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41 INT. LEINSTER CORNER - STUDY. 1904. NIGHT
Barrie paces about his study, evidently nervous at the
prospect of his forthcoming ordeal. Both he and Mary Barrie
are in evening dress, ready to leave.
The only sign of Porthos is a large painting of him, hanging
above the fireplace. He has been replaced by a huge shaggy
Newfoundland dog, LUATH, who lies by the fire.
BARRIE
(glancing at his fob)
What on earth can have happened to
them?
MARY BARRIE
(calmly)
Oh, I expect they've been held up
in the traffic.
BARRIE
I can see it's going to be a night
of disasters, I can feel it
already. "If you believe in
fairies, clap your hands" ... Poor
Nina, they'll laugh her off the
stage. Oh, I must have been half
witted to think I could pull it
off. It's not even the play I set
out to write.
MARY BARRIE
(laughing)
It never is, dear.
BARRIE
If only I'd had the...
Barrie breaks off at the sound of voices outside.
MARY BARRIE
That'll be them.
Mary Barrie goes to the door as GEORGE bursts in ahead of the
others. He is dressed up for the occasion, his hair cut short
and brushed flat with a parting. Barrie registers a look of
shocked realisation at the stranger before him.
BARRIE
(disbelieving)
George ...?
GEORGE
Hello, old crock - sorry we're a
bit late.
(preening himself)
How am I looking? Rather a knut,
don't you think?
BARRIE
Yes, yes - quite the coming chap. I
shall have to look to my laurels...
Sylvia has entered the room, followed by PETER, now aged
eight, and Michael, last seen as a baby, but now nearly five.
He is stunningly beautiful, with long blond curls and
haunting eyes. Unlike George's boyish brightness at the same
age, Michael has an almost tragic wistfulness that reflects
"the poet in him, there since birth."
Barrie's disappointment on seeing George is replaced by
captivation at the sight of Michael.
BARRIE
(to Sylvia)
Is this really Michael?
MICHAEL
Of course I'm really Michael. Did
you escape too?
BARRIE
Escape?
MICHAEL
When we were being chased by that
man.
Barrie looks at Sylvia in bewilderment.
SYLVIA
(smiling)
I warned you, Michael's dreams are
as wayward as your own.
BARRIE
Ah, but of course -
(to Michael)
You mean the man that looked like
... like this.
Barrie pulls a hideous face, which makes George and Peter
roar with laughter. But Michael remains unmoved, gazing up at
Barrie with an enigmatic expression, almost reminiscent of
Barrie's dead brother David.
A pause; Barrie glances round at the others.
BARRIE
But - but where's Jack - and
Arthur?
SYLVIA
I'm afraid Arthur's got another of
his toothaches - it's rather a bad
one, I'm afraid, and ... well, he
didn't want to spoil the evening,
and Jack decided to stay with him.
GEORGE
(whistling)
Ho, hum!
SYLVIA
No, no - really. He was so
disappointed, but his jaw's been
giving him rather a lot of pain
lately, and.....
BARRIE
(only half believing)
Yes, oh I'm sure. Well I, er -
(turning to the boys)
Boys, I don't want to make a speech
or anything, but I - well I just
want you to know that if the play's
a failure, the fault is entirely
yours.
GEORGE
(indignantly)
Why us?
BARRIE
Because. Because you're the real
authors, it had nothing to do with
me. All I did was rub the five of
you violently together to make a
flame. That's all Peter is ...
(a crack in his voice)
Just the spark I got from you.
Barrie coughs to disguise his emotion.
GEORGE
I had nothing to do with Wendy!
Mary Barrie laughs loudly.
BARRIE
No, I admit she's a spark from an
entirely different quarter, for
which I offer my humble apologies.
MARY BARRIE
(to Sylvia)
He'll wallow on for hours if we
give him the chance.
(to Barrie)
Come along, Jim the executioner
awaits.
George and Peter lead the way out, followed by Sylvia and
Mary Barrie. Michael and Barrie stay behind a moment.
MARY BARRIE
(O.C., to Sylvia)
I'm so sorry about Arthur ... it's
nothing serious, I hope?
SYLVIA
(O.C., barely audible)
Well we don't really know. He's
seeing a specialist about it next
month, but I - well I don't suppose
it's anything too serious ... just
rather a nuisance, that's all.
A pause, then Michael holds out his hand to Barrie, who
obliges him by putting his top hat on the boy's head. Michael
takes him by the hand and leads him from the room. As he does
so, a voice LAPS OVER -
WENDY
(V.O., from stage)
... and pen cannot describe the
happy scene over which we now draw
a veil.
A pause, then the SOUND of a boy moaning in pain.
WENDY
( V.O., cont'd)
What is it, Peter? Where's the
pain?
