Fans Script: ROCK AND CHIPS -North by North London-
By Martin Fryer
Based on characters created by John Sullivan
EXT. NIGHT. OUTSIDE THE RITZ PICTURE HOUSE
Joan exits with Reanie
JOAN. Are you getting the bus home?
REANIE. Not tonight girl, Albert’s taking me out.
JOAN. Ted’s brother Albert?, oh he’s old enough to be your dad, hang on he’s married isn’t he?
REANIE. He’s only taking me out, there’s nothing in it.
JOAN. With you Reene, There’s always something in it and I bet his wife wouldn’t see it like that.
REANIE. Cheeky cow, anyway she keeps chucking him out, ere he don’t talk to Ted do he?
JOAN. No Ted won’t even speak of him, something happened years ago with Alberts wife or something, isn’t he a sailor?
REANIE. Yeah he is, he’s got a bit of home leave, something about a problem with his ship or something, I don’t ask too many question’s because he bangs on a bit.
JOANIE. I bet he does.
They both laugh
REANIE. That’s him now.
A car pulls up and Reenie gets in.
REANIE. Do you want a lift, girl?
JOANIE. Nah your alright the last bus will only be ten minutes, have fun.
As Joan waits at the bus stop she goes to light a cigarette, just then a hand appears with a light. Joanie pauses and accepts. It is the older man who threatens Reg.
We now see his car parked across the street and in it is the younger man, he flips his knife in the air and catches it, at one point he fumbles the knife and marks the dash board.
YOUNGER MAN. Shit
He spits on it and rubs it in. We now cut back to Joan and the older man.
JOAN. Thank you
OLDER MAN. My pleasure. Could you tell me what time the last bus is please?
JOAN. Should be about ten minutes.
OLDER MAN. Oh good, good, not too long then. Do you know you look familiar to me. Your not an actress are you?
JOAN. What me? No.
OLDER MAN. Got it, you we’re drinking in the Nags Head at lunch time weren’t you?
JOAN. Yeah I was, where you in there then?
OLDER MAN. Yeah I was, I think it was your son that helped me out of a spot of bother with that gentleman you were with.
JOAN. Oh what Del? Yeah he’s a good lad, I wondered why he accompanied you back to your seat, my old man playing up was he?
OLDER MAN. I knocked into him in the men’s room, simple misunderstanding, so, he’s your husband is he?
JOAN. Yeah. 14 years, I should get a medal.
OLDER MAN. He looked familiar, what’s his name?
JOAN. Reg, Reg Trotter.
OLDER MAN. Any nick names?
JOAN. (getting a bit nervous) No, well none I could repeat in polite company. (nervous smile)
OLDER MAN. Come on I definitely remember him going by a different name.
JOAN. It’s Reg Trotter and it’s always been Reg Trotter.
OLDER MAN. I’ll ask one more time, what’s his name?
JOAN. What’s your problem, don’t you understand English?
The bus approaches but the man stops Joanie hailing it by grabbing her arm and waiving it by.
JOAN. Ay get off me.
OLDER MAN. Then tell me what I want to hear.
JOAN. I don’t know what you wan’t me to say.
OLDER MAN. I want you to tell me that your so called husbands real name is Freddy Robdal.
Joan stops struggling and is taken aback to hear that name again.
JOAN. Freddy Robdal?
OLDER MAN. You know him?
JOAN. Yeah, no.I mean not anymore no.
OLDER MAN. So Reg Trotter isn’t Freddy Robdal.
JOAN.(amused by this) Him? Ha no darlin’ he’s not Freddy Robdal.
OLDER MAN. Do you know where I can find Freddy, I’m an old friend?
JOAN. Why would I know where Freddy is, he’s an old mate of Reg, nothing to do with me.
OLDER MAN. That’s not entirely true is it Joan?
JOAN. You know my name?
OLDER MAN. I know a lot of things.
JOAN. Oh yeah, what do you know then?
OLDER MAN. I know that you know Freddy better than your husband is ever likely to.
Joan reacts.
JOAN. I don’t know what you’re talking about.
OLDER MAN. Of course you don’t, come on, I’ll give you a lift home.
He takes Joan by the arm and crosses the street to his car. She struggles but he puts her in the back and gets in the front.
As he gets in the younger man is leaning with his arm on the dash board covering the mark he made with the knife.
OLDER MAN. Why are you sat like that?
YOUNGER MAN. It’s comfortable
OLDER MAN. Sit back Boy.
The older man notices the mark as the younger man sits back.
OLDER MAN. We’ll talk about that later. I want you to meet Joan Trotter, this is Reg Trotters old lady, you remember Reg don’t you? He was that stringy shower from the Nags Head.
Mrs Trotter here knows our pal Freddy, very well in fact (looks at Joan) and I reckon if we treat her nice then she might help us with our enquiries.
EXT. NIGHT. OUTSIDE THE NAGS HEAD
Two men leave the pub, they are both in their twentys.
An arm comes out of one of the passages near the pub and beckons the men in.
VOICE. Psst, come in ere.
We now see that it’s Del and he is stood with a battered Motorcycle and side-car.
DEL. Wouldn’t it be nice if you didn’t have to walk everywhere
One of the men goes to speak but Del cut’s him off.
DEL. The pedestrian is a dying breed and believe you-me, come twenty years from now you won’t be able to move for bikes and cars, and two men about town like you don’t wanna be left behind when it all goes perpetual do ya?
MAN 1. How much?
DEL. How much he say’s, it’s not a case of how much, it’s more a case of how much do you want it?
The two men look at each other, obviously interested.
