The New Howell Theater

presents

Night

of the

DRAGON'S
BLOOD



A Screenplay by

Ronald L. Ecker



Copyright 1989, 2009 by Ronald L. Ecker
All Rights Reserved



Log line: (Comedy-Horror.) What if Hitler survived the war as a vampire?





The New Howell Theater





"Night of the Dragon's Blood" has been divided into four Web pages, which helps with the downloading time. A "Go to" link at the bottom of each page will take you to the next page.





               FADE IN:

               EXT. A TRANSYLVANIAN CASTLE - NIGHT

               ESTABLISHING SHOT.  Dark and foreboding.  SUPERIMPOSE:

                            NAZI-OCCUPIED TRANSYLVANIA
                                      1944

               Black-uniformed Nazi SCHÜTZES (SS privates) guard the castle.

               INT. THE CASTLE - MAIN HALL - NIGHT

               Romanian COUNTESS BORCA, 40-ish, in a red satin gown, looks
               livid as she paces.  She's attractive in a spooky sort of
               way.   

               Schützes stand guard about the hall.  The Countess stops
               pacing to glare impatiently at the officer in charge, an
               OBERFÜHRER (SS colonel), 45, who is idly admiring her.

                                   COUNTESS
                         Where is this Obergruppenführer 
                         you speak of?

                                   OBERFÜHRER
                         He is on his way, Countess.

               EXT. THE CASTLE - NIGHT

               A four-door sedan pulls up in the courtyard, the driver
               unseen in the darkness.

               From the back seat emerges pudgy SS Obergruppenführer
               (General) DORSCH, 55, whose peaked cap is knocked from 
               his head by the door sill.

               INT. MAIN HALL - NIGHT

               General Dorsch swaggers into the hall, SCHÜTZE #1 holding 
               the massive front door for him, the other Nazis coming
               smartly to attention.

               The Countess looks coldly at Dorsch as he joins her, a 
               smirk on his round porcine face.  He doffs his cap.

                                   DORSCH
                         Countess Borca.  I am Obergrup
                         penführer Dorsch of the Schutz
                         staffel.

                                   COUNTESS
                         May I ask why the S.S. has invaded
                         my castle?

                                   DORSCH 
                         To protect you, dear lady.  You
                         must come to no harm.  Shall we
                         sit down?

               They sit down at a nearby oak table.

                                    DORSCH (cont'd)
                         I've searched all Transylvania
                         for someone like you.  I had
                         almost decided that you didn't
                         exist.

               He takes out a cigarette case.  Opening it, he holds it out
               to her.

                                    DORSCH (cont'd)
                         Care for a Lucky Reich?   

                                   COUNTESS
                         No, thank you.

               He notes cunningly that she casts no reflection in a mirror
               in the case.  She's paying no attention.

                                   DORSCH
                         You do not smoke, Countess Borca?

                                   COUNTESS
                         No.

               He draws her attention to the mirror.

                                   DORSCH
                         No reflection on you.

               She slaps the case from his hand with an upward blow.
               Cigarettes fly, the case hits Dorsch in the face.

               They both rise in a huff.  Then the Countess regains her
               composure.

                                   COUNTESS
                         I am sorry.

               She casually steps over to a large, leafy plant, which bears
               roselike red flowers.

                                    COUNTESS (cont'd)
                         I do not like mirrors.

                                   DORSCH
                         Of course not.  You are a vampire.

               The Countess smells one of the flowers.  Dorsch joins her by
               the plant, some Schützes gathering his smokes off the floor.

                                   COUNTESS
                         Who told you such nonsense?

                                   DORSCH
                         The local peasants.  But I had to be
                         sure.  You know how superstitious
                         they are.

               Dorsch feels one of the plant's branches.

                                    DORSCH (cont'd)           
                         A lovely plant. What is it called?

                                   COUNTESS
                         Dracaena.  

                                   DORSCH
                         Dracaena?  I have never heard of
                         it.  Does it grow only here in
                         Transylvania?

                                   COUNTESS
                         Are you here to talk about plants?

                                   DORSCH
                         Of course not.  I am here for one
                         purpose.

               The Oberführer steps forward with Dorsch's cigarette case,
               open to show it has been refilled.

                                   OBERFÜHRER
                         Your cigarettes, sir.

               Taking the case, Dorsch notes again with amusement how the
               Countess is not reflected in its mirror.

                                   DORSCH
                         Now you see her, now you don't.

                                   COUNTESS
                         What do you want of me?

               Dorsch re-pockets the case.

                                   DORSCH
                         You must come with me to Berlin.

                                   COUNTESS
                         To Berlin?  But why?

                                   DORSCH
                         Because those are my orders.

                                   COUNTESS
                         I will not go.

                                   DORSCH
                         You will go.

               She turns toward the stairway.  Schützes block her way.

                                    DORSCH (cont'd)          
                         You cannot escape us.

               She looks defiantly at Dorsch.

                                    DORSCH (cont'd)
                         Do not try the bat thing I have
                         seen in the movies.  You cannot 
                         fly away.

               The Countess transforms into a BIG BLACK BAT.

                                    DORSCH (cont'd)
                         She is trying the bat thing.

               The bat heads for the window.

                                    OBERFÜHRER 
                         Close that window!

               Schützes slam the shutters shut, the bat veers away.

