Kramer Versus Kramer

Kramer Versus Kramer 

Screenplay by       Robert Benton

Produced by       Stanley R. Jaffe

Directed by       Robert Benton

Cast List:

Dustin Hoffman      Ted Kramer

Meryl Streep      Joanna Kramer

Jane Alexander     Margaret Phelps

Justin Henry     Billy Kramer

Howard Duff      John Shaunessy

George Coe      Jim O'Connor

JoBeth Williams    Phyllis Bernard

FADE IN:

INT. OFFICE – ADVERTISING AGENCY – MIDTOWN – EVENING

WIDE SHOT

A large and very comfortable office over-looking St. Patrick's Cathedral. At the moment the office is filled to bursting with men and women, slumped in chairs, sitting on desks, all of them very tense. Among the crowd of people we note: MURRAY FISHER, a young and very ambitious junior executive and PHYLLIS BERNARD, an attractive woman in her early thirties. She is a lawyer with the agency.

At the moment, TED KRAMER, nice-looking without being what you would call a matinee idol, paces back and forth. His tie is loosened, he checks his watch every fifteen seconds. Clearly he is very distraught.

TED
(predicting the worst)

They're not gonna call... I tell you they're not gonna call. I blew it. I don't know what I did wrong, but I –

REVERSE ON JIM O'CONNOR

Ted's boss and good friend. He is in his middle fifties, nattily dressed with the slightly bleary look of a heavy drinker. He sits back in his chair with his feet propped on the desk and a drink in one hand.

O'CONNOR

(not unfriendly)

Ted, will you take it easy? Revlon's not about to drop an account that represents more than two million in gross billing receipts in a small agency like this, without making us sweat. Now just relax, okay? Everything's gonna be fine.

TED

(at this stage, nothing will help)

I don't think so, Jim. Maybe I shouldn't have –

Sound-effect: The phone rings. Everyone freezes. As O'Connor reaches for the phone,

CUT TO:

INT. CHILD'S ROOM, KRAMER APT. – EVENING

The room is dark, the only light coming from a small night light. We SEE a beautiful five year old boy (BILLY KRAMER). He lies in bed, half asleep. HOLD FOR A BEAT as a beautiful woman (JOANNA KRAMER) leans over, kisses the child and hugs him tightly to her.

JOANNA
(intense)

I love you, Billy...

BILLY

(drowsy)

I love you too, mommy... Good-night...

ON JOANNA

She gets up from the bed and starts toward the door of the child's room.

JOANNA

Sleep tight...

BILLY

Don't let the bedbugs bite...

Joanna stops in the doorway, silhouetted against the light. She turns, takes a last look at her son, then steps outside.

CUT TO:

INT. HALLWAY – EVENING

ON JOANNA

Now that the light is brighter, we can SEE her more clearly. In her mid-thirties, she is beautiful, dressed in a style that can best be described as Bloomingdale's. HOLD FOR A BEAT as she leans against the door. It is clear from her expression that she is terribly upset. Then, making up her mind, she crosses to a closet and takes out a suitcase.

THE CAMERA TRACKS WITH HER as she carries it into the bedroom, lays it out on the bed and opens it.

PAN WITH HER as she crosses to a closet, grabs an armload of clothes and dumps them helter-skelter into the suitcase.

CUT TO:

INT. O'CONNOR'S OFFICE – EVENING

It is a few minutes later, the news has obviously been good because there is a general celebration in progress.

Jim O'Connor, now standing, raises one hand for silence, then making a toast.

O'CONNOR

Here's to Ted Kramer.

Cheers and good-natured jokes.

O'CONNOR

(putting an arm around Ted squeezing him tight)

I wanna tell you something about this little runt. He went out there and sold the shit out of Revlon and that's why we got the account. It was his idea, it was his concept, right down the line...

More hoots and cheers. People start to yell "Speech."

TED

(embarrassed, but cannot stop grinning)

All I can say... All I can say is this is maybe one of the five best days of my whole life...

CUT TO:

INT. BATHROOM – KRAMER APT. – EVENING

Joanna stands at the medicine cabinet, going through it, packing things in a travel kit: rollers, deodorant, makeup, birth control pills. She starts to take a small bottle of perfume that has only an eighth of an inch of fluid left inside, hesitates, then puts it back.

CUT TO:

INT. O'CONNOR'S OFFICE – EVENING

Now some time has passed, most of the crowd has gone and only the regulars are left.

TED

(in the middle of a story)

So anyway Jim and I are making the pitch, right? And all of a sudden this old guy starts to cough and I keep on going and he keeps on coughing and I keep on going and he keeps on coughing and –

Murray Fisher leans over, shakes Ted's hand.

MURRAY

(interrupting)

Congratulations, Ted. That was a hell of a job.

TED

(surprised)

Where you goin' Murray, it's early?

MURRAY

Got to get home.

TED

(glancing at his watch)

Oh, Christ, I'm late... I gotta get out of here.

(however, instead of going, he settles back and resumes his story)

So anyway, I look over and this old geezer is starting to turn blue and I swear to God the only thing I can think about is that this poor sonofabitch is gonna die on me and screw up the pitch.

CUT TO: