OVER BLACK:
We hear the sound of frantic screaming. Gunfire. Stern orders yelled out in German.
EXT. VILLAGE – DAY
Men in ages ranging from teens to fifties, dressed in rustic attire and brandishing hunting rifles take shots at an unseen target from behind crude barricades made of barrels and bags of grain. They’re promptly cut down by machine gun fire.
EXT. MILITARY JEEP – DAY - LATER
The Jeep travels down a road to the center of the village. Behind the wheel sits a lowly private, while next to him sits an SS COLONEL (45). Suave, stern and unnerving.
Subtitle:
"NORWAY – 1940"
EXT. VILLAGE SQUARE – DAY
A Panzer has been set up by the road leading in. Some SS troops are already clearing away the bodies of dead partisans, while others hold the massed villager in line with their submachine guns. The Jeep comes to a halt near a church.
The Colonel steps out and walks toward the church doors.
INT. CHURCH
A PRIEST kneels facing the cross, silently praying when the doors are opened behind him. Not even the approaching sound boot heels on wooden floors pulls him out, until the Colonel loom over him, flanked by a soldier who trains his rifle on him and a young Norwegian COLLABORATOR.
SS COLONEL
(Speaking German)
I think he would have answered by now…
The collaborator interprets. The Priest continues.
SS COLONEL
(Speaking German)
The partisans are dead. All of them.
Deny your involvement with them if you like,
But I’m not concerned with that.
The collaborator interprets….
SS COLONEL
(Speaking German)
I’m here for the cube.
The collaborator interprets…. And suddenly the priest is all out of prayer.
SS COLONEL
(Speaking German)
Yes… That’s what I thought.
The Priest turns to face the Colonel.
PRIEST
(Speaking Norwegian)
The cube? It’s… A trinket.
The collaborator interprets…
SS COLONEL
(Speaking German)
Good. You wouldn’t mind parting with it, then.
PRIEST
(Speaking Norwegian)
It’s been housed here for centuries.
SS COLONEL
(Speaking German)
I understand. Look, I’m going to make this very easy,
Refuse to give me the cube, and I will have this entire
Village reduced to cinder.
CUT TO:
INT. BASEMENT
The Priest enters a damp chamber, followed by the Colonel, the soldier and the collaborator. He reaches for a wooden hatch in the ground, pulls it open, and reaches inside for a wooden chest. the Colonel kneels down to open it, prying it open carefully with a dagger.
The Colonel picks something out, wrapped in rags. He removes the rags to reveal a crystal cube. He moves it in his hand against the light for a few moments.
SS COLONEL
(Speaking German)
You were right, it is just a trinket.
Suddenly, the Colonel whips up and strikes the Priest in the face with the cube. He bludgeons his head with it as the soldier looks on nervously, while the collaborator watches in abject horror.
Moments later, the Colonel stands up.
SS COLONEL
(Speaking German)
You have no idea how painful your demise would
Have been had this been what I was looking for.
CUT TO:
EXT. CHURCH – DAY
A soldier shoves the collaborator back into the church, which has been filled with screaming villagers, seconds before the doors are closed and several soldiers board them shut.
The Colonel walks back to his Jeep, while the troops clear away from the church. The Panzer comes to life, rotating its main gun to aim at the church.
CUT TO:
A tank firing. In grainy black and white.
A series of film clips follows, in grainy black and white, depicting images from the ongoing invasion of Russia; dug in Red Army troops firing at German infantry, German armored columns, Soviet conscripts on the march… etc.
ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
The Nazi war machine drives relentlessly forward…
The Russian defenders, shocked and confused, are unable
To mount effective counterattacks, and by the second day,
German tank divisions have penetrated as far as fifty miles,
Quickly brushing any opposition aside.
ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
The Luftwaffe assumes total aerial dominance.
Russian prisoners were rounded up in the tens of thousands….
Joseph Stalin, in a broadcast speech to the Soviet People,
Proclaims the union to be under grave threat, and that it must
Be defended to the last. He then took over as people’s
Commissar for defense from his base in the Kremlin…
PULL BACK:
To reveal we’re looking at the screen in a movie theater, playing the latest News reel of the wars in Europe.
PAN OVER:
To reveal that the theater is sparsely populated.
SUBTITLE:
"NEW YORK CITY - 1941"
Among the audience sits STEVE ROGERS (22), a young, scrawny man. But despite his frailty, his general demeanor speaks of character, and his cobalt blue eyes shine with a calm intensity.
ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
However, Russians remain powerless to slow down the
German advance, as German Army Group North presses
On toward Lennigrad, while Army Group Center pressed
Toward its ultimate goal of reaching Moscow.
CUT TO:
INT. DOCTOR’S OFFICE
Steve has his shirt unbuttoned, while a doctor examines him.
CLOSE UP ON:
The Doctor’s hand as he signs his name and jots down the date next to a stamp that read ‘4F – Unfit for Service’ in Steve’s file, and there’s plenty of other dates above it.
INT. RECRUITMENT STATION FRONT DESK – DAY
A picture of FDR hangs prominently, while lesser spots bear various recruitment posters.
A CAPTAIN and a CORPORAL wait, looking at the doctor’s office’s door,
Steve fixes his tie as he steps out.
RECRUITMENT CAPTAIN
This has to stop, Rogers.
STEVE
I’ll pass the physical next time.
Steve goes to leave, but the Captain stops him.
RECRUITMENT CAPTAIN
Now hold on. So far I’ve been plenty gracious.
I told you the first time, you get your weight up,
Maybe then you can join up.
I’ve given you the chance, but there’s a point where
You gotta accept things.
STEVE
I’m not letting anyone go and die in my place.
RECRUITMENT CAPTAIN
You’re talking way too soon, kid. We’re not at war with
Nobody, probably won’t ever be.
STEVE
That’s not gonna hold forever.
Look, I just want to do my part.
RECRUITMENT CAPTAIN
(sighs)
Kid, I don’t want to be too rough no you, but you’re not
Soldier material. You’re weak, you wouldn’t stand a chance
In boot camp, much less on the front.
STEVE
Maybe, but I’d be doing the right thing. There’s no law
About how many times I can come back here.
The Captain stares at him deadpan. Steve leaves. A CORPORAL has been nearby the whole time.
RECRUITMENT CORPORAL
You want me to keep ‘em out the next time he comes,
Captain?
The Captain doesn’t answer straight away.
RECRUITMENT CAPTAIN
No.
(beat)
Send his file to Colonel Philips.
CUT TO:
EXT. BROOKLYN STREET – NIGHT
A MAN in a military cap and black trenchcoat watches Steve walk into a diner from across the street.
INT. STAN’S DINER
Steve walks into the busy diner, heads to the back to change and start his shift.
DISSOLVE TO LATER:
The diner is now empty save for Steve who walks to the back momentarily.
Our point of view remains constant as the man from before enters, hat in hand. We see his temples are gray, but with his back to us we see nothing else. Moments later, Steve returns, sans plates.
MAN
Can I have some coffee, son?
The Man (50) removes his coat and drapes it on a stool. He sits on the one next to it. The man is wearing an Army Dress uniform with birds on his shoulders.
STEVE
Sure thing.
MAN/ARMY COLONEL
Make it black.
Steve pours a mug full of coffee and presents it to the Army colonel.
ARMY COLONEL
Thanks, son.
The Army colonel takes a sip of his coffee.
ARMY COLONEL
I’m very sorry to hear about your mother, Steven.
STEVE
Do I know you, Colonel?
ARMY COLONEL
Colonel Chester Philips. Department of War.
ARMY COLONEL/PHILIPS
Months ago I’d sent out the order to military recruitment
offices across the country to monitor for certain types of
volunteers. Persistent ones.
PHILIPS
The Brooklyn Army recruitment office sent my your name.
As did the Bronx Recruitment office. As did the Marine and
Navy recruitment offices.
PHILIPS
I keep the task of sifting through all those names to my staff,
but you made enough of an impression with them that they
brought you to my attention.
STEVE
Why go through all that trouble?
Beat.
PHILIPS
You were thoroughly vetted. So I know about your mother
Passing away last winter. I also know about your father going
Missing in action during the Meuse-Argonne offensive.
PHILIPS
So why do you want to join the service, Steven?
STEVE
Sorry?
PHILIPS
There’s many reason why young men want to join the service;
Some are patriots, some are idealists, some are romantics and
Some are glory seekers.
PHILIPS
Why do you want to serve?
STEVE
I don’t think we’ll stay out of the war in Europe forever.
The Germans won’t ever have enough territory, and when
the time comes, I want to help stop them.
PHILIPS
Son, I’m going to be perfectly honest with you. If you’re
Under the impression you could make a difference, you’re
Either incredibly arrogant, or incredibly naïve.
Steve isn’t faltered, instead he retorts…
STEVE
"When bad men combine, the good must associate; else
they will fall one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a
contemptible struggle."
STEVE
Edmund Burke.
