Pirates of the Caribbean – the Curse of the Black Pearl
used with courtesey of All Movie Scripts dot Com
FADE IN:
EXT. CARIBBEAN SEA – DAY
A gray, impenetrable wall of fog. From somewhere comes the FAINT SOUND of a LITTLE GIRL’S VOICE, singing, slow tempo, almost under her breath.
YOUNG ELIZABETH (O.S.) Yo, ho, yo, ho, a pirate’s life for me Yo, ho, yo, ho, it’s a pirate’s life for me… Suddenly a massive SHIP emerges from the grey, the Winged Victory maidenhead looming. It’s a British dreadnought, the H.M.S. Dauntless. Formidable, frightening, twenty-five gun ports on a side, and rail guns to boot.
EXT. H.M.S. DAUNTLESS – FORECASTLE – DAY
ELIZABETH SWANN, strawberry blond hair, stands at the bow railing, gazing at the seas, still singing-ELIZABETH …drink up me hearties, yo, ho… JOSHAMEE GIBBS, who was born old, skin a dark leather, clutches her shoulder, startling her.
GIBBS Quiet, missy! Cursed pirates sail these waters. You want to call ’em down on us? Elizabeth stares wide-eyed at him.
NORRINGTON Mr. Gibbs. NORRINGTON, a dashing young man, Royal Navy to the core, glares sternly at Gibbs. Standing besides him is GOVERNOR WEATHERBY SWAN, a man of obvious high station, brass buttons on his thick blue jacket. He is Elizabeth’s father.
NORRINGTON (CONT’D) That will do.
GIBBS She was singing about pirates. Bad luck to sing about pirates, with us mired in this unnatural fog-mark my words.
NORRINGTON Consider them marked. On your way.
GIBBS ‘Aye, Captain. Bad luck to have a woman on board, too. Even a mini’ture one. He returns to his deck-swabbing duties, surreptitiously takes a quick swig from flask.
ELIZABETH I think it would be rather exciting to meet a pirate.
NORRINGTON Think again, Miss Swan. Vile and dissolute creatures, the lot of them. I intend to see to it that any man who sails under a pirate flag, or wears a pirates brand, gets what he deserves: a short drop and a sudden stop. Elizabeth doesn’t know what ‘a short drop and a sudden stop’ means. Gibbs helpfully mimes: a man being hung.
SWAN Captain Norrington… I appreciate your fervor, but I am concerned about the effect this subject will have on my daughter.
NORRINGTON My apologies, Governor.
ELIZABETH Actually, I find it all fascinating.
SWAN And that’s what concerns me. Elizabeth, dear… we will be landing in Port Royal very soon, and beginning our new lives. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we comport ourselves as befits our class and station?
Yes, father. Chastised, she turns away, to look out over the bow rail.
ELIZABETH (CONT’D) I still think it would be exciting to meet a pirate… The fog still hems in the ship; very little of the sea is visible–but suddenly, a FIGURE comes into view. A young boy, WILL TURNER, floating on his back in the otherwise empty water. There is nothing to show where he came from, or how he came to be there.
ELIZABETH (CONT’D) Look! A boy! In the water! Norrington and Swann spot him-NORRINGTON Man overboard!
ELIZABETH Boy overboard!
NORRINGTON Fetch a hook! Haul him out of there! Quick movement and activity on the deck. Sailors use a boathook to snag the boy he the passes. Norrington and Swann haul him aboard, and lay him on the deck. Elizabeth sidles in for a closer look.
NORRINGTON (CONT’D) He’s still breathing.
SWAN Where did he come from?
GIBBS Mary mother of God … Attention is turned away from the boy-The sea is no longer empty. WRECKAGE from a ship litters the water… along with the bodies of its crew. What is left of the ship’s hull BURNS, a ragged British flag hanging limply from the stern. The H.M.S. Dauntless slips silently through it all. The scene calls for hushed voices.
SWAN What happened here?
