Episode One - BLUE AMENDS - 17/10/12
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EXT. CHINESE QUARTER- DAY 1 - 16:50 1/1 Thursday 6th February 1919 - A young CHINESE GIRL (MAI) is running, carrying a baby. An older Chinese man (ZHANG, her FATHER) is yelling at her in Chinese to hurry up, turning and waiting then trotting along beside her. ZHANG (Hurry up. Or they will kill us all.) They run and cross a street between ragged horses and creaking carts. INT. CHINESE QUARTER, LAUNDRY - DAY 1 - 16:51 1/2 Grey sheets hang in lines inside the chaotically cramped laundry. Steam hisses from irons and there is a giant thumping sound of a steam hammer coming from a forging and pressing factory nearby. The heavy wet sheets are being scrubbed on steel washboards by Chinese children aged seven to eleven. There are old grandmothers using the steam irons, some with babies asleep in slings on their backs. An old man lies asleep on an ironing board. Through the steam we hear a dozen urgent conversations in the same language. We might think we are in Shanghai until we see a caption.... BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND, 1919. Mai bursts into the laundry and hands her baby to a young cousin barely big enough to take the baby’s weight. She hisses quickly in Cantonese... MAI (Do your tits still have milk?) The cousin nods as she takes the baby. MAI (CONT’D) (Feed her). Mai turns to leave but a grandmother calls out... GRANDMOTHER (Hey! Where are you going?). Zhang steps in from outside and speaks with fear. ZHANG (They have asked for her). GRANDMOTHER ( Who have asked for her?)
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A pause. Zhang glances at his terrified daughter through a billow of steam. EXT. SLUM STREET - DAY 1 - 16:55 1/3 We are in a typical Small Heath tenement court. The yard is a hundred foot long and dissected by a cobbled street. Two four-storey tenements glare at each other across the cobbles. Lines of washing are strung across the courtyard and the sheets flap in the breeze. Dozens of children of all ages, all barefoot and dressed in rags, are playing on the cobbles. Women are hanging washing or bringing it in, calling out to each other, their voices echoing against the tenement walls. The air fizzes with yelling and laughter. We spend a moment with these people. A little boy pulls open the door of an outside lavatory, exposing an old man inside, to general hilarity. There are various cats and dogs about the place. Tucked behind a blackened brick wall an illegal gin still drips it’s lethal liquor into a stone jar. The women are all dressed in billowing dresses (in Victorian style) with brightly colored calico head-scarves wrapped around their heads. In spite of the poverty, there is a feeling of huge energy and vigor, rather than despair. In the background we hear the thumping roar of heavy engineering factories. After a few moments, a man riding a beautiful black horse trots into the courtyard. The horse’s hooves click on the cobbles. Instantly, all talking and laughter stops. Whispered word goes around the children and mothers like wildfire. All games are frozen. Washing is left in baskets. Mothers turn to the crowds of children to summon their own. We study the man who has produced such instant terror as he rides into the courtyard. He is immaculately dressed in a dark suit (odd for a man riding a horse) and his boots are polished. He is mid-thirties, handsome and well groomed. On his head he wears a Stetson Hatteras cap angled steeply over his forehead, with generous folds of cloth hanging over his ears. The peak puts his dark eyes in shadow. This man is THOMAS Shelby. He ducks under a line of sheets and finally pulls up his horse and dismounts. The courtyard is now miraculously empty, with all the mothers and children now hiding in doorways or alleys.
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They are all watching Thomas as he takes a gold watch on a chain from his vest pocket and checks the time. His horse snorts steam into the cold air. At that moment, at the end of the street we see Mai and Zhang arrive. They turn into the courtyard and slow down when they see Thomas and the horse. Zhang takes Mai’s hand and leads her on to the rendezvous. Thomas takes out a fat Sweet Afton cigarette and lights it with a match. Zhang and Mai approach as if Thomas were a gunfighter in a Western street. All eyes are on them as they meet. Zhang speaks English with a heavy chinese accent. ZHANG Sir? This is her. THOMAS The girl who tells fortunes? Zhang bows confirmation. Thomas hardly glances at Mai before gesturing at Zhang to begin what is evidently a pre- arranged exchange. With shaking hands, Zhang pulls a small velvet bag from his inside pocket and holds it up for Thomas to see. There is a golden dragon woven into the velvet. Thomas reaches into the inside pocket of his jacket. As he reaches in, we see a long barreled Webley revolver hanging in a tan-leather army issue holster. Zhang and Mai see it too and shrink back. Thomas takes two pound notes out of his pocket which he holds up for Zhang to take (making sure everyone watching can see the transaction). Zhang takes the money then hands the velvet bag to Mai. He quickly gives her instructions in Chinese and she seems to be a little baffled. He urges her to do as she is told. Mai hesitantly opens the velvet bag and pours a palm full of red powder into her hand. Thomas half smiles and urges her to obey Zhang’s whispers. Mai puts her hand near to the horse’s nose and blows. A cloud of red dust hits the horse. The horse snorts and shies and we see Thomas’s face through the cloud of red dust. Children in the alleys stare with wonder and whisper to each other. We eavesdrop on one child explaining to her little sister... CHILD 1 They’re doing a magic spell to make it win a race. Mai blows some more red dust onto the horse’s nose and Thomas rubs it into the soft flesh around the nostrils.
