarrayed at the moment, and she is dressed for the 
garden, wearing slacks and a loose-fitting sweater, and earth-
stained gloves. But there is something about her, a feeling 
of expansive comfort, rather than sloppiness.

			MELANIE
	Miss Hayworth?

			ANNIE
	Yes?

			MELANIE
	I'm Melanie Daniels. I'm sorry to 
	bother you, but...

CLOSE SHOT - ANNIE

She is puzzled by Melanie who, exquisitely dressed and 
groomed, seems singularly out of place in Bodega Bay. She 
studies her openly.

			ANNIE
	Yes?

TWO SHOT - MELANIE AND ANNIE

			MELANIE
	The man at the post office sent me.  
	He said you'd know the name of the 
	little Brenner girl.

			ANNIE
	Cathy?

			MELANIE
	The one who lives in the white house 
	across the bay?

			ANNIE
	That's the one. Cathy Brenner.

			MELANIE
		(smiling)
	They seemed sure it was either Alice 
	or Lois.

			ANNIE
	Which is why the mail in this town 
	never gets delivered to the right 
	place.
		(She takes out package 
		of cigarettes, offers 
		one to Melanie)
	Did you want to see Cathy about 
	something?

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

taking cigarette, hesitating.

			MELANIE
	Well... not exactly.

CLOSE SHOT - ANNIE

studying her, thinking she understands.

			ANNIE
	Are you a friend of Mitch's?

			MELANIE
	No, not really.

TWO SHOT - MELANIE AND ANNIE

There is an awkwardness here. Annie wants to know more. She 
puffs on the cigarette, smiles, tries a friendly approach.

			ANNIE
	I've been wanting a cigarette for 
	the past twenty minutes, but I 
	couldn't convince myself to stop.  
	This 'tilling of the soil' can get a 
	little compulsive, you know.

			MELANIE
	It's a lovely garden.

			ANNIE
	Thank you. It gives me something to 
	do with my spare time.
		(pause)
	There's a lot of spare time in Bodega 
	Bay.
		(another pause)
	Did you plan on staying long?

			MELANIE
	No. Just a few hours.

			ANNIE
	You're leaving after you see Cathy?

			MELANIE
	Well... something like that.
		(pause)
	I'm sorry. I don't mean to sound so 
	mysterious.

			ANNIE
	Actually, it's none of my business.

There is a pause. Melanie, by her silence, affirms that it 
is none of Annie's business.

			ANNIE
		(putting out cigarette)
	I'd better get on my way. Thank you 
	very much.

			ANNIE
	Not at all.

They begin walking toward the car.

			ANNIE
		(still curious)
	Did you drive up from San Francisco?

			MELANIE
	Yes.

			ANNIE
	It's a nice drive.
		(pause)
	Is that where you met Mitch?

			MELANIE
		(hesitating, then)
	Yes.

			ANNIE
	I guess that's where everyone meets 
	him.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

as she gets in behind the wheel. Annie's remark is not lost 
on her, and a quick look of sudden understanding crosses her 
face.

			MELANIE
	Now you sound a bit mysterious, Miss 
	Hayworth.

TWO SHOT - MELANIE AND ANNIE

as Annie leans over the seat.

			ANNIE
	Do I?
		(she shakes her head, 
		smiles wistfully)
	No, I'm an open book, I'm afraid.
		(pause)
	Or maybe a closed one.
		(she smiles again, 
		sees the lovebirds)
	Pretty. What are they?

			MELANIE
	Lovebirds.

Taking this as a further indication of Melanie's relationship 
with Mitch:

			ANNIE
	Mmm.
		(pause)
	Well, good luck, Miss Daniels.

			MELANIE
	Thank you.

She nods pleasantly, starts the car, pulls away.

CLOSE SHOT - ANNIE

watching the car, a look of sad resignation on her face.

						  DISSOLVE

MED. SHOT - MELANIE

coming out of Brinkmeyer's General Store, carrying a small 
paper bag, walking toward her car out front. The CAMERA 
FOLLOWS her as she gets in. She opens her purse and reaches 
in for the paper bag.

CLOSE SHOT - HER HANDS

She pulls out a birthday card from the paper bag.

MED. SHOT - MELANIE

reaching into her purse again for a fountain pen. She unscrews 
the cap, braces the card on her closed purse.

INSERT - THE CARD

Happy Birthday, the usual rhyming sentiments. The pen writes: 
To Cathy

						  DISSOLVE

FULL SHOT - MELANIE'S CAR

crossing the highway down into the parking area behind the 
Tides, close to the docks.

HIGH SHOT

She gets out of the car and walks onto one of the docks, the 
bird cage in her hand. Melanie approaches a waiting fisherman. 
She asks for her boat. The fisherman nods. He leads her to 
the dock and the waiting boat.  She gets into the outboard 
motorboat, the fisherman helping her. He hands down the 
lovebirds in their cage.

FULL SHOT - THE BOAT

pulling away from the dock, heading across the bay.

VERY LONG SHOT (MATTE) - THE BOAT

and the wide expanse of the bay, as it heads on a direct 
course for the house on the other side.

VERY LONG SHOT (MATTE)

Another spectacular SHOT of the small boat.

FULL SHOT - THE BOAT

coming head-on toward CAMERA, Melanie at the tiller. She 
cuts the motor. The motor drifts to a stop. The bay is silent 
except for the cry of the gulls.

LONG SHOT - THE BRENNER HOUSE - MELANIE'S P.O.V.

There is not a sign of activity as the boat drifts just a 
little closer. As Melanie watches, the front door opens and 
a woman comes out, walks to a red pickup truck, starts the 
engine. A little girl comes out of the house, goes to the 
truck, gets in. The woman shouts something to a man -- Mitch 
Brenner, probably, though it is difficult to tell from this 
distance -- and he comes over to the truck.

The truck grinds into gear, goes around the turnabout, and 
heads down the road away from the farm, a huge cloud of dust 
behind it. The farm is still again. Mitch stands looking 
after the truck for a moment, and then begins walking up 
toward the barn in the distance.

CLOSE SHOT

watching, biting her lip.

LONG SHOT - THE BRENNER HOUSE

Mitch reaching the barn and entering. Silence.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

watching, waiting.

LONG SHOT - THE BRENNER HOUSE

Not a sign of life.

MED. SHOT - MELANIE

picking up paddle from deck, beginning to paddle in toward 
dock.

FULL SHOT - THE BOAT

edging in toward the dock. Closer, closer, Melanie puts down 
the paddle. The boat drifts in.

MED. SHOT - MELANIE

leaping ashore, tying up the boat, reaching down for the 
cage. She climbs onto the dock and approaches the CAMERA 
until she is in WAIST SHOT. The CAMERA STARTS to RECEDE in 
front of her as she walks forward.

THE CAMERA MOVING TOWARD THE HOUSE AND BARN

The barn door closed, still no sign of Mitch.

WAIST SHOT - MELANIE

Coming off the dock and onto the lawn, the CAMERA still 
RETREATING in front of her. She makes her way carefully across 
the lawn, glancing toward the barn, carrying the bird cage.  

FULL SHOT - CAMERA GETTING NEAR THE HOUSE AND BARN

WAIST SHOT - MELANIE

crossing the lawn, the CAMERA RETREATING in front of her.

FULL SHOT - CLOSER - CAMERA APPROACHING THE HOUSE AND BARN

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE - WALKING

CAMERA RETREATING in front of her: Excitement and anticipation 
on her face. She wets her lips. The CAMERA PANS WITH her as 
she goes to front door and lets herself in.

FULL SHOT - INT. THE BRENNER HOUSE ENTRY

as the door opens. Melanie ENTERS quickly, and closes the 
door behind her. She glances around for a moment, getting 
her bearings. The house is silent.

MED. SHOT - MELANIE

entering the dining room. Hastily, she puts the cage on the 
dinning room table, props the card up against it, then glances 
through the lace curtains on the dinning room window.

FULL SHOT - THE BARN - CLOSER - THROUGH THE CURTAINS

as before.

EXT. BRENNER HOUSE - WAIST SHOT - MELANIE - MOVING P.O.V.

as the front door opens and Melanie EMERGES. CAMERA PANS AND 
FOLLOWS her back down front walk. Melanie glances over her 
shoulder toward the barn.

EXT. BARN - MOVING P.O.V.

Mitch has not emerged.

MOVING P.O.V. - MELANIE

CAMERA CONTINUES MOVING on Melanie's back toward the end of 
the dock. Melanie again glances over her shoulder toward the 
barn.

MOVING P.O.V.

further along the dock toward the barn. Still no Mitch.

BACK TO MELANIE

CAMERA CONTINUES on her back for a short distance and STOPS 
as Melanie continues to the end of the dock and climbs into 
the boat.

MOVING P.O.V. - MELANIE

CAMERA CONTINUES on her back for a short distance and STOPS 
as Melanie continues to the end of the dock and climbs into 
the boat.

MOVING P.O.V. - MELANIE

CAMERA FOLLOWS Melanie as she paddles away from the dock.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE (PROCESS)

as she looks toward the house and barn. She starts to duck 
down.

EXT. BARN - MELANIE'S P.O.V.

as Mitch EMERGES from the barn and goes toward the house. He 
goes INSIDE.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE (PROCESS)

peering over the stern of the boat.

EXT. HOUSE - MELANIE'S P.O.V.

Mitch dashes OUT of the front door and looks around.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

as she watches Mitch.

MELANIE'S P.O.V.

as Mitch runs back INTO the house.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE (PROCESS)

peering over stern of the boat.

MITCH - MELANIE'S P.O.V.

as he EMERGES from the front door and raises binoculars.

EXTREME CLOSE SHOT - MITCH

as he looks towards Melanie's boat through the binoculars.  
The Bay is reflected in the glass.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE (THROUGH BINOCULARS)

She is pulling at the cord which starts the motor. She sits 
down and grabs the tiller. She looks back over her shoulder, 
as the boat moves away.

CLOSE SHOT - MITCH

He is smiling with amused recognition; he lowers the 
binoculars and dashes OUT OF FRAME.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE (PROCESS)

The CAMERA IS MOVING WITH her as she looks toward Mitch.

LONG SHOT - THE BRENNER HOUSE

Mitch is running for his car. The car door SLAMS. The ENGINE 
STARTS. The car practically leaps out of the driveway.

CLOSE SIDE-ON SHOT - MELANIE

as she watches the car race along the shore.

LONG SHOT - CAR - MELANIE'S P.O.V.

Mitch's car racing along the shore.

CLOSE SHOT - THREE QUARTER BACK LEFT - MELANIE (PROCESS)

She looks off RIGHT toward car.

CAR - MELANIE'S P.O.V.

Mitch's car racing along the shore road, turns inland at 
Keesport.

CLOSE SHOT - STRAIGHT BACK - MELANIE (PROCESS)

Melanie looks CAMERA RIGHT, her eyes slowly turn CAMERA LEFT.

CAR - MELANIE'S MOVING P.O.V.

Mitch's car races past wrecked ferry boat.

CLOSE SHOT - STRAIGHT BACK - MELANIE (PROCESS)

Her head continues to turn CAMERA LEFT. She looks off and 
sees:

LONG SHOT - THE DOCK - MELANIE'S MOVING P.O.V.

moves forward slower. Mitch drives onto dock, gets out of 
the car and stands waiting.

CLOSE SHOT - STRAIGHT BACK - MELANIE (PROCESS)

partially posing for Mitch, her hair blowing in the wind, 
her head tilted back, a smile on her face.

FULL SHOT - GULL

swooping down from UPPER LEFTHAND CORNER OF FRAME TO LOWER 
RIGHT.  CLOSE SHOT - STRAIGHT BACK - MELANIE (PROCESS)

as gull strikes the back of her head. She recoils and looks 
up with shock and pain.

GULL - MELANIE'S P.O.V.

The gull soars away from LOWER RIGHTHAND corner of frame to 
UPPER LEFT.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

reacting to the sudden attack and looking after receding 
gull. Blood is starting down her temple from her hair.

MED. SHOT - MITCH

as the boat comes closer. The boat drifts in toward a second 
boat tied up at the dock. Mitch crosses the docked boat, 
leaps into Melanie's boat.

MED. SHOT - MITCH AND MELANIE

in the boat.

			MITCH
	That was the damndest thing I ever 
	saw.

			MELANIE
	What made it...

			MITCH
	It deliberately came down at you --
	you're bleeding...

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

a thin line of blood trickling from the cut on top of her 
head, down onto her forehead and cheek. She seems dazed.  
She shakes her head in answer to him, then touches the top 
of her head, looks at her bloody fingers, and then nods 
weakly.

CLOSE SHOT - MITCH

concerned.

			MITCH
	Come on, let's take care of that.

FULL SHOT - THE DOCK

as they climb onto it. A fisherman standing by looks at 
Melanie curiously.

			FISHERMAN
	What happened, Mitch?

			MITCH
		(over his shoulder)
	A gull hit her.

			FISHERMAN
	A what?

The CAMERA FOLLOWS them as they walk across the parking area 
behind the Tides, and to the closest office. Mitch tries the 
door knob. The door is locked.

INSERT - SIGN ON DOOR OUT TO LUNCH TWO SHOT - MELANIE AND 
MITCH

as he tries door of next office. It, too, is locked.

			MITCH
	Come on, we'd better go up to the 
	restaurant.

They walk quickly up the slope to the Tides, establishing 
gas station across the road, the collection of stores 
opposite, the cars pulling in and out. Mitch opens the door 
for her, and they ENTER.

INT. THE TIDES - FULL SHOT

This is a small neighborhood restaurant, with the feeling of 
a local hangout. There are fishermen lounging at the bar, 
and a teenage boy playing one of the pinball machines. Two 
ladies in housedresses, with their hair in curlers, are 
sitting at one of the booths, having coffee. The rear wall 
of the restaurant is almost all window, looking out over the 
bay and the parking area below. A television set over the 
bar is going. The shots and horsehoof beats of an old Western 
movie should be HEARD muted throughout following.  DEKE 
CARTER, who owns the restaurant with his wife, alternates 
his attention between serving his customers and watching the 
Western. He looks up immediately when Mitch and Melanie ENTER.

MED. SHOT - THE BAR

Mitch and Melanie coming over to it.

			MITCH
	Deke, have you got a first aid kit 
	back there?

			DEKE
		(instantly alarmed)
	What happened?

			MITCH
	Young woman cut herself.

			DEKE
	Shall I call the doctor?

			MITCH
		(accepting the first 
		aid kit)
	I don't think it's that serious.  
	You want to sit up here?

Melanie climbs onto the stool.

			DEKE
	You cut yourself outside, Miss?

			MITCH
	Stop worrying, Deke. She was in a 
	boat.

He is rummaging around in the kit.

			DEKE
	I had a man trip and fall in the 
	parking lot once, sued me before I 
	could bat an eyelash.

			MITCH
	I don't think Miss Daniels is going 
	to sue anybody.

			DEKE
		(doubtfully)
	Well, you're the lawyer.
		(goes to other end of 
		bar)

TWO SHOT - MELANIE AND MITCH

as he unscrews cap from bottle of peroxide.

			MELANIE
	What's that?

			MITCH
	Just some peroxide. I want to clean 
	out the cut.

He pours peroxide onto a gauze pad and begins swabbing the 
cut. They are silent for several seconds. Then:

			MELANIE
	So you're a lawyer.

			MITCH
	That's right. What are you doing in 
	Bodega Bay?

			MELANIE
	Do you practice here?

			MITCH
	No, San Francisco. What are you...?

			MELANIE
	What kind of law?

			MITCH
	Criminal.

			MELANIE
	Is that why you'd like to see everyone 
	behind bars?

			MITCH
	Not everyone, Miss Daniels.

			MELANIE
	Only violators and practical jokers.

			MELANIE
	That's right.

As he swabs cut.

			MELANIE
	Ouch!

			MITCH
	I'm sorry.
		(pause)
	What are you doing up here?

			MELANIE
	Didn't you see the lovebirds?

			MITCH
	You came all the way up here to bring 
	me those birds?

			MELANIE
	To bring your sister those birds.  
	You said it was her birthday.  
	Besides, I was coming up anyway.

			MITCH
	What for?

			MELANIE
	To see a friend of mine.
		(she winces)
	Will you please be careful?

			MITCH
	I'm sorry.
		(pause)
	Who's your friend?

			MELANIE
	Why...
		(pause, stymied)

			MITCH
	Yes?

			MELANIE
		(blurting the only 
		name she knows)
	Annie. Annie Hayworth.

			MITCH
	Well, well, small world. Annie 
	Hayworth.

			MELANIE
		(realizing this was a 
		mistake)
	Yes.

			MITCH
	How do you know Annie?

			MELANIE
		(the lie getting deeper)
	We... we went to school together.  
	College.

			MITCH
	Did you! Imagine that! How long will 
	you be staying?

			MELANIE
	Just a few... just a day or two... 
	the weekend.

			MITCH
	I think we'll have to shave the hair. 
	Deke, have you got a razor?

			MELANIE
		(pulling away)
	Oh, no you don't!

			MITCH
	It's still bleeding a little. Here, 
	let me put this on.

He takes up a tiny Band-Aid and, tearing the gauze off, says:

			MITCH
	Bend your head down. This little 
	Band-Aid won't show.

He presses the tiny Band-Aid over the cut. Melanie takes a 
mirror from her handbag and, bending her head down, looks at 
it. She covers her hair over it as Mitch says:

			MITCH
	So you came up to see Annie, huh?

			MELANIE
	Yes.

			MITCH
	I don't believe you.
		(grins)
	I think you came up to see me.

			MELANIE
	Why would I want to see you, of all 
	people?

			MITCH
		(shrugging)
	I don't know. But it seems to me you 
	must have gone to a lot of trouble 
	to find out who I was, and where I 
	lived and...

			MELANIE
	It was no trouble at all. I simply 
	called my father's paper. Besides, I 
	was coming up here anyway, I already 
	told you...

			MITCH
		(grinning)
	You like me, huh?

			MELANIE
	I loathe you. You have no manners.  
	And you're arrogant and conceited 
	and... I wrote you a letter about 
	it, in fact, but I tore it up.

			MITCH
	What did it say?

			MELANIE
	None of your business.
		(pause)
	Am I still bleeding?

She lowers her head.

			MITCH
	Can't see a thing.

			MELANIE
	I can't say I like your seagulls 
	much, either. I come all the way up 
	here to...

			MITCH
	But you were coming up anyway, 
	remember?

			MELANIE
	I was! And all I get for my pains is 
	a... a... a hole in the head!

			MITCH
		(grinning)
	Right next to the one you already 
	had.

			MELANIE
		(angrily)
	Look, Mr. Brenner...

			LYDIA (O.S.)
	Mitch?

They turn toward the door.

MED. SHOT - LYDIA BRENNER

closing the door behind her, coming toward the bar. She is a 
woman in her late forties, attractive, wearing shirt, blouse, 
cardigan sweater, low heels. There is nothing agrarian-looking 
about her. She speaks with the quick tempo of the city 
dweller, and there is lively inquiry in her eyes.

			LYDIA
		(puzzled)
	I thought I saw your car. What are 
	you doing in town?

			MITCH
		(rising to greet her)
	I had to acknowledge a delivery.
		(grins)
	Mother, I'd like you to meet...

			LYDIA
	A what?

			MITCH
		(continuing)
	Melanie Daniels. Melanie, my mother.

CLOSE SHOT - LYDIA

Her eyebrows raising ever so slightly, not in displeasure, 
but simply in enormous curiosity as she acknowledge the 
introduction.

			LYDIA
	How do you do, Miss Daniels?
		(to Mitch)
	Acknowledge a what?

BACK TO SCENE

			MITCH
	A delivery, Mother. Miss Daniels 
	brought some birds from San Francisco.

Lydia thinks she understands. This is one of Mitch's San 
Francisco chippies.

			LYDIA
	Oh. I see.

			MITCH
	For Cathy. For her birthday. By the 
	way, where is she?

			LYDIA
	Across at Brinkmeyer's.

			MITCH
	Miss Daniels is staying for the 
	weekend. In fact, I've already invited 
	her to dinner tonight.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

turning to him in surprise, beginning to shake her head.

CLOSE SHOT - MITCH

			MITCH
	After all, you did go to the trouble 
	of bringing up those birds.

			MELANIE (O.S.)
	I'm sorry. I couldn't possibly...

BACK TO SCENE

			LYDIA
	You did say birds?

			MITCH
	Yes, lovebirds. We couldn't let you...

			LYDIA
		(understanding 
		completely now)
	Lovebirds, I see.

			MITCH
	...get away without thanking you in 
	some small way. After all, you haven't 
	even met Cathy and you are staying 
	for the weekend...

			MELANIE
	Yes, but...

			MITCH
	You are, aren't you?

			MELANIE
	Certainly, but...

			MITCH
	Then it's settled. What time is 
	dinner, Mother?

			LYDIA
	Seven o'clock, same as usual.

			MITCH
	I'll pick you up, Miss Daniels.  
	Where are you staying?

			MELANIE
	With... with Annie, of course.

			MITCH
	Of course, how stupid of me. A quarter 
	to seven, will that be all right?

			MELANIE
	Annie... Annie may have made other 
	plans. I'll have to see. Besides, I 
	can find my own way.

			MITCH
	You're sure now? You won't hire a 
	boat or anything?

			MELANIE
	I'm sure.

			MITCH
	Seven o'clock then.

			MELANIE
	Maybe.

CLOSE SHOT - MITCH

grinning.

			MITCH
	We'll be waiting. How's your head 
	now?

MED. SHOT - THE GROUP

Lydia looks at Mitch inquiringly.

			MELANIE
		(with an overwarm 
		smile)
	It's nothing, Mrs. Brenner. A gull 
	hit me, that's all.

Lydia stares at her doubtfully.

						  DISSOLVE

EXT. ANNIE HAYWORTH'S HOUSE - FULL SHOT

Melanie is standing on the front steps, a paper bag in her 
hands. She rings the doorbell. The ROOM TO LET sign is still 
in the window. The door suddenly opens.

