Felix the Flyer
© Christopher C. Canole
WGA reg. # 923193
Production Note: Balboa Park in San Diego, CA is an exact replica of the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair portrayed in this script. And extensive Motion Picture Footage of the World's Fair and Olympic Games have been recovered and restored.
EXT. OUTSKIRTS OF HAVANA CUBA--SUMMER--1898
Sweat soaked Cuban and American khaki clad soldiers of the
24th Infantry wearily march up a steep dusty road alongside
war worn wagons filled with munitions and supplies.
The passing dust cloud clears to reveal a four foot tall 13
year-old wiry Cuban lad, FELIX, who looks like a modern day
David alongside the American military Goliaths on horseback
decked out in their dark blue uniforms of the Rough Riders.
Felix lugs a large leather mailbag that dwarfs his stature
even more. Exhausted, he flops his mailbag down and
collapses next to a mustached elderly Cuban peasant, YAYO.
Yayo's face, as dark and cracked as the dried mud beneath his
sandals, topped by an old blue beret that matches the color
of the Rough Rider's pants, seems as ancient and mysterious
as Cuba itself as he smokes his cigar stub.
FELIX
Ya no puedo mas.
Yayo smiles at Felix in a grandfatherly way.
YAYO
In English, Felix.
FELIX
I can no go...any...further.
Felix sighs and stands to plead his case in broken English.
FELIX
Yayo, I do…not...think...I built to
be mailman.
YAYO
You must learn to carry your load
with your heart. Not your mind.
Yayo picks up the mailbag and walks with Felix towards the
local post office just as a soldier is lowering the blood red
and gold Spanish flag.
FELIX
Why learn English?
The soldier raises the American "Stars and Stripes" over the
new army barracks as the troops pitch their white tents.
Yayo slowly explains the needs for Cuba's new future.
YAYO
Those of us who speak English will
get a head start when the Americans
liberate all of Cuba.
Yayo and Felix reach the post office just as an American boy
about Felix's age, dressed in a Rough Rider uniform, DABNEY,
dashes out the door and bumps into Felix. Dabney fumbles to
apologize in Spanish.
DABNEY
Ah...how do you say...pardoneme?
Felix flashes a friendly smile and winks to his grandfather.
FELIX
I'm...O...K. I speak English.
Dabney returns Felix's contagious smile, removes his fancy
leather fringed glove and offers his hand to his newfound
friend. Felix wipes his soiled tanned hand, shakes Dabney's
clean white hand and checks out the American boy's uniform.
FELIX
Are you Rough Rider?
DABNEY
I'm their Mascot.
Dabney clicks his heels and snaps a sharp salute to Felix.
DABNEY
Dabney Royster at your service.
FELIX
Felix Carvajal. And this is my
Yayo...ah...grandfather.
YAYO
Pleased to meet an American Mascot.
FELIX
How do you get to be Mascot?
DABNEY
When the Rough Riders rode through
my hometown, Memphis, I begged to
join them. But my parents and
everyone laughed at me saying I was
too scrawny to be a warrior. So I
ran away from home by hiding in one
of their wagons.
FELIX
What is Mascot?
DABNEY
Colonel Roosevelt calls me his
"Ambassador of Good Will."
FELIX
What does that mean?
DABNEY
Mostly, I run errands for the
Colonel.
Dabney opens a satchel much smaller than Felix's mailbag.
DABNEY
Like fetching his mail.
FELIX
Is Roosevelt in Havana?
DABNEY
Not till next week. Why?
FELIX
My father was Roosevelt's runner in
Battle of San Juan Hill. Maybe you
met him?
This time Felix's enthusiasm creates discomfort in Dabney.
DABNEY
I've only participated in war
games. I'm not allowed to join the
front line soldiers. Colonel
Roosevelt assigned me to prepare
his quarters here in Havana for
future battles.
Felix quickly picks up on his new friend's bruised ego.
FELIX
You need me to be your mascot. I
show you Havana.
Yayo recognizes Felix's boyish attempt to help Dabney as an
excuse to get out of his own duties.
YAYO
I'm sure Dabney has duties to
finish today. And we have our own
mail to deliver.
Can you meet us Sunday for
your...reconnaissance...of Havana?
DABNEY
Yes Sir!
EXT. PLAZA DE LA CATHEDRAL--SUNDAY
Felix and Yayo escort Dabney into the plaza where colorfully
dressed Cuban girls sell lottery tickets to the American
soldiers gathered to savor the exotic Cuban culture.
The trio enter the Cathedral and walk over to an ornate stone
relief sculpture of Christopher Columbus wearing his
conqueror's armor and a simple beret. A Spanish inscription
separates the Columbus relief bust and stone sarcophagus
below.
DABNEY
Who's that?
FELIX
Christopher Columbus.
DABNEY
But he was a famous explorer. Why
is he buried here?
YAYO
The inscription might give you the
answer. Felix, what does it say?
FELIX
What is man that thou art mindful
of him?
DABNEY
I don't understand.
YAYO
It is a bible Psalm. What does a
man do that we remember him?
FELIX
I want to do something to be
remembered all over Cuba. Maybe I
enlist to be a Rough Rider to fight
with Dabney.
YAYO
I'm sure they have enough young
soldiers. You can better serve
Cuba's liberation as a mailman.
FELIX
What can mailman do?
YAYO
Let me tell you about one of the
most famous battles of all time.
Yayo sits down below the Columbus coffin and taps the step
beside him for Felix and Dabney to join him. The boys
enthusiastically sit to listen to Yayo's war story.
YAYO
About 500 years before Christ the
great Persian army wanted to
explore and conquer a new world.
FELIX
Like Columbus sailing to Cuba for
the Spanish Empire?
YAYO
Yes. The Persians landed outside
the town of Athens on the plains of
Marathon to prepare their attack.
The Athenians were outnumbered and
needed the help of their
neighboring city Sparta.
DABNEY
Colonel Roosevelt says he trained
the Rough Riders to fight like
Spartans.
YAYO
Right again. The Athenians needed
to get a letter to the Spartans, so
they sent Phidippides...a mailman.
The reference perks both boys' interest.
YAYO
Phidippides ran to Sparta and back
to Athens over 140 mountainous
miles. The Spartans agreed to join
the fight after their religious
holidays. But the Athenians knew
that might be too late so they
launched a surprise suicidal attack
at Marathon.
DABNEY
Like the Rough Rider's attack on
San Juan Hill.
YAYO
By the end of the day 6400 Persian
bodies lay dead on the field while
only 192 Athenians died.
FELIX
What happened to the mailman?
YAYO
Phidippides was called into action
again to run to Athens and deliver
the message of victory and warn the
town the Persians might counter
attack by sea. He delivered the
message, "Rejoice we conquer," then
collapsed and died of exhaustion.
DABNEY
That's a great war story. But if
he was so famous how come I've
never heard of him?
YAYO
You will, from now on, every four
years. The world will celebrate
this mailman's heroics during the
Modern Olympic Games that began two
years ago in Paris. To honor this
heroic Greek mailman, runners from
all over the world compete in a 26
mile race called the "Marathon".
FELIX
But I want to do something heroic
now. I want to wear uniform like
Dabney's with medals and badges of
honor for all the world to see.
Yayo takes off his beret and offers it to Felix.
FELIX
What's this for?
YAYO
This is our family's "badge of
honor". It's been handed down
through generations of our family
since, well nobody remembers how
far back. Your father said to pass
it on to you when he was given his
Rough Rider hat.
Felix accepts the offer and tries it on. The beret flops
down covering Felix's small face. All three laugh at Felix
wearing the beret like a blue helmeted warrior. Yayo takes
off the beret, tightens the drawstring headband, and then
properly sets the beret to fit Felix.
A cavalry SERGEANT walks up and addresses Dabney.
SERGEANT
Colonel Roosevelt just arrived.
Dabney stands and salutes Felix. Felix mimics Dabney by
clicking his mailman street shoes and snapping a salute at
the creased fold of his beret.
FELIX
I will see you later.
SERGEANT
He'll be too busy, serving the
Colonel's needs during our war with
Spain, to play with local boys.
FELIX
And I will be too busy delivering
the Colonel's mail during our Cuban
war.
EXT. ROUGH RIDER CAMP--DAYS LATER
Felix proudly totes the heavy US Mailbag into camp as Dabney
unloads three boxes from a wagon. Felix hands the mail to
the Sergeant standing next to Dabney. Dabney opens the boxes
to release a golden eagle tethered at the leg, a female
mountain lion, and a cocker spaniel.
DABNEY
These are Colonel Roosevelt's
animal Mascots. I'm letting them
out for a little exercise. The
eagle's name is Teddy. The
mountain lion is Josephine and he
renamed his dog "Cuba".
Felix cautiously reaches his hand out to the spaniel.
SERGEANT
Would you like to help Dabney?
FELIX
Sure. What can I do?
The Sergeant unties the rope connected to Cuba's collar.
SERGEANT
Run!
Felix immediately realizes what is about to happen and runs.
SERGEANT
Sic'm Cuba!
Felix is able to keep just one step ahead of Cuba as he runs
through the narrow, colorfully painted streets of Havana.
Each time he drops mail in a box, the dog nips at his shoes.
An exhausted Felix arrives back at the camp with now carrying
a worn out spaniel in his mailbag. Dabney congratulates
Felix.
DABNEY
Hail victor! The mailboy who
conquered Cuba!
