BLACK SAM A Pirates Tale

A Spec Script Treatment by Ran Cartwright

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BLACK SAM A Pirates Tale Time - contemporary. Two young sisters, Maggie and Mary, walk along a Cape Cod beach. They see an old crone walking with a cane, apparently homeless. The old woman stumbles and falls. The two sisters hurry to help her. They help the old woman to her feet; she stares into Marys eyes, startling her. Theres something about this old woman, Mary can tell, something this old woman knows and has kept secret. Theres a deep wisdom in those old eyes far beyond her seemingly ancient years. The old woman invites the two young sisters to tea and they accept. Steadying the old woman, Maggie and Mary help her home to an old tar paper shack with blanket door that the sisters dont recall ever being on the beach. Night falls; they sit in lawn chairs around a camp fire, tea cups in hand, shadows dancing on the nearby walls of the tar paper shack. The old woman, a woolen shawl around her shoulders, pauses and stares into the fire. Theres a strange light in her eyes. She asks the sisters if theyd like to hear a tale about a pirate and a witch, a

BLACK SAM treatment/3 true story, she says. Black Sam Bellamy. Now thats a story to tell! A tragedy that happened right here,..., the old woman says, and with a distant look in her eyes, she slowly raises her head and looks out to sea. ...just off shore. This very night...in 1717. The sisters want to hear. And so the old woman begins her tale... * * *

Flashing back - Wellfleet, MA, 1714, Sam Bellamy arrives from England to live with his uncles family. He intends to acquire enough money to buy a ship, form a crew, and sail to the Caribbean to salvage sunken ships for gold and silver. Sam meets many people who will shape his immediate future. Included are Palsgrave Williams, a jeweler, and 15 year old Maria Hallet whom he meets in a cemetery. Maria and Sam fall in love and develop a whirlwind relationship. Sam settles into a life of smuggling thats fronted by a local tavern. Included among the smugglers are Sams Uncle Israel, Palsgrave Williams, and a crusty old ex-pirate named Joseph Rivers. During this time Maria becomes pregnant and springs the news on Sam. With the pregnancy, Sam deems it even more

BLACK SAM treatment/4 imperative to get a ship and find his fortune. He goes to Palsgrave, asking the jeweler to finance Sams enterprise. Pals agrees on the condition that he comes along as Sams quartermaster. ...youll need someone whos honest to keep tabs on all that gold..., so says Palsgrave. Its agreed. Pals acquires a ship; they recruit a rather mangy crew and set sail for the Caribbean. Prior to leaving, Sam promises Maria that hell be back for her, and make her and the child so rich that all of Cape Cod will be envious. By the time Sam and Pals arrive at a treasure wreck site, a sunken 1715 plate fleet off the Florida coast, they find the gold and silver already picked over. They search for weeks, but dont find any gold. The crew is despondent, ready to desert. They dont want to go back to the toils of the Royal Navy or join the Merchant Marines or return to Cape Cod to worthless jobs. Sam gives them a pep talk, offering his crew a deal... We can return to Cape Cod; spend the rest of our lives paying off our debts. Well be poor, working for rich masters! It will be the only life well ever know. Or...we can be our own rich masters! We can go on the account; become looters of nations! A crewmen holds up a recently made flag - black with

BLACK SAM treatment/5 white skull and cross bones. All we have to do is raise this flag! This flag represents not death, but resurrection. Never again will we be slaves of the wealthy. From this day forward we are new men. Free men! What say ye? Do we work for our masters or do we become the masters? It doesnt take long for the crew to decide. They choose piracy. * * *

Back at Cape Cod, Marias father demands to know the identity of the babys father. Maria wont say. So, being puritanical New England, Marias father throws her out of the house. She finds a hayloft in a neighbors barn to live in and have the baby. And with Sam nine months gone, Maria has her baby. Its a boy and looks like his father - black hair, blue eyes. Maria hides the child in the hayloft while she spends time on the streets of Wellfleet, panhandling for a living. One day while on the streets, the child chokes on a piece of straw and dies. The child is found dead. And now, not only is Maria considered and adulteress, shes also viewed as a murderess. Devastated, shes thrown in the stone prison in Eastham.