			ANNIE
		(surprised)
	Oh, hi!
		(pause)
	Did you find her all right?

TWO SHOT - MELANIE AND ANNIE

			MELANIE
	Yes, I did.

There is a long awkward pause. Annie smiles expectantly at 
Melanie. Melanie seems hesitant.

			MELANIE
	I was wondering...

			ANNIE
	Yes?

			MELANIE
	That sign.
		(pause)
	Do you think I could have the room 
	for a single night?

			ANNIE
	Well, I'd really hope to rent it 
	for...

			MELANIE
	I would appreciate it. I've tried 
	everywhere in town, and they're all 
	full.

			ANNIE
		(after a pause)
	Sure. You can have it.
		(smiles)
	Where's your bag? In the car?

Melanie holds up the paper bag. Annie looks at it and then 
smiles.

			ANNIE
	It's utilitarian, I'll say that for 
	it.

			MELANIE
		(smiling)
	I just picked up some things for the 
	night at the general store. You see, 
	I hadn't planned on spending much 
	time here.

			ANNIE
	Yes, I know. Did something unexpected 
	crop up?

There is a moment where both women look at each other...  
When Melanie answers, it is abrupt and a trifle cold -- she 
is again telling Annie to mind her own business.

			MELANIE
	Yes.
		(pause)
	May I use your phone? I'd like to 
	call home.

There is another moment where Annie appraises Melanie's 
attitude, and then accepts it. She suddenly smiles warmly.

			ANNIE
	Why don't you come in then?  I was 
	just about to mix a martini.

She is about to lead Melanie into the house when they both 
hear a SOUND overhead. They turn to look skyward.

LONG SHOT - A FLOCK OF LARGE BIRDS

flying in beautiful precise formation against the sky.

TWO SHOT - ANNIE AND MELANIE

			ANNIE
		(shaking her head)
	Don't they ever stop migrating?

But Melanie is watching the sky and the birds with a curiously 
serious expression.

						  DISSOLVE

LONG SHOT - THE APPROACH ROAD to the Brenner house. Melanie's 
car is driving along the shore. Behind her, the sky is stained 
with sunset. There are gulls on the bay, cawing into the 
silence.

FULL SHOT - THE CAR

as it pulls into the Brenner yard.

MED. SHOT - MELANIE

reaching up for the rear view mirror, tilting it to examine 
her lipstick, touching the edge of her mouth with one hand.  
She gets out of the car, CAMERA FOLLOWING her to the house.  
She climbs the porch steps, KNOCKS on the door. There is no 
answer. Puzzled, she begins walking back into the yard. In 
the distance, she sees Mitch, Lydia and Cathy coming from 
behind the chicken sheds. She raises her arm in greeting.

			MELANIE
		(calling)
	Hi!

FULL SHOT - MITCH, CATHY, LYDIA

in the distance. Mitch and Cathy raise their arms.

			CATHY
		(excitedly)
	Hi!
		(she breaks into a 
		trot toward Melanie)

CLOSE SHOT - CATHY as she approaches. She is an eleven-year-
old child, clear-eyed, bright, uninhibited, wearing a shirt 
and blouse, her hair cropped close to her head. She hesitates 
for just a moment.

			CATHY
	Miss Daniels?

			MELANIE
	Yes?

And Cathy flings herself into Melanie's arms, almost knocking 
her off her feet, hugging her fiercely.

			CATHY
	They're beautiful! They're just what 
	I wanted! Is there a man and a woman? 
	I can't tell which is which.

			MELANIE
	Well, I suppose...

FULL SHOT - ALL OF THEM

			MITCH
		(coming up)
	Hi. Annie had no plans, huh? I'm 
	glad you came. Are you hungry?

			MELANIE
	Famished.

			MITCH
	Dinner's just about ready.
		(explaining)
	We were out back looking at the 
	chickens. Something seems to be wrong 
	with them.

			LYDIA
		(going toward house)
	There's nothing wrong with those 
	chickens, Mitch. I'm going to call 
	Fred Brinkmeyer right now.

			MITCH
		(as they follow into 
		house)
	I don't know what good that'll do.
		(aside to Melanie)
	Chickens won't eat.

FULL SHOT - THE BRENNER HOUSE

as they ENTER, CAMERA FOLLOWING them throughout into dining 
room where Lydia dials phone, talking to Mitch all along.

			LYDIA
	He sold the feed to me, didn't he?

			MITCH
	Caviat emptor, Mother. Let the buyer 
	beware.

			LYDIA
	Whose side are you on?

			MITCH
	I'm simply quoting the law.

			LYDIA
	Never mind the law. Cathy, you can 
	start serving the soup.

She has finished dialing now, is waiting while the phone 
RINGS.

			LYDIA
	This won't take a minute, Miss Dan...
		(into phone)
	Hello, Fred? This is Lydia Brenner.  
	I didn't interrupt your dinner, did 
	I?
		(pause)
	Fred, that feed you sold me is no 
	good.
		(pause)
	The chicken feed. The three bags I 
	brought.

CLOSE SHOT - LYDIA

holding the telephone.

			LYDIA
	Well, it's just no good. The chickens 
	won't eat it.
		(pause)
	They're always hungry, Fred. I opened 
	one of the sacks when I got home, 
	and I poured it out for them, and 
	they wouldn't touch it. Now you know 
	chickens as well as I do, and when 
	they won't eat, there's just something 
	wrong with what they're being fed, 
	that's all.
		(pause)
	No, they're not fussy chickens.
		(pause)
	Who? What's he got to do with it?
		(pause)
	Fred, I don't care how much feed you 
	sold him. My chickens...
		(pause)
	He did? Dan Fawcett?
		(pause)
	This afternoon?
		(pause)
	Well, that only proves what I'm 
	saying. The feed you sold us is...
		(pause)
	Oh. Oh, I see. Uh-huh. Uh-huh.  Uh-
	huh. Maybe I ought to go over to see 
	him. You don't think there's something 
	going around, do you?
		(pause)
	No, never.
		(pause)
	No, Fred, they don't seem sick at 
	all. They just won't eat.
		(pause)
	Mmmm. Mmmmm. Well, I'll try to get 
	over to Dan's farm.  Maybe he'll... 
	mmmmm... mmmmm... all right, Fred, 
	thanks.
		(she hangs up, puzzled)

FULL SHOT - THE DINING ROOM

as Lydia comes to the table. Mitch and Melanie are sitting 
opposite each other in the center chairs. Cathy is serving 
the last bowl of soup.

			LYDIA
		(as she sits)
	He got a call from Dan Fawcett a 
	little while ago. His chickens won't 
	eat, either.

			CATHY
	It's what you said, Mom. Mr.  
	Brinkmeyer's feed is no good.

			LYDIA
		(slowly)
	No, Cathy. He sold Mr. Fawcett a 
	different brand.
		(extremely worried)
	You don't think they're getting sick, 
	do you, Mitch?

CLOSE SHOT - LYDIA

her eyes troubled as she picks up her napkin.

						  DISSOLVE

FULL SHOT - THE LIVING ROOM

The meal is over. The lovebirds in their hanging cage have 
been covered for the night. In the b.g. Mitch and Lydia are 
carrying the stacked dishes to the kitchen. In the f.g.  
Cathy and Melanie are by a small upright piano. Melanie is 
playing a Debussy Arabesque: She picks up a cigarette from 
the ashtray now and again to take a puff.

			CATHY
	I still don't understand how you 
	knew I wanted lovebirds.

			MELANIE
	Your brother told me.

			LYDIA
		(as she goes into 
		kitchen)
	Then you knew Mitch in San Francisco, 
	is that right?

			MELANIE
	No, not exactly.

			CATHY
	Mitch knows lots of people in San 
	Francisco. Of course, they're mostly 
	hoods.

			LYDIA
		(from the kitchen)
	Cathy!

			CATHY
	Well, Mom, he's the first to admit 
	it.
		(to Melanie)
	He spends half his day in the 
	detention cells at the Hall of 
	Justice.

			LYDIA
		(coming from kitchen)
	In a democracy, Cathy, everyone is 
	entitled to a fair trial. Your 
	brother's practice...

			CATHY
	Mom, please, I know all the democracy 
	jazz. They're still hoods.
		(to Melanie)
	He's got a client now who shot his 
	wife in the head six times. Six times, 
	can you imagine it?
		(she starts for living 
		room)
	I mean, even twice would be overdoing 
	it, don't you think?

			MELANIE
		(to Mitch as he carries 
		load of dishes out)
	Why did he shoot her?

			MITCH
	He was watching a ball game on 
	television.

			MELANIE
	What?

			MITCH
	His wife changed the channel.

He GOES INTO kitchen.

TWO SHOT - MELANIE AND CATHY

Melanie interrupts her playing to take another puff at her 
cigarette.

			CATHY
	Is smoking fun?

			MELANIE
	Oh, I suppose so.

			CATHY
	Could I have a puff?

			MELANIE
	I don't think your mother would like 
	that.

			CATHY (O.S.)
	Just a little one.

TWO SHOT - MELANIE AND CATHY

They both glance conspiratorially toward the kitchen.  
Quickly, Melanie extends the cigarette. Quickly, Cathy takes 
a small puff.

			CATHY
		(delighted)
	Why, it's just like air, isn't it?
		(determined)
	When I grow up, I'm gonna smoke like 
	a chimney! I'll be eleven tomorrow, 
	you know.

			MELANIE
	I know.

			CATHY
	Are you coming to my party?

			MELANIE
	I don't think so.
		(seeing the child's 
		face)
	I have to get back to San Francisco.

			CATHY
	Don't you like us?

			MELANIE
		(touching her hair)
	Darling, of course I do!

			CATHY
	Don't you like Bodega Bay?

			MELANIE
	I don't know yet.

			CATHY
	Mitch likes it very much. He comes 
	up every weekend, you know, even 
	though he has his own apartment in 
	the city. He says San Francisco is 
	just an ant hill at the foot of a 
	bridge.

			MELANIE
		(smiling)
	I guess it does get a little hectic 
	at times.

			CATHY
	If you do decide to come, don't say 
	I told you about it. It's supposed 
	to be a surprise party.

Melanie laughs.

			CATHY
	You see, they've got this whole 
	complicated thing figured out where 
	I'm going over to Michele's for the 
	afternoon, and Michele's mother is 
	going to say she has a headache and 
	would I mind very much if she took 
	me home. Then, when we get back here, 
	all of the kids'll jump out!
		(pause)
	Won't you come? Won't you please 
	come?

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

shaking her head, glancing toward the kitchen.

			MELANIE
	I don't think so, Cathy.

INT. KITCHEN - TWO SHOT - LYDIA AND MITCH

Mitch is helping her as she loads the dishwasher.

			LYDIA
	She's a charming girl, isn't she, 
	Mitch?

			MITCH
	Yes, very.

			LYDIA
	And certainly pretty.

			MITCH
	Yes.

			LYDIA
	How long have you known her?

			MITCH
	I told you. We met yesterday.

			LYDIA
	In a bird shop.

			MITCH
	Yes.

			LYDIA
	She was selling birds.

			MITCH
	No. I only led her into believing I 
	believed she was... Mother, it's 
	really very complicated.

			LYDIA
	But she did buy the lovebirds and 
	then brought them all the way...

			MITCH
	Mother, where did you go to law 
	school?

			LYDIA
		(laughing)
	Forgive me. I suppose I'm just 
	naturally curious about a girl like 
	that.
		(pause)
	She's very rich, isn't she?

			MITCH
	I suppose so. Her father owns a big 
	newspaper in San Francisco.

			LYDIA
	You'd think he could manage to keep 
	her name out of print. She's always 
	mentioned in the columns, Mitch.

			MITCH
	I know, Mother.

			LYDIA
	She is the one who jumped into that 
	fountain in Rome last summer, isn't 
	she?

			MITCH
	Yes, Mother.

			LYDIA
	Perhaps I'm old-fashioned.
		(pause)
	I know it was supposed to be very 
	warm there, Mitch, but... well...  
	actually... well, the newspaper said 
	she was naked.

			MITCH
	I know, Mother.

			LYDIA
	It's none of my business, of course, 
	but when you bring a girl like that 
	to...

			MITCH
	Mother?

			LYDIA
		(looking up)
	Yes?

			MITCH
	I think I can handle Melanie Daniels 
	by myself.

			LYDIA
	Well...
		(she sighs)
	So long as you know what you want, 
	Mitch.

			MITCH
	I know exactly what I want, Mother.

						  DISSOLVE

FULL SHOT - THE BRENNER LAWN - EXTERIOR - NIGHT

as Mitch and Melanie cross it to her car. A wind is blowing 
off the water, and high fast clouds are scudding across the 
face of the moon.

			MITCH
	You'll be able to find your way back, 
	won't you?

			MELANIE
	Oh, yes.

			MELANIE
	Will I be seeing you again?

			MELANIE
	San Francisco's a long way from here.

			MITCH
	I'm in San Francisco five days a 
	week. With a lot of time on my hands. 
	I'd like to see you.
		(he grins)
	Maybe we could go swimming or 
	something. Mother tells me you like 
	to swim.

			MELANIE
	How does Mother know what I like to 
	do?

			MITCH
	I guess she and I read the same gossip 
	columns.

			MELANIE
	Oh. That. Rome.

			MITCH
	Mmmm. I like to swim. We might get 
	along very...

			MELANIE
	In case you're interested, I was 
	pushed into that fountain.

			MELANIE
	Without any clothes on?

			MELANIE
	With all my clothes on!  The newspaper 
	that ran the story happens to be a 
	rival of my father's paper.  Anything 
	they said...

			MITCH
	You were just a poor, innocent victim 
	of circumstance, huh?

			MELANIE
	I'm neither poor nor innocent, but 
	the truth of that particular...

			MITCH
	The truth is you were running around 
	with a pretty wild crowd...

			MELANIE
	Yes, but...

			MITCH
	...who didn't much care for propriety 
	or convention or...

			MELANIE
	Yes.

			MITCH
	...the opinions of others, and you 
	went right along with them, isn't 
	that the truth?

			MELANIE
	Yes, that's the truth. But I was 
	pushed into that fountain, and that's 
	the truth, too.

			MITCH
	Sure. Do you really know Annie 
	Hayworth?

			MELANIE
	No.
		(pause)
	At least, I didn't until I came up 
	here.

			MITCH
	So you didn't go to school together.

			MELANIE
	No.

			MITCH
	And you didn't come up here to see 
	her.

			MELANIE
	No.

			MITCH
	You were lying.

			MELANIE
	Yes, I was lying.

			MITCH
	Did you really write a letter to me?  
	Or was that a lie, too?

			MELANIE
	I wrote the letter.

			MITCH
	What did it say?

			MELANIE
	It said, "Dear Mr. Brenner, I think 
	you need those lovebirds, after all.  
	They may help your personality." 
	That's what it said.

			MITCH
	But you tore it up.

			MELANIE
	Yes.

			MITCH
	Why?

			MELANIE
	Because it seemed stupid and foolish.

			MITCH
	Like jumping into a fountain in Rome!

			MELANIE
	I told you what happened in Rome!

			MITCH
	Do you expect me to believe...?

			MELANIE
	I don't give a damn what you believe!

Angrily she gets into the car, is about to slam the door 
when Mitch catches it in his hands.

			MITCH
	I'd still like to see you.

			MELANIE
	Why?

			MITCH
	I think it could be fun.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

pulling the door shut.

			MELANIE
	That might have been good enough in 
	Rome last summer. But it's not good 
	enough now.

CLOSE SHOT - MITCH

			MITCH
	It is for me.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

			MELANIE
	But not for me.

CLOSE SHOT - MITCH

			MITCH
	What do you want ?

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

			MELANIE
		(angrily sarcastic)
	I thought you knew! I want to go 
	through life laughing and beautiful 
	and jumping into fountains naked!  
	Good night!

MED. SHOT - THE CAR

as it pulls away. Mitch yanks his hands back from the door.

CLOSE SHOT - MITCH

as he watches the car leave.

LONG SHOT - THE ROAD

The car turns the bend and disappears. Empty road. Only the 
long line of telephone poles and wires and... something 
strange on the wires.

CLOSE SHOT MITCH

His attention caught by the poles and wires.

CLOSE SHOT - THE WIRES

Hundreds of birds sitting on them.

MED. SHOT - MITCH

standing and watching. A wind blows off the water. He shivers 
suddenly, turns up his collar, and heads for the house.

						  DISSOLVE

INT. ANNIE HAYWORTH'S LIVING ROOM - MED. SHOT - ANNIE

HAYWORTH

In an easy chair, reading. She is wearing a robe and smoking, 
absorbed in her book. She turns when she hears the front 
DOOR OPENING.

			ANNIE
	Miss Daniels? Is that you?

			MELANIE (O.S.)
	Yes.

Annie rises to greet her. As Melanie ENTERS THE SHOT:

			ANNIE
	Hi.
		(seeing her face)
	Is something wrong? Is that cut 
	beginning to bother you?

			MELANIE
		(touching her head)
	No, it's not the cut that's bothering 
	me.

			ANNIE
		(concerned)
	Would you like some brandy?

			MELANIE
	If you have some, I'd...

			ANNIE
	I'll get it, sit down, Miss Daniels.  
	Do you want a sweater or something?  
	A quilt?

As Annie gets the brandy:

			MELANIE
	No, thank you.
		(pause)
	Won't you call me Melanie?

			ANNIE
	All right.
		(she smiles)

MED. SHOT - MELANIE sitting, tucking her legs up under her. 
She is disturbed by her conversation with Mitch and, in fact, 
by the way this entire trip has worked out. Annie brings her 
the glass of brandy, and she takes it gratefully.

			MELANIE
	Thank you.

			ANNIE
		(sitting opposite her)
	It gets a little chilly here at night 
	sometimes. Especially if you're over 
	near the bay.

Melanie nods and sips at the brandy. There is a long pause.

			ANNIE
	Well, how'd your evening go?

Melanie shrugs.

			ANNIE
	Did you meet Lydia?

Melanie nods.

			ANNIE
	Or would you rather I changed the 
	subject?

			MELANIE
		(with a tired smile)
	I think so.

			ANNIE
		(nodding)
	How do you like our little hamlet?

			MELANIE
	I despise it.

			ANNIE
		(laughing)
	Well, I don't suppose it offers much 
	to the casual visitor. Unless you're 
	thrilled by a collection of shacks 
	on a hillside. It takes a while to 
	get used to.

			MELANIE
	Where are you from originally, Annie?

			ANNIE
	San Francisco.

			MELANIE
	How'd you happen to come here?

			ANNIE
	Oh, someone invited me up for the 
	weekend a long time ago.

There is an awkward pause. Annie shrugs.

			ANNIE
	Look, I see no reason for being coy 
	about this. It was Mitch Brenner.

Melanie nods.

			ANNIE
	I guess you knew that, anyway.

			MELANIE
	I suspected as much.

			ANNIE
	You needn't worry. It's over and 
	done with. A long time ago.

			MELANIE
	Annie -- there's nothing between 
	Mitch and me.

			ANNIE
	Isn't there?
		(she shrugs)
	Maybe there isn't. Maybe there's 
	never anything between Mitch and any 
	girl.

			MELANIE
	What do you mean?

			ANNIE
	I think I'll have some of that, too.
		(she pours brandy, 
		drinks, sighs)
	I was seeing quite a lot of him in 
	San Francisco, you know.
		(she smiles weakly)
	And then, one weekend, he asked me 
	up to meet Lydia.

			MELANIE
	When was this?

			ANNIE
	Four years ago. Of course, that was 
	shortly after his father died.  Things 
	may be different now.

			MELANIE
	Different?

			ANNIE
	With Lydia.
		(pause)
	Did she seem a trifle distant?

			MELANIE
		(smiling)
	A trifle.

			ANNIE
	Then maybe it isn't different at 
	all. You know, her attitude nearly 
	drove me crazy. I simply couldn't 
	understand it.

			ANNIE
	When I got back to San Francisco I 
	spent days trying to figure out just 
	what I'd done to displease her.

			MELANIE
	And what had you done?

			ANNIE
	Nothing! I simply existed. So what 
	was the answer? A jealous woman, 
	right? A clinging possessive mother.
		(she shakes her head)
	Wrong. With all due respect to 
	Oedipus, I don't think that was the 
	case at all.

			MELANIE
	Then what was it?

			ANNIE
	Lydia liked me, you see. That was 
	the strange part of it. In fact, now 
	that I'm no longer a threat, we're 
	very good friends.

			MELANIE
	Then why did she object to you?

			ANNIE
	Because she was afraid.

			MELANIE
	Afraid you'd take Mitch?

			ANNIE
	Afraid I'd give Mitch.

			MELANIE
	I don't understand.

			ANNIE
	Afraid of any woman who'd give Mitch 
	the only thing Lydia can give him --
	love.

			MELANIE
	Annie, that adds up to a jealous, 
	possessive woman.

			ANNIE
	No, I don't think so. She's not afraid 
	of losing her son, you see.  She's 
	only afraid of being abandoned.

			MELANIE
	Someone ought to tell her she'd be 
	gaining a daughter.

			ANNIE
	She already has a daughter.

			MELANIE
	What about Mitch? Didn't he have 
	anything to say about this?

			ANNIE
		(apologetically)
	I can understand his position. He 
	went through a lot with Lydia after 
	his father died. He didn't want to 
	risk going through it all over again.

			MELANIE
	I see.

			ANNIE
	So it ended. Not immediately, of 
	course. I went back to San Francisco, 
	and I still saw Mitch every now and 
	then... but we both knew it was 
	finished.

			MELANIE
	Then what are you doing here in Bodega 
	Bay?

			ANNIE
	You get straight to the point, don't 
	you?

			MELANIE
	I'm sorry. Forgive me.

			ANNIE
	No, that's all right, I don't mind.  
	I came up here for two reasons. To 
	begin with, I was bored with my job 
	in San Francisco. I was teaching at 
	a private school there... well, you 
	know, you probably went to one 
	yourself.

