a (The Inkspots sing) # If I didn't care # More than words can say # If I didn't care # Would I feel this way? # If this isn't love # Then why do I thrill? # And what makes my head go round and round # While my heart stands still? # If I didn't care # Would it be the same? (Song on radio) # Would my every prayer begin and end # With just your name? # And would I be sure that this is love beyond compare? # Would all this be true # If I didn't care for you? # OMINOUS MUSIC BENEATH SONG'S BRIDGE PASSAGE (Different singer speaks) If I didn't care... (Sighs) ...honey child, more than words can say... (Other vocalists hum) If I didn't care, would I feel this way? Mr Dufresne, describe the confrontation you had with your wife the night that she was murdered. It was very bitter. She said she was glad I knew, that she hated all the sneaking around and she said that she wanted a divorce in Reno. What was your response? I told her I would not grant one. 'I'll see you in hell before I see you in Reno' - those were your words according to your neighbours' testimony. those were your words according to your neighbours' testimony. If they say so. I really don't remember. I was upset. What happened after you argued with your wife? She packed a bag... She packed a bag to go and stay with Mr Quentin. Glenn Quentin! The golf pro at the Snowdon Hills Country Club, the man you had recently discovered was your wife's lover. Did you follow her? I went to a few bars first. Later, I drove to his house to confront them. They weren't home so I parked in the turnout and... waited. With what intention? With what intention? I'm not sure. I was confused, drunk. I think... mostly I wanted to scare them. When they arrived, you went up to the house and murdered them. No, I was sobering up. I got back in the car and I drove home to sleep it off. I stopped and threw my gun into the Royal River. I've been clear on this point. I get hazy where the cleaning woman shows up the following morning and finds your wife in bed with her lover riddled with .38-calibre bullets. Now, does that strike you as a fantastic coincidence, Mr Dufresne? Or is it just me? Yes, it does. Yet you still maintain that you threw your gun into the river before the murders took place. That's very convenient. It's the truth. The police dragged that river for three days and nary a gun was found. So there could be no comparison made between your gun and the bullets taken from the bloodstained corpses of the victims. And that, also, is very convenient, isn't it, Mr Dufresne? Since I am innocent of this crime, sir, I find it decidedly inconvenient that the gun was never found. (The Inkspots sing) # With just your name # And would I be sure that this is love beyond compare... # LAWYER: Ladies and gentlemen, you've heard all the evidence. You know all the facts. We have the accused at the scene of the crime - we have footprints, tyre tracks, bullets strewn on the ground bearing his fingerprints, a broken bourbon bottle, likewise with fingerprints. And most of all, we have a beautiful young woman and her lover lying dead in each other's arms. DOG BARKS They had sinned. But was their crime so great as to merit a death sentence? Now, while you think about that... think about this. A revolver holds six bullets, not eight. I submit that this was not a hot-blooded crime of passion. That at least could be understood if not condoned. No, this was revenge of a much more brutal and cold-blooded nature. Consider this - four bullets per victim. Not six shots fired but eight. That means that he fired the gun empty and then stopped to reload so that he could shoot each of them again. An extra bullet per lover, right in the head. You strike me as a particularly icy and remorseless man, Mr Dufresne. It chills my blood just to look at you. By the power vested in me by the State of Maine, I hereby order you to serve two life sentences back to back, one for each of your victims. So be it! (Bangs gavel) MAN: Sit. Your file says you've served 20 years of a life sentence. Yes, sir. Do you feel you've been rehabilitated? Oh, yes, sir. Absolutely, sir. I mean, I learned my lesson. I can honestly say that I'm a changed man. I mean... I'm no longer a danger to society. That's God's honest truth. Hey, Red. How did it go? Same old shit, different day. Yeah. I know how you feel. I'm up for rejection next week. Yeah, I got rejected last week. Yeah? Hey, Red! Bump me a deck. Get the fuck out of my face! You're into me for five packs already! Four! Five. RED: There must be a con like me in every prison in America. I'm the guy who can get it for you - cigarettes, a bag of reefer, if that's your thing, brandy to celebrate your kid's high-school graduation, damn near anything within reason. Yes, sir, I'm a regular Sears and Roebuck. SIRENS WAIL So when Andy Dufresne came to me in 1949 and asked me to smuggle Rita Hayworth into the prison for him, I told him no problem. GRIM MUSIC MAN ON PA: ..at the main gates. GRIM MUSIC CONTINUES Andy came to Shawshank Prison in early 1947 for murdering his wife and the fella she was banging. On the outside, he'd been vice-president of a large Portland bank. Good work for a man as young as he was. WHISTLING AND APPLAUSE Hey, Red. WHISTLING AND APPLAUSE CONTINUE PRISONERS YELL PRISONERS YELL AND BANG WIRE Do you speak English, butt-steak? You follow this officer. YELLING CONTINUES I've never seen such a sorry-looking heap of m-maggot shit. MAN: Hey, fish, come over here! YELLING CONTINUES Want to dance, little fish? Come on! Come on! Come on, fish, come on over here! Whoo-ee! You're a beauty! Taking bets today, Red? Smokes or coin? Better's choice. Smokes or coin? Better's choice. Smokes. Put me down for two. All right, who's your horse? That little sack of shit. Er...eighth. Eighth from the front, he'll be first. Oh, bullshit! I'll take that action. Me too. You're out some smokes, son. If you're so smart, you call it. I'll take the chubby fat ass, there. The fifth one from the front. Put me down for a quarter deck. Fresh fish! Fresh fish! We're reeling them in! I didn't think much of Andy first time I laid eyes on him. He looked like a stiff breeze would blow him over. That was my first impression of the man. What do you say, Red? That tall drink of water with the silver spoon up his ass. That guy? Never happen! 10 cigarettes. That's a rich bet. All right, who's gonna prove me wrong? Heywood? Jigger? Skeets? Floyd? Four brave souls. PA: Return to your cell blocks for evening count. Will all prisoners return to your cell blocks? GRIM MUSIC SWELLS Turn to the right! Eyes front. DOOR SLAMS This is Mr Hadley. He's captain of the guards. I'm Mr Norton, the warden. You are convicted felons. That's why they've sent you to me. Rule number one - no blasphemy. I'll not have the Lord's name taken in vain in my prison. The other rules you'll figure out as you go along. Any questions? When do we eat? You eat when we say you eat, you shit when we say you shit and you piss when we say you piss! You got that, you maggot gay motherfucker? (Prisoner coughs) (Prisoner coughs) On your feet. I believe in two things - discipline and the Bible. Here you'll receive both. Put your trust in the Lord. Your ass belongs to me. Welcome to Shawshank. Unhook them! HADLEY: Turn around. That's enough. Move to the end of the cage. Turn around. Delouse him. Turn around. Move out of the cage, go to the left, pick up your clothes and Bible. Next man up. Go right. Right, right, right! Left. Left. RED: The first night's the toughest, no doubt about it. They march you in, naked as the day you were born, skin burning and half-blind from that delousing shit they throw on you. And when they put you in that cell and those bars slam home, that's when you know it's for real. A whole life blown away in the blink of an eye. Nothing left but all the time in the world to think about it. Most new fish come close to madness the first night. Somebody always breaks down crying. It happens every time. The only question is who is it gonna be. It's as good a thing to bet on as any, I