DOG DAY AFTERNOON

                                   DOG DAY AFTERNOON

                                          by

                                   Frank Pierson

                             "DOG DAY AFTERNOON"

FADE IN:

EXT. ELECTRIC SIGN

It FILLS THE SCREEN (designed to exactly FILL THE FRAME size
of whatever ratio we're shooting in).  It says:

                                           2:51

This message will be a little cryptic to the movie audience
on an essentially BLACK SCREEN.  HOLD for a beat, then it
changes: the lights flash this sign, which should explain it
to everyone:

                                          94°

And a slow distant ROLL OF THUNDER in the far distance; now
the SOUND of media begin to come up loud, under:

EXT. FLATBUSH AVENUE - DAY

LONG SHOT down the Avenue, 400 mm lens, heat waves
shimmering, thousands of old people, and people with children
in strollers moving restlessly about in the heat on those
endless miles of benches.

The SHOT is ON SCREEN only for a beat or two, then gone...

SOUND TRACK COMES FROM A THOUSAND TRANSISTOR RADIOS, TV
SETS, AUTO RADIOS, BLENDED IN THE OPEN AIR...

                                   RADIO ANNOUNCER 1 (V.O.)
                     ... the situation continued tense
                     in the Middle East today, as...

EXT. SHEA STADIUM (TV CLIP) - DAY

An unnamed player swings and hits a high pop up...

                                   ANNOUNCER 2 (V.O.)
                     ... hits a high inside pitch foul
                     into the upper stands...

ANGLE ON CROWD

as the ball comes down they scramble and fight for it...

A touch of viciousness...

                                   ANNOUNCER 3 (V.O.)
                     ... B-52's meanwhile, unleashed the
                     heaviest bombing of the war...

EXT. MOVIE HOUSE TO MACDONALD'S - DAY

We are SEEING HEIDI, though we don't know it yet - she's
just another pretty 175-pound Italian girl with two kids,
KIMMY, JIMMY, about four and five years old.  Right now she
is a lump of browning flesh, shining with oil among rows of
similar ladies (mostly thinner, but all with a certain
unhealthy softness about them) laid out in rows and groups
across the sand.  SHOOT LOW AND LONG, so heat shimmers rise,
as though the heat were baking the oil out of this mob,
visible suntan oil pollution...  Heidi's transistor blasts
ROCK MUSIC into the air.

                                   LYRICS (OVER)
                            (Roberta Flack)
                     REVEREND LEE, SHE SAID, LORD KNOWS
                     I LOVE YOU, REVEREND LEE - DO IT TO
                     ME
                            (etc., etc.)

                                   ANNOUNCER 3 (V.O.)
                     ... the American High Command
                     announced the famed 25th Cavalry
                     Division would be coming home!  The
                     25th Cavalry, long since afoot,
                     hardened in battle in the jungles
                     of World War II...

FAR DISTANT THUNDER ROLLS...

INT/EXT. SONNY'S CAR - STREET - DAY

It is parked in a drab Brooklyn street.  Beside the car
stands SAL, medium height, also good-looking in an intense
boyish way.  His eyes dart about suspiciously, the ever-
watchful Sal.

There is a watchful reserve in Sal that contrasts to Sonny's
outgoing bounciness: first impression is Sonny is all bark;
Sal is the bite.  Sal is dressed in impressive blue suit
style, he looks like a kid trying to impress the Godfather.
He even wears a hat.  Now, matching Sal's preparations
inside the car, he checks his tie's alignment, shoots his
cuffs and is ready...

Meanwhile, on their car radio:

                                   ELTON JOHN
                            (Amoreena)
                     AND SHE DREAMS OF CRYSTAL STREAMS
                     OF DAYS GONE BY WHEN WE COULD LEAN
                     LAUGHING FIT TO BURST UPON EACH
                     OTHER...

ANOTHER ANGLE BY CAR

As he turns, from the back of the car, JACKIE appears with a
huge florist box, tied with ribbon.  Jackie is an eighteen
year old with bad complexion and in contrast to Sonny and
Sal is dressed in teenage sloppiness.  Adidas, T-shirt,
bowling jacket, jeans.  He is uncertain: waits for directions
from Sonny.  Sonny takes the florist box from him.

We see a water truck drive down the street, followed by
Sonny's car, which drives up near bank.  It stops, Jackie
gets out, crosses to bank window, peers through, then

ANGLE INSIDE CAR

returns to car.  Leans in, has fake conversation with Sonny.
They are waiting.  Sonny checks his watch, turns to Sal in
back seat:

                                   SONNY
                     30 seconds, Sal...

They wait.  At appropriate moment, Sal exits car, walks
toward bank.  Slowly Sonny gets out.

INT. BANK - DAY

A slightly seedy little branch bank, old yellow brick, blond
varnished wood, a rubber plant, an American flag.  Through
the windows we SEE HOWARD, the aged black bank guard, in
uniform, taking down the American flag from outside.  Past
him comes Sal carrying an attache case.  He passes Howard
coming toward us through the door into the bank.  As he
passes CAMERA:

INSERT: BANK CLOCK

as it CLICKS from 2:57 to 2:58 PM.