PETER PAN
( V.O., from stage)
It isn't that kind of pain, Wendy.
42 INT. DUKE OF YORK'S THEATRE - BOX. 1904. NIGHT
Barrie stands at the back of the Royal Box, watching the
first performance of "Peter Pan" with impassive apprehension.
Seated in front of him are George, Michael, Sylvia, Peter and
Mary Barrie.
PETER PAN
(O.C., from stage)
0 Wendy, you're wrong about
mothers. I thought like you that
the nursery window would always be
open, so I stayed away for moons
and moons, and then I flew back
home, but the window was barred. My
mother had forgotten all about me,
and there was another little boy
sleeping in my bed.
CAMERA moves in slowly on Mary Barrie's reaction.
WENDY (O.C.)
Peter, what are your exact
feelings for me?
PETER PAN (O.C.)
Those of a devoted son, Wendy.
WENDY (O.C.)
I thought so.
PETER PAN (O.C.)
What is it you want me to be?
WENDY (O.C.)
It's not for a lady to tell.
43 INT. EGERTON HOUSE - NIGHT NURSERY. 1904. NIGHT
Arthur sits by a cradle in the night-nursery of the family's
Berkhampsted home, Egerton House. He appears to be in some
pain, touching his cheek occasionally while watching his
fifth son, NICO, asleep in the cradle.
Presently the door opens and Mary Hodgson enters.
MARY HODGSON
Excuse me, Mr Arthur, but it's time
for Nico's feed.
Mary Hodgson goes to the cradle -
MARY HODGSON
(cont'd)
Would you care for something too?
ARTHUR
No thank you, Mary.
Mary Hodgson lifts Nico from his cradle.
MARY HODGSON
(cautiously)
I don't, er - wish to speak out of
turn, but I do understand how you
feel.
ARTHUR
Do you, Mary?
MARY HODGSON
I think so... I mean it must be
very hard for you at times.
ARTHUR
One grins and bears it.
MARY HODGSON
It can't be easy for Mrs Barrie
either.
Arthur hesitates.
ARTHUR
I was referring to the toothache.
MARY HODGSON
Yes of course. I'm... I'm sorry if
I spoke out of turn.
Mary Hodgson leaves the room with Nico. CAMERA HOLDS on
Arthur as he turns and stares blankly at the empty cradle.
WENDY
(V.O., from stage)
What's wrong, Peter?
PETER PAN
(V.O., from stage)
It is only pretend, isn't it,
Wendy?
WENDY (V.O.)
Is what pretend?
PETER PAN (V.O.)
That I am their father?
CLOSE SHOT: Barrie, standing at the back of the Royal Box.
WENDY
(O.C., from stage)
But they're our children, Peter -
yours and mine.
PETER PAN (O.C.)
Yes, but not really.
WENDY (O.C.)
Not if you don't wish it.
PETER PAN (O.C.)
I don't.
MIX TO:
SHOOTING from the back of the stage towards the audience,
Peter Pan (played by Nina Boucicault) lies on his back in
foreground, fast asleep. From this angle, back-lit against
the footlights, he is reminiscent of George at Black Lake,
lying on the hillside, one leg arched, his head resting on
his arm.
The spotlight representing Tinkerbell suddenly flashes into
CAMERA from the back of the theatre, then dances over Peter
Pan's face, awakening him.
PETER PAN
Who's that?
The Orchestra responds with a tinkling sound on the
triangles.
PETER PAN
Oh, Tinkerbell...
(tinkles)
What's that?
(tinkles)
The Redskins were defeated? Wendy
and the Lost Boys captured? I'll
rescue them, I'll rescue them!
Peter Pan leaps for his dagger, then runs to his grindstone
to sharpen it. Tinkerbell alights near a bottle of medicine
on a table and tinkles out a warning.
PETER PAN
Oh, that's just my medicine.
(tinkles)
Poison? Who could have poisoned it?
I promised Wendy I'd take it, and
take it I will as soon as I've
sharpened up my dagger.
In the Royal Box, Michael leans anxiously forward, totally
absorbed by the play. Peter, however, seems rather bored, and
amuses himself by slowly tearing up the programme and
dropping the bits over the edge of the box onto the audience
below.
PETER PAN
(O.C., from stage)
Why Tink, you've drunk my medicine!
(tinkles)
It was poisoned and you drank it to
save my life? By why, Tink? I don't
mind dying. Oh, Tink, dear Tink,
please don't die ...
Michael turns to George -
MICHAEL
(whispering)
What's the matter?
GEORGE
She's dying.
MICHAEL
But why?
(to Sylvia)
Why's she dying?
SYLVIA
(whispering)
Listen and you'll find out.
Barrie grows visibly apprehensive as Peter Pan turns to the
audience to make her plea -
PETER PAN
Her light is growing faint, and if
it goes out, that means she's dead.
