This summer I had planned on doing a series called, “On The Riverfront.” The first one I did was on the seasonal Emack & Bolio’s store on the riverfront. You can check that out here (And note: the riverfront Emack’s is open through October, mostly in the day, but they are open till 8PM on Friday and Saturday nights. They’re open at their regular hours every day and night on Prospect in Peoria Heights.) Then I had a few beers, trimmed my fingernails, got a nasty pimple on the end of my nose that’s thankfully gone now and before I knew it—baboom—summer’s over!
Looks like “On The Riverfront,” won’t be much of a series now that the summer has ended and chillier temperatures are moving in. So last night I decided to go to the riverfront and just take some photos before Old Man Winter rears his freezing head over this city. Below are the photos and to kind of make this an artsy-fartsy post, instead of normal captions, I’m using text from the script from “On The Waterfront,” for captions. Why? I don’t really know, just play along with me.
Okay, lights, camera...On The Riverfront!
ON THE WATERFRONT, by Budd Schulberg. FADE IN EXT—ESTABLISHING SHOT—WATERFRONT—NIGHT.
Shooting toward a small building (Hoboken Yacht Club) set upon a wharf floating about twenty-five yards off shore.
A long, narrow gangplank leads from the wharf to the shore, and on either side of the wharf are large ocean liners which are being unloaded by arc light.
In the B.G. is the glittering New York skyline. A great liner, blazing with light, is headed down river. A ferry chugs across to Manhattan.
There is a counterpoint of ships' whistles, some shrill, others hauntingly muted. CLOSER SHOT—SMALL BUILDING—ON WHARF—NIGHT
It is the office of the longshoremen's local for this section of waterfront.
Coming along the gangplank toward the shore is an isolated figure. He is TERRY MALLOY, a wiry, jaunty, waterfront hanger-on in his late twenties. He wears a turtleneck sweater, a windbreaker and a cap. He whistles a familiar Irish song.
A SERIES OF WALKING SHOTS—TERRY MALLOY—WATERFRONT—NIGHT Reaching the shore and turning away from the union office. Passing the burned-out piers.
Turning up a waterfront tenement street lit by a dim street lamp that throws an eerie beam. He is holding something inside his jacket but we cannot see what it is.
NOTE: MAIN TITLES TO BE SUPERIMPOSED OVER THIS SERIES OF SHOTS — EXT—WATERFRONT STREET—NIGHT
Terry walks along until he reaches an ancient tenement where he stops, hesitates, looks up toward the top of the building, and putting his fingers to his mouth lets out a shrill, effective whistle that echoes up the quiet street. Then he cups his hands to his mouth and shouts: “Hey Joey! Joey Doyle!”
MEDIUM SHOT—TENEMENT WINDOW—NIGHT — The window of a third-story room, from Terry's POV. JOEY DOYLE, a youthful, rather sensitive and clean-cut Irish boy, pokes his head out the window. “Terry?” (then a little suspiciously) “What do you want?”
REVERSE ANGLE—WATERFRONT STREET—NIGHT — TERRY “Hey look” - He reaches into his windbreaker in a gesture associated with drawing a gun from a shoulder holster. But instead he draws out a live racing pigeon. As he does so the bird makes an effort to escape and flaps its wings, but Terry subdues it expertly and holds it up for Joey to see.— “One of yours. I recognized the band.”
CLOSE—ON JOEY AT WINDOW—NIGHT There is a fire escape in front of it. “Yeah? Must be Danny-boy. I lost him in the last race.”
“He followed my birds into their coop. Here, you want him?”
“Well I got to watch myself these days. Know what I mean?”
“I'll bring him up to your loft.”
“I'll see you on the roof." Joey closes the window and turns away.
In the B.G. a frenzied Johnny Friendly is still screaming, "I'll be back! I'll be back!" The threat, real as it is, is lost in the forward progress of Terry and the ragtail army of dock workers he now leads.
FADE OUT
THE END
Thank you and we’ll see you all tomorrow!
Related Posts: On The Riverfront—Emack & Bolio’s.