               The bat wings toward two Schützes guarding the top of the
               stairway.  They raise their weapons.

                                    DORSCH
                          Do not shoot!

               The men obey.  The bat turns away.

               Dorsch watches the bat fly desperately about the room.

                                    DORSCH (cont'd)
                         Countess Borca, it is useless.
                         You cannot get away.  You might
                         as well come to roost.

               Some batshit lands in Dorsch's face.  Schützes try not to
               laugh.  Dorsch wipes some of the crap from his face with 
               a handkerchief.

                                   DORSCH (cont'd)
                         Another bat thing.

               A BLACK & WHITE NEWSREEL (1952)

               SHOTS of lovely blonde EVA PERÓN of Argentina, including
               shots with her husband, President JUAN PERÓN; MOURNERS lined
               up to enter the Ministry of Labor building.  During this:

                                   NEWSREEL NARRATOR (V.O.)
                         Argentina mourns its first lady, the
                         beloved Eva Duarte de Perón, dead of
                         cancer at the age of thirty-three.  

               INT. MINISTRY OF LABOR BUILDING - AN UPPER LOBBY - NIGHT

               Eva's CORPSE lies in a closed coffin, the mourners who file
               past viewing her through glass in the lid.   SUPERIMPOSE: 

                                  BUENOS AIRES
                                      1952

               LADY MOURNER #1 kisses the glass, crosses herself, moves off.  

               LADY MOURNER #2 starts to kiss the glass but sees slobber on
               it, wipes it off first with her handkerchief.

               HI HICKENLOOPER, 34, a handsome, well-dressed North American,
               is next in line.  Hi looks sadly, lovingly, at Eva for the
               brief moment that he has.

               EXT. THE MINISTRY BUILDING - NIGHT

               Hi exits the building.  Mourners are lined up down the street.

               Hi starts walking away.  (He always has a little spring in
               his gait, due to a slight clubfoot.) 

               SOTO, 42, a trim, mustached LATINO in a pin-striped suit and
               felt hat, sinisterly watches Hi.  He starts following him.

               EXT. CUCO'S CABARET - BUENOS AIRES - NIGHT 

               ESTABLISHING SHOT of a modest but respectable nightclub.

               INT. CUCO'S - NIGHT

               A 30-ish female CABARET SINGER, accompanied by PIANO PLAYER
               #1, is performing a sad love ballad for the PATRONS.

               Hi sits somberly at the bar.  The BARTENDER, 25, brings him
               his drink.

                                   HI
                         The place hasn't changed much. 
                         Except for the singer.

                                   BARTENDER
                         When were you here last?

                                   HI
                         Ten years ago.

                                   BARTENDER
                         You ought to come around more often.

               The bartender moves off.  

               Soto, watching Hi, sits alone at a table.  Soto lights a
               cigarette as WAITER #1 serves him a drink.

               Hi, sipping his drink, gazes wistfully at the singer in the
               large mirror behind the bar.  

               BEGIN FLASHBACK

               INT. CUCO'S - NIGHT (1942)

               Brunette EVA DUARTE, 23, accompanied by PIANO PLAYER #2, is
               singing a love ballad, badly off key, for the PATRONS.

               Sharply dressed Hi, 24, sits watching and listening at a
               table.  He looks like he's fallen in love.  Eva eyes him
               flirtaciously as she's murdering the song.  

               30-ish WAITER #2 brings Hi his drink.

                                   HI
                         What's her name?

                                   WAITER #2
                         Eva Duarte.  She is an unemployed
                         actress, filling in for our regular
                         singer.

                                   HI
                         She doesn't sing very well.

                                   WAITER #2
                         We have found that out.  She was
                         hired because the boss likes her
                         looks.

               The waiter moves off.

                                   HI
                         So do I.

               Minutes later, Eva joins Hi at his table, where a drink is
               already in place for her.  While they speak, Eva accepts a
               cigarette, Hi lights it, lights his own:

                                   EVA
                         I'm Eva.

                                   HI
                         I'm Hi.

                                   EVA
                         Hi, Hi.

                                   HI
                         Hi.

                                   EVA
                         You are North American?

                                   HI
                         Yeah.

                                   EVA
                         Why aren't you fighting in the war?

                                   HI
                         Got a clubfoot.  You wouldn't know
                         it, though.

                                   EVA
                         I would like to see it sometime.

                                   HI
                         You show me your feet, I'll show
                         you mine.

                                   EVA
                         What do you do, Hi?

                                   HI
                         I look for lost cities.

                                   EVA
                         Really?  How many have you found?

                                   HI
                         None so far.  I'll explain it all
                         later.  I work out of Peru.  Came
                         down to B.A. for a break.  What I
                         do is no picnic.

                                   EVA
                         Nothing is.  It's a jungle out there.

                                   HI
                         You know English slang pretty well.

                                   EVA
                         I know lots of slang words.

                                   HI
                         Know any real dirty ones?

                                   EVA
                         Sure.  Want to hear one?

                                   HI
                         Let's talk dirty later.  What time
                         do you get off work?

               END FLASHBACK

               INT. CUCO'S - NIGHT 

               Hi sits remembering at the bar as before.

                                   BARTENDER
                         Would you like a refill?

                                   HI
                         Make it a double.

