TITANIC: AFTERMATH
Chapter Four
EXT. NEAR PIER 54 - NIGHT
Rose walks by charity people who offer aid to
survivors. She checks her pace and leans against a wall. Her spirit sinks as
reality renews its cold grip upon her heart. She suddenly feels very alone, and
can no longer hold back her tears.
MRS. DIGUILIANI (50), who is with the Italian
Society, approaches Rose. She exudes warmth and compassion, as she eyes Rose
sympathetically. Rose is comforted by her soothing and beautifully inflected
voice.
MRS. DIGUILIANI
You are from Titanic?
ROSE
Yes, ma'am.
MRS. DIGUILIANI
A hotel nearby offers free rooms. Let me show
you.
INT. NEW YORK HOTEL LOBBY - NIGHT
MRS. DIGUILIANI
Take off that heavy coat. Oh! It is wet!
Mrs. DiGuiliani helps Rose remove Cal's coat.
Her husband, MR. DIGUILIANI (55), a large, muscular man, joins them.
MRS. DIGUILIANI
She is from Titanic. She needs a room and a
good meal.
Mr. DiGuiliani nods, and goes to fetch a key
to a room.
MRS. DIGUILIANI
You can spend the night here, dear.
ROSE
Thank you, ma'am.
Mrs. DiGuiliani drapes the coat over her arm.
The muffin and the Heart of the Ocean tumble out onto the floor. Mrs.
DiGuiliani sees the muffin only, as it rolls away.
Rose scurries to snatch them up. She stuffs
the muffin and the necklace into the pocket of her ragged second-hand dress. To
Mrs. DiGuiliani, it seems the muffin is Rose's only possession.
MRS. DIGUILIANI
Oh! You poor girl! There is plenty of food
upstairs! Tell me, do you have anyplace to go? Any family?
ROSE
No...I don't know what I'm going to do yet,
and I have no family.
Rose finds it difficult to mislead this kind
woman, but she is telling the truth of the spirit. She has no family that she
can trust, and she does consider Jack to be her husband.
MRS. DIGUILIANI
You were widowed, then?
Rose nods sadly. Mrs. DiGuiliani pats her on
the shoulder.
MRS. DIGUILIANI
Well, don't you worry. We will take care of
you.
Mr. DiGuiliani returns with a hotel room key.
MRS. DIGUILIANI
I work in a shop in town. I need somebody to
help me. My daughter has gone to take care of an aunt who is ill. If the shop
owner agrees--
ROSE
Oh, that's wonderful! Thank you! You are so
incredibly kind!
MRS. DIGUILIANI
We could go there tonight. What you say,
Antonio? She can take Amy's room.
MR. DIGUILIANI
It sounds like your mind is made up. That's
what I say.
MRS. DIGUILIANI
Good! Good! Let us go, then. It is getting
late.
The DiGuilianis follow Rose to the front
door. Rose tries to listen in on their conversation.
MR. DIGUILIANI
(in Italian, subtitled) I thought we were going
to find a nice Italian girl.
Mrs. DiGuiliani reproaches her husband with a
slap on the arm.
EXT. NEW YORK HOTEL FRONT DOOR - NIGHT
Rose steps outside. She suddenly stops dead
in her tracks. Charlie and Larry have followed her to the hotel. Charlie delights
in Rose's intimidated expression, and contorts his face into a leer.
Mr. DiGuiliani emerges, followed by his wife.
As Charlie looks up at this giant bear of a man, the muscles in his face
slacken, leaving him with an idiotic expression frozen on his face.
MR. DIGUILIANI
(with a growling crescendo) What are you
looking at, eh? Y' stunad, ya!
Mr. DiGuiliani waves his large hand with
intimidating bravado.
Charlie's eyes widen, then he and Larry
scuttle off into the darkness like two cockroaches fleeing the boot. Properly
vindicated, Rose feels secure with her two new guardians.
