The Journals of Ayn Rand Page 3
What was his crime? What was he accused of?
He has lost his job. How?
A bum becomes a man, under the influence of the work on a
skyscraper.
[Characters:] Bill MacCann, Dick Saunders, Hetty Brown, Buddy
[O‘Brien].
Bill MacCann comes to New York, a down-and-out bum.
Hetty Brown, his former sweetheart, is now engaged to Dick Saun
ders, a young construction superintendent.
Their meeting, her disappointment, his desire to revenge himself
on Dick.
He goes to work on the skyscraper.
He reforms, becomes a man (his success at work, his friends, his
promotion).
Dick’s friendship with Bill. Hetty in the building. Her gradual love
for Bill.
Dick introduces Bill to Hetty.
The bonus money—for the marriage of Dick and Hetty.
The night of the finish. Bill’s energy. (Dick in Bill’s power. Accident
on top of building?)
Hetty breaks her engagement to Dick. Bill-Hetty.
Bill is fired.
Bill saves the building from the fire.
A bum works on a skyscraper to take his revenge. He becomes a man under the influence of his enemy, the superintendent. He loves the superintendent’s fiancée.
Think from: Bill getting ready to kill Dick and what follows. Dick’s good deed to him—their friendship. Hetty-Bill and Hetty-Bill-Dick.
Expectation. Have something hang over the head of the audience, something to expect; they know the situation is strange and they know something is going to happen, has to happen, so they wait. (Examples: “The Angel of Broadway,” “Senorita.”)
[AR interrupts her work on The Skyscraper to write down another idea. This note was titled “F. a. t. D., ” probably meaning “Friends and the Duel. ”]
A story of two friends in love with the same woman.
What would be the strongest result of it, the most tragic? They fight a duel over her. Why? Because she is the wife of one of them. Then why does the first love her? He loved her before the marriage. Why did the second marry her? He didn’t know of the first love. Why didn’t the first marry her himself? He could not. Why? He has killed her [former] husband in a duel. How did the second meet her? The first had to go away and left her in his care. What was the first’s reaction to the marriage? He loved his friend and he loved her. What was her reaction? She tried to tempt him back.
The story of the building of a skyscraper. The energy of the work makes a man out of a bum. Why has he decided to revenge himself? Because the superintendent was engaged to his girl. What does he do when reformed? He gives up his vengeance against the superintendent. What was the bum, or his guilt? He planned to kill the superintendent. Instead, he defends him. Against what? What can be his danger?
The effort of the building, the construction—all the details of that effort. The types, what they do, what happens to them and so on.
An epic must have a big idea behind it, an idea related to human lives.
Achievement is the aim of life. Life is achievement.
The sense of achievement—breaking through obstacles. Obstacles to the building or to [the man].
Achievement—give yourself an aim, something you want to do, then go after it, breaking through everything, with nothing in mind but your aim, all will, all concentration—and get it.
Bill MacCann, a down-and-out young bum, comes to New York from a far-away small town. He wants to see his former sweetheart, Hetty Brown, whom he had not seen for some years.
Hetty Brown is working in a department store on Broadway. She had not heard from Bill for many years and now she is engaged to another man, Dick Saunders. He is the superintendent of a skyscraper that is being built across the street from the store where she works.
But Hetty has not forgotten her first love. She is very excited when she gets the letter announcing Bill’s coming to New York. She waits for him anxiously.
Bill comes. It is a great shock for Hetty, when she sees the ragged, half-drunken, lazy bum he has become. All her dreams about him are shattered and she tells him that there can be nothing between them and that she is engaged to Dick Saunders.
Bill is furious and leaves her. He does not want to show how unhappy he is. He walks through the streets of the big city, lonely, hungry and homeless, hating everybody and everything around him. He swears to revenge himself on Dick Saunders.
Bill goes to the skyscraper and gets a job as a steelworker, for long ago he had been one in his native town. But he is unaccustomed to work and at the end of the first day is bawled out by the superintendent, Dick Saunders. Buddy O‘Brien, another worker, tries to help Bill out.
Tom Webbs, the steel-foreman, notices Bill’s rage and hatred at Dick Saunders. After the work Webbs takes Bill to a shabby little restaurant, a bootlegger’s joint, where he makes him drunk. While drinking, Bill boasts desperately that he is going to kill Dick Saunders at the first chance he gets. Webbs is very pleased. He is Dick’s enemy and he encourages Bill in his decision. Bill explains that he will do it when he is alone with Dick somewhere on top of the building, where he can kill him and throw his body down, so that everybody will believe it was an accident.
Bill starts work lazily the next day. But in spite of himself, the strength and energy of the work [inspires] him. When the work stops at lunch time, Dick Saunders praises Bill. It is something quite new to the bum and for the first time in his life he feels proud and satisfied with himself.
Just then, Hetty Brown appears from her store across the street, coming to see Dick, as usual. She sees Bill. She is startled, for she did not expect him to be working here. He looks at her mockingly and turns away when she wants to talk to him. Hetty goes to Dick, who has not noticed the little scene.
