INT. WORTH STREET BASEMENT - DAY
[As BILLY FOX steps off the scales, EDDIE EAGAN calls out:]
EAGAN: Billy Fox, 173 3/4 pounds.
[JOEY removes JAKE's leopard-skin robe as he steps on the scale. The REPORTERS crowd around.]
EAGAN: Jake LaMotta, 167 pounds.
[JAKE'S HANDLERS urge him with words of encouragement as they walk toward his dressing room.]
CUT TO: INT. JAKE'S DRESSING ROOM - DAY
[EAGAN walks over.]
JAKE: What's up, Colonel?
EAGAN: I'd like to talk to Jake a minute.
JOEY: Sure.
EAGAN: I suppose you heard what everybody's been saying, JAKE.
JAKE: What who's been sayin'?
EAGAN: You were a big favorite in this fight. Then two days ago the odds start jumping all over the place until you're a 12-5 underdog.
JAKE: I don't follow no gamblin' Commissioner. I'm just a fighter.
EAGAN: Now the fight's off the books altogether. Meyer Lansky couldn't get a bet down on this fight. Some people are saying you're going into the tank.
JAKE: Believe what you want.
EAGAN: I want to believe you, LaMotta.
JAKE: I'm gonna kill him. That fuckin' jig's gonna wish he never came outa the jungle. You got any money?
EAGAN: What?
JAKE: You got any money you want to bet on Billy Fox, you can put it right here... *extends his hand* 'cause Jake LaMotta don't go down for nobody.
[EAGAN taps JAKE on the shoulder.]
EAGAN: That's all I wanted to hear.
[JAKE glares at EAGAN as the COMMISSIONER walks away.]
CUT TO: INT. MADISON SQUARE GARDEN - NIGHT (NOV. 14, 1947)
[The old Garden is packed. The EX-CHAMPS, the PRESS, the OFFICIALS, the MOB GUYS, the FANS -- they're all here.]
[The fighters are announced. BILLY FOX and JAKE touch gloves and return to their corners.]
[FOX is taller and has a longer reach than JAKE.]
[The bell sounds and the fighters come out. FOX goes to the head; JAKE goes to the body.]
[FOX lands a solid blow to JAKE's jaw, but LAMOTTA is unfazed. FOX is surprised. In the past, his opponents have gone down when he connected.]
[In the audience, COMO, SALVY, and some other BOYS watch with interest.]
[JAKE moves in with a rapid series of trademark body blows. All of a sudden, FOX is wobbly. JAKE goes for the head, then cuts his punch short. FOX is about to go down.]
[JAKE throws his arms around FOX to make sure he doesn't fall.]
JAKE: *to Fox* Stand up! What the fuck are you doin'?
[The REFEREE breaks them apart and FOX remounts his attack. JAKE bicycles into a corner and lets FOX work him over.]
[FOX connects: once, twice, three times. JAKE barely defends himself -- but he doesn't go down either.]
[The CROWD starts to smell a fix. There are calls from the AUDIENCE.]
CROWD: Got your swimming trunks on, JAKE? I hope they're paying you enough. Fake, fake.
[TIME CUT: JAKE's corner. JAKE is acting stunned. TONY, not aware of what's going on, is slapping JAKE.]
TONY: What's the matter with you? What's the matter with you?
[Time Cut: The sign reads "Round Four." JAKE is in the center of the ring taking a relentless pasting from FOX. JAKE's arms hang at waist level... FOX lands one blow after another. The stink of a fix permeates the arena.]
[JAKE is furious that FOX can't deck him. He curses through his mouthpiece (as he absorbs blow after blow):]
JAKE: Hit me! Hit me! What's the matter with you, you motherfucker? Hit me!
[Boos and catcalls echo through the Garden. This is not even a fight. The REFEREE, realizing this, steps in between FOX and LAMOTTA, waves his arms and signals that FOX is the winner by a technical knockout.]
[As he does, JAKE spits his mouthpiece in disgust at FOX and struts back to his corner.]
[JAKE, JOEY, and TONY are already on their way out of the arena as the REFEREE declares FOX the winner.]