Philips eyes Steve for a second, unsure of his metal.
PHILIPS
Listen, what if I told you there was a way you could serve
Your country? What if told you I could help you become the
Very best soldier to set foot on a battlefield?
STEVE
Sounds vague.
PHILIPS
I’m afraid it has to.
STEVE
Alright. I'd ask what’s the catch?
PHILIPS
You might not live to even see action.
You could die, completely unsung.
Beat.
STEVE
Well, none of us is going to live forever.
Philips looks blankly at Steve for a moment as he finishes the last of his coffee. He gets up, puts on his coat and picks up his cap. He takes a small envelope out of his breast pocket and places it on the table.
PHILIPS
That’s a train ticket to Virginia that leaves on Sunday
At four. You think things over, wrap up your affairs.
By Friday, if you still want to be a soldier, be on that
Train.
Philips takes out his wallet, pulls out several bills.
STEVE
What’s in Virginia?
Philips drops the money on the counter.
PHILIPS
Keep the change.
Philips walks to the door.
STEVE
(calling out)
Colonel, what’s in Virginia?
But Philips is out the door, he puts on his cap and walks away, leaving Steve with nothing but questions, a train ticket to a vague destiny, and one big tip.
CUT TO:
EXT. TRAIN STATION – VIRGINIA – DAY
Almost a week later, Steve gets off a train and onto a busy platform. He’s wearing a suit and lugging a suitcase. He looks through the crowd, trying to figure what to do. Suddenly, an MP walks up to him.
MP
Rogers? Colonel Philips sent me to get you.
CUT TO:
INT. ARMY JEEP – DAY
Steve looks out the window at vast fields as the Jeep drives on. Eventually reaching the gate to a military base, the sign above it informs us:
SIGN:
WELCOME TO
CAMP LEHIGH
US ARMY
CUT TO:
EXT. MOTOR POOL – DAY
Steve and the MP get out of the Jeep.
MP
Wait here for a minute.
The MP leaves, leaving Rogers by himself.
Moments later, a bunch of soldiers approach. They’re quite an odd bunch, too, dressed in muddied fatigues, lead by a burly, Black, rugged SERGEANT, trailed by a White CORPORAL with a massive mustache and an unseemly bowler hat, and then half a dozen soldiers, each with their own non-regulation quirks; one is also Black and carries a trumpet, while another has a sun-hat on.
SUN-HAT SOLDIER
(Southern twang)
Well I’ll be! It’s another beanpole.
The soldiers laugh.
TRUMPET SOLDIER
Welcome to camp Lehigh, son. Watch out for the wolves!
SERGEANT FURY
Stow it, Reb. You too, Gabe.
Steve watches as the squad walk on, headed to their barracks. Philips walks up to him, having emerged from a nearby building.
PHILIPS
Private Rogers.
STEVE
(Turning around)
Sir?
PHILIPS
Oh, don’t sound so surprised. You’ve been a member
of the United States military the moment you agreed to
come with the MP. Walk with me, son.
Steve follows Philips as they head to a nearby building.
PHILIPS
The Howlers didn’t give you a hard time, did they?
STEVE
Howlers?
PHILIPS
The squad that passed you a minute ago.
STEVE
Oh. No, sir. Sir, what is this place?
PHILIPS
Camp Lehigh is where we build the Army of tomorrow.
PHILIPS
During the last war, I was in tanks. Served in the battle
Of Saint-Mihiel.
PHILIPS
Back then the things matched walking pace at best,
Inside it got so hard to breathe from the fumes that
You sometimes fainted when you got a breath of fresh
Air. We lived in mortal terror of a direct hit from
A cannon shell. But I loved being at the dawn of a
New era of warfare.
PHILIPS
There’s several experiments on this base. The Howlers
Are a social one, a racially integrated special
Operations unit... Another one is Project Rebirth.
PHILIPS
You, and one hundred and forty nine other volunteers
From across the country have been selected to part take
In Project Rebirth, the purpose of which is to develop
A procedure for the accelerated production of superior,
Physically enhanced fighting men; Super-soldiers.
Steve and Philips arrive at their destination. A man stands waiting.
PHILIPS
Doctor Abraham Erskine, scientific director of Project
Rebirth. Private Steven Rogers, our final volunteer.
Erskine is fairly unassuming, portly, and definitely not a career military man, but filled with energy. He kind of looks halfway between a creepy uncle and a kindly grandfather.
ERSKINE
(German accent)
Pleasure to meet you, Steven.
Come in with me, please.
TO BE CONTINUED