The Crack of Dawn

Volume #483

10/9/23

Newsletter #483

The Crack of Dawn

Let me straighten out the mess that I created yesterday.  The military switched from the .38 Colt pistol (known as the M1892) to the .45 Colt (the M1911, Sheldon, please note), designed by John Moses Browning.  This was in reponse to fighting the Moro Indians in the Philippines who got so hopped up on Betel nuts that .38 caliber bullets wouldn’t stop them from attacking.  Colt informed the military that if someone was “hit in the baby finger” by a Colt .45 bullet they would go down.

Now, back to the exciting adventures of Gunnery Sergeant Dan Daly.  When we last left him, he was leading a patrol of marines through the jungle in Haiti in 1917.  The marines found themselves surrounded by Haitian rebels and were moving as fast as they could to get to safety.  In their haste, while crossing a deep river, one of the men dropped their Lewis machinegun and it sunk to the bottom.  As it was getting dark, the patrol got to a hilltop and took up defensive positions.  Immediately, Sgt. Daly realized that without the machinegun they were doomed.  All by himself, Daly sneaked back to the river, dove in, found the machinegun (which was very heavy), and brought it to the surface.  He actually had to go back into the river and retrieve the ammunition, as well.  Back on the hilltop the marine patrol fought the rebels all night long.  As every marine in the patrol testified (and they all lived), that without the machinegun they would indeed have all certainly been killed.

After the Germans’ first few encounters with the U.S. Marines, they nicknamed them, teufel hunden, meaning devil dogs.  So, I wrote the script, Devil Dogs: The Battle of Belleau Wood, and I thought it was pretty good.  The reviews, however, were mixed. 

Soon thereafter, I attended an event at the Director’s Guild.  I found myself speaking to the director, Noel Black, who was kind of hot shit for a second in the late 1960s.  He directed the film Pretty Poison (1968) with Anthony Perkins and Tuesday Weld, which is quite a good movie.  Tuesday Weld is too cute for words and gives an outstanding performance.  It’s also a good part for Anthony Perkins, who was never easy to cast.

Anyway, I was standing there at the DGA talking to Noel Black.  He asked what I was working on, and I succinctly pitched him Belleau Wood.  As I spoke, his eyes widened with interest and he said, “That’s a great story!  Can I read the script?”  Writers only dream of hearing those words from directors.  I said, “Of course, where do you live, I’ll bring it to you.”  He said, “Santa Monica.”  I said, “I live in Santa Monica, too,” (like that was a big deal).  It turned out he had a much cooler place then me; contemporary, and right near the ocean.  No one was home, so I left the script at the door.

Mr. Noel Black read the script pretty fast (what a mensch) and called me.  His first question was, “Why do I give a shit?”  I thought, well, that’s obvious, and said, “We had to win the war, right?”  Noel (if I may be so bold) said, “But why does it matter to Sergeant Dan Daly?”  I could hear myself weakly reply, “He had two Medals of Honor.”  Noel said, “So?”  I said, “He was really brave, and America had to win the war.”  Noel Black wasn’t having it and repeated, “Why does it matter to Sergeant Dan Daly?  He’s your lead, so he’s us.  Why does it matter to us?”  I couldn’t answer him.  My cheeks burned with shame. The script went into the file drawer.

A couple of years later I was reading a book of quotes.  I have a section on my website called My Favorite Quotes — Josh Becker’s Favorite Quotes – Becker Films — and came across this, “Anger is valor’s whetstone.” —Thomas Randolph: The Muse’s Looking Glass, 1630.

In a flash I understood why a person like Daly might show courage or valor – they’re really pissed off.  So pissed off, in fact, that they become blind to things like incoming machinegun fire and nearby artillery explosions.  Well, what would make a sergeant, a platoon leader, really pissed off?  Seeing his men get killed, what else? Daly was seeing his men killed in abundance as they attacked Belleau Wood and got pinned down by machinegun fire.  But more than that, what if Dan Daly as a man had anger issues all the time?  He’s easily brought to anger, and alcohol doesn’t help.  His anger is what has caused him to remain a sergeant after 20 years of service.  Everything fell into place.  With that one piece of wisdom, I was able to understand what might possibly have motivated that character.  Of course, I don’t know what Sgt. Daly’s real motivation was, because there wasn’t one single book on the guy. But at least now I had a motivation. It was a pleasurable rewrite.  The situations remained the same, but his attitude and reactions changed in every one of them.  Suddenly, Daly was somebody real.

Noel Black had asked me the key question, “Why do I give a shit?”  And I still thank him. It’s the key question to all stories.

Today is the day when all the rest of history begins.