Escape

A fugitive from a chain gang down South attempts escape and gains his freedom from his pursuers—one way or the other.

Type:

Short

Status:

For sale

Page Count:

7pp

Genre:

Drama, Thriller

Budget:

Shoestring

Age Rating:

13+

Based On:

“Escape” (late 1930s-early 1940s), a one-act play by Tennessee Williams.

Synopsis/Details

Three black convicts in a Southern bunkhouse listen while their cellmate makes a run to the tracks for the escape-train north, with hounds and guards in full pursuit. The three convicts hear the sound of a train and then gunshots, and puzzle over the fate their cellmate: escape or capture, life or death, freedom or . . . the final freedom.

Story & Logistics

Story Type:

Escape

Story Situation:

Daring enterprise

Story Conclusion:

Ambiguous

Linear Structure:

Linear

Moral Affections:

Approbation, Guilt, Illegality, Punishment

Cast Size:

Several

Locations:

Single

Special Effects:

Minor cgi

Characters

Lead Role Ages:

Male Adult

Hero Type:

Anti-Hero, Ordinary

Villian Type:

Authority Figure

Stock Character Types:

Bad boy, Everyman, Fall guy, Outlaw

Advanced

Adaption:

Based on Existing Fiction

Subgenre:

African-American, Crime & Gangster, Literary Adaption, Suspense-Thriller

Equality & Diversity:

Minority-Centric, Minority Protagonist

Life Topics:

Approaching Death

Super Powers:

Physical or mental domination

Time Period:

Great Depression (1929 – World War II)

Country:

United States of America (USA)

Time of Year:

Summer

Relationship Topics:

Bonding

Writer Style:

Carl Foreman, Dalton Trumbo, William Faulkner

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Submitted: 2020-Dec-23

Last Updated: 2020-Dec-23

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The Writer: R. J. Cardullo

A former university film teacher, I turned to screenwriting several years ago. I have also written film criticism for many publications. A New Yorker by birth, I grew up in Miami and was educated at the University of Florida, Tulane, and Yale. My last U.S. address was in Milford, Connecticut; I am now an expatriate residing in Scandinavia. Many of my scripts (both long and short) are adaptations of lesser-known works by well-known authors. I am happy to re-write, collaborate, or write on demand. Thanks kindly for any attention you can give my work. Go to bio

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Escape

Synopsis/Details

The Writer: R. J. Cardullo

Pages