Her voice is so low I can scarcely
tell what she's saying.
(weak tinkles)
She says ... she says she thinks
she might get well again if
children believed in fairies. Well
do you believe in fairies?
Total silence from the audience. Barrie closes his eyes.
PETER PAN
Oh, say quick that you believe!
Don't let poor Tinkerbell die!
If you believe, clap your hands.
George raises his eyebrows.
PETER PAN
(urgently)
Come on, clap your hands.. if you
believe!
Another long silence. Then Michael begins to clap his hands,
very slowly, but with steady conviction.
PETER PAN
That's it ... louder, louder!
Peter and George join in, followed by Sylvia, Mary Barrie,
and others in the audience.
PETER PAN
Oh, you do believe, you do!
Barrie gradually opens his eyes as the belief spreads
throughout the house, the clapping growing louder and louder.
PETER PAN
Oh, thank you, thank you, thank
you! And now - to rescue Wendy!
Peter Pan runs from the stage to a standing ovation of
cheering, whistling and applause from the audience.
SHARP CUT TO:
44 INT. HOSPITAL CORRIDOR. 1905. DAY
The level of SOUND from the previous scene suddenly CUTS OUT,
to be replaced by the chill silence of a bleak hospital
corridor.
Barrie and Sylvia stand outside the door of one of the
private rooms. Presently the door opens and a doctor, RENDEL,
steps out.
DR RENDEL
(to Sylvia)
You can come in now, Mrs Davies,
but only for a moment.
BARRIE
(to Sylvia)
Would you rather I waited outside?
DR RENDEL
I think it would be better, if you
don't mind.
Rendel opens the door and Sylvia goes inside.
45 INT. HOSPITAL - ARTHUR'S ROOM. 1905. DAY
Sylvia enters the room, then stops and stares ahead of her.
Only the back of Arthur's head is visible to the CAMERA, but
from Sylvia's expression it is clear that he is much
disfigured. There is a brief look of shock on her face, then
she braces herself and moves slowly towards him, followed by
Rendel at a discreet distance.
SYLVIA
(a whisper)
Oh my darling ... please don't
cry.
DR RENDEL
I'm afraid he can't help it, Mrs
Davies. Regrettably his tear-ducts
have had to be removed.
A pause. Sylvia leans forward, wipes the tears away from
Arthur's face with her handkerchief, then kisses him on the
forehead. Still we cannot see Arthur's face - only the look
of agony in Sylvia's eyes.
46 INT. HOSPITAL CORRIDOR. 1905. DAY
Barrie stands alone in the corridor. The door opens and
Rendel leaves the room, ushering Barrie to one side.
DR RENDEL
I'm afraid that the growth had
spread somewhat further than we
originally diagnosed, and we've
therefore had to remove most of the
upper jaw as well as the palate.
I fear that as a result Mr Davies
will be unable to talk again. Of
course there's always the
possibility of fitting some sort of
artificial jaw, but - well, to be
quite frank, the results are hardly
worth the expense.
BARRIE
(sharply)
I'm not interested in expense. I
want Mr Davies to have the finest
medical treatment available,
whatever the cost.
DR RENDEL
I see. Well if ...
Rendel breaks off as Sylvia emerges from the room. She gazes
at Barrie with a look of bewildered incomprehension,
oblivious to Rendel, who returns to Arthur's room.
A long pause, then Sylvia slowly shakes her head.
SYLVIA
(a whisper)
They've... they've ruined my
darling's face. They've ...
Sylvia lets out a sudden cry of anguish, clutching at Barrie
and sobbing uncontrollably on his shoulder.
CAMERA HOLDS them in LONG SHOT, clinging to each other, alone
in the bleak white corridor.
SLOW FADE OUT.
PART TWO:
Dark and Sinister Man
47 EXT. KENSINGTON GARDENS. 1906. DAY
[MAIN TITLES appear over a series of dawn images of
Kensington Gardens, as at the beginning of Part One]
Barrie wanders along the edge of the Serpentine, jotting
down ideas in his notebook.
BARRIE (V.O.)
Peter Pan. New scene at end of
play. Years later, Peter flies
back to the nursery, still a boy -
heart-broken to find Wendy grown
old. Peter really the ghost of a
boy who dies in childhood, à la
David, comes back to search for
his mother, finds her an old
woman, doesn't recognize her.
Barrie pauses by the oak tree where he first met George in
1897. He looks at the gnarled roots, an idea forming.
BARRIE (V.O.)
A statue of Peter Pan? Could
immortalize him for generations,
long after play buried and
forgotten.
(beat) )
If I paid for it, could this be
deducted from income tax?
Barrie ponders a moment, then puts his notebook in his
pocket and wanders off towards the Bayswater Road.