			MELANIE
	I did.

			ANNIE
	Then you know. Little girls in brown 
	beanies. Deadly. Here I have a life. 
	I'll go into that classroom on Monday 
	morning, and I'll look out at twenty-
	five upturned little faces, and each 
	of them will be saying, 'Yes, please 
	give me what you have.'
		(pause)
	And I'll give them what I have. I 
	haven't got very much, but I'll give 
	them every ounce of it. To me, that's 
	very important. It makes me want to 
	stay alive for a long long time.
		(she sighs)
	That's the first reason.

			MELANIE
	And the second?

			ANNIE
		(simply)
	I wanted to be near Mitch.
		(pause)
	It was over, and I knew it, but I 
	wanted to be near him, anyway.
		(she smiles)
	You see, I still like him a hell of 
	a lot. That's rare, I think. I don't 
	want to lose his friendship... ever.

There is a moment of silence. Into the silence, the TELEPHONE 
shrills. Annie hesitates a moment, and then goes to answer 
it.

CLOSE SHOT - ANNIE

at the phone.

			ANNIE
	Hello?  Oh, hello. No, no, I wasn't 
	asleep. What is it?
		(pause)
	Yes, just a little while ago. Sure, 
	hold on.
		(she turns to Melanie)
	It's Mitch. For you.

TWO SHOT - MELANIE AND ANNIE

as they stare at each other across the room, Melanie 
hesitating.

			ANNIE
	He's waiting.

Melanie rises and goes to the phone. The CAMERA FOLLOWS Annie 
to the wing chair in the foreground and stays on her 
throughout following, recording her reactions as Melanie 
talks to Mitch in the background.

Annie is not devastated by this call, and yet there is a 
wistfulness to her expression as she realizes she may finally 
and irrevocably be losing Mitch to another girl.

			MELANIE
		(at phone; coolly)
	Hello? Yes, this is Melanie. Fine, 
	thank you. No, no trouble at all.  I 
	simply followed the road. It's a 
	very bright night.
		(pause)
	What?  Oh. Well, there's no need to 
	apologize. I can understand...
		(pause; she listens)
	Well...
		(she listens again)
	That's very kind of you. No, I'm not 
	angry.
		(she listens)
	I couldn't. I'm afraid I have to get 
	back to San Francisco.
		(pause)
	No, I wouldn't want to disappoint 
	Cathy, but...
		(pause)
	I see.
		(she is warming)
	I see. Well, if you really...
		(pause)
	All right. Yes, I'll be there.
		(pause)
	Good night, Mitch.

She hangs up and looks at Annie in embarrassment.

			MELANIE
	He wants me to go to Cathy's party 
	tomorrow afternoon.
		(pause)
	I said I would.

			ANNIE
	I'll be going, too, to help out. It 
	should be fun, Melanie.

			MELANIE
	It seems so pointless.
		(she sighs)
	I think I'll go to sleep. This has 
	been a busy day.
		(picking up her paper 
		bag)
	My luggage.

She smiles, takes out a flowered muumuu, holds it up to Annie.

			ANNIE
	Pretty. Did you get that at 
	Brinkmeyer's?

Melanie nods and drapes the muumuu over her arm. She is silent 
for a moment, pensive. Then:

			MELANIE
	Do you think I should go?

			ANNIE
	That's up to you.

			MELANIE
	It's really up to Lydia, isn't it?

			ANNIE
	Never mind Lydia. Do you want to go?

			MELANIE
		(firmly)
	Yes.

			ANNIE
	Then go.

The room is silent. Melanie nods, slowly, and then smiles.

			MELANIE
	Thank you, Annie.

Suddenly, into the silence, comes a THUMP at the door, 
startling them both.

			ANNIE
		(rising)
	Who can that be at this hour?
		(she walks to door)
	Who is it?
		(no answer)
	Is someone there?

Melanie goes to stand beside Annie. Puzzled, Annie unlocks 
the door, and then opens it. She looks out into the night.  
There is nothing but the SOUND of the wind.

			ANNIE
		(to the emptiness 
		outside)
	Is anyone there?

			MELANIE
		(pointing to the ground)
	Look.

CLOSE SHOT - A DEAD SEAGULL

CLOSE SHOT - ANNIE

			ANNIE
		(sympathetically)
	Ohhh. Oh, the poor thing. He probably 
	lost his way in the dark.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

who stares at the dead bird as Annie stoops to pick it up.  
And then, slowly:

			MELANIE
	But... it isn't dark, Annie.  There's 
	a full moon.

TWO SHOT - MELANIE AND ANNIE

as Annie, stooping, looks up at her. On their puzzlement and 
consternation:

						  FADE OUT

FADE IN

HIGH SHOT - THE BRENNER HOUSE The place is decorated with 
balloons strung from the house to various points on the lawn. 
The children, in party clothes, with their parents, are 
clustered around a long folding table upon which are 
sandwiches, ice cream and soft drinks. The parents are either 
helping the children to more or telling them they are having 
too much. There is a general SOUND of kid's CHATTER and 
LAUGHTER. Coming up the sloping path, away from the party, 
are Melanie and Mitch. The CAMERA PANS them UP the slope and 
away from the party in background. As they turn the hairpin 
bend of the slope, and come up toward the CAMERA, we see the 
entrance of the harbor and the Pacific in the background. 
The CAMERA PANS them as they come near to us and, once more, 
the party is in the background. Mitch and Melanie pass the 
CAMERA out to the left.

CLOSER SHOT - THE TOP OF THE DUNES

Melanie and Mitch come INTO the picture from the right and 
stand against the sky. Mitch takes a martini shaker from one 
of his pockets, and two glasses from the other. He hands one 
of the glasses to Melanie, and then pours.

			MELANIE
	I really shouldn't have any more.  
	I'm a little tipsy already.

			MITCH
	I'm trying to get you to stay for 
	dinner. We're going to have a lot of 
	roast left over.

			MELANIE
	I couldn't possibly. I have to get 
	back.

			MITCH
		(with a shrug)
	Cheers.

			MELANIE
	Cheers.

They drink.

			MELANIE
	What's in this? Nitro-glycerin?

			MITCH
	Why do you have to rush off? What's 
	so important in San Francisco?

			MELANIE
	Well... I have to get to work tomorrow 
	morning, for one thing.

			MITCH
		(surprised)
	You have a job?

			MELANIE
		(sipping at the martini)
	I have several jobs.

			MITCH
	What do you do?

			MELANIE
	I do different things on different 
	days.

			MITCH
	Like what?

			MELANIE
		(hesitating)
	On Mondays and Wednesdays, I work 
	for the Travelers' Aid. At the 
	airport.

			MITCH
	Helping travelers.

			MELANIE
	Yes.

She hesitates for a moment, thinking. She has never really 
considered before what she does with her time, and now that 
she is accounting for it, it sounds a little meaningless and 
unimportant.

			MELANIE
	And on Tuesdays, I take a course in 
	General Semantics at Berkeley.  That's 
	not a job, of course. I just take it 
	because...

			MITCH
	What about Thursdays and Fridays?

			MELANIE
	On Thursdays I have my meeting and 
	lunch.
		(pause)
	I'm chairman of a group that's sending 
	a little Korean boy through school.  
	We plan how to raise funds and... 
	things like that.
		(she shrugs)

			MITCH
	And Fridays? What do you do then?

			MELANIE
	Nothing.
		(she smiles)
	I go to bird shops on Fridays.

			MITCH
	I'm glad you do.

			MELANIE
	Do you know what I was doing in that 
	shop?

			MITCH
	What?

			MELANIE
	I have an aunt, you see. Aunt Tessa. 
	She's seventy years old, and veddy 
	prim and strait-laced.
		(she does an imitation)
	She's coming back from Europe at the 
	end of the month, and I'm going to 
	give her a myna bird that'll talk to 
	her.

			MITCH
	What'll it say?

			MELANIE
		(facetiously)
	You'll think me very bold, sir.

			MITCH
	No, tell me.

She leans over and whispers in his ear. They both burst out 
LAUGHTER. But then suddenly, a very serious look comes into 
Melanie's face.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

serious, introspective.

			MELANIE
	That's silly, isn't it?  Teaching a 
	bird to shock my aunt. That's just 
	silly and childish.
		(slight pause)
	Maybe I ought to go join the other 
	children.

FULL SHOT - MELANIE AND MITCH

as she moves abruptly away from him, and starts toward where 
the children have begun playing Blind Man's Bluff. Mitch 
stares after her for a moment, moved by this sudden glimpse 
of character, and then follows her down the dune. The children 
are all in a circle. Annie is busy changing the blindfold 
from Michele to Cathy.

CAMERA PANS - MELANIE AND MITCH

The CAMERA is now on the lawn POINTING UP toward dunes. We 
see Mitch and Melanie descending. They are coming down by 
way of a short cut and are not on the zig-zag path. As they 
reach the lawn they move along the side of it at the foot of 
the dunes. They are absorbed in each other. The CAMERA PANS 
OFF them and BRING INTO the picture Annie, surrounded by the 
children. She is in the act of changing the blindfold from 
Michele to Cathy. She hands Michele her glasses back.  During 
this, and while she is putting the blindfold round the eyes 
of Cathy, she is looking to her right and obviously is 
watching Mitch and Melanie.

MITCH AND MELANIE - ANNIE'S P.O.V.

MED. SHOT - ANNIE

CAMERA MOVES A LITTLE to her left (CAMERA RIGHT). At this 
moment, in the background, Lydia is emerging with the birthday 
cake. The candles on it are unlit. Lydia immediately also 
catches sight of Mitch and Melanie and she slows up somewhat 
as she walks to the long table, her eyes still on the couple. 
During this we see Annie in the foreground sending Cathy 
off.

			ANNIE
	All right then, here we go.
		(she spins her)
	Once!
		(she spins her again)
	Twice!
		(she spins her again)
	Three! Go get 'em, Cathy!

She says all this while still looking toward the couple. She 
turns her head away from the couple with a new expression on 
her face. She twists completely around to look at Lydia as 
though she were wondering if Lydia sees what she sees.  
Suddenly we HEAR a little boy's voice crying:

			LITTLE BOY (O.S.)
	Look! Look!

Annie swings round and the CAMERA RUSHES INTO her face as 
she looks up.

LONG SHOT - ANNIE'S P.O.V.

A gull is swooping down.

CLOSE SHOT - CATHY

as she changes her tactics, stops dead, and then cautiously 
reaches out in front of her at the air. The gull suddenly 
swoops at her, hitting her shoulder. She whirls.

			CATHY
	No touching allowed!

She almost falls.

FULL SHOT - THE GULL

seen from Cathy's position. He flies off, cycles and then 
returns.

CLOSE SHOT - ANNIE

reacting to gull. She turns her head back to Cathy.

TWO SHOT - MELANIE AND MITCH

reacting to the gull hitting Cathy. They start towards Cathy.

MED. SHOT - ANNIE

with Cathy and the children around. The CAMERA PANS DOWN as 
she ducks with two gulls swooping by.

CLOSE SHOT - LYDIA

hurriedly putting the cake onto the table. She rushes round 
to the front of it.

FULL SHOT - ANNIE - LYDIA'S P.O.V.

Annie rising from the ground. Cathy and the other children 
are running in the background.

CLOSE SHOT - LYDIA

reacting to two more gulls diving.

FULL SHOT - TWO GULLS - LYDIA'S P.O.V.

diving toward the children.

CLOSE SHOT - LYDIA

She starts to run out CAMERA RIGHT.

MED. SHOT - LYDIA REACHES CATHY

She pushes her to the ground as a gull attacks.

TWO SHOT - TWO MOTHERS

as a gull swoops between them.

FULL SHOT - MITCH

coming out of the house with a broom.

TWO GULLS

swooping down at the children's heads.

MED. SHOT - MITCH

swinging at gull and missing.

LONG SHOT - LITTLE BOY

running toward bank. Gull swooping after him.

CLOSE SHOT - LITTLE BOY

falling forward against the bank as the gull smashes into 
him.

FULL SHOT - MELANIE AND MITCH

running to the injured boy, who is lying against the bank.

THREE SHOT - MELANIE, MITCH AND LITTLE BOY

They look up.

LONG SHOT - THE GULLS

against the sky, flying away in formation.

CLOSE SHOT - MITCH

about to swing with the broom again, but the birds are no 
longer there. A puzzled look crosses his face. He turns to 
Melanie.

			MITCH
	Are you all right?

TWO SHOT - MELANIE AND MITCH

			MELANIE
	Yes.

			ANNIE
		(coming over)
	That's the darnest thing thing I've 
	ever seen in my life.

TWO SHOT - LYDIA AND MITCH

			LYDIA
	Are they gone?

			MITCH
	They're gone, Mother.

FULL SHOT - THE LAWN

as the children begin drifting back toward the table and the 
cake. There is the curious feeling of lighting having struck 
very close by without having injured anyone. All that 
adrenaline has boiled up, and now it has no place to go.

			LYDIA
	Well... well, is everyone all right?

			MITCH
		(with a small boy)
	I think he got a little scratch, 
	Mother.

			GIRL #3
	Did you see them? They were hawks!

			GIRL #4
	They were bigger than hawks!

			ANNIE
	Children, they were only seagulls.

And then the meaning of what she has just said strikes her, 
and she remembers the bird hitting her door the night before.

TWO SHOT - ANNIE AND MELANIE

as Annie turns to look at her and they exchange a silent 
meaningful glance.

BACK TO SCENE

			CATHY
	They must have been after the food, 
	Mother.

They all turn toward the table.

CLOSE SHOT - THE TABLE AND THE REST OF THE FOOD ON THE TABLE, 
UNDISTURBED CLOSE SHOT - MITCH

eyes narrowed.

			MITCH
	They didn't touch anything.

BACK TO SCENE

			ANNIE
		(trying to restore 
		order)
	Well, they're gone now, so... so 
	let's...
		(pause)
	Who was 'it?' You were 'it,' weren't 
	you, Cathy?

			GIRL #2
	Can I be 'it,' Miss Hayworth?

TWO SHOT - MELANIE AND MITCH

as Annie and the children begin the game behind them.

			MITCH
	You look a little shaken.

			MELANIE
	I... I am.
		(pause)
	Mitch, is... Mitch, this isn't usual, 
	is it? The gull yesterday when I was 
	in the boat, and the one last night 
	at Annie's, and now...

			MITCH
	Last night? What do you mean?

			MELANIE
	A gull smashed into Annie's front 
	door.
		(pause)
	Mitch... what's happening?

			MITCH
		(concerned)
	I don't know, Melanie.
		(pause)
	Look, do you have to go back to 
	Annie's?

			MELANIE
	No, I have my things in the car.

			MITCH
		(gently)
	Then stay and have something to eat 
	before you start back. I'd feel a 
	lot better.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

She nods, and then looks up at the sky. Suddenly she shudders.

						  DISSOLVE

CLOSE SHOT - MITCH'S HANDS - DINING ROOM INT. IN BACKGROUND 

He is slicing the leftover roast beef.

MED. SHOT - MITCH

putting the meat onto plate, turning over his shoulder to 
call into living room. The lovebirds in their cage are making 
a terrible racket.

			MITCH
	Do you want some mustard with this?

			MELANIE (O.S.)
	No, thank you.

			CATHY
		(coming from kitchen)
	Why didn't Annie stay for dinner?

			MITCH
	She said something about having to 
	get home to take a call from her 
	mother back East.

			CATHY
	Oh. Where d'you want the coffee?

			MITCH
	Take it into the living room, would 
	you, hon?

			CATHY
		(seeing the birds)
	What's the matter with them?

Lydia turns from a side table, where she is cutting some 
French bread.

			LYDIA
	What's the matter with all the birds?

She covers the cage. Under the cover, the birds are still 
tweeting madly. Lydia stares at the covered cage for a moment, 
and then signs heavily.

			LYDIA
	Hurry up with the rest, Mitch. I'm 
	sure Miss Daniels wants to get on 
	her way.

As she moves into the living room.

			CATHY
	I think you ought to stay the night, 
	Melanie.

INT. LIVING ROOM - CLOSE SHOT - LYDIA

a sharp look at her daughter.

MED. SHOT - CATHY

pouring coffee into the cups set on coffee table.

			CATHY
	We've got an extra room upstairs and 
	everything.

			MITCH
		(coming in with two 
		plates)
	That road can be a bad one at night, 
	Melanie.
		(he picks up coffee 
		cup, hands it to 
		Melanie)

They are now all eating with plates on their knees - buffet 
style.

			MELANIE
	If I go across to Santa Rosa I'll 
	come onto the freeway much earlier.

			LYDIA
		(picking up a cup)
	Yeah, and the freeway's well-lighted, 
	isn't it, Mitch?

			MITCH
	Yeah, but she'll be hitting all that 
	traffic going back to San Francisco.

			CATHY
	Did you put the cover on that cage, 
	Mom?

			LYDIA
	Yes, I did.

			CATHY
	Just listen to them!

			MITCH
		(to Melanie)
	Some cream?

			MELANIE
	I'll get it.

She reaches over for the cream pitcher. Her eye is caught by 
something in the fireplace.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

looking curiously.

CLOSE SHOT - THE FIREPLACE

a single swift is sitting on the hearth.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

turning to Mitch.

			MELANIE
	Mitch...

CLOSE SHOT - THE FIREPLACE

as dozens of swifts begin pouring from the opening.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

frightened now.

			MELANIE
		(shouting it)
	Mitch!

CLOSE SHOT - THE FIREPLACE

hundreds of birds pouring into the room.

FULL SHOT - LYDIA

shrieking in terror, dropping her coffee cup.

FULL SHOT - THE ROOM

full of birds, swooping, diving. Mitch runs to the door, 
throws it open.

			MITCH
		(to the others)
	Get outside! Run!
		(he turns toward Lydia)

CLOSE SHOT - LYDIA in terror, surrounded by birds.

			MITCH (O.S.)
	Mother!

MED. SHOT - MITCH

wrenching the cloth from the coffee table, cups, coffee pot, 
sugar bowl, creamer falling to the floor as he swings the 
cloth at the birds.

CLOSE SHOT - CATHY

covering her face.

MED. SHOT - MELANIE

reaching for small fireplace broom.

CLOSE SHOT - LYDIA

shrieking as the birds dive at her face.

CLOSE SHOT - MITCH

realizing it's impossible to run. They must stay and fight.

			MITCH
		(shouting)
	Cathy, get some matches!

MED. SHOT - CATHY

running for the kitchen. Birds swooping after her.

MED. SHOT - MELANIE

swinging the fireplace broom.

MED. SHOT - MITCH

rushing to the fireplace. He is almost knocked over by birds 
coming out of the opening. He stuffs paper under the logs 
already in place there.

CLOSE SHOT - LYDIA

She lets out a horrified scream. There are birds fluttering 
in her hair, caught there.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

swinging the broom, covered with birds.

MED. SHOT - A PICTURE ON THE WALL

(an enlargement of a photograph of Cathy, smiling.) As a 
bird flutters against it.

MED. SHOT - CATHY

running into the room, covering her face with bent arm, 
rushing to Mitch with the box of matches.

MED. SHOT - MITCH

taking the matches. He lights one. A bird hits his arm. He 
drops the match. He lights another one.

CLOSE SHOT - THE MATCH

falling onto the paper in the fireplace. It flickers for a 
moment, then catches. Birds are still pouring out, past the 
paper beginning to catch.

CLOSE SHOT - ANOTHER WINDOW PANE

as a bird crashes through it.

MED. SHOT - MITCH

rushing to Lydia, swinging the cloth at her head. She is 
hysterics now, BABBLING. The SHRIEK of the birds is a wild 
cacophony.

CLOSE SHOT - THE FIRE

blazing.

MED. SHOT - A BIRD

swooping out of the fireplace, its wings aflame.

FULL SHOT - THE ROOM

less birds in the air now, the single flaming bird flying 
toward the drapes.

MED. SHOT - THE DRAPES

as the flaming bird lands on them.

CLOSE SHOT - THE DRAPES

catching fire.

MED. SHOT - MELANIE

swinging the broom wildly.

			MELANIE
	Mitch! The curtains!

CLOSE SHOT - MITCH

turning, seeing, his eyes opening wide.

MED. SHOT - MITCH

ripping at the flaming curtain. He throws it to the floor, 
begins stamping on it.

CLOSE SHOT - CATHY

			CATHY
	It's working! The fire's working!

CLOSE SHOT - THE FIREPLACE

only the blazing fire. No more birds entering.

MED. SHOT - THE WINDOWS

birds bursting through the panes, leaving.

MED. SHOT - MELANIE

as she beats away another bird.

CLOSE SHOT - ONE OF THE BROKEN WINDOWS

the birds leaving en masse now.

FULL SHOT - THE ROOM

A shambles. Windows broken, furniture knocked over, pictures 
askew, the floor covered with birds and broken glass. In a 
corner of the room, Lydia crouches with her hands covering 
her face, sobbing. The burnt curtain is still smoldering.  
Mitch is covered with soot. Melanie puts down the broom 
wearily. The attack is over.

						  DISSOLVE

INT. BRENNER LIVING ROOM - CLOSE SHOT - A HAND

reaching down to pick up a dead bird.

MED. SHOT - AL MALONE, THE DEPUTY

a plain man with a limited intelligence, used to giving out 
speeding tickets or warning drunks. He holds the bird on the 
palm of his hand, looks at it steadily, nodding all the while.

			MALONE
	That's a chimney swift, all right.

CLOSE SHOT - MITCH

			MITCH
	We know what it is, Al.

FULL SHOT - THE ROOM

Lydia is huddled in one of the easy chairs, still in shock.

			MALONE
	Well, these birds live in chimneys, 
	you know.

			MITCH
	Not by the thousands.

			MALONE
	No, I gotta admit this is peculiar.
		(pause)
	Did you have a light burning or 
	something.

			MITCH
	Yes, but the curtains were drawn.