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With the velvet bag now empty, Thomas drops his cigarette and, in one easy movement, he mounts the horse. He looks down at Zhang and Mai and touches his cap. He then looks all around at the women and children watching and calls out... THOMAS The horse’s name is Monaghan Boy. Kempton 3 o’clock Monday. You ladies have a bet yourselves but don’t tell anybody else. We might know Thomas is fully aware word of this will spread like wild fire. He wheels the horse around and trots away down the courtyard. Zhang and Mai watch him go. As Thomas ducks under the flapping sheets, women and children slowly emerge into their doorways and stare with open mouths, mystified by what they just saw. Finally, a grandmother speaks loudly to them all. MOTHER Those Peaky Blinder devils are using witchcraft now. EXT. GARRISON LANE - DAY 1 - 17:00 1/4 We re-join Thomas as he rides his beautiful black horse down the industrial street, silencing the chaos around him briefly as he goes. The street is busy with horse traffic and the odd car and delivery van. Garrison Lane cuts between soaring industrial buildings. The street is alive with children and, outside every pub, men are gathered, smoking and drinking. On a corner, a beggar is playing an accordion but he stops and bows as Thomas passes. Other men look to their shoes as Thomas rides by, some of them darting into doorways to avoid his gaze. Outside the CHAIN TAVERN a black Afro-Caribbean street preacher with long straggly hair (JIMMY JESUS) is preaching fire and brimstone to no one, a large leather-bound bible in his hand... JIMMY JESUS ...And Abraham made his home in a cave, but it was good because God resided there with him. You see children, God does not care if you live in a slum or in a mansion... As the shadow of Thomas and his horse passes over Jimmy, he glances up and nods a greeting.
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Thomas slows to allow a line of men to cross the road. They are all blind, walking in single file, each with a hand on the shoulder of the man in front, the leader being led by a dog. (These are men blinded in the war, now begging for pennies). The men sing ‘Molly Malone’ as they walk and the last in line holds a begging bowl. Thomas leans down in the saddle to drop a coin into their bowl. As the line of blind men clears, two policemen walking in the opposite direction see Thomas. They both look nervous and touch their caps. POLICEMAN Good morning Mr Shelby. 1/5 The yard is a fantastic collection. It is ostensibly a scrap metal yard but there is junk and treasure of every kind. The Grand Union Canal runs through the yard and there are stables for dray horses beside the water. A bonfire burns in a corner of the yard. Thomas ignores them and urges his horse on. EXT. CHARLIE STRONG’S YARD - DAY 1 - 17:30 The flames reflect on the high walls that seclude the yard and there is a large corrugated iron gate. The gate is being hammered from outside and a settled Gypsy (a Diddicoi) named CHARLIE STRONG emerges from a small office to open the gate. He is mid-forties, hard as iron, dressed in a fine tweed suit and cap but with a large golden earring in his left ear to denote his race. He opens the gate to find Thomas standing with his black horse. No words are exchanged as Thomas enters and begins to unsaddle the horse. Charlie turns towards the bonfire and calls out. CHARLIE Curly? Get here. From the billowing smoke another Diccicoi man (CURLY) appears. His head is totally bald and he wears a dark suit (and a gold earring). He approaches at a trot and we will learn that he is, (to use the language of the time), ‘simple minded’. However, we will also learn that he has a way with horses like no one else. CHARLIE (CONT’D)
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Curly, come and tell this horse he needs to get on a boat and stand still.
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Curly takes the horse and begins to whisper to it as he leads it toward the canal, where a coal boat is waiting. Charlie takes a cigarette from Thomas and smiles. CHARLIE (CONT’D) I heard there’s been some mumbo jumbo in the Garrison with a Chinese girl. What’s afoot Tommy? Thomas almost smiles too as he lights his cigarette. THOMAS It’s a game called ‘turning rust into gold’. Charlie moves a little closer. CHARLIE So you still have the stomach for games? Thomas shrugs, stares into the flames. THOMAS Business as usual. Like we agreed. Thomas looks up at Charlie without expression and repeats to confirm... THOMAS (CONT’D) Like we agreed. Charlie takes a moment. We sense a secret between them. CHARLIE I’m finding sleep hard to come by. THOMAS Take less water with your rum. CHARLIE Tommy, what if word gets round that it was you? THOMAS There’ll be no word from your lips, Uncle Charlie. Over at the canal side, Curly is placing a couple of planks for the horse to walk on. THOMAS (CONT’D) And he’s the only other one who knows. Charlie half smiles.
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CHARLIE I told him the whole thing was a dream so that’s what he believes. Charlie drops his cigarette into the flames... CHARLIE (CONT’D) (Softly) Bloody nightmare more like. THOMAS (FIRMLY) I’m dealing with it.
A pause. Charlie looks uncertain. Thomas turns and walks. Charlie watches him go and we suspect dangerous times are upon them. EXT. WATERY LANE - DAY 1 - 18:10 1/6 Two lines of two storey terraces form a long street where children play. Thomas approaches a particular door. We will learn that this is the Shelby home and headquarters. Thomas opens the unlocked door and enters. We notice a horse shoe nailed to the front door for luck as the door is slammed in our faces... INT. SHELBY HOME, PARLOUR - CONTINUOUS - DAY 1 - 18:11 1/7 Thomas breezes through a hallway and a parlour decorated with brass and fancy floral crockery. The Shelby home is compact, a typical terrace, but we might notice a surfeit of brass and flowery ornamentation around the place. The Shelbys are cash rich but without conventional good taste. The home is decorated like a gypsy caravan, or a boatman’s barge with lots of roses, elephants and castles. We might glance a photograph of three brothers in military uniform, smiling (this is Arthur, Tommy, and John - all in Warwickshire Yeomanry uniform, with a freshly dug trench behind them). Thomas tosses his coat aside and passes through a small kitchen, where a young boy (FINN, 10, Thomas’s youngest brother) is smoking a cigarette into the flames of a coal fire. A rabbit roasts on a spit. Finn hides the cigarette and calls out as Thomas passes... FINN Arthur’s mad as hell. THOMAS What does a ten year old know about hell? FINN I’m eleven Sunday.
