A Clockwork Orange

Based on the novel by Anthony Burgess

Screenplay by Stanley Kubrick

Produced by Stanley Kubrick

Directed by Stanley Kubrick

Cast List:

Malcolm McDowell Alex

Patrick Magee Mr. Alexander

Michael Bates Chief Guard

Warren Clarke Dim

John Clive Stage Actor

Carl Duering Dr. Brodsky

Paul Farrell Tramp

Clive Francis Lodger

Michael Gover Prison Governor

Miriam Karlin Catlady

James Marcus Georgie

Philip Stone Dad

Sheila Raynor Mum

FADE IN:

INT. KOROVA MILKBAR – NIGHT

Tables, chairs made of nude fibreglass figures.

Hypnotic atmosphere.

Alex, Pete, Georgie and Dim, teenagers stoned on their milk-plus, their feet resting on faces, crotches, lips of the sculptured furniture.

ALEX (V.O.)

There was me, that is Alex, and my three droogs, that is Pete, Georgie and Dim and we sat in the Korova milkbar trying to make up our rassoodocks what to do with the evening. The Korova Milk Bar sold milkplus, milk plus vellocet or synthemesc or drencrom which is what we were drinking. This would sharpen you up and make you ready for a bit of the old ultra-violence. Our pockets were full of money so there was no need on that score, but, as they say, money isn't everything.

INT. PEDESTRIAN UNDERPASS TUNNEL – NIGHT

A Tramp lying in tunnel, singing.

TRAMP

In Dublin's fair city

Where the girls are so pretty

I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone

As she wheeled her wheelbarrow

Through streets wide and narrow...

Shadows of the boys approaching fall across Tramp.

TRAMP

Crying cockless and mussels alive,

Alive O...

Alive, alive O... Alive, alive O...

Crying cockless and mussels alive,

Alive O...

ALEX (V.O.)

One thing I could never stand is to see a filthy, dirty old drunkie, howling away at the filthy songs of his fathers and going blerp, blerp in between as it might be a filthy old orchestra in his stinking rotten guts. I could never stand to see anyone like that, whatever his age might be, but more especially when he was real old like this one was.

The boys stop and applaud him.

TRAMP

Can you... can you spare some cutter, me brothers?

Alex rams his stick into the Tramp's stomach. The boys laugh.

TRAMP

Oh-hhh!!! Go on, do me in you bastard cowards. I don't want to live anyway, not in a stinking world like this.

ALEX

Oh – and what's so stinking about it?

TRAMP

It's a stinking world because there's no law and order any more. It's a stinking world because it lets the young get onto the old like you done. It's no world for an old man any more. What sort of a world is it at all? Men on the moon and men spinning around the earth and there's not no attention paid to earthly law and order no more.

The Tramp starts singing again.

TRAMP

Oh dear land, I fought for thee and brought you peace and victory.

Alex and gang move in and start beating up on old Tramp.

INT. DERELICT CASINO – NIGHT

Billyboy gang on stage tearing clothes off a screaming Girl.

ALEX (V.O.)

It was around by the derelict casino that we came across Billyboy and his four droogs. They were getting ready to perform a little of the old in-out, in-out on a weepy young devotchka they had there.

Alex and gang step out of the shadows.

ALEX

Ho, Ho, Ho... Well, if it isn't stinking Billygoat Billyboy in poison. How are thou, thou globby bottle of cheap stinking chip oil? Come and get one in the yarbles, if you have any yarbles, you eunuch jelly thou.

Billyboy snaps open a switchblade knife.

BILLY BOY

Let's get 'em boys.

The fight begins, chains, knives, kicking boots. Police siren.

ALEX

The Police... come on, let's go... come on.

Alex and the boys rush out of casino.

EXT. / INT. CAR – NIGHT – FAST DRIVING SHOTS

Swerving car, forcing other cars off the road, trying to hit pedestrians, etc.

ALEX (V.O.)