SERGEANT
Next time we'll see how you do with
Josephine on your heels.
Thus starts a montage of Felix changing from a mailman who
"walks" his mail route into a mail "runner."
EXT. POST OFFICE--NEXT MORNING
This time Felix proudly hefts his massive letter filled
leather mailbag, adjusts his beret, checks the laces of his
street shoes and runs down the hill. Felix stops to hand
letters and the new American newspaper to his grandfather who
sits with his fellow Cuban elders smoking their cigars while
playing dominos.
Continuing on his postal route, Felix runs along a dusty road
that splits the tall day-glo green sugar cane fields creating
a stroboscopic effect of Felix running in slow-motion or
faster than real motion according to the density of cane
stalks. Felix exits the fields as children of the plantation
slave workers playfully chase him.
EXT. POST OFFICE--MONTHS LATER
Felix's slightly larger and tougher looking hands unties
Yayo's knot on the beret to loosen the drawstring for his
growing head. He waits for Dabney to saddle up a Rough Rider
horse.
Today's race begins with Dabney pacing his friend past the
army barracks being evacuated and converted to an occupation
size force.
EXT. POST OFFICE--1901
A postal clerk tacks a yellow newspaper on a bulletin board.
Felix runs a finger along the page to translate the story
into English for the locals gathered around him.
FELIX
McKinley shot and killed by
anarchist at the Pan-American
Games. Theodore Roosevelt is the
President!
EXT. POST OFFICE--1902
Again Felix exits the post office, loosens the beret
headband, slings a much smaller mailbag over his shoulder and
leaves the post office just as the American red, white and
blue Stars and Stripes flag is being lowered and replaced by
the new Cuban red, white and blue single star flag. Felix
salutes the Cuban flag before running to the Havana harbor.
EXT. HAVANA HARBOR--LATER
Dabney hands Felix a piece of paper.
DABNEY
Here's my mailbox number in
Memphis.
FELIX
That is too far for me to deliver.
They laugh, shake hands, and salute each other good-bye.
EXT. POST OFFICE--1903
The postal clerk pins up today's newspaper with headlines
announcing the successful Wright Brother's flight.
An 18-year-old Felix lets out the beret drawstring to its
full circle opening. He jauntily places it atop his head to
add a few inches to his five-foot athletic body. He strokes
his budding mustache.
Felix takes a copy of the newspaper from the clerk, puts it
in his mailbag and easily slings it over his shoulder looking
like Michelangelo's David standing tall and ready to conquer
new giants. He WHISTLES.
A young cocker spaniel runs out from behind the post office
to join him as this montage of his youth ends; and Felix
begins the next leg of his race into marathon history.
EXT. YAYO'S HOUSE--LATER
Felix arrives as Yayo, wearing a traditional Cuban straw hat,
slams a domino tile down on the table in victory over PADRE,
Felix's father, wearing a Rough Rider campaign hat.
YAYO
Victoria!
PADRE
Suerta!
YAYO
Suerta? What do you say Felix? Is
you father right? Is it Suerta? Is
it luck in Dominos? Or my skill
that wins?
FELIX
Dominos are a game of chance to the
loser, and skill to the winner.
PADRE
Now my son is a philosopher?
Padre throws up his hands and walks into the house.
YAYO
What is the news today?
Felix pulls out the copy of the American paper from his
mailbag.
FELIX
President Roosevelt Announces The
Third Olympic Games Moved From
Chicago to St. Louis.
Sitting down, with his back against the wall Felix continues.
FELIX
The move to St. Louis for the 1904
Olympics will coincide with the
World's Fair to commemorate the
100th Anniversary of the Louisiana
Purchase. Featuring twelve
classifications of "Man and His
Works" as well as the values of
American Imperialism manifested
recently in the liberation of Cuba
and the planned Panama Canal.
YAYO
Roosevelt sure can think big. What
does it say about the competition?
FELIX
Most events will be conducted by
the American Amateur Athletic
Union. Athletes from foreign
nations must provide their own
equipment, funding for housing, and
transportation to St. Louis.
Felix lowers the paper to reveal his wide-eyed interest.
FELIX
How much do you think it would cost
me to compete in the Marathon?
YAYO
More than a mailman makes in a
year.
FELIX
It is not fair. Phidippides was a
mailman and he did not need money
to run the Marathon. Maybe if I
buy Lottery tickets and pray to
Jesus.
YAYO
I want you to make me a promise.
You will only use your God given
skills to earn the money, and not
gamble.
FELIX
Like your skills with dominos?
YAYO
I'll give you what I win from the
American tourists.
Yayo's comment ignites in Felix an idea to earn money.
FELIX
While you, skillfully, take their
money with dominos, I can make
money running their errands.
YAYO
What about delivering mail?
FELIX
Papa can take his job back, so I
can quit, and train for Roosevelt's
Marathon. To show the world how
Cubans run on our own.
To deflect the chance Yayo might not readily agree, Felix
lifts the newspaper and reads the next article.
FELIX
Wright Brothers Fly!
Yayo puffs on his cigar to let Felix change the subject.
FELIX
Orville Wright successfully flew
852 feet in 59 seconds across the
sands of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina
in an engine-powered flying machine
nicknamed, "The Flyer". His
brother Wilbur said future flight
could serve many purposes, like
transporting mail.
The second article re-ignites Felix's excitement to raise
money for his Olympic dream. He stands and acts out his plan
by bowing to his grandfather.
FELIX
Welcome to Cuba Senor. Felix...the
Flyer...at your service.
EXT. PLAZA DE LA CATHEDRAL--DAYS LATER
Felix runs through the crowded festive courtyard filled with
American tourists. He stops at a table of ten drunken
college fraternity brothers sporting their Yale sweaters, and
delivers several bottles of Cuban rum.
One Frat member hands Felix a few coins for the errand.
Felix takes off his beret, adds the FRAT coins to the other
mix of pesos and pennies, replaces the beret, and salutes.
FELIX
Thank you for donating to the Cuban
Olympic Running Team.
FRAT
How many are coming to challenge
us?
FELIX
It took only one man to run the
first Marathon.
FRAT
Let me guess, your Cuba's one-man
team?
FELIX
At your service.
FRAT
Are you a gambler?
Felix looks over at his grandfather sitting nearby defeating
another American tourist in dominos.
FELIX
Only in games of skill.
FRAT
How bout playing "Double or
Nothing"?
FELIX
I do not know that one.
FRAT
It's easy, I'll "double" the number
of coins you just put in your
beret, if you can run around this
courtyard in one minute without
spilling a single cent.
Felix takes off his beret to see dozens of coins inside.
FELIX
What is the "nothing"?
FRAT
If one coin falls, I get back what
I paid you for our rum run.
Felix bounces the coins in the beret.
FELIX
Why not wager for all the coins in
my beret? Double or nothing?
The Frat smiles at Felix's bravura and reaches into his
pocket.
FRAT
I'll do better than that; I'll add
all the coins in my pocket.
Felix looks at the added coinage and sees a golden
opportunity.
FELIX
Is that all you got?
The tables quickly turn on Felix as the other fraternity
brothers quickly turn out their pockets and fill the beret.
Felix stares at the beret that seems to have little room left
for his head. He shifts the coins around, bends over, dips
his head into the coins, makes sure the drawstring is secure,
and slowly stands up looking like a human mushroom with his
oversized cap.
The fraternity brothers burst out laughing. The Frat brother
pulls out a pocket watch and holds it up for all to see.
FRAT
Runner ready?
Felix presses the top of his beret, forcing the coins to
settle below the drawstring into a circular pouch.
FELIX
Ready!
FRAT
Go!
As if glued down by the weight of the coins Felix takes a few
cautious steps. The coins JINGLE, but settle well into the
beret fold below the drawstring. Felix shakes his head just
to be sure, and the JINGLE of the coins acts like a starting
gun sending him on his run.
The jingling coins sound out the rhythm of Felix's strides,
and are echoed by the Cubans and tourists clapping in unison
to cheer Felix.
Around each corner, Felix's leather street shoes slip and
slide, shifting the coin's weight, throwing him off balance.
Felix makes the final turn of his dash for dollars. A single
peso appears at the edge of the drawstring above his right
eyebrow, slipping further out with each stride. Just as
Felix reaches the table the peso hangs precariously close to
falling out. Felix glances up at the peso, held in place by
a few hairs of his furrowed eyebrow.
The Frat brother reaches up to retrieve the peso, hands it to
Felix, then slyly smiles.
FRAT
I hope your Luck holds out in the
real race.
The Frat flips the peso into the air.
EXT. PLAZA DE LA CATHEDRAL--LATER
The coin tumbles and falls onto a table between Felix and
Yayo as they scoop up their winnings from defeating a local
plantation Owner entertaining his Southern GENTLEMAN client
in side-by-side games of Dominos. Behind the gentlemen a
Southern Belle, LILAH, dressed all in white lace, lowers her
delicate fan to deliver a coquettish smile at Felix. Felix
stands and bows to today's contributors to his Olympic fund.
FELIX
Thank you gentlemen. And Lady. It
is time for today's races. If you
want to recover your losses, my
grandfather will be glad to handle
any wager against me.
Lilah opens her coin purse and hands Yayo an American five
dollar bill.
LILAH
I'll wager on the Cuban boy.
GENTLEMAN
But the race has not been set.
LILAH
I know a winner when I see one.
Yayo accepts the money and writes out a betting slip.
YAYO
Who is my grandson's lady in
wagering?