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Thomas keeps walking and passes into a pantry which has been opened out to form a small back room. Instead of a back wall, there is a black curtain. Thomas passes through the curtain... INT. BETTING SHOP - CONTINUOUS - DAY 1 - 18:12 1/8 ...To our surprise the pantry gives out onto a secret world. We find two hole terraced houses have been knocked through to form a single open plan space with the windows boarded. It is a fully functioning (illegal) betting shop and it is buzzing with activity. The large room is dominated by a huge blackboard on which bets and odds are being chalked by two RUNNERS in shirt sleeves. They stand on stepladders to reach the top of the board. The room swirls with cigarette and cigar smoke and there are half a dozen men queuing silently at a desk to lay bets. A heavy looking man (a gang enforcer known as SCUD- BOAT) is taking the bets in the form of coins wrapped in scraps of paper. Scud-boat unwraps the pieces of paper and drops coins into a hat as he unrolls the next bet. Thomas pauses and peers up at the blackboard. We see twenty bets, all for Monaghan Boy. The sight doesn’t please or displease him. One of the men at the blackboard is young and pretty and immaculately groomed. This is JOHN Shelby (Thomas’s 24 year old brother). When he sees Thomas, he looks up from his ledger and hisses with delight... JOHN Tommy, will you just look at the board. Will you just look. At that moment, at the far end of the room, a door opens from a small office, partitioned by glass and curtains. A man in his late thirties puts his head around the door. We will learn that this is ARTHUR. He calls out angrily. ARTHUR Tommy! Get in here! Arthur slams the door. John smiles as Thomas sets off towards the partitioned office (we sense Thomas is in trouble he can handle). Through reflections in the glass of the partitioned office, we see Arthur’s angry, anxious face, waiting. INT. BETTING SHOP, ARTHUR’S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS - DAY 1 - 18:13 The office has a photograph of the King dominating the wall. Beneath it sits the King of the Shelby gang, Arthur Shelby. 1/9
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Arthur is three years older than Thomas, his hair slicked and oiled, his jet black moustache dropping around his thick lips. He wears gold chains and smokes a thick cigar, the smoke almost hiding him. On the desk where he sits, there is a half full bottle of rum and a mountain of coins, pennies, shillings, farthings. He is counting them slowly into a top hat as Thomas enters. Thomas closes the door. Arthur deliberately takes a while to finish his count before looking up. ARTHUR You was seen doing the powder trick down at Garrison court. Thomas leans back against the door. THOMAS Times are hard. People need a reason to lay a bet. (As the conversation continues, we should sense that Arthur feels his authority is threatened by Thomas. Arthur is angry and blustery. Thomas is cool, hardly moving from the door). ARTHUR There was a Chinese. THOMAS The washer women say she’s a witch. It helps them believe. ARTHUR We don’t mess with Chinese. THOMAS Look at the board... ARTHUR (Snapping back) Chinese have cutters of their own. THOMAS We agreed. I’m taking charge of drumming up new money. ARTHUR When did we agree that? Thomas simply glances at the bottle of rum on Arthur’s desk. Arthur retreats a little. ARTHUR (CONT’D) What if Monaghan Boy wins? Thomas stares hard at Arthur to suggest it’s all under control. Arthur gets to his feet, his big fists on the desk.
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ARTHUR (CONT’D) You fixing races now Tommy? Thomas angles his head. His eyes are hidden in shade. ARTHUR (CONT’D) You have permission from Billy Kimber to be fixing races? Thomas doesn’t reply, his face hardening. Arthur comes around the desk and comes close... ARTHUR (CONT’D)
What’s got into you Tommy? You think we can take on the Chinese and Billy Kimber. Billy has an army...
Thomas interrupts firmly... THOMAS
I think, Arthur. That’s what I do. I think. They stare at each other and once again Thomas glances at the rum bottle. THOMAS (CONT’D) So that you don’t have to. Thomas turns and heads for the door. ARTHUR Tommy! Thomas leaves and Arthur hurries after him... ARTHUR (CONT’D) Tommy, there’s some news from Belfast... INT. BETTING SHOP - CONTINUOUS - DAY 1 - 18:15 1/10 Thomas is already walking away through the smoke. Arthur comes to the door and calls out... ARTHUR Tommy! I’m calling a family council tonight at eight o’clock. This time you be there Tommy! John turns. Thomas walks on. ARTHUR (CONT’D) You hear me?! There’s trouble coming.
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Thomas disappears through the velvet curtain. Arthur seethes as he stares out. John studies him reacting to Thomas’s defiance (which comes as no shock to John). Arthur goes back into the office and slams the door. Through the glass partition we see his silhouette as he takes a swig of rum. EXT. CANAL - DAY 1 - 18:25 1/11 On the oil-slicked surface of the canal a beer bottle floats, neck up. We watch it float past the open doors of a forging and pressing factory, which has its main entrance and delivery bay facing the canal. Through the open door we briefly glimpse the hell inside the factory. A white hot furnace is smelting metal and a five hundred pound steam hammer slams from the roof onto burning steel, setting off a huge explosion of sparks. Bare chested men are silhouettes against the burning white heat and some of them swig beer from iron buckets. The beer bottle floats on past the doorway and the pounding of the hammer is now just a sound. We follow the bottle for a few more moments and see Finn standing on the bank, staring at the bottle as it passes. He has something in his hands. Then a bullet splashes in the water beside the bottle. Then another. We come around to see Finn holding a Webley revolver and aiming it with both hands at the passing bottle. He cocks the trigger with both thumbs with some difficulty and fires again. This time, the bottle smashes. Then we hear an anxious voice. VOICE Finn? Finn turns and sees a woman in her mid-twenties, pretty and prettily dressed in sleek Twenties (Faux Flapper) style, standing on the tow path, her expensive white shoes oozing in the mud. She wears a white hat at a jaunty angle and she has a jazz-age figure. Finn smiles at her. FINN Hello Ada. The woman is ADA Shelby, Thomas’s younger sister. She will almost always be dressed to kill. Her fancy clothes will often contrast the mud and grime of her surroundings. When Finn turns, he turns with the gun, so that it is unintentionally aimed at Ada. Ada stares down the barrel of the gun but she is brave and smiles. ADA Finn, my pigeon, do you want to put the gun down?
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FINN It’s John’s. I found it on the sideboard. ADA Put it down on the ground very, very softly because the trigger is cocked.