The Durango-95 purred away real horrorshow – a nice, warm vibraty feeling all through your guttiwuts. Soon it was trees and dark, my brothers, with real country dark. We fillied around for a while with other travelers of the night, playing hogs of the road. Then we headed west, what we were after now was the old surprise visit, that was a real kick and good for laughs and lashing of the ultra-violent.

EXT. "HOME" – NIGHT

A cottage on its own, on outskirts of a village.

Bright moonlight. Cheery light inside.

Car pulls to stop.

Alex shushes his giggling boys and gets out of the car.

INT. "HOME" – NIGHT

Mr. Alexander typing. Bell rings.

MR. ALEXANDER

Who on earth could that be?

MRS. ALEXANDER

I'll see.

Mrs. Alexander, a good-looking red head in a red jumper suit.

MRS. ALEXANDER

Yes? Who is it?

ALEX

Excuse me, Mrs... will you please help, there's been a terrible accident.

She opens the door on the chain and peeps out.

ALEX

My friend's lying in the middle of the road bleeding to death. Could I please use your telephone for an ambulance?

MRS. ALEXANDER

I'm sorry, but we don't have a telephone. You'll have to go somewhere else.

ALEX

But Mrs... it's a matter of life and death.

From inside the sound of clack clacky clack clack clackity clackclack of Alexander typing stops.

MR. ALEXANDER

Who is it, dear?

MRS. ALEXANDER

There's a young man here. He says there's been an accident. He wants to use the telephone.

MR. ALEXANDER

Then you'd better let him in.

MRS. ALEXANDER

Wait a minute.

ALEX

Thank you, Mrs.

Mrs. Alexander opens door, saying...

MRS. ALEXANDER

I'm sorry, we don't usually let people in the middle of the night.

Alex and boys have put on their masks and rush into house, carrying and dragging Mrs. Alexander along with them.

INT. HOME – NIGHT

They go roaring in.

Mr. Alexander is kicked in the face and goes down. Georgie leaps on him. Pete jumps up and down and the settee. Dim grabs hold of Mrs. Alexander. Alex whistles piercingly.

ALEX

Right, Pete. Check the rest of the house.

Alex turns to Dim who holds the struggling Mrs. Alexander.

ALEX

Dim...

Dim sets her down but holds her firmly. Alex starts to sing – "Singin' in the Rain", accompanying it with a kind of tap dance.

ALEX

(singing)

I'm singing in the rain...

He kicks Mr. Alexander accenting the lyrics.

ALEX

(singing)

Just singing in the rain...

He clubs Mr. Alexander with stick, in the time to the music.

ALEX

(singing)

What a glorious feeling, I'm happy again.

He pushes a rubber ball into Mrs. Alexander's mouth and binds it with sellotape.

ALEX

(singing)

I'm laughing at clouds so dark up above.

The sun's in my heart and I'm ready for love.

Let the stormy clouds chase...

He kicks Mr. Alexander again.

ALEX

(singing)

... everyone from the place.

Come on with the rain...

He puts ball in Mr. Alexander's mouth and sellotapes it.

ALEX

(singing)

... I've a smile on my face.

I'll walk down the lane... to a happy refrain.

I'm singing... just singin' in the rain.

He knocks down the book cases and moves to Mrs. Alexander being held by Dim. Starts to repeat on song as he cuts slowly up each leg of her cat suit, until she is naked. This coincidences with the song finishing.

He turns to Mr. Alexander.

ALEX

Viddy well, my little Brother. Viddy well.

INT. KOROVA MILKBAR – NIGHT

The boys enter yawning..

ALEX (V.O.)

We were all feeling a bit shagged and fagged and fashed, it having been an evening of some small energy expenditure, O my brothers, so we got rid of the auto and stopped off at the Korova for a nightcap.

Dim moves over to milk machine and speaks to the statue of the nude girl.

DIM

Hello Lucy, had a busy night?

Puts money in machine.

DIM

We've been working hard too.

Takes glass.

DIM

Pardon me. Luce.

He raises glass to breast, pulls red handle between her legs. Milk spurts into glass.