LILAH
Miss Lilah, from New Orleans.
Felix takes the betting slip and puts it under his beret.
FELIX
For luck!
Staring at Lilah, Felix starts to leave and accidentally
bumps into an almost seven-foot-tall massively built black
man who is helping the Plantation Owner to his feet. The
gentle giant steadies Felix with a friendly hand and smile.
Felix runs to the center of the courtyard and stands on a
soapbox under a banner reading "Felix the Flyer". He picks up
a battered Rough Rider bugle and BLARES a sour note.
FELIX
Come one, come all, here my call.
Who thinks he can defeat Cuba's
Olympic runner? You choose the
race. I set the pace.
From out of the crowd the Fraternity brothers step up and
stand almost eye-to-eye with Felix on his soapbox. Now
sober, dressed in short shirts and pants to reveal their
athletic bodies, they've returned for revenge over losing to
the clever Cuban.
FRAT
How bout a Three-Legged-Race?
Felix lifts and shakes his left, then his right legs.
FELIX
Welcome back Amigos. Sorry, I only
have two legs to race.
The Frat holds up a two-foot length of rope for all to see.
Then he bends down and ties his right ankle to his frat
brother's left ankle. The two Frats then slowly run around
Felix's soapbox to demonstrate the three-legged-race to the
howls and laughter of the Cuban and American crowd.
FELIX
You Americans can think up strange
ways to race. I accept. But who
will be my partner?
From the domino table, the plantation OWNER who lost at
dominos shouts to be heard.
OWNER
Goliath!
The crowd chants the former slave's name as Goliath steps up
to become Felix's running partner. The Frat brothers smirk at
the obvious miss-match sizing of their opponents. The Frat
hands Felix a rope.
Felix jumps off the soapbox and pulls up his pant leg to
expose his skinny sapling of a leg. He reaches over and
lifts Goliath's tattered pants and stares at the tree-stump
like gnarled leg scarred from years of wearing slave ankle
shackles. GOLIATH notices Felix's hesitation to wrap a new
binding around the scarred ankle.
GOLIATH
Go ahead Felix. I can not feel it
anymore.
Felix ties their legs and stands up to Goliath's mid-waist.
FRAT
Once around the courtyard?
The Frat brothers sequentially stride over to the front of
the cathedral, turn and wait for Felix and Goliath's clumsy
and comical practice run to the starting line. The
plantation Owner escorts Lilah over to act as official
starter. She lifts a white lace handkerchief and blows a
kiss at Felix. Lilah releases her handkerchief.
Like a symbol of the new American industrial power, the Frat
brothers bolt forward in clockwork like running rhythm.
Goliath's first stride throws Felix to the ground. Felix
looks up to watch the handkerchief fall to the ground like a
white flag of defeat. Goliath grabs Felix by the collar and
lifts him back to their starting position. They try again.
Already the Frat brothers are half way around the courtyard.
Goliath excitedly tries to catch-up dragging Felix along like
a rag doll tied to his shoes. Felix and Goliath fall again.
Felix tumbles across Goliath's path bringing the mighty giant
down on top of him.
The crowd GASPS. The Frat brothers cross the finish in front
of the cathedral, run over, and push through the crowd to see
if Felix is seriously injured.
Goliath rolls off the bruised and bloodied unconscious Felix.
Yayo kneels down and pours a glass of rum on Felix's
forehead. Felix blinks, looks up at the Frat brothers,
smiles and asks.
FELIX
Double or Nothing?
The Frat shakes his head at his courageous opponent.
FRAT
You're delirious. Don't you see
you can't win a race made to favor
us?
FELIX
I just needed a little training. I
am ready to race you now.
Felix struggles to stand up next to Goliath's fallen frame to
show he means business. The crowd moves back to let Goliath
stand taller next to his friend.
GOLIATH
Grab my belt, I'll carry you.
Like a child grasping his father's leg, Felix lets Goliath
slowly limp back to the front of the cathedral.
Everyone gathers around for the rematch.
Felix brushes off the dirt from his bloodied and tattered
clothing, adjusts his beret, and then pulls on Goliath's arm
to get his attention. Goliath leans over to listen to Felix
whispering in his ear. Felix checks the knot on the blood
stained ropes around their ankles then turns to the Frat.
FELIX
Let me get the rules straight.
Anything goes as long as my left
and his right ankle are tied
together?
FRAT
That's right.
Felix bends over and removes the laces from the shoe below
the rope tied to Goliath. He swivels around back-to-back
with Goliath and laces their other feet together. Then Felix
reaches up to grab onto the back of Goliath's belt, to face
backwards like a pair of chaps worn backwards. Felix squirms
his head to look under his armpit and sees Lilah raise her
handkerchief for the rematch.
LILAH
Runners ready?
Lilah starts the race. Again the Frat brothers leap into
action shouting out their race pace.
FRATS
One-two...one-two.
Cautiously Goliath strides forward with Felix hanging on.
FELIX
Run as fast as you can Goliath. I
want to see their faces.
Goliath responds to his friend's coaxing and runs full
throttle like a slave escaping his master's hounds.
Halfway around the courtyard the Frat brothers cannot fend
off Goliath's charge. Riding backwards on his mighty steed,
Felix smiles and lets go with one arm to wave like a bareback
bronco rider in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Circus.
Felix and Goliath cross the line to the cheering crowd.
CROWD
Felix...Goliath...Felix...Goliath!
As Lilah walks up to the victors, Felix uses his free arm to
take off his beret and offer her the betting slip.
LILAH
I'll collect later.
EXT. HAVANA HARBOR--DAYS LATER
Yayo and Felix sit on two makeshift soapbox chairs playing a
final game of dominos near the gangplank leading to a
schooner being loaded for the trip to New Orleans. Yayo
scrambles the face down white-ivory tiles on another
overturned soapbox. A guitarist and conga drummer playing
spicy Cuban music heat up the sweltering dockside.
YAYO
When you get to the Olympics see
the Marathon like a game of
Dominos.
Felix reaches for his tiles exposing the scabbed over scars
from his three-legged race tumble. Yayo selects his tiles.
YAYO
The first draw, when everything is
still unknown, does not determine
the outcome down the road.
Felix quickly lays down a six-six double tile.
YAYO
Don't be too eager to show your
best moves early. Remember, it
tips off your opponent to your
strengths.
Yayo and Felix lay out the tiles like a dance of dominos.
YAYO
The game can be a tug-o-war. Or
you can feel the changing rhythms
along the way and dance around your
opponents.
Felix smiles and lays down a tile, forcing Yayo to select
several tiles before he can make his next move.
YAYO
The one who seems to be in the
early lead can be struck down later
with just one false move.
Yayo plays his tile, forcing Felix to select several himself.
YAYO
Keep one eye on your goal, and one
on your opponent. Remember your
moves are dependent on his moves.
As Felix places his next tile, a bystander GRUNTS and shakes
his head to signal his opinion.
YAYO
Don't just focus on yourself and
the game. Let yourself enjoy the
companionship of your opponent, and
those standing around watching you.
Yayo places a tile on the end of a row creating a new branch.
YAYO
Be ready to take a tougher path
leading to the end. But watch out
for the easy course that may lead
to a dead end.
Felix avoids the new branch of tiles and makes his own
branch.
YAYO
That's it. Be willing to sacrifice
your present position to gain the
advantage later.
Yayo reaches to play, accidentally knocking over one of his
tiles, exposing what he is holding. Then he blows cigar
smoke in Felix's face causing him to cough.
YAYO
Don't always assume accidents are
accidents. I may be just
distracting you to cheat the odds.
Felix plays on Yayo's tile and holds his next tile in hand
waiting for his grandfather to play the tile he tipped over.
But Yayo makes a different move.
YAYO
Expect the unexpected!
Felix's face reacts with frustration over the impending
defeat.
YAYO
If you think you're going to lose
this one game, be a gentleman, and
finish with pride.
As Felix ponders his next move, Yayo looks over his
grandson's shoulder to see Lilah approaching wearing a white
silk with black polka-dot dress with matching parasol. A
porter rolls a cart filled with her luggage.
YAYO
Beware of Lady Luck. You never
know when she'll suddenly turn
against you.
The shadow of Lilah's parasol covers the domino game as she
taps Felix on the shoulder.
LILAH
I hope you'll play with me during
our trip to New Orleans.
Felix looks up from the Domino board to acknowledge her, but
is blinded by the glare of the sun peeking under the parasol.
FELIX
It will be my pleasure.
Felix stands and hugs Yayo. He shoulders his old leather
mailbag now used to carry his few items of clothing.
FELIX
I will run for the pride of all
Cubans.
YAYO
It is enough, to run for one Cuban.
Lilah takes Felix's arm and proudly walks alongside him
through the large crowd of Cubans cheering their one-man
team.
Yayo flips over the played tiles and scrambles the white
backed pieces into a new chaotic mix.
EXT. UPPER DECK OF THE NEW ORLEANS SCHOONER SHIP
Felix's hand scrambles a new game of dominos with Lilah, who
seems barely able to maintain her Southern Belle charm
suffering the hot Gulf winds and the common folk milling
around on deck. A STEWARD walks up to them.
STEWARD
A storm is brewing Miss. You should
consider retiring to your cabin.
Lilah prepares to leave, addressing the Steward.
LILAH
Thank you. My...companion...and I
will be more comfortable continuing
our game in private.
