Saturday, October 29, 2022

Script review - "Mr Horn" by William Goldman

 Goldman refers to this as a "bad experience" in his memoirs. It was filmed, as a TV movie. This script is better than that. I haven't done a comps analysis. This film is really good.

It's long - over 200 pages - and splits into two. I could see where it could be edited. You could get going with the story quicker. Sometimes Goldmans' prose is deceptive - you read it and go "wow this is a movie" but it doesn't necessarily play. But I think most of this would played.

It's in two parts. Part one is about the search for Geronimo, focusing on Horn's relationship with Al Sieber, and sub relationship with an officious army officer, plus the side bars of Crook and Miles. Part two is Horn as a bounty hunter/hired killer for the rich.

Lots of finicky changes in the TV movie. For instance, when Horn and Sieber first encounter Indians in the script it's at night and Horn senses Indians first before we see them. In the movie, we see a cut of the Indians and it's in the less scary day. It cuts a scene where Horn hears Geronimo's two lieutenants talking in Apache, unaware he can hear - this was a dumb cut. So too was reducing the stupidity of Lt Lawton. The suspense is reduced. Horn's achievement in the first battle is reduced. That sort of thing.


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