Finn begins to slowly put the gun down. Then, a sudden bang from the foundry makes him jump and the gun slips from his hand and the gun goes off. Ada does a little dance of shock but the bullet flies wide. Ada then leaps forward and grabs the gun. She unloads it like a professional and puts the gun into her handbag. ADA (CONT’D) John is a dead man. Aunt Polly will rip his balls off. Ada grabs Finn’s hand and marches off down the tow-path. INT. 1ST CLASS TRAIN CARRIAGE (TRAVELLING) - DAY 1 - 18:30 1/12 The carriage is spacious and the blinds are half drawn. Only one man sits inside the six seat carriage. He is a barrel- chested man with a bushy moustache and a wing collar. He wears a heavy, dark suit. This is CHIEF INSPECTOR CAMPBELL. He has round-rimmed spectacles on the tip of his nose as he pulls a cardboard folder from a leather case. The desk in the compartment is already covered in paperwork, all laid out neatly in sections. There is a large blue print map of ‘ The BSA Factory (Small Heath)’ with intricate detail of workshops and offices. The map has been pushed to the top of the table. Campbell is taking a bound folder from a leather case. The cover of the new folder is labelled in red. ‘ SPECIAL BRANCH’. Beneath it is written in black ‘Top Secret. BSA robbery. Prime suspects’. He opens the folder. On the first page we see a small mug shot photograph of Arthur Shelby. His name is beneath the photograph and among the text we might glimpse the words ‘ Gangster. Racketeer. Illegal bookmaker ’ in bold type. Beneath it reads ‘ GANG-NAME....PEAKY BLINDERS’. He turns the page and we see a photograph of Thomas Shelby. It is a head and shoulders shot but we see he is wearing military uniform. Campbell scans the page, his pen hovering over the text.
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We come close to the text so that only two or three words at a time are legible. We read the words ’ King’s medal for gallantry ’ in bold. Below it we read the words ‘ racketeering, protection, armed robbery’. Beneath it in bold type, ‘GANG NAME...PEAKY BLINDERS’ . At that moment the carriage door slides open and the ticket inspector enters. Campbell closes his file calmly then shows his identity badge. We glimpse the shield of the Special Branch. When he speaks we will hear a Protestant Belfast accent. CAMPBELL Government business. The inspector gives him a sideways bow of the head in deference. The inspector leaves. Campbell opens his file again and turns a page to find a page devoted to ‘FREDDIE THORNE’. We see a mug shot photograph of a handsome man in his early thirties who is also wearing military uniform. Beneath his name in bold type we read... ’BSA Union Convenor. Communist agitator. Bolshevik’. Campbell turns the page back to look once again at the face of Thomas Shelby and Freddie Thorne. He holds both pages in view at once. It’s as if Campbell is trying to decide which of the two handsome uniformed men he will fall upon first. Then he
closes the book, settles back and closes his eyes. EXT. GARRISON PUB, GARRISON LANE - DAY 1 - 18:45 We see Thomas approaching the pub and entering. INT. GARRISON PUB - CONTINUOUS - DAY 1 - 18:45
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1/13 The pub is an ornate Cathedral built to combat the gloom of poverty. Every brass is polished to a blinding shine. All the mirrors are gilded. Where outside there is dereliction, inside the pub there is an excess of colour and decoration. There is a table by the window occupied by a group of men whose faces we don’t see. Others stand at the bar, smoking and drinking bitter or mild. Scud-boat is collecting bets from punters at tables. Then Thomas enters. Everyone in the pub freezes a little but they all try hard to carry on as normal. We join Thomas as he comes to the bar and removes his cap. A barman is about to hurry to serve Thomas but he is outrun by the LANDLORD of the Garrison whose name is HARRY FENTON. Harry is scarred above the eye. He is instantly deferential and produces a bottle of stout which he opens quickly and puts in front of Thomas.
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HARRY On the house, Mr Shelby. Thomas barely looks up from his cigarette pack as he puts some coins on the bar anyway. As Thomas lights his cigarette, we notice through his smoke that the men at the window table are looking over. One of the men is on his feet, draining his pint with purpose. As he approaches the bar, we recognize him as FREDDIE THORNE from the photo in Campbell’s file. Freddie comes to stand beside Thomas and appears to lack the fear of almost everyone else. FREDDIE (TO HARRY) I’ll take a Mild. Thomas hardly looks at Freddie but we feel a tension between the men as they stand side-by-side. (Perhaps their handsome silhouettes compete for our focus as they both stare straight ahead). When Harry gives Freddie his pint, Freddie pays with the money Thomas put down on the bar. It is a deliberate gesture. Harry looks horrified. Thomas draws on his cigarette and shrugs acceptance. Freddie half smiles. FREDDIE (CONT’D) Cheers Thomas. Good health to you. Freddie sips his beer but doesn’t leave. Thomas knows there is an agenda. Finally, Freddie speaks softly. FREDDIE (CONT’D) Is it not enough everybody’s scared to death of you these days Tommy? You have to make fools of them as well. Thomas takes a weary breath (as if he expects this from Freddie). FREDDIE (CONT’D) People who believe in witches spending money they don’t have on a horse that can’t win. Most in the pub have turned their backs, fearing Thomas. Freddie persists in a soft voice. FREDDIE (CONT’D) You have fun playing with their ignorance... Thomas glances back at Freddie’s friends near to the door. THOMAS
When the revolution comes you can make me Minister of Information.
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Freddie has picked up Thomas’s hat and is examining the peak. For the first time, we see its secret. There are three razor blades sewn into the peak, hardly visible but proud enough of the peak to be lethal. Freddie makes a point of peering at the razor blades before tossing the cap down onto the bar. FREDDIE The crown of a Prince. Freddie turns to Thomas. FREDDIE (CONT’D) Soon to be King I’d bet. Thomas almost rises to the bait. THOMAS You don’t bet. FREDDIE No, but these past few days I’ve been speculating. Thomas orders another bottle with a gesture and Harry quickly opens it. In the silence Thomas senses significant business. THOMAS About what? Freddie gestures back at his comrades who are all averting their eyes. FREDDIE One of my Union comrades has a sister who works in the telegraph office at the BSA factory. Thomas swigs his beer. FREDDIE (CONT’D) She says in the past week there’s been messages coming from London to the brass. From Winston Churchill himself. Thomas doesn’t react but we sense he knows more than he is showing... FREDDIE (CONT’D) Something about a robbery. Thomas doesn’t react.