               INT. A DARKENED OFFICE - DAY

               A slide of Hi walking on a Lima street is projected on a
               screen.   MCKAY, 47, British, in a business suit, sits
               looking at the image.  

               INTELLIGENCE AGENT #1, a 40-ish American, operates the
               projector.  INTELLIGENCE AGENT #2 is also present.

                                   AGENT #1
                         Hiram Hickenlooper.  Learned German
                         from his German-born mother.  His
                         father is second generation.  His 
                         father owns Hickenlooper Foods, 
                         which began as a hamburger stand 
                         in Florida.   

               Agent #1 now shows a slide of the ruins of Machu Picchu. 

                                   AGENT #1 (cont'd)
                         His father as a teenager was with
                         Hiram Bingham.  They discovered
                         Machu Picchu in Peru.  

                                   MCKAY
                         Lost City of the Incas.

               A slide appears of Hi and Diego Vara (to be met shortly),
               both decked out as jungle explorers, rain forest in b.g.

                                   AGENT #1
                         And ever since Hi grew up, his
                         wealthy father has sent him, time
                         and again, into the Amazon rain
                         forest, in search of El Dorado, or
                         whatever lost city he can find -
                         when Hi should be home learning 
                         the food business.

                                   MCKAY
                         Who is that with him?

                                   AMERICAN
                         His friend Diego Vara, a rich
                         Peruvian playboy.

                                   MCKAY
                         So Hickenlooper knows the Amazon
                         jungle.

                                   AMERICAN
                         As well as any man alive.

                                   MCKAY
                         And he understands German.  He sounds
                         like our man.  Where can I find him?

               EXT. DIEGO VARA'S MANSION - LIMA - DAY

               ESTABLISHING SHOT of a luxurious mansion.

                                   AGENT #1 (V.O.)
                         In Lima, Peru.

               INT./EXT. FRONT DOOR - DAY

               McKay, in suit and fedora, is about to knock on the front
               door when it opens.  

               Handsome Peruvian DIEGO VARA, 32, in a nice silk robe,
               appears in the doorway with pretty LATINA #1, 25, wearing
               a tight red dress.  Diego glances at McKay.

               Embracing, Diego and the Latina share a long goodbye kiss. 
               McKay puts his hands in his pockets and waits.

               The Latina goes sashaying off.

                                   MCKAY
                         Diego Vara?

                                   DIEGO
                         One moment, please.

               Pretty LATINA #2, mid-20's, sexily dressed, appears in the
               doorway, and Diego kisses her goodbye in the same fashion,
               while McKay folds his arms and waits.

               Latina #2 goes strutting off.

                                   DIEGO (cont'd)
                         You were saying?

                                   MCKAY
                         Well, I asked you your name.  But
                         it's clear that you are Diego Vara.  

                                   DIEGO
                         Who are you?

                                   MCKAY
                         My name is McKay.  I've been
                         looking for Hi.  High and low.

                                   DIEGO
                         Who is Lowe?

                                   MCKAY
                         I've been looking for Hi high and
                         low.

                                   DIEGO
                         Why do you need to see Hi?

                                   MCKAY
                         I've got a job for him.  You must
                         know where Hi is.  I've looked all
                         over Lima.  

                                   DIEGO
                         He is in tristeza.

                                   MCKAY
                         Tristeza?  Is that far from here?

                                   DIEGO
                         I mean he is in mourning.  He has
                         lost her again.

                                   MCKAY
                         Lost who?

                                   DIEGO
                         His Evita.  Perón.

               McKay looks stunned.

                                   DIEGO (cont'd)
                         She and Hi were lovers, till she
                         ditched him for Juan Perón.

                                   MCKAY
                         The dossier on Hickenlooper was 
                         not quite complete.

                                   DIEGO
                         And this job - what is it?

                                   MCKAY
                         I will discuss that with him.

                                   DIEGO
                         Then you will have to find him. 
                         Good luck. 

               Diego turns to go back inside.

                                   MCKAY
                         What if I told you it involves
                         Adolf Hitler?

                                   DIEGO
                         Are you saying that Hitler's alive?

                                   MCKAY
                         No, I wouldn't say that.

                                   DIEGO
                         Then what?  Who do you work for?

                                   MCKAY
                         Let's just say I work for Western
                         intelligence.  Can you tell me
                         where Hi is?

               EXT. CUCO'S CABARET - REESTABLISHING - NIGHT

               INT. CUCO'S - NIGHT

               Hi sits drinking again at the bar.  Soto again sits at a
               table watching him.  Other patrons in b.g.

                                   BARTENDER
                         Refill?

                                   HI
                         Make it a triple.

               Hi begins remembering again.  OVERLAP SOUND:

                                    HI (V.O.) 
                         I don't believe what you're saying.

                                   EVA (V.O.)
                         He asked me.  I said yes.

               BEGIN FLASHBACK

               EXT. A SIDEWALK CAFE - BUENOS AIRES - NIGHT (1944)

               Hi and Eva, who is now a blonde, are having drinks at a
               table, other PATRONS and WAITERS in b.g.  

                                   HI
                         You're going to marry Juan Perón?

                                   EVA
                         Please understand, Hi.  It's been
                         wonderful what we've had together.  
                         But I must think of the future. 
                         Juan is a colonel.  He is also
                         Minister of War -

                                   HI
                         I thought he was the Secretary of
                         Labor.