INT. GROUND FLOOR DRESS SHOP - NEW YORK
GARMENT DISTRICT - NIGHT
Mr. DiGuiliani proceeds upstairs to bed,
while Mrs. DiGuiliani shows Rose around.
The DiGuilianis have been in the U.S. for
some years, and are proud to be established in a very good situation for
Italians of that day. Rose is unaware that being a seamstress usually means
slaving in a sweatshop.
MRS. DIGUILIANI
Well, this is my life...hats and
dresses...dresses and hats.
ROSE
You are a seamstress, then?
MRS. DIGUILIANI
A designer first, then a seamstress! Yes, I
am a seamstress.
ROSE
It sounds like fun, really! I am a great
lover of art, and designing is an integral part of art.
MRS. DIGUILIANI
You flatter me, dear. Well, it's time for
this old woman to get some sleep.
Mrs. DiGuiliani ascends the stairs, smiling.
She wonders where this young dreamer came from. Rose remains behind to adjust a
feather on a hat. She contemplates her new life optimistically.
INT. ROSE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
Rose stands before a vanity that is piled
with needlework. Her small room is modest, but clean.
She drapes the Heart of the Ocean around her
neck, and reflects upon this last vestige of her previous life. It appears out
of place, gleaming elegantly amid her humble surroundings.
Rose removes the necklace, and hides it away
in the back of a drawer.
INT. ROSE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT
Rose lies in bed, gazing up at the ceiling.
Only the pale lamp light from the streets below illuminates the room. She shuts
her eyes and drifts to sleep quickly. Jack's ghost emerges from the darkness,
caressing her fondly with his eyes. Rose's spirit rises up, her body still in
bed. She takes his hand and they slow dance (to Titanic music).
The scene and music fade, as the magical glow
of her dreams gives way to the cold light of morning.
INT. ROSE'S BEDROOM - MORNING - APRIL 19,
1912
The city noise from outside her window
replace her dreams, as Rose wakes up to an empty ceiling, a tear in her eye.
EXT. WALDORF-ASTORIA EAST ROOM - 9:00 AM
Reporters and scores of spectators congregate
for Ismay's hearing. They bustle fervently, jockeying for a seat in the
proceedings. Desperate to avoid detection, Cal pleads a lack of energy to
continue.
CAL
Wouldn't you rather just go home, Ruth?
RUTH
But, we're right where Ismay's inquiry is
happening! Who were your father's connections here?
Ruth has just lost her daughter, and is
determined to find out why. She catches sight of someone official looking, and
marches swiftly toward him.
Ruth makes her plea, indicating she is with a
man of importance. The man gives her a positive nod.
The doors are opened. Cal and Ruth are swept
into the East Room amidst a flood of spectators.
INT. WALDORF-ASTORIA EAST ROOM - DAY
SENATOR SMITH grills Ismay. The American
spectators eye the pampered, aristocratic Ismay with suspicion. Amongst them,
the GHOSTS of J.J. ASTOR and BENJAMIN GUGGENHEIM give Ismay the cold, blank
stare of the dead.
Ismay forces a nervous, ingratiating smile
onto his face, which makes him appear inappropriately casual and uncaring. He
fiddles anxiously with his mustache, the little finger of his right hand
adorned with a glittering diamond ring.
ISMAY
The ship sank, I am told, at 2:20. That, sir,
I think is all I can tell you. I understand it has been said that the ship was
going at full speed. The ship never had been at full speed.
Ruth's sense of overwhelming disgust builds.
She whispers angrily to Cal.
RUTH
Why, look at that smug little man! He seems
so satisfied with himself!
Ismay twitches as he struggles to keep up his
plastic smile.
CAL (VO)
Perhaps only I could understand Ismay's
pitiful attempt at a self-assured smile, as it was very much like my own pallid
effort to convince the world I'd done nothing shameful.
INT. WALDORF-ASTORIA EAST ROOM - DAY
Senator Smith interviews CAPTAIN ROSTRON.