48 EGERTON HOUSE - NIGHT NURSERY. 1906. DAY
The night nursery is in semi-darkness, lightening as Mary
Hodgson moves from window to window, letting up the blinds.
Michael - now aged six - lies asleep in bed.
MARY HODGSON
Michael...
Michael sleeps on, one arm drooped over the edge of the
bed, the other curled about his head.
MARY HODGSON
Come along, Michael...
She gives him a little shake, and Michael stirs.
MARY HODGSON
Come on, wake up - the doctor'll
be here any minute, so we must
get you washed and scrubbed.
Michael opens his eyes. He is suffering from scarlet fever,
and his face is as pale as alabaster. Mary Hodgson takes a
thermometer from her pocket.
MICHAEL
(sleepily)
I had such a funny dream, Mary. I
dreamt I saw father's ghost in
the garden, but that wasn't the
funny thing, the funny thing was
he wasn't a ghost at all...
MARY HODGSON
I should hope not.
MICHAEL
No, I mean he was real and I was
the ghost, because when he came
to touch me he went right through
me and fell in a river, and I
couldn't swim so I...
MARY HODGSON
(brandishing
thermometer)
Open wide -
Michael's account is curtailed by the thermometer being
thrust in his mouth. Mary Hodgson sits on the edge of the
bed. She takes two letters from her pocket while holding
Michael's pulse.
MARY HODGSON
You and your dreams... I wonder
you know half the time whether
you're awake or asleep.
MICHAEL
(eyeing letters)
Are they for me?
MARY HODGSON
No talking and I'll read them to
you.
Mary Hodgson puts the second letter down on the bed, opens
the first.
MARY HODGSON
(brightening)
Ah, it's from your father. "Dear
Michael, I do hope the scarlet
fever has fled and that you will
soon be up and well again. I
wonder if your doctor is as kind
and as good as mine? I have three
pretty nurses to look after me,
but you have Mary
Hodgson, who is worth all of mine
put together. I have been in
hospital so long now that it
almost seems like home....
While Mary Hodgson continues reading, Michael eyes the
second letter, addressed to "Michael Esquire, Esq., Egerton
House, Berkhampstead." He edges a furtive hand towards it
without Mary Hodgson seeing him.
MARY HODGSON
(O.S., cont'd)
Mr Barrie manages to come and see
me almost every single day. He is
sitting with me now, reading a
newspaper. Don't you think Mr
Barrie is a very good friend to
us all?...
Mary Hodgson's tone becomes somewhat frosty at the mention
of Barrie, but Michael isn't listening: having opened the
second envelope, he tries to decipher the letter, written
in looking- glass writing.
MARY HODGSON
(O.S., cont'd)
Now good-bye, my dear boy, and
see you very soon. From your
affectionate father."
(folds letter)
There now, wasn't that a NICO
letter? You must write back as
soon as... Oh, Michael! You
haven't been listening to a word!
MICHAEL
(thermometer in mouth)
Yes I have. Will you read me this
one?
MARY HODGSON
I said no talking.
MICHAEL
It is from Uncle Jim.
Mary Hodgson picks up the letter, ignoring Michael's tease.
MARY HODGSON
So I see.
She takes a hand-mirror from the bedside table and angles
the letter into it.
MARY HODGSON
(reading frostily)
Dearest beloved Michael,
The Rose is red,
The violet blue,
Honey is sweet
And so are you.
J. M. Barrie.
Mary Hodgson folds the letter without comment, takes the
thermometer from Michael's mouth.
MICHAEL
Is normal?
MARY HODGSON
(reading thermometer)
No. Now take off your nightshirt.
Mary Hodgson goes to the wash-stand, fills a basin from a
pitcher of water. She glances back at Michael, who is
surreptitiously re-reading Barrie's letter.
MARY HODGSON
(sharply)
I said take off your nightshirt.
MICHAEL
Why do I have such bad dreams,
Mary?
MARY HODGSON
I don't know to be sure. I've
never had a bad dream in my life,
except when I've had to do your
mending.
Mary Hodgson returns to the bed, carrying the basin of
water.
MICHAEL
(baiting her)
Uncle Jim has nightmares.
MARY HODGSON
I dare say he does - and I
shouldn't wonder if he's not to
blame for some of yours too.
MICHAEL
Why?
Mary Hodgson helps Michael off with his nightshirt.
MICHAEL
(persisting)
Why, Mary?
MARY HODGSON
Why ask me? You know him far
better than I do. Oh, just look
at the state of your neck! And to
think I only washed it a few
hours ago.
MICHAEL
Can I write back to him?
MARY HODGSON
You shall write to your father
first. After that you can write
to whomever you like.
Mary Hodgson leans Michael's head forward, starts to scrub
his neck.
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