Bill comes back to work after lunch, with a tell-tale bottle in his pocket. He is half-drunk with jealousy and the drinks he had. From his carelessness, an accident occurs that almost costs the life of Buddy O‘Brien, his new friend. Buddy is saved only by Dick Saunders, who dashes up in time to rescue him. In spite of himself, Bill admires his enemy.
That night, going home, Bill gives his word to Buddy that he will never drink again.
In two weeks’ time, the workers can hardly recognize the young bum. Bill’s whole appearance has changed and his energy makes him one of the best workers. He is enthusiastic about his work. He cannot resist the influence of the skyscraper. Slowly, it makes a man out of him.
From her store window, Hetty watches Bill’s tall, strong figure across the street and wonders whether her love for him is really dead.
When Bill gets his first pay-check, Tom Webbs invites him to the joint. Bill refuses. He is proud of his earned money and he makes a confession to Webbs: on his way to New York he committed his only real crime—he stole a wallet from a passenger on the train. He has not spent all the money. Now he asks Webbs to take it to the police station, for he does not dare to do it himself. Webbs agrees to do it. However, he keeps the wallet to himself.
[The scenario stops here. In the following notes, AR begins another scenario with the same title. I have identified a few paragraphs that were written in Russian; the rest was written in English.]
[In Russian:] The main thing—the building of the skyscraper, no matter what. Plot-line: victory over obstacles. They try to prevent him from building. He sacrifices everything for the sake of the building. How can he sacrifice or lose the woman for the sake of his work? His private life is in conflict with his work.
The story of a Man. “The Man and the Building.”
Francis Gonda. Something in the past of the man. His passion for the building. “The basement” calls for him—down.
The victory of a man over the town, rising above it, to the sky. The spirit of Calumet “K. ” [Calumet “K,” by Samuel Merwin and Henry Webster, was AR’s favorite popular novel. It is the story of a hero’s triumph over all obstacles in the construction of a grain elevator.]
The building rises in the night as a white column, with drops of water rolling like tears on the joyously glistening walls, in the rays of spotlights. On top of the building, a man is standing, his head thrown far back—just a man looking at the sky.
[In Russian:] The basic plot—the building of a skyscraper. The line is man’s strength. How can strength be expressed? The ability to bear calmly an enormous disaster.
[In Russian:] Question of interest: will Francis triumph over the city or not?
“It’s a challenge we have thrown to the city! It’s a war declared! We are going to build the greatest of buildings. We are going to rise higher [than anyone before]!”
Francis Gonda—“The Man Victorious,” the Master Builder.
[A fantasy poster sketch with the words:]Cecil B. DeMille presents
THE SKYSCRAPER
by Ayn Rand
from a story by Dudley Murphy
with William Boyd and Lena Malena
Francis Gonda. “The Skyscraper.” An epic of construction.
The active power—Francis’ ambition, his passion for building (and his passion for the woman).
[Characters:] Francis Gonda, a steel foreman, a typical worker, the roof dancer, a bank owner, and John [Scott].
[In the scenario that follows, the name of the hero is changed from Francis Gonda to Howard Kane.]
Howard Kane is the hero of New York. He is a young architect, who has won a big competition arranged by a newspaper, and is now building a skyscraper that is expected to be one of the highest and most unusual in the city. He is architect and superintendent of the construction. John Scott, a famous established architec
t, had hoped to win the competition. Now he is madly jealous of Howard Kane, who had formerly been employed on his buildings, starting as a simple worker at the very bottom.
Howard is not popular among the workers. They resent his restless energy and the severe discipline he has established on the building. Howard’s only friend is Jimmy, a little newsboy who is selling evening papers near the structure and is very proud of “our architect.”
John Scott has one of his faithful men employed on Howard’s building: Tom Riggins, the foreman of a steel-workers gang. Together they have a scheme to ruin Howard’s success. Riggins is working on it. Scott’s construction company is interested in preventing Howard, their brilliant new competitor, from finishing the building.
One summer morning Howard goes to the steel mills outside the city to look over certain steel beams that are to be shipped to his building. As he is riding back on one of the steel-laden trucks, an elegant little roadster driven by a young girl crashes into the truck. Howard helps the girl out of the wreck of her car. She is not hurt and he proposes to drive her home to the city. She arrives at the door of a very fashionable hotel, riding gaily on the steel beams of a heavy truck. She gives Howard her name—Danny Day.
When he returns to his building, Howard sees posters on the roof-cabaret next to his structure, announcing the first appearance of the famous dancer Danny Day, returned from her European tour.
The next evening, working a night shift, he watches from his building as Danny dances on the next roof. She sees him and waves gaily to him.
Among the brilliant crowd that fills the roof-cabaret are John Scott, who is an old admirer of Danny, and Mr. Clark, owner of the newspaper that is building the skyscraper. After the performance, Danny asks Mr. Clark permission to visit his building. A group of guests goes to the structure. Howard is busy on top of it. Danny jumps into the cable loop of a hoist and goes up to him. As they are on a narrow girder, Danny misses a step. Howard has the time to catch her, but her wrap falls down. She remains almost naked in her follies costume. They are alone, a terrific height above the city. He kisses her.
