DISSOLVE TO:

INTERIOR. PRISON HOSPITAL - DAY
OVER SCENE MUSIC: "There's a vacant chair in every home tonight"
Benny’s trousers with torn off leg being held up by a PRISON OFFICER. They are put down on a table with the rest of Benny’s possessions.

The prison officer produces a large envelope and writes in block capitals:"BENNY ROLLY".
He holds the envelope open under the edge of the table and with his free hand scrapes all the objects into the open envelope.
Licks and seals envelope.

A cell door SLAMS (OS)

INTERIOR. PRISON HOSPITAL WARD - DAY
Benny is in bed with a plastered broken arm. He's wearing pyjamas with prison arrows all over them. By his bed there is a cupboard.
He opens the cupboard and takes out a prison issue pair of slippers. He studies them and sees a large prison on the sole. Then puts them back.
Benny moves further under sheets so only his eyes show over the sheets, he is looking round the ward and at the barred window. Various ordinary looking prison patients listening with stethoscopes to radios, reading, etc.

A MALE NURSE walks round the ward.

Benny tries to attract to attract his attention.

BENNY
"Buzzzzzzzzzzzz”

The nurse stops and looks round.

Only Benny's eyes are visible over sheets. From under the sheets comes the SOUND.

The nurse looks puzzled and walks over.
He leans over Benny who MUTTERS something.
The nurse opens the cupboard and takes out a papier-mâché bedpan, puts it on Benny’s chest and walks off.

Benny reaches out from under sheets, grabs bedpan and quickly resumes the ‘Eyes Only’ position.
He sniggers and pulls the bedpan from under the sheets. It is riddled with holes and sprays the bed like a watering can. There is another snigger.
Benny’s eyes dart round the ward.
Eyes only visible he looks to the right.

INTERIOR. PRISON HOSPITAL WARD - DAY
OVER SCENE MUSIC: " I don't want to get well I'm in love with a beautiful nurse"
A male nurse is trying to persuade him to do some basket work.

Benny shakes his head. Stops, looks to the right.

The nurse walks round the bed, takes the papier-mâché bedpan from the cupboard, places it on Benny’s chest and leaves.

Benny pulls down sheets a little and scratches the wrist of his broken arm.
Reaches for bedpan. He sniggers.
Looks round, holds pan up to his eye like a telescope. Inside pan, light is showing through dozens of holes.
Benny gets out of bed, returns pan to locker and takes out another.
Looks round knowingly, raises pan, to his eye and is drenched with water.

SNIGGERS (OS)

There's no sign of who is sniggering.

BENNY'S FANTASY - 1914-18 WAR
Benny is looking out of a trench on a bare landscape.
BACK TO SCENE

INTERIOR. PRISON HOSPITAL WARD - DAY
Benny looking over sheets.

The inmates are gathered round one bed, they are LAUGHING, one turns to look at
Benny. He's still in bed only his eyes are visible.

A beetle is walking on the floor.

Benny looks at the beetle.

The other inmates are fully occupied.

Benny leans right out of bed and grabs the beetle.
He gets out of bed with the beetle in cupped hands crosses to the next bed, which is empty.
He pulls back the sheets to put the beetle in the bed.
Under the sheets there is the stethoscope headpiece of the ward radio. Benny picks it up and puts the beetle in the ear piece and pulls the sheets back up.
He goes back to his own bed.

There is round of APPLAUSE (OS).

Benny looks up. The inmates are looking up at him.

They stop clapping, one of them beckons Benny across.

Benny approaches them scratching his wrist.

They gather Benny into their circle.
Benny looks down. They're looking at a nudist magazine.
Benny smiles nervously.

There is a COUGH.

Benny looks over his shoulder.
When he turns back to look at magazine. He is alone, everyone has vanished.

A prison officer has appeared.

Benny rushes back to his bed and pulls the sheets up.

CLOSE UP - BARRED WINDOW

DISSOLVE TO : An Idyllic painted picture of the Swiss Alps

ZOOM OUT:
A water-colour box and a jar of water.
Benny is sitting in a bed with a brush in his teeth, scratching his wrist and thinking.
He picks up the picture which is a chocolate box with a ribbon across one corner. Leaning it against the water jar he proceeds to copy it, imitating the gestures of a professional painter. Pausing only to scratch his wrist.

SAWING noise (OS)

The patient in the next bed is rubbing his ear.

A WORKMAN is sawing the connection for the radio.
He puts his hacksaw down behind him.

Benny snatches it away.

INTERIOR. PRISON TOILET - DAY
There's a barred window. Benny entering toilet scratching his wrist.

CLOSE UP - TOP OF BARRED WINDOW
SAWING noise (OS).

Benny sitting on toilet wiping sweat from his forehead.

INTERIOR. PRISON HOSPITAL WARD - DAY
The workman reaches back for his hacksaw.

INTERIOR. PRISON TOILET - DAY
Benny is the putting hacksaw on the floor.
He removes the bottom half of his plaster cast, which he has sawn through, places it on the floor and proceeds to scratch the exposed part of his arm.
Then replaces the sawn off part and leaves.

INTERIOR. PRISON HOSPITAL WARD - DAY
General panic, prison officers searching everywhere for the saw.

Benny enters, sees the confusion and turns, about to return to toilet.

A voice SHOUTS.

VOICE
Benny Rolly

Benny turns, walks to his bed and gets in.

FADE OUT: WITH OVER SCENE VOICES