Badlands
Screenplay by Terrence Malick
Produced by Terrence Malick
Directed by Terrence Malick
Cast List:
Martin Sheen Kit
Sissy Spacek Holly
Warren Oates Holly's
Father
Ramon Bieri Cato
Alan Vint Sheriff
John Carter Rich
Man
Bryan Montgomery Boy
Gail Threlkeld Girl
FADE IN:
INT. BEDROOM
The time is 1959. HOLLY SARGIS, the 15-year-old heroine, sits on her bed,
petting her dog. The CAMERA DOLLIES
BACK as she talks on VOICE OVER.
HOLLY (V.O.)
My mother died of pneumonia when I was just a kid. My
father had kept their wedding cake in the freezer for ten whole years. After
the funeral he gave it to the yardman... He tried to act cheerful, but he could
never be consoled by the little stranger he found in his house. Then, one day,
hoping to begin a new life away from the scene of all his memories, he moved us
from Texas to Ft. Dupree, South Dakota.
HOLD on FULL SHOT of bedroom.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. ALLEYS AND STREETS – SERIES OF ANGLES – DAWN
The streets and alleys of Ft. Dupree at dawn. On sound we hear the
clucking of DOVES. A garbage truck appears. Details of the mechanisms at the back of the
truck.
NEW ANGLE
KIT CARRUTHERS, the hero, a 25-year-old garbageman, kneels
beside a dead dog. He inspects it briefly. then looks back at his friend and
co-worker, CATO, a stocky man in his
forties.
KIT
I'll give you a dollar to eat this collie.
Cato inspects the dog.
CATO
I'm not going to eat him for a dollar... I don't think
he's a collie, either. Some kind of dog.
They drive off.
KIT
Watch your heads.
NEW ANGLE
The truck comes to a stop. Kit bangs on the driver's door.
KIT
Hey. Woody. Gimme a cigarette.
WOODY waves him off. Kit shrugs to Cato.
KIT
Woody wouldn't give me a cigarette.
(pause)
Ever notice he don't talk much?
Cato agrees with this. They make a terrible racket, with no regard
for the sleep of the neighbors.
EXT. STREET
Holly, whispering some rhyme to herself, twirls a baton in the
middle of an empty street.
HOLLY (V.O.)
Little did I realize that what began in the alleys and
back ways of this quiet town would end in the Badlands of Montana.
EXT. ALLEY
Kit tries to sell a passing BUM a pair of shoes.
BUM
Nah. they wouldn't fit.
KIT
How do you know? You hadn't tried them on yet.
BUM
Nah.
KIT
Gimme a dollar for them... Cost twenty new.
The Bum walks off. Kit pitches the shoes to Cato.
KIT
Why don't you see if they fit you?
Cato picks them up and looks at them.
CLOSE ON TRASH CAN
Kit is culling through a trash can, looking for valuables. reading
other people's mail, etc.
KIT (O.S.)
This lady don't ever pay her bills. She's gonna get in
trouble if she doesn't watch out.
Cato, ignoring him, picks up a magazine that is lying in the grass. When the CAMERA returns to Kit, he has stripped off his apron.
KIT
I throwed enough trash for today, Cato.... I'll see
you In the morning.
He slaps Cato on the back and walks off. Cato throws a mouldy loaf of bread at his back.
CATO
Catch!
KIT
What do you mean?
He throws the loaf back at Cato.
EXT. ALLEYS
Kit walks through the deserted alleys of the sleeping town... as the
MAIN TITLES APPEAR. He balances a stolen mop on his finger; he stomps a can and looks
around to see if anyone has spotted him at this. As the CREDITS end he sees Holly in front of her house
twirling her baton. He crosses the street and introduces himself.
EXT. FRONT LAWN
KIT
Hi, I'm Kit. I'm not keeping you from anything
important, am I?
HOLLY
No.
KIT
Well, I was just messing around over there, thought
I'd come over and say hello to you.
(smiling)
I'll try anything once.
(pause)
What's your name? I said mine.
HOLLY
Holly.
KIT
Listen, Holly. you want to take a walk with me?
HOLLY
What for?
KIT
Well. I got some stuff to say. Guess I'm kind of lucky
that way. Most people don't have anything on their minds, do they?
Holly eyes him suspiciously.
EXT. STREET
They walk down the middle of the street. Holly has accepted his offer.
KIT
Oh, incidentally, my last name is Carruthers. Sounds a
little too much like "druthers", doesn't it?
HOLLY
It's okay.
KIT
Well, nobody asked me what I thought. They just hung
it on me.
Holly breaks the silence that follows.
HOLLY
You still in school?
KIT
Nah, I got me a job.
HOLLY (O.S.)
Doing what?
KIT
Well, I don't mind getting up early, so I got a job
throwing garbage... I'm not in love with the stuff, okay.
In the distance we hear Holly's FATHER calling her. She eases off.
HOLLY
That's my father. I got to run.
KIT
Hey. wait a minute. When am I going to see you again?
Holly isn't sure how to reply.
HOLLY
Well, I know what my daddy's going to say.
KIT (O.S.)
What?
HOLLY
Can I be honest?
KIT
Sure.
HOLLY
Well, that I shouldn't be seen with anybody that
collects garbage.
KIT (O.S.)
He'll say that?
HOLLY
Yeah.
KIT (O.S.)
Now what's he know about garbage, huh?
HOLLY
Nothing.
KIT (O.S.)
There you go.
HOLLY
Well, I mean there's nothing he wants to know about
it... I've got to run.
She waves goodbye and runs off. Kit waves back.
EXT. HOLLY'S BACK YARD
Holly walks into the back yard, where her father is working. Half-painted signs lean against the garage.