Dim joins the others. Alex looks at a party of tourists.

ALEX (V.O.)

There was some sophistos from the TV studios around the corner, laughing an govoreeting. The Devotchka was smecking away, and not caring about the wicked world one bit. Then the disc on the stereo twanged off and out, and in the short silence before the next one came on, she suddenly came with a burst of singing, and it was like for a moment, O my brothers, some great bird had flown into the milkbar and I felt all the malenky little hairs on my plott standing endwise, and the shivers crawling up like slow malenky lizards and then down again. Because I knew what she sang. It was a bit from the glorious 9th, by Ludwig van.

Dim makes a lip-trump followed by a dog howl, followed by two fingers pronging twice in the air, followed by a clowny guffaw.

Alex brings his stick down smartly on Dim's legs.

DIM

What did you do that for?

ALEX

For being a bastard with no manners and not a dook of an idea how to comport yourself publicwise, O my Brother.

DIM

I don't like you should do what you done. And I'm not your brother no more and wouldn't want to be.

ALEX

Watch that... Do watch that, O Dim, if to continue to be on live thou dost wish.

DIM

Yarbles, great bolshy yarblockos to you I'll meet you with chain, or nozh or britva, any time, not having you aiming tolchocks at me reasonless. It stands to reason, I won't have it.

ALEX

A nozh scrap any time you say.

Dim weakens.

DIM

Doobidoob... a bit tired maybe, everybody is. A long night for growing malchicks... best not to say more. Bedways is rigthways now, so best we go homeways and get a bit of spatchka. Right, right.

INT. ALEX'S FLATBLOCK – MAIN LOBBY ENTRANCE – NIGHT

Alex passes a mural in the hall. Nude men and women. Their massive stylised bodies embellished and decorated by handy pencil and ballpoint.

The elevator door is buckled.

INT. ALEX'S FLAT – NIGHT

Alex pees in toilet.

Alex goes into his room. Tosses his loot into a drawer, full of money, wristwatches, cameras, etc.

Fifty small loudspeakers cover one wall.

He puts his pet boa constrictor on tree branch mounted on the wall, above four Christ figures who have their arms intertwined like a chorus line.

He puts a cassette into the tape player.

A heavy shockwave of sound – Beethoven's 9th.

ALEX (V.O.)

It had been a wonderful evening and what I needed now to give it the perfect ending was a bit of the old Ludwig van.

Music starts.

ALEX (V.O.)

Then, brothers, it came. O bliss, bliss and heaven, oh it was gorgeousness and georgeosity made flesh. The trombones crunched redgold under my bed, and behind my gulliver the trumpets three-wise, silver-flamed and there by the door the timps rolling through my guts and out again, crunched like candy thunder. It was like a bird of rarest spun heaven metal or like silvery wine flowing in a space ship, gravity all nonsense now. As I slooshied, I knew such lovely pictures. There were veeks and ptitsas laying on the ground screaming for mercy and I was smecking all over my rot and grinding my boot into their tortured litsos and there were naked devotchkas ripped and creeching against walls and I plunging like a shlaga into them.

INT. ALEX'S FLAT – DAY

He is asleep. The boa curled up at his feet. There is a knock on the door.

ALEX

What d'you want?

EM

It's past eight, Alex, you don't want to be late for school, son.

ALEX

Bit of pain in the gulliver, Mum. Leave us be and I'll try to sleep it off... then I'll be as right as dodgers for this after.

EM

You've not been to school all week, son.

ALEX

I've got to rest, Mum... got to get fit, otherwise I'm liable to miss a lot more school.

EM

Eeee... I'll put your breakfast in the oven. I've got to be off myself now.

ALEX

Alright, Mum... have a nice day at the factory.

INT. KITCHEN – DAY

Pee sitting at breakfast table.

Em enters.

EM

He's not feeling too good again this morning, Dad.

PEE

Yes, I heard. D'you know what time he got in last night?

EM

No I don't know, luv, I'd taken my sleepers.