                                   EVA
                         He is Minister of War in the
                         morning and Secretary of Labor
                         in the afternoon.  With luck,
                         or a coup, he could be the next
                         president.

                                   HI
                         Big deal.  So you're going to give 
                         up your acting career?

                                   EVA
                         Yes.

                                   HI
                         Eva, I thought you loved me and -

                                   EVA
                             (interrupting)
                         I do love you, Hi.  But you have your
                         lost cities to look for, and -

                                   HI
                             (interrupting)
                         Forget the lost cities.  I don't
                         even think there is one.  We'll 
                         go live in the states.

                                   EVA
                         But this is my home, Hi.  My
                         people.  I don't want to leave
                         Argentina.

                                   HI
                         Okay then, we'll stay here.

                                   EVA
                         I'm sorry, Hi.  My future is with
                         Juan.

               END FLASHBACK

               INT. CUCO'S - NIGHT 

               Hi sits remembering as before, gazing into the mirror behind
               the bar.  The bartender serves him his triple. 

               Taking a sip, Hi notes Soto in the mirror, looking at him
               from a table.  Hi notes how Soto averts his eyes.

               A WOMAN has entered.  She is dressed in black, but for the
               moment she is seen only from about the knees down.  She walks
               slowly forward in black stylish shoes.

               Studying Soto, Hi turns with a casual air to look over his
               other shoulder.

               Hi now sees the woman.  Soto looks at her too.

               The woman wears black as if in mourning, her face pale behind 
               a thin veil.  She stands there, as if looking the place over
               with nostalgia.  She looks a lot like Eva behind the veil.

               Hi, staring at her, pays no attention to the man standing
               behind her - a large blonde German, pale but muscular, about
               40, in a business suit and hat.  (His name is WOLFGANG.)

               When the woman sees Hi, her eyes widen.  She turns quickly to
               leave.  Wolfgang calmly turns to follow.

               Jumping from his bar stool, Hi heads after her.  His way is
               briefly blocked by a group of patrons, then he makes it to
               the door.

               EXT. CUCO'S - NIGHT 

               Hurrying outside, Hi looks around in light fog, as a few
               PEOPLE pass.  Hi sees no sign of the woman.

               INT. MINISTRY OF LABOR BUILDING - A STAIRWAY - NIGHT

               Mourners stand in line on the stairway.  Hi comes hurrying
               past them up the steps.

                                   MALE MOURNER #1
                         Hey, where do you think you're
                         going?

               POLICEMAN #1 looks up from the lower lobby as more people
               complain.

               INT. THE UPPER LOBBY - NIGHT

               Hi breaks in line at Eva's coffin, yanking his arm free from
               MALE MOURNER #2 who tries to stop him.  Hi hurriedly studies
               the corpse he viewed earlier.

               Policeman #1 grabs him by one arm, POLICEMAN #2 by the other.

                                   HI
                         It's not her.

               Hi smiles as the policemen are toting him away, the mourners
               watching and listening.

                                   HI (cont'd)
                         She's alive.  It's not her.

               EXT. A STREET - BUENOS AIRES - NIGHT 

               PEOPLE are leaving a theater.  The fog now is thicker.

               A well-tailored gentleman named JORGE, about 50, leaving by
               himself, notes nearby a WOMAN IN BLACK, leaning alone against
               a wall, looking off.

               The woman's features are not clear in the darkness and fog,
               yet she is obviously the same Eva whom Hi saw earlier, now
               minus the veil.

               Jorge approaches her.  She continues looking off, not giving
               him a full view of her features.  But what he does see, the
               remarkable resemblance to Evita Perón, clearly amazes him.

                                   JORGE
                         I am Jorge.  Who are you?

                                   EVA
                         María.

                                   JORGE
                         How much would you cost me, María?

                                   EVA
                         One thousand pesos.

                                   JORGE
                         It's a deal.

               Eva begins walking away (in the same black stylish shoes seen
               at Cuco's), in a manner clearly inviting Jorge to follow.  He
               follows.  

               Wolfgang calmly steps from around a corner and follows too.

               INT. A HOTEL ROOM - NIGHT

               On the bed, nude Eva, advancing from the foot of the bed,
               kisses Jorge's nude body till she reaches his neck.  She's
               holding down his arms.

               Eva opens her mouth, exposing sharp canines, out of Jorge's
               view.  Eva starts biting his neck.

                                   JORGE
                         It feels like you're biting my
                         neck.

               Two streams of blood start flowing down the sheet.

                                    JORGE (cont'd)
                         You're not actually biting, though,
                         are you?  Of course not.  You're
                         just nibbling, right?

               Eva props up on her hands over Jorge.  To his horror, there
               is blood on her lips.  She licks them, and a drop hits his
               chest.

                                    JORGE (cont'd)
                         What have you done?

               Eva quickly rises to start dressing.

                                    JORGE (cont'd)
                         What are you?

               While Eva is dressing, Jorge rises and goes to a mirror.  He
               gasps at the sight of the two bloody holes in his neck.

               He doesn't see Eva in the mirror.  Turning, he sees her still
               dressing.

                                    JORGE (cont'd)
                         My God.

               Jorge quickly gets a handkerchief from his pants on the floor.

                                   EVA
                         I'm sorry.  There should be no
                         effect.  One quickie, as they
                         say, doesn't do it.