guess. I had my money on Andy Dufresne. TROUBLED MUSIC Lights out! (Guard walks away) I remember my first night. It seems like a long time ago. MAN: Yoo-hoo! Hey, fish! Fish, fish, fish, fish, fishy! Boy, you scared of the dark? Lookee here, new fish! Bet you wish your daddy never dicked your mommy! Fishy! Piggy! Pork! I want me a pork chop! Yeah! Poke your ass out and give me the first look! The boys always go fishing with first-timers. And they don't quit till they reel someone in. Hey, Fat Ass. PRISONER: You're gonna be dreaming about me! Fat Ass! Talk to me, boy. I know you're there. I can hear you breathing. Don't you listen to these nitwits, you hear me? This place ain't so bad. I tell you what. I'll introduce you around, make you feel right at home. I know a couple of big old bull queers that would just love to make your acquaintance. Especially that big white, mushy butt of yours. God! I don't belong here! We have a winner! I want to go home! And it's Fat Ass, by a nose! It's the fat guy, it's the fat guy! Fresh fish! Fresh fish! (All clap and chant in time) Fresh fish! Fresh fish! I don't belong here! I want to go home! Fresh fish! Fresh fish! I want my mother! I had your mother! She wasn't that great! DOORS SLAM Fresh fish! Fresh fish! What the Christ is this happy horseshit? I'll tell the warden you blasphemed! You'll tell him with my baton up your ass! You'll tell him with my baton up your ass! You gotta let me out of here! What is your malfunction, you fat barrel of monkey spunk? Please! I ain't supposed to be here. Not me! I ain't gonna count to three. I'm not even gonna count to one. You will shut the fuck up! Man, shut up. There's been a mistake! You don't understand - I'm not supposed to be here! Open that cell. Me neither! You people run this place like a fucking prison! You son of a bitch! (Sobs) Captain, take it easy! If I hear a mouse fart in here tonight, I swear by God and Sonny Jesus, you will all visit the infirmary, every last motherfucker in here. Call the trusties. Take that tub of shit to the infirmary. DOOR SLAMS His first night in the joint, Andy Dufresne cost me two packs of cigarettes. He never made a sound. BUZZER GUARD: Tier 3 north! GUARD: Clear, Captain! Tier 2 north! 2 south clear! Tier 3 south! Clear! Tier 1-north! Tier 1-south! Clear! Tier 4-south! Clear! Prepare to roll out! Roll out! Are you...are you going to eat that? I hadn't...I hadn't planned on it. Do you mind? Oh, yeah! That's nice and ripe. Jake says thank you. He fell out of his nest over by the plate shop. I'm gonna look after him until he's big enough to fly. Oh, no, no! Here he comes! Morning, fellas. Fine morning, isn't it? You know why it's a fine morning, don't you? Set 'em down - I want 'em all lined up just like a pretty little chorus line. Yeah, look at that! Look at that! Oh, Lord! Yes! Richmond, Virginia. Smell my ass. After he smells mine! Gee, Red, terrible shame about your horse coming in last and all. But I sure do love that winning horse of mine! I owe that boy a big sloppy kiss when I see him. Give him some cigarettes instead. Hey, Tyrell, you pull infirmary duty this week? How's that horse of mine doing, anyway? Dead. Hadley busted his head up pretty good. The doc had already gone home for the night. Poor bastard lay there till this morning. By then there weren't nothing we could do. What was his name? What did you say? I was just wondering if anyone knew his name. What the fuck do you care, new fish? It doesn't fucking matter what his name was. He's dead. MELANCHOLY MUSIC Hey. Anybody come at you yet? Anybody get to you yet? Hey, we all need friends in here. I could be a friend to you. Hey. Hard to get. I like that. RED: Andy kept pretty much to himself at first. I guess he had a lot on his mind - trying to adapt to life on the inside. It wasn't until a month went by that he finally opened his mouth to say two words to somebody. As is turned out, that somebody was me. PA: Officers Russell and Burleigh report to Duty Officer. I'm Andy Dufresne. The wife-killing banker. Why'd you do it? I didn't, since you asked. (Chuckles) You're going to fit right in. Everybody in here's innocent - don't you know that? Heywood, what you in here for? Didn't do it. Lawyer fucked me. Rumour has it you're a real cold fish - you think your shit smells sweeter than most. Is that right? What do you think? To tell the truth, I haven't made up my mind. I understand you're a man that knows how to get things. I'm known to locate certain things from time to time. I wonder if you might get me a rock hammer? A what? A rock hammer. What is it and why? What do you care? If it was a toothbrush, I wouldn't ask, but then a toothbrush is a non-lethal object, isn't it? Fair enough. A rock hammer is about six or seven inches long. It looks like a miniature pickaxe. A pickaxe? For rocks. Rocks. Quartz? Quartz. There's some mica... shale...limestone. So? So I'm a rock-hound - at least, I was in my old life. I'd like to be again on a limited basis. Maybe you'll sink your toy into somebody's skull. Maybe you'll sink your toy into somebody's skull. No, sir. I have no enemies here. No? Wait a while. Word gets around. The sisters have taken quite a liking to you... especially Bogs. I don't suppose it'd help any if I explained I wasn't homosexual. Neither are they. You have to be human first. They don't qualify. Bull queers take by force. -That's all they want or understand. If I were you, I'd grow eyes in the back of my head. Thanks for the advice. That's free. But you understand my concern? Well, if there's any trouble, I won't use the rock hammer, OK? Then I guess you want to escape - tunnel under the wall maybe. (Chuckles) Did I miss something? What's funny? You'll understand when you see the rock hammer. What's an item like this usually go for? $7 in any rock and gem shop. My normal mark-up's 20%. But this is a specialty item. The risk goes up, the price goes up. Let's make it an even 10 bucks. $10 it is. Waste of money, if you ask me. Why's that? (Catches ball) Folks around this joint love surprise inspections. If they find it, you're going to lose it. If they catch you, you don't know me. You mention my name, we'll never do business again - not for shoelaces or gum. Now, you got that? I understand. Thank you, Mr, er...? 'Red'. The name's Red. Red. Why do they call you that? Maybe it's because I'm Irish. RED: I could see why some of the boys took him for snobby. He had a quiet way about him - a walk and a talk that just wasn't normal around here. He strolled...like a man in a park, without a care or worry in the world. Like he had on an invisible coat that would shield him from this place. Yeah. I think it would be fair to say I liked Andy from the start. Let's go! We've got a schedule to keep! Move it! Come on! Move it! Bob, how are you doing? How's the wife treating you? (Man yells) Easy! Keep it moving! Go! Red. Andy was right. I finally got the joke. It would take a man about 600 years to tunnel under the wall with one of these. Book? MAN: Not today. Book? MAN: No. Hey, Brooksie. Delivery for Dufresne. Book? MAN: Pass. Book? Dufresne...here is your book. Thanks. 