The Steward gives Felix the once over with disdain, but Felix
pays no attention as he gathers up the dominos.
EXT. LILAH'S FIRST CLASS CABIN
Lilah turns around in the middle of her well-appointed
quarters and beckons a bemused Felix standing at the
threshold staring like a kid in a candy shop.
LILAH
Come in. One should always travel
"First Class" don't you think?
FELIX
Well, I...Ah...
LILAH
Are you traveling "First Class" on
that long train trip to St. Louis?
FELIX
I have only enough money for...
LILAH
Oh, you simply must. Once we dock
I'll have my brother give you a
chance to upgrade your ticket.
Felix acknowledges her offer with a simple bow and cautiously
enters carrying his mailbag and small sack of dominos.
LILAH
In the South, a gentleman removes
his hat when entering a lady's
private chambers.
Felix drops the mailbag but does not reach for his beret.
FELIX
I have to learn your American
customs. But if you do not mind I
rather keep it on.
Lilah tries another tactic to entice Felix into her domain.
She removes her own lacy hat and fans herself with it.
LILAH
It's awfully hot. I hardly slept a
wink last night, even with nothing
on.
FELIX
I love the heat.
Lilah walks over to a wardrobe screen backlit by a portal.
LILAH
Suit yourself. Why don't you set
up the board while I slip into
something more comfortable.
Felix sits at a drawing room table and sorts out the dominos
while sneaking a peak at Lilah's silhouetted strip tease.
Lilah seductively saunters across the cabin in an all black
see-through negligee flowing over her black corset trimmed
with red laces. She bends over as she sits to display her
ample cleavage.
LILAH
Ready to play?
Felix holds out two fists for her to choose which has the
starting tile. Lilah touches her rosy red lips with her
fingernail then strokes the closed fingers of his right hand
as her choice. Felix opens to reveal the one-one double
tile.
LILAH
One-on-one. Seems my luck is
changing.
They both draw seven tiles from the pile and begin playing.
As the game develops Lilah always tries to play immediately
on Felix's last move.
At one point she lays the one-one double across a two-one
tile. Before removing her finger she strokes the black line
centered between the two black dots. Felix counters by
slamming down a one-six tile at the intersection of spread
one-one.
LILAH
Do you always force a big number to
outscore a one-on-one?
FELIX
It's just my nature.
LILAH
A gentleman should let a lady win
once in a while.
FELIX
Sorry. I guess I am just lucky.
Felix's next move forces Lilah to select the remaining tiles.
She reaches for the stack, but instead of picking a tile, she
rests her hand on the back of Felix's scarred hand.
LILAH
You're too good for me.
Unsure what she means, Felix nervously stares into her eyes
as a bead of sweat rolls down from the brim of his beret.
LILAH
Let's change the game to one I'm
more familiar with.
She lifts her hand off his and reaches for a tiny pouch sewn
on her corset between her breasts.
LILAH
Dominos have too many pieces and it
takes too long to play.
She slowly unties the pouch string.
LILAH
I like games where you can hold
your fate in one hand.
Lilah delicately produces a pair of white ivory dice.
LILAH
Scoring in dice is much quicker
and...
She tosses the dice through the dominos on the table. The
dice stop in front of Felix, snake-eyes.
LILAH
More exciting.
Felix picks up the dice and deftly manipulates them on the
tip of his fingers.
LILAH
You could be a natural. Dice have
the same numbers as dominos.
Lilah spreads the dominos to clear a path between her and
Felix.
LILAH
Come on. Give me a roll.
Felix tosses the dice, six and one.
LILAH
Seven! I was right. You won on
your first roll.
They toss the dice back and forth across the table. As they
play Lilah fidgets with the red laces of her black corset,
and Felix unconsciously stacks the dominos in a line like he
did as a child pretending they were white soldiers standing
in formation.
Lilah rolls the dice against Felix's line of dominos knocking
the first in line into the next one starting a chain-reaction
of falling tiles, CLICKING away as they speed towards Felix.
But a gap in Felix's stacking stops the momentum before
reaching him. The CLICKING stops just as a KNOCK on the
cabin door interrupts the next move.
STEWARD
Land Ho!
Lilah retrieves her dice.
LILAH
I guess we'll have to continue this
in New Orleans.
EXT. NEW ORLEANS HARBOR
Walking arm-in-arm with Felix down the plank, Lilah waves to
someone in the crowd waiting for disembarking passengers.
LILAH
There's my brother.
She pulls Felix through the crowd, releases him and embraces
her brother. They whisper to each other briefly before she
conducts the introductions.
LILAH
Brother Brutus, allow me to
introduce you to Felix Carvajal the
Cuban who is seeking to strike
Olympic gold.
Felix offers a friendly hand.
BRUTUS shakes Felix's hand and pats his shoulder.
BRUTUS
Lilah says you need my help in
making your journey a little
easier, so you can arrive refreshed
and in style at the Olympics.
FELIX
I appreciate any donations.
BRUTUS
I'm not a rich man myself. But
Lilah assures me you've got a
natural talent for rolling the
dice.
Felix glances at Lilah. She nods back to encourage him.
BRUTUS
I'm willing to take the risk on her
word. I can get us into a high
roller game to help you reach your
goals.
Lilah winks and smiles at Felix and her brother.
EXT. NEW ORLEANS--STORYVILLE--BACK ALLEY--LATER
Lilah's eyes flare with excitement. She cheers.
LILAH
Eight straight passes!
Felix and Brutus scoop up their winnings scattered next to
the dice showing "seven". A half-circle of finely dressed
gamblers kneeling and facing a dimly lit wall grumble over
their losses. Brutus pours jiggers of Bourbon for himself
and Felix. The two winners CLINK glasses and down the
liquor. A GAMBLER picks up the dice and inspects them.
GAMBLER
Are these dice loaded?
Standing above the gamblers Lilah reaches out with her right
hand and snatches the dice.
LILAH
I assure you sir, only our Cuban
friend here is loaded.
A drunken Felix HICCUPS and lifts his beret to add his
winnings to the funds he raised in Cuba.
FELIX
This is enough for my ticket.
BRUTUS
You're my good luck charm. You
can't leave now!
FELIX
But I have to catch my "First
Class" train to St. Louis.
BRUTUS
What about when you get there?
After a long comfortable journey
you'll need to stay in the best
hotel.
FELIX
I never stayed in a hotel.
BRUTUS
Top hotels are very expensive, what
with room, board and tips. And an
occasional night out at the World's
Fair with a fine Southern lady.
LILAH
That sounds delightful.
BRUTUS
Let's see how far your winning
streak will take you?
Lilah leans down to kiss Felix and slyly hands a new pair of
dice from her left hand.
As Felix stares at the dice, Brutus looks around with a
conspiratorial smile to the other gamblers.
Felix pulls a few bills from his beret, lays them on the
ground to bet. The gamblers place their bets. Felix rolls.
GAMBLER
Snake eyes. Too bad.
Lilah taps Felix's shoulder.
LILAH
Remember how you beat those college
boys?
Felix picks up the dice, pulls out twice as many bills from
his beret, and takes a drink of bourbon.
FELIX
Double or nothing?
BRUTUS
We call it "Doubling-up". Good plan
Felix. You're a true gambler.
Felix loses again. Doubles up his bet, and loses again. The
game continues until Felix finally has to remove his beret to
retrieve what he has left.
But all he sees is his return boat ticket and Lilah's betting
voucher from their first meeting.
Brutus puts his arm around Felix's shoulder.
BRUTUS
Lilah will forget your debt to her.
You can tear-up that stub, now that
you're flat broke.
Felix lifts the stub and tries to focus on what has happened.
Brutus hands a few bills to pay off his fellow hustlers.
BRUTUS
Thanks for helping us show Felix
what he's up against trying to beat
us at our own games.
The gamblers snicker as they leave. Brutus stands and kisses
Lilah, not like a brother. They walk away into the darkness
leaving Felix to sober up to reality.
EXT. NEW ORLEANS HARBOR TICKET OFFICE
Depressed and hung-over, Felix takes off his beret, lays it
on the counter, removes his ticket and slides it across to a
ticket TELLER. The teller examines the ticket.
TELLER
You just arrived yesterday. Now
you want to go home?
FELIX
No. I want to trade my boat ticket
in for a train ticket to St. Louis.
TELLER
This ticket is almost worthless.
"Deck Class" is only for
immigrants, servants and, well, you
know.
FELIX
No, I have a problem understanding
your American customs.
TELLER
People of your...color.
Felix begins to see a new problem on his path to the
Olympics. His good nature keeps him from reacting to the
teller's insult.
FELIX
How far will it get me?
TELLER
Baton Rouge. That leaves you about
a thousand miles short of St.
Louis.
FELIX
Can I get my money back?
TELLER
All I can give you is a partial
refund. Wouldn't you rather go
home?
FELIX
I can not go back to Cuba empty
handed.
The teller takes Felix's boat ticket and deals out five
single dollar bills.
Felix looks into his beret, removes Lilah's "five-dollar"
betting voucher and rips it into tiny pieces.
FELIX
We are even now.
He places the five singles inside the beret, puts it on his
head, looks down at his old mailman shoes, and asks the
teller.
FELIX
Can you tell me where I can buy a
new pair of shoes?
TELLER
You're not thinking of walking all
the way to St. Louis?
FELIX
I don't have that much time. I'll
have to run most of it.