			MALONE
	'Cause sometimes birds are attracted 
	by light, you know.
		(pause)
	Sure is a peculiar thing.

			MITCH
	What are we going to do about it, 
	Al?

			MALONE
	I don't think I get you, Mitch. Do 
	about what?

			MITCH
	Well...
		(he feels a little 
		foolish)
	Well... these birds attacked us.

CLOSE SHOT - MALONE

slight disbelief on his face.

			MALONE
	What's more likely, they got in the 
	room and was just panicked, that's 
	all.

CLOSE SHOT - MITCH

			MITCH
		(still a little 
		hesitant)
	All right, I'll grant you a bird'll 
	panic in an enclosed room. But, they 
	didn't just get in. They came in! 
	Right down that chimney.

TWO SHOT - MITCH AND MALONE

			MALONE
		(trying to make sense 
		of this)
	My wife found a bird in the back 
	seat of her car once.

			MALONE
		(shrugs)
	Didn't know how he got in there.  
	Had a broken leg, turned out. Just 
	fluttering all around there.
		(he shrugs again)

			MITCH
	These birds were...

			MALONE
	What I'm trying to say, Mitch, is 
	these things happen sometimes, you 
	know? Ain't much we can do about it.
		(he shrugs)

			LYDIA
	Tell him about the party.

			MITCH
	That's right. We had a party here 
	this afternoon for Cathy. Her 
	birthday.

			MALONE
	Oh, yeah, yeah.
		(he grins)
	How old is she now?

			MITCH
	Eleven. In the middle of the party, 
	some gulls came down at the children. 
	And Miss Daniels was attacked by a 
	gull just yesterday after...

CLOSE SHOT - MALONE

considering this.

			MALONE
	Yeah.
		(thinking)
	Were the kids bothering them or 
	something? 'Cause sometimes they'll 
	do that, you know. If you make any 
	kind of disturbance near them, they'll 
	just come after you. I seen that 
	plenty of times myself.

TWO SHOT - MALONE AND LYDIA

			LYDIA
	The children were playing a game, 
	Al. Those gulls attacked without...

			MALONE
	Now, Lydia, 'attack' is a pretty 
	strong word, don't you think? I mean, 
	birds just don't go around attacking 
	people without no reason, you know 
	what I mean? The kids just probably 
	scared them, that's all.

			LYDIA
	These birds attacked!

			MALONE
		(nodding)
	Well, what would you like me to do, 
	Lydia? Put out a pick up and hold on 
	any suspicious birds in the area?
		(he smiles)
	Now, that'd be pretty silly, wouldn't 
	it?

CLOSE SHOT - MITCH

			MITCH
	Does this room look silly?

TWO SHOT - MITCH AND MALONE

			MALONE
	No, you got quite a mess here, I'll 
	admit that.
		(pause)
	Maybe you oughta put some screening 
	on top of your chimney
		(pause)
	Seems a little pointless, though.  
	Freak accident like this wouldn't 
	happen again in a million years.
		(pause)
	You want some help cleaning up?

CLOSE SHOT - MITCH

exasperated.

			MITCH
	I can handle it myself.

CLOSE SHOT - LYDIA

giving a small moan.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

			MELANIE
	I'll take Cathy up to bed.

CLOSE SHOT - MITCH

			MITCH
	Are you staying?

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

			MELANIE
	I think I should, don't you?

CLOSE SHOT - LYDIA

observing, making no comment.

MED. SHOT - MELANIE

putting her arm around Cathy's shoulders.

			MELANIE
	I'll get my things from the car. Do 
	you want to walk with me, Cathy?

TWO SHOT - MITCH AND MALONE

as Cathy and Melanie go out.

			MALONE
	Well, if there's anything else I can 
	do, Mitch...

			MITCH
	Thanks, Al. We'll be all right.

			MALONE
	Goodnight, Lydia.

No answer.

			MALONE
	Sure is peculiar, I got to say that 
	for it.

He exits.

FULL SHOT - THE ROOM

It is silent. Mitch looks across at Lydia who sits as still 
as a stone in her chair. The door closes gently on a note of 
utter helplessness.

						  FADE OUT

FADE IN

INT. BEDROOM IN BRENNER HOUSE - MED. SHOT - MELANIE

Melanie has just gotten out of bed. She is wearing the rather 
unsophisticated nightdress she brought at the store.  Her 
hair is loose. She wears no makeup. She is bent over a 
lavatory which has been installed in the bedroom. She is 
busily brushing her teeth. Her head half turns as she HEARS 
VOICES.

			LYDIA'S VOICE
	Mitch! Mitch! Mitch, I'm going to 
	drop Cathy off now.

			MITCH'S VOICE
	Okay.

			LYDIA'S VOICE
	I'll probably drive over to the 
	Fawcett farm. Do you need anything 
	in town?

			MITCH'S VOICE
	No.

Melanie finished brushing her teeth. She goes to the window 
and looks out. Outside, we HEAR the SOUND of the pickup truck 
starting.

FULL SHOT - THE YARD BELOW - MELANIE'S P.O.V.

as Cathy, carrying her schoolbooks, runs to the pickup truck 
and climbs in. The truck moves out of the yard and down the 
road. It turns the bend, and moves out of sight.

MED. SHOT - MELANIE

turning from the window. She goes to the bedroom door, CAMERA 
FOLLOWING. She opens the door.

			MELANIE
	Mitch?

There is no answer.

			MELANIE
	Mitch?

FULL SHOT - MELANIE

coming down the steps from the attic room. The house is empty. 
The CAMERA FOLLOWS her into the dining room, where she stops 
at the cage of lovebirds, bends down to them with a smile on 
her face.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE AND THE BIRDS

She smiles and pokes her finger into the cage. The birds 
TWEET at her.

			MELANIE
		(imitating them)
	Chee-chee-chee-chee-chee.

FULL SHOT - MELANIE

leaving the cage. She walks to the sideboard upon which is 
an electric coffee percolator which is plugged into the wall.  
She feels it with her hand. It is hot. She pours a cup, then 
peers out of the side window.

LONG SHOT - MELANIE'S P.O.V.

Mitch on the shore, working with a rake in his hands. A thin 
column of smoke is climbing the sky.

MED. SHOT - MELANIE

carrying the cup of coffee. She sets it down for a moment to 
put on her fur coat, which is hanging on the hall stand. She 
picks up the cup again, walks to the front door and EXITS.

FULL SHOT - MELANIE

coming out of the house and into the garden, carrying the 
cup of coffee. It is a beautiful day. She sips at her coffee 
and then breathes deeply of the air.

CLOSE SHOT - HER FACE

fresh, rested. There is a contentment in her which we have 
not seen before. She looks off toward the shore.

LONG SHOT - MITCH

on the shore, working with the rake. The thin column of smoke 
is climbing the sky.

MED. SHOT - MELANIE

She turns her attention away from Mitch, and walks to the 
end of the garden toward the shore. A wind is blowing off 
the water, moving white puffs of cloud swiftly across the 
sky, whipping the full short shirt of muumuu about her legs 
as she walks. She stands there silhouetted against the sky 
for a moment.

SLOW PAN

as Melanie scans the horizon. There isn't a bird anywhere in 
sight. The day is still and clear, but somehow ominous in 
its silence. Her gaze comes to rest on Mitch and the thin 
column of smoke again. In the distance, Mitch sees her and 
raises his arm in greeting. She waves back at him. He puts 
the rake down and begins walking toward the house.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

There is anticipation on her face now. She watches Mitch 
coming toward her, her eyes glowing.

FULL SHOT - MITCH

closer to the house now.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

waiting, anticipating.

MED. SHOT - MITCH

He stops, looks at her, and then turns toward the house.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

as first surprised, and then puzzled. The back screen DOOR 
CLATTERS shut off screen. A small hurt look crosses her face.

FULL SHOT - MELANIE

as she turns away from the house and begins walking in the 
garden, sipping idly at her coffee. A screen DOOR CLATTERS 
again. She turns.

Mitch is coming out of the house, from the front door, wearing 
a different shirt, buttoning it as he walks to her.

TWO SHOT - MELANIE AND MITCH

			MITCH
	I wanted to change my shirt.

Melanie is uncomprehending.

			MITCH
	It smelled of the fire.

			MELANIE
		(nodding)
	It's hard to believe anything at all 
	happened yesterday, isn't it? It's 
	so beautiful and still now.
		(pause; then sagely)
	I think I've got it all figured out, 
	by the way.

			MITCH
	Really? Tell me about it.

			MELANIE
		(secretively)
	It's an uprising.

			MITCH
	Of birds?

			MELANIE
	Certainly, of birds.

Mitch grins.

			MELANIE
	It all started several months ago 
	with a peasant sparrow up in the 
	hills, a malcontent. He went around 
	telling all the other sparrows that 
	human beings weren't fit to rule 
	this planet, preaching wherever anyone 
	would listen...

			MITCH
	Growing a beard...

			MELANIE
		(delighted)
	Yes, of course, he had to have a 
	beard! 'Birds of the world, unite!' 
	he kept saying, over and over...

			MITCH
	So they united.

			MELANIE
	Not at first. Oh yes, a few sparrows 
	out for kicks...

			MITCH
	Well, they'll go along with anything.

			MELANIE
	Sure. But eventually, even the more 
	serious-minded birds began to listen.  
	"Why should humans rule?" they asked
	 themselves.

			MITCH
	Hear!

			MELANIE
	Why should we submit ourselves to 
	their domination?

			MITCH
	Hear, hear!

			MELANIE
	And all the while, that sparrow was 
	getting in his little messages.  
	Birds of the world, unite!

			MITCH
	Take wing!

			MELANIE
	You have nothing to lose but your 
	feathers.

They both burst out laughing, then fall into silence, then 
laugh again and finally are silent. The garden is deathly 
still.

			MITCH
		(attempting to be 
		serious)
	What it was, probably...

			MELANIE
	Mmm?

			MITCH
	They're probably hungry, that's all.  
	This was a bad summer. They eat 
	berries and... and nuts, you know, 
	and the hills are all burned out, so 
	they're probably searching for food 
	wherever they can get it.

			MELANIE
	With my little sparrow leading team.

She laughs, and Mitch joins her, but it is hollow this time.  
Like children who have told themselves a too realistic horror 
story, they are becoming a little frightened.

			MITCH
	It's so damn quiet out there.

			MELANIE
	It was like that yesterday.

			MITCH
	What do you mean?

			MELANIE
	After the gulls attacked.

			MITCH
	I hadn't thought of that.
		(pause)
	And then the swifts came.

			MELANIE
	It makes you feel as if they're... 
	they're waiting or... resting... 
	or....

			MITCH
		(trying to make it 
		light again)
	No, they're having a meeting, Melanie. 
	Your sparrow is standing on a soap 
	box and...

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

her face dead serious.

CLOSE SHOT - MITCH

			MITCH
	...waving his little wings...

His voice trails. His face becomes serious, too. Again, the 
garden is silent.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

her face set and grim, her eyes serious, her words coming 
slowly and with the chill of horror on them.

			MELANIE
	They were angry, Mitch. They came 
	out of the chimney in fury.
		(pause)
	I had the feeling they wanted each 
	and every one of us dead.

TWO SHOT - MELANIE AND MITCH

He takes her in his arms suddenly, to comfort her. She goes 
to him longingly.

			MITCH
	Melanie, Melanie...

			MELANIE
	I'm frightened, Mitch.

			MITCH
	No, no...

			MELANIE
	I'm frightened and confused and I... 
	I think I want to go back to San 
	Francisco where there are buildings 
	and... and concrete and...

			MITCH
	Melanie...

			MELANIE
	...everything I know.

She looks up at him suddenly.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

			MELANIE
	Oh damn it, why did you have to walk 
	into that shop?

They kiss suddenly and fiercely. On their kiss,

						  DISSOLVE

EXT. FAWCETT FARM - FULL SHOT - THE RED PICKUP TRUCK

Lydia at the wheel, pulling into the Fawcett farm, the name 
of the farm clearly visible on a painted arch over the gate.  
Lydia gets out of the truck and walks to the front door. She 
knocks. There is no answer.

MED. SHOT - LYDIA

			LYDIA
	Dan?

She comes down off the steps, the CAMERA FOLLOWING, back a 
little away from the house.

			LYDIA
	Dan?

There is no answer. She shades her eyes and looks out over 
the fields.

LONG SHOT - FARMHAND ON TRACTOR

FULL SHOT - THE BARNYARD

as Lydia crosses to a fence and cups her hands to her mouth.

			LYDIA
		(shouting)
	Hi, there!

LONG SHOT - THE FARMHAND

He stops the tractor, turns toward Lydia, shading his eyes.

CLOSE SHOT - LYDIA

			LYDIA
		(shouting)
	Is Mr. Fawcett home?

LONG SHOT - THE FARMHAND

			FARMHAND
		(shouting back)
	I think so, ma'm. His missus is in 
	Santa Cruz, but he ought to be here.

CLOSE SHOT - LYDIA

			LYDIA
	Have you seen him this morning?

LONG SHOT - THE FARMHAND FARMHAND

No, ma'm. I reckon he's in there, though.

MED. SHOT - LYDIA

			LYDIA
		(shouting it)
	Thank you!

FULL SHOT - LYDIA

as she crosses the barnyard again. There are several chickens 
scurrying about. She walks closer to them, sees an open bag 
of feed lying against the fence.

CLOSE SHOT - LYDIA

getting an idea.

MED. SHOT - LYDIA

reaching into the bag of feed. She scatters some on the 
ground.

			LYDIA
	Here, chick, chick, chick, chick.  
	Here, chick, chick, chick, chick.

CLOSE SHOT - A CHICKEN

He struts up to the scattered grain.

CLOSE SHOT - LYDIA

watching him.

CLOSE SHOT - THE CHICKEN

He seems to be examining the feed. Then he turns away from 
it and struts off.

CLOSE SHOT - LYDIA

a small knowledgeable nod of her head. The chicken's reaction 
strengthens her determination to talk to Fawcett.  She turns.

FULL SHOT - LYDIA

approaching the front door again. She knocks. No answer.

			LYDIA
	Dan?

She backs away from the house again. The barnyard is silent.  
In the distance, we can HEAR the SOUND of the tractor.

			LYDIA
	Dan? Are you home?

No answer.

CLOSE SHOT - LYDIA

a little annoyed. She glances at the ground floor window 
closest to the door.

CLOSE SHOT - THE WINDOW

A small pane of glass is broken.

CLOSE SHOT - LYDIA

puzzled.

FULL SHOT - LYDIA

going to the front door, trying the knob.

MED. SHOT - LYDIA

The door opening ahead of her as she pokes her head into the 
house.

			LYDIA
	Dan?

The house is still and silent.

INT. THE ENTRY HALL - FULL SHOT

as Lydia comes in. We can see the living room off to the 
right, but it looks normal and untouched. Lydia turns to her 
left and looks down a long corridor.

FULL SHOT - THE CORRIDOR - LYDIA'S P.O.V.

a door at the end of it is partially ajar, spilling artificial 
light into the corridor.

			LYDIA
	Dan?

No answer.

CLOSE SHOT - LYDIA

a little troubled. She seems deciding whether or not she 
should leave. A determined look comes over her face.

FULL SHOT - THE CORRIDOR - LYDIA'S P.O.V.

as she walks down it slowly toward the open door at the 
opposite end. Outside the door, she pauses.

			LYDIA
	Dan? Are you in there?

No answer. Lydia puts out her hand, slowly begins showing 
the door open.

CLOSE SHOT - LYDIA

coming into the room. Her eyes begin to take in the room.

SLOW PAN OF THE ROOM - LYDIA'S P.O.V.

starting to the right of the doorway as she enters and 
continuing a little below eye level, the CAMERA PICKS OUT: A 
standing floor lamp, the shade dangling, but the light still 
burning; a picture hanging askew on the wall, its glass 
shattered; the window to the left of the picture, every pane 
of glass shattered; a dresser with two stuffed birds on its 
top; both birds have been badly damaged, the stuffing ripped 
out of them, the head of one hanging at a crooked near 
decapitated angle; the window to the left of the dresser, 
all the panes shattered. The level of the CAMERA DESCENDS, 
and begins a SLOW PAN of the floor. It PICKS OUT broken glass, 
continues its PAN to SHOW scattered feathers, continues its 
PAN to SHOW a broom, feathers caught in the straw, a single 
bedroom slipper, continues to SHOW a pair of legs in pajamas, 
one foot bare, the other slippered, and then immediately 

						  CUTS TO:

CLOSE SHOT - DAN FAWCETT

His face. Covered with blood, the eyes missing from their 
empty staring sockets.  Immediately

						   CUT TO:

CLOSE SHOT - LYDIA

a terrified scream erupting from her mouth.

FULL SHOT - LYDIA

turning and running for the door. The CAMERA FOLLOWS her in 
an unbroken headlong flight, the scream continuing as if she 
is incapable of stopping it, as she stumbles, runs, trips 
her way down the corridor and bursts out of the house, still 
screaming, into the pickup truck. The engine starts, she 
backs the truck out at breakneck speed and hits the highway,

CAMERA FOLLOWING.  CLOSE SHOT - LYDIA

at the wheel, her face stamped with terror, her eyes wide.

FULL SHOT - THE TRUCK

at breakneck speed, negotiating the severe curves on the 
highway. It almost hits a small car coming from the opposite 
direction, swerves, screeches around the curve.

CLOSE SHOT - LYDIA

behind the wheel, unmindful of anything but flight.

FULL SHOT - THE ROAD - LYDIA'S POV

through the windshield, blurring past. She turns the bend 
leading to the house. For an instant, through the windshield, 
there is a quick glimpse of Melanie and Mitch in embrace in 
the garden. Then the tires shriek, and the truck turns and 
barrels into the front yard.

FULL SHOT - MITCH

alarmed as he runs out of the garden and toward the truck 
just as it jerks to a stop.

MED. SHOT - MITCH

through the truck as he pulls open the door opposite Lydia.

			MITCH
		(alarmed)
	What is it?

CLOSE SHOT - MITCH

as he sees his mother.

CLOSE SHOT - LYDIA

slumped on the wheel of the car, her head on her arms, 
sobbing. On her sobs...

						  DISSOLVE

INT. BRENNER KITCHEN - MED. SHOT - MELANIE

at the kitchen stove, taking a kettle of tea from the burner.  
She pours it into a cup, puts the cup on a tray already set 
with sugar and creamer. She looks up as Mitch comes into the 
kitchen.

TWO SHOT - MELANIE AND MITCH

			MITCH
	That was Al on the phone. He wants 
	me to meet him out at the Fawcett 
	place. Says some detectives from 
	Santa Rosa'll be there in a little 
	while.
		(pause)
	Will you be all right here?

			MELANIE
	Yes. I was just taking her in some 
	tea.

He goes to her, puts his arms around her from behind, kisses 
her hair. But she turns in his arms suddenly and clings to 
him fiercely, and then buries her head in his shoulder.

			MELANIE
	Be careful. Please.

She walks him to the door. At the door, they kiss -- a long, 
full kiss.

FULL SHOT -- THE KITCHEN

as Mitch goes out. Melanie looks after him for a moment, and 
then picks up the tray. Outside, we HEAR the SOUND of his 
car starting. The CAMERA FOLLOWS Melanie out of the kitchen, 
through the dining room, and to one of the bedroom doors on 
the other side of the house. Gently, she KNOCKS.

			LYDIA (O.S.)
	Mitch?

FULL SHOT - THE BEDROOM

This is Lydia's room, and cluttered with the mementos of a 
life no longer valid.  There are photographs of her dead 
husband, souvenirs of trips taken together, bric-a-brac of 
Mitch's childhood. Under it all, there is a distinct 
femininity. She sits up in bed as Melanie enters, bearing 
the tray.

			MELANIE
	No, it's me, Mrs. Brenner. I thought 
	you might like some tea.

TWO SHOT - LYDIA AND MELANIE

			LYDIA
	Oh, thank you.

There is a long silence as Melanie puts the tray on the bed, 
arranges the pillows behind Lydia.

			LYDIA
	Where's Mitch?

			MELANIE
	Al Malone wanted him out at the 
	Fawcett farm.

			LYDIA
	Why? Didn't Al believe my story?

			MELANIE
	He was calling from the farm, Mrs.  
	Brenner.

			LYDIA
	Then he saw.

			MELANIE
	He must have. He sent for the Santa 
	Rosa police.

			LYDIA
	What good will they do?

She sips at the tea. There is a long awkward pause. Melanie 
walks to the window and looks out over the bay.

			LYDIA
	Do you think Cathy's all right?

			MELANIE
	What?

			LYDIA
	Cathy. At the school.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

at the window, her face turned away from Lydia. Her expression 
clearly shows that she doesn't know whether Cathy is all 
right. But when she turns to Lydia, there is a comforting 
smile on her face, and her voice is soothing.

			MELANIE
	Yes, I'm sure she's fine.

TWO SHOT - MELANIE AND LYDIA

			LYDIA
	Do I sound foolish to you?

			MELANIE
	No.

			LYDIA
	I keep seeing Dan Fawcett's face.
		(she shudders)
	They have such big windows at the 
	school.
		(pause)
	All the windows were broken. In Dan's 
	bedroom. All the windows.

			MELANIE
	Try not to think of that, Mrs.  
	Brenner.

			LYDIA
	I wish I were a stronger person.  
	There is a long awkward silence. She 
	sips at her tea reflectively.

			LYDIA
	I lost my husband four years ago, 
	you know.
		(pause)
	It's odd how you depend on someone 
	for strength, and then suddenly all 
	the strength is gone, and you're 
	alone.
		(pause)
	I'd love to relax some time. I'd 
	love to be able to sleep.
		(pause; the worried 
		look again)
	Do you think Cathy's all right?

			MELANIE
	Annie's there. She'll be all right.

			LYDIA
	I'm not this way, you know. Not 
	usually. I don't fuss and fret over 
	my children.
		(pause)
	When Frank died...
		(pause)
	You see, he knew the children, he 
	really knew them. He had the knack 
	of being able to enter into their 
	world, of becoming a part of them.  
	That's a rare talent.

