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THE THIRD TEST OF HDC IDOL II - THE OGRES

Think of a suitable and unique outline for a script, to be turned into a movie adaptation by any of these 5 renowned directors :-

Terence Fisher, James Whale, Brian De Palma, Tod Browning, William Castle.


Roshiq's entry -

From the great selection of directors in this challenge I like to choose Tod Browning and presenting here an idea for a film that I think he could suitably make back in 30's.



The reasoning to choose Tod Browning: Though I have seen only 5 of his films (The Unknown, Dracula, Freaks, Mark of the Vampire & The Devil-Doll) but I think he was one of the quite underrated but greatest horror film makers of his era. As he traveled extensively with sideshows, carnivals, and circuses in his early years of life, we can see those experiences had left a great impact on his films like The Unknown, The Unholy Three and Freaks. As I read about him I came to know that Browning wrote original stories and collaborated on the scripts for many of his films. After 1927 he also functioned as his own producer, giving him an autonomy enjoyed by few directors within the studio system of the period. Browning's films were popular with audiences, but it was a long time before his work created the controversy. In his own time he was accused of being ridiculous, exploitative, and even downright sick. With their bizarre plots and grotesque characters, brooding atmosphere, and emphasis on physical and spiritual deformity, Browning's films reveal a profound obsession with the dark side of human nature.
Particularly the film that amazed me most is Freaks (1932). A ghastly tale of lust, greed, and vengeance set in a traveling European sideshow, it challenge our fears of the abnormal by offering as its heroes a real-life mixture of midgets, dwarfs, armless and legless beings, pinheads, mongoloids, bearded ladies and Siamese twins, all presented with sympathy and compassion. By contrast, the villains are a pair of acrobats, depraved creatures beneath their perfect physiques. Surely Browning is one of those great film makers who are ahead of their time. His compassion for the characters that suffered a great deal in life and neglected by the society or humiliated by other people touches me most as a viewer. And in this regard I tried to develop a story & frame an outline of a screenplay that could comfortably fit with the works of this great film maker. It's my bad that I haven't read any books/stories of Tod Robbins as 2 of Tod Browning films (The Unholy Three and Freaks) based on the works of this great author. Otherwise instead of developing an original plot, a good story from Tod Robbins can be a safer choice for me.

LITTLE LILY

Lead Cast & Characters:

Dr. Donovan....played by Lionel Barrymore
Marcel the Magician...played by Bela Lugosi

Opening sequence: A young girl is walking alone on a country side road at night. There's a coach on the other side of the road as if waiting for someone. Suddenly two tall, vicious looking gigantic men come out from the dark of the woods beside the road and forcefully take that girl into the coach. The girl tried to scream but couldn’t able to do that as one of them grabs her mouth with a big hairy hand. Then the carriage runs away.

The next scene opens with a close up shot on a poster/banner: "Marcel-The Great Magician!" There is also a drawing of Marcel's image on that poster/banner where he's wearing a black robe & tipping his long black hat with a black stick, smiling.
The sound of a typical carnival/circus crowd coming from behind...people are laughing, yelling, kids are playing or running for a show, sound of trumpets & drums etc. etc. The camera moves towards the entrance of Marcel's show next to the poster/banner where a group of satisfied audience are just coming out like after an end of a show. After everyone leaves, from the left side of the camera a gentleman (wearing a long black coat & hat) moves towards the entrance & enters.

Inside the Marcel's Tent:
The gentleman walks towards to the stage which is now covered with a curtain. As he comes close to the stage a kid pops out from a corner of the curtain and says "Excuse me, Sir. The show is over. But there will be one last show tomorrow."