NORRINGTON An explosion in the powder magazine. Merchant vessels run heavily armed.
GIBBS Lot of good it did them… Everyone’s thinking it! I’m just saying it! Pirates!
SWAN There is no proof of that. It could have been an accident. Captain, these men were protection. If there is even the slightest chance one of those poor devils is still alive, we cannot abandon them!
NORRINGTON Of course not, Governor. Come about and strike the sails! Unlash the boats! Gunnery crew… jackets off the cannons! Hope for the best…prepare for the worst. Move the boy aft. We’ll need the deck clear. They lift the boy. Swann pulls Elizabeth away from the rail, away from the hideous scene in the water.
SWAN Elizabeth, I want you to accompany the boy. He’s in your charge now. You’ll watch over him? Elizabeth nods gravely. Swann hurries away to help unstow the longboat. The sailors lay the boy gently on the poop deck, behind the wheel, then hurry off. Elizabeth kneels down besides the boy. His good looks are not lost on her. She reaches out, gently brushes the blond hair from his eyes-Suddenly, he grabs her wrist, awake now. Elizabeth is startled, but their eyes lock. She takes his hand in hers.
ELIZABETH My name is Elizabeth Swann.
WILL Will Turner.
ELIZABETH I’m watching over you, Will. He clutches her hands, then slips back into unconsciousness. His movement has opened the collar of his shirt; Elizabeth sees he wears a chain around his neck. She tugs it free, revealing-A GOLD MEDALLION. One side is blank. She turns it over-A SKULL gazes up at her. Vaguely Aztec in design, but to her eyes, it means one thing only:
ELIZABETH (CONT’D) You’re a pirate. She glances back at the crew. Sees Norrington, giving orders, moving toward her. She looks back at Will-comes to a quick decision. Takes the medallion from around his neck. Hides it under her coat. Norrington arrives.
NORRINGTON Did he speak?
ELIZABETH His name is Will Turner-that’s all I found out.
NORRINGTON Very good. Norrington hurries off. Elizabeth steals away to the stern of the ship. Examines her prize-the gold medallion. A wisp of wind, and she looks up-Out over the sea, moving through the fog, silent as a ghost, is a large sailing ship, a schooner-It has BLACK SAILS. Elizabeth stares, too frightened to move, or cry out. The ship is obscured by the fog it as it passes-but not the mizzen-top … and there hangs the frightening skull and crossbones of the Jolly Roger. Elizabeth looks from it to the medallion-the skull on the flag is the same as the one on the medallion. Fog surrounds and closes in on the black ship-except for the black flag. As Elizabeth watches, the skull appears to TURN and GRIN at her-Elizabeth shuts her eyes tight-EIGHT YEARS LATER INT. GOVERNOR’S MANSION – ELIZABETH’S BEDROOM-and then snap open again, startled wide with fear. But this is no longer twelve-year-old Elizabeth standing on the stern of the Dauntless; this is twenty-year-old Elizabeth, lying in bed in the dark. She remains motionless (were the images we just saw a nightmare, or a jumbled childhood memory?) Elizabeth slowly looks as far out the corner of her eyes as possible without moving. Might there be someone in the room with her, looming over her? She turns, ready for anything. She is alone. Elizabeth sits up, turns up the flame on an oil lamp besides the canopied bed. She carries the lamp across the room to a dressing table, sits down. She pulls one of the small drawers all the way out, reaches into a space beneath it and removes-The MEDALLION. She has kept it all this time. It has not lost its luster-or its sense of menace. She gazes at it as she absently returns the draw to its place-A BOOMING knock on the door; Elizabeth jumps up, startled knocking over her chair.
SWANN (O.S.) Elizabeth? Is everything all right? Are you decent?
ELIZABETH Yes-yes. She puts the medallion on, throws on a dressing gown as Swann enters, carrying a large box. A uniformed maid, ESTRELLA, follows.