INT. NEW ORLEANS FRENCH QUARTER--"SOLE OF THE SOUTH" SHOE
STORE
Felix drops his mailbag next to an open chair and sits. A
Black shoe salesman, MANDO, walks up and sits on the shoe
fitting stool facing Felix.
MANDO
Welcome to Sole of the South. I'm
Mando. May I help you?
FELIX
I want the toughest shoes you sell.
MANDO
It'll help if I know what you'll be
using them for.
FELIX
I am a Cuban mailman who is...
Mando interrupts Felix's explanation of his need.
MANDO
Ah, a noble profession. I think
I've just what you need. Please
put your foot on the stool.
Felix slips off his worn out shoe and puts it on the inclined
stool so Mando can measure him. Mando is surprised by the
largeness of feet for such a small man.
MANDO
You must still be growing.
Mando goes into the stockroom as Felix looks around at the
all Black customers, a few wearing berets. His smiles and
nods are returned. Mando returns with a box. He pulls out a
pair for Felix to try. The fancy shoes impress Felix.
FELIX
What are these?
MANDO
Wingtips.
FELIX
I like the mane.
MANDO
These can carry you around the
world.
FELIX
I am only going to St. Louis.
MANDO
Are you joining the "Migration"?
FELIX
Migration? No. The Marathon. What
migration?
MANDO
Lots of my people are migrating
from the South to the North.
FELIX
Why North?
MANDO
Let's just say some don't like the
man's "Southern hospitality."
FELIX
I know what you mean. A Southern
lady already taught me a lesson in
hospitality.
MANDO
Don't judge all Southerners by a
few bad souls.
Mando slips the second Wingtip shoe on Felix and gestures for
him to stand and try them out by walking around the store.
Felix obeys, and then sits across from Mando.
FELIX
All I have is...
Felix pulls out the five single dollars. Mando takes one.
MANDO
This is your lucky day. Wingtips
are on sale to Cuban mailmen.
This time Felix interrupts to correct Mando's mistake.
FELIX
Cuban runner.
MANDO
What are you running from?
FELIX
I'm running to...ah...in, the
Olympic Games Marathon.
MANDO
I thought the Olympics were only
for White folks.
Don't you mean the World's Fair
"Aboriginal Games"?
FELIX
I only know about the Olympics.
Mando leans forward and changes to a serious mood.
MANDO
Mind some friendly advice?
FELIX
Sure. I'm not yet used to your
ways.
MANDO
A man of your "color" should stay
off the main roads. You'll be
safer on the banks of the
Mississippi.
Felix packs his old shoes in his mailbag.
MANDO
And you're more likely to catch an
occasional wagon ride from a Black
family headin' North.
Felix turns one shoe sideways to inspect the bottom.
MANDO
You'll need a thick and hearty sole
for such a long journey.
EXT. ST. LOUIS CATHEDRAL SQUARE--NEW ORLEANS--SUNDAY
The layout of the square is very similar to the European
style of the Plaza de la Cathedral in Havana Cuba.
As an all Negro Olympia Brass band takes a break, a solo
guitarist plays a Dixieland jazz tune accompanied by the 9
year-old trumpeter Joseph Oliver, who later became Louis
Armstrong's teacher. Mando's sons, Jhase and Gaelan, compete
with each other in a tap dance duel.
Sitting on the steps of the cathedral other Black children
listen to Felix read from the "Tales of Brer Rabbit" using a
different voice for each character.
FELIX-TURTLE
Brer Turtle then says, "I hope you
feet as fast as you mouth."
As Felix reads he takes off his beret for the Brer Rabbit
part.
FELIX-RABBIT
You so slow I could plant sugar
cane at da start of a race. Den
harvest it before you finish dat
race.
Felix puts his beret back his head pulled down to his ears.
FELIX-TURTLE
I'll race ya da seven miles to town
through da forest.
FELIX-RABBIT
I ain't no fool. Brer Dog would
chase me and eat me sure.
FELIX-TURTLE
Fine, you can use da road. And me
da woods.
FELIX-RABBIT
You got yourself a race.
Mando and his wife, Kala, join the children to listen and
watch Felix's flamboyant reading of the classical African
tale. Exhausted from their tap dancing dual, Jhase and
Gaelan walk across the courtyard to sit with their parents.
FELIX
Brer Rabbit trained and trained,
day and night for da big race. But
funny thing bout Turtles. Most
folks say all of Turtle's family
members look just alike.
MANDO
We've herd that one a lot.
FELIX
So on the day of the race, da
Turtle family got up in da dark and
scattered themselves all along da
race course just inside da edge of
da forest out of sight from all da
other animals. Da race began with
da youngest Turtle family kid on da
startin' line wit Brer Rabbit. At
da first mile pole da road Brer
Rabbit stops to shout back at Brer
Turtle.
Felix stands, takes off his beret and mimes Brer Rabbit
running.
FELIX-RABBIT
Where you at Brer Turtle?
Felix puts on the beret with a different tilt to indicate a
new Turtle family member.
FELIX-TURTLE
Right with you Brer Rabbit.
Putting on his beret Felix redoubles his running in place as
Brer Rabbit, stopping again and bending over to rest.
FELIX-RABBIT
Where you at now Brer Turtle?
Felix puts his beret low on his face and peeks out from the
brim.
FELIX-TURTLE
Right here Brer Rabbit.
As Brer Rabbit again, Felix points ahead.
FELIX-RABBIT
There be Brer Bear just a hundred
yards up ahead, at da finish line,
ready to call me da winner.
Felix runs a few yards away and tucks behind a tree. He puts
on his beret and emerges as Brer Turtle with arms spread wide
crossing the imaginary finishing line.
FELIX-TURTLE
Let me catch my breath Brer Rabbit
and I'll shake your hand when you
get here.
SEAN protests the results.
SEAN
But he didn't really run the race!
Everyone cheers and applauds Felix's performance. Jhase
pleads.
JHASE
Read another story Felix.
Mando puts his arm around his son's shoulder.
MANDO
Felix has to leave for his own
race.
Mando reaches into his picket to pull out a few dollars and
offer them to Felix.
MANDO
Let me loan you the money for a
riverboat ride up the Mississippi.
Felix pushes away Mando's offering with a shy smile.
FELIX
Thank you, and your family for
helping me get ready. But I can't
take your money. I must do penance
for breaking my promise to my
grandfather. I foolishly gambled
and lost what I brought from Cuba.
KALA makes her own offer to help.
KALA
Here's some sugar sandwiches and
hoecakes to tide you till you reach
the first "safe house".
Mando's other son, Sean, adds his support.
SEAN
Remember, when you come to a statue
of the black jockey "Jocko" with
his arm pointing to a plantation
house tied with a green ribbon you
can stay the night.
FELIX
And a red ribbon signals danger.
Sean smiles at his Cuban student of the Underground Railroad.
MANDO
Jhase and Gaelan will lead you out
of New Orleans.
Jhase taps a fancy running rhythm.
JHASE
You should let Papa put taps on
your shoes. Then you could dance
all the way to St. Louis.
Felix polishes each wingtip shoe on the back of a pant leg.
FELIX
These are heavy enough already.
He clicks his heels together like Dabney did in Cuba.
FELIX
I will enjoy running up the
backbone of your beautiful country
two-feet at a time.
EXT. OUTSKIRTS OF NEW ORLEANS
A guitar player sits at the crossroads finishing a Dixieland
tune and switching to a new Jazz lick. Felix waves good-by,
then runs North, as Sean and Gaelan tap South.
As Felix runs from New Orleans to Memphis a music marathon
flows from the strings of a solo guitar tracing the rhythms
of Felix's pacing with the tunes of Dixieland, Jazz, Blues,
and Ragtime. Running upright on the banks along the river
Felix seems taller in stature compared to the sharecroppers
bent over to pick cotton.
Felix runs against the flow of the Mississippi on a journey
through the turn of the century South. He pauses once in a
while to gaze into the river's whirlpools and swift current
that no man could swim against for very long.
One of the new fangled inventions, a belching and sputtering
automobile, passes Felix, shrouding him in the dust of its
exhaust fumes as it motors by.
Felix kneels down on the riverbank next a fallen cypress that
creates a sheltering calm pool from the eddies and whorls of
a river that never rests. He takes off his long sleeve shirt
and plunges his arm into the mighty waters that caress his
Cuban skin in it's chocolate brown as if the river's flow and
his own blood's flow blend into one determined moving force
of nature.
He catches a ride in the back of a Negro sharecropper's
wagon. Looking backwards down the road Felix sees the sugar
cane and cotton "white gold" fields that create the massive
fortunes of the plantation owner's mansions contrasted
against the weather worn shacks of poverty stricken black and
white sharecroppers with Jocko statues pointing more often at
the shacks of the blacks.
Back on foot in Baton Rouge, Felix watches two guitar players
"cutting heads" standing on their soap boxes challenging each
other to guitar duels. At the edge of town Felix enters a
peach orchard for a free meal, but is chased out by a pair of
bloodhounds and a white sharecropper wielding a shotgun.
Felix continues his run-walk, sometimes with an express of
enthusiasm, and sometimes with the worn out look of
desperation. He runs backwards playfully coaxing local
barefoot kids to try and keep up with this Pied Piper of
running.
He tries to catch a freight train, misses the sliding door
handle, falls and narrowly escapes being sucked under the
gigantic grinding wheels. Standing beside the tracks he
dusts himself off and shoos away the disappearing caboose
with both hands, determined never to try and catch a free
ride on the White man's technology again.
