Template 7 <Tales of Rain Island>

"The Trojan Horse:
The Communist Threat in Our Back-Yard"
(Transcription © 2008 by Walter D. Reimer)

FADE IN

MUSIC:   Fanfare

CARD:     The Trojan Horse:
        The Communist Threat in Our Back-Yard

MUSIC:   Incidental Music

CARD:   Presented by O’Dell College
        Roanoke, Virginia, USA
        © 1935

CARD:   Produced by Slaton MacCaskill

FADE OUT

FADE IN

MUSIC

SCENE:   Stock daytime footage of typical American street in late spring – it could be any town in rural Pennsylvania or Virginia; crane shot of the center of town, showing people walking about and cars on the roads.
The point of view lowers to street level.

DISSOLVE TO:

Footage of a young feline woman, dressed casually for the late spring weather; sun dress and matching hat; she is escorted by her boyfriend, like her a feline and wearing a light sweater with his college varsity letter [note: not ours]. They walk into a local soda fountain, with the camera following them.

NARRATOR:
Spring in America . . . ahh, Spring, when a young man’s fancy turns to thoughts of squiring his best girl;

CUT TO:

SCENE:   Stock footage of a farmer driving his tractor along a freshly-plowed field.

NARRATOR:
And farmers are preparing the fallow ground to raise yet another crop;

CUT TO:

SCENE:   Stock footage of a factory worker clocking out.

NARRATOR:
And workers in their factories are finishing up their day, after providing us with the fruits of their labor – automobiles, iceboxes and the hundreds of other things we take for granted.

CUT TO:

MUSIC:   Patriotic air

SCENE:   Stock footage of the US Flag waving over the Capitol Building in Washington, DC.

NARRATOR:
Here in America, we take many things for granted, but one thing we always keep in mind is the freedom that we have as our God-given right.

SCENE:   Stock footage of a construction worker laying brick for a skyscraper. He pauses, taking off his helmet and mopping his brow while looking pleased at his progress.

NARRATOR:
We have the freedom to work where we want, at whatever job we like to hold;

SCENE:   Stock footage of a political debate in progress; one man on a stage while another man, standing amidst a seated crowd, argues with him.

NARRATOR:
We have the right to speak freely, and to assemble peacefully;

SCENE:   Interior of a church; the congregation is a mixed group of furs seated with heads bowed reverently in prayer.

NARRATOR:
We have the right to worship God at the church of our choice and in the way we choose;

SCENE:   Stock still of a locked ballot box.

NARRATOR:
And we have the right to vote, a sacred right that Americans have fought and died to protect throughout the years.

SCENE:   Stock still of a map of the United States.

NARRATOR:
Yes, we’re very proud, happy and productive in this land of ours.
But from time to time we find that we take these freedoms for granted, and we start hearing these arguments:

CUT TO:   An ursine in a motorman’s uniform, a trolley seen in the background behind him.

WORKER:   The bosses are too rich! How about something for us workers?

CUT TO:   A canine in a pinstriped suit, with top hat and pince-nez.

WEALTHY FUR:   Labor is demanding too much, and not doing enough!

CUT TO:   A mephit wearing a suit, the White House in the background.

POLITICIAN:       What my constituents want is what *I* want, so we have to strike a balance between what Labor and Management want.

CUT TO:   An equine in a straw hat and bib overalls, a field of corn and a tractor in the background.

FARMER:   Well, what I’m wantin’ is a decent price for my crops!

CUT TO:   All four arguing.

NARRATOR:
Now wait just a minute, people!

They stop.

NARRATOR:
Now, I’ll be the first to agree that our American system isn’t perfect, but what system is? Farmer, how would you like being told what to grow, when to grow it and how much you had to grow?

FARMER:   Nossir, wouldn’t like that a bit.

NARRATOR:
Congressman, how would you like being told by the government what to do, without asking your constituents what they felt about it?

POLITICIAN:       I wouldn’t like that at all!

NARRATOR:
And you sir, how would you like to have your wealth taken away from you? And if you objected, to see your family imprisoned?

WEALTHY FUR:   (sputters) Preposterous!

NARRATOR:
Motorman, how would you like being told when and where to work?

MOTORMAN:   The bosses already tell me that.

NARRATOR:
And not get paid for your honest labor?

MOTORMAN:   Now you’re gonna have a fight on your paws.

NARRATOR:
(chuckles) Ease down a bit, brother – I didn’t mean it. Let’s ask one more question. Miss? Excuse me?

CUT TO:   A duck femme, perhaps twenty years old and dressed in her best.

GIRL:       Yes?

NARRATOR:
Are you on your way to church?

GIRL:       Why, yes, I am.

NARRATOR:
How would you like to live in a country where the government *told* you what God you could worship?

GIRL:       Why, I could never live I in a place like that!

NARRATOR:
My friends, I asked those questions to make a point. Our system isn’t perfect – no system ever is – but it’s a great deal better than any other system. There is a system where all of the things in the questions I asked actually happen.
That system is called Communism.

MUSIC:   Dramatic sting

CUT TO:   Animation of a US map; it moves and closes in on the northeastern United States, with an arrow pointing to New Haven.

NARRATOR:
We all know about the so-called “People’s Republic” in New Haven, and how the Revolution there killed many people and drove others out. But many people in our fair land fail to realize that there is another Communist menace on our shores - in fact, it’s even more insidious than New Haven.

The map moves westward, and an arrow points to the Rain Coast.

MUSIC:   Dramatic music swelling

NARRATOR:
That threat is Rain Island.

MUSIC:     Ominous dramatic sting

NARRATOR:
Sure, Rain Island sounds like a nice place to live.

Slow close up on the map, moving the Rain Coast to the center of the shot; DISSOLVE to stock footage of a street scene (possibly a mining or mill town).