1 Dufresne. We're running low on oxide. Get on back and fetch yourself some. LOW, OMINOUS MUSIC You get this in your eyes, it blinds you. Honey, hush. (Grunts) Here. That's it ` you fight. It's better that way. RED: I wish I could tell you that Andy fought the good fight and the sisters let him be. I wish I could tell you that, but prison is no fairytale world. Get his pants off. He never said who did it, but we all knew. GATES BUZZ Things went on like that for a while. Prison life consists of routine. And then more routine. MELANCHOLY MUSIC Every so often, Andy would show up with fresh bruises. The sisters kept at him. Sometimes he was able to fight them off... sometimes not. And that's how it went for Andy. That was his routine. I do believe those first two years were the worst for him. And I also believe if things had gone on that way, this place would've got the best of him. But then, in the spring of 1949, the powers that be decided that... The roof of the licensing plate factory needs resurfacing. I need a dozen volunteers for a week's work. As you know, special detail carries with it special privileges. RED: It was outdoor detail, and May is one damned fine month to be working outdoors. GUARD: Stay in line there. More than 100 men volunteered for the job. (Mumbles indistinctly) Wallace E. Unger. Ellis Redding. Wouldn't you know it - me and some fellas I know were among the names called. Andrew Dufresne. It only cost us a pack of smokes per man. I made my usual 20%, of course. HADLEY: So this big shot lawyer calls me long distance from Texas. I say, 'Yeah?' He says, 'Eh, sorry to inform you, but your brother just died.' Oh, damn! Byron, I'm sorry to hear that. I'm not. He was an asshole. Ran off years ago. Figured him for dead anyway. Anyway, this lawyer fella says to me, 'Your brother died a rich man.' Oil wells and shit. Close to a million bucks. A million bucks? Yeah. Incredible how lucky some assholes get. Incredible how lucky some assholes get. Are you going to see any of that? $35,000. That's what he left me. Dollars? Yep. That's great! That's like winning the sweepstakes! (Nervously) Isn't it? Dumb shit! What do you think the Government will do to me? Take a bite out of my ass is what! Poor Byron. Terrible fucking luck, huh? It's a crying shame. (Sarcastically) Some people really got it awful. Andy, are you nuts? Keep your eyes on your mop, man! You'll pay SOME tax, but you'll still end up... Oh, yeah! Maybe enough to buy a new car. Then I pay tax on the car! Repair. Maintenance. Kids pestering me to take them for a ride! If you figure the tax wrong, you pay from your own pocket. I tell you - Uncle Sam! He puts your hand in your shirt and squeezes your tit until it's purple. (Softly) Andy! Andy! Andy! He'll get himself killed. Keep tarring. Some brother. Shit! Hey! (Cocks gun) Mr Hadley... do you trust your wife? Oh, that's funny. You're going to look funnier sucking my dick with no teeth. What I mean is, do you think she'd hamstring you? That's it. Step aside. This fucker's having himself an accident. He'll push him off! If you trust her, you can keep that $35,000! What did you say? $35,000. $35,000. All of it. All of it?! Every penny. You'd better start making sense. To keep all that money, give it to your wife. The IRS allows a one-time-only gift to your spouse for up to $60,000. Bullshit! Tax-free? Tax-free. IRS can't touch one cent. You're that smart banker what killed his wife, aren't you? Why should I believe a smart banker like you? So I'll end up in here! It's perfectly legal. Ask the IRS. I feel stupid telling you this. You would've investigated the matter yourself. I don't need no wife-killing banker to tell me anything! Of course not. But you'll need someone to set up the tax-free gift. It'll cost you a lawyer. Bunch of ball-washing bastards! I suppose I could set it up for you. That would save you money. I'll prepare the forms for you, nearly free of charge. I'd only ask three beers apiece for each of my co-workers. Co-workers! Get him! That's rich, ain't it? A man working outdoors feels more like a man if he can have a bottle of suds. It's only my opinion, sir. (Pants) What are you jimmies staring at! Back to work! MERT: Let's go! work! HOPEFUL MUSIC RED: And that's how it came to pass - that on the second-to-last day of the job, the convict crew that tarred the plate factory roof in the spring of '49 sat in a row at 10 o'clock in the morning, drinking icy cold Bohemia-style beer, courtesy of the hardest screw that ever walked a turn at Shawshank State Prison. Drink up while it's cold, ladies. The colossal prick even managed to sound magnanimous. We sat and drank with the sun on our shoulders and felt like free men. Hell, we could've been tarring the roof of one of our own houses. We were the lords of all creation. As for Andy - he spent that break hunkered in the shade, a strange little smile on his face, watching us drink his beer. Hey. Want a cold one, Andy? No thanks. I gave up drinking. You could argue, he'd done it to curry favour with the guards, or maybe make a few friends among us cons. Me, I think he did it just to feel normal again, if only for a short while. RED: King me. Chess. Now, there's a game of kings. What? Civilised. Strategic. And a total fucking mystery. I hate it. Maybe you'll let me teach you some day. (Chuckles) Sure. I've been thinking of getting a board together. You're talking to the right man. I can get things. We might do business on a board. I want to carve the pieces myself - one side in alabaster, the opposing in soapstone. What do you think? It'll take years. The years I've got. But I don't have rocks. The pickings are slim in the yard. Pebbles, mostly. Andy, we're getting to be kind of friends, aren't we? Yeah, I guess. May I ask you something? Why'd you do it? I'm innocent, Red, just like everybody else here. What are you in for? Murder. The same as you. Innocent? Only guilty man in Shawshank. PA: Reverend Jack! Reverend Jack! Phone call. SOFT, POIGNANT MUSIC Where's the canary? How did you know? How did I know what? So you don't know? Come. This is where the canary is, Johnny. (Woman sings) Quite a surprise to hear a woman singing in my house? That's quite a su... a surprise. (Singing continues indistinctly) Red? Wait, wait, wait, wait. Here she comes. I really like when she does that shit with her hair. I know. I've seen it three times this month. Gilda, are you decent? Me? PRISONERS CHEER AND WOLF WHISTLE) Ha! God, I love her! I understand you're a man that knows how to get things. Yeah, I'm known to locate certain things from time to time. What do you want? Rita Hayworth. What? Can you get her? So this is Johnny Farrell. I've heard a lot about you. Could take a few weeks. Weeks? Well, yeah, Andy. I don't have her stuffed down my pants right now, I'm sorry to say. But I'll get her. Relax. Thanks. It certainly was. You should've seen his face. Did you tell him what I'm doing here? I wanted to save that as a surprise too. Hang on to your hat, Mr Farrell. Gilda is my wife now. PROJECTOR CLACKS Take a walk. I've got to change reels! Take a walk. I've got to change reels! I said fuck off! Ain't you going to scream? Let's get this over with. MAN: Broke my fucking nose! Now...I'm going to open my fly... and you're going to swallow what I give you to swallow. Then, when you've swallowed mine, you're going to swallow Rooster's ` you done broke his nose. Anything you put in my mouth, you're going to lose. No, you don't understand. You do that and I'll put this steel in your ear. But you should know that sudden serious brain injury causes the victim to bite down hard. In fact, I hear the bite reflex is so strong they have to prise the victim's jaws open with a crowbar. Where do you get this shit? I read it. You know how to read, you ignorant fuck? Honey,... you shouldn't. RED: Bogs didn't put anything in Andy's mouth and neither did his friends. What they did do is beat him within an inch of his life. Andy spent a month in the infirmary. Bogs spent a week in the hole. Time's up, Bogs. (Sighs) It's your world, boss. PA: Return to your cell blocks for evening count. All prisoners report for lock-down. What? Where's he going? Grab his ankles. No! NO! No! HELP...me! Aaarrgh! THUMPING AND SCREAMING Two things never happened again after that. The sisters never laid a finger on Andy again. And Bogs never walked again. They transferred him to a minimum-security hospital upstate. To my knowledge, he lived out the rest of his days drinking his food through a straw. I'm thinking Andy could use a nice welcome back when he gets out of the infirmary. Sounds good to us. I figure we owe him that much for the beer. The man likes to play chess. Let's get him some rocks. FOLKSY VIOLIN AND GUITAR Guys...I got one. I got one. Look. Heywood, that isn't soapstone. And it ain't alabaster either. What are you? A geologist? He's right. It ain't. Well, what the hell is it, then? It's a horse apple. Bullshit! Bullshit! No, horse shit. Petrified. (Chuckles) Oh, Jesus! Goddamn! Despite a few hitches, the boys came through in fine style. And by the week Andy was due back, we had enough rocks saved up to keep him busy until Rapture. I also got a big shipment in that week - cigarettes, chewing gum, sipping whisky, playing cards with naked ladies on them. You name it. And, of course, the most important item... Rita Hayworth herself. CLANGING AND SHOUTING GUARD: OK, look alive! All tiers! GATES BUZZ (Softly) Heads up! They're tossing the cells. Heads up! They're tossing the cells. 