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FREDDIE (CONT’D)
‘A robbery of ‘national significance’ it said. Underlined. Twice. Freddie waits for the words to land but Thomas is poker faced. FREDDIE (CONT’D) They’re keeping it out of the papers but our girl is snooping. Still Thomas doesn’t react. FREDDIE (CONT’D) And she found something that’ll make you laugh. A pause. FREDDIE (CONT’D) She found a list of names left on the telegraph machine. And on the list was your name and my name together. Thomas appears to be unmoved but Freddie knows him well and knows he’s on to something. FREDDIE (CONT’D))
Now what kind of list would have the name of a Communist and the name of a bookmaker side-by-side? At last Thomas engages. He half smiles. THOMAS Perhaps it’s a list of men who give false hope to the poor. Thomas turns to him and confronts. THOMAS (CONT’D)
The only difference between me and you Freddie is that sometimes my horses stand a chance of winning.
Thomas glances back with disgust at Freddie’s ‘comrades’. Freddie stares at Thomas. We might sense that these two men knew each other well once but now Freddie is appalled by what his friend has become. FREDDIE (Quickly) You know, there are days when I hear about the cuttings and beatings that I wish I’d let you take that bullet in France.
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Thomas is privately amused and retorts instantly... THOMAS There are nights I wish you had. A pause. Perhaps Freddie understands how those nights feel. Finally... FREDDIE (To business) So you don’t know anything about a robbery that would trouble Mr Churchill? Thomas swigs his beer. THOMAS Freddie, I prefer to drink alone. Freddie studies him but before he can speak a figure walks past the frosted glass behind them. First Thomas, then Freddie, turn and they both recognize the man at the same time. THOMAS/FREDDIE Ah shit. Harry has seen the figure approaching the door too and he reacts with alarm. HARRY Ah, not again. He dashes behind the bar... HARRY (CONT’D) Take cover! It’s Danny Whizz Bang! Everyone reacts. Suddenly the pub door flies open and DANNY WHIZZ-BANG enters. Danny is a barrel of a man, short but wide and round and full of muscle. His face is crimson with rage and he immediately grabs a chair and hurls it across the pub. As everyone scatters, he becomes a one-man whirlwind and begins to smash glasses and knock over chairs. Thomas and Freddie swap a half amused glance before silently resolving to act. They put down their drinks in unison. They approach Danny from either side, and in restraining the madman, we see that they are used to working together in violent situations. Freddie takes Danny’s attention as Thomas grabs him from behind. Freddie dives forward and grabs Danny’s legs, upending him. Danny kicks and flails but Thomas falls on him face down. Now Thomas is lying on top of Danny, their faces close. Thomas hisses in Danny’s ear.
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THOMAS Danny, you’re home. You’re home. We’re all home in England. Both Freddie and Thomas see the comedy of all this. Danny growls out a furious mantra... DANNY Had to go bang, had to go bang, had to go bang. THOMAS You’re not an artillery shell, Danny, you’re a man. Danny roars and struggles some more. THOMAS (CONT’D) You’re not a whizz bang. You’re a After a moment Danny takes a huge breath and then takes this on board. He begins to breath more easily. He looks up at Thomas’s face just an inch from his own. DANNY Ah hell. Did I do it again? Thomas kneels up and dusts himself off. He looks up at Freddie and the two men share a weary half smile. THOMAS Yeah you did it again Danny. Got to stop doing this, man. Thomas gets to his feet. Freddie holds out a hand and helps Danny up and puts his cap firmly back on his head. FREDDIE human being. Now get yourself together for Christ’s sake.
Danny, next time you feel you’re about to go bang, go down Aston. The Garrison is a dangerous place to break the rules.
To illustrate his point, Freddie gestures at Thomas who turns away to get his drink. Danny is now fully himself. He looks around at the damage and then recognizes where he is. DANNY
Ah shit. Am I in the Garrison Tavern? Oh God. Mr Shelby, I’m sorry...
Thomas swigs his beer.
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THOMAS Go home to your wife, Danny. Try to get all that smoke and mud out of your head.
Danny bows his head.
DANNY Yes Mr Shelby. I’m sorry Mr Shelby.
Danny turns and quickly hurries out. Freddie rejoins Thomas at the bar and in silence they share amusement at Danny’s bizarre behavior. Meanwhile Harry has hurried up to Thomas.... HARRY Mr Shelby, you have to do something about him. Freddie interrupts. FREDDIE Damn right Harry. You pay the Peaky Blinders a lot of money for protection. Thomas grits his teeth. Freddie needles him some more. FREDDIE (CONT’D) You’re the law around here now Tommy, aren’t you? Freddie grabs his beer. FREDDIE (CONT’D) Thomas turns sharply and glares at Freddie. Freddie considers his old friend then raises his hands in mock surrender. FREDDIE (CONT’D) Maybe you’ll have to put a bullet in my head someday too. Thomas and Freddie stare at each other. Thomas doesn’t smile. He grabs his cap and angles it on his head before heading for the door. He picks up a knocked over chair as he goes and calls out so all the customers can hear... THOMAS Bring the bill to the Peaky Blinders. We’ll take care of it. Why don’t you put a bullet in Danny Whizz Bang’s head. Like they do with mad horses.
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Freddie watches him go and turns back to his beer. Now that he is alone he stares down into it with deep regret in his eyes. EXT. SLUM STREET - DAY 1 - 19:55 1/14 * Then suddenly, shockingly, a gun is pointed at his head. We * see the lady holding the gun - this is AUNT POLLY, the * John Shelby is walking down the alley.
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matriach of the Shelby family, someone who all of the brothers respect. She has a fierce expression and speaks
*
with venom to John.
