Gatsby, Tom, Nick, Daisy and Jordan are bathed in a thin sheen of perspiration.
DAISY
Open another window.
NICK There aren't any more.
DAISY Then telephone for an axe...
TOM Forget about the heat. You make it worse by crabbing about it.
GATSBY Why not let her alone, old sport?
TOM That's a great expression of yours, isn't it?
GATSBY What is?
Tom turns to Gatsby...
TOM 'Old sport'. Where'd you pick it up?
DAISY Now see here, Tom; if you're going to make personal remarks I won't stay here one minute. Gatsby's foot beats a restless tattoo; Tom eyes him suddenly.
TOM Mr. Gatsby, I understand you're an Oxford man.
GATSBY No, not exactly. 100.
TOM Oh yes, I understand you went to Oxford.
GATSBY Yes - I went there. Tom's laugh is incredulous and insulting.
TOM Sure; the man in the pink suit went to Oxford!
DAISY Tom...! Gatsby stands.
GATSBY (slow, intense) I told you I went there.
TOM I heard you, but I'd like to know when.
GATSBY You’d like to know when....? It was in nineteen-nineteen, I only stayed five months. That's why I can't exactly call myself an Oxford man.
Tom glances around to see if the others mirror his disbelief. But they are all looking at Gatsby.
GATSBY (CONT’D) You see, it was an opportunity they gave to some of the officers who actually fought in the war.
Nick can’t help but smile.
NICK (V.O.) I wanted to get up and slap Gatsby on the back.
DAISY I'll make you a drink Tom, then you won't seem so stupid to yourself...
But Tom’s not done yet.
TOM Wait a minute, I want to ask Mr. Gatsby one more question.
GATSBY Go on. Please Mr. Buchanan, go on.
TOM What kind of a row are you trying to cause in my house anyhow?
They are out in the open at last and Gatsby is content.
DAISY He isn't causing a row; you're causing a row. Please have a little self-control!
TOM Self-control! I suppose the latest thing is to sit back and let Mr. Nobody from Nowhere make love to your wife? Well, if that's the idea you can count me out... See, nowadays people begin by sneering at family life and family institutions and next you know they'll throw everything overboard and we’ll have intermarriage between black and white!
JORDAN We’re all white here, Tom.
GATSBY Your wife doesn't love you. She's never loved you. She loves me!
TOM You must be crazy.
GATSBY No, old sport. See, she never loved you... She only married you because I was poor and she was tired of waiting. It was a terrible, terrible mistake, but in her heart she never loved anyone but me!
JORDAN We should go...
GATSBY Daisy and I have nothing to hide... 102.
DAISY Jay let’s go, please...!
TOM Sit down Daisy! GATSBY (reassuring) Yes, Daisy, please sit down. Tom's voice gropes unsuccessfully for the paternal note.
TOM What's been going on? I want to hear all about it.
GATSBY I just told you what's been going on; its been going on for five years...! Tom turns to Daisy sharply.
TOM You've been seeing him for five years?
GATSBY Not seeing. No, we couldn't; but both of us loved each other all that time, old sport, and you didn't know. I used to laugh sometimes, to think that you didn't know... TOM Oh - that's all; you're crazy! I can't speak about what happened five years ago, because I didn't know Daisy then - but I'll be damned if I see how you got within a mile of her unless you brought the groceries to the back door. But all the rest of that's a god-damned lie. Daisy loved me when she married me and she loves me now.
Tom starts to make himself a drink...
GATSBY No... 103. TOM She does, though... And what's more, I love Daisy too. Once in a while I go off on a spree, but I always come back, and in my heart I love her all the time...
DAISY You’re revolting... Daisy’s voice drops an octave lower, filling the room with thrilling scorn...
DAISY (CONT’D) Do you know why we left Chicago...? I'm surprised they didn't treat you to the story of that little spree. Gatsby walks over and stands beside Daisy.
GATSBY That's all over now. Just tell him the truth, that you never loved him; and all this... all this pain will be wiped out forever. Daisy looks at Gatsby blindly. DAISY Why, how could I love him, possibly?