			MELANIE
	Yes.

			LYDIA
	I wish I could be that way.

There is another silence. A curious thing is happening in 
this room. Lydia, for perhaps the first time since her 
husband's death, is discussing it with another person.  
Curiously, the person is Melanie.

			LYDIA
		(honestly and simply)
	I miss him.
		(pause)
	You know, sometimes I wake up in the 
	morning, and I think 'I have to make 
	Frank's breakfast,' and I... I get 
	up and there's a... a very good reason 
	for getting out of bed until... until, 
	of course, I remember.
		(pause)
	I miss talking to him.
		(pause)
	Cathy's a child, you know, and 
	Mitch...
		(she shrugs a little 
		sadly)
	...Mitch has his own life.
		(pause)
	I'm glad he stayed here today. I 
	feel safer with him here.
		(she sighs deeply)

			MELANIE
	Would you like to rest now, Mrs.  
	Brenner.

			LYDIA
	No.  No... don't go yet.
		(pause)
	I feel as if I... I don't understand 
	you. And I want so much to understand.

			MELANIE
	Why, Mrs. Brenner?

			LYDIA
	Because my son is...
		(pause)
	My son seems to be fond of you.
		(pause)
	And I...
		(pause)
	I'm not quite sure how I feel about 
	it. I really don't know if I... like 
	you or not.

			MELANIE
	Is that so important, Mrs. Brenner?  
	You liking me?

			LYDIA
	Yes, I think so. My son is important 
	to me. I want to like any girl he 
	chooses.

			MELANIE
	And if you don't?

			LYDIA
		(with a faint smile)
	Then I don't suppose it'll matter 
	much to anyone but me.

			MELANIE
	I think it might also matter to Mitch.

			LYDIA
		(shaking her head)
	Mitch has always done exactly what 
	he wanted to do.
		(pause)
	I'm not complaining. That's the mark 
	of a man.  But...
		(pause)
	You see, I... I wouldn't want to 
	be... be left alone. I don't think I 
	could bear being left alone.  I... 
	forgive me. This business with the 
	birds has me upset.  I... I don't 
	know what I'd do if Mitch weren't 
	here.

			MELANIE
		(going to the bed; 
		adjusting the pillow)
	Why don't you try to sleep now, Mrs.  
	Brenner.

			LYDIA
		(sighing)
	I wish I were stronger.
		(she pauses and looks 
		toward the window.)
	Do you think she's all right? Do you 
	think she's safe at the school?

			MELANIE
	Would you like me to go for her?

			LYDIA
	I couldn't ask you to.

			MELANIE
	I don't mind, really.

			LYDIA
	Would you? I'd feel so much better.

			MELANIE
	I'll just clear up here, and then 
	dress.

She picks up the tray and starts for the door.

			LYDIA
	Melanie?

At the door, Melanie turns.

CLOSE SHOT - LYDIA

her face soft.

			LYDIA
		(gently)
	Thank you for the tea.

						  DISSOLVE

EXT. BODEGA BAY - DAY - LONG SHOT

Melanie's car turns and goes up School Road.

EXT. SCHOOL - DAY - MED. SHOT

Closer shot of the car coming to a stop outside school.  
Inside the school, we HEAR the children SINGING.

			CHILDREN (O.S.)
	I married my wife in the month of 
	June. Ristle-tee, rostle-tee, mo, mo 
	mo!

MED. SHOT - MELANIE

smiling as she gets out of the car and heads for the school.

			CHILDREN (O.S.)
	I carried her off in a silver spoon.  
	Ristle-tee, rostle-tee, hey bombosity, 
	knickety-knackety, retro-retroquo- 
	quality, willoby-wallaby, quo-mo, 
	mo, mo!  Uality, willoby-wallaby, 
	quo-mo, mo, mo!

The CAMERA FOLLOWS Melanie into the school and down the 
corridor. The children's VOICES are LOUDER now.

			CHILDREN (O.S.)
	She combed her hair but once a year.  
	Ristle-tee, rostle-tee, Mo, mo, mo!  
	With every rake, she shed a tear.  
	Ristle-tee, rostle-tee, hey bombosity, 
	knickety-knackety, retro-quo-quality, 
	willoby-wallaby, Mo, mo, mo!

Melanie is at the door to Annie's room now. She opens the 
door and looks in.

FULL SHOT - ANNIE - MELANIE'S P.O.V.

leading the children in song. She catches sight of Melanie 
at the door. Melanie wiggles her fingers. Annie points to 
her wristwatch indicating that she'll be finished in a few 
minutes and motions for her to wait in the play-yard outside.  
Melanie turns and starts down the corridor again.

EXT. SCHOOL - MED. PANNING SHOT

Melanie emerges and strolls up street toward Annie's house.  
Inside the children are still singing.

			CHILDREN (O.S.)
	She swept the floor but once a year.  
	Ristle-tee, rostle-tee, mo, mo, mo!  
	She swore her broom was much too 
	dear. Ristle-tee, rostle-tee, hey 
	bombosity, knickety-knackety, retro-
	quo-quality, willoby-wallaby, mo, 
	mo, mo!

CLOSE SHOT

Melanie turns back and seats herself on seat in front of 
play yard.

			CHILDREN (O.S.)
	She churned the butter in Dad's old 
	boot. Ristle-tee, rostle-tee, mo, 
	mo, mo!  And for a dasher she used 
	her foot.  Ristle-tee, rostle-tee, 
	hey bombosity, knickety-knackety, 
	retro-quo-quality, willoby-wallaby, 
	mo, mo, mo!

CLOSE UP - MELANIE

A side profile of Melanie as she sits. Size of shot has seat 
on bottom of screen. We are shooting three-quarter toward 
the school.

			CHILDREN (O.S.)
	The butter came out a grizzle-y- 
	ygrey.  Ristle-tee, rostle-tee, grey.  
	Mo, mo, mo!  The cheese took legs 
	and ran away!  Ristle-tee, rostle-
	tee, hey bombosity, knickety-knackety, 
	retro-quo-quality, willoby-wallaby, 
	mo, mo, mo!

MED. SHOT - PLAY YARD

Three-quarter angle on play yard behind Melanie. A CROW 
alights on the Jungle Jim.

			CHILDREN (O.S.)
	I brought my wife a horse one day.  
	Ristle-tee, rostle-tee, mo, mo, mo!  
	She let the critter get away.  Ristle-
	tee, rostle-tee, hey bombosity, 
	knickety-knackety, retro-quo-quality, 
	willoby-wallaby, mo, mo, mo!

CLOSER SHOT - MELANIE

a nearer cut of Melanie same angle as previous. Waist shot.

MED. SHOT - PLAY YARD

again four more crows arrive.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

Nearer shot of Melanie smoking. Same angle. Just above waist - 
bust shot.

MED. SHOT - PLAY YARD

Again five more crows arrive.

CLOSE UP - MELANIE

head and shoulders of Melanie as she sits smoking. There is 
no sound except for the faint voices of the children singing 
inside the schoolhouse. Melanie is puffing away at her 
cigarette and occasionally glances in the direction of the 
school. We hold on this shot of Melanie for a very long time 
so that we are able to express her ignorance of what is going 
on behind her with the crows. After a wait of about what 
seems to be a half a minute or more, Melanie's attention is 
drawn to something above her.

MED. SHOT - SKY

A crows is coming down.

CLOSE UP - MELANIE

as her eyes follow the flight of the crow.

MED. SHOT - SKY

Crow moving down and LEFT to RIGHT, the sky and Annie's roof 
in the background.

CLOSE UP - MELANIE

Her head has twisted around to follow the flight of the crow.  
She is almost looking into the play yard.

MED. SHOT - PLAY YARD

A crow slowly descends to the play yard and as the CAMERA 
FOLLOWS it down, we see for the first time that the number 
of crows has increased to an alarming number - almost 200 or 
even perhaps 250. This last crow settles down with the others.

			CHILDREN (O.S.)
		(throughout preceding)
	I asked my wife to wash the floor.  
	Ristle-tee, rostle-tee, mo, mo, mo!  
	She gave me my hat and showed me the 
	door! Ristle-tee, rostle-tee, hey 
	bombosity, knickety-knackety,
	Retro-quo-quality,
		(the song slows -- it 
		is near the end)
	Willoby-wallaby, mmmmmmmo, mmmmmmmoo,
	Mo!

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE The CAMERA WHIPS UP as she leaps to her 
feet in alarm. Her body has turned, but we are now facing 
the opposite side of the school yard.

CLOSER SHOT - PLAY YARD

The play yard is full of crows.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

Big head of horrified Melanie.

MED. SHOT - PLAY YARD

A closer view of the menacing birds.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

Big profile of Melanie. She turns with back to CAMERA and 
goes toward school looking at crows as she goes away. The 
CAMERA FOLLOWS her for a few paces and then STOPS so that 
her image becomes smaller as she goes up steps into

EXT. PLAY YARD - DOLLY SHOT

A side view of the crows as seen by Melanie.

FULL SHOT - THE INTERIOR CORRIDOR

Melanie in headlong flight toward Annie's room.

			ANNIE (O.S.)
	All right, children. Now please put 
	your books in your desks, and bring 
	the songsheets to the front of the 
	room. No one's going out to play 
	until I have all the songsheets.

FULL SHOT - THE ROOM

Annie is lining the children up near the door leading to the 
play yard.

			ANNIE
	We're not going outside until we 
	quiet down. Ralph? Did you hear me?

The children mutter for a moment, and then are still.

			ANNIE
	All right now.

She begins opening the play yard door. Suddenly, the door 
from the corridor bursts open, and Melanie rushes wildly 
INTO the room. She goes directly to Annie, shoves her out of 
the way, and SLAMS shut the play yard door.

CLOSE SHOT - ANNIE

			ANNIE
	wh...?

TWO SHOT - ANNIE AND MELANIE

against a background of children's VOICES, as they react to 
this new excitement.

			MELANIE
	Outside.

LONG SHOT - THE CROWS - THROUGH THE WINDOWS TWO SHOT - ANNIE 
AND MELANIE

			MELANIE
	We've got to get the children out of 
	here. These big windows... there's 
	no way to board them up.

Annie gives a quick nod, understanding immediately.

FULL SHOT - THE ROOM

Through the windows, we can see the waiting crows. One moves 
restlessly into flight, then settles on the equipment again.

			ANNIE
	Quiet down, children! Quiet down!

The children modulate into silence.

			ANNIE
	Miss Daniels wants to see how we 
	conduct ourselves during a fire drill. 
	I'd like you to...

			CHILDREN
		(grumbling in Unison)
	A fire drill? This is our play period, 
	Miss Hayworth! Gee whiz!  Etc.

			ANNIE
	I'd like you to show her how quiet 
	and obedient you can be.

The children again fall silent.

			ANNIE
	We're going to go out of the school 
	now. Those of you who live nearby 
	can go directly home. I want the 
	rest of you to go down the hill, all 
	the way to the hotel. Do you 
	understand?

			CHILDREN
	All the way down the hill? Gee, Miss 
	Hayworth, we never... Home? Why do 
	we...?

			ANNIE
		(shushing them)
	I want you to go as quietly as you 
	can, not a sound, until I tell you 
	to run. And then I want you to run 
	as fast as you can. Does everyone 
	understand?
		(pause - silence)
	All right. John, would you lead the 
	class, please?

The children walk two-by-two to the corridor door. John opens 
it, and they begin filing out. Melanie turns to look at the 
play yard.

CLOSE SHOT - A SINGLE CROW

fluttering at the window, almost in exploration. He hangs 
there for a moment, then wings back to the playground 
equipment.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

			MELANIE
		(whispering)
	Hurry!

EXT. PLAY YARD - FULL SHOT (6)

straight on of all the crows.

NEARER SHOT - PLAY YARD (8)

but a different angle.

CLOSER SHOT - PLAY YARD (10)

but a different angle from the others

CLOSE SHOT - (12)

A low angle of five or six crows filling the screen.

EXT. PLAY YARD

The screen is filled with crows. About fifty or more. All of 
a sudden we HEAR the distant PATTERING of children's feet as 
they start running. Immediately the crows rise and the CAMERA 
PANS UP with them into the sky.

EXT. SCHOOL ROAD - LONG SHOT - (PLATE) (15)

The FULL SHOT showing the children running toward the CAMERA - 
Annie herding them at the rear. The crows - about two hundred - 
rising over the schoolhouse roof and descending toward and 
reaching the running children. Shot as a moving background 
with six or seven children in front on a treadmill with the 
mechanical birds coming into top of screen as though 
continuing on from the plate. The birds swing around and 
among the foreground children.

EXT. SCHOOL ROAD (4) (S)

A side view of running children with Melanie in front urging 
them forward. Birds fly between them, two or three others 
wheel around, one live one sweeps by in foreground.

EXT. SCHOOL ROAD (3) (P)

Three or four children running. Birds overhead - one or two 
children spread out as others come in from sides and take 
their places. Birds swerve in and out.

EXT. SCHOOL ROAD (2) (S)

Profile of running child. Bird catches up and bites.

EXT. SCHOOL ROAD (3) (S)

A nearer side on view without Melanie. Birds wheeling in and 
out - others overhead.

EXT. SCHOOL ROAD (1) (P)

Bird on top of girl's head (showing feet and wings).

EXT. SCHOOL ROAD (2) (S)

A three-quarter back of two children running - lots of birds 
overhead and others wheeling. Screen almost full of birds.

EXT. SCHOOL ROAD (1) (P)

One-half child's face - a bird's head and beak on left, 
dashing round to the child.

EXT. SCHOOL ROAD - CLOSE UP (L)

of feet running.

EXT. SCHOOL ROAD - HIGH MOVING SHOT (6) (L)

showing the crows among the running children.

EXT. SCHOOL ROAD (1) (P)

Big head of girl - bird lands on her right shoulder - wing 
over her face.

EXT. SCHOOL ROAD (1) (P)

One SCREAMING child as bird swoops from top left down to 
lower right.

EXT. SCHOOL ROAD (2) (S)

Head and shoulders of boy who ducks behind pole -- bird goes 
by as another attacks him from right-hand side.

EXT. SCHOOL ROAD (1) (FP)

Back view of boy's head running. He looks back.

EXT. SCHOOL ROAD (½) (P)

Big head of bird coming at CAMERA.

EXT. SCHOOL ROAD (1) (FP)

Back view of little girl running. She looks over her shoulder.

EXT. SCHOOL ROAD (½) (P)

Big head of bird coming into CAMERA.

EXT. SCHOOL ROAD (3) (L)

Straight back CLOSE SHOT of Annie dragging slow children. No 
birds in back, but several wheeling around them.

EXT. SCHOOL ROAD - HIGH MOVING SHOT (6) (L)

showing the crows chasing the children down the street - 
with the Bay in the distance.

EXT. SCHOOL ROAD (3) (S)

A bird dives to head of Michele and she falls OUT of picture.

EXT. SCHOOL ROAD - CLOSE UP (1) (L)

of Michele as she hits ground.

EXT. SCHOOL ROAD - CLOSE UP (½) (L)

Her glasses smash.

EXT. SCHOOL ROAD (2) (S)

Flash Cathy - she sees and runs back. Birds swirling around.

EXT. SCHOOL ROAD (1) (S)

Six birds descend on fallen Michele - legs running by.

EXT. SCHOOL ROAD (3) (S)

Cathy RUSHES IN. She disperses birds and bends to pick up 
Michele.

EXT. SCHOOL ROAD (2) (S)

Melanie stops, looks back and sees Cathy and Michele, heads 
of other children rushing by in foreground. Birds swirling.  
Melanie dashes out left.

EXT. SCHOOL ROAD (3) (S)

Melanie reaches Cathy and Michele -- Michele is now on her 
feet. Birds swirling -- Melanie looks about -- sees.

EXT. SCHOOL ROAD (2) (L)

Station wagon across the street. Birds swirling about and 
children running by.

EXT. SCHOOL ROAD (5) (L)

Melanie drags Cathy and Michele to the station wagon. We see 
the Bay in the distance and children running on the bottom 
of the street.

INT. STATION WAGON - CLOSE SHOT (8) (S)

Shooting inside the wagon across the front seat. The three 
scramble in, Cathy first, then Michele and Melanie last --

the door SLAMS on crows swooping around. Cathy and Michele 
are SCREAMING with fright.

INT. STATION WAGON - P.O.V. (3) (FP)

Through the windshield we see crows attacking. Bay and running 
children in distance.

INT. STATION WAGON (3) (P)

The faces of the three - Birds are fluttering on the rear 
window.

INT. STATION WAGON - MELANIE (3) (P)

wheel in foreground. She starts to slam hand on horn ring.

INT. STATION WAGON (2) (S)

Crows attacking side window.

INT. STATION WAGON (2) (S)

Hand on horn ring.

INT. STATION WAGON (2) (P)

Cathy and Michele's faces huddled together.

INT. STATION WAGON (2) (P)

Melanie's big head - she looks down.

INT. STATION WAGON - CLOSE UP (1) (P)

Knob of wiper -- her hand comes in and pulls it out.

INT. STATION WAGON (3) (FP)

Wipers starting. Crows retreat.

INT. STATION WAGON (2) (P)

The three faces staring out.

INT. STATION WAGON - P.O.V. (3) (P)

through windshield. The crows are starting to go away.

INT. STATION WAGON (2) (P)

Melanie looks out and sees:

EXT. SCHOOL ROAD - P.O.V. (6) (FP)

through windshield. Annie running back with stick. She beats 
the last of the crows away.

INT. STATION WAGON (6) (S)

Melanie flops in exhaustion over the wheel as Annie comes 
round to the side window and starts to open the door.

						  DISSOLVE

INT. THE TIDES - FULL SHOT

It is lunchtime and there is a busy bustle to the place as 
DEKE CARTER officiates behind the bar and HELEN CARTER, his 
wife, rushes back and forth between diners at the tables. A 
DRUNK sits at the bar, old, grizzled, the weary wisdom of 
booze in him. In one of the booths sits SEBASTIAN SHOLES in 
his shirt sleeves, eating a hurried lunch quickly and 
efficiently. A WOMAN and TWO CHILDREN are seated at another 
table, about to order. A party of noisy SALESMAN is laughing 
and clowning around throughout following at a table in the 
rear. The phone from behind the bar has been placed on the 
counter, and Melanie is speaking into it while Deke listens.  
Over her head, the television set is blasting with its 
perennial Western, the gun shots punctuating her conversation.

			MELANIE
	Daddy, there were hundreds of them.  
	No, I'm not hysterical, I'm trying 
	to tell you this as calmly as I know 
	how. All right, Daddy. Yes Daddy.
		(she takes a deep 
		breath)
	Just now.  Not... fifteen minutes 
	ago.

The door to the Tides opens and MRS. BUNDY, sixtyish, wearing 
walking shoes and a tweed suit, a very masculine-looking 
woman with short clipped white hair, comes in, passes through 
foreground, goes to bar, her attention slowly caught by what 
Melanie is saying.

			MELANIE
	At the school. No, I don't. Just a 
	minute.
		(to Deke)
	What's the name of the school?

			DEKE
	Just the Bodega Bay School.
		(to Mrs. Bundy)
	Help you, Mrs. Bundy?

			MRS. BUNDY
	I need some change, Mr. Carter.

As Deke opens cash register...

			MELANIE
	The Bodega Bay School.
		(to Deke)
	Could you turn that down, please?

Deke gives Mrs. Bundy her change, turns off television.

			MELANIE
	I don't know how many children.
	Thirty or forty. Yes.

Mrs. Bundy goes to cigarette machine, pauses to listen to 
Melanie.

			MELANIE
	No, the birds didn't attack until 
	the children were outside the school. 
	Crows, I think. I don't know, Daddy. 
	Is there a difference between crows 
	and blackbirds?

			MRS. BUNDY
		(turning from machine)
	There is very definitely a difference, 
	Miss.

			MELANIE
	They're different, Daddy.
		(to Mrs. Bundy)
	Thank you.
		(into phone)
	I think these were crows. Yes, 
	hundreds of them. Yes, they attacked 
	the children, attacked them.
		(exasperated)
	Daddy, a little girl was sent to the 
	hospital in Santa Rosa. Well, all 
	right, but you act as if I'm... all 
	right, all right.
		(pause)
	No, I can't come home now. I just 
	can't, Daddy. How is it there? I 
	mean... are there birds? In the sky?  
	But no trouble. Well, I hope...
		(pause)
	I don't know when. I simply can't 
	leave now. Tell Mother not to worry.  
	All right, Daddy, good-by.

She hangs up. Mrs. Bundy is at her elbow.

			MRS. BUNDY
	They're both perching birds, of 
	course, but of quite different 
	species. The crow is brachyrhynchos. 
	The blackbird is cyanocephalus.

			MELANIE
	Thank you.
		(to Deke)
	Do you know Dan Fawcett's number?

			DEKE
	In the book right here, Miss.

As Melanie looks it up...

			DEKE
		(to Mrs. Bundy)
	I don't see what difference it makes, 
	Mrs. Bundy, crows or blackbirds. If 
	they attacked the school, that's 
	pretty serious.

			MRS. BUNDY
		(with a superior smile)
	I hardly think either species would 
	have the intelligence to launch a 
	massed attack. Their brain pans aren't 
	large enough for such...

			MELANIE
		(dialing)
	I just came from the school, madam.  
	I don't know about their brain pans 
	but...

			MRS. BUNDY
	Birds are not aggressive creatures, 
	Miss. They bring beauty to the world. 
	It is mankind, rather, who...

			HELEN
		(going to door leading 
		to kitchen)
	Three Southern fried chicken, Sam.  
	Baked potato on all of them.

LAUGHTER from salesman at table.

			MELANIE
		(into phone)
	Hello, may I speak to Mitch Brenner, 
	please?
		(pause)
	Yes, I'll wait.

			MRS. BUNDY
		(continuing to Deke)
	...insist on making it difficult for 
	life to survive on this planet. If 
	it weren't for birds...