PEE

I wonder where exactly is it he goes to work of evenings.

EM

Well, like he says, it's mostly odd things he does, helping like... here and there, as it might be.

INT. EM'S BEDROOM – DAY

Alex comes out of his room and finds P.R. Deltoid sitting on bed in parent's room.

ALEX

Hi, hi, hi there, Mr. Deltoid, funny surprise to see you here.

DELTOID

Ah, Alex boy, awake at last, yes? I met your mother on the way to work, yes? She gave me the key. She said something about a pain somewhere... hence not at school , yes?

ALEX

A rather intolerable pain in the head, brother, sir. I think it should be clear by this afterlunch.

DELTOID

Oh, or certainly by this evening, yes? The evening's a great time, isn't it, Alex boy?

ALEX

A cup of the old chai, sir?

DELTOID

No time, no time, yes. Sit, sit, sit.

Alex sits next to him.

ALEX

To what do I owe this extreme pleasure, sir? Anything wrong, sir?

Deltoid "playfully" grabs Alex's hair.

DELTOID

Wrong? Why should you think of anything being wrong, have you been doing something you shouldn't. Yes?

He shakes Alex's hair.

ALEX

Just a manner of speech, sir.

DELTOID

Well, yes, it's just a manner of speech from your Post Corrective Advisor to you that you watch out, little Alex.

He puts his arm round Alex's shoulder.

DELTOID

Because next time it's going to be the barry place and all my work ruined. If you've no respect for your horrible self, you at least might have some for me who'se sweated over you.

He slaps Alex on the knee.

DELTOID

A big black mark I tell you for every one we don't reclaim. A confession of failure for every one of you who ends up in the stripy hole.

ALEX

I've been doing nothing I shouldn't, sir. The millicents have nothing on me, brother, sir, I mean.

Deltoid pulls Alex down on the bed.

DELTOID

Cut out all this clever talk about milicents. Just because the Police haven't picked you up lately doesn't, as you very well know, mean that you've not been up to some nastiness. There was a bit of a nastiness last night, yes. Some very extreme nastiness, yes. A few of a certain Billyboy's friends were ambluenced off late last night, yes. Your name was mentioned, the word's got thru to me by the usual channels. Certain friends of yours were named also. Oh, nobody can prove anything about anybody as usual, but I'm warning you, little Alex, being a good friend to you as always, the one man in this sore and sick community who wants to save you from yourself.

Deltoid makes a grab for Alex's joint but finds his hand instead. Alex laughs. Derisively and rises. Deltoid distractedly reaches for a glass of water on the night table, and fails to notice a set of false teeth soaking in them. He drinks from the glass. The clink of the teeth sounding like ice-cubes.

DELTOID

What gets into you all? We study the problem. We've been studying it for damn well near a century, yes, but we get no further with our studies. You've got a good home here, good loving parents, you've got not too bad of a brain. Is it some devil that crawls inside of you?

ALEX

Nobody's got anything on me, brother, sir. I've been out of the rookers of the milicents for a long time now.

DELTOID

That's just worries me. A bit too long to long to be reasonable. You're about due now by my reckoning, that's why I'm warning you, little Alex, to keep your handsome young proboscis out of the dirt. Do I make myself clear?

ALEX

As an unmuddied lake, sir. Clear as an azure sky of deepest summer. You can rely on me, sir.

Deltoid drinks again but this time sees the teeth in the glass. He groans and retches.

INT. MUSIC BOOTICK – DAY

Alex enters. Two pretty micro-boppers, Marty and Sonietta, sucking phallic ice sticks.

ALEX

Pardon me, brother. I ordered this two weeks ago. Could you see if it's arrived.

CLERK

OK. I'll see if it's in.

Clerk exits. Alex turns to the girls.

ALEX

Pardon me, ladies

He steps in between them and goes through the motions, looking through.

ALEX

Enjoying it then, my darling?... A bit cold and pointless isn't it, my lovely... What's happened to yours, my little sister?

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