GATSBY You never loved him. Daisy hesitates; too late, she realizes what she is doing. DAISY I never loved him.
GATSBY That’s right...
TOM Not at Kapiolani?
DAISY No.
TOM (a husky tenderness) Not that day I carried you down from the Punch Bowl to keep your shoes dry...? Daisy? Never? 104.
DAISY Please don’t.
TOM Daisy... Her voice is cold, but the anger is gone.
DAISY There, Jay. She trembles as she looks to Gatsby...
DAISY (CONT’D) You want too much! I love you now; isn't that enough? I can't help what's past. (begins to sob) I did love him once; but I loved you too.
GATSBY (shocked, uncomprehending) You loved me too?
TOM (savage) Even that's a lie. She didn't know you were alive. There are things between Daisy and me that you'll never know, things that neither of us can ever forget. The words seem to bite physically into Gatsby.
GATSBY I want to speak to Daisy alone. She's all excited now...
DAISY Even alone I can't say I never loved Tom. It wouldn't be true.
TOM Of course it wouldn't. Daisy turns to her husband.
DAISY As if it mattered to you. 105.
TOM Of course it matters. I'm going to take better care of you from now on.
GATSBY You're not taking care of her any more! Daisy's leaving you.
TOM Nonsense. DAISY (with visible effort) I am, though.
TOM She's not leaving me; and certainly not for a common swindler! Tom's words suddenly lean down over Gatsby.
TOM (CONT’D) Mr. Gatsby, who exactly are you anyhow? You see, I have made a small investigation into your affairs... You're one of Meyer Wolfsheim’s bunch. Tom turns to the others and speaks rapidly.
TOM (CONT’D) See, he and this Wolfsheim bought up a lot of 'drug stores' and sold bootlegged alcohol over the counter!
GATSBY What about it, old sport?
TOM Don’t call me ‘old sport!’ This drug store business is just small change compared to the bonds stunt you and Wolfsheim have got going on now.
GATSBY Well your friend Walter Chase isn’t too proud to come in on it. 106.
TOM I’ve been giving that some thought. How does a reputable banker like Walter Chase find himself up to his eyeballs in debt to a little kike like Wolfsheim?
GATSBY It’s called ‘greed,’ old sport.
TOM That’s right; you’ve got half of Wall Street out there swilling your free booze at that fun park every weekend... (to Nick) I’m surprised he hasn’t tried to drag you in... Nick looks away sharply. Tom registers this.
TOM (CONT’D) My God, he has...
GATSBY He’s got nothing to do with--
TOM With your little racket... (to Daisy) Daisy... Can’t you see who this guy is? With his house and his parties and his fancy clothes; he’s just a front for Wolfsheim, a gangster, to get his claws into respectable folk like Walter...!
GATSBY (a vicious sneer) The only respectable thing about you, old sport, is your money, that’s it, and now I’ve just as much as you; so that means we’re equal!! Tom smiles with smug, condescending scorn.
TOM Oh no, no, we’re different; I am, (gesturing at Nick and Jordan) They are... (now at Daisy) She is; 107. (MORE) we’re all different from you - we were born different, it’s in our blood, and nothing you do, or say, or steal or dream up, can ever change that... And a girl like Daisy will never...! Gatsby explodes with terrifying rage.
GATSBY SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUTTT UP!!!!
Shock jolts the room. We float toward Gatsby. His rage-filled eyes stare into the void, as, with all his willpower, he restrains himself from ripping Tom apart...
NICK (V.O) Gatsby looked, in that moment... as if he had “killed a man.” Tom snorts a dismissive laugh.
TOM That’s right Mr. Gatsby, show us those fine Oxford manners... Gatsby recovers and turns to Diasy, who is trembling in the corner, on the verge of tears.
GATSBY My sincerest apologies. I... I seem to have lost my temper. Struggling for self control, Gatsby turns toward her as if Tom suddenly no longer exists.
GATSBY Daisy darling... None of this has any consequence. Don’t listen to him Daisy. Daisy blanches; Gatsby, now desperate, babbles incoherently.
GATSBY (CONT’D) We’re going back to Louisville to be married. Then we’re going to live together in our house; it’s-- There is a feeling of excruciating unease in the room.