               Jorge presses the handkerchief to his wounds.

                                   JORGE
                         No effect?  What about these
                         holes in my neck?

                                   EVA
                         I am sorry.  They will heal.

               Jorge looks in the mirror again at the holes.  When he turns
               again, Eva is gone.

               On a table he sees his one thousand pesos.  He goes over and
               picks up the money.

                                   JORGE
                         Damn, she wasn't even a whore. 
                             (pressing his wounds)
                         How am I going to explain these
                         holes in my story?

               EXT. HI'S RENTED BUNGALOW - BUENOS AIRES - NIGHT

               A taxi stops in front in dense fog.

               INT. THE BUNGALOW - NIGHT 

               Hi lets in Diego and McKay with handshakes.

                                   HI
                         Hello, Diego.  It was good to hear
                         from you, pal.

                                   DIEGO
                         Amigo.  This is the British agent 
                         I told you about.

                                   MCKAY
                         McKay.

                                   HI
                         You work for M.I. Six?

                                   MCKAY
                         Let us say there is more than one
                         nation concerned with the subject
                         at hand.  I am here on the free
                         world's behalf.

                                   HI
                         Fair enough.  What'll you guys have?

                                   DIEGO
                         A Bloody Mary.

                                   MCKAY
                         Some brandy for me.

               Hi starts fixing drinks.

                                   HI
                         So what's this thing about Hitler?

               Walking over to Hi, McKay hands him a photo of Countess Borca.  

                                   MCKAY
                         Countess Borca of Romania.
                         Transylvania, to be exact.

                                   HI
                         Not bad.  Transylvania, eh?  She
                         looks like a vampire.

                                   MCKAY
                         She is - or was.  She was the talk
                         of Transylvania.

               Hi, clearly skeptical, returns the photo, which McKay hands
               to Diego.

                                   HI
                         What has she got to do with the
                         Führer?

                                   MCKAY
                         In nineteen forty-four, she was
                         taken to Berlin by Hitler's elite
                         guard, the S.S.

               Hi hands McKay his brandy.

                                   HI
                         I suppose you're going to tell me
                         the Führer had this lady put the
                         bite on him.

                                   MCKAY
                         Exactly.  For the Führer, to
                         become a vampire was to become
                         immortal.  Losing the war would
                         be losing one battle.  He would
                         live to fight again.

               Diego returns the photo to McKay.

                                   HI
                         Where is he now?

                                   MCKAY
                         Somewhere in the Amazon jungle.
                         We know he has already contacted
                         several South American leaders.

               Hi hands Diego his drink.

                                    MCKAY (cont'd)
                         His aim is to rule first South
                         America, then the world, through
                         bribery - by offering world leaders
                         something far more precious than
                         power or gold.  Immortality.

                                   HI
                         You've got to be kidding.

               Hi takes a sip of his drink.

                                   MCKAY
                         His first South American contact
                         was Juan Perón.

               Hi gets liquor down his windpipe.  

                                   HI
                             (coughing)
                         Wait a minute.  Did this involve Eva?

                                   DIEGO
                         You okay?

               Hi nods "yes," but coughs wetly.  He yanks out a handkerchief 
               for his running nose.

                                   MCKAY
                         We know that Eva Perón traveled,
                         as her husband's emissary, to
                         Hitler's secret jungle headquarters.

               Now Hi can't stop coughing.

                                    MCKAY (cont'd)
                         She never returned.

               Hi acts like he's going to strangle.

                                    MCKAY (cont'd)
                         According to our Argentine sources . .  .

               Hi reels into the bathroom.

                                    MCKAY (cont'd)
                         . . . Perón believes she fell
                         for the Führer.

               Hi (o.s.) throws up.  The toilet flushes, McKay and Diego
               waiting.  

               Hi returns, over the coughing, but breathing heavily, wiping
               his tearing eyes, trying to clear his throat.

                                   HI
                             (croackingly)
                         She became a vampire?

                                   MCKAY
                         What?

                                   DIEGO
                         Eva became a vampire?

                                   MCKAY
                         That would seem likely.  The
                         deserted Perón had little choice
                         but to fake Eva's untimely death. 
                         How else to explain her absence?

                                   HI
                         That's not her body in the ministry. 
                         You're right about that.  I saw her
                         tonight.  In downtown B.A.

                                   MCKAY
                         Who was she with?

                                   HI
                         One man, I think.  I didn't pay
                         much attention.  I was staring at 
                         her.  In shock.  Then she ran.  But
                         there was a second man watching me.

                                   DIEGO
                             (to McKay)
                         If what you say is true, there must
                         now be bad blood between Perón and
                         Hitler.

                                   MCKAY
                         True.  The jilted Perón has good
                         reason now to rid the world of
                         Hitler.  But then don't we all.

                                   HI
                         That's where I come in?

                                   MCKAY
                         No other man in the world knows 
                         the Amazon jungle as well as you. 
                         You're the logical choice to help
                         lead a special team.  You also
                         speak German, should we need it, 
                         so you fill that slot as well.
                         We must destroy him - destroy,
                         before it starts, his vampire
                         empire.  We must save the world
                         from Hitler Part Two.

                                   HI
                         I sure thought we had him at the
                         end of Part One.