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Back in the Caribbean, Sam and Pals team up with pirate Henry Jennings. Jennings is useless, lazy, tries to get others to do his dirty work. Sam and Pals go along with Jennings, but soon tire of him. The pirates plot to attack Bayo Hondo on Cubas north shore, Sam to lead the assault. As they sail into the harbor, Jennings fires his canon nearly causing disaster for them all. Hearing that another ship loaded gold had recently left the harbor, Jennings hazardously goes after the ship while Sam and Pals stay behind. While Jennings is gone, Sam steels Jennings gold and leaves. Jennings returns, throwing a fit when he finds Sam and his treasure gone. * * *

In prison, Marias sick and weak, but still manages to escape on a number of occasions by charming the prison guards. Some of the locals begin to believe its the Devils work and brand her a witch. Each time she escapes, she makes her way to the Outer Banks of Cape Cod to await Sams return. And each time shes caught and brought back to the prison in Eastham. * * *

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Sam, Pals, and their crew meet up with the infamous pirate captain, Ben Hornigold, and members of Hornigolds crew, including Edward Teech (Blackbeard) and Richard Noland. Sam tells Hornigold about their adventures with Henry Jennings, and how they tricked Jennings and made off with his treasure. Hornigold finds Sams tale hilarious, is impressed with the young Sam, and offers to teach Sam and his crew the fine art and science of my ancient and bloody profession. Sam, Pals, and their crew agree. They go on account, joining Hornigolds crew. Hornigold notes that Sams a fast learner, perhaps a little too fast. And Sam learns something about Hornigold - the pirate captain is still loyal to the English Crown and does not like to take English ships or ships with English captains. And after several months of pirating, things are coming to a head. * * *

Its night. Maria slips through the shadows of Eastham Commons, having talked her way out of prison again. But try as she might, she doesnt go unseen. Shes spotted, the witnesses again convinced that the Devil is behind her continuous escapes and that shes a witch.

BLACK SAM treatment/8 She makes her way across country to the cliffs above Nauset Beach. There she falls asleep only to be awakened in the morning by guards who have come to take her back to prison. * * *

...shes an English ship with an English captain, Mr Noland! Captain Hornigold angrily proclaims. I will not take that ship! The crew are outraged, and lead by Sam, they claim that ALL merchant ships are fair game. A vote is taken. Hornigold and crew agree to relieve the ship only of its supply of liquor. Later, on Samana Beach, another vote is taken, one to replace Hornigold as fleet captain. That night, on the beach, a moon reflecting on the water while a breeze rustles the leaves of palm trees, Hornigold learns of the vote. Hes displaced, the crew electing Sam as their new captain. Though understanding Sams position and agreeing with the taking of English ships, Blackbeard proclaims his loyalty to his old captain. Thus, Hornigold is allowed to freely leave. He and 26 others, including Blackbeard, set sail in a ship Sam provides to them.

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A Guard at the Eastham Prison informs the Prison Constable that Maria Hallet has escaped again. The Constable sits back at his desk, sighs, shakes his head, and glares at the Guard. The guards find Maria at the edge of the cliffs over Nauset Beach, staring out to sea. They take her and start back to Eastham. The guards lead her through the streets, people in doorways and along the streets taunting her as she passes by. And this time the townsfolk fall in behind, forming a procession to the prison. As the guards, Maria, and townsfolk approach the prison gates, the find the Constable standing there awaiting their arrival. The Constable rises a hand. The procession stops. The crowd grows quiet. The Constable paces back and forth, hands clasped behind his back. Miss Hallet, no one has ever escaped from my prison before, yet you have on four occasion, he says. There has been talk that you charmed my guards and... Shes the Devils whore! someone in the crowd interrupts. ...and accusations of witchcraft, the Constable continues. Frankly, Miss Hallet, Im tired of having my

BLACK SAM treatment/10 guards chase after you. Im tired of you making a mockery of my prison. As far as Im concerned, despite what others might say, you pose no threat to this community. I dont care where you go...just go. Released, Maria skirts the taunting, jeering, and stone throwing crowd as she runs back to town, then beyond to the cliffs overlooking Nauset Beach. There, she falls to her knees and softly sobs, then breaks down and cries. * * *