Danny Day is renowned for never having been in love. She does not want to admit that she is now. She goes down, trying to look cold and angry.
Howard leaves his work for the first time the next day, when he goes to see Danny and ask her forgiveness. They go for a ride together. The public cheers when they recognize Howard Kane, the hero of the hour.
Before leaving him, Danny admits that she loves him. He promises to come and see her again that evening.
Meanwhile, in Howard’s absence, John Scott has sneaked into the building. He watches Tom Riggins’ men carrying out his scheme: on a part of the building, they are riveting the steel girders in such a way that they will not be able to stand the pressure of the upper stories and the steel frame can collapse at any moment.
Late that evening Howard is ready to leave the building, when little Jimmy, the newsboy, comes up to see him. A girder gives way under the child’s weight, and he falls a story. He is not seriously hurt. Howard rushes to examine the girder, and he discovers the mistake that has been done on purpose. He sees that a whole part of the skeleton is barely holding together and at any moment the steel giant can crash down on the crowded street below.
The workers are panic-stricken and want to run. Howard orders them to remain and save the building by carefully removing the girders and riveting them again. The workers refuse, for it is very dangerous work. Howard seizes his revolver and orders them to work, threatening to shoot the first man who leaves the building.
They work through the night, Howard’s will alone ruling the terrified, trembling mob of workers.
Danny is waiting for Howard. Time passes; he does not come. She is desperate at the thought of being neglected by a man to whom she has admitted her love. Then John Scott comes to see her. Her pride is so much hurt by Howard that when Scott starts making love to her, she says “yes” to his proposal.
With the first light of the morning, the work on the building finishes. The skyscraper is saved. But several workers are seriously hurt.
Howard Kane is arrested on a charge of criminal negligence and violence. At the trial, Tom Riggins claims that he worked according to Howard’s instructions. Howard is sentenced to ten years in jail.
On a Broadway comer, with tears in his eyes, Jimmy is selling extras with big headlines announcing this news.
Using all his power and influence, Mr. Clark, the building’s owner, succeeds in releasing Howard on bond—just to finish the skyscraper, for no one else can do it.
Howard comes out of jail. New York is indignant at his being allowed to work again. The public hates and despises its former hero. As he walks to his building, the boys on the streets throw stones and mud at him. Everybody laughs at the “convict-builder.”
He comes to the skyscraper. The structure is in a state of perfect dejection. No work has been done without him. He gives orders. The old energy returns to the construction. He tells [the workers] that the steel frame must be finished that night.
While working, Howard sees a party on the next roof. He sees Danny among the guests. He is happy. When he has a moment to spare, he goes to the cabaret. He stands in a comer before approaching Danny. He hears the announcement of Danny Day’s engagement to John Scott—this is their engagement party. Howard approaches the table. Danny did not know that he had been released already. She jumps to her feet, wants to run to him and stops, realizing her position. John Scott and the guests laugh at Howard, the “convict-builder.” Howard does not say a word and returns to his work.
That evening when Howard leaves the building to take a short sleep, for he has to work at night, the workers gather to talk over their indignation. They don’t want to work under a convict. They decide to strike. But Tom Riggins whispers to some of his friends that he will get rid of Howard once and for all.
When Howard is returning to the building, Tom Riggins waits for him on a dark corner and shoots him. Then Riggins returns to work, so that there would be no suspicion of him.
Howard is lying on the sidewalk unconscious. An automobile passes by and stops. Danny is returning home alone and sees Howard. She takes him to her house. She bandages his wound. When he opens his eyes, she tells him that she loves him, that she will break her engagement to John Scott.
But Howard remembers that he has to spend ten years in jail. He does not want to ruin Danny’s life. He struggles with himself. He forces himself to look cold and indifferent, and saying that he does not love her, he leaves Danny and returns to his building.
He appears strong and steady, hiding his suffering from the wound, calmly taking command of the work again. Tom Riggins is terrified. Howard does not pay any attention to him. They work late into the night. The workers are exhausted—Howard is not. At last, their patience ends, they refuse to work for the “damned convict.” They declare they are going to strike and ask for another superintendent. The big mob of workers gathers on the lower floor of the building. They order Howard to give up his job.
Then, alone before the threatening mob, Howard tears open his shirt, tears off the bandage and shows the wound on his breast. He tells them that he is not going to denounce the criminal, that he only asks them to work, to finish the building, for he has sacrificed his whole life for his skyscraper.
The workers are stricken with a respectful awe, when they realize that Howard has been working wounded. They hesitate. Jimmy, who is present, throws himself to the defense of his friend, shouting to the mob that they are a “bunch of yellow guys.” Some workers take Howard’s side. The others refuse.
Then some policemen, attracted by the tumult, appear at the building. They ask Howard what happened. Tom Riggins trembles. The workers are silent. Howard answers calmly that nothing happened.
When the policemen leave, a roar of enthusiasm greets Howard. The workers push away Riggins and his little group. Cheering, they surround Howard Kane, their leader. And the work starts again, with an enthusiasm such as never before.
Under Howard’s direction the building seems to grow, to rise toward the sky. Danny Day is dancing on the cabaret roof. He tries not to look down. He thinks only of his skyscraper now.