NARRATOR:
The things you see in papers and in films from there show neat, clean towns and happy people working at their jobs and farms.

MUSIC:   Minor-key sting

NARRATOR:
But is that truly the case?

MUSIC:   Solemn, minor key strings

CUT TO stock footage of a street in a random city, showing people going around shopping or working.

NARRATOR:
This is what the government – what Rain Island calls “The Syndicate” – wants outsiders to see.

CUT TO stock footage of a lathe operator in a factory.

NARRATOR:
Yes, they work, and work hard.

CUT TO close up on a pair of paws opening a pay envelope and taking out only a few banknotes and some loose change.

NARRATOR:
But their pay is subject to dues – dues paid to the Syndicate, and to the union.

CUT TO footage of a worker leaving the factory.

NARRATOR:
But are the workers free to leave – to quit – if they want to? Of course . . . but if they don’t work where the Syndicate tells them to, they end up at a “Workingmen’s Hall.”

CUT TO footage of the interior of a large barracks-like room, a soup kitchen at one end and rows of unmade beds stretching out to the right. Furs of all species are lined up for food, looking ungroomed and wearing dirty and patched clothing. The overall effect is of a charity flophouse.

CLOSE UP on the faces of the furs as they trudge forward to get a plate of food or bowl of soup. The expressions look beaten, tired, hopeless as the narration continues.

NARRATOR:
A “Workingmen’s Hall.” A place where the unemployed go, to live out endless days waiting for work while eating whatever scraps can be found to feed them.

CUT TO footage of a farmer, riding a tractor across a plowed field.

NARRATOR:
Here we see a farmer, working the land as he and his have done since time immemorial.

CUT TO footage of wheat, ready for harvest.

NARRATOR:
Agriculture is heavily subsidized by the Syndicate, but it, not the farmer, decides what to plant. And if a farmer refuses?

CUT TO footage of a farmer, in pawcuffs, being led away to a paddy wagon while his wife and children look on. The oldest son looks furious, but resigned.

CUT TO footage of the interior of a church, worshippers with the heads bowed.

NARRATOR:
People in Rain Island are free to worship.

DISSOLVE to a card showing silhouettes of five furs of different species.

NARRATOR:
But a shadowy organization, called “The Synod,” controls all religious expression in that country.

CUT TO our five witnesses – the Farmer, the Motorman, the Girl, the Politician and the Wealthy Fur. They look shocked and angry. CLOSE UP on the last two.

NARRATOR:
And things there are no picnic for the wealthy and for politicians. No, sir!

CUT TO footage of an office, with a wealthy-looking fur seated behind a desk, working.

NARRATOR:
Just like us in America, furs in Rain Island are able to make fortunes. But there is a price for success there.

DISSOLVE to footage of money being placed in a bag and taken away, under armed guard.

NARRATOR:
The almighty Syndicate demands more in dues from the wealthy than they do from working furs, denying the successful fur the honest fruits of his hard work or inventive genius.

DISSOLVE to footage of a large chamber, possibly the hall where the Syndicate meets. A large Rain Island flag is at one end of the hall.

NARRATOR:
Rain Island calls itself a democracy, but it’s run by a Syndicate. This group is made up of members of the various unions and collectives in the country. Supposedly anyone can end up being in charge of the country.

CUT TO a fur waving as he is shown to a seat in the hall, a throng of other people applauding.

NARRATOR:
There’s even been a woman leader.

CUT TO still photograph of Chief Syndic Abigail Van Hook (1920-1925).

CUT TO another card showing another group of silhouettes.

NARRATOR:
But no matter who supposedly runs the country, the nation is still under the rule of the Syndicate.

CUT TO the map of North America, showing Rain Island and the United States.

NARRATOR:
We, too, have an organization in this country that calls itself a Syndicate.

CUT TO footage of a heavy-set wolf in a pinstriped suit and straw boater, wielding a Thompson submachine gun on full automatic. He pulls the trigger and sweeps the barrel to and fro.

GRAMS:   Machine gun noises

MUSIC:   Dramatic sting

NARRATOR:
That’s right – a Syndicate is a group of gangsters.

MUSIC:   Changes in tone from its minor-key dramatic motif

CUT TO our five furs again, looking shocked.

NARRATOR:
So there you have it, dear friends. We may not have the best system in the world, but it’s a lot better than anywhere else. And that includes Rain Island.
They may tell you their system is better, but we know better now, don’t we?

POLITICIAN:
Absolutely right! No government can survive if it ignores the will of the people!

MOTORMAN:
You’re not getting me into any Workingmen’s Hall.

GIRL:
Why, I never knew! I’ll surely pray for those poor furs come Sunday!

WEALTHY FUR:
Take my money! Preposterous!

FARMER:
Haul decent furs off to jail . . . ain’t right, that’s what that is. Ain’t right.

NARRATOR:
(Jocular tone) I think our friends have learned something valuable today.

CUT TO stock footage of the US Capitol, as seen from the southwest corner (looking up, the flag in front of the Rotunda centered in shot)

NARRATOR:
We may have our differences, and our own problems, but we’re better off living here than living in Rain Island. You see, you out there in the theater, there is a legend of something called the Trojan Horse.

CUT TO a card showing an artist’s depiction of the Trojan Horse. As the Narrator speaks the card animates, showing a Rain Island flag flying from the Horse’s mane, then a cutaway appearing in the Horse’s belly to display the Communist hammer and sickle.

NARRATOR:
Rain Island is just that – a Trojan Horse, trying to infect our nation with the insidious disease of Communism. Don’t be taken in!

CUT TO CARD showing the US flag.

MUSIC:   Fanfare

DISSOLVE to CARD showing the seal of the College.

CAPTION: “The End” superimposes over the seal.

FADE TO BLACK