Sam, developing a flair for piracy, roams the Caribbean, taking ship after ship. Hes well known as a gentleman pirate, taking on crew who wish to join and setting others free after looting their ships. In time his small fleet increases in size as does his crew. * * *

As winter settles over New England, Maria has built a small ramshackle tar paper hut with blanket door on the cliffs above Nauset Beach. She spends her time selling what trinkets she can to local villagers. In her spare time she waits and watches for Sams return. Exiled and branded a witch, Maria wanders the sand dunes alone, no matter the weather, no matter the wind, not knowing that Sam has

BLACK SAM treatment/11 turned to piracy. * * *

February 1717, a lookout shouts: Approaching galley aport, 3 leagues away! Off the port bow in the distance is the 300 ton, 28 gun galley, Whydah. A slaver just having dropped off her cargo in Jamaica, shes making her return voyage through the Windward Passage on her way back to England. Sam gives chase. It takes the pirates three days and nights to catch the galley. Finally, the Whydah gives in without fight. Sam and his men board the ship and are surprised to find the hold full of gold, silver, and ivory. Sam has made his fortune and claims the Whydah for his flagship. By early April 1717, Sam and Pals have met with much success. They decide that the next winter theyll terrorize merchantmen in the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea. First, though, Sam surprises everyone by wanting to sail north again - back to New England. Maria awaits. And so, the two pirate ships turn north... * * *

The two pirate ships sail north. Its a calm day; some

BLACK SAM treatment/12 pirates are playing cards on a hatch cover, others lounge on deck, one plays a pipe while another dances an Irish jig. Sam stands at the starboard rail, looking out to sea. Theres a storm brewing. He can feel it. Soon after the sky has grown dark, heavy overcast, a storm tossing the Marianne and Whydah on the waves. Lightning and thunder flash and rumble. Wind whistles through the rigging; the small sails still set flap on the wind. Rain pours down on the decks, the waves pounding the ships. A work crew on the Whydahs main deck tugs on a line to further shorten sail. On the Marianne, Palsgrave stands on the rain washed main deck, watching a work crew pull a line to tighten the already double reefed mainsail. A wind gust catches the sail. It begins to unfurl, tearing the line free from the work crew. The sail swells full, and with a snap like cannon fire, it tears away from the yard, catches in the rigging, then shrouds, then the wind carries it away into the darkened storm, the broken lines from the missing sail whipping around in the wind. Later, the storm ended, the sky partly cloudy, the two ships rest gently on the water, their sails furled or dangling, the main sail of the Marianne still gone. Theres

BLACK SAM treatment/13 general chatter as work crews scurry about repairing storm damage. * * *

Maria sits in her tiny hut, a quilt wrapped around her for warmth. A lantern hangs from the roof, casting shadows into the corners. Theres a sudden rap on the wall of the hut. Maria, startled, looks up. Another rap, then more. Maria reaches for the lantern, rises, and steps outside. Four young boys stand several feet away. One holds a torch; the others throwing stones at the hut. They pause, step back, then begin to throw stones at Maria. After taunting her, they run off into the night. Maria pauses, looks to the northern horizon as soft thunder rumbles and lightning flashes in the distance, then turns and disappears back into her hut. * * *

Storm damage repaired on the Whydah, Sam recommends a celebration. The crew decide to put on a play - The Royal Pirate. The play commences as a small group of pirates remain asleep below decks, sleeping off a drunk. In the middle of the play, the sleeping pirates awaken. Hearing shouts above, they scramble up a ladder in time to see a

BLACK SAM treatment/14 fellow pirate on the verge of being hung. Not knowing its a play being staged by their shipmates, the newly awakened pirates break open a gun cabinet below deck, and rush those above, creating a mle in which others are wounded and a fellow pirate killed. The fight is finally stopped. Sam orders the attacking pirates to be placed in chains below deck. The murdered pirate is buried at sea. Sam swears its the last time a play will ever be performed on his ship. * * *