                                   MCKAY
                         That's why the world must never
                         know that we didn't.  It would
                         detract from the free world's 
                         hard-fought victory.  This mission 
                         is therefore top secret, now and
                         forever.  What do you say?

                                   HI
                         You want to know if I'll help you
                         go in and really get Hitler?

                                   MCKAY
                         Liquidation of him and his vampire
                         henchmen.  We don't know how many.

                                   HI
                         I'd do it with relish.  But what
                         about Eva?

                                   DIEGO
                         If Eva is with him, what is she
                         doing in Buenos Aires?  That is,
                         if it was really her you saw.

                                   HI
                         I saw her, Diego.  In Cuco's
                         Cabaret.  I'd like to think she
                         came in - the place where we met -
                         just to see it again.

               Hi heads for the bar to refill his emptied glass. 

                                   MCKAY
                             (aside to Diego)
                         What maudlin crap.

                                   HI
                         What did you say?

                                   MCKAY
                         I said, "We mustn't dawdle, old
                         chap."

                                   HI
                         Yeah?  Don't try to rush me.  I
                         won't do anything that might hurt
                         Eva.  And you know what?  Neither
                         will you.

                                   DIEGO
                             (to McKay)
                         With Eva involved, he needs time 
                         to think about this.

                                   HI
                         You're right, pal.  It's been an
                         eventful day.

                                   MCKAY
                         Very well, Hi.  Sleep on what we've
                         discussed.  We'll talk more in the
                         morning. 
                             (to Diego)
                         Let's go.

                                   HI
                         Where are you guys staying?

                                   MCKAY
                         The Corrientes Hotel.  

                                   DIEGO
                             (to McKay)
                         Let's go see what we can find 
                         in the bar.  

               EXT. AMAZON JUNGLE - NIGHT

               Moonlit view of the vast jungle canopy.  

               SUPERIMPOSE:

                              AMAZON RAIN FOREST

               EXT. A JUNGLE BASE - ESTABLISHING - NIGHT

               There are four thatch-roofed wooden buildings, large and well
               spaced, in a large clearing fenced only by jungle.  One building
               is two-story with a balcony.  

               There are few windows, some lit.  In the moonlight, large
               BATS fly around the perimeter as if on guard duty.

               EXT. BUILDING #4 - NIGHT 

               Obergruppenführer KEGEL, 50-ish, lean, in uniform, pauses as
               he approaches the building.  He looks up at the Amazon moon,
               then he glances around at the base.  He looks sick of it all.

               SS SCHÜTZE #2, standing guard at the door, raises his arm in
               salute and clicks his heels as Kegel enters the building.

                                   SCHÜTZE #2
                         Heil Hitler!

                                   KEGEL
                         Sieg Heil.

               INT. A CORRIDOR - NIGHT

               Kerosene wall lamps light the corridor.  SS OBERSCHÜTZE #1
               (private first class), 30, comes out of a door labeled WATER
               CONTROL ROOM, and snaps to attention as Kegel comes by.

                                   KEGEL
                         Is the generator gassed up?

                                    OBERSCHÜTZE #1
                         Yes, Obergruppenführer.

               Kegel looks at his watch.  He proceeds on his way.

                                    KEGEL
                         Crank it up in fifteen minutes.  
                         All lights burning.

               INT. THE CORRIDOR - NIGHT (MOMENTS LATER)

               Kegel opens and enters a door labeled BLOOD FACTORY.

               INT. THE BLOOD FACTORY - NIGHT

               Oberführer (Colonel) FRANKEL, 45, and his aide, Oberschütze
               SPITZ, 30, are doing paperwork at their desks.  Their small
               lamp-lit office area leads to a shadowy cell block.

               Frankel and Spitz both rise as Kegel steps to Frankel's desk.

                                   FRANKEL
                         Obergruppenführer Kegel.

                                   KEGEL
                         Oberführer, how is production?

                                   FRANKEL
                         Very good, Obergruppenführer.  All
                         except for . . . 
                            (checks a document)
                         . . . the American Bates.  A bad
                         case of anemia.

                                   KEGEL
                         Another stingy one, eh?  Then the
                         choice is easy.  He is the one for
                         tonight.  Go and get him.

                                   FRANKEL
                         Very well, sir.

               Frankel and Spitz head for the cell block.

               Kegel follows, strolling along the row of barred cells as if
               on inspection.

               There is an assortment of CAPTIVES - explorers, tourists,
               Amazon natives - in individual cells.  Some are having blood
               extracted by remote control; others lie languishing,
               apparently between donations.

               Frankel and Spitz take 30-ish American explorer BATES from
               his cell near the end of the row.  They pass by Kegel on
               their way out.

                                   BATES
                         Where are you taking me?

                                   FRANKEL
                         Wouldn't you like to know.

               Kegel comes to the cell of American explorer CROWLEY, about
               50, who is lying on his bunk.

                                   CROWLEY
                         Hey, what are they going to do to
                         my partner Bates?

                                   KEGEL
                         Worry about yourself, Mister
                         Crowley.  You and the others have 
                         to keep giving.  You must keep
                         eating well.

                                   CROWLEY
                         Eating well?

                                   KEGEL
                         Keep that blood pressure up.  Keep
                         producing fresh blood.  How is my
                         English?

                                   CROWLEY
                         It stinks.

                                   KEGEL
                         How would you like a dip in our
                         pool, like Bates, Mister Crowley?