JOHN
* *
What the bloody hell did you do
that for? * John scurries backwards but Polly whacks him around the ear * with her hand. JOHN * Aunt Polly.... * POLLY * Don’t you Aunt Polly me. Look at * this gun. * Polly holds the Webley revolver up for John to look at. * POLLY * You recognize it? * John slowly does recognize it. * POLLY * This afternoon Finn was playing * with it by the cut. It was loaded. * He nearly shot Ada’s tits off. *
Episode One - BLUE AMENDS - 17/10/12
21.
John is horrified and slowly gets to his feet. He reaches out * for the gun but Polly pulls it away. * POLLY He found it on the sideboard in the * betting shop. * JOHN It must have dropped out of my * pocket... * POLLY When you were drunk. * JOHN * Aunt Pol. I’m sorry. * Polly peers at him and softens a little. * POLLY (CONT’D) John, I know bringing up kids * without a woman is hard. I’ll keep * this among the women if you swear * not to leave guns laying around. * John takes a moment and nods agreement. * INT. SHELBY HOME - DAY 1 - 20:03 1/15 * Finn is eavesdropping at a closed door. We hear the rumble of Arthur’s voice from the other side. Finn is smoking a cigarette and listening intently. We pass through the door to join the family council... INT. BETTING SHOP - DAY 1 - 20:03 1/16 The family are gathered and Arthur is addressing them. In the room we find John, Ada, Aunt Polly, Scud-boat (a cousin), a weasel-like runner called FRED FARR (an uncle), two twins in their twenties with hard, dark faces (NIPPER AND HENRY) and a Gypsy cousin in his fifties called JOHNNY LOVELOCK. Johnny wears a bowler hat and is accompanied by his three sons, aged eleven to twenty, all dark with golden earrings. Thomas stands near to the crackling fire. Everyone is drinking beer. The air is thick with smoke. Arthur is speaking and also taking swigs from a silver flask. We might see that he is already drunk but as an habitual drunk he holds it well.
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Episode One - BLUE AMENDS - 17/10/12
22.
ARTHUR I called this meeting because I got some news. From Ireland. Thomas watches Arthur like a hawk, waiting for him to stumble... ARTHUR (CONT’D) Nipper and Henry got back from Belfast last night. They were buying a stallion to cover their mares. Arthur gestures at Nipper and Henry and they confirm with a nod. ARTHUR (CONT’D) They were in a pub in the Shankhill Road yesterday and there was a copper handing out these. Arthur produces a printed flyer, the size of an A5 sheet. It is an offer of employment (we should use a copy of the actual flyer which was produced at the time). Arthur hands the sheet forward for first John, then Ada and the others to look at. John reads the top line of the flyer aloud... JOHN ‘ If you’re over five feet and can fight, come to Birmingham’. There are puzzled looks as the flyer is passed on. Arthur summarizes... ARTHUR They’re recruiting Protestant Irishmen to come over here as Specials. ADA To do what? The flyer has arrived at Thomas who speaks up before Arthur can speak. THOMAS To clean up the city. Arthur is surprised by Thomas’s knowledge. Thomas looks over to Arthur then steps away from the fire and begins to address the meeting. THOMAS (CONT’D)
He’s a Chief Inspector. The last four years he’s been clearing the IRA out of Belfast...
Episode One - BLUE AMENDS - 17/10/12
23.
ARTHUR How do you know so bloody much? THOMAS Because I asked the coppers on our payroll. ARTHUR Why didn’t you tell me? THOMAS I’m telling you.
The meeting looks flustered but Polly has fixed Thomas with a stare. She has suspicions about Thomas which will grow. POLLY So why are they sending him to Birmingham? There is silence. Arthur is about to speak but instead takes a swig. He evidently has no idea. Thomas steps to the head of the meeting (we should be free to feel that Thomas’s usurping of Arthur is unsubtle and done without grace). THOMAS There have been a lot of strikes at the Austen works and the BSA factory lately. Papers are talking about sedition. Revolution. I reckon it’s Communists he’s after. Thomas and Polly stare at each other. We might see even now that these two are the real power in the family. Polly senses deceit in Thomas with a sixth sense... POLLY So this copper will leave us alone, right? THOMAS
There are Irishmen in Green Lanes who left Belfast to get away from him. They say Catholic men who crossed him used to disappear in the night.
John is on his feet.
JOHN Yeah but we ain’t IRA. We bloody fought for the King.
John looks around...
JOHN (CONT’D) Anyway, we’re Peaky Blinders. We’re not scared of coppers.
(MORE)
Episode One - BLUE AMENDS - 17/10/12
24.
JOHN (CONT’D)
If they come for us, we’ll cut them a smile each.
There are some sniggers from the young men. The older heads are solemn. Thomas still has the flyer in his hand. He calmly screws it up into a ball. THOMAS We’re just all going to have to be more careful. That’s all. He steps to the fire and throws the flyer into the flames. He turns back to Arthur and pointedly hands the authority back to him (now that the business is done)... THOMAS (CONT’D) So Arthur, is that it? Arthur is a little fuzzy and nods. Polly now has deep suspicions that Thomas knows more than he is saying. She gets to her feet... POLLY This family does everything open. You have nothing more to say to this meeting, Tommy? Silence. Thomas feels her suspicion and meets her stare. THOMAS Nothing that’s women’s business. Polly stares back with cool certainty... POLLY This whole bloody enterprise was ‘women’s business’ while you boys were away at war. What’s changed? Thomas is equally cool as he gestures around... THOMAS We came back. Thomas heads for the door and Arthur finally follows. Polly reacts with a growl. Then we move close on the burning flyer in the fireplace. In the flames we see a signature on the bottom of the page, along with the name in print. The flyer is signed by ‘Chief Inspector Chester Campbell’ . EXT. SNOW HILL TRAIN STATION - NIGHT 1 - 20:20 1/17 A huge steam train has pulled up at the buffers and clouds of steam swirl across the platform. Through the white clouds we see a figure emerging like an angel (or a devil). As the cloud clears we see it is Chief Inspector Campbell.