Just off shore at Nauset Beach on Cape Cod a deaths head pirate flag flutters on the breeze, its edge tattered and worn. Beneath the tattered flag rides the Whydah, enveloped in an eerie glowing mist, a ghost ship with torn sails and dangling lines. Maria stands at the waters edge, watching and waiting, the breeze billowing her hair. A cloud billows across the water toward her. Out of the cloud steps Sam, walking on the water. They come together, embrace, and kiss. The kiss broken, Maria looks up, finds Sam changed. His face white, drained of blood, dark circles around his eyes, a gash on his forehead, skin decaying. He smiles. Shes uncertain, afraid, struggling to break free. She

BLACK SAM treatment/15 finally pushes free, forcing herself... ...awake as she sits up, gasping from the nightmare. She peers around wide-eyed, throws off the quilt, jumps up and hurries outside. Afraid, Maria hurries to the edge of the cliff top and stares out to sea. Theres nothing there. * * *

Three ships at anchor, their sails struck, the Marianne tethered to a small sloop captained by Simon Beere whos been brought aboard the Whydah. Sam likes Beere, asks Beere to join him. Beere defiantly and haughtily declines, denouncing Sam and his profession at the same time. An enraged Sam then chastises Beere: Damn my blood! Im sorry they wont let you have your ship...well sink her! And damn you, Captain Beere, youre a sneaking puppy and so are all wholl submit to be governed by laws that rich men have made for their own security! The cowards havent the courage otherwise to defend what they get by their knavery! Damn all of ye! Damn the crafty rascals and you who serve them - all of you a pack of hen-hearted numbskulls! They call us cutthroats and villains! The only difference is they rob the poor under the cover of law! We plunder the rich under the protection of our own courage! Still angered, Sam has his gun crew sink Beeres ship,

BLACK SAM treatment/16 then orders Beere and his crew to Pals ship. Sam doesnt want Beere aboard the Whydah. * * *

A hard rain drenches Maria as she runs through the streets of Eastham, aprons draped over an arm, holding her shawl over her head with the other hand. She rounds a corner, runs headlong into two ruffians. She spins, looking at them fearfully as they return her stare, and then she turns and continues running, heading home to her tar paper shack on the cliffs above Nauset Beach. Arriving at her shack, she ducks inside, lights the hanging lantern and pulls her quilt around her for warmth. She rocks back and forth, her knees drawn up under her chin, the rain pouring down on her hut. * * *

Dark clouds gather on the northern horizon. The Whydah and Marianne are at anchor, their sails trimmed. Another gathering storm. The crew are becoming alarmed, thinking they may be cursed. Later that evening, the storm rages, lightning and thunder roaring around them, waves crashing against the ships. Sails are furled, lines secured. Then

BLACK SAM treatment/17 The lines and shrouds of the Whydahs mizzen mast whip in the wind. Theres a sudden loud crack and the upper part of the mizzen mast crashes to the deck. Below deck hanging lanterns swing, water leaks through cracks, pours through the grating of some hatch covers. Theres another load crack. The main mast, at a slight angle, the deck above buckled, has been broken loose from its wooden braces. Later, the storm is over, the clouds clearing. The Whydahs anchored, the crew busy themselves with repairs. The storm separated the two ships. Theres no sign of the Marianne. Soon, the Whydah, alone, continues north, the mizzen mast gone. The Lookout spots a sail and the Whydah overtakes a small two masted ship, the Ann. The Ann laysto, her mainsail lines loosened, wind dropping from the sail. With the Ann taken captive, the two ships continue north. * * *

Meanwhile, on the Marianne, Palsgrave spots two ships on the horizon. His crew begin to ready for an attack, and then realize they are pursuing the Whydah and another ship. The Marianne rejoins the Whydah, making their small fleet three ships.