                                   CROWLEY
                         A dip in your pool?  What does that
                         mean?

               INT. HI'S RENTED BUNGALOW - NIGHT

               Hi, his two visitors gone, sits drinking on the couch, a
               bottle of liquor on the coffee table.

                                   HI
                         How could you do it, Eva?

               Hi pours more liquor as he thinks.

                                    HI (cont'd)
                         Go kill Hitler and his vampires?

               Hi sits back and sighs.

                                    HI (cont'd)
                         If I don't find a lost city soon, 
                         Bates and Crowley will beat me
                         to it.

               INT. BUILDING #4 - AN INDOOR POOL - NIGHT

               Underwater lights come on in the pool, as terrified Bates
               stands, hands bound, at the edge of a platform over the
               water.  SCHÜTZE #3 is binding Bates's feet.  

               On a bank of seats, vampiric-looking SS MEN, in black shirts,
               breeches, and jackboots, sit watching and waiting in the
               darkness beyond the lighted pool.

               Standing off to himself to watch the show is Obergruppenführer
               Dorsch - a bit paler than he was at the Countess's castle.

               Kegel, a mean smile on his face, steps to Bates's side at the
               platform's edge.  

               At the rear of the platform is the door to the water control
               room.  Kegel signals to Oberschütze #1, who is watching from 
               the open door.

               INT. WATER CONTROL ROOM - NIGHT

               Oberschütze #1 begins pulling down a lever.

               INT. POOL - UNDERWATER - NIGHT

               A tunnel in the side of the pool opens by remote control.

               From an adjacent holding tank, a large school of fish 
               PIRANHAS, with razor-sharp teeth - streams into the
               pool.

               INT. POOL - NIGHT

               For show, Schütze #3 throws a little raw meat into the pool.    
               The piranhas attack it with clattering teeth.

               Kegel studies Bates's reaction, Bates looking down at the
               piranhas with terror.  

               Schütze #3 hands Kegel a wired microphone.

                                   KEGEL
                             (to Bates, into mike)
                         Piranhas.  Such fascinating little
                         creatures.  They can devour a man
                         in seconds, leaving nothing but
                         blood and bones.  They are even
                         lethal to vampires.  As we found
                         when Schütze Vogel fell in.  As far
                         as we know he has never come back.
                         Am I boring you, Mister Bates?

               Kegel holds the mike to Bates's mouth.

                                   BATES
                         No, no, I'm here to listen.  Keep
                         talking.  Please.

               INT. WATER CONTROL ROOM - NIGHT

               Oberschütze #1 presses a button and there is the sound of
               PEOPLE (V.O.) laughing.  

               INT. POOL - NIGHT

               Bates looks around, Kegel watching him.

                                   BATES
                         Who is that laughing?

                                   KEGEL
                         It's a laugh track.

               Kegel continues to use the mike for both himself and Bates.

                                    KEGEL (cont'd)
                         We call this our conversion pool.

                                   BATES
                         I'm converted!  Really I am.  I
                         believe in the Reich and all that.

               There is more canned laughter.

                                   KEGEL
                         I don't mean converting the mind,
                         you fool.  We convert your body,
                         into blood.  What do you think we
                         live on out here?  First, the
                         piranhas do their work.  Then we
                         drain the pool, through a special
                         osmotic process, separating the
                         impure fluid.

                                   BATES
                         Impure fluid?

                                   KEGEL
                         The water.  Leaving nothing but
                         blood.

                                   BATES
                         Why so much trouble?  Why not just
                         draw out some blood when you need
                         it?  I got plenty.

                                   KEGEL
                         Oh, we do.  With some people.  But
                         others - special ones - go into our
                         pool.

                                   BATES
                         Why be choosy?  Why not just extract? 
                         It's easier.

                                   KEGEL
                         Easier, yes.  But no fun.

               Kegel chortles and slaps Bates chummily on the back.  The
               blow topples Bates screaming into the water.

               The SS men watch from their seats as the piranhas, with their
               clattering teeth, begin converting Bates to blood and bones.

               Dorsch watches the show from his vantage point with a
               jaded look.

               INT. HI'S RENTED BUNGALOW - NIGHT

               Hi lies asleep, still clothed, on the couch, the empty bottle
               and glass on the coffee table.  The room is dimly lit.

               EXT. THE PATIO - NIGHT

               Dark.  It's still foggy.

               A large BAT lands on the patio.

               INT. BUNGALOW - NIGHT

               A shadowy INTRUDER enters from the patio, approaches sleeping
               Hi.  The intruder's shadow falls over him.

               The intruder is Wolfgang, still in coat and tie.  He reaches
               down and grabs Hi by the collar, Hi awaking.  

               Wolfgang lifts Hi to his feet.  Hi punches Wolfgang in the
               gut.  Wolfgang just smiles.  

               Hi grabs the bottle from the table and smashes it over
               Wolfgang's head.  This seems to make Wolfgang mad.

               Gripping Hi by the collar and belt, Wolfgang tosses him
               effortlessly over the couch.  Hi crashes into breaking
               furniture.

               Wolfgang continues to tear the place up, using Hi's vainly
               resisting body to do it.

               Hi grabs up a fireplace poker, but Wolfgang wrests it from
               him.  Wolfgang throws Hi down and pins him to the floor.