CAL (VO)
To make matters worse for him, the hero of
the disaster testified right on the heels of its scapegoat. The Carpathia's
Captain Rostron had valiantly sped to our rescue, in hopes of saving us all.
Smith and Rostron are near tears, reflecting
upon the mass of humanity that Rostron was unable to save.
SMITH
I think I may say, for my associates, that
your conduct deserves the highest praise.
CAPTAIN ROSTRON
I thank you, sir.
INT. WALDORF-ASTORIA EAST ROOM - DAY
Senator Smith interviews Lightoller.
CAL (VO)
Second Officer Lightoller defended White Star
Line policy, saying the Titanic was equipped with more lifeboats than were
required by the British Board of Trade.
SMITH
Was the life-saving equipment complete?
LIGHTOLLER
Yes, sir.
CAL (VO)
Many Americans saw his testimony over the
course of the hearings as a whitewash. He kept his honor as a man, however,
only because he saved himself by chance, climbing atop the overturned
collapsible boat as the ship went down.
SMITH
At what time did you leave the ship?
LIGHTOLLER
I didn't leave it.
SMITH
Did the ship leave you?
LIGHTOLLER
Yes, sir.
CAL (VO)
At any rate, Senator Smith's dogged
investigation eventually helped to usher in new regulations requiring
sufficient lifeboat capacity for all persons on board a ship. But throughout
the hearings, I could really only think of one thing, and that was remaining as
anonymous as possible.
EXT. WALDORF-ASTORIA EAST ROOM - DAY
CAL (VO)
That didn't seem likely, for the eyes of the
world were upon us.
Cal and Ruth are shoved aside as the press
grapples to snap pictures of Ismay as he escapes through the swarming lynch
mob. Cal avoids the cameras any way he can.
EXT. WALDORF-ASTORIA - DAY
Cal and Ruth depart. Ruth is frustrated and
emotionally spent.
CAL (VO)
In the weeks to come, the hearings uncovered
information that had the world up in arms. The Titanic had received several ice
warnings from nearby ships, but none were heeded.
EXT. RUTH'S HOUSE - RITTENHOUSE SQUARE,
PHILADELPHIA - NIGHT
A lone servant woman emerges to meet Ruth.
Cal and Ruth say good-bye, and Ruth faces a life alone without her daughter.
CAL (VO)
To add to our frustration, we learned one of
these ships was only a few miles away, and could have saved most of Titanic's
passengers. Yet, despite his crew's reports of distress rockets, her Captain
chose to sleep through the entire affair.
INT. CAB - NIGHT
Cal broods pensively.
CAL (VO)
Yet, I would still be reluctant to blame
others for my situation. I had been met with a challenge, a test of my character,
and I had failed miserably.
EXT. CAL'S FRONT STOOP - 1811 WALNUT STREET,
PHILADELPHIA - NIGHT
Cal pays the cab driver, and the cab drives
off. Cal ascends the stairs, carrying a small bag and some newspapers. He wears
the shabby a second-hand jacket he acquired on the Carpathia. Cal is left
alone, thinking "Home at Last!"
CAL (VO)
Rose and I had planned to commence our lives
together at my mother's ancestral home on Rittenhouse Square, as it would be
convenient to my father's new office in downtown Philadelphia. My father
himself was often a safe distance away, feigning partial retirement in Atlantic
City. That man never could truly relax.
Cal smiles and shakes his head, as he thinks
about his father. It starts drizzling. Cal reaches for his key, but has none.
CAL
Damn!
EXT. 1811 WALNUT STREET - NIGHT
Cal tries to coax a window open. The glass
shatters. Cal mutters under his breath as he picks a small shard of glass from
his hand. A policeman arrives behind him.
POLICEMAN 1
All right, you! Hands on the wall!
Cal turns toward him, ignoring the command,
but the policeman wheels him back around and cuffs him efficiently. Cal's cheek
digs into the side of the house. He bristles with anger.
CAL
What? Do you know who I am?
