Josh Gross - Last Word: Final Scenes from Your Favorite Motion Pictures

Josh Gross, whose first word was Rosebud, attended Beverly Hills High School and is now a sophomore at the University of California at Berkeley. A VINTAGE ORIGINAL, DECEMBER 1992
FIRST EDITION Copyright 1992 by Josh Gross All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Vintage Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gross, Josh.
The last word / Josh Gross.
p. cm.
eISBN: 978-0-307-80938-4
1. Motion picture playsUnited StatesHistory and criticism.
2.

Closure (Rhetoric) I. Title.
PN1995.G6896 1992 791.43750973dc20 9150728 Author photo copyright 1992 by Gila Lane v3.1 TO
JOAN and JACK GROSS
and
PETER STONE
For their advice and support

I am grateful to the following people for their invaluable assistance with this project: The staff of the Academy of Motion Pictures-Arts and Sciences; Martin Asher; Dan Aykroyd; Judith Jacklin Belushi; Peter Benchley; Shirley Bernstein; Paul Bloch; Jacob Bloom; Marshall Brickman; Bernie Brillstein; Paula Broussard; Diana Brown; Carol Bua; Philip Buchbinder; Cherise Carroll; Patricia Cherone; Norma Lee Clark; Bari Cohen; Nancy Cushing-Jones; Mrs. I.A.L. Diamond; Robin Desser; Phil Gersh; Carl Gottlieb; Lew Grimes; Larry Grossman; Bill Haber; Caitlin Hamilton; Irene Hayman; Albert Heit; Alan Hergott; Evelyn Hunter; Diane Isaacs; Morton Janklow; Joan Kan; Alex Karasik; Rick Kurshner; Edward Kastenmeier; John Landis; Peter Langs; Robert Lantz; Ernest Lehman; Martha Luttrell; Melissa Mathison; Larry McCallister; Ilene Miller; Kevin Mills; Bruce Moccia; Julia Phillips; Joan Pierce; Peter Raleigh; Michael Reagan; Stephen Rodgers; Scott Rosen; June Shelley; Robert Sieber; Stirling Silliphant; Stephany Simon; Hillarie Singer; Marsinay Smith; Stephen Sondheim; Rosalie Swedlin; Victoria Traube; Mike Voss; Sally Willcox; Billy Wilder; Donetta Wilson; Carole Henderson Wright; Tonie Zwaneveld. Shocking, heart-rending, captivating, surprising, but always memorablesuch should be the final scene of a great movie, a finale that leaves the viewer with an indescribable feeling that somehow encapsulates the messages and themes of the film he or she has just watched. (On the other hand, how many of us have cringed at the sappy, pat, or just disappointing finale of a film we were enjoying up to that point?) Because Ive always loved the endings of movies, at the age of twelve I began to compile my personal list of favorites. (On the other hand, how many of us have cringed at the sappy, pat, or just disappointing finale of a film we were enjoying up to that point?) Because Ive always loved the endings of movies, at the age of twelve I began to compile my personal list of favorites.

Like any movie fan, I had seen certain films so many times that I could recite portions of them verbatim. But when I would quiz people about their knowledge of a given film, it was always the last scene that would elicit huge smiles, perfectly accented imitations, or, on some occasions, goose bumps and tears. Strangely, the endings of certain movies get distorted by people over time. Many of my friends still insist that the last line of Gone With the Wind is Frankly, my dear, I dont give a damn. Please note, however, that The Last Word should not be used to decide wagers! My research for this book was done primarily at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which should be commended for establishing the definitive archive for American film in this country. I am particularly grateful to the Academy Library staff, for without their knowledge and patience this book could not have been completed.

My project, however, did not end with merely transcribing the screenplays as I found them. After I had submitted my manuscript, I learned that I had to track down the copyright holder of every film included in this book and obtain a legal release to use the collected excerpts. Although this was sometimes a grueling task, it spawned some truly amusing stories, and more often than not proved to be more surprising than tedious. Countless estates have changed hands, and many films have been sold since their original release, which created a maze of paperwork and phone calls that frequently led me to unusual places. Sometimes my requests were altogether ignored; after all, as many reasoned, who had time for a teenagers book project when there were multi-million dollar contracts to be negotiated? Luckily, I found enough amenable peopleat literally every level of the corporate ladderto allow this collection to go to press. My list of films has changed somewhat over the last six years, but I truly feel it is an accurate representation of the kinds of motion pictures I wanted to include when I started the project.

One should note that this book does not consist of the final scenes of the most critically acclaimed films, or the biggest box office hits of all time. It is instead eclectic, ranging from the original Jazz Singer to the recent Untouchables, representing along the way such lesser-known gems as Dr. Ehrlichs Magic Bullet and The Presidents Analyst. (I entirely agree with Leonard Maltin, who called the latters ending a beauty.) Naturally everyone has his or her personal favorite endings, and some will be perplexed that my selections arent theirs. But for the most part, I think that there is no question that this book represents some of the high points of filmmaking over the past seventy years. The stills adjacent to the text are designed to visually set the stage for the endings.

I have tried to include shots that are as close to the ending as possible, but in some cases they simply were not available. In these instances I selected stills that best captured the flavor of the movie as a whole. When applicable I have also included the original titles of certain screenplays in smaller type, as well as for films, actors, screenwriters, etc., that were awarded Oscars. My last step in preparing The Last Word was to watch the ending of every film once again for accuracy. Because motion pictures are changed, either by ad libs on the set or by editors on the cutting room floor, I found that the shooting script I transcribed was often not the same as the film that was subsequently released. I made a substantial number of revisions in an attempt both to preserve the language of the screenwriter and to present what was actually shown on the screen.

The collection you see before you is an exhilarating replication of some of the best endings in motion picture history. Our movies remain among our most valuable exports; may we remain confident that we can in the next seventy years produce another sixty movies as beloved as the films that follow. Josh Gross
Beverly Hills, California
December 1992