NICK There aren't any more.
DAISY Then telephone for an axe...
TOM Forget about the heat. You make it worse by crabbing about it.
GATSBY Why not let her alone, old sport?
TOM That's a great expression of yours, isn't it?
GATSBY What is?
Tom turns to Gatsby...
TOM 'Old sport'. Where'd you pick it up?
DAISY Now see here, Tom; if you're going to make personal remarks I won't stay here one minute. Gatsby's foot beats a restless tattoo; Tom eyes him suddenly.
TOM Mr. Gatsby, I understand you're an Oxford man.
GATSBY No, not exactly. 100.
TOM Oh yes, I understand you went to Oxford.
GATSBY Yes - I went there. Tom's laugh is incredulous and insulting.
TOM Sure; the man in the pink suit went to Oxford!
DAISY Tom...! Gatsby stands.
GATSBY (slow, intense) I told you I went there.
TOM I heard you, but I'd like to know when.
GATSBY You’d like to know when....? It was in nineteen-nineteen, I only stayed five months. That's why I can't exactly call myself an Oxford man.
Tom glances around to see if the others mirror his disbelief. But they are all looking at Gatsby.
GATSBY (CONT’D) You see, it was an opportunity they gave to some of the officers who actually fought in the war.
Nick can’t help but smile.
NICK (V.O.) I wanted to get up and slap Gatsby on the back.
DAISY I'll make you a drink Tom, then you won't seem so stupid to yourself...
But Tom’s not done yet.
TOM Wait a minute, I want to ask Mr. Gatsby one more question.
GATSBY Go on. Please Mr. Buchanan, go on.
TOM What kind of a row are you trying to cause in my house anyhow?
They are out in the open at last and Gatsby is content.
DAISY He isn't causing a row; you're causing a row. Please have a little self-control!
TOM Self-control! I suppose the latest thing is to sit back and let Mr. Nobody from Nowhere make love to your wife? Well, if that's the idea you can count me out... See, nowadays people begin by sneering at family life and family institutions and next you know they'll throw everything overboard and we’ll have intermarriage between black and white!
JORDAN We’re all white here, Tom.
GATSBY Your wife doesn't love you. She's never loved you. She loves me!
TOM You must be crazy.
GATSBY No, old sport. See, she never loved you... She only married you because I was poor and she was tired of waiting. It was a terrible, terrible mistake, but in her heart she never loved anyone but me!
JORDAN We should go...
GATSBY Daisy and I have nothing to hide... 102.
DAISY Jay let’s go, please...!
TOM Sit down Daisy! GATSBY (reassuring) Yes, Daisy, please sit down. Tom's voice gropes unsuccessfully for the paternal note.
TOM What's been going on? I want to hear all about it.
GATSBY I just told you what's been going on; its been going on for five years...! Tom turns to Daisy sharply.
TOM You've been seeing him for five years?
GATSBY Not seeing. No, we couldn't; but both of us loved each other all that time, old sport, and you didn't know. I used to laugh sometimes, to think that you didn't know... TOM Oh - that's all; you're crazy! I can't speak about what happened five years ago, because I didn't know Daisy then - but I'll be damned if I see how you got within a mile of her unless you brought the groceries to the back door. But all the rest of that's a god-damned lie. Daisy loved me when she married me and she loves me now.
Tom starts to make himself a drink...
GATSBY No... 103. TOM She does, though... And what's more, I love Daisy too. Once in a while I go off on a spree, but I always come back, and in my heart I love her all the time...
DAISY You’re revolting... Daisy’s voice drops an octave lower, filling the room with thrilling scorn...
DAISY (CONT’D) Do you know why we left Chicago...? I'm surprised they didn't treat you to the story of that little spree. Gatsby walks over and stands beside Daisy.
GATSBY That's all over now. Just tell him the truth, that you never loved him; and all this... all this pain will be wiped out forever. Daisy looks at Gatsby blindly. DAISY Why, how could I love him, possibly?
GATSBY You never loved him. Daisy hesitates; too late, she realizes what she is doing. DAISY I never loved him.