			DEKE
	Mrs. Bundy, you don't seem to 
	understand. This young lady says 
	there was an attack on the school.

			MRS. BUNDY
	Impossible.

			MELANIE
		(in background)
	Mitch? I'm glad I caught you.  
	Something terrible has happened.

Her background conversation continues through following:

			DRUNK
		(suddenly)
	It's the end of the world!

			HELEN
	What's this about the school?

			DEKE
	Bunch of crows attacked the school, 
	Helen.

			DRUNK
	It's the end of the world.
		(suddenly quoting)
	"Thus saith the Lord God to the 
	mountains, and to the hills, to the 
	rivers and to the valleys; Behold, 
	I, even I, will bring a sword upon 
	you, and I will destroy your high 
	places.

			HELEN
	The Lord's not destroying anything, 
	Jason.

			DRUNK
	"In all your dwelling places, the 
	cities shall be laid waste, and the 
	high places shall be laid waste!"
		(he nods)
	Ezekiel, Chapter six.

			HELEN
		(quoting)
	"Woe unto them that rise up early in 
	the morning that they may follow 
	strong drink."

			DRUNK
		(nodding)
	Isaiah, Chapter 5. It's the end of 
	the world.

			MELANIE
	Yes, all right, I'll wait for you.  
	Good-by.
		(she hangs up)

			MRS. BUNDY
		(laughing)
	I hardly think a few birds are going 
	to bring about the end of the world.

			MELANIE
		(turning to her)
	These weren't a few birds.

CLOSE SHOT - THE WOMAN AND THE CHILDREN

waiting for their lunch, listening to the conversation; 
becoming very nervous.

BACK TO SCENE

			DEKE
	I didn't even know there were many 
	crows in Bodega Bay this time of 
	year.

			MRS. BUNDY
	The crow is a permanent resident 
	throughout its range. In fact, during 
	our Christmas Count, we recorded...

CLOSE SHOT - SHOLES

eating.

			SHOLES
		(suddenly, from his 
		table)
	How many gulls did you count, Mrs.  
	Bundy?

BACK TO SCENE

			MRS. BUNDY
	Which gulls, Mr. Sholes? There are 
	several varieties.

			SHOLES
	The ones that've been raising the 
	devil with my fishing boats.

			MRS. BUNDY
	Probably herring gulls. They arrive 
	in November, you know, and don't 
	migrate North again until March or...

			MELANIE
		(leaping upon this)
	Have you had trouble with gulls?

			SHOLES
	One of my boats did last week.

			DEKE
		(making a connection)
	This young lady got hit by a gull 
	only Saturday.

			SAM'S VOICE
		(from kitchen)
	Pick up the chicken.

			HELEN
	Now it's gulls. A minute ago, it was 
	crows.
		(she picks up tray, 
		shrugs, goes to table)
	Deke, I'm still waiting for those 
	Bloody Marys!

			DEKE
	Coming right up!

CLOSE SHOT - WOMAN

as Helen brings food. She is beginning to get really 
frightened.

			WOMAN
	Could you ask them to lower their 
	voices, please? They're frightening 
	the children.

			LITTLE GIRL
	Timmy has a canary.

			HELEN
	That's nice. Are you Timmy?

			LITTLE BOY
	My cousin is Timmy.

BACK TO SCENE

			SAM'S VOICE
		(leaving table, coming 
		to bar)
	A whole flock of gulls nearby capsized 
	one of my boats.  Practically tore 
	of the skipper's arm.

			HELEN
		(coming back)
	You're scaring the kids. Keep it 
	low.

			DEKE
	You're scaring me, too. Are you trying 
	to say all these...
		(he shakes his head)
	That sounds impossible, Sebastian.

			SHOLES
	I'm only telling you what happened 
	to my boat.

			MRS. BUNDY
	The gulls were after your fish, Mr.  
	Sholes. Really, let's be logical 
	about this.

			MELANIE
	What were the crows after at the 
	school?

			MRS. BUNDY
	What do you think they were after, 
	Miss...?

			MELANIE
	Daniels. I think they were after the 
	children.

			MRS. BUNDY
	For what purpose?

			MELANIE
	To...
		(she hesitates)
	To kill them.

There is a long silence.

			MRS. BUNDY
	Why?

Another silence.

			MELANIE
	I don't know why.

			MRS. BUNDY
	I thought not. Birds have been on 
	this planet since archaeopteryx, 
	Miss Daniels; a hundred and twenty 
	million years ago!

A TRAVELING SALESMAN ENTERS, goes to bar, listens.

			MRS. BUNDY
	Doesn't it seem odd that they'd wait 
	all that time to start a... a war 
	against humanity?

			MELANIE
	No one called it a war!

			SALESMAN
	Scotch, light on the water.

			MRS. BUNDY
	You and Mr. Sholes seem to be implying 
	as much.

			HELEN
	Are you finished here, Sebastian?

			SHOLES
	Let me have some apple pie, Helen.
		(to Mrs. Bundy)
	Who said anything about war? All I 
	said was that some gulls...

			HELEN
		(yelling to kitchen)
	One apple pie! You want more coffee?

			SHOLES
	No. ...came down on one of my boats.  
	They could have been after the fish, 
	just as you said.

			SALESMAN
	Your captain should have shot at 
	them.

			SHOLES
	What?

			SALESMAN
	Gulls are scavengers, anyway. Most 
	birds are. If you ask me, we should 
	wipe them all out. World would be 
	better off without them.

			MRS. BUNDY
		(outraged)
	Birds?

			SALESMAN
	Yeah, birds. All they do is make a 
	mess of everything. Who needs them?

			MRS. BUNDY
	We need them.

			SALESMAN
	Not if they're starting a war.

			MRS. BUNDY
	They are incapable of organized 
	warfare!

			MELANIE
	Have you ever seen a jay protecting 
	a nest?

			MRS. BUNDY
	I have seen jays doing everything it 
	is conceivable for jays to do.  
	Ornithology happens to be my 
	avocation, Miss Daniels. You're 
	talking about preservation of the 
	species, a hen protecting her young.  
	There's a vast difference between...

			MELANIE
	Maybe they're all protecting the 
	species. Maybe they're tired of being 
	shot at and roasted in ovens and...

			MRS. BUNDY
	Are you discussing gamebirds now?  
	All birds are not gamebirds, you 
	know.

			MELANIE
	I don't know anything about birds 
	except that they're attacking this 
	town.

			SALESMAN
	Then fight back. Get yourselves guns 
	and wipe them off the face of the 
	earth.

			MRS. BUNDY
	That would hardly be possible.

			DEKE
	Why not, Mrs. Bundy?

			MRS. BUNDY
	Because there are 8,650 species of 
	birds in the world today, Mr. Carter. 
	It's estimated that five billion, 
	seven hundred and fifty million birds 
	live in the United States alone. The 
	five continents of the world...

			SALESMAN
		(muttering)
	Kill them all. Get rid of them.  
	Messy animals.

			MRS. BUNDY
	...probably contain more than a 
	hundred billion birds!

			DRUNK
	It's the end of the world!

			DEKE
	Well, we seem to have more than our 
	share of them right now, Mrs. Bundy.  
	Maybe this young lady's right.  Maybe 
	they've all gone crazy.

			HELEN
	Here's your pie, Sebastian. You want 
	it at the table?

			SHOLES
	No. Here's fine.
		(he begins eating)

			HELEN
	Where are the Bloody Marys, Deke?

			DEKE
	Coming.

			HELEN
		(angrily)
	Are we running a business here -- or 
	a bird sanctuary?

			SHOLES
		(beginning to change 
		his mind)
	Actually, those gulls must have been 
	after the fish.

			MRS. BUNDY
	Of course.

			SHOLES
	Makes a lot more sense than... well, 
	an attack.

			MRS. BUNDY
	Of course it does. If we believe 
	that birds are attacking, why... why 
	next we'll believe that grasshoppers 
	and cockroaches are capable of...

			DRUNK
	Cockroaches!  Urghh!

CLOSE SHOT - WOMAN

getting more and more anxious.

			WOMAN
	Hurry, children. Finish your lunch.

			BOY
	Are the birds gonna eat us, Mommy?

			SHOLES
	Maybe we're all getting a little 
	carried away by this. Admittedly, a 
	few birds acted strangely. That's no 
	reason to believe...

			MELANIE
	This isn't a few birds! I keep telling 
	you that! These are gulls and swifts 
	and crows and...

			MRS. BUNDY
	And what? Vultures? Hawks? Eagles?

			MELANIE
	Maybe! Is it impossible?

			MRS. BUNDY
	Yes. I have never known birds of 
	different species to flock together.  
	The very concept is unimaginable.
		(laughing)
	Why if that happened, we wouldn't 
	have a chance. How could we possible 
	hope to fight them?

			SHOLES
	We couldn't. You're right, Mrs.  
	Bundy.

			WOMAN
		(calling from table)
	Excuse me, may I have a check, please?

			HELEN
		(concerned)
	Is everything all right, ma'am?

			WOMAN
	Yes, I... I'm anxious to get on the 
	road.

			SAM
		(coming from kitchen)
	What's the matter? Something wrong 
	out here?

			DEKE
	Nothing's wrong.

			SAM
	All this shouting.

			MRS. BUNDY
	We're fighting a war, Sam.

			SAM
	A war? Against who? Did the 
	Russians...?

			SHOLES
	Against birds.

			WOMAN
		(suddenly)
	I'm glad you all think this is so 
	amusing. You've frightened my children 
	half out of their wits.

			BOY
	I'm not scared, Mommy.

			WOMAN
	Keep quiet. If that young lady saw 
	an attack on the school, why won't 
	you believe her?

			SAM
	What attack? Who attacked the school?

			WOMAN
	Birds did. Crows! And you're all 
	sitting around here debating! What 
	do you want them to do next? Crash 
	through that window?

			LITTLE GIRL
		(frightened by her 
		mother)
	Mommy!

			WOMAN
	Quiet! Why don't you all get home?  
	Lock your doors and windows!
		(her hysteria rising)
	Put on your coats, children!
		(to Deke)
	What's the fastest road to San 
	Francisco?

			DEKE
	The freeway, ma'am.

			WOMAN
	Where do I get it?

			SALESMAN
	I'm going out that way, lady. You 
	can follow me.

			WOMAN
	Then let's go. Now!

			SALESMAN
	I haven't finished my drink.

			WOMAN
		(on edge of panic, 
		shouting at her 
		children)
	Put on your coats! Do you want to 
	get trapped here?

			BOY
	I can't find my scarf.

			WOMAN
	Look in your sleeve!

The door opens. Mitch and Al Malone come in.

			MITCH
	Melanie?

At the far table, the salesman begin singing, rowdily.

			MITCH
		(going to her)
	I got here as fast as I could.  
	Where's Cathy?

			MELANIE
	At Annie's house. She's all right.

			SAM
	Al, why aren't you over there where 
	the attack was?

			MALONE
	Because I just got back from Dan 
	Fawcett's place, that's why.

			MITCH
	He was killed last night. By birds.

			MALONE
	Now hold it, Mitch. You don't know 
	that for a fact.

			MRS. BUNDY
	What are the facts, Mr. Malone?

			MALONE
	Santa Rosa police think it was a 
	felony murder. They think a burglar 
	broke in and killed him.

			WOMAN
	Were the Santa Rosa police at your 
	school today?
		(impatiently, to 
		salesman)
	Are you coming?

			SALESMAN
	Take it easy, lady.
		(through window)
	There isn't a bird anywhere in sight.

			DRUNK
		(quoting)
	"Look at the birds of the air: they 
	do not sow or read, yet your heavenly 
	father feeds them."

			WOMAN
	I'll never feed another bird as long 
	as I live!

			SALESMAN
	Something like this happened in Santa 
	Cruz last year. The town was covered 
	with seagulls.

			WOMAN
	Can't you please finish your drink?

			MRS. BUNDY
	That's right, sir, I recall it. A 
	large flock of seagulls got lost in 
	a fog and headed in for the town, 
	where all the lights were.

			SALESMAN
	They made some mess, too, smashing 
	into houses and everything.
		(shaking his head)
	They always make a mess. We're better 
	off without them.

			MRS. BUNDY
	The point is that no one seemed to 
	get upset about it. They were gone 
	the next morning, just as if nothing 
	at all had happened. Poor things.

			WOMAN
	I'm leaving! Are you coming?

			SALESMAN
	All right, all right!
		(he downs his drink)
	Hope you figure this out, folks.

			DRUNK
	It's the end of the world.

The Tides is silent for a moment.

			SHOLES
	Well, I'd better get back to the 
	cannery. What do I owe you, Deke?

			DEKE
	Let's see. Scallops and coffee...

			MITCH
	Hold it just a minute, Sebastian.

Sholes turns to him.

CLOSE SHOT - MITCH

his face very serious.

			MITCH
	Sebastian, I'm not an alarmist.

			SHOLES
	No one ever said you were, Mitch.

			MITCH
		(flatly)
	I think we're in trouble. I don't 
	know how or why this started, but I 
	know it's here and I know we'd be 
	crazy to ignore it.

			MRS. BUNDY
		(sarcastically)
	Ignore what? The bird war?

			MITCH
		(exploding)
	Yes, the bird war, the bird attack, 
	the bird plague, you can call it 
	what you want to, they're out there 
	massing someplace and they'll be 
	back, you can count on that!

			MRS. BUNDY
	Ridiculous!

			MITCH
	Mrs. Bundy, why don't you go home 
	and polish your binoculars?

			SAM
	Go on, Mitch.

			MITCH
	If we don't do something now, if we 
	don't get Bodega Bay on the move...

			SHOLES
	Look, Mitch, even if this is true, 
	even if all the birds...

			MITCH
	Do you believe it's true, Sebastian?

			SHOLES
		(after a long pause)
	No. I don't, Mitch. Because I can't 
	see any reason for it.

			MITCH
	It's happening. Isn't that a good 
	enough reason?

			SHOLES
		(thoughtfully)
	I like Bodega Bay as well as any 
	man. If I thought...
		(he shakes his head)

			MITCH
	Then help me, Sebastian. You're an 
	important man in this town. If you'll 
	help, the rest will.

			SHOLES
	Help how? What do you want to do?

			MITCH
	I'm not sure, but...

			SHOLES
	If you don't even know what you want 
	to do...

			MELANIE
	Listen to him, please.

			SAM
		(taking position beside 
		Melanie)
	You listen to him, Sebastian!

			MITCH
	I only know we've got to drive them 
	away from town -- before they drive 
	us away.

			SHOLES
	How?

			MITCH
	Mrs. Bundy, you said something about 
	Santa Cruz. About seagulls getting 
	lost in the fog, and heading in for 
	the lights.

			DEKE
	We don't have any fog this time of 
	year, Mitch.

			MITCH
	We'll make our own fog.

			SHOLES
	How do you plan to do that?

			MITCH
	With smoke.

			MALONE
	There's an ordinance against burning 
	anything in this town, unless it's...

			MITCH
	We'll use smoke pots. Like the Army 
	uses.

			DEKE
	What good'll that do? Smoke's as bad 
	as birds.

			MRS. BUNDY
	Birds are not bad!

			SHOLES
	How can we go on living here if we 
	blanket the town with smoke?

			MITCH
	Can we go on living here otherwise?

Pause. They are silent.

			SAM
		(slowly)
	It's worth a try, Sebastian.

There is more silence as they all consider. And then suddenly:

			MELANIE
	Look!

They turn toward the window.

TIDES CAR PARK - FULL SHOT

Viewed from the side window inside the Tides we see three or 
four gulls diving down toward the highway over the roof of 
the Tides Office. Two more swoop into the foreground of the 
window and out to the left.

			DEKE
		(alarmed)
	Gulls!

			MITCH
	They're back!

			SHOLES
	They're only the usual... What are 
	you...

TIDES TOWN - LONG SHOT

The first gull reaches the gas station but misses the 
attendant who is in the act of filling the car. The owner is 
seen disappearing into the men's room.

INT. TIDES

A quick flash of the group of faces at the window of the 
Tides Restaurant.

TIDES TOWN - MED. SHOT

A nearer view of the gas station. A second gull hits the man 
on the back -- he falls -- hits his head on the pump and 
then collapses over the gasoline hose pipe, pulling it out 
and causing it to spill. The third and fourth gulls sweep 
by.  The gas begins to flow away.

MED. SHOT - MELANIE AND MITCH

inside the Tides. Mitch dashes toward the door -- Melanie 
after him. Through the glass windows into the street we see 
people dashing off to the right, in the direction of the gas 
station. At the door, Mitch turns.

			MITCH
		(to Melanie)
	Stay back in here.

Deke Carter comes running from behind the bar to join Mitch.  
They both EXIT. Melanie dashes back to her original place at 
the window. The CAMERA RETREATING with her, we come to the 
window and over Melanie's shoulder we see the men arrive to 
rescue the attacked gas station attendant.

Three or four gulls are still attacking and they flutter 
away as the men appear to beat them off. Suddenly Melanie in 
the foreground turns in full profile to her right and looks 
down.

TIDES CAR PARK - MED. SHOT

on the sloping pavement before her a stream of gasoline is 
flowing to the right into the car park.

CLOSE SHOT - GASOLINE

flowing down to the car park.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

through the window. She suddenly looks toward the gas station.

MED. SHOT - THE CAMERA PANS

along the flowing gas back to the station.

CLOSEUP - MELANIE

She turns back to the car park.

FROM MELANIE'S VIEWPOINT

We see the flow of gasoline trickling toward the car parked 
below her. At this particular moment, a car has pulled up, 
has come to a stop and a man emerges. He is in the act of 
lighting his dead cigar, but his attention is drawn to the 
happenings around the gas station. With this half-drawn 
attention, he strikes the match and holds it to the cigar.

CLOSEUP - MELANIE

She quickly slides the window open and yells down to the 
man.

FROM MELANIE'S VIEWPOINT

The man looks about him, holding the match I his fingers. As 
he catches sight of Melanie, the match burns his finger and 
he drops it.

CLOSEUP - MELANIE

Her horror-stricken face.

FULL SHOT - THE PARKING AREA

Three fast explosions in a row as the man's car, Mitch's 
car, and the one next to it go up in flames.

CLOSE SHOT - THE HORRIFIED FACE OF MELANIE

TURNING TO SEE

FULL SHOT - THE GAS STATION

The line of flame running swiftly from the burning cars, 
following the gasoline on the ground, directly to the pump, 
which blows up as the men are jumping away with the injured 
attendant.

EXT. TIDES TOWN AND CAR PARK - MATTE SHOT

A very high shot shows the beginning of the people of the 
town rushing around the car park and the streets across the 
highway, endeavoring to put out the two fires. We see 
automobiles coming to a stop on Highway One, and the oil 
smoke beginning to rise from the burning gas station and the 
parked cars. Some men have managed to start a fire hose and 
have trained it on the burning cars. Suddenly but slowly the 
foreground in the sky just below the CAMERA begins to fill 
with wheeling gulls. The whole picture below becomes 
obliterated by the foreground birds who now begin to swoop 
down on the town.

EXT. TIDES TOWN

A raking shot outside the Tides Restaurant showing the phone 
booth and motel off in the background. People are rushing 
out from the restaurant and look up in the sky. Gulls begin 
to descend into the scene, driving the people back into the 
restaurant. Melanie is seen in the distance calling for Mitch:

			MELANIE
	Mitch...! Mitch!

We see her look up to the sky.

LONG SHOT - THE SKY

The sky is full of seagulls.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

Looking about her frantically. She turns her face up again 
to see the descending gulls. She is driven to take refuge in 
the phone booth.

CLOSEUP - INSIDE THE PHONE BOOTH - MELANIE

slams the door shut. Gulls are now beating at the glass all 
around her.

EXT. TIDES TOWN

From Melanie's viewpoint inside the booth we see the people 
who have been rushing to put out the fire now faced with 
clouds of birds coming on them.

CLOSEUP - MELANIE

looking out in terrified alarm but still searching with her 
eyes for Mitch.

MED. SHOT - PEOPLE RUSHING FROM THE TIDES

CLOSEUP - MELANIE

in the phone booth. She turns and looks swiftly in the 
direction of the car park.

EXT. TIDES CAR PARK

Some men have secured a hose and are obviously getting water 
from the bay. They are turning the stream onto the burning 
cars. At this time, the birds are filling the area around 
them. They suddenly turn the hose up into the birds.

CLOSEUP - MELANIE

Her eyes turn up quickly.

LONG SHOT - FROM HER VIEWPOINT

We see the stream of water swing to and from among the birds.  
Melanie turns back from this at the sound of a roaring car.

EXT. TIDES TOWN - FROM HER VIEWPOINT

We see a car zig zag down from the town in a drunken manner 
coming toward her in the phone booth.  We can see birds flying 
in and out of the windows of the car.  We can see the arm 
and hand of the driver trying to beat them away. In the 
background of this scene we see the fire truck arrive.

CLOSEUP - THE HORRIFIED FACE OF MELANIE

as the car comes toward her in the booth.

EXT. TIDES TOWN

At the last minute, the car swerves away from the booth.

CLOSER SHOT

A side view of the car after practically scraping the side 
of the booth. We see that it's full of birds attacking the 
driver. As it goes by, it near tilts over to inadvertently 
give us a view of its interior.

FLASH CLOSEUP - MELANIE

watching the car.

EXT. TIDES CAR PARK

The car goes on and smashes into the other burning cars. It 
explodes.

CLOSEUP - MELANIE

Suddenly she hears the firing of a gun. She turns.

TIDES TOWN - LONG SHOT

She sees a man with a gun shooting up at birds but to no 
avail. One or two descend upon him. He throws the gun down 
and rushes back into the Tides Office. Melanie, with a slight 
turn, now sees:

THE TIDES TOWN

The fire volunteers with birds descending around them drop 
their hose.

CLOSER SHOT

shows the hose snaking wildly and jumping. At one moment the 
water turns and comes in a powerful stream hitting the windows 
of the phone booth.