119. 119. 123. On your feet. Face the wall. Turn around. Face the warden. Pleased to see you reading this. Any favourite passages? 'Watch ye, therefore, for ye know not when the master of the house cometh.' Mark 13:35. Always liked that one. But I prefer... 'I am the light of the world. 'He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life.' John, chapter eight, verse 12. I hear you're good with numbers. How nice. A man should have a skill. Want to explain this? It's called a rock blanket. For shaping and polishing rocks. A little hobby of mine. It's pretty clean. Some contraband here, but nothing to get in a twist over. Can't say I approve of this. But I suppose... exceptions can be made. Lock him up! Almost forgot. I'd hate to deprive you of this. Salvation lies within. Salvation lies within. Yes, sir. RED: Tossing cells was just an excuse. Truth is, Norton wanted to size Andy up. My wife made that in church group. Very nice, sir. You enjoy working in the laundry? No, sir, not especially. Well, perhaps we can find something more... befitting a man of your education. (Caws) (Caws) Hey, Jake. Where's Brooks? Andy! I thought I heard you out here. I've been reassigned to you. I know. They told me. (Chuckles) Ain't that a kick in the head? Well, I'll give you the darn tour. Come on. Well, here she is. Shawshank Prison Library. 'National Geographic'. 'Reader's Digest Condensed Books' and...Louis L'Amour. 'Look' magazine. Erle Stanley Gardners. Every evening, I load up the cart and make my round. I enter the names on this clipboard here. Easy-peasy, Japanesey. Any questions? Brooks, how long have you been librarian? Ohhh...I come here in '05 and they made me librarian 1912. And in all that time, have you ever had an assistant? And in all that time, have you ever had an assistant? No, no. Not much to it really. Well, why me? Why now? I don't know. Will be nice to have company down here for a change. GUARD: Dufresne! That's him. That's the one. I'm Dekins. I was, er...thinking about maybe setting up some kind of trust fund for my kids' educations. Oh...I see. Well, um... why don't we have a seat and talk it over? Brooks, do you have a piece of paper and a pencil? Thanks. So... Mr Dekins. And then Andy says, 'Mr Dekins, do you want your sons to go to Harvard or Yale?' He didn't say THAT? As God is my witness. Dekins just blinked for a second, then he laughed himself silly and afterwards, he actually shook Andy's hand. My ass. Shook his hand. (Laughs) I near soiled myself. All Andy needed was a suit and tie and a little hula gal on his desk. He would've been MR Dufresne, if you please. Making a few friends, huh, Andy? I wouldn't say 'friends'. I'm a convicted murderer who provides sound financial planning. It's a wonderful pet to have. Got you out of the laundry, though, didn't it? It might do more than that. How about expanding the library and get some new books? Gonna ask for something, ask for a pool table. Right. How do you expect to do that? I mean, get new books in here, Mr Dufresne, if you please? Ask the warden for funds. (Chuckles) Son, son, son. Six wardens have been through here in my tenure and I've learned one immutable universal truth. Not one of them born whose asshole wouldn't pucker tighter than a snare drum when you ask 'em for funds. Budget's stretched thin as it is. I see. Perhaps I could write to state senate and request funds directly from them. They see only three ways to spend the taxpayer's hard-earned when it comes to prisons - more walls, more bars and more guards. Still, I'd like to try, with your permission. I'll write a letter a week. They can't ignore me forever. Sure can. But write your letter if it makes you happy. I'll even mail 'em for you. How's that? RED: So Andy started writing a letter a week, just like he said. And, just like Norton said, Andy got no answers. The following April, Andy did tax returns for half the guards at Shawshank. Year after that, he did them all, including the warden's. Year after that, they rescheduled the start of the intramural season to coincide with tax season. The guards on the opposing teams all remembered to bring their W2s. So Moresby Prison issued you your gun but you had to pay for it? Damn right. The holster too. That's tax deductible. You can write that off. Yes, sir. Andy was a regular cottage industry. In fact, it got so busy at tax time, he was allowed a staff. Red, can you hand me a stack of 1040s? Got me out of the woodshop a month a year, and that was fine by me. And still he kept sending those letters. (Pants) Red. Andy. It's Brooks. (Man groans and gasps) Watch the door. Please, Brooks, just calm down. (Shouts) Stay back! OK. What the hell's going on? You tell me. One second he's fine, then out come the knife. Brooks. Sons of bitches! Let's talk about this. It's all talked out! I'm going to cut his fucking throat. Wait. What's he done to you? Wait. What's he done to you? It's what THEY done! I got...I got no choice. (Gasps hoarsely) Brooks, you won't hurt Heywood. We know that. Even Heywood knows. Right? Sure. I know. Know why? He's a friend and Brooks Hatlen's a reasonable man. That's right. Isn't it, guys? Yes. Put the knife down. Brooks...Brooks, look at me. Put the knife down. Brooks. (Gasps) Look at his neck, for God's sake. Brooks, look at his neck. He's bleeding. This is the only... It's the only way they'd let me stay. Come on. You don't wanna do this. Put it...put it down. (Sobs brokenly) Hey...hey. Come on. Take it easy. It'll be all right. Him? Hey, what about me? Crazy old fool goddamn near cut my throat. Shit, Heywood, you've had worse from shaving. What'd you do to set him off, anyway? Nothing! I come in to say farewell. Ain't you heard? His parole's come through. (Brooks sobs) I just don't understand what happened in there, that's all. Old man's crazy as a rat in a tin shithouse. Heywood, that's enough out of you. Heard he had you shitting your pants. Heard he had you shitting your pants. Fuck you. Would you knock it off?! Brooks ain't no bug. He's just... just institutionalised. Institutionalised, my ass. Institutionalised, my ass. The man's been in here 50 years, Heywood. 50 years. This is all he knows. In here, he's an important man. He's an educated man. Outside, he's nothing. Just a used-up con with arthritis in both hands. Probably couldn't get a library card if he tried. You know what I'm trying to say? Red, I do believe you're talking out of your ass. You believe whatever you want, Floyd. But I'm telling you, these walls are funny. First you hate 'em... then you get used to 'em. Enough time passes... it gets so you depend on 'em. That's institutionalised. Shit. I'll never get like that. Oh, yeah? Say that when you've been here as long as Brooks has. Goddamn right. They send you here for life, that's exactly what they're taking. Part that counts, anyway. (Jake caws) I can't take care of you no more, Jake. (Caws) You go on now. You're free. You're free. (Caws) (Caws) WINGS FLUTTER Bye. Good luck, Brooksie. POIGNANT MUSIC BROOKS: Dear fellas, I can't believe how fast things move on the outside. TYRES SQUEAL MAN: Watch it, old-timer! You trying to get killed? I saw an automobile once when I was a kid, but... now, they're everywhere. The world went and got itself in a big damn hurry. The parole board got me into this halfway house called 'The Brewer' and a job bagging groceries at the Foodway. It's hard work. I try to keep up, but my hands hurt most of the time. Make sure your man double-bags. Last time he didn't and the bottom near came out. Make sure you double-bag like the lady says. Yes, sir. Surely will. I don't think the store manager likes me very much. Sometimes after work, I go to the park and feed the birds. I keep thinking Jake might just show up and say hello, but he never does. I hope, wherever he is, he's doing OK and making new friends. I have trouble sleeping at night. I have bad dreams, like I'm falling, and I wake up scared. Sometimes it takes me a while to remember where I am. (Softly) Oh. Maybe I should get me a gun and rob the Foodway so they'd send me home. I could shoot the manager while I was at it, sorta like a...a bonus. I guess I'm too old for that sort of nonsense any more. I don't like it here. I'm tired of being afraid all the time. I've decided not to stay. I doubt they'll kick up any fuss. Not for an old crook like me. POIGNANT MUSIC 'I doubt they'll kick up any fuss. 