GATSBY That’s right...
TOM Not at Kapiolani?
DAISY No.
TOM (a husky tenderness) Not that day I carried you down from the Punch Bowl to keep your shoes dry...? Daisy? Never? 104.
DAISY Please don’t.
TOM Daisy... Her voice is cold, but the anger is gone.
DAISY There, Jay. She trembles as she looks to Gatsby...
DAISY (CONT’D) You want too much! I love you now; isn't that enough? I can't help what's past. (begins to sob) I did love him once; but I loved you too.
GATSBY (shocked, uncomprehending) You loved me too?
TOM (savage) Even that's a lie. She didn't know you were alive. There are things between Daisy and me that you'll never know, things that neither of us can ever forget. The words seem to bite physically into Gatsby.
GATSBY I want to speak to Daisy alone. She's all excited now...
DAISY Even alone I can't say I never loved Tom. It wouldn't be true.
TOM Of course it wouldn't. Daisy turns to her husband.
DAISY As if it mattered to you. 105.
TOM Of course it matters. I'm going to take better care of you from now on.
GATSBY You're not taking care of her any more! Daisy's leaving you.
TOM Nonsense. DAISY (with visible effort) I am, though.
TOM She's not leaving me; and certainly not for a common swindler! Tom's words suddenly lean down over Gatsby.
TOM (CONT’D) Mr. Gatsby, who exactly are you anyhow? You see, I have made a small investigation into your affairs... You're one of Meyer Wolfsheim’s bunch. Tom turns to the others and speaks rapidly.
TOM (CONT’D) See, he and this Wolfsheim bought up a lot of 'drug stores' and sold bootlegged alcohol over the counter!
GATSBY What about it, old sport?
TOM Don’t call me ‘old sport!’ This drug store business is just small change compared to the bonds stunt you and Wolfsheim have got going on now.
GATSBY Well your friend Walter Chase isn’t too proud to come in on it. 106.
TOM I’ve been giving that some thought. How does a reputable banker like Walter Chase find himself up to his eyeballs in debt to a little kike like Wolfsheim?
GATSBY It’s called ‘greed,’ old sport.
TOM That’s right; you’ve got half of Wall Street out there swilling your free booze at that fun park every weekend... (to Nick) I’m surprised he hasn’t tried to drag you in... Nick looks away sharply. Tom registers this.
TOM (CONT’D) My God, he has...
GATSBY He’s got nothing to do with--
TOM With your little racket... (to Daisy) Daisy... Can’t you see who this guy is? With his house and his parties and his fancy clothes; he’s just a front for Wolfsheim, a gangster, to get his claws into respectable folk like Walter...!
GATSBY (a vicious sneer) The only respectable thing about you, old sport, is your money, that’s it, and now I’ve just as much as you; so that means we’re equal!! Tom smiles with smug, condescending scorn.
TOM Oh no, no, we’re different; I am, (gesturing at Nick and Jordan) They are... (now at Daisy) She is; 107. (MORE) we’re all different from you - we were born different, it’s in our blood, and nothing you do, or say, or steal or dream up, can ever change that... And a girl like Daisy will never...! Gatsby explodes with terrifying rage.
GATSBY SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUTTT UP!!!!
Shock jolts the room. We float toward Gatsby. His rage-filled eyes stare into the void, as, with all his willpower, he restrains himself from ripping Tom apart...
NICK (V.O) Gatsby looked, in that moment... as if he had “killed a man.” Tom snorts a dismissive laugh.
TOM That’s right Mr. Gatsby, show us those fine Oxford manners... Gatsby recovers and turns to Diasy, who is trembling in the corner, on the verge of tears.
GATSBY My sincerest apologies. I... I seem to have lost my temper. Struggling for self control, Gatsby turns toward her as if Tom suddenly no longer exists.
GATSBY Daisy darling... None of this has any consequence. Don’t listen to him Daisy. Daisy blanches; Gatsby, now desperate, babbles incoherently.
GATSBY (CONT’D) We’re going back to Louisville to be married. Then we’re going to live together in our house; it’s-- There is a feeling of excruciating unease in the room.
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