BLACK SAM treatment/18 Pals decides he wants to stop at Block Island off the New England coast to visit his sister and mother. Sam concurs, deciding to continue north with the intention that he and Pals will meet up again in two weeks at Green Island in Canada. So, approaching Block Island, Pals takes the Marianne and departs the fleet while the Whydah and Ann continue on. * * *

A hard steady rain falls on Nauset Beach. Theres occasional lightning and thunder. Marias little garden is washed away. Later, the storm over, the morning sun pushes through sparse cloud cover. Maria stands looking at her garden. She shakes her head, looks to sea, and then turns, walks to her hut, and enters. Sitting, Maria lights the hanging lantern. She begins to weave on a loom, quickly gets bored, and sits back. She grabs her shawl, rises, and leaves the hut. Shawl about her shoulders, Maria slowly walks along the waters edge, tide lapping around her bare feet. She pauses and stares out to sea. Later, Maria goes to Eastham with an armload of aprons to sell. Everyone either ignores or threatens her while an old man with horse drawn cart watches. Later he shows up at

BLACK SAM treatment/19 Marias hut with baskets of vegetables for her. He understands her plight, having lost a daughter who was about Marias age. * * *

The Ann and Whydah, cannons run out, flank the small three masted Mary Anne, an Irish pink (not to be confused with Pals ship the Marianne) loaded with wine. Sam assigns seven of his pirates to run the Mary Anne with three of her original crew. They continue north, the Mary Anne lagging behind, the pirates taunting and teasing the three crewmen. And all the while the Mary Anne drifts farther and farther apart from the Whydah and Ann. Then, on the northern horizon, they see fog drifting across the water. Unknown to the pirates, the largest noreaster in decades is building and the three ships are sailing straight toward it. And as night begins to fall, the winds pick up as the storm clouds rapidly gather. As the Whydah and Ann lose sight of the Mary Anne, another ship is spotted - the Fisher. Sam persuades the Fishers captain to guide Sams ships safely through the storm and to port on Cape Cod. But the Fishers captain has other ideas - run the Whydah and her crew toward the rocks along the shoreline.

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Maria stands on the cliffs above Nauset Beach, looking out to sea, occasionally glancing north at the gathering storm as it nears - lightning more frequent, thunder roaring, the wind picking up. * * *

On the Mary Anne, the storm approaches; lightning and thunder roll across the sea. A light rain falls. The seven pirates, drunk, and three crew are on deck, watching. Now night, the rain a major squall, the seas rough, tossing the Mary Anne between growing waves. The wind whistles through the lines and shrouds, straining the sails. Lightning and thunder are heavier, more frequent. The rain pours heavily while waves wash over the deck. The crew and pirates grasp anything for support as the storm rips sails, lines, and masts free. Finally, terrified and soaked through, they hurry below deck, thinking they are doomed. Below deck the pirates and prisoners huddle together in a corner of the hold under a rocking lantern. Cold, wet, and scared, they shiver as the raging storm echoes through the hold. Empty wine bottles and trash roll across the

BLACK SAM treatment/21 floor as the wind and waves roll the ship back and forth. The timbers of the ship groan under the battering gale. A pirate instructs a Mary Anne crewman to read from his of Common Prayer. * * * Book

The Whydah and Ann sail on, lead by the Fisher. The howling gale tosses the ships, dangling lines snap in the wind, waves crash against the hulls. * * *

Maria sits in her shack, her arms curled around her knees drawn up under her chin. She peers around fearfully, the lantern rocking. Outside the storm rages, wind, and rain buffeting her shack. * * *

A huge wave hits the Mary Anne, rattling the timbers. The pirates, grasping their wine bottles, and crew, cry out. The lantern flame flickers, then steadies. Death is coming. * * *

Ten miles north, the storm rages around the three ships as the Fisher turns inshore, luring the Whydah toward

BLACK SAM treatment/22 the rocks. The Whydah is battered by the storm, huge waves breaking across her bow. Howling wind blows the torrential rain horizontal, cutting through the shrouds and lines. Pirates race around the ship to make her steady, trim sails, secure lines. Sam realizes its a losing cause; hes been tricked. He can hear the nearby breakers. He orders the anchors dropped to save the ship from crashing into the rocks. The Whydah lurches as the anchors take hold and the ship begins to swing around, stern shoreward, dragging the anchors with it. It does no good. The anchor cables are cut to free the ship. A huge wave crashes into the ship, pitching it on its side. Cannons break loose, crashing across the deck. Below, more cannons break loose, crashing through bulwarks and bulkheads, and into the sea. Pirates are swept overboard, sliding across the decks, washed from the lines and shrouds - Sam among them. Masts snap and are washed away, shredded sails flap in the wind, dangling lines snap like gunfire. All across the rolling ship desperate pirates attempt to jump and swim only to be swept under. Finally, the ship completes its roll, capsized, keel up, like a turtle shell being battered

