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IT DOESN’T END WELL, FRITZ LANG!
A Silent Movie

CAMERA: The iris diaphragm opens slowly and the Circus Ring Master’s face, then his whole body, fades into view.

INT: THE CIRCUS BACK DOOR

RINGMASTER

Fünf Minuten, everybody…. Entrance parade in five! Artistes, make your way to the back door. Final call! Jugglers, line up in front of the plate spinners. Fire eaters, you line up behind. Careful lion tamer, your cages are too close to the torches! Kommt, everyone, kommt! Das Publikum ist waiting…. Where ist our strongman? GüNTHER!

Magicians, hide your rabbits and parakeets. Make sure all your handkerchiefs are tied together and tucked in. Keep that white mouse away from the elephants, please. Handlers, curb your monkeys! Stand over here, Cannonball. You, too, ropewalkers. Come on, clowns, hurry! Get in your car. All of you! NO, NO, stay INSIDE the car! Drive up to the front of the parade…. This way…. THIS WAY! Never mind, stay there! I said, STAY THERE! Where ist Günther! Where ist that verdammte drunkard?

Ist the camel and the zebra ready? Acrobats and bally girls, mount your horses. Cirkies, signal the orchestra and get ready to pull the curtain!

Release the cats and dogs! Forward march! Good, good….

Someone, bring those kittens back in line…. Good.

Hals und Beinbruch, everybody!

INT: IN THE CIRCUS RING

The Ringmaster addresses the audience.

RINGMASTER

Hast anyone seen Günther? Wo ist he? Ist he hier?

The audience shouts, jumping and pointing in all directions.

AUDIENCE

Nein! No! No! Nein!

RINGMASTER

Ist he dar?

The audience shouts, highly agitated.

AUDIENCE

Nein! Nein!

RINGMASTER

Ist he back from his bender at the bar?

AUDIENCE

Ja! Ja! Look! He’s killing the queen of hearts!

The audience members throw their bodies this way and that, some flail their arms about wildly, many are laughing while holding their bellies, some are falling off their seats. Everyone points at Günther who is clubbing the dame to death for feeling up his leotard.

AUDIENCE MEMBER #1

It’s not self-defense. It’s murder!

Günther cracks open the skulls of a pair of knaves.

AUDIENCE MEMBER #2

It’s their own fault for making fun of his red buskins!

It’s considered a double murder in a court of law, but here in Zirkus Griebelweiss, it’s the fitting ending to a strongman act. The audience cheers.

AUDIENCE

Günther’s back! Günther’s back! Günther’s back bending bars!

The outpouring of love calms Günther down. He takes a bow; einmal, tweimal, und…. dreimal.

INT: UNDER THE CIRCUS TENT

Helga throws herself out over the anxiously mumbling audience.

AUDIENCE MEMBER #3

That is ill-advised!

AUDIENCE MEMBER #4

It’s reckless, downright!

A little girl cries.

LITTLE GIRL

It’s suicide!

Helga waves, cold as ice, and does a mermaid, then a shooting star, to another little girl’s delight. A starfish falls from the sky. All ringside eyes are fixed upon the descending vertebrae, all mouths are open wide. It’s going to be a gruesome death, but quick! The crowd gasps.

AUDIENCE

It’s suicide! No, wait! It may be murder!

Under the wire, Helga, open-mouthed, saves starfish with a gentle bite, swinging upside down all the while. The audience goes wild. She winks at Günther. Günther likes. Otto doesn’t like.

One little girl is still crying.

INT: BEHIND THE CIRCUS CURTAIN

Otto loves Helga, but Otto is a clown. Helga only has eyes for Günther. Otto wouldn’t hurt a fly. But Günther? Hurting Günther ist another matter, he ist prime for murder! Alas, not capable of bending arms – much less bars or railroad tracks – Otto has a pair of special socks, and these homicidal hand puppets have no ailments or inhibitions. They have a plan for handling the Günther problem: 1. Where? The Bahnhof; 2. How? Tied down with metal chains; 3. When? Before the 4:55 Express. Günther will be helpless at that hour – blind betrunken, or sleeping it off – but, do the puppets know the punishment for such a vicious and calculated murder?