               Hi waits, exhausted, Wolfgang holding the poker like a spear
               as if set to plunge it into Hi's neck.

                                    HI 
                         Well?  What's holding you back?

                                   WOLFGANG
                         Señora Perón.  I am here to take
                         you to her.

                                   HI
                         You had to wreck this place first?

                                   WOLFGANG
                         I don't like being hit with a bottle.

               EXT. A SECLUDED MANSION - NIGHT

               Dark and foggy.  A car arrives in front.

               EXT. A WINDOW - NIGHT

               It appears to be Eva who peeks out from a curtained window.

               EXT. THE CAR - NIGHT

               Hi wears a blindfold as he and driver Wolfgang get out.

               INT. THE MANSION - A STUDY - NIGHT

               Eva, in black, steps to a wall mirror to check her hair, only
               to be reminded that she has no reflection.

               Adjusting one of her earrings, which have wooden pendants,
               Eva moves to an easy chair.

               Sitting down, she lights a cigarette, then strikes a calm pose.

               Hi, blindfold off, walks in.  Wolfgang stays outside, closing
               the door.

                                   EVA
                         Hello, Hi.

               Seeing Eva again, Hi seems to hold in his emotion.  He sits
               down in an easy chair across from hers.

                                   HI
                         Hello, Eva.  What brings you out of
                         the jungle?

                                   EVA
                         You know that much already?

                                   HI
                         Yeah.  A little bat told me.  Just
                         visiting?

                                   EVA
                         Yes.  I got homesick.  It was such
                         a surprise to run into you.

                                   HI
                         You were surprised?

               He watches her lovely lips blow out smoke.

                                    HI (cont'd)             
                         You ought to quit smoking.  It'll
                         shorten your life.

                                   EVA
                         How did you quit?

                                   HI
                         I took up drinking instead.  Who's
                         the clown with you?

                                   EVA
                         His name is Wolfgang.  S.S.  He's
                         assigned to protect me.  I hope he
                         didn't hurt you.

               Hi shifts painfully in his chair.

                                   HI
                         Nah.  We just worked out together.

                                   EVA
                         What are you doing in Argentina?
                         So far from lost cities.

                                   HI
                         I'm here for the funeral.  Haven't
                         you heard?  You're dead.  Everybody's
                         in mourning.  That's right, I forgot,
                         you were in mourning too.  At Cuco's.

                                   EVA
                         You must forget about me.  Life
                         must go on.

                                   HI
                         They even fooled me with the body. 
                         The first time.  But then tonight 
                         I saw it.  One mistake.

                                   EVA
                         What?

                                   HI
                         They forgot the tiny wart.

               Eva touches a little wart below her jaw.

                                    HI (cont'd)
                         Nobody's perfect.  But you were
                         so close.

               Hi rises to pace, getting mad now.

                                    HI (cont'd) 
                         You fell for the Führer?

                                   EVA
                         Not really.  He did the falling.
                         I was so sick of Juan.  Then I
                         met the Führer.  He offered me
                         immortal power.

                                   HI
                         Pretty hard to turn down.  Eva,
                         you're really on a power kick.

                                   EVA
                         I was.  I should have stuck with my
                         acting career.  And you.  But I 
                         did do some good for my country. 
                         Till I met him.

                                   HI
                         What happened to his first Eva?  
                         Braun.

                                   EVA
                         He left her in the bunker in Berlin.

                                   HI
                         Nice guy.

                                   EVA
                         She didn't want to be a vampire.
                         Smart move.

                                   HI
                         You can't be in love with him.  Can
                         you?

                                   EVA
                         Of course not.  I'm ashamed to be
                         with him.  I can't get far enough
                         away from him.  I've moved my
                         quarters to the bottom floor of our
                         building.  I told him that I don't
                         like heights.

                                   HI
                         Then why go back to him?

                                   EVA
                             (loudly)
                         What choice do I have?

               She glances toward the closed door, as if suspecting that
               Wolfgang is listening.  

               Crushing out her cigarette, Eva rises to pace, speaking
               quietly again.

                                   EVA (cont'd)
                         Do you think Adolf would let me
                         leave and not return?  Do you
                         think he sends Wolfgang only to
                         protect me?  No.

               She stops by a wall painting, a portrait of herself as first
               lady.  She wistfully regards it.

                                    EVA (cont'd)
                         There is no other place for me.
                         Not now.  I've made the mother of
                         all mistakes.  But I had to see
                         Argentina again.

                                   HI
                         Maybe get a little Argentine blood?
                             (on her look)
                         Sorry.

                                   EVA
                         Don't come after us, Hi.  Please.

                                   HI
                         Concerned for my health?

                                   EVA
                         Yes.  I didn't stop loving you
                         when I married Juan.

                                   HI
                         You might as well have.

                                   EVA
                         And you didn't stop loving me.

                                   HI
                         No, I didn't.

                                   EVA 
                         May I kiss you goodbye?

               She walks over to him.  They gaze into each other's eyes. 
               Her lips move toward his.

                                   HI
                         Just don't go for the neck.

               While they kiss, Hi half-opens his eyes, looks for some
               reason at Eva's earring with its wooden pendant.

               Their lips part.  Their eyes lock longingly, then,

                                   EVA
                         Goodbye.

               She moves off toward the door, Hi watching her.



     
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