As the guitar solo changes, and a close-up of Felix's wingtip
shoe strides keep rhythm, a map of the Mississippi River
superimposes onto the background, tracing the progress of his
run.
On the outskirts of Vicksburg Felix stops on a knoll that
overlooks the thousands upon thousands of white crosses
marking the graves of those who died in one of the Civil
War's bloodiest battles. Felix takes off his beret to pray.
Felix cautiously enters Vicksburg, not having passed a Jocko
lately. He stands in front of Morris Michton's dry goods
store as Morris restocks the window display with his new
"Teddy Bears". Felix smiles at the reminder of his boyhood
hero.
At dusk Felix exits Vicksburg and walks up to a Jocko with a
red ribbon tied to its arm. He looks across an expansive
manicured lawn at three tall white crosses standing in front
of a beautiful old Southern Plantation mansion, and catches
the rays of the setting sun from across the muddy
Mississippi. Then suddenly the crosses blaze brighter to the
torches of the KKK attacking an Underground Railroad
sympathizer's house.
Felix turns and runs as fast as he can into the safety of the
night as the guitar solo changes into a mournful Gospel and
Blues tune lamenting the dead Black runners and their White
sympathizers.
At daybreak Felix runs from out of the forest and continues
his journey along the Mississippi. He passes a tent city of
levee builders that looks like the Rough Rider camp where he
delivered mail.
But this time, instead of the spit and polish of the military
camp, all he sees is the fatigue and famine of underpaid and
overworked former slaves, Civil War veterans and their
families.
Beyond the tent city Felix sees the mighty city of Memphis.
He hefts his mailbag and quickens his stride, eager to find
an old friend.
EXT. BEALE STREET BACK ALLEY OF PEEWEE'S ITALIAN RESTAURANT
Felix stands next to an outdoor dishwashing tub at the bottom
of steps leading up to the back door of the restaurant. At
the top of the stairs the stocky owner of the daytime
restaurant and nighttime juke joint, PEE WEE, yells inside.
PEE WEE
Hey war hero! There's someone here
to see you.
Dabney comes to the back door carrying a tray full of dirty
dishes covered with left over spaghetti, pasta sauce, and
Italian deserts. At first he does not recognize Felix.
Felix directs a remark at Pee Wee to spark Dabney's memory.
FELIX
I have you know Dabney fought
alongside my father at San Juan
Hill. And more than once saved me
from a mountain lion and that wild
dog Cuba.
Felix's defense of his friend's reputation startles Pee Wee,
who responds with a fresh insult.
PEE WEE
I guess I'll have to promote you to
"Sergeant of Suds".
Pee Wee leaves the two friends to catch up. Dabney sets down
the tray of dishes, salutes Felix, and smiles.
DABNEY
Thank you for defending me. His
insults don't hurt any more.
FELIX
He should respect a soldier.
Remember when we played war games
so one day we can fight side-by
side as heroes?
Dabney begins washing dishes to hold back his emotions.
DABNEY
Ya, but what is a hero left with
after the final battle? A medal,
injuries, or if he is lucky...his
life?
FELIX
I did not know you left Cuba
unhappy.
DABNEY
It wasn't what I left behind in
Cuba that brought me down. It's
what I found waiting for me when I
got home.
Dabney scraps off half-eaten Cannollis from a plate.
DABNEY
Life hasn't exactly been a plate of
sweet Cannollis for me.
Leaving the plates to soak, Dabney takes off his apron and
pulls up two soapboxes for them to sit and catch up.
DABNEY
So what about you? When did your
train arrive?
FELIX
No train. I ran from New Orleans?
Felix's statement brings Dabney out of his self-pity.
DABNEY
Why!
FELIX
I'm training to run for Cuba in the
Olympic Marathon in St. Louis.
DABNEY
Wow! But you'll be up against the
best in the world. Have you even
run a Marathon?
FELIX
So far I figure I run about 20
Marathons since New Orleans. And
Memphis is only halfway.
DABNEY
That's enough training for an
entire team.
FELIX
I am the entire Cuban team.
Dabney takes off his apron and puts on his Rough Rider
jacket.
DABNEY
Will you let me help you?
FELIX
Sure. How?
DABNEY
You can bunk with me at the Burkle
Mansion. That way you can rest up.
I'll ask Pee Wee to give you a job
busing tables and washing dishes so
you can buy a train ticket to St.
Louis.
Not wanting to curb his old friend's enthusiasm, Felix
hesitates.
FELIX
That is kind, but I am running out
of time.
DABNEY
You'll save time resting, then
riding on a train, compared to
running all that way.
FELIX
I rather keep on my own course to
keep strong.
Dabney looks up and down at Felix's more athletic wiry figure
honed by the 600 miles he is run so far.
DABNEY
Look at you. You're all skin and
bones. At least let me give you a
good meal and sleep in a real bed.
FELIX
Sure. For ol' times sake
Dabney escorts Felix out the alley and down Beale Street past
an impromptu jug band concert.
They reach the main entrance to the Burkle Mansion and Dabney
stops to tie a green ribbon on the Jocko statue's
outstretched arm.
FELIX
Are you...
DABNEY
Yup. By day, I'm a Bus Boy. By
night, I'm a Railroad Conductor.
EXT. BURKLE MANSION--NEXT MORNING
Dabney shakes Felix's hand.
DABNEY
Are you sure there's nothing I can
do to help get you to St. Louis?
Felix shoulders his mailbag and tries to think of a way to
show his appreciation for Dabney's friendship.
FELIX
Do you still have your Rough Rider
canteen?
DABNEY
It rusted. Why?
FELIX
I get really thirsty some times.
Dabney reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small smooth
stone and offers it to Felix.
FELIX
What is this?
DABNEY
It's a Mo-jo Saliva Stone.
FELIX
What do I do with it?
DABNEY
Mo-jo's sort of slave magic. Some
say if you tuck it in your cheek
like chewing tobacco, it'll keep
the saliva flowing during a hard
day's work under a hot summer sun.
Felix pops the stone in his mouth and mumbles.
FELIX
I dink it vurks.
The friends laugh at Felix's slurred saliva drooling speech.
EXT. MISSISSIPPI RIVER SOMEWHERE BETWEEN MEMPHIS AND ST.
LOUIS
Felix continues on the second half his super-marathon,
receiving fewer wagon rides from Black families as the
population along the Mississippi turns whiter and whiter,
running from the rural South towards the industrialized
North.
Sugar cane field columns of smoke give way to smokestacks
billowing soot from new factories as a visual metaphor of the
100 years of development since the Louisiana Purchase, the
theme of the St. Louis World's Fair, the final destination
and host to the Olympic games.
The jazz and blues music as metaphor slows to Felix's
exhausted strides leading him up a hill.
Felix watches the silver sliver of a setting moon as he
reaches the peak of the hill. The moon seems to descend
behind a second moon. Having never seen a Ferris Wheel in
his life, Felix is drawn onward towards the mysterious
brightly lit rotating heavenly disc.
Just as Felix is on the threshold of discovering what the
mysterious object is that rises high above the star-like
heavenly city lit by the most light bulbs in the history of
the world...all the lights suddenly disappear...leaving Felix
to cautiously make his way across a bridge spanning the
Mississippi.
By the time Felix reaches the perimeter of the Fairgrounds
the only lights to be seen are a few campfires beyond a chain
stretched across the main gate.
In a dreamlike delirium of final exertion Felix drops his
mailbag, tucks in his shirt, adjusts his beret, runs up to
the chain, not noticing the sign declaring, "Closed for the
Sabbath", thrusts his chest out, spreads his arms like a
runner crossing a "Finishing Line", grabs the links and
tumbles over the chain that does not break. He bumps his
head on the ground and passes out.
Two tall thin black men, Len Tauyan and Jan Mashiani, appear
out of the darkness and kneel down next to Felix. Jan pulls
out a leather water pouch and sprinkles a few drops on
Felix's face to revive him.
Felix blinks his eyes open and smiles up at Len.
FELIX
Where am I?
LEN smiles, lightly laughs and answers with a British accent.
LEN
Africa.
The answer sends Felix back into his exhausted blackout.
EXT. LEN AND JAN'S ZULU HUT--SUNDAY MORNING
Felix exits a hut looking refreshed from his first full
night's sleep with a roof over his head since leaving
Memphis, 600 miles down the Mississippi.
Len and Jan sit on a bench outside the hut watching the
wanderings of natives from all over the world while relaxing
on this day off from the activities of the World's Fair. JAN
stands and offers a friendly hand to Felix.
JAN
Good-day, I'm Jan Mashiani and this
is Len Taunyan.
The other Zulu stands and towers over Felix. Felix releases
from shaking Jan's hand and reaches up to shake with Len.
FELIX
Felix Carvajal from Cuba. I am
confused, I thought this was St.
Louis.
LEN
It is.
FELIX
But I remember something about
Africa.
JAN
Right again. You're in the St.
Louis World's Fair recreation of
our Zulu village in Africa.
Still a little dazed and confused Felix tries to put this new
setting in perspective with his life so far in America.
FELIX
Are you with the Railroad?
JAN
No. We're with the Boer War show.
Come with me.
To help Felix better understand his new surroundings Jan and
Len lead Felix on a tour of the World's Fair grounds. The
trio strolls around a giant floral 112-foot diameter clock.
LEN
This is the American's day of the
week when their God rests. So the
world is ours for a few hours.