'Not for an old crook like me. 'PS - Tell Heywood I'm sorry I put a knife to his throat. 'No hard feelings. Brooks.' MELANCHOLY MUSIC He should've died in here. 1 Goddamn mess, I'll tell you that. What's all this? What's all this? You tell me, fuck-stick. They're all addressed to you. Take it. 'Dear Mr Dufresne, in response to your repeated inquiries, 'the state has allocated the enclosed funds for your library project.' This is $200. 'In addition, the library district has generously responded 'with a charitable donation of used books and sundries. 'We trust this will fill your needs. We now consider the matter closed. 'Please stop sending us letters.' I want this cleared out before the warden gets back. Yes, sir. Good for you, Andy. Wow. It only took six years. From now on, I'll write two letters a week instead of one. I believe you're crazy enough. You better get this stuff out like the captain said. I'm gonna go pinch a loaf. When I come back, this is all gone. (Whispers) Wow. 'LETTER DUET' FROM MOZART'S 'THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO' PLAYS SOARING SOPRANO VOCALS Andy, do you hear that? FEEDBACK WHINES OPERA PLAYS OVER PA MUSIC CONTINUES (Guard bangs on door) Dufresne? Dufresne! Andy, let me out? BANGING CONTINUES Andy? Andy? RED: I have no idea to this day what those two Italian ladies were singing about. Truth is, I don't wanna know. Some things are best left unsaid. MUSIC CONTINUES I like to think they were singing about something so beautiful it can't be expressed in words and makes your heart ache because of it. I tell you, those voices soared higher and farther than anybody in a grey place dares to dream. It was like some beautiful bird flapped into our drab little cage and made those walls dissolve away. And for the briefest of moments, every last man at Shawshank felt free. It pissed the warden off something awful. Open the door. Open it up! Dufresne, open this door! (Rattles door loudly) Turn that off! (Knocks loudly) I am warning you, Dufresne! TURN THAT OFF! MUSIC BECOMES LOUDER Dufresne. You're mine now. REDDING: Andy got two weeks in the hole for that little stunt. MUSIC STOPS SUDDENLY On your feet. Hey, look who's here. Maestro! Andy. You couldn't play something good, huh? Hank Williams or something? They broke the door down before I took requests. Worth two weeks in the hole? Easiest time I ever did. Bullshit. No such thing as easy time in the hole. A week there is like a year. I had Mr Mozart to keep me company. They let you tote that record player down there, huh? It was in here. And in here. That's the beauty of music. They can't get that from you. Haven't you ever felt that way about music? Well, I played a mean harmonica as a younger man. Lost interest in it, though. Didn't make much sense in here. Here's where it makes the MOST sense. You need it so you don't forget. Forget? Yeah. Forget that there are...places... in the world that aren't made out of stone, that there's a... there's something... inside...that they can't get to. that...that they can't touch. It's yours. What are you talking about? Hope. Hope. Let me tell you something, my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane. It's got no use on the inside. Better get used to that idea. Like Brooks did? SPOON CLATTERS METAL SQUEALS AND CLANKS Sit down. Says here that you've served 30 years of a life sentence. Do you feel you've been rehabilitated? Oh, yes, sir. Without a doubt. I can honestly say I'm a changed man. No danger to society here. God's honest truth. Absolutely rehabilitated. 30 years. Jesus, when you say it like that... You wonder where it went. I wonder where 10 years went. Here. Little parole rejection present. Go ahead and open it. Had to go through one of your competitors. I hope you don't mind. I wanted it to be a surprise. It's very pretty, Andy. Thank you. You gonna play it? No. Not right now. GUARDS CALL ROLL MELANCHOLY MUSIC DOOR BUZZES GUARD: Lights out! FOOTSTEPS RECEDE (Plays softly) 1 Andy was as good as his word. He wrote two letters a week instead of one. In 1959, the state senate finally clued in to the fact they couldn't buy him off with just a $200 cheque. Appropriations committee voted an annual payment of $500 just to shut him up. And you'd be amazed how far Andy could stretch it. He made deals with book clubs, charity groups. He bought remaindered books by the pound. 'Treasure Island' - Robert Louis... Stevenson. Fiction, adventure. What's next? I got here 'Auto Repair' and...'Soap Carving'. Trade skills and hobbies. Goes under 'Educational'. The stack behind you. Trade skills and hobbies. Goes under 'Educational'. The stack behind you. 'The Count of Monte Crisco'. That's 'Cristo', you dumb shit. That's 'Cristo', you dumb shit. By 'Alexandree Dumbass'. Dumbass?! Dumbass? Well... Dumas. You know what that's about? Uh-uh. You'll like it. It's about a prison break. We should file that under 'Educational' too, shouldn't we? The rest of us did our best to pitch in when and where we could. By the year Kennedy was shot, Andy had transformed a storage room smelling of rat turds and turpentine into the best prison library in New England, complete with a fine selection of Hank Williams. (Sings) # Lord, I don't know what to do # All I do is sit and sigh... # That was also the year Warden Norton instituted his famous 'Inside Out' program. You may remember reading about it. It made all the papers and got his picture in 'Look' magazine. This is no free ride, but rather a genuine progressive advance in corrections and rehabilitation. Our inmates, properly supervised, will be put to work outside these walls, performing all manner of public service. These men can learn the value of an honest day's labour while providing a valuable service to the community and at a bare minimum of expense to Mr and Mrs John Q. Taxpayer. HANK WILLIAMS MUSIC ECHOES Of course, Norton failed to mention to the press that 'bare minimum of expense' is a fairly loose term. There are a hundred different ways to skim off the top - men, materials, you name it. And, oh my Lord, how the money rolled in. You'll put me out of business. Ned... With this slave labour, you can underbid any contractor in town. Ned, we're providing a valuable community service here. That's fine for the papers but I've got a family to feed. Sam... Sam, we go back a long way. I need this new highway contract. I don't get it, and I go under - that's a fact. Have some of this fine pie my missus made specially for you, and think about that. INMATE: Timber! Watch out down there! TREE CREAKS AND FALLS Ned, I wouldn't worry too much about this contract. I already got my boys committed elsewhere. You be sure and thank Maisie for this fine pie. And behind every shady deal, behind every dollar earned, there was Andy, keeping the books. Two deposits. Main National and New England First. Night drops as always, sir. Get my stuff down to the laundry. Two suits for dry-clean, and a bag of whatnot. Two suits for dry-clean, and a bag of whatnot. Yes, sir. They overstarch my shirts again, they're in trouble. Yes, sir. How do I look? Very nice, sir. Big charity do in Portland. The Governor's going to be there. You