[COMO and the OTHERS, satisfied, get up to leave.]
CUT TO: INT. JAKE'S DRESSING ROOM - MADISON SQUARE GARDEN - NIGHT
[As a REPORTER and a PHOTOGRAPHER come through the door, WE SEE and hear a commotion in the hall behind them. They rush in, look, and stop by the door. There is silence -- except for JAKE'S uncontrollable sobbing. The atmosphere is like that of funeral.]
[JAKE is seated behind the rubbing table. He is still in his leopard-skin robe. His head hangs low as he sobs.]
[The PHOTOGRAPHER snaps a picture. The HANDLER motions to him to stop, and then goes and sits near the door. The REPORTER still stands near the doorway, seeming quite stunned by the scene he is witnessing, but nevertheless continuing to scribble away on his pad.]
[JOEY, standing near JAKE, has his back to everyone; his shoulders are shaking, his lips are tightly drawn. He cries soundlessly. TONY is pacing nearby.]
TONY: Don't fight anymore! *pause* It's a free country, don't fight anymore!
JAKE: *between sobs* Why did they have to stop it? Why did they have to stop it?
[The REPORTER leans over to the HANDLER and whispers.
REPORTER: What happened?
HANDLER: *quietly* He must've been really hurt in the 2nd. He didn't answer me when I tried to tell him something in the corner.
[JAKE, still buried in his robe, becomes aware of the hum of voices and shouts out:]
JAKE: Get everyone out of here!
[The REPORTER and the PHOTOGRAPHER leave. JAKE continues to sob.]
CUT TO: INT. PELHAM PARKWAY HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - DAY
[INSERT: CLOSE UP of a Daily News Headline from November 22, 1947: "Board Suspends LaMotta."]
[JAKE, dejected, sits on the couch. In front of him, on the coffee table are scattered several newspapers -- including the one with the headline we have just seen.]
[JOEY paces in front of JAKE.]
JOEY: *yelling* It woulda been so easy, Jack. So easy...
[JOEY goes into a boxing stance.]
JOEY: Stick out your hands, Jake.
JAKE: C'mon, Joey.
JOEY: G'wan, do it. *jabs at him* Protect yourself, rummy.
[JAKE, out of reflex, sticks out his hands. As he does, JOEY feigns a hit and falls onto the floor -- "out cold." JAKE looks down at him.]
[JOEY pops to his feet.]
JOEY: See? That's all there was to it.
JAKE: What the fuck they want? I took the dive. They want me to fall down too? I don't fall down for nobody. I never went down in my life. JOEY, what do I gotta do? Crawl on my hands and knees? I made an asshole of myself in the fuckin' Garden! All the newspaper writers make fun of me. I'm the bum of the year. All I want is a shot. Just a fuckin' shot. What do I gotta do? I'll do anything.
JOEY: Except fall down like a normal person.
JAKE: Yeah, except fall down. That's right.
JOEY: All right, you don't wanna fall down, so now you gotta take a rest. So, you enjoy the suspension. 'Cause there's nothin' you can do about it. Let the Commissioner and the D.A. jerk you around. So you wait.
JAKE: Jesus Christ! Seven months! What am I gonna do for seven months? I'm gonna go crazy. How do I keep my strength? By that time I'll be too weak to win the title. And my weight? Forget about it -- I'm gonna blow up like a balloon. I ain't never gonna hold my weight down. Seven months! I don't know...
JOEY: We did what we had to do. Tommy don't forget. Sooner or later you'll get your shot -- if Tommy don't die.
CUT TO: EXT. BOOK-CADILLAC HOTEL, DETROIT - DAY (1949)
[It's raining outside the stately Book-Cadillac.]
[A banner above the door proclaims:
The Book-Cadillac Welcomes
Marcel Cerdan
Middleweight Champion of the World
and the Challenger
JAKE LaMotta]
CUT TO: INT. BOOK-CADILLAC LOBBY - DAY
[The lobby is chaotic: FIGHT PEOPLE and SPORTSWRITERS mill anxiously about. Something's in the air.]
[The BELL CAPTAIN pages:]
BELL CAPTAIN: Mr. Williams.
