Saturday, November 28, 2020

"Murder on the Moose Jaw Express" script, Scene J

From what I've seen of the lettering on these scripts, the scenes in Part One would've been labelled A, B, C, D, E, and H.  I counted six scenes onscreen after the one in the girls' apartment (A), but these were two back-to-back compartment scenes, two dining car scenes, and then two more compartment scenes, so it's possible that something that was one scene in the script got split up into two for airing.  Part Two goes J, K, L, M, and then P, so only five total.

Scene J opens "Act Two" as well as "Part Two."  McKean narrating the recap Britishly was not scripted, as of the Revised Shooting Script of January 22, 1980 anyway.  We are in the girls' train compartment, with "continuous action."

The first three pages of dialogue mostly made it in just fine, although Squiggy grabbing Laverne by the hair was added.  On the other hand, Squiggy was supposed to "comfort" Lenny after Laverne scares him by screaming.  The guys puckering up when Laverne says she could kiss them was added.  Oh, and it was supposed to be Lenny, not Squiggy, who says he suspects foul play.

The first real difference of note is that Laverne originally said, "Now, if you'll help me find Shirley, I'll buy you what you've always wanted.  A milking machine for your worm farm," rather than saying she'll do anything, causing Lenny to Ronnie.  Her surreal offer was followed by this exchange:

LENNY/SQUIGGY
Oh, boy!

LENNY
(TO SQUIGGY) Wait, that means we'll have to fire all the help.

As for the last page and a half, with Laverne leaving the boys with the dead man, Squiggy was supposed to say that they would "integrate" the dead man, but Lander makes it at least six syllables.


On the other hand, in the episode he simply calls the dad man a "slum bucket," while in the script it's "Street Scum" and "you stinkin', slimy, scuzzy punk."  And when he tells Lenny not to "molley colley" the witness, he calls the dead man a "sleaze bucket."  We lost Squiggy's line after accidentally slugging Lenny, "Talk or I'll hit him again."

Both versions of the good cop & bad cop sequence are funny, but it's interesting that Squiggy was actually a badder cop in the original.

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