BLACK SAM treatment/23 by the waves. And in the surf just offshore, there are only two survivors of the 146 crew and prisoners who were aboard the Whydah. * * *

The morning sun rises on Nauset Beach. Ironically, the Whydah has crashed ashore within sight of Marias tar paper shack. Ship debris is everywhere, including many bodies of pirates and prisoners. Off shore rests the over turned hull of the Whydah. Scavenging villagers wander the beach, whispering among themselves that the witch on the cliffs above caused the wreck. And Maria stands above, staring down, knowing the truth of what she sees. * * *

Ten miles south, the storm is ended, the sky partly cloudy, a brisk breeze blowing. The pirates and three crew of the Mary Anne stagger on deck, realize theyve survived the nor-easter, their ship grounded on a sandbar. Delighted, they sit in the sand in the shade of the hull, drinking whats left of the wine until two locals come by, offering help. They accept, but are eventually caught by authorities as the identity of the pirates are revealed.

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Sam, dazed, pained, battered and broken like his ship, staggers across the marshy landscape between brush and bushes, making his way to Wellfleet. He makes it to the tree cemetery where he had first met Maria. Then, with effort, he lies down and curls up by the tree trunk. He falls asleep and sometime during the night he dies. Hes later found by locals. * * *

Six days later - Block Island, Palsgrave and his crew ready the Marianne to sail when a surviving crewmen from the Whydah suddenly shows up. Battered and beaten, the crewman relates the tale. Saddened at the loss of his friend and fellow shipmates, Palsgrave releases Beere and his men, and then Pals and his crew sail, turning their ship south toward Nassau. * * *

Returning to the present - so ends the old womans tale of the pirate and witch of Cape Cod. The campfire flames dance, soft orange light reflect on the faces of the old woman, Mary, and Maggie. The old woman smiles, chuckles, then pulls out a locket Pals had made for Sam as

BLACK SAM treatment/25 proof of her tale. She hands the locket to Mary. The sisters inspect the locket closely, taking note of the inscription. The old woman sits back and sighs. The wind kicks up, a soft peel of thunder in the distance. She looks out to sea; a misty fog bank is rolling in on the shore. She begins to rise from her chair. These old bones dont take to foul weather like they use to, she says as the two sisters also rise. With the storm approaching, its time to leave. Mary and Maggie thank the old woman for her hospitality and kindness then start home, Mary unconsciously taking the locket. They disappear into the dark. The old woman smiles, watching them go, and then turns and slowly walks to the edge of the cliff, watching the gathering storm, the fog thickening off shore. Mary absentmindedly glances at the locket, realizes she still has it. She stops in her tracks, knowing she must return it. She tells Maggie to wait, and hurries off into the night back toward the old womans shack. Back at the hut, the campfire still burns, but the old woman nowhere to be found. Mary notices a soft golden light coming from the beach below. She walks to the cliff edge and looks down.

BLACK SAM treatment/26 On the beach below Mary sees the old woman slowly approaching a glowing misty fog on the shore. In the fog offshore is a ghost ship with shredded sails and dangling lines. Out of the fog steps the ghost of Sam Bellamy. The old woman pauses as Sams ghost approaches. Sam smiles as he holds out his hands and takes her hands in his. She changes into the young and beautiful teenage Maria Hallet. They embrace, and then smile up at Mary atop the cliff. Mary smiles as she hears Marias voice in her thoughts: Keep the locket, she hears Maria say. And when you look at it, remember the story an old woman once told you. Mary smiles, tears in her eyes. She glances at the locket in the palm of her hand, and then clenches the locket in her fist, holding it close to her heart. And she watches as the ghosts of Sam and Maria turn and, arm in arm, walk away, disappearing into the night, the ghost ship riding off shore. THE END