They continue along a richly decorated walkway passing an
occasional Zulu, Pygmy, Eskimo, Navajo, and Cheyenne Indian.
They stop in front of a gigantic poster advertising, "Anglo
Boer War".
JAN
We were dispatch runners in the
War.
Felix excitedly responds to the first familiar point of
reference he can relate to.
FELIX
My father ran for TR.
JAN
T...R?
FELIX
Theodore Roosevelt.
LEN
Your father ran for President of
the United States?
FELIX
He was not the President then. But
yes, he ran for TR during the
Spanish-American War in my home
country, Cuba. And I plan on
running for Cuba in TR's home
country at the Olympics.
They continue their walk past the magnificent grand displays
of American technology including Windmill Hill, giant diesel
turbines poised to light up the nighttime display of lights,
and the Palaces of Progress built to resemble the European
political power palaces of centuries past.
FELIX
How come you speak English so well?
JAN
We're students from the Orange Free
State University in South Africa.
LEN
We read a newspaper advertisement
for recruits to reenact the Boer
War. The World's Fair organizers
promised passage to America, room
and board. So we saw this as a
great opportunity to continue our
studies of the new "Century of
Capitalism".
Jan adjusts his floppy ragged hat and lifts his bare foot.
JAN
They especially wanted African
"savages", so we learned to dress
the part.
FELIX
I am also here because I read a
newspaper article, about the
Olympics.
The scale and wealth of the World's Fair impresses Felix.
FELIX
I wish the Olympic organizers
treated athletes from other nations
the way they treat you. I wish you
had a Battle of San Juan Show.
Then there would be Cuban "savages"
I could run for.
They reach a small lake surrounded by an American
interpretation of Filipino villages including "savages" for
the fairgoer's entertainment. One poster with a photo of a
wild hair native proclaims, "47 Acres of 1200 Natives".
LEN
You might think differently once
you see the "games" they plan for
"minority" athletes.
FELIX
Do you mean the Aboriginal Games?
Jan glares at Len, his "political" friend, and tries to
deflect the direction the conversation might take.
JAN
We can talk about that later. If
you want to know more, join us
later this week to hear William
McGee's anthropological lecture.
Instead of defusing the situation Jan's comment ignites Len's
own lecture on the politics of the new world order.
LEN
The American "Religion of Industry"
uses money as their form of prayer,
the Carnegies and Rockefellers as
priests, and the American President
as Pope of the Almighty Dollar,
who's determined to spread his
sermon of "Eminent Domain" across
the world.
A few Filipino natives gather around to hear Len's sermon.
LEN
Jan and I were brought here to
reenact the Boer War to promote war
as a necessary tool of imperialism.
Look around you. This World's Fair
is a Cathedral for Capitalism.
Felix is disturbed by Len's accusations against his belief
and loyalty towards the country that liberated his people
from the Spanish oppression.
FELIX
If what you say is true, why would
they have another World's Fair
after their President was
assassinated at the last one?
LEN
Who knows? They crucified the son
of their God.
FELIX
And they liberated Cuba.
A FILIPINO steps up and squares off eye-to-eye with Felix.
FILIPINO
They entered your home, then left
you alone because you come from the
same European family. But they
raided my home and stayed to father
our future children to grow up
walking and talking like the white
man.
Felix turns away from the Filipino and his small primitive
village. He stares across the fairgrounds at the panoramic
splendor of the white man's global accomplishments. Standing
shoulder-to-shoulder with the Filipino, and in front of the
much taller Zulu students, Felix mournfully declares.
FELIX
This is how I dreamed it.
Before Len can burst Felix's bubble, Jan whispers to him.
JAN
Let him enjoy today. He can wake
up to the real world tomorrow.
INT. LEN AND JAN'S WORLD'S FAIR ZULU HUT--MONDAY MORNING
Felix sleeps soundly until a choir of children outside his
mud hut window begins singing.
CHOIR
Meet me in St. Louis. Meet me at
the fair. Don't tell me the lights
are shining. Any place but there...
Felix gets out of bed and starts dressing as he walks to the
door to see what's going on.
CHOIR
We will dance the Hoochee-Koochee.
I will be your tootsie wootsie. If
you will meet me in St. Louis,
Louis. Meet me at the fair.
Wearing only his long tailed shirt and beret Felix steps out
into the glaring bright morning light and is startled by the
contrast from Sunday to Monday. Instead of a few natives
from all ethnic cultures of the world he now sees thousands
upon thousands of white fairgoers.
ELIZABETH Metcalf, modestly clothed all in black from ankle
to high collar except for her fancy plumed bonnet, with a new
"Brownie" Kodak camera hanging from a chain around her waist
like a nun's rosary, spots Felix and calls out to her equally
nun like sister.
ELIZABETH
Sarah, over here! I've got a new
specimen to shoot!
Elizabeth's call to "shoot" startles and frightens Felix.
FELIX
No! I'm not with the Boar War.
SARAH walks over to calm down their new target.
SARAH
Forgive my sister Elizabeth's
excitement. I'm Sarah Metcalf.
We're photographers for the
newspaper.
She lifts her Brownie camera for Felix to see it is harmless.
SARAH
"Shoot" means taking a picture.
She lets the camera fall back on it's chain, pulls a photo
out from her purse and hands it to a still shaking Felix.
Felix inspects the photo of her wearing her drab black outfit
standing next to a delicate Filipino Bagobo woman dressed in
a richly beaded and ornate costume. He strokes the photo of
the exotic beauty.
FELIX
Who is she?
SARAH
I don't know. I just hold them.
ELIZABETH
While I shoot them.
SARAH
If you're not with the Zulus, what
brings you here?
FELIX
Phidippides.
ELIZABETH
Oh yes. I love shooting those cute
little savages from the
Philippines.
FELIX
No. The Greek mailman Phidippides.
He ran the first Marathon?
SARAH
Wait a minute. There's a rumor
floating up the Mississippi about a
Cuban mailman who's running all the
way from New Orleans.
Felix smiles to the first whites to acknowledge his efforts
since he left Dabney in Memphis.
FELIX
I am not a rumor. I am a runner.
SARAH
You'll be famous if you let us take
your picture and interview you for
the Saint Louis Dispatch newspaper?
FELIX
Me in the newspaper? But I have
not won the Marathon yet.
ELIZABETH
Our public would love to read about
an underdog scampering all this way
just to run beside our Olympic
champions in the Games.
FELIX
Let me put on my pants and shoes.
EXT. WORLD'S FAIR FLORAL MAP OF THE UNITED STATES
As Elizabeth sets up a large format box camera on a tripod,
Sarah and Felix stand at the edge of the one-inch to the mile
colorful floral depiction of the 48 states. Sarah looks down
at Felix's wingtip shoes.
SARAH
You didn't have to wear your "Goin'
to Church" Sunday shirt and shoes.
FELIX
This is what I run in.
Sarah holds back her delight over what she sees as a naive
native's odd running outfit.
SARAH
Perfect. Our readers will eat you
up.
This new American expression resets Felix's caution.
FELIX
What do you want me to do?
Sarah leads Felix to a position over Memphis on the floral
map and poses him in a frozen run with one leg in the air
looking like the Greek statue of Mercury running in his
winged shoes.
SARAH
You must hold still until Elizabeth
calls out.
She leaves Felix quivering on one leg and joins her sister
next to the camera. Felix yells out.
FELIX
Hurry, this is harder than running.
ELIZABETH
Got'm!
Felix topples over rupturing the banks of the tiny
Mississippi from Memphis to Cairo. Felix slips and slides on
the tiny flood and flowers, laughing out loud as he tries to
stand, looking like Brer Rabbit frolicking in the brier
patch.
A Fairground GUARD is not amused by what he sees as an
assault on the American soil.
GUARD
Hey boy!
The forcefulness of the Guard's call freezes Felix
FELIX
What you say Brer Fox?
GUARD
Get out of my garden. Go back home
before I arrest you!
Felix stands and stares back with fear in his eyes.
EXT. LEN AND JAN'S ZULU HUT--NEXT MORNING
Felix cautiously walks out the front door and against the
flow of Americans towards the Ferris Wheel. He sees four
gigantic men dressed in identical uniforms approaching. The
tallest man, Martin SHERIDAN, points and shakes a rolled up
newspaper at Felix like he's scolding a dog, and screams.
SHERIDAN
That's him!
Mistaking the uniformed men to be more Guards returned to
punish him for damaging the floral American flag, Felix
panics and runs into the crowd.
The four men give chase. Fairgoers part like the Red Sea as
this mini-Moses flees the army of giants. The pursuit turns
into a real-life version of the Nickelodeon comedies now
popular at the amusement park arcade along The Pike. One
giant, Ralph ROSE grabs Felix, but looses his grip as Felix
squirms free.
ROSE
He's as slippery as a greased pig.
Two of his companions, Charles CHADWICK and John FLANAGAN
finally manage to wrestle Felix to the ground.
FELIX
Let me go!
CHADWICK
I will if you promise not to run.
FELIX
I promise...to run harder.
FLANAGAN
Stop squirming.
FELIX
Please do not arrest me.
Sheridan opens the newspaper and shows Felix the Metcalf
photo of Felix posing on the floral flag below the large bold
headline, "FELIX THE FLYER".
SHERIDAN
We don't want to "arrest" you. We
want to "assist" you.
Chadwick and Flanagan release the calmer Felix. Sheridan
hands him the newspaper story of his journey to the Olympics.