As Del continues his spiel, the two men and Joan drive passed in the black car. The POV now switches to the back of the car with Joan.
OLDER MAN. You should think yourself lucky we aren’t charging you for this ride home, Joan.
JOAN. I didn’t ask for it.
OLDER MAN. I know love but as a gentleman I couldn’t leave you at that bus stop, not after you’d missed your bus. No, no, I consider it my duty to drive you all the way back to Sir Walter Raleigh House. In fact I’m feeling so kind I’ll walk you all the way up to your flat.
JOAN. How do you know where I live.
OLDER MAN. I’ve told you Joan, I know a lot of things, like, for example, I know that Reg isn’t going to be happy when he finds out he had a rival for your heart not so long ago.
JOAN. And your gonna tell him are ya?
OLDER MAN. It might come up in conversation. Then again if you tell me what I want to know there’ll never be any need for me to talk to Reginald Trotter.
JOAN. I’m not lying, I don’t know where Freddy Robdal is.
OLDER MAN. Im beginning to think the problem we’ve got here,boy is that Mrs Trotter actually thinks more of this Freddy Robdal than she does of her old man.
JOAN. That’s not true.
OLDER MAN. Devoted to her son though.
Joan looks worried.
JOAN. You leave Del out of this.
OLDER MAN. Oh I will, bit of a rascal though isn’t he? Selling clapped out motorbikes I hear.
JOAN. He hasn’t done nothing to you, you leave him alone.
OLDER MAN. As long as you tell me where Freddy Robdal is, no harm will come to anyone.
YOUNGER MAN. Except Freddy
OLDER MAN. Oh yeah of course, except Freddy.
Joan goes to speak but the older man cuts her off.
OLDER MAN. Here we are then Mrs Trotter, home sweet home. I’ve enjoyed tonight, it’s been nice, I tell you what, I’ll come pay you a little visit tomorrow, you get home now and think about what’s best for you………and your boy.
The older man gets out and lets Joan out, she looks at him and gets upset. As she walks off, Del calls after her. The older man gets back in the car and drives off.
We now see Del run to catch his mum up.
DEL. Who was that?
JOAN. Oh I missed my last bus home. That was a friend of Reenies, he gave me a lift home.
DEL. Are you alright?
JOAN. What me, yeah course I am
She puts her arm round him.
JOAN. Where you been anyway?
DEL. Oh just out with the boys, you know, and look here you are.
Del unwinds a wad of notes and gives his mum half of them.
DEL. You get yourself a nice second hand dress or something, yeah?
JOAN. Ah darlin’ thank y…… where did you get this from?
DEL. I just been selling some gear ain’t I, nothing illegal don’t worry.
JOAN. What sort of gear, ere, you ain’t got nothing to do with those broken bikes your mate Boycie nicked off his dad have ya?
DEL. What? No what do you take…….. where did you hear about that?
JOAN. Boycies dad was in the pictures tonight, I had to ask him to be quiet during the movie, he kept going on and on about them bloody bikes.
They both laugh. Joan then turns serious and before they enter the flats she stops Del and makes him face her.
JOAN. I want you to be careful Del, and I don’t just mean all this flogging gear you’ve started getting into, I’m talking about being careful, being careful, there are a lot of nasty people out there.
DEL. I know mum but I’m fifteen, they don’t worry me.
JOAN. No, well maybe, but they worry me, just remember what I told ya, watch ya back Derek because no one else will. Oh I do worry about your brother, it’s such a rough world out there, no place to bring up a baby really, still, no matter what happens he’ll always have you to look out for him won’t he?
DEL. He don’t need me, he’s got you and da….well he’s got you.
She smiles and hugs him as they walk in.
EXT. DAY. A bench outside a chip shop.
Trigger, Denzil and Del sit eating Rock and Chips, boycie is standing.
DENZIL. Has your dad caught up with you about them bikes you sold to Del yet?
BOYCIE. Yes he has.
DENZIL. Did he clout ya?
DEL. Why do you think he isn’t sitting down?
DENZIL. why?
DEL. He can’t.
Young Denzil
Denzil and Del laugh, Boycie reacts. Trigger doesn’t react at all.
BOYCIE. That reminds me Del, when do you plan on paying me for them?
DEL. I told ya, when I’ve sold ‘em.
BOYCIE. So you haven’t sold any yet?
DEL. No, no ones interested, as soon as I start to sell ‘em though you’ll get ya poppy.
BOYCIE. I better because I got more of a battering than this fish for flogging you them.
Del and Denzil laugh.
TRIGGER. What’s the name of that song they keep playing on the wireless?
DEL. What song?
TRIGGER. You know, that one they keep playing.
DENZIL. Well how does it go, Trig?
TRIGGER. (sings) my old mans a dustman, he wears a dustmans hat, he wears cor blimey trousers, he lives in a council flat.
DEL. My old mans a dustman.
TRIGGER. Yeah? Small world Del. So is my grandad.
Del, Boycie and Denzil react, they drop their chip wrappings and walk off.
As the boys start to walk off a motorcyclist with a passenger in a side car careers round the corner, we can hear the main rider shouting that it doesn’t have any brakes as passes by jump out of it’s way. It mounts the curb and the bike crashes into the open chip shop door, the side car doesn’t fit and it, along with the passenger, crashes into door frame.
DEL. I think we better leg it.
BOYCIE. Ere that’s one of them bikes, you said you didn’t sell any.
DEL. Err, he’s taken it for a test drive, come on lets go.
They all run off bar Trigger who stands looking at the scene.
Del re-appears and drags him off.
DEL. Come on Lonnie Donagan.
TRIGGER (as we fade out) Who’s Lonnie Donagan?
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