want the rest of this? The woman can't bake worth shit. Thank you, sir. He's got his fingers in a lot of pies, from what I hear. What you hear isn't half of it. He's got scams you haven't even dreamed of - kickbacks on his kickbacks. There's a river of dirty money running through this place. Eventually, he'll have to explain where all that money came from. Eventually, he'll have to explain where all that money came from. That's where I come in. I channel, filter, funnel it. Stocks, securities, tax-free municipals. I send that money out into the real world and when it comes back... Clean as a virgin's honey pot. Cleaner. By the time Norton retires, I'll have made him a millionaire. If they ever catch on, he'll wind up in here wearing a number himself. I thought you had a little more faith in me than that. Oh, no. I know you're good, but all that paper leaves a trail. Anybody gets curious - FBI, IRS, whatever - it's going to lead to somebody. Sure it is. But not to me. And certainly not to the Warden. All right, who? Randall Stephens. Who? The silent silent partner. He's the guilty one, Your Honour - the man with the bank accounts. That's where the filtering process starts. They trace anything, it's just going to lead to him. But who is he? He's a phantom, an apparition. Second cousin to Harvey the Rabbit. I conjured him out of thin air. He doesn't exist - except on paper. Andy, you can't just make a person up. Sure you can - if you know how the system works, where the cracks are. It's amazing what you can accomplish by mail. Mr Stephens has a birth certificate, driver's licence, social security number... You're shitting me. If they ever trace those accounts, they'll be chasing a figment of my imagination. Well, I'll be damned. Did I say you were good? Shit, you're a Rembrandt. You know, the funniest thing is, on the outside, I was an honest man, straight as an arrow. I had to come to prison to be a crook. (Laughs) Does it ever bother you? I don't run the scams, Red, I just process the profits. It's a fine line, maybe, but it also built that library and I used it to help a dozen guys get their high school diploma. Why do you think Norton lets me do all that? To keep you happy and doing the laundry - money instead of sheets. I work cheap - that's the trade-off. SIREN BLARES ROCK'N'ROLL MUSIC # I know a cat named Way-out Willie... # Tommy Williams came to Shawshank in 1965 on a two-year stretch for B and E. That's breaking and entering to you. Cops caught him sneaking TV sets out the back door of J.C. Penney. Young punk - Mr Rock'n'Roll. Cocky as hell. Hey! Come on, old boys! You're moving like molasses, making me look bad! We liked him immediately. So I'm backing out the door, right, and I've got the TV like this. It's a big old thing. I couldn't see shit. Suddenly, here's this voice. 'Freeze, kid - hands in the air.' I'm just standing there, holding on to that TV. Finally, the voice says, 'You hear what I said, boy?' I say, 'Yes, sir, I sure did. 'But if I drop this, you've got me on destruction of property too!' (Men laugh) Hey, you done a stretch in Caspin, right? Yeah. Now, that was an easy piece of time, let me tell you. Weekend furloughs, work programmes - not like here. Sounds like you've done time all over New England. Yeah, I've been in and out since I was 13. You name the place, I've probably been there. Perhaps it's time you tried a new profession. What I mean is, you don't seem to be a very good thief. Maybe you should try something else. Yeah, well, what the hell do you know about it, Capone? What are YOU in for? Me? Lawyer fucked me. Everybody's innocent in here. Don't you know that? Ugh. (Men laugh) As it turned out, Tommy had himself a young wife and a new baby girl. Maybe it was the thought of them on the streets or his child growing up not knowing her daddy. Whatever it was, something lit a fire under that boy's ass. I was thinking of maybe trying for my high school equivalency. I hear you helped a few fellas with that. I don't waste time on losers, Tommy. I ain't no goddamn loser. You mean that? Yeah. Do you REALLY mean that? Yes, sir. I do. Good. Because if we do this, we do it all the way. 100%, nothing half-assed. The thing is, see, uh... I don't read so good. 'Well'. You don't read...so WELL. We'll get to that. 'R'. 'R'. 'S'. 'S'. 'T'. 'T'. So Andy took Tommy under his wing - started walking him through his ABCs. Tommy took to it pretty well, too. The boy found brains he never knew he had. Before long, Andy started him on his course requirements. He really liked the kid. It gave him a thrill to help a youngster crawl off the shitheap. But that wasn't the only reason. Prison time is slow time, so you do what you can to keep going. Some fellas collect stamps. Others build matchstick houses. Andy built a library. Now he needed a new project. Tommy was it. It was the same reason he spent years shaping and polishing those rocks, the same reason he hung his fantasy girlies on the wall. In prison, a man will do most anything to keep his mind occupied. By 1966, right about the time Tommy was getting ready to take his exams, it was lovely Raquel. CLOCK TICKS Time. Well? Well, it's for shit. Wasted a whole fucking year of my time with this bullshit. It's probably not as bad as you think. Yeah, it's worse. I didn't get a fucking thing right. It might as well have been in Chinese. Let's see how you score. I know how I'll score! Two points, right there! There's your goddamn score! Goddamn cats crawling up trees! 5 times 5 is 25... FUCK THIS PLACE! Fuck it! I feel bad. I let him down. That's crap, kid. He's proud of you. We've been friends a long time. So I know him better than anybody. We've been friends a long time. So I know him better than anybody. He's a smart fella, ain't he? Smart as they come. He used to be a banker on the outside. What's he in here for? What's he in here for? Murder. The hell you say? Wouldn't think it to look at the guy. Caught his wife in bed with some golf pro. He greased them both. What? About four years ago, I was in Thomaston on a two-to-three stretch. I stole a car. It was a dumb-fuck thing to do. About six months left to go, I get a new cellmate in. Elmo Blatch. Big, twitchy fucker. The kind of roomie you pray you don't get, you know what I'm saying? Six to 12, armed burglary. Said he'd pulled hundreds of jobs. Hard to believe, high-strung as he was. You'd cut a loud fart, he'd jump three feet in the air. Talked all the time too - that's the other thing. He never shut up - places he'd been, jobs he'd pulled, women he fucked, even people he'd killed. People...gave him shit. That's how he put it. So...one night, like a joke, I say to him, I say, 'Yeah, Elmo, who did you kill?' So he says... I got me this job one time, bussing tables at a country club, so I could case all these big, rich pricks that come in. So I pick out this guy, go in one night and do his place. He wakes up. He gives me shit. So I killed him. Him and this tasty bitch he was with. (Laughs maniacally) That's the best part. She's fucking this prick, see? This golf pro, but she's married to some other guy. Some hot-shot banker. And he's the one they pin it on! I have to say, that's the most amazing story I ever heard. What amazes me most is you were taken in by it. Sir? Well, it's obvious this fellow Williams is impressed with you. He hears your tale of woe and quite naturally wants to cheer you up. He's young, not terribly bright. It's not surprising he wouldn't know what a state he'd put you in. Sir, he's telling the truth. Well, let's say for the moment this Blatch does exist. Do you think he'll just fall to his knees and cry, 'Yes, I did it. I confess. Please add a life term to my sentence'? You know that wouldn't matter. With Tommy's testimony, I can get a new trial. With Tommy's testimony, I can get a new trial. Assuming Blatch is even still there. He'd probably be released by now. They'd have his last known address, names of relatives. It's a chance, isn't it? How can you be so obtuse? What? What did you call me? Obtuse. Is it deliberate? Son, you are forgetting yourself. The country club will have his old time cards, records, W2s with his name on them... If you want to indulge this fantasy, that's your business. Don't make it mine. This meeting is over. Sir, if I ever got out, I'd never mention what goes on in here. I'd be as indictable as you for laundering that money. Don't ever mention money to me again, you sorry son of a bitch! Not in this office! Not anywhere! Get in here, now! I was just trying to set your mind at ease... Solitary. A month. GUARD: Yes, sir. What's the matter with you? Get him out. It's my chance to get out! It's my life! Don't you understand?! Get him out. Get him out! It's my life! No! A month in the hole. That's the longest damn stretch I ever heard of. Ah, it's all my fault. Bullshit. You didn't pull the trigger and you certainly didn't convict him. Are you saying that Andy is innocent? I mean, for real innocent? Well, it looks that way. Sweet Jesus. How long has he been here now? Since 1947. What is that - 19 years? 