SWANN Still abed at this hour? It’s a beautiful day! Estrella pulls back the heavy curtains, revealing: Beneath a blue sky lies the bucolic town of PORT ROYAL, built on a natural harbor. On a bluff at the mouth of the harbor stands FORT CHARLES, its stone parapets lined with cannon.
SWANN (CONT’D) I have a gift for you. He opens the boxes, and displays for her a gorgeous velvet dress. She lets out an admiring gasp.
ELIZABETH It’s-beautiful. May I inquire as to the occasion?
SWANN Is an occasion necessary for a father to dote upon his daughter with gifts? Elizabeth happily takes it, disappears behind a screenedoff dressing area. Estrella follows, carrying the box.
SWANN (CONT’D) Although…I did think you could wear it to the ceremony today.
ELIZABETH (O.S.) Ceremony?
SWANN Captain Norrington’s promotion ceremony. Elizabeth peeks around the screen.
ELIZABETH I knew it.
SWANN Or, rather, Commodore Norrington…a fine gentleman, don’t you think? He fancies you, you know. Behind the screen, Elizabeth GASPS.
SWANN (CONT’D) Elizabeth? How’s it coming? ON ELIZABETH-She holds her hair and the medallion (still around her neck) out of the way as the maid cinches her into a corset over her slip. Estrella has her foot in Elizabeth’s back as she pulls the laces tight.
ELIZABETH Difficult … to say.
SWANN (O.S.) I’m told that dress is the very latest fashion in London.
ELIZABETH Women in London must have learned to not breath. Estrella is finished. Elizabeth takes a breath-and winces. A butler appears in the doorway of the room.
BUTLER Governor? A caller is here for you.
INT. GOVERNOR’S MANSION – FOYER – DAY
The caller, dressed in rough clothing, stands in the foyer, looking very out of place, and knowing it. He holds a long presentation case. He polishes the toes of his boots on the back of his calves, but it doesn’t help.
SWANN Ah, Mr. Turner! It’s good to see you again! The caller turns-it is WILL TURNER. Handsome, with a watchful demeanor that gives him weight beyond his years.
WILL Good day, sir. I have your order. Swann hurries to him, opens the case. Inside is a beautiful dress sword and scabbard. Swann takes it out reverently.
WILL (CONT’D) The blade is folded steel. That’s gold filigree laid into the handle. If I may – He takes the sword from Swann, and balances it on one finger at the point where the blade meets the guard.
WILL (CONT’D) Perfectly balanced. The tang is nearly the full width of the blade..
SWANN Impressive. .. very impressive. Commodore Norrington will be pleased, I’m sure. Do pass my compliments on to your master. Will’s face falls. Clearly, the work is his, and he is proud of it. With practiced ease, he flips the sword around, catches it by the hilt and returns it to the case.
WILL I shall. A craftsman is always pleased to hear his work is appreciated-He stops speaking abruptly, staring past Swann – Elizabeth stands on the stairs. Granted, the dress may be painful to wear, but holy smokes!
SWANN Elizabeth! You look stunning! Will tries to speak, but can’t. He gives up, smiles to himself, and simply nods emphatically.
ELIZABETH Will! It’s so good to see you! Her hand goes to the chain around her throat (the medallion is hidden in the bodice of her dress).
ELIZABETH (CONT’D) I dreamt about you last night. Will reacts with surprise: “Really?
SWANN Elizabeth, this is hardly appropriate – ELIZABETH About the day we met. Do you remember?
WILL I could never forget it, Miss Swann.
ELIZABETH Will, how many times must I ask you to call me ‘Elizabeth’?
WILL At least once more, Miss Swann. As always. Elizabeth is disappointed and a little hurt by his response.
SWANN Well said! There’s a boy who understands propriety. Now, we must be going. Swann takes the case from Will, opens the door for Elizabeth. Elizabeth straightens her back, gathers her skirts and strides past Will.
ELIZABETH Good day, Mr. Turner.