SHERIDAN
We...The United States Weight
Tossing Team...would like to
welcome the...how did you say it in
your interview? "The greatest
running mailman since Phidippides?"
Felix blushes at both the misunderstanding as to who these
uniformed Olympians are, and his bragging to the press.
FELIX
Sometimes I blow my own horn a
little too loud.
Flanagan takes Felix's statement as a hint. And to lighten
the mood he dips down, thrusts his head between Felix's legs
and hoists him on his shoulders.
FLANAGAN
How's the view.
Suddenly taller than any of the Americans for the first time
since landing in New Orleans, Felix triumphantly cheers.
FELIX
I can see everything.
Felix points his arm to direct his new troop of friends
onward to The Pike amusement park.
From high up Felix acts like a little kid on his father's
shoulders pointing out the various exhibits, while holding
the newly created confection, "cotton candy", like an Olympic
Torch. A vendor hawks the new medicinal soda Dr. Pepper. On
the other side of the walkway an elegant man, Thomas HICKS,
wearing the same Olympic uniform as Felix's companions,
accepts a golden goblet from a servant, drinks and announces.
HICKS
Drink my "Marathon Miracle Elixir"
and you'll be able to run...almost
as fast as me.
CHADWICK
That dandy is always lecturing our
team about how his British
upbringing. What makes him so
superior to the rest of us? I'd
like to put a cork in that uppity
braggart's bottle.
FELIX
I will cork him for you in the
race.
They continue along The Pike slowing to study the exhibits
and listen to Scott Joplin's new rags composed for the fair.
Tribal warriors hold their poses looking like the stuffed
animals in their panorama displays.
Felix taps Chadwick's shoulder to be let down in front of the
famous yet lifeless and haggard Geronimo wearing a hand-me
down business suit, brought from his prison cell daily, to
sit and sell miniature bow and arrow souvenirs. Sheridan
notices Felix's empathy towards the defeated Chief.
SHERIDAN
How far, the mighty fall?
Sheridan spots a photo-booth and tries to change the mood.
SHERIDAN
Let's get a photo together.
FELIX
I like that.
As the weight-tossers line up, Sheridan retrieves a crate
from an orange juice vendor's booth, and sets it up for Felix
to stand front and center.
The photographer's flash powder resets the scene at the Boar
War Show with the flash of a bomb going off in front of Felix
and his new friends watching his first friends, Len and Jan,
running dispatches across the battlefield.
FELIX
Those are my mates, Len and Jan.
FLANAGAN
Wow! They're really fast.
SHERIDAN
You're a fellow Olympian now.
Wouldn't you rather move out of
that mud hut and be our guest at
the Jefferson Hotel?
CHADWICK
The Jefferson might not allow a...
SHERIDAN
Then we'll register him as
our...mascot.
The friendly inclusion into the ranks of American Olympians
reminds Felix of Dabney.
FELIX
Like TR's mascot for the Rough
Riders?
SHERIDAN
Sure, just like your friend in the
interview.
ROSE
But if he's going to join our
fraternity he's got to go though an
initiation.
FELIX
What is an initiation?
Rose strokes his mighty chin and looks around the fairgrounds
for a fitting test of Felix the Flyer.
ROSE
It's a test of your courage, to
lift you up into the heavens to
join fellow ancient Olympians.
EXT. AERONAUTIC CONCOURSE
Felix and Sheridan squeeze into a spindly gondola slung below
an old Civil War observation balloon. The other members of
the weight-tossing team release the grappling lines to cast
off Felix on his "initiation" flight, shouting out bon
voyage.
WEIGHT-TOSSERS
Felix Flies!
Soaring high above the fair Felix gets a new perspective of
his past few days; the giant Ferris Wheel looking like a
kid's spinning top, the colorful floral map small enough to
fold in his hand, the gigantic clock ready to tuck into his
watch pocket, the Boer War Show with toy soldiers, and the
new Washington University athletic stadium waiting for his
future.
SHERIDAN
From here you can see the whole
world.
Felix points to the bowl shaped Olympic Stadium.
FELIX
From there the whole world will see
me.
They both look into the gleaming white new stadium.
INT. JEFFERSON HOTEL--NEXT MORNING
The Olympic stadium becomes a cereal bowl.
FLANAGAN (O.S.)
Slow down Felix. You'll get a
stomach ache.
Felix drops his spoon into the bowl and adjusts his pillow as
he looks over his breakfast tray to a bridal-suite size bed
covered with new food items from the World's Fair.
Unlike the typical movie scene with teammates visiting a star
player recovering from an injury the day before the big game,
or a sport hero promising to hit a home run for a dying kid,
Felix is being seduced by what he sees as a life of luxury
given to him by the weight-tossing team sitting around him in
his bedroom.
Felix picks up a single remaining cereal flake from his bowl.
FELIX
What is this?
ROSE
Corn Flakes.
FLANAGAN
Keith Kellogg supplied the team
with all we can eat.
CHADWICK
How many bowls it that so far?
FLANAGAN
Four.
ROSE
They should put Felix's picture on
the front of the box for
advertisement.
Felix adjusts his beret and pretends to pose for a camera.
FLANAGAN
Felix Flakes, breakfast of Cuban
champions.
FELIX
If you "run out" of Felix Flakes,
"run out" and buy the latest
World's Fair "Fast Food."
The weight-tossers laugh at Felix's imitation of Hicks
hawking his Marathon Elixir at The Pike. Felix picks up
another World's fair new food item off his bed covers, takes
a bite out of the Hamburger with pleasure, swallows, and then
addresses Sheridan.
FELIX
So this is the "first-class"
treatment I lost in New Orleans.
Is this how it is every day for the
American team?
SHERIDAN
Only when they want to show the
team off as the world's superior
athletes. Speaking of team, what's
your strategy for the Marathon?
FELIX
Strategy?
SHERIDAN
You'll run better by mapping out
your pace and who you'll run with.
You know, a team.
Felix reaches over the side of the bed and pulls his mailbag
up. He digs around for his sack of dominos, reaches in
stirring the CLACKING dominos, and then holds out his closed
fist in front of Sheridan's face.
FELIX
What Domino number am I holding?
SHERIDAN
How could I know?
FELIX
Use your strategy?
SHERIDAN
Strategy doesn't work that way.
FELIX
My grandfather Yayo would say,
"Cuban strategy is like dominos.
Expect the unexpected."
Felix opens his hand to reveal...no domino.
He picks up another new fast food item, the Hot Dog, and uses
it like a lecturer's pointer.
FELIX
In a good game of dominos, enjoy
the company of your opponent and
those watching you play. Move just
fast enough to keep them confused.
Felix bits the Hot Dog in half.
FELIX
Keep an eye out for cheating.
Do not stack you dominos so the enemy can knock them down
with one move. Wait till the last moment to show what you
hold in your hand. And do not quit till the last tile is
played.
Sheridan is intrigued by Felix's plan.
SHERIDAN
I think our coaches should meet
Yayo.
Chadwick hands Felix a glass jar that looks like it's filled
with tan mud and tiny stones.
FELIX
What is this?
CHADWICK
Booker Washington invented it for
the World's Fair as his poor man's
"healthy food."
Felix uses his cereal spoon to dip out a heaping tablespoon
and sniffs the gooey substance.
CHADWICK
It's called Peanut Butter.
FELIX
Will it make me faster?
Like a kid too curious to wait for and answer Felix stuffs
the whole spoonful in his mouth.
CHADWICK
It might slow you down your...
Chadwick's attempt to slow Felix from eating too much works.
FELIX
Dis duff is Grreeaat!
SHERIDAN
What do you want now?
FELIX
Ow bout da
abba...abba...ddaa...gums?
Flanagan picks up a candy bar off the bed.
FLANAGAN
I think he wants an Abba Dabba bar.
Felix shakes his head no. He takes a glass of milk from the
bed-tray to wash down the peanut butter.
FELIX
How about the Aboriginal Day Games?
Felix looks down into the peanut butter jar.
EXT. ABORIGINAL DAY GAMES--THAT AFTERNOON
The peanut butter morphs into a tan muddy field scattered
with tossing stones, shot-puts, baseballs and spears.
The weight-tossing team, Felix, Len and Jan stand with other
American Olympians and watch the competition.
FELIX
I do not feel so good.
SHERIDAN
It's all that fast food.
Hicks steps up and pulls out a flask.
HICKS
Take a swig of my Marathon Elixir.
FLANAGAN
What's in that swill?
HICKS
Some brandy to kill the pain. And
a little strychnine to stimulant
the body.
FLANAGAN
Isn't that a poison?
HICKS
Only if you're a loser who drinks
too much.
Fred LORZ, America's premier marathon runner, joins the
conversation with an arrogant attitude to match Hicks.
LORZ
Speaking of losers. Who wants to
make a friendly wager on the pygmy?
The 6'6" 265 lbs. Rose sizes up the 3'3" pygmy holding a
baseball.
ROSE
What do you have in mind?
LORZ
The runt's about half your size.
So I'll give you a break and bet he
can't toss even a fourth of your
record.
ROSE
It's a bet.
Everyone watches as an official walks up to the pygmy, takes
away the 5-oz. baseball and hands back a full size Olympic
16-lb shot-put. The pygmy struggles to heft the weight to
his tiny shoulders and with all his might, barely avoids
putting it beyond his own feet.
Lorz smirks and holds out his hand for the pay off.
LORZ
What did you expect?
ROSE