[MR. WILLIAMS, THE DETROIT PROMOTER last seen in the Copacabana Lounge, answers the page.]
[WILLIAMS listens on the phone a moment, then hands it back to the BELL CAPTAIN and announces:]
DETROIT PROMOTER: It's official. The fight's been postponed twenty-four hours.
[A groan goes up from the lobby.]
CUT TO: INT. LAMOTTA'S SUITE - DAY
[JAKE's suite is modestly decorated and consists of a living room and two bedrooms.]
[DR. PINTO is there sewing up a pork chop.]
[JAKE, shadow-boxing in sportswear, paces back and forth.]
[TONY watches him. VICKIE sits quietly on the sofa, sipping some wine.]
[JOEY is on the phone.]
JOEY: That's right. "No comment." *listens* You like that? Good, 'cause I got a lot more "No comments" where that one came from.
[JOEY cuts the line off, then leaves the receiver off the hook.]
JOEY: I'm gonna order up some stuff. Have a steak.
JAKE: I can't eat a steak. If I eat a steak, I'm gonna have trouble making the weigh-in.
JOEY: So eat just a little. You gotta eat something.
JAKE: What am I gonna do for 24 hours? I can't even eat!
[JAKE goes into the bedroom.]
[JOEY goes over to the DOCTOR.]
DOCTOR: *shows him the pork chop* How's that?
JOEY: How long did it take you?
DOCTOR: 45 seconds.
JOEY: No good. Try to get it down. It's gotta be no more than 30 seconds to be on the safe side if we gotta stitch him up.
CUT TO: INT. THE BEDROOM
[JAKE is alone. There is a knock at the door. JOEY opens it and pokes his head in.]
JOEY: JAKE, somebody wants to say hello to you.
[JOEY opens the door wider. TOMMY COMO is at the door with JOEY. JAKE goes over to the door.]
COMO: Hey champ!
JAKE: Tommy, thanks for coming over.
COMO: You just take it easy, now. You'll do all right. Feelin' Ok?
JAKE: I'm ok.
COMO: Just come by to wish you luck. *shakes his hand* Need anything?
JAKE: No, we're all right. Thanks anyway, Tommy.
COMO: Ok, champ.
[COMO turns to go. He says goodbye to everyone in the living room. He goes over and kisses VICKIE. JAKE watches this from the bedroom doorway.]
COMO: *as he kisses VICKIE* Look at her. As beautiful as always. Take care of that guy, will ya?
VICKIE: *going to the door with him* I'll take care of him. Thanks, Tommy. Bye.
JAKE: *to VICKIE* C'mere.
[She goes to the bedroom doorway. JAKE grabs her arm, pulls her in, and slams the door.]
JAKE: *pushing her toward the bed area* Hey, you don't say goodbye to him like that.
VICKIE: What did I do?
JAKE: *pushing her* You don't kiss like that. Hello and goodbye, that's all you do.
VICKIE: All I did...
JAKE: *interrupting* You know what I'm talking about. Don't ever make me look bad on the night of my big fight.
VICKIE: You're hurting my arm.
[JAKE has her by the night table now. They are edging their way to the wall.]
JAKE: Shut up. You just say hello and goodbye to him. You don't kiss him the way you did. That's out of line.
[JAKE pushes her against the wall. The lamp falls. There is a loud crash. She tries to move away. He grabs her by the throat and pins her against the wall. She's gagging.]
VICKIE: But Jake... I didn't say anything...
JAKE: Don't ever do that again. You don't *he pushes her against the wall* do it!
VICKIE: *gagging* Jake...
[JOEY looks in and then starts to come over.]
JAKE: You hear what I said? You don't do it.
[He pushes her again. VICKIE tries to get away, but can't move.]
JAKE *pushing her again*: You don't do it.
[JOEY has his hand on JAKE's arm, trying to pry it away from VICKIE's throat.]
JOEY: Jake, Jake...
[TONY and the DOCTOR watch from the doorway.]
[VICKIE's eyes close. JAKE releases his grip. JOEY helps VICKIE. JAKE watches this.]
JAKE: *to himself* She ain't gonna ruin this fight for me.