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Episode One - BLUE AMENDS - 17/10/12
24A.
He has thrown a shiny black cape over his dark suit. He has a bowler hat on his head. His shoes are polished to a shine. He carries a cane. Campbell marches towards us and past, steam swirling around him. OMITTED 1/18
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OMITTED
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Episode One - BLUE AMENDS - 17/10/12
25.
1/19A
EXT. GARRISON LANE - NIGHT 1 - 20:30 1/19A The street is lively in the dark. Children still play out and the men are mostly drunk. Buskers play and beggars beg. As we join the scene, we are close on Jimmy Jesus, who is standing on a box, preaching in his Birmingham/Jamaican accent... JIMMY JESUS
And the Lord will smite the unholy when the great judgement comes. And judgement is coming my friends. Judgement is coming to this wicked City...
Campbell’s carriage shoots through shot and we join Campbell inside. We see him staring out at the street. His face is impassive, the half lit street scene is reflected on the cab window. He sees drunks staggering from pub-to-pub and notices four young prostitutes standing on a street corner. Gangs of children smoke pipes and play barefoot. A horse is being beaten into submission as it shies against the weight of its dray. We pass the Chain pub and then approach the twinkling lights of the Garrison, where young men with caps pulled down over their eyes drink on the pavement, some swigging from iron buckets. As the Garrison approaches, a rock hits Campbell’s window and the reflection is shattered. Campbell doesn’t even flinch. Another rock hits the carriage, then another. The driver shouts down... DRIVER That’s it, I don’t go any further. Campbell blinks impassively. CAMPBELL Take me to the Police Station. The driver hurriedly turns his horse around and the cab hurries away... As the cab clears shot, we find Ada Shelby, walking fast down Garrison Lane, dressed in white with her hat angled on her head. We follow her. She hurries past Jimmy Jesus as he preaches some more... JIMMY JESUS Your wickedness and your fornications will be revealed... Ada hurries past him and disappears into the shadows. OMITTED 1/20
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Episode One - BLUE AMENDS - 17/10/12
26.
1/21
EXT. CANAL TOW PATH, BRIDGE - NIGHT 1 - 20:40 1/21 In the gas lit half-darkness we find Ada reaching some steps and trotting down them. The steps lead into more darkness and we might begin to wonder where the hell she is going. Moonlight shimmers on the canal, and the noise of Garrison Lane is distant. Ada arrives at a canal bridge and lights a cigarette. She looks all around. A moment later a figure emerges from the shadows. In Ada’s match light we see the man is Freddie Thorne. Ada smiles and goes to him. Freddie puts his arms around her and kisses her on the forehead. She offers him her cigarette and he takes a drag. ADA I got tickets for the Penny Crush. They’re showing a Tom Mix picture. Freddie smiles wearily as he smokes Ada’s cigarette. FREDDIE I’m not in the mood for the pictures tonight Ada. She takes the cigarette. She thinks she knows what Freddie is in the mood for. ADA I’m not doing it here again. I got covered in mud last time. Freddie smiles again, takes her arm. FREDDIE Let’s just walk a bit. Ada is reluctant, staying put. In the distance there is blinding light from a foundry and there are flashes of light on the horizon from other factories. ADA If we go down as far as Greet we could go to a pub. FREDDIE Your brothers have friends in Greet. They have friends everywhere. We’d have to walk to London... Ada pulls her arm free. ADA
I’m with you because you’re the only man around here not scared of them.
Episode One - BLUE AMENDS - 17/10/12
27.
Freddie leans against the bridge. FREDDIE
Oh I’m scared of them alright. She turns her back and speaks as if it’s a line from a romantic novel. ADA But you love me more than you fear them, right? He turns her around and pulls her close. ADA (CONT’D) I don’t want to be always sneaking about. FREDDIE Soon, we’ll tell them. ADA When? Freddie doesn’t answer. A pause. FREDDIE How did the family meeting go? ADA Usual. She smokes... ADA (CONT’D) There’s a new copper coming. Freddie takes the cigarette... FREDDIE Yeah I heard. ADA And Tommy says he’s after the likes of you. She turns to stare at Freddie pointedly. ADA (CONT’D) So maybe you should burn your books and stop making speeches. He smiles. He pulls her close and addresses her lovingly. FREDDIE
Oh my Ada. Only Princess of the royal family of the Kingdom of Small Heath.
(MORE)
Episode One - BLUE AMENDS - 17/10/12
28.
FREDDIE (cont'd)
I am just a poor communist frog with a big mouth. Give me a kiss, Princess Ada.
They kiss each other with deep passion. INT. CATHOLIC CHURCH - DAY 2 - 09:30 1/22 Friday 7th February - The church is ornate with bleeding Christ’s around the altar. Polly is sitting alone at a pew with her head bowed. The double doors open and Thomas enters. He doesn’t pause or genuflect, he just walks to Polly’s aisle. She doesn’t turn until he sits beside her. THOMAS I have ten minutes. What do you want? Polly reacts to the cursory tone. POLLY (Firmly) An explanation. Thomas reacts to Polly in a way he reacts to no one else. Her admonishments have an effect. THOMAS An explanation of what? POLLY Of what’s so secret. A pause... POLLY (CONT’D) I’ve always been able to tell... THOMAS (Interrupts) Tell what? POLLY When you’re hiding something. A pause. POLLY (CONT’D) People round here talk. Some of them work at the BSA. Thomas reacts to a bull’s eye. He takes a weary breath. POLLY (CONT’D) I’ve been talking to wives of factory hands.
1/22
(MORE)
Episode One - BLUE AMENDS - 17/10/12
29.