The Gentleman: "Where is the magician? I need to talk to him."
The kid pops out and in the next scene he enters into the Marcel's booth or green room where he's seating on a desk & feeding a rabbit. He sees the kid & says "Hi, Master Monty! How was my show tonight?"
Monty: "It was fantastic, Marcel. I think it’s the best so far."
Marcel: "No-No! There's still one more show left tomorrow. I'm going to show some new ones and will try my best to make it something utterly fascinating & memorable for my crowd."
Monty: "Oh, that's sound really exciting! I'm sure you'll do that Marcel. You are the best in this business after all. Oh, by the way there's an old gentleman wants to meet you. He's waiting in front of the stage. Do you want me to bring him here?"
Marcel: "Old gentleman? Okay, yes...please let him in."
In the followed scene as the gentleman enters Marcel stands & greets him in a polite manner.
Marcel: "Hello, sir"
Gentleman: "Hello Mr. Marcel. At first I should introduce myself. My name is Charles Donovan but you can call me Dr. Donovan. I live at the end of this town, down the valley in our family mansion. I used to work in Cambridge as a Professor of medicine but now I'm retired & practicing privately. Anyway, I just came to you with a very personal request and I sincerely hope you are not going to refuse me."
Marcel: "Oh, really? What can I then do for you sir?"
Dr. Donovan:"I want you to perform a little show for my daughter in my house tonight."

Marcel: "In your house..?? Why don't you bring her here tomorrow? There's still one final show left & that's tomorrow night. You & your daughter are most welcome, sir."
Dr. Donovan: "No, Mr. Marcel, you don't understand. I can't bring her here. She has been sick in a rare kind of disease from the day she was born. Her mother, my beloved wife, Martha died on that very same day. Since then she is under my great supervision of medical treatment. The thing is she is my only child and today is her birthday. I'm just trying my best to make her feel as the happiest girl in the whole world, at least for tonight. Though I've already bought lots of gifts for her but the thing is she's always been very much fond of magic shows and I'm sure your presence & some magic in my house tonight will make this day very special for my little girl, Lily. I'm assuring you, you'll be highly paid."
Marcel: "Then as it's for your little girl, I can't refuse you, sir. And you know; now days this kind of extra earnings is always good for a poor magician like me."
Thus simple minded Marcel accept Dr. Donovan's offer and then as the doctor tells him there's his coach is waiting outside the show premise, Marcel starts to pack his things (props for the magic) up.
Next scene: As Marcel & Dr. Donovan coming out from the premise, Marcel sees a crowd around a little boy, the boy is weeping. He goes towards the crowd & asks "Hey, what happened to our Toby? Why he's crying?"
Some guy in the crowd: "His sister Megan went to the town this afternoon but still hasn't come back yet. Though we have already send some boys to look for her but we're worrying whether she is gone missing too. And if she is, then you know this will be the third night in a row that a girl gone missing this year from our shows Oh, Jesus..what a god damn place we came this time!"
Marcel: "Oh, come on, Brad...how could you say this things? I'm sure there's nothing happened to Megan. She's fine. We'll soon find her out."
Then from the back Dr. Donovan grabs a shoulder of Marcel & whispers to his ear: "Please Magician, we are already late. You can join the search party later, even I think within an hour at best, as soon as you finish off your business in my house. My little girl is eagerly waiting for his daddy's last big surprise of the day."
Marcel hesitates for a while but eventually agrees with Dr. Donovan and they leave the premise.

Next there will be three shots consecutively.

1st: Dr. Donovan & Marcel ridding in the coach.
2nd: The coach is running through a country side road. There's full moon in the sky & fogs in the air. (Long distance shot with tensed & dramatic music in background)
3rd: The coach is entering into the large dark mansion of Dr. Donovan. There's a heavy fog in the ground. As soon as the coach goes through the large gate someone closes it. (Long distance shot)

Next scene: The coach stops. And as Dr. Donovan & Marcel comes out from the coach they see a strange man quite frantically laughing & dancing before them and repeating in a loud voice: “Master brings the Magician! Master brings the Magician!"
Dr. Donovan: "Oh, Paolo! Stop it! You'll ruin the surprise for Lily. She can hear you from her room."

Paolo calms down. Dr. Donovan then tells Marcel by keeping his voice down: “Don’t mind, Magician. Paolo is kind of eccentric & childish sometimes but he has been a very royal servant to me for the last ten years.”
They start walking towards the main door. Paolo is behind them.

(To Be Continued...)