POLICEMAN 1
Shut up!
The policeman blows a whistle, right in Cal's
ear. Cal curses.
A second policeman arrives in a flash and
helps restrain Cal.
CAL
I am Caledon Hockley! This is MY house!
POLICEMAN 2
You don't look like a millionaire to me.
Let's take him in.
The policemen grab him by the arms to usher
him away.
CAL
No, you don't understand! I was on the
Titanic! My keys are at the bottom of the North Atlantic!
They look at him, and realize they've screwed
up big time. Cal wriggles free of their grasp. They uncuff him, apologizing
profusely, as lights around the neighborhood turn on one by one.
POLICEMAN 1
Oh, so sorry, sir!
POLICEMAN 2
Can we be of some assistance, sir?
Cal's first inclination is to threaten them
with seeing to it they are fired, but instead, his voice drops to a low mumble.
CAL
No. Just get out of my sight.
The policemen bow away obsequiously.
INT. PARLOR - 1811 WALNUT STREET - NIGHT
Cal climbs inside another window, knocking
over a lamp, and bruising his knee. He curses. He leans against a light switch,
and the room is illuminated.
The clock ticks away hollowly. The furniture,
covered with sheets, exudes a ghostly appearance. The place suddenly feels very
empty.
INT. CAL'S BEDROOM - DAY - SATURDAY, APRIL 20
Cal sits alone at his desk, hunting for his
name in newspapers.
CAL (VO)
I was anxious to see what damage had been
done to my image. Indeed, few men survived with their reputations intact. There
was always someone like J.J. Astor or Ben Guggenheim to be compared to.
TITANIC MONTAGE - NIGHT (FLASHBACK)
Benjamin Guggenheim and his valet descend the
stairs, dressed in their best. A steward offers them life jackets.
BENJAMIN GUGGENHEIM
No woman shall be left aboard this ship
because Ben Guggenheim was a coward!
CAL (VO)
These men knew that it is not the trappings
of wealth, nor the superficialities of etiquette that make a gentleman. A
gentleman is one who defers to others who are in a less advantageous position
than himself. He is one who regards their welfare above his own.
Archibald Gracie opens a door for a group of
ladies. Cal stands nearby, engrossed in superficial conversation with Sir Cosmo
Duff-Gordon. Cal sees Gracie, but he does not see.
CAL (VO)
In their final hour, these men came to
realize that with the privilege of living well came the responsibility of dying
well.
As the women are put into the boats, the men
stand back. Gracie works with the crew to get the women in the boats.
INT. CAL'S BEDROOM - DAY (END FLASHBACK)
Cal sits thinking of his friends, some still
alive by some miracle, but many of them dead.
CAL (VO)
Remembrances of Titanic's heroes tortured me
daily. Yet, I found the papers' portrayal of the villains even more disturbing,
as they had behaved far better than I. For my actions were those of a violent
beast or a criminal. Yet, I saw nothing in the papers about my wretched
behavior.
Cal lays the newspaper down and stares blankly
ahead.
CAL (VO)
I soon realized no one spoke out against me
because my most deplorable acts were perpetrated immediately before the ship
went down, or in the lifeboat before most of its survivors swam aboard. My
witnesses were all dead, or were steerage passengers and foreigners no one
would listen to anyway.
The faint sound of screams briefly returns to
him, invading the sanctity of his bedchamber.
CAL (VO)
My old, self-serving, practical side told me
I only did what I needed to stay alive, but my heart told me something else. I
felt as though my mind were splitting asunder.
Cal glances down at his plush silk robe. This
vile creature dressed up in opulence sickens him.
CAL (VO)
I realized where I ranked in the scheme of
things. Titanic had harbored representatives of humanity from all walks of
life, yet my own behavior proved the worst of any of them. Indeed, I was
amongst the worst of humankind. If the truth were to get out, I would an
embarrassment to my class, my race, my family, to all who once called me
friend. I soon felt so little regard for myself that I believed I was the
lowest creature living on the earth. Every innocent insect was nobler than I.