POLLY (CONT’D)
Detectives have been asking questions in the proofing shops. Thomas looks up at the iconography. He doesn’t care for it. POLLY (CONT’D) Nothing happens at the factory without you knowing about it. Thomas turns to Polly and we see he has respect for her. Still he waits... POLLY (CONT’D) Speak. God and Aunt Polly are listening. Finally Thomas comes clean in a soft voice... THOMAS It was meant to be routine. I had a buyer in London for some
motorcycles. I asked my men to steal me four bikes with petrol engines. I’m guessing my men were drunk. There’s a still inside the factory makes tram line gin... They picked up the wrong fucking crate... POLLY So what was in the crate?
Thomas takes a moment...
THOMAS The boys delivered it to Charlie’s yard as agreed.
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OMITTED
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OMITTED
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FLASHBACK - EXT. CHARLIE’S YARD - NIGHT X - 22:00 1/25 By gas light and fire light, through drizzle, we see Charlie, Curly and Thomas using crow bars to prize the crate open. We move close. Thomas pulls down a box and forces it open. We see dull metal, a barrel, a roll of machine gun shells... THOMAS (OOV) They must’ve taken it from the proofing bay instead of the export bay. We come close to Thomas’s face as he reacts to the sight of the contents of the box. Curly steps into the light...
Episode One - BLUE AMENDS - 17/10/12
30.
CURLY Holy sweet baby of Mary.
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OMITTED
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1/27
OMITTED
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INT. CATHOLIC CHURCH - DAY 2 - 09:31
1/28
Thomas stares ahead.
THOMAS Inside the crate we found twenty five Lewis machine guns with ten thousand rounds of ammunition. Fifty semi automatic rifles, two hundred pistols with shells...
Polly crosses herself.
THOMAS (CONT’D) All bound for Libya. Sitting right there in Charlie Strong’s yard.
Polly is in shock.
POLLY Jesus Tommy. Tell me you threw them in the cut. Thomas doesn’t exactly show uncertainty but there is a flicker which he smothers. Polly stares at him with horror, but Thomas keeps staring straight ahead. THOMAS (Matter of fact) We put them in the stables out of the rain. The guns hadn’t been greased yet... A pause. Polly suddenly punches and hammers Thomas’s arm and shoulders and Thomas calmly takes the blows for a while then grabs her arm. She slowly gets control. POLLY That’s why they sent the copper from Belfast. Thomas looks away. THOMAS Maybe. Maybe not. Polly laughs away the doubt...
Episode One - BLUE AMENDS - 17/10/12
31.
POLLY Thomas Shelby, you are bookmaker, a robber, a fighting man, but you are not a fool... She lowers her voice out of respect for the Christ statue... POLLY (CONT’D)
You sell those guns to anyone who has use for them, you will hang.
A pause.
POLLY (CONT’D) Dump them somewhere the police can find them. When they know they haven’t fallen into the wrong hands perhaps this will blow over. Thomas nods gently. Polly takes his hand. POLLY (CONT’D) Tell Charlie to dump them tonight. Thomas gets to his feet. THOMAS He won’t move contraband around under a full Moon. Polly is about to speak... THOMAS (CONT’D) Three days until it wanes. POLLY And then you’ll do the right thing. Thomas nods once and she grabs his arm and stares into his eyes. POLLY
You have your mother’s common sense and your father’s devilment. I see them fighting.
A pause.
POLLY Let your mother win.
He turns and walks. His footsteps echo. Polly sits down again in the pew and crosses herself with a mumbled prayer.
Episode One - BLUE AMENDS - 17/10/12
31A.
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EXT. GARRISON LANE - DAY 2 - 09:40 1/29 We see the Garrison Tavern in early morning. Then, from behind, we see a young woman crossing the street and approaching the pub. INT. GARRISON PUB - DAY 2 - 09:41 1/30 The pub still bears the scars of Danny Whizz Bang’s visit the day before. Harry is moving chairs and tables back when he sees the silhouette of a woman walking past the window then standing in the frosted glass of the door.
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Episode One - BLUE AMENDS - 17/10/12
32.
She knocks and Harry approaches. He opens the door and finds a beautiful woman, dressed for practical work but beautiful nonetheless. This is GRACE BURGESS. When Grace speaks she will have a light Southern Irish accent... GRACE I’m here about the job as barmaid. Harry turns and goes back to work. HARRY Are you mad? GRACE Am I what? She steps inside. HARRY You know about this place? Grace hesitates. GRACE I saw an advertisement. He half smiles at her nervousness. Then speaks flatly. HARRY Job’s been filled. GRACE But it was in yesterday’s paper. Harry grabs a broom and busies himself sweeping up cigarette ends... HARRY Believe me love, I’m doing you a favour. GRACE I’m not asking for favours, I’m asking for employment. HARRY You’re too nice. GRACE How can you know? HARRY And too pretty. They’d have you up against a wall... GRACE I have experience.
Episode One - BLUE AMENDS - 17/10/12
33.
Harry leans on his broom and peers at her. She reaches into her bag for a sheet of paper... GRACE (CONT’D) I have references... Harry takes the sheet of paper. HARRY Which part of Ireland are you from? GRACE Galway. I worked in Dublin. Harry glances at the crucifix around her neck. HARRY My mother was from Galway. Grace smiles. He looks at her smile then nods and goes back to his work... HARRY (CONT’D) Too pretty. He continues to sweep. Grace makes a decision. GRACE Watch... Grace grabs a spittoon from the base of the bar.... GRACE (CONT’D) And listen... Grace begins to sing the pretty Irish ballad ‘I wish I was in Carrickfergus’ as she scoops up the other two spittoons. She clutches all three in one hand and swirls them around as she sings. Her voice is sweet and strong. She pours the slimy, disgusting contents of one spittoon into the other then that one into a third (with a slurp). Her song swoops on... GRACE (CONT’D) (Singing) ...But the sea is wide, and I can’t cross over... Her face shows no reaction of horror as she brandishes the fully charged spittoon then heads for the back of the bar. Grace swiftly unlatches the bar divide and empties the spittoon into the sink. She pours water from a jug into the spittoon and returns to systematically half fill and swill the other two spittoons. She then pours the dirty water into one spittoon and takes it back to the sink and pours it away. All the time singing...
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