FATHER
Who was that?
HOLLY
Just some boy.
He throws some paint off his brush onto the ground.
HOLLY
Is that going to kill the grass?
He flicks his brush teasingly at her feet. She retreats to a chair, giggling.
HOLLY
You got some on my feet.
FATHER
What'd he want?
HOLLY
Just wanted to know if we needed any yardwork done...
I said no, and for him not to bother us.
INT. EMPLOYMENT AGENCY
Kit is talking with a CLERK inside an employment agency.
CLERK (O.S.)
You ever held another job before?
KIT
I used to throw trash for the City.
CLERK
You lost that one?
KIT
Wouldn't be here if I hadn't.
CLERK
What kind of work do you think you would be qualified
for?
KIT
I can't think of anything at the moment... I'd like
you to write me out a slip, though, proving I came down here.
The Clerk leafs through his papers.
CLERK
Well, I think we could find you something... working
cattle over at the pens.
Kit sighs.
KIT
Well. what the hell. Just hope there's a breeze.
The Clerk gives him a slip of paper.
EXT. FRONT PORCH OF HOLLY'S HOUSE
Holly sees Kit approaching the house.
HOLLY (V.O.)
He was handsomer than anybody I'd ever met. He looked
just like James Dean.
She walks out the front door.
KIT
Hi.
HOLLY
Well, stop the world.
KIT
Quit my job.
HOLLY
Great.
KIT
Just seemed like the right move... Whatcha doing?
HOLLY
Spanish.
KIT (O.S.)
How do you say "Quit my Job" in Spanish?
HOLLY
Something mi trabajo.
Kit offers her a cigarette, which she declines.
KIT
Yeah, well, I'm going to work as a cowboy now... Or
thinking about it. It's a routine, like anything. What do you think?
HOLLY
I don't know.
He pulls himself up onto the Bannister beside her.
KIT
Well, at least nobody could get on me about wearing
these boots any more.
She watches him intently. This makes him uncomfortable.
KIT
You want to go for a ride?
HOLLY
Well, I got homework.
KIT (O.S.)
Bring it along.
His forwardness surprises her.
EXT. DOWNTOWN STREET IN FT. DUPREE
They are walking through the downtown area. Kit kicks a paper bag that someone has discarded on the sidewalk.
KIT
Somebody dropped a bag on the sidewalk.
She appears nervous about being seen alone with him.
KIT
Everybody did that, the whole town'd be a mess... Hi.
He greets a passing stranger.
KIT
You're a redhead.
HOLLY
I know.
KIT
Anybody ever call you "Red"?
HOLLY
Yeah, but I don't like it.
KIT
Why not?
HOLLY
Just don't... I've got a headache.
KIT
Yeah?
He steers her toward his car, a customized Mercury. As she gets in, he asks her:
KIT (O.S.)
Can I come around and see you tomorrow?
HOLLY
(startled)
Okay.
EXT. FEEDLOT – SERIES OF ANGLES
We see Kit at work at the feedlot. throwing hay to the cattle, feeding them pills, etc.
HOLLY (V.O.)
Kit went to work in the feedlot while I carried on
with my studies. Little by little we fell in love... As I'd never been popular
in school and didn't have a lot of personality, I was surprised that he took
such a liking to me, especially when he could've had any other girl in town if
he'd given it half a try.
The MONTAGE includes a shot of Holly running toward Kit's car for some rendezvous.
HOLLY (V.O.)
He said that I was grand, though, that he wasn't
interested in me for sex and that coming from him this was a compliment. Held
never met a fifteen-year-old girl who behaved more like a grownup and wasn't
giggly. He didn't care what anybody else thought. I looked good to him, and
whatever I did was okay, and if I didn't have a lot to say, well, that was
okay, too.
EXT. TREE BESIDE RIVER
Kit and Holly are sitting under a tree. playing cards on a blanket. Holly surveys the area.
HOLLY
What a nice place.
KIT
(absorbed in game)
Yeah, the tree makes it nice.
HOLLY
And the flowers... Let's not pick them. They're so
nice.
KIT
It's your play.
SERIES OF ANGLES
Holly's father paints a picture. using a stereopticon to help with his backgrounds.
TRACK with Kit driving down a street in his Mercury. Holly sits watching
football practice.
HOLLY (V.O.)
Of course I had to keep all this a secret from my dad.
He would've had a fit, since Kit was ten years older than me and came from the
wrong side of the tracks, so called. Our time with each other was limited and
each lived for the precious hours when he or she could be with the other away
from all the cares of the world.
EXT. UNDERNEATH BLEACHERS
Kit and Holly are necking underneath some bleachers. In the distance we hear the NOISE of the football practice.
HOLLY
My stomach's growling.
There's an old Fudgesicle over there. You want it?
HOLLY
No.
Kit laughs, and starts her laughing, too.
KIT
Somebody else is going to get it.
HOLLY
I don't care.
KIT
Kids eat that kind of stuff in Korea.
At this her expression turns serious.
SERIES OF ANGLES
Kit in CLOSEUP at a fence in the feedlot, an intense look on his face.
VARIOUS ANGLES of the cattle in their pens. They look numb and morose.
TIGHT SHOT of Holly necking with Kit.
HOLLY (V.O.)
In the stench and slime of the feedlot, he'd remember
how I looked the night before, how I ran my hand through his hair and traced
the outline of his lips with my fingertip. He wanted to die with me, and I
dreamed of being lost forever in his arms.
EXT. HOLLY'S BACK YARD
TIGHT SHOT of Holly's pet catfish in a bowl.
CUT TO WIDE SHOT of Holly with gloves on carrying the fish through the garden in
back of her house. She looks around warily, then throws it out among the
melons.