An insect crawls across his desk, but he
doesn't swat at it.
INT. CAL'S BEDROOM - DUSK
Cal still sits at his desk, darkness
descending upon the room. It is the time of day where solid, familiar reality
fades, and shadows from another dimension present themselves to those whose
fragile minds render them helpless to their influence.
CAL (VO)
I felt remorse with every bite of food I ate,
with every breath I took.
Cal takes a bite of bread. He gives it one
chew, then stops. He enters a state of remorseful catatonia.
CAL (VO)
Every small pleasure in which I found
satisfaction made me despise myself more, until I could enjoy nothing at all. I
thought, 'what a waste of a human life. Someone else could be alive now instead
of me...a woman, a child, a widow's husband.'
Cal forces himself out of his immobility, and
grabs a gun from his desk.
CAL (VO)
My mind went over different plans for
alleviating my situation, for administering justice upon myself...
Cal feels the cold weight of it in his hands,
and begins to tremble. He loses his nerve, and his arm drops down slowly.
CAL (VO)
...but I found I was too much of a coward to
end my own life. I HAD made the decision to live that dreadful night. So now I
needed to live it as it was...without close company, without Rose. I could
begin to imagine the depth of disgust she must have felt for me, yet jealousy
still raged within me. My sense of pride could never be the same.
A hint of a shadow slowly creeps up behind
him. Out of the darkness, the curvature of a head emerges, marked by the
unmistakable silhouette of Jack's flaxen bangs.
Clenching the gun in his hand, Cal reels
around and gasps, his heart pounding. Terrified, he flips on a light switch.
The room's empty, but appears distorted. Cal sees his reflection in a mirror
across the room. He doesn't like what he sees.
EXT. WALNUT STREET - MORNING - SUNDAY, APRIL
21, 1912
Cal walks to church. Amongst the bustling
activity, a paperboy hawks the most recent Titanic news.
CAL (VO)
I tried getting out some, but nothing seemed
to help.
Two reporters spot Cal, and eagerly race
toward him. They press him mercilessly.
REPORTER 1
How did you escape, Mr. Hockley?
REPORTER 2
Would you care to comment on Miss DeWitt
Bukater, sir?
Cal shoves his way past them and walks
swiftly into the crowd that surrounds the church.
INT. CHURCH OF THE HOLY TRINITY, PHILADELPHIA
- DAY
The church is packed full. People have turned
out in droves to try to make sense out of what has happened. Cal listens to the
minister's sermon in the back pew.
CAL (VO)
Religion in it's pre-packaged, store-bought
form did little for me. There weren't many consoling messages for the damned.
The minister reads from Ecclesiastes.
MINISTER
"All things have I seen in the days of
my vanity: there is a just man that perisheth in his righteousness, and there
is a wicked man that prolongeth his life in his wickedness."
Cal wears the lost face of a soul sentenced
to eternal torment. He rises from his pew and slowly walks out.
CAL (VO)
I felt that God himself had turned his back
to me, as would all of humankind if they were to discover my terrible secret.
But if the truth were not uncovered, my life would never contain honest human
interaction. I would always be living a lie. Either way, I would always be
alone.
INT. CAL'S BEDROOM - 1811 WALNUT STREET - DAY
Cal lies sullen and listless atop his bed,
sunken into it like a doomed vessel creeping down into an infinite dark abyss.
Only his glistening black eyes give indication that he is still alive. Church
bells peal mournfully nearby.
CAL (VO)
So, I became a morbid recluse in no time. Not
only did I wish death upon myself, but I experienced it every day...as if I
were hoping I would simply die by feigning death, if I just laid still long
enough. For all practical purposes, I was dead, for I was no longer fit to live
among the world of men. I felt my whole body and my mind were grinding to a
halt.
The DOORBELL chimes.
CAL (VO)
But I needed to attend to the duties I had
set out for myself.