19 years. Williams, Thomas. Yeah, over here. Paxon, Edward. Here. RED: What you got? Board of Education. The son of a bitch mailed it. Looks like it. You gonna open it or stand there with your thumb up your butt? You gonna open it or stand there with your thumb up your butt? Thumb up my butt sounds better. Hey, Skeet! Come on. Give me that shit. Hey! Floyd... Come on. Hey, Snooze. Hey, Red. Come on, will you throw that away, please? Well, shit. RAT SQUEAKS The kid passed. C+ average. Thought you'd like to know. Warden wants to talk. Out here? That's what the man said. Warden? Tommy. Tommy, I'm asking you to keep this conversation just between us. I feel awkward enough as it is. We got a situation here. I think you can appreciate that. Yes, sir. I sure can. I tell you, son, this thing really came along and knocked my wind out. It's got me up nights, that's the truth. The right thing to do... Sometimes it's hard to know what that is. You understand? I need your help, son. If I'm going to move on this, there can't be the least little shred of doubt. I have to know if what you told Dufresne was the truth. Yes, sir. Absolutely. Would you be willing to swear before a judge and jury, having placed your hand on the Good Book and taken an oath before Almighty God himself? Just give me that chance. That's what I thought. 1 RATTLING DOOR OPENS I'm sure by now you've heard. Terrible thing. A man that young, less than a year to go, trying to escape. It broke Captain Hadley's heart to shoot him. Truly it did. We just have to put it behind us... move on. (Croaks) We're done. Everything stops. Get someone else to run your scams. (Whispers menacingly) Nothing stops. Nothing. Or you will do the hardest time there is. No more protection from the guards. I'll pull you out of that one-bunk Hilton and cast you down with the sodomites. You'll think you've been fucked by a train. And the library? Gone. Sealed off brick by brick. We'll have us a little book barbecue in the yard. They'll see the flames for miles. We'll dance around it like wild Indians. You understand me? Catching my drift? Or am I being obtuse? Give him another month to think about it. RATTLING My wife used to say I'm a hard man to know. Like a closed book. Complained about it all the time. She was beautiful. God, I loved her! I just didn't know how to show it. I killed her, Red. I didn't pull the trigger... but I drove her away. And that's why she died, because of me - the way I am. (Sighs heavily) That don't make you a murderer. Bad husband, maybe. Feel bad if you want to, but you didn't pull the trigger. No, I didn't. Somebody else did. And I wound up in here. Bad luck, I guess. Yeah. It floats around. It's gotta land on somebody. It was my turn, that's all. I was in the path of the tornado! I just didn't expect that the storm would last as long as it has. Do you think you'll ever get out of here? Me? (Sighs) Yeah. When I've got a long, white beard and two marbles rolling around upstairs, they'll let me out. Tell you where I'd go. Zihuatanejo. Zih...what? Zihuatanejo. It's in Mexico. Little place on the Pacific Ocean. You know what the Mexicans say about the Pacific? You know what the Mexicans say about the Pacific? No. They say it has no memory. That's where I want to live the rest of my life. Warm place with no memory. Open up a little hotel... right on the beach. Buy some worthless old boat and... fix it up new. Take my guests out... charter fishing. Zihuatanejo, huh? In a place like that, I could use a man who knows how to get things. I don't think I could make it on the outside, Andy. I mean... I've been in here most of my life. I'm an institutional man now. Just like Brooks was. Well, you know, you underestimate yourself. I don't think so. I mean... In here, I'm the guy who can get things for you, sure, but outside, all you need is the 'Yellow Pages'. I wouldn't even know where to begin. The Pacific Ocean? Shit. About scare me to death, something that big. About scare me to death, something that big. Not me. I didn't shoot my wife and I didn't shoot her lover. Whatever mistakes I've made, I've paid for them and then some. That hotel, that boat... I don't think that's too much to ask. I don't think you oughta do this to yourself. This is just shitty pipedreams. Mexico is way the hell down there and you're in here, and that's the way it is. Yeah, right, that's the way it is. It's down there and I'm in here. I guess it comes down to a simple choice really. Get busy living... or get busy dying. Andy. Red... If you ever get out, do me a favour. Sure, Andy - anything. There's a big hayfield up near Buxton. You know where Buxton is? Well, there's a lot of hayfields up there. One in particular. It's got a long rock wall and a big oak tree at the north end. It's like something out of a Robert Frost poem. It's where I asked my wife to marry me. We went there for a picnic and... made love under that oak and... I asked and she said yes. (Whispers) Promise me, Red... if you ever get out, find that spot. At the base of that wall, you'll find a rock that has no earthly business in a Maine hayfield. A piece of black, volcanic glass. There's something buried under it I want you to have. There's something buried under it I want you to have. What, Andy? What's buried under there? You'll have to pry it up...to see. No, I'm telling you, the guy's... he's talking funny. I'm really worried about him. We oughta keep an eye on him. That's fine during the day, but at night he's by himself. Oh Lord. What? Andy come down to the loading dock today. He asked me for a length of rope. Rope? Six feet long. And you gave it to him? Sure I did. Why wouldn't I? Jesus, Heywood. How the hell was I supposed to know? Remember Brooks Hatlen? Remember Brooks Hatlen? No. Andy would never do that. Never. I don't know. Every man has his breaking point. Lickety-split! (Clicks fingers) Wanna get home. Lickety-split! (Clicks fingers) Wanna get home. I'm just about finished, sir. (Turns dial) Three deposits tonight. Get my stuff down to the laundry and shine my shoes. I want them looking like mirrors. I want them looking like mirrors. (Mumbles) Yes, sir. It's good having you back, Andy. Place wasn't the same without you. (Whistles merrily) SOMBRE MUSIC GUARD: Lights out! LOUD CLICKS FOOTSTEPS DISTANT CLANG I've had some long nights in stir. Alone in the dark with nothing but your thoughts, time can draw out like a blade. That was the longest night of my life. 1 LOUD BUZZ GUARD: Give me a count. GUARD: Tier three south, clear. GUARD: Tier four north, clear count. GUARD: Tier three north, clear count. Man missing on tier two, cell 245. Dufresne! Get your ass out here, boy! You're holding up the show! Don't make me come down there! I'll thump your skull for ya! Dammit, Dufresne, you're putting me behind! I got a schedule to keep! You better be sick or dead in there, I shit you not! You hear me?! Oh my Holy God. SIRENS WAIL I want every man on this cell block questioned. Start with that friend of his. Who? Him! Open 237. What do you mean he just wasn't here? Don't say that to me, Haig. Don't say that to me again. But, sir, he wasn't. I can see that, Haig! You think I'm blind?! Is that what you're saying? Am I blind, Haig? No, sir! What about you? Are you blind? Tell me what this is. Last night's count. Mm-hm. You see Dufresne's name there? I sure do. See, right there. 