MOVING SHOT WITH SAL

as he moves toward the left-hand deposit-slips desks.

He picks out a car-loan application slip, then walks toward
the manager's desk (as the sign on the desk proclaims) of
PATRICK MULVANEY.  Sal sits down, his back to Mulvaney,
facing the front door of the bank.  Mulvaney is on the phone.

ON DOOR

as Sonny bustles through in his bouncy dancer's walk.  He
carries the large florist box.  He moves toward the left-
hand deposit-slips desks, takes one out and begins to fill
one out.

ON HOWARD

as he pulls out the keys, attached to the belt of his
uniform.  Jackie approaches the door of the bank and stops,
neither in nor out, as though he can't make up his mind.
Howard watches him, waiting patiently, keys in hand, folded
flag under his arm.

CLOSE - SAL

still sitting, back to Mulvaney, watching Jackie's approach
and entrance, ready to move on cue.

ON DOOR

on Howard as he looks at Jackie, still half in, half out.
Howard speaks to him:

                                   HOWARD
                     Closing time; you want in or out?

Jackie steps in and as Howard locks the door to prevent more
customers from entering, Jackie walks toward Sonny, filling
out a slip at the left-hand area.  CAMERA FOLLOWS Jackie.
He stops at deposit-slips desk, next to Sonny.

CLOSE - SAL

as if by pre-arranged signal, Sal now stands up, moves to
the side of Mulvaney's desk.

                                   SAL
                     You the manager?

ON MULVANEY

who is still on the phone.  He gestures at the sign on his
desk that says so, and gestures for Sal to sit down.

ON SAL

as he sits, producing as he does a machine pistol, which he
holds on Mulvaney's chest, out of sight from others in the
bank.

MULVANEY

His mouth simply stops, and he stares at the gun.  Mulvaney
is a comic opera Irishman in his early fifties, florid ...
cheerful, bushy eyebrows; he acts out everything he says...

                                   SAL
                     Just go on talking, like nothing
                     was happening, okay?

                                   MULVANEY
                            (into phone)
                     Listen, lemme call you back.

He hangs up, and looks from the gun up to Sal's blank hard
face.  To his own amazement, he grins: a hopeful grin that
says: "Like me - don't hurt me."  And he's embarrassed by it.
As we watch, his smile turns sour.

HIS POV - FLASH

Sal's absolutely unmoved face.

TWO SHOT - SONNY AND JACKIE

Jackie moves over to Sonny.

                                   JACKIE
                     Sonny, I'm gettin' real bad vibes.

                                   SONNY
                     Jackie - what are you talking about?

                                   JACKIE
                     Maybe we can take something
                     smaller... like a Spanish grocery.

                                   SONNY
                            (indicating what's
                            happening with Sal
                            and Mulvaney)
                     It's too late - just get away from
                     me - don't talk to me now - go over
                     to your place...

Jackie moves to another deposit-slips desk - takes one out
and begins to fill it out.

ON TELLER'S CAGE AREA

as a LADY with a BABY in a stroller moves away from the
Teller and starts to walk toward the front door.  DEBORAH is
marking figures on a piece of paper at 1st Teller's cage.
SYLVIA and MIRIAM stand behind her - their backs to Sonny.
Howard, who has put the folded flag in a plastic bag in a
front desk, follows Lady toward the door.  He unlocks the
door and hands the Baby a lollipop, courtesy of the bank,
and she exits the bank.

CLOSE - NEW ANGLE - SONNY

glancing at clock, taking a sharp deep breath...

SAL

staring at Mulvaney.

MULVANEY

the ruins of his smile still on his face.

HOWARD

straightens up from locking the door; the figure of the Lady
and the Baby can be seen receding outside...

SONNY

seeing that the bank is closed, locked in, with no customers,
crosses toward the front teller's cage area, carrying the
florist box.  As he reaches the other side, he rips open the
box and takes the rifle out and aims it level onto SYLVIA
BALL, the teller, who automatically takes the "closed" sign
and holds it in front of her face as though to protect
herself from the rifle.

                                   SYLVIA
                            (holding sign in
                            front of her face)
                     Sorry, this window is shut...

TWO SHOT - MULVANEY AND SAL

as Mulvaney stands and yells to Sylvia...

ANGLE ON BACK OF BANK, REST ROOM AREA

as MARGARET, an accountant, comes out of the ladies' room,
starts to cross downstage toward her desk, sees what is
happening, and momentarily freezes in her tracks.

SONNY

The cues have got all fucked up, but he's so programmed and
ready, he can't adjust, so the speech he had ready comes out
now:

                                   SONNY
                     Okay, this is a stickup!  Nobody
                     move!  This is a fucking stickup!
                     Just freeze now, goddammit!  Get
                     away from your desk... get in the
                     center - get in the center!

Sylvia and Edna start to move toward the rear of the bank,
toward Margaret's desk.

MULVANEY

aghast at his own outspokenness ... Sal holding the gun
levelled on him.

                                   MULVANEY
                     Okay, okay... we know it's a stickup!

                                   SONNY
                            (to Jackie, re: Howard)
                     If he moves - blow his guts out...
                     Cover him!