CLOSEUP - MELANIE

recoils from this water attack. Through the streaming window 
she sees the fire volunteers rushing away for cover. To the 
left we see a horse with its head covered with gulls; its 
palomino-colored body covered with crows. It is bucking and 
leaping and kicking its van to pieces.

At this moment the scene is obliterated by the appearance of 
a man groping his way closely past the phone booth windows.  
His face is poring with blood: his head and shoulders are 
covered with attacking birds. He disappears from sight.  
Melanie, now almost in a faint, opens her eyes to see Tides 
Town. Through the booth window she sees Mitch and Deke Carter, 
the owner of the Tides, coming down toward the CAMERA and 
waving the birds away from them with flailing arms.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

opens the booth doors and starts out with a cry of 
recognition, but she has barely stepped out when more gulls 
crash around the booth causing her to go back.

CLOSEUP - MELANIE IN PROFILE

looking out again toward Mitch.

EXT. TIDES TOWN

Through window she sees Deke Carter run off in one direction 
while Mitch suddenly sees a child at the window of the burning 
building adjacent to the flaming and smoking gas station. 
Mitch dashes across and goes up the short staircase into the 
smoking building.

CLOSEUP - MELANIE

looking across in horror.

LONG SHOT - THE BURNING BUILDING

For a moment there is no sign of anyone about, then suddenly 
Mitch appears with the small child at the window. He calls 
down. One man dashes from the direction of the Tides Office, 
another from the Tides Restaurant. They both wait below the 
window as Mitch drops the child.

FLASH - MELANIE

watching this breathlessly.

CLOSER SHOT

The moment the child has dropped, Mitch suddenly looks up.  
He slams the window as two or three birds crash into the 
windows. They disappear into the building.

CLOSEUP - MELANIE

holding her breath.

LONG SHOT - THE BURNING BUILDING

No sign of Mitch.

CLOSEUP - MELANIE

getting more desperate.

CLOSEUP - BUILDING

No sign of Mitch. Suddenly a chair flies through the window 
and Mitch climbs OUT and drops to the ground.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

opening the door of the booth, yells out to him.

LONG SHOT - MITCH

sees her and starts running toward the booth.

HIGH SHOT - MITCH

beating his way through the birds. He reaches the booth.

LOW SHOT

close to the Tides Restaurant entrance. We see Mitch drag 
Melanie from the phone booth and run with her toward the 
CAMERA through the birds into the restaurant.

INT. THE TIDES

There must be at least twenty people all looking toward the 
windows. It is as though they are hiding from a storm. The 
CAMERA is high enough to see Melanie and Mitch COME IN, very 
hurriedly close the door. We see the gulls wheeling outside.  
There is a kind of stunned silence among the people. We can 
hear the sound of the screaming gulls outside. Suddenly a 
woman's voice SCREAMS out:

			WOMAN
	Why are they doing it?! Why are they 
	doing it...?!

Some of the heads of the group turn.

CLOSE SHOT

It is the woman who had the two children screaming at Mrs.  
Bundy who is seated in a booth table staring numb and 
helpless. Mrs. Bundy turns and looks at her and mutters some 
words.

			MRS. BUNDY
		([Mrs. Bundy offers a 
		weak explanation of 
		why the birds could 
		have gone berserk 
		like this. This 
		information should 
		be obtained from Dr. 
		Stager.])

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE AND MITCH

looking across at this slight scene. They turn back and over 
their shoulders the gulls seem to be in much less quantity.

			MITCH
		(looking up)
	I think they're going.

Melanie follows his look. At this moment there is a loud 
CRASH OF GLASS. They turn their heads suddenly.

MED. SHOT - FROM MITCH'S AND MELANIE'S VIEWPOINT

And past the heads of the other people who have also turned, 
we see one of the back windows of the Tides Restaurant has 
gone and gulls are coming in. Two or three of the men who 
are on the edge of the crowd turn and go back toward the 
window, beating them out. They succeed in doing this.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE AND MITCH

They turn from the gulls in the restaurant to look to the 
street.

			MITCH
	I think it's safe to get out now.

			MELANIE
	Don't let's take any chances.

			MITCH
	We've got to get Cathy.

They open the door and make their way out into the street, 
running and looking about them desperately.

EXT. BODIGA STREET

There are one or two gulls flying around. Others are perched 
on roofs as we see Mitch and Melanie dashing along the 
sidewalk.

EXT. BODIGA STREET

There are still one or two gulls or crows in evidence as 
they move along past the last street and come into the more 
countrified part of the town.

LONG SHOT - THE SCHOOL YARD

We see them turn and dash up the road toward the school which 
we see in the distance. There are some birds perched on the 
school roof.

SIDE-ON DOLLY SHOT - MELANIE AND MITCH

going up the school road. He stops for a moment and looks 
up, Melanie following his look.

SKY SHOT - FULL

of wheeling gulls.

SIDE-ON CLOSE SHOT - THE TWO

They move on and go past Melanie's waiting car outside the 
school. Suddenly Melanie brings him to a halt.

LONG SHOT - ANNIE'S HOUSE - FROM THEIR VIEWPOINT

There are a few blackbirds on it.

			MELANIE'S VOICE
	Look... the crows again.

CLOSE SHOT - THE TWO

Mitch starts off. Melanie restrains him.

			MELANIE
	Careful, Mitch. The crows may be 
	back in the play yard.

CLOSE SHOT - THE TWO

They advance cautiously. When they are level with the play 
yard, we see what they see.

MED. SHOT

THE CAMERA DOLLIES along the play yard. It is again full of 
crows.

CLOSE SHOT

They walk stealthily past.

CLOSE SHOT

CAMERA PANNING ALONG the waiting crows.

CLOSE SHOT

Shooting over the shoulders of Melanie and Mitch, they 
approach Annie's house. Melanie glances apprehensively over 
her shoulder toward the crows.

EXT. ANNIE'S HOUSE

Melanie and Mitch arrive. They come to a sudden stop.

LONG SHOT - ANNIE'S HOUSE

A woman is crumpled lifelessly on the front steps before the 
door.

MED. SHOT - MITCH

He reaches the body. He rolls it over.

QUICK CLOSE SHOT - ANNIE

dead.

QUICK CLOSE SHOT - MITCH

The shock registering on his face.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

realizing that Annie is dead, and wondering for a moment 
what Mitch's reaction will be.

MED. SHOT - MITCH - MELANIE'S P.O.V.

He kneels silently by the body. Gently, he touches Annie's 
face, and then gently and illogically takes off his jacket 
and covers her, as if he is tucking a blanket around her to 
keep her warm. He turns away then.

MED. SHOT - THE WINDOW

with its ROOM TO LET sign. Cathy is standing near the sign, 
with her eyes peering at something outside.

CLOSE SHOT - MITCH

turning to follow Cathy's gaze.

CLOSE SHOT - MIXED BIRDS

Malevolent, sitting on the fence, the killers.

FULL SHOT - THE ROAD

As in fury, Mitch picks up stones and begins hurling them at 
the birds. Melanie dashes forward.

			MELANIE
		(as the birds flutter 
		into the air)
	Mitch! Don't!

She runs to him, grabs his arm, struggles with him as he 
maniacally continues hurling stones at the birds, who are 
now hovering flight.

			MELANIE
	Please! Get Cathy!  Let's get out of 
	here!

Her words reach him. Breathing heavily, he goes INTO the 
house and COMES OUT carrying Cathy, who is dazed and in a 
state of shock. The CAMERA PANS him over to Melanie who holds 
Cathy to her.

CLOSER THREE SHOT

as Melanie looks anxiously toward the house.

			MELANIE
	Mitch, you can't leave her out there.

He GOES OUT OF PICTURE. Melanie watches him. Over her shoulder 
is the white face of Cathy. We HEAR a DRAGGING SOUND and 
then a door is CLOSED.

MED. SHOT - MELANIE'S P.O.V.

We see Mitch EMERGING from the house. The body is no longer 
in the pathway. He comes toward the CAMERA.

MED. SHOT

He joins Melanie and Cathy. The CAMERA MOVES AHEAD of the 
three of them as they silently make their way past the crows 
once more, Melanie holding Cathy close to her. They look out 
cautiously to the right.

MED. SHOT

CAMERA DOLLYING PAST the crows again.

BACK TO THE DOLLY SHOT OF THE THREE

They move forward stealthily, CAMERA AHEAD of them.

MED. SHOT

Another DOLLY SHOT past the crows.

CLOSE SHOT - THE THREE

The CAMERA is now behind them. They move away from us and go 
toward the waiting car.

MED. SHOT

They arrive at the car.

			MELANIE
	You drive, Mitch.

She goes round the far side and gets into the car. Mitch 
slips in behind the driver's seat. The car turns into the 
CAMERA and goes down the school road.

FULL SHOT - THE CAR - INTERIOR

Mitch, Cathy and Melanie facing the CAMERA, tensely. Melanie 
looks over her shoulder.

			MELANIE
		(holding her breath)
	I don't think they're coming.

Cathy does not turn: she is staring ahead of her, her eyes 
wide, her lip trembling. They drive in silence, and then 
suddenly, Cathy begins speaking, almost as if to herself, as 
the CAMERA COMES IN TIGHT on her face in shock.

			CATHY
	On our way back from taking Michele 
	home... we... we heard the explosion 
	and went outside to... see what... 
	what it was.
		(pause)
	All at once the... the birds were 
	everywhere. All at once.  She... she 
	pushed me inside and... they covered 
	her.
		(pause)
	Annie.
		(pause)
	She pushed me inside.

TWO SHOT - CATHY AND MELANIE

as she takes the child in her arms to comfort her.

						  DISSOLVE

CLOSE SHOT - A LONE GULL flying low over the water, the CAMERA 
TRACKING it. The bay is silent. The gull spreads its wings 
to brake, and then sits on the water. The CAMERA continues 
low over the water, going through thousands of gulls sitting 
there patiently, as if it is threading itself through a crowd, 
not a sound, over the gulls, and then lifting to show the 
Brenner house in the distance.

FULL SHOT - THE BRENNER HOUSE

Behind the panes of glass, we can see the boards Mitch nailed 
across the windows. He is on the roof now, testing the two 
attic dormer windows. He turns to look out over the bay.

LONG SHOT - THE BAY

covered with sitting gulls. In the distance, the town is 
still smoldering. But the sky is clear of birds.

MED. SHOT - MITCH

picking up his hammer, sliding over the shingles to where 
the ladder leans against the side of the house.

FULL SHOT - THE HOUSE

as Mitch comes down the ladder and Melanie turns the corner, 
carrying a load of driftwood and old lumber.

TWO SHOT - MELANIE AND MITCH

as she drops the wood outside the door and he joins her. She 
is looking out over the bay when he comes to her. This is 
not the Melanie we saw at the beginning of the picture. Her 
hair is disarrayed, and her face and clothing are streaked 
with soot. But beyond a surface physical appearance, there 
is a weary wisdom in her eyes, and a strength to her as she 
stands looking toward the distant smoldering town.

			MELANIE
	The town looks clear.

			MITCH
	The bay doesn't.

			MELANIE
	How long have they been gathering 
	there?

			MITCH
	The past fifteen minutes.
		(pause)
	It seems to be a pattern, doesn't 
	it? They strike and disappear, and 
	then they start massing again.

Melanie nods. They are both silent, watching the bay.

			MELANIE
	I keep thinking of Annie.
		(she squeezes her 
		eyes shut)

			MITCH
		(after a long pause)
	It... it doesn't look very different, 
	does it? A little smoke over the 
	town, but otherwise...

			MELANIE
		(looking)
	Even the birds sitting out there.  
	It does look very much the same, 
	Mitch. This could be last week.

			MITCH
	It may not be last week again for a 
	long long time.

They are both silent.

			MELANIE
	Look. They're still coming.

Mitch nods. Silence.

			MITCH
	Do you want to try your father again?
		(Melanie shakes her 
		head.  Puzzled, Mitch 
		looks at her)

			MELANIE
	I tried a little while ago. The 
	phone's dead.

			MITCH
	Have we still got power?

			MELANIE
	Yes.
		(leaning against him)
	I'm tired, Mitch. I'm so very very 
	tired.

			LYDIA (O.S.)
	Mitch! I'm getting something on the 
	radio!

INT. THE LIVING ROOM - FULL SHOT

Lydia is hovering near the radio. Cathy is sitting on a 
footstool. The windows are boarded, and the lights in the 
room are on. A tremendous amount of static is coming from 
the radio as Mitch and Melanie join them

			LYDIA
	I can't get any of the local stations.  
	I think this is San Francisco.

			ANNOUNCER
	...would include formulation of a 
	central financing committee to handle 
	credit and to allocate responsibility 
	for the various facets of the project. 
	A vote on the motion is expected 
	early tomorrow morning.

TWO SHOT - MELANIE AND MITCH

listening.

			ANNOUNCER
	Continuing with the local news, police 
	are still investigating the series 
	of valuable jade burglaries in the 
	Chinatown area. The round-up of known 
	criminals has not as yet produced a 
	suspect, but Commissioner Nelson 
	said today he was certain the 
	burglaries were quote linked and the 
	work of the team of professionals 
	unquote.
		(pause)
	In Bodega Bay early this morning, a 
	large flock of crows attacked a group 
	of children who were leaving the 
	school during a fire drill. One little 
	girl was seriously injured and taken 
	to the hospital in Santa Rosa, but 
	the majority of children reached 
	safety in the town.
		(pause)
	On the national scene today, the 
	opening of the new session of Congress 
	was marked by a State of the Union 
	address that...

			MITCH
	Is that all?

			ANNOUNCER (O.S.)
	...drew a standing ovation for the 
	President. The Chief Executive, in 
	discussing our relation to Europe 
	and the rest of the world community 
	said: "These various elements of our 
	foreign policy lead as I have said 
	to a single goal --

			MITCH
		(sighing)
	We're going to need more wood for 
	the fire. We can't let it go out.

			ANNOUNCER
		(continuing as drone 
		in background)
	The goal of a peaceful world of free 
	and independent states.  This is our 
	guide for the present and our vision 
	for the future -- a free community 
	of nations, independent but 
	interdependent, uniting north and 
	south, east and west, in one great 
	family of man, outgrowing and 
	transcending the hates and fears 
	that rend our age.  We will not reach 
	that goal today or tomorrow.  We may 
	not reach it in our lifetime.  But 
	the quest is the great adventure of 
	our century.  We sometimes chafe at 
	the burdens of our obligations, the 
	complexity of our decisions, the 
	agony of our choices, but there is 
	no comfort or security for us in 
	evasion, no solution in abdication, 
	no relief in irresponsibility.
		(pause)
	In assuming the tasks of the 
	Presidency, I said that few 
	generations, in all history, had 
	been granted the role of being the 
	great defender of freedom in its 
	hour of maximum danger.  This is our 
	good fortune, and I welcome it now 
	as I did when I first took office.
		(pause)
	For it is the fate of this generation -- 
	Of you in the Congress and of me as 
	President -- to live with a struggle 
	we did not start, in a world we did -
	not make. But the pressures of life 
	are not always distributed by choice. 
	And while no nation has ever faced 
	such a challenge, no nation has ever 
	been ready to seize the burden and 
	the glory of...

			LYDIA
		(pause)
	Did you you get the windows in the 
	attic, Mitch?

			MITCH
	 I got them all, Mother.

			LYDIA
	When do you think they'll come?

			MITCH
	I don't know.

			LYDIA
	If there are... larger birds, Mitch... 
	they'll get into the house.

			MITCH
	That's a chance we have to take.

			LYDIA
	Maybe we ought to leave.

			MITCH
	Not now.  Not while they're massing 
	out there.

			LYDIA
	When? 

			MITCH
	I don't know when.  We'll see what...

			LYDIA
	Where will we go?

			MITCH
	I don't know yet.  I think we'll be 
	safe here.
		(Pause)
	Let's bring that wood in.

			LYDIA
	What happens when we run out of wood?

Music begins to play.  The music is sweet, with violins and 
long piano arpeggios, almost too much to bear against the 
tension being played in front of it.

			MITCH
	I don't know. We'll break up the 
	furni...

			LYDIA
		(shouting)
	You don't know, you don't know!  
	When will you know? When we're all 
	dead? Like Annie?

			CATHY
		(shrieking it, her 
		face white)
	Mother!

			LYDIA
		(at Mitch)
	If your father were here...

			MITCH
		(sharply)
	Mother! I'm trying my best!
		(shaking his head)
	I'm... trying... my...

			LYDIA
		(trembling, nodding)
	I'm sorry, Mitch.

CLOSE SHOT - MITCH

the strain showing on his face. He nods briefly.

			MITCH
	Let's get the wood. Why don't you 
	make us all some coffee, Mother?

FULL SHOT - HOUSE

as Melanie and Mitch come out and head for the pile of wood.  
There is a NOISE in the sky. Startled, glancing upward, they 
begin to run back toward the house and then stop and slowly 
scan the sky.

FULL SHOT - ENORMOUS FLOCK OF BIRDS

flying in tight formation.

TWO SHOT - MELANIE AND MITCH

			MELANIE
	Where are they heading?

			MITCH
	Inland.

			MELANIE
	Santa Rosa?

			MITCH
	Maybe.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

watching the birds. A look of utter sadness crosses her face. 
It is clear that she is thinking the birds will reach Santa 
Rosa, and eventually San Francisco as well.

			MITCH (O.S.)
		(gently)
	Come on. Let's get this wood in.

Melanie nods. But the look of sadness stays on her face, and 
her eyes remain on the sky.

						  DISSOLVE

FULL SHOT - THE LIVING ROOM

Lydia is pouring coffee into cups. In the dining room, we 
can HEAR the CHATTER of the lovebirds. As Lydia pours the 
sound distracts her. Cathy is sorting candles at the couch.  
There is evidence of preparation everywhere: flashlights, 
kerosene lamps, a butane burner. Mitch is at the fireplace 
putting more wood on the fire. Melanie comes into the room 
and dumps another load.

			MELANIE
	That's the last of it.

			LYDIA
	Did you close the door?

			MELANIE
	And locked it.

			CATHY
	Mitch, can I bring the lovebirds in 
	here?

			LYDIA
		(snapping it)
	No!

			CATHY
	Mom, they're in a cage!

			LYDIA
	They're birds!

CLOSE SHOT - MITCH

studying his mother, realizing how close she is to breaking.

			MITCH
		(softly)
	Let them stay in the other room.

CLOSE SHOT - LYDIA

her hand trembling as she pours the coffee.

FULL SHOT - THE ROOM

as they all sit and accept their coffee. The room is silent 
except for the CRACKLE of the fire. Mitch rises to put more 
wood on the fire. In the dining room, the lovebirds still 
are CHATTERING wildly. Their chirping is the only sound in 
the house.

			CATHY
	Mitch? Why are they doing this?  The 
	birds.

			MITCH
		(putting wood on fire)
	I don't know, honey.

			CATHY
	Why are they trying to kill people?

			MITCH
	I wish I could say. But if I could 
	answer that, I could also tell you 
	why people are trying to kill people.

The room is silent again except for the TWEETING of the 
lovebirds offscreen. And then, suddenly, the lovebirds fall 
silent.

CLOSE SHOT - CATHY

turning to look toward the other room, her face going white, 
her eyes widening.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

waiting.

CLOSE SHOT - LYDIA

waiting.

CLOSE SHOT - MITCH

waiting.

FULL SHOT - THE ROOM

dead silent now. Each of them is sitting on the edges of 
their chairs, waiting. There is the SUDDEN SOUND of 
splintering glass.

			LYDIA
	Mitch...

			MITCH
	Shhh. Shhh.

Silence. Into the silence, another pane of glass, SHATTERING, 
the THUD of a bird against the boards. Silence.  More panes 
of glass SHATTERING. The SOUND of birds striking the boards 
and the outside of the house begins building, almost like 
muffled drumbeats. THUD, THUD, with an irregularity of rhythm. 
Interspersed, like the counterpoint in an alien orchestration, 
is the FLUTTER of wings. And then, like another section 
entering, we begin to hear the SCRATCHING and CLAWING at the 
roof.

CLOSE SHOT - LYDIA

looking up toward the roof, the SOUND getting louder. She 
squeezes her eyes shut.

TWO SHOT - CATHY AND MELANIE

as the child cuddles up into her arms. Over the other sounds, 
there comes a NEW SOUND, the unmistakable rat-tat-tat-tattat

of a woodpecker. It stops. It begins again. Rat-tat-tat tattat-
tat. Tat-

			CATHY
		(in terror)
	I'm... I'm sick, Melanie. I want.. I 
	want to throw...

Her face pale, she rises suddenly and starts for the bathroom.

			MELANIE
	I'll go with you.

They leave the room. Mitch and Lydia sit in silence. We HEAR 
Cathy retching offscreen, almost drowned out by the shuffling 
of wings and the rasping of claws, the incessant thudding of 
birds striking the house.

FULL SHOT - THE ROOM

Mitch rises and puts more wood on the fire. The SOUND of the 
birds is still everywhere around the house. He looks at his 
watch. He rises, walks into the kitchen to check the back 
door. It seems all right. The CAMERA FOLLOWS him into the 
dining room. He stops at the cage with the lovebirds.

CLOSE SHOT - THE LOVEBIRDS

watching him. Is there menace or innocence in their eyes?  
He cannot tell.

CLOSE SHOT - MITCH

looking at the lovebirds in puzzlement. There is suddenly a 
NEW SOUND offscreen, the splintering of wood, the tearing 
sound of bigger beaks. Alarmed, he turns.

MED. SHOT - MITCH

coming into the entry hall.

CLOSE SHOT - THE FRONT DOOR

The wood is beginning to splinter as the bigger birds outside 
assail the door.