'Dufresne'. He was in his cell at lights out. Stands to reason he'd still be here in the morning! I want him found. Not tomorrow. Not after breakfast. Now! Yes, sir! Let's go. Let's go. Move your butts! MOVE IT! Stand. Well? Well what? I see you two all the time. You're thick as thieves, you are. He must have said something. No, sir, Warden. Not a word. Lord, it's a miracle! The man up and vanished like a fart in the wind. Nothing left but... some damn rocks on a windowsill... and that cupcake on the wall! Let's ask her. Maybe she knows. What say you there, fuzzy britches? Feel like talking? Oh. Guess not. Why should she be any different? This is a conspiracy. That's what this is! One...big...DAMN...CONSPIRACY! And EVERYONE'S in on it! Including her! PAPER RIPS ROCK BOUNCES OFF ROCKS AND METAL ROCK BOUNCES DISTANTLY JUBILANT MUSIC SIRENS WAIL In 1966, Andy Dufresne escaped from Shawshank Prison. All they found of him was a muddy set of prison clothes, a bar of soap and an old rock hammer, damn near worn down to the nub. I remember thinking it would take a man 600 years to tunnel through the wall with it. But old Andy did it in less than 20. Oh, Andy loved geology. I imagine it appealed to his meticulous nature. An ice age here, a million years of mountain building there. Geology is the study of pressure and time. That's all it takes really. Pressure...and time. That and a big goddamn poster. (Man coughs) Like I said, in prison, a man will do most anything to keep his mind occupied. Turns out, Andy's favourite hobby was toting his wall out into the exercise yard - a handful at a time. I guess after Tommy was killed, Andy decided he'd been here just about long enough. Lickety-split. Want to get home. I'm just about finished, sir. Three deposits tonight. Andy did like he was told - buffed those shoes to a high mirror shine. The guards simply didn't notice. Neither did I. I mean, seriously, how often do you really look at a man's shoes? THUNDER BOOMS THUNDER BOOMS THUNDER BOOMS CLANG! THUNDER BOOMS CLANG! THUNDER BOOMS CLANG! Andy crawled to freedom through 500 yards of shit-smelling foulness I can't even imagine. (Throws up) Or maybe I just don't want to. (Grunts) 500 yards. That's the length of five football fields. Just shy of half a mile. MUSIC SWELLS TRIUMPHANT MUSIC (Laughs) The next morning, right about the time Raquel was spilling her little secret, a man nobody ever laid eyes on before strolled into the Maine National Bank. Until that moment, he didn't exist - except on paper. May I help you? He had all the proper ID - drivers' licence, birth certificate, social security card - and the signature was a spot-on match. I must say I'm sorry to be losing your business. I hope you'll enjoy living abroad. Thank you. I'm sure I will. Here's your cashier's cheque, sir. Will there be anything else? Please, would you add this to your outgoing mail? I'd be happy to. Good day, sir. Good day. Mr Stevens visited nearly a dozen banks in the Portland area that morning. All told, he blew town with better than $370,000 of Warden Norton's money. Severance pay for 19 years. PHONE RINGS WOMAN: Good morning, Portland 'Daily Bugle'. SIRENS WAIL OUTSIDE Byron Hadley? You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law. I wasn't there to see it but I hear Byron Hadley started sobbing like a little girl. Norton had no intention of going that quietly. Samuel Norton! We have a warrant for your arrest. (Pounds on door) Norton! Open the door. I'm not sure which key it is. (Pounds on door and rattles handle) Norton! (Pounds on door and rattles handle) Norton! TENSE MUSIC Make it easy on yourself, Norton. (Keeps pounding on door) I like to think the last thing that went through his head - other than that bullet - was to wonder how the hell Andy Dufresne ever got the best of him. Carter, James. Not long after the warden deprived us of his company, I got a postcard in the mail. It was blank but the postmark said Fort Hancock, Texas. Fort Hancock... Right on the border. That's where Andy crossed. When I picture him heading south in his own car and with the top down, it always makes me laugh. Andy Dufresne who crawled through a river of shit and came out clean on the other side. Andy Dufresne, headed for the Pacific. Hadley's got him by the throat, right? And he says, 'I believe this boy's gonna have himself an accident.' Those of us who knew him best talk about him often. I swear, the stuff he pulled! 'My friends could use a few beers.' 'My friends could use a few beers.' And he got it! He got it! Sometimes, it makes me sad, though, Andy being gone. I have to remind myself that some birds aren't meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright. And when they fly away, the part of you that knows it was a sin to lock them up does rejoice. But still, the place you live in is that much more drab and empty that they're gone. SAD MUSIC I guess I just miss my friend. 1 Please sit down. Ellis Boyd Redding, your files say you've served 40 years of a life sentence. Do you feel you've been rehabilitated? Rehabilitated? Well, now, let me see. You know, I don't have any idea what that means. Well, it means you're ready to rejoin society... I know what you think it means, sonny. To me it's just a made-up word. A politician's word so that young fellas like yourself can wear a suit and a tie and...have a job. What do you really want to know? Am I sorry for what I did? Well, are you? There's not a day goes by I don't feel regret. Not because I'm in here. Or because you think I should. I look back on the way I was then. A young...stupid kid who committed that terrible crime. I want to talk to him. I want to try to talk some sense to him, tell him the way things are. But I can't. That kid's long gone, and... this old man is all that's left. I gotta live with that. 'Rehabilitated'? It's just a bullshit word. So you go on and stamp your form, sonny, and stop wasting my time because to tell you the truth, I don't give a shit. GATES CLANG SHUT GENTLE MUSIC SIREN WAILS OUTSIDE Here you go, miss. Restroom break, boss? You don't need to ask me every time you need a piss. Just go, understand? Yes, sir. SOFT MELANCHOLY MUSIC CONTINUES 40 years I'd been asking permission to piss and I can't squeeze a drop without say-so. There's a harsh truth to face - no way I'm gonna make it on the outside. All I do anymore is think of ways to break my parole so maybe they'd send me back. Terrible thing to live in fear. Brooks Hatlen knew it, knew it all too well. All I want is to be back where things make sense, where I won't have to be afraid all the time. Only one thing stops me. A promise I made to Andy. GENTLE, MELANCHOLY MUSIC Here it is. Much obliged, sir. SWEETLY NOSTALGIC MUSIC BIRD CRIES BIRD CRIES ANDY: Dear Red, if you're reading this, you've gotten out and if you've come this far, maybe you're willing to come a little further. You remember the name of the town, don't you? Zihuatanejo. I could use a good man to help me get my project on wheels. I'll keep an eye out for you, and the chess board ready. Remember, Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies. I will be hoping that this letter finds you and finds you well. Your friend, Andy. POIGNANT MUSIC Get busy living or get busy dying. That's goddamn right. MUSIC SWELLS For the second time in my life, I'm guilty of committing a crime. Parole violation. Of course, I doubt they'll toss up any roadblocks for that. Not for an old crook like me. Fort Hancock, Texas, please. I find I'm so excited I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey, whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope. GENTLE MUSIC JOYFUL MUSIC SURGES www.able.co.nz Captions were made possible with funding from NZ On Air. Able 2014