Biography: Wendell Willkie
Biography: Wendell Willkie
0' to 100' ............. MS of Willkie at a photo gallery. The photos on display are of him at various points of his career. He points at certain ones and tell a little whimsical story or punchline about it. Ends with a quick montage of Willkie at various public events during his political career (or attempts thereof). Opening credits and Wallace's introduction. MS of Willkie standing on the backseat of a convertible while flocks of supporters flank him and the sunny, adjoining streets; they cheer and egg him on; cutaway to crowd shots; taken in his hometown in Indiana during one of his unsucessful presidential campaigns. 100' to 200' .......... stills of Willkie's parents, followed by stills of Willkie as a young man (first as a college student, then as a young lawyer). High angle tight LS of ten men seated at an oval desk in a large room, with Willkie at the head. They are all wearing suits and have papers and books before them. Quick montage of a hydro-electric plant being built, then shown at full finished operative status. MS of two men wearing business suits looking out the window of a tall building; another skyscraper is in near BG. 200' to 300' .......... MS of Willkie, from behind, walking and waving on a wood platform to the rural crowd surrounding him (note the cornhusks just behind them). MS of Willkie talking to the camera about his campaign; cutaway to several shots of Willkie on the campaign trail. The 1940 Republican National Convention. MS's of signs bearing the names of states passing by the camera; MS's of banners with various slogans emblazoned on them.; CU's of people blowing party favors and wearing party hats and drinking champagne. The crowd appears to be mostly Pro-Dewey. 300' to 400' .......... MS's of Willkie seated at home, eating a finger sandwich and listening to a large radio which happens to be relaying a pro-Willkie speech. Montage, the Dewey/ Taft/ Willkie deadlock: fairly bland and obvious material, mostly MS's of male delegates looking tired and bored or just plain nervous. MS of a sofa and an American flag; Willkie walks onscreen and greets his running mate, Senator McNary. They sit and talk to each other in CU. MS of Willkie and Hervert Hoover sitting on a white couch in a bright, windowful room as the press takes pix of their meeting. 400' to 500' .......... tight LS of a train, taken from a 3/4 perspective, as it passes the camera. MS of Willkie on the train, eating breakfast in a nice cabin car. Montage of Willkie's campaign staff doing their business on the train: MS of a female press secretary typing away in a cabin car; men smoke and write, etc., interceeded by cutaways of the railroad tracks (in CU), trains passing in the night, and subjective shots. Montage of life on the campaign trail. CU's of town line markers (mostly rural places), direction markers, MS's of pro-Willkie signs, banners and crowds, and tight LS's of parades in Willkie's honor. 500' to 600' .......... Election day. Montage: CU's of banners, CU of a tabulation machine, LS's inside polling places, MS's of celebratants inside Times Square, LS of a moving news ticker in Times Square, etcetera. MS of Willkie after the news of his defeat. He talks to the press about the defeat and the impending European War. 600' to 700' .......... MS's of Willkie playing darts in an English pub with some of the local flavor. MS's of huge flood lights (spotlights) poised towards the night time sky. London air raid. Montage: LS's of buildings burning and collapsing, CU's of men, women and children sleeping underground, LS's of firefighters battling the blazes. Tight LS of Winston Churchill standing on the sidewalk oiutside his home or office. He watches a car carrying Willkie drive away. Churchill waves goodbye. MS of Willkie testifying before a Senate Committee hearing regarding FDR's Land Lease plan. Says Willkie, "May I smoke?" to which the head committeeman replies, "Only if you have enough room there." The place laughs. You see, Willkie is surrounded by hangers-on, the press and friends. 700' to 800' .......... MS of Charles Lindbergh standing at a podium, delivering a speech to an audience off-screen regarding London Aid and subterfuge. Low angle MS of a man getting behind the lens of a film camera; another cameraman lurks frame left. 800' to 900' .......... CU of Willkie talking against colonialism and imperialism (referring to the Japanese government). Willkie dies. Funeral montage. Tight Ls of a church with large spires, the place where the services were held. MS of the coffin. MS of the gravesite. low angle MS of several flags rolling in the stiff breeze. Wallace's closing remarks and final credits. END AT 925'.