FULL SHOT - MITCH

turning quickly, the CAMERA FOLLOWING him into the dining 
room. He pulls the cloth off the table, begins moving it 
toward the door. In the entry, he lifts the table on end and 
piles it against the door. He goes into the kitchen again, 
CAMERA FOLLOWING. He upends the enamel-topped table, drags 
it to the back door. He is piling chairs against the table 
when Melanie COMES IN. She looks at what he is doing with 
alarm. Mitch looks in the direction of where his mother is 
and then back to Melanie, with an expression almost of 
desperation. Both turn back to the barricaded door. The 
CLAWING and the PECKING fills the void. The noise is a din 
now, insidious and increasingly more frightening.

			MELANIE
	When will they stop?

			MITCH
	I thought they'd have stopped by 
	now.

			MELANIE
	What time is it?

			MITCH
	Almost two a.m.

			MELANIE
	You must be exhausted.

			MITCH
	How about you?

She shakes her head. They both move into the dining room, 
the CAMERA FOLLOWING THEM. The lovebirds are sitting in their 
cage, close together, silent. Mitch picks up a chair, ready 
to carry it to the front door. He hesitates, puts down the 
chair, goes to the cage.

CLOSE SHOT - MITCH

looking at the birds, wondering.

CLOSE SHOT - THE BIRDS

looking back at him. Again, it is impossible to read their 
expressions. Malice or benevolence?

MED. SHOT - MITCH

He raises his hand, brings it toward the bars of the cage.

CLOSE SHOT - THE BIRDS

watching, unmoving.

CLOSE SHOT - MITCH'S FINGER

as he thrusts it through the bars. The birds sit unmoving.  
One of them tweets.

TWO SHOT - MELANIE AND MITCH

			MITCH
	I wonder if Cathy fed them.

He turns away from her, goes to the cupboard, opens the door, 
takes out a small box of bird feed.

CLOSE SHOT - THE CAGE

as his hand approaches the door. The birds are watching him.  
His hand hesitates. Then his thumb and forefinger lift the 
small catch on the cage door. His fingers open the door.  
Cautiously, in TIGHT CLOSEUP, his hand goes into the cage.  
The birds sit and watch. One of them tweets. He removes the 
small feeding tray, puts the bird seed into it, replaces it 
in the cage. The birds hesitate another moment. Then, 
tweeting, they begin to eat.

FULL SHOT - THE DINING ROOM

as Mitch closes the door to the cage. Melanie is slumped 
against the wall. He goes to her and takes her in his arms.  
Wearily, she raises her head. The SOUND of the shuffling, 
pecking, clawing birds is everywhere around them.

			MITCH
		(holding her)
	You should have left when you wanted 
	to.

She shakes her head.

			MITCH
	You'd have been safe in San Francisco.

			MELANIE
	I don't want to be safe. I want to 
	be with you.

There is something pathetically comic about her voice, like 
a small child's, confused but defiant. Holding her close, 
Mitch laughs, and she laughs with him. Exhausted, they stand 
in each other's arms, laughing in that weary, silly, dead of 
night sort of way. And suddenly... The lights go out.

			MITCH
		(in the darkness)
	The power.

			MELANIE
	Mitch...

			MITCH
	Wait here. Don't move.

The screen is totally black for perhaps five seconds. In the 
blackness, we HEAR the birds clawing and ripping, and the 
SOUND is enormously MAGNIFIED. A flashlight suddenly goes 
on.

TWO SHOT - MELANIE AND MITCH

as he comes to her with the flash. We see them only dimly as 
he directs the beam upwards.

			MITCH
	We'd better light some of those lamps.

			MELANIE
	No... wait.
		(pause)
	Hold me.

In the near darkness, we see them embrace and kiss. It is 
almost black in the room except for the strange effect of 
the flashlight as he holds it behind her.

			MITCH
	I think they're easing off.

						  DISSOLVE

FULL SHOT - THE LIVING ROOM

A kerosene lamp is burning. Melanie is awake, watching the 
fire. Lydia has fallen into a semi-recumbent position asleep 
on the couch. Cathy is curled up in one of the easy chairs.  
Mitch is asleep by the fire. The fire is burning brightly 
and steadily. The house is almost still. There is no longer 
the sound of the clawing and pecking, but there is another 
SOUND now: the sound of SOMETHING FALLING, or dropping in a 
steady dribbling, difficult to place.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

listening to the curious sound, trying to fathom its meaning.

			MELANIE
		(whispering)
	Mitch?

MED. SHOT - MELANIE

as she turns toward him.

			MELANIE
		(still whispering)
	Mitch?

CLOSE SHOT - MITCH

asleep.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

seeing this, making her decision. The SOUND is still coming 
from somewhere in the house. She decides to let Mitch sleep, 
picks up a very long flashlight.

FULL SHOT - MELANIE

as she goes through the house, checking. She stops in the 
entry hall, plays the flashlight over the furniture piled 
against the door. Everything seems all right. She goes into 
the kitchen, again, checks the door, and then plays the beam 
on the boarded windows. Satisfied, she goes down the corridor 
outside the bedroom. She opens the first bedroom door, enters, 
goes to the windows, plays the beam on them.  Everything's 
all right. She comes into the corridor again, opens the second 
bedroom door, again checks windows, and leaves.

FULL SHOT - MELANIE

climbing the steps to the attic. She stops outside the first 
door upstairs, opens it, goes into the room, plays the light 
on the windows. Nothing. She comes out into the corridor, 
goes to the second bedroom, opens the door, enters, walks to 
the windows. They are boarded securely. She is starting back 
toward the door when she stops.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

looking.

CLOSE SHOT - THE FLOOR

a pile of chipped and broken plaster.

MED. SHOT - MELANIE

turning the flashlight up toward the ceiling.

CLOSE SHOT - THE CEILING

A huge hole in it, showing moonlit sky outside.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

turning her eyes from the ceiling, determination on her face, 
and suddenly, her eyes open wide.

CLOSE SHOT - AN OWL

sitting in the darkness, staring at her.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

reacting.

QUICK MED. SHOT - THE OWL

wings spread in the beam of light.

FULL SHOT - MELANIE

backing to the door. The owl hits her, sends her staggering 
back, causing the door to slam shut. She looks up at the

FULL SHOT - THE CEILING

a swarm of mixed birds coming through the hole and down toward 
her.

MED. SHOT - MELANIE

in the room swinging the lighted flashlight as the birds 
attack her.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

in the room, as the owl hits her full in the face.

MED. SHOT - MELANIE

swinging the flashlight as the birds attack her.

			MITCH (O.S.)
	Melanie!

FULL SHOT - MELANIE AND THE BIRDS

grotesque and silent as she struggles with them. The room is 
a crossing cacophony of mixed light beams and fluttering 
wings.

			MITCH (O.S.)
	Melanie, open the door!

He hurls himself against it. Inside the room, where Melanie 
struggles, we HEAR his hammering on it. Melanie is overwhelmed 
by the birds.

She falls to the floor, the flashlight beside her. In the 
spreading rays of the light, we see the frantic fluttering 
of wings as the birds cover her. There is a stronger assault 
on the door by Mitch outside.

			LYDIA (O.S.)
		(screaming)
	Mitch, get her out of there!

MED. SHOT - THE ROOM

Melanie, collapsed at the base of the door, is no longer in 
view. Neither are the birds, whose fluttering shadows we see 
on the door as Mitch again hits it from outside.

			MITCH (O.S.)
	Melanie!

The door begins to open.

FULL SHOT - MITCH

as the door bursts inward and he stumbles into the room.  He 
begins swinging at the birds immediately, reaching down for 
Melanie, fighting off the attack at the same time. He begins 
dragging her out of the room. Her clothes have almost been 
shredded from her body, and her face is torn and bleeding.  
We catch only quick glimpses of her near-nudity, as Mitch 
pulls her into the corridor and then, holding the door shut 
behind him with one hand, delivers swinging furious blows at 
the few birds that have escaped into the corridor.

			MITCH
	Mother, get a rope!

			LYDIA
	Oh, my God, look at her!

			MITCH
		(shouting)
	Get a rope!

She rushes off. He struggles grotesquely with the birds.  
There is a wild fury in him, and a methodical dedication. He 
will not allow them to defeat him. A large bird strikes his 
hand, knocking the club from it.

MED. SHOT - MITCH

as the bird strikes at his face. He reaches out with his 
hands, grasping the bird, letting go of the door knob.  
Another bird flutters into the corridor.

CLOSE SHOT - MITCH

in anger and desperation as he throttles the bird with his 
hands. He reaches behind him to grab the doorknob again, and 
is immediately attacked by the other bird.

			MITCH
		(yelling)
	Mother! Hurry!

TWO SHOT - LYDIA AND MITCH

as she runs up the steps and into the corridor, carrying a 
heavy piece of rope. Mitch grabs the bird and hurls it angrily 
to the floor. Lydia is staring down at Melanie in terror and 
compassion. He takes the rope from her, loops it over the 
doorknob, pulls it taut across the hallway, and ties it to 
the bannister, sealing the door. He turns immediately to 
Melanie, picks her up and carries her to the steps, Lydia 
following. As they go downstairs:

			MITCH
	Cathy! Get a blanket and some 
	bandages!

			CATHY
		(at the foot of the 
		stars, on the verge 
		of tears)
	Is she all right?

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

cradled against Mitch's shoulder, her face bleeding profusely.

			MELANIE
	I'm... I'm....

FULL SHOT - MITCH

as he carries her into the living room, but her down on the 
couch.

			MITCH
	Just lie there and keep still.

Cathy rushes to them with a roll of bandages and a blanket.  
By the light of the lantern, Mitch drapes the blanket over 
Melanie and then begins unrolling the bandage. But his hands 
are trembling, and he drops it.

			LYDIA
	Let me do that, Mitch.

She picks up the bandage.

			MITCH
	I can handle it.

			LYDIA
	I know you can.
		(her eyes meet his)
	But I'd like to.

He nods. Silently, she begins working on Melanie.

			MELANIE
		(weakly)
	Please don't mess me up with bandages, 
	Mrs. Brenner.

			LYDIA
	Shhhh. Shhhh.

			MELANIE
	Please.

But she begins cleaning the wounds, taping bandages over the 
cuts. The house is still. She works silently and quickly.

			LYDIA
		(as she works)
	I'm not very good at this, Mitch.

			MITCH
	You're doing fine.

			LYDIA
		(Apologizing)
	I mean. I want to...

Pause.

			CATHY
	Listen!

CLOSE SHOT - LYDIA

raising her eyes. The room is silent. There is nothing to 
hear.

			LYDIA
	They're gone. God have mercy, they're 
	gone.

FULL SHOT - MITCH

as he goes to the front door, and cautiously moves away the 
table and chair. He opens the door a crack.

FULL SHOT - THE YARD

through the crack. Daylight is almost here. There are no 
birds visible.

FULL SHOT - THE DOOR

from outside as Mitch opens it wider. The door is scarred 
and splintered. As he opens the door, one or two dead birds 
spill into the room. He steps out into the yard. Lydia is 
directly behind him.

FULL SHOT - THE HOUSE

a shambles, all the windows broken.

TWO SHOT - LYDIA AND MITCH

			MITCH
	They're gone. The same pattern.

			LYDIA
	But they'll be back.

			MITCH
	We won't be here.

			LYDIA
	Where can we go, Mitch? There's no 
	place to go.

			MITCH
	I want to try for San Francisco.  
	There are buildings there. Steel and 
	concrete!

			LYDIA
		(shaking her head)
	We'd never make it. They're probably 
	all over the road.

			MITCH
	We have to try it.
		(a long silence)
	We can't stay here.
		(silence)
	Melanie needs help.
		(silence)
	Mother, the house won't take another 
	attack.

			LYDIA
	If...
		(pause)
	If... when we get to San Francisco...
		(pause)
	If they're already there?

			MITCH
	They won't be.

			LYDIA
	If they are?

			MITCH
	We'll worry about that when we get 
	there.

			LYDIA
	I'm frightened, terribly frightened.  
	I... I don't know what's out there, 
	Mitch.

			MITCH
	What do we have to know, Mother?  
	We're all together, we all love each 
	other, we all need each other. What 
	else is there? Mother, I want us to 
	stay alive!

			LYDIA
		(nodding; then after 
		a pause)
	I started to say... inside...

			MITCH
	You don't have to.

He holds out his hand to her.

			MITCH
	I think we'd better get started.

						  DISSOLVE

FULL SHOT - THE BRENNER YARD

It is covered with the eerie half-light that comes just before 
dawn, a light that persists throughout all of the following 
until the penultimate shot in the picture. The silence is 
deafening. There is not a bird in sight. The door to Melanie's 
convertible are open as she and Mitch come out of the house 
together and he helps her to the car. He puts her in the 
back seat, tucks the blanket around her. In the background 
is the pickup truck, too small to hold all of them. Lydia 
comes to the door and quickly crosses the yard, not looking 
down at the dead birds. Cathy appears in the doorway to the 
house.

CLOSE SHOT - CATHY

She is carrying the cage of lovebirds. She hesitates just 
outside the doorway. She looks at Mitch.

CLOSE SHOT - MITCH

looking back at her.

FULL SHOT - CATHY, MITCH, AND LYDIA

Across the expanse of the desolated yard.

			CATHY
	May I take them, Mitch?

He does not answer. She continues looking at him.

			CATHY
	They haven't harmed anyone.

			LYDIA
	Take them.

			MITCH
		(with a slow nod)
	We'll put them in the trunk, Cathy.

He takes the birds from her and goes to the back of the car.  
The CAMERA STAYS on Cathy who gets into the car on the front 
seat. Mitch comes around the other side of the car, stops, 
and looks toward the trees.

MED. SHOT - THE TREES

covered with waiting birds.

MED. SHOT - MITCH

getting into car.

			MITCH
	Be careful with that door.

Cathy closes the door gently, and almost soundlessly. Mitch 
does the same with his door.

			MELANIE
		(weakly)
	Mitch, if they hear the car 
	starting... if they see movement...

			MITCH
	We'll take it slow until we get to 
	the main road.
		(pause)
	Are you ready?

CLOSE SHOT - MITCH'S HAND

turning the key. The motor springs to life.

FULL SHOT - INT. THE CAR

anticipation on all the faces.

			MITCH
	All right.
		(he takes a deep breath)
	Here we go.

FULL SHOT - THE CAR

from the outside, as it creeps out of the yard. The bay is 
still, the road is still, the car makes barely a sound as it 
passes the gate and starts down the road.

MED. SHOT - THE ROAD AHEAD - THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD

as they begin driving slowly. The wires are down. A small 
fire is burning in the brush, where the wires made contact.  
The car continues to move. It turns the first bend in the 
road.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE - LOOKING THROUGH THE WINDOW

She gasps quickly.

MED. SHOT - A GROUP OF HERONS - AT WATER'S EDGE

standing, waiting silently.

FULL SHOT - THE CAR - INTERIOR

as the tension begins to starts.

			MITCH
	Shhh.  Shhhh.

MED. SHOT - THE ROAD AHEAD - THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD

as they approach the derelict barge. It is covered with 
waiting seagulls.

CLOSE SHOT - LYDIA

seeing them. Her lip begins to tremble.

CLOSE SHOT - MITCH

turning toward the side of the road ahead.

FULL SHOT - AN OVERTURNED SCHOOL BUS - MITCH'S P.O.V.

covered with waiting birds.

			CATHY
		(whispering)
	Mitch, let's turn back.

			MITCH
	Shhh. Shhhhh.

MED. SHOT - A ROADSIDE HOUSE

as the car passes. A barricade has been set up on the front 
porch, and a man is leaning over it, dead, a shotgun in his 
hands. The porch is covered with waiting birds. At the boarded 
window, we see a woman and child peering from a gap.

CLOSE SHOT - CATHY

reacting.

FULL SHOT - THE CAR - BIRD'S P.O.V.

as it threads its way slowly and cautiously along the winding 
road to town. The birds are sitting on some of the still-
standing wires, watching, waiting.

FULL SHOT - THE TOWN APPROACH - THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD as 
the car turns a bend in the road. There are thousands of 
birds ahead, on every gutted and smoldering rooftop, on every 
pole, on every fence.

			LYDIA
	Mitch!

MED. SHOT - MITCH

as he stops the car and looks ahead.

FULL SHOT - THE CAR

in the middle of the road, stopped. Ahead are the birds.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

frightened, try not to reveal her fear.

			MELANIE
	Can we turn back?

CLOSE SHOT - MITCH

			MITCH
	I... I don't think so. If we get 
	through town, I think we'll be all 
	right.

FULL SHOT - INT. THE CAR

There is a long silence. It is Melanie who has the strongest 
reason for fearing the birds. It is Melanie, her fear growing, 
who makes the decision.

			MELANIE
	Then go ahead, Mitch.

FULL SHOT - EXT. THE CAR

as it begins moving forward again at an excruciatingly slow 
rate of speed, into the town and the waiting birds.

CLOSE SHOT - LYDIA

as she turns to look out the window on her side.

CLOSE SHOT - A LINE OF BIRDS

as the car moves past them slowly.

CLOSE SHOT - LYDIA

closing her eyes.

FULL SHOT - BRINKMEYER'S GENERAL STORE

through the windshield. The roof and sills are covered with 
birds. The window is smashed in, canned goods are strewn all 
over the sidewalk, bolts of cloth run in a riot from the 
open door and across the road, dead people are lying in the 
gutter. But in the hotel, we see some faces behind broken 
windows.

TWO SHOT - CATHY, MITCH

The tension on their faces,

MED. SHOT - THE STORES OPPOSITE THE TIDES

as the car approaches them. The windows are all broken, and 
merchandise is lying on the sidewalk. Birds are everywhere, 
waiting.

CLOSE SHOT - A DEAD MAN

lying on the sidewalk, clutching a television set in his 
arms.

CLOSE SHOT - MITCH

strained, looking at the road ahead.

LONG SHOT - THE ROAD AHEAD

a clear sky, a bird-free stretch,

CLOSE SHOT - MITCH

			MITCH
		(almost as a prayer)
	Here we go.
		(he rams down on the 
		accelerator)

FULL SHOT - THE CAR - EXTERIOR

as Mitch rams the accelerator to the floor and it zooms ahead 
in a burst of speed.

FULL SHOT - THOUSANDS OF BIRDS

taking wing.

MED. SHOT - MORE BIRDS

taking wing.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

screaming.

			MELANIE
	Mitch!

CLOSE SHOT - MITCH

wrenching at the wheel as the car turns a bend.

FULL SHOT - THE ROAD AHEAD

through the windshield, as a flock of birds take wing 
immediately ahead.

CLOSE SHOT - THE WINDSHIELD

from the inside, as birds flutter against it.

CLOSE SHOT - THE ROOF OF THE CAR

from the inside, as a beak slashes it, letting in a thin 
line of light.

CLOSE SHOT - MITCH

wrenching at the wheel again, another bend.

HELICOPTER SHOT - THE CAR

navigating the sharp bends in the road as birds streak at it 
in straight lines.

TWO SHOT - LYDIA AND MELANIE

in the back seat as several slashes appear in the roof over 
their heads, letting in more light.

CLOSE SHOT - THE ROOF

More slashes, more light in scattered beams.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

her fear growing as the scattered light beams bring back the 
memory of the attic room and her flashlight battle with the 
owl.

CLOSE SHOT - THE ROOF

more slashes, building, the beak thrusts combining with the 
incoming beams of light in a weirdly horrifying way.

CLOSE SHOT - LYDIA

			LYDIA
		(almost a prayer)
	Dear God... dear God... please, 
	please, what have we done? Please.
		(and then in anger at 
		the roof and the 
		birds)
	Can't they leave us alone?
		(shrieking it)
	LEAVE US ALONE!

MED. SHOT - THE CAR INTERIOR all the passengers, as the roof 
suddenly rips back.

FULL SHOT - BIRDS

from inside the car, hovering over it the moment the roof 
tears back.

CLOSE SHOT - MELANIE

This is too much for her. She screams at sight of the birds, 
and then turns her face into Lydia's shoulder.

TWO SHOT - LYDIA AND MELANIE

as Lydia recognizes Melanie's need. She puts her arm around 
Melanie's shoulder and gently, soothingly, holds her close.

FULL SHOT - THE CAR

racing along as the birds hover over it.

CLOSE SHOT - MITCH

his face screwed in anguish, tears rolling down his cheeks 
as he grips the wheel and hits the gas pedal.

FULL SHOT - THE OPEN CAR

streaming canvas ribbons behind it. It turns another bend in 
the road.

FULL SHOT - THE ROAD AHEAD - (THROUGH THE WINDSHIELD)

It is arrow-straight, no curves.

FULL SHOT - THE CAR

in a burst of speed as it hits the straightaway. It begins 
to outdistance the birds. The gap widens. A flock of birds 
attacks it from the side of the road, but it speeds into 
them and through them. The gap grows wider and wider. They 
are well ahead of the birds now.

CLOSE SHOT - LYDIA

			LYDIA
	We're losing them.

CLOSE SHOT - MITCH

only a nod, his face streaming tears.

LONG SHOT - THE CAR (BIRDS' P.O.V.)

as they fall way behind now, the car moving swiftly into the 
distance.

TWO SHOT - LYDIA AND MELANIE

on the back seat. Melanie begins sobbing in a sudden release 
of tension. Lydia, in compassion, and tenderly, cradles 
Melanie's head on her shoulder. Melanie, her eyes glistening, 
looks ahead through the windshield.

FULL SHOT - THE CAR INTERIOR

all their faces visible.

			CATHY
	Mitch?  Do... do you think they'll 
	be all right? In the trunk? Can they 
	breath?

			MITCH
		(with the faintest 
		smile)
	I think they'll be all right, honey.

There is hope on their faces as the car streaks into the 
wind. Not a wild exuberance, but a relaxation of tension.  
They stare ahead through the windshield, and then they squint 
their eyes against the sudden sunrise ahead, and Mitch reaches 
up to turn down the sun visor.

			MITCH
	It looks... it looks clear up ahead.

FULL SHOT - THE CAR

moving AWAY FROM THE CAMERA FAST into magnificent sunrise 
over the crest of the hills. Further and further into the 
distance it goes.

						 FADE OUT:

				 THE END