EXT. GOVERNOR’S MANSION – DAY
Swann follows Elizabeth out the door.
WILL Good day. He watches as she is helped aboard a carriage by the driver.
WILL (CONT’D) Elizabeth. IN THE CARRIAGE: Swann glowers at his daughter.
SWANN Dear, I do hope you demonstrate a bit more decorum in front of Commodore Norrington. After all, it is only through his efforts that Port Royal has become at all civilized.
EXT. PORT ROYAL – HARBOR – DAY
The skeletal remains of four pirates, still clad in buccaneer rags, hang from gallows erected on a rocky promontory. There is a fifth, unoccupied gallows, bearing a sign: PIRATES – YE BE WARNED. The top of a billowing sail passes regally in front of them. On the landward face of the sail, apparently high in the rigging, is a man for whom the term ‘swashbuckling rogue’ was coined: Captain JACK SPARROW. He gazes keen-eyed at the display as they pass. Raises a tankard in salute. Suddenly, something below catches his attention. He jumps from the rigging –and that’s when we see that his is ship is not an imposing three-master, but just a small fishing dory with a single sail, plowing through the water-the Jolly Mon. And it leaks. Which is why he has the tankard: to bail. Jack steps back to the tiller, and using a single sheet to control the sail, and the Jolly Mon comes around the promontory, the whole of Port Royal laid out before him. The huge British dreadnought, H.M.S. Dauntless dominates the bay. But Jack’s attention is on a different ship: the H.M.S. Interceptor, a small sleek vessel with rail guns and a mortar in the middle of the main deck. It is tied up at the Navy landing, at the base of the cliffs below Fort Charles.
EXT. PORT ROYAL – DOCKS – DAY
Smoothly and with no wasted movement, Jack hauls down the sail, stows it, guides the dory alongside a dock. The HARBORMASTER, a long ledger tucked under his arm, is there to catch a line and help Jack tie up.
HARBORMASTER If you’re out rolling scuppers in this tub, you’re either incredibly brave or incredibly stupid.
JACK It’s remarkable how often those two traits coincide. He starts up the dock, strapping on his sword belt; besides the scabbard, it also carries a compass, pistol and small powder horn. The Harbormaster cuts him off.
HARBORMASTER It’s a shilling for the dock space, and you’re going to have to give me your name.
JACK What do you say to three shillings, and we forget the name? He tosses three shillings onto the ledger. The Harbormaster considers, then shuts the ledger on the coins, steps aside.
HARBORMASTER Welcome to Port Royal, Mr. Smith. Jack gives him a half-salute as he goes past. Looks across the water toward the Interceptor-and smiles. Above the Interceptor, among the parapets of Fort Charles, a ceremony is underway – EXT. FORT CHARLES – DAY With choreographed precision, Swann removes the sword and scabbard from the presentation case, held by a uniformed Navy man. He slides the sword into the scabbard, holds it out vertically to Norrington, in full dress uniform. Norrington grasps the scabbard above Swann’s hand, and Swann lets go. Norrington draws the sword, flourishes the sword, and snaps the blade up in front of his face. Swann steps forward, pins a medal to Norrington’s jacket, steps back. Norrington nods, turns smartly and nods to his fellow officers, turns again and nods to the audience – dignitaries, merchants, plantation owners, their families. Another flourish, and he returns the sword to its scabbard. The silence is broken by loud APPLAUSE. Backslapping from the Navy men. In the audience, Elizabeth doesn’t look so good, out beneath the hot sun. She applauds briefly, then winces. Discreetly tries to adjust the corset through the material of the dress, then resumes clapping, trying to hide her discomfort.
EXT. PORT ROYAL – NAVY DOCK – DAY
Two sailors on sentry duty, MURTOGG and MULLROY, take advantage of what little shade there is on the dock. But when Jack saunters up, they are immediately on alert.
MURTOGG This dock is off-limits to civilians.