EXT: THE CIRCUS BACKYARD – NIGHT

The impalement act ist cut short when the knife thrower ist arrested for murder and escorted out in handcuffs by the circus police. Ergo, the show ist over. Das Publikum ist gone.

CAMERA: Moves across the circus backyard, up to the window of the knife thrower’s wagon.

Günther, Helga, and Otto drink Branntwein in the knife thrower’s wagon – sans the blade hurler himself – and sans his old ball and chain, of course, on account of her recent murder.

INT: AT THE TABLE IN KNIFE THROWER’S WAGON

Günther wants to dance! Helga wouldn’t mind. Otto’s hands are clenched under the table, the hand puppets mumble.

HAND PUPPETS

Murder! Murder! Murder!

Otto relaxes his fingers a little bit, but does nothing else to calm the puppets down. Rocking back and forth, they grumble under heavy Branntwein breath.

HAND PUPPETS

Heute wir haben unsere Lederstiefel an—eine Mittwochsfeder würde unseren Geist beruhigen—ein unschuldiges Lächeln würde mir eine Welle über den Rücken jagen—aber tanzen ist langweilig.

Otto swipes his empty glass off the kitchen table and goes straight for the bottle.

INT: WAGON “DANCE FLOOR”

Günther – lost in Helga’s rapidly blinking eyes – leads her round and round the jam-packed wagon, quoting from a verse he learned as a child.

GüNTHER

Binnenkort vlieg ik terug, HEP! om de plaats te bezoeken waar, HEP! ik ooit woonde, JA! mijn hele familie is…

Helga places a hand over Günther’s mouth, frowns and shakes her head. She didn’t understand a single word he said. Günther tries to explain.

INT: WAGON KITCHEN TABLE

Helga sits Günther down, pours a glass of wein – first for him, then herself. Otto stoically declines. She raises her glass and starts to sing.

HELGA

Over det sædvanlige tætte skydække, fra Hebriderne til…

She stops mid-sentence, looks at her confused wagon companions, and bursts into laughter. Günther chuckles, once or twice, then howls along with her. Otto and his socks sigh with heavenward eyes. Günther puts his Branntwein down, grabs Helga, and they dance again.

INT: UNDER THE WAGON KITCHEN TABLE

Otto’s at the boiling point and wants to leave, but fears for what Helga might let Günther do, were he to step outside – even for a quick, much needed pee. The puppets look up at Otto, slowly moving side to side, whispering menacingly.

HAND PUPPETS

Leih uns deine Ohren und wir machen sie mit dem leisesten Klang bekannt den sie jemals horen werden – aber tanzen ist laaangweeeilig!

INT: WAGON WORKBENCH

The puppets watch Günther and Helga who are lost in a passionate kiss, sprawled across the bench where the knife thrower sharpens his knives. The puppets look at Otto, eyebrows raised.

HAND PUPPETS

Murder?

Otto has passed out. The puppets nod at each other, chanting, as they strike.

HAND PUPPETS

Murder! MUrder! MURder! MURDer! MURDEr! MURDER!!

Blood-splattered and battered – breathing heavily – the puppets turn and look up at their master who lowers his head and closes his eyes.

HAND PUPPETS

Are you sure, Otto?

Otto nods at his hands and opens his eyes. For the last time.

CAMERA: Closeup of the hand puppets pointing a knife at the lens.

HAND PUPPETS

Wenn ein Mann den Verstand verloren hat, ist es dann Mord oder Selbstmord?

CAMERA: Iris diaphragm slowly closes and the image fades into blackness.

-ENDE-

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Steen W. Rasmussen was a singer/songwriter and guitarist in Denmark – his native land. He now resides in New York City and is a member of Woodside Writers, a literary forum that meets weekly. His poetry and prose have appeared in Scars Publication, Down and Dirty Magazine, Ekphrastic Review, Dear Booze, Horror Sleaze Trash, Dadakuku, Lothlorien Poetry Journal, and Sparks of Calliope.

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