'Prisoner's of Paradise' Feature Film Coverage

SCRIPT COVERAGE

AUTHOR: Davina Haskall and Juliana Lupo PERIOD: Pearl Harbour and Aftermath (1940’s) GENRE: Historical Drama DATE SUBMITTED: 02/06/20

TITLE: Prisoners of Paradise FORM/PGS: 136 READER: Cassidy Haynes DATE COMPLETED: 02/17/20

SCRIPT: chrome-extension://gphandlahdpffmccakmbngmbjnjiiahp/file:///Users/tracyhaynes/Downloads/ Prisoners%20of%20Paradise%20-%20Rev%207_17.pdf —————————————————————————————————————————— LOG LINE: In the midst of World War II and the institution of martial law, the ‘hotel girls’ of Honolulu, Hawaii band together to fight corrupt cops for basic rights and recognition.

—————————————————————————————————————————— SYNOPSIS: The movie opens with an unnamed woman dressing, and a voiceover detailing the average American woman’s life just before WWII. Photographs depicting the laborious life of domesticity and the heavy societal burdens placed on women intercut with shots of the unnamed woman. She’s on a ship, headed for Hawaii.

The boat arrives in Honolulu, Hawaii, 1941. ROSE AHLGREN (18, naive, straight off the farm) steps down the gangplank. She’s greeted as soon as she steps off the boat by ETHEL (50s), and SGT. VINNICK(lanky and suspicious). They escort her to a waiting police car. Rose is promptly driven to the HONOLULU POLICE STATION and registered, mug shots and all. The VO returns to explain the restrictive rules that will outline Rose’s stay; she cannot own property, a bank account, a bike, or date a military man, etc. They’re nicknamed named the ‘TEN COMMANDMENTS’, all requirements of her ‘entertainer’s license’—the legal title of a prostitute. COMMISSIONER BURKE is the author of these rules, and as a civic leader has the pull and the personality to enforce them. Elsewhere, JEAN MARGARET O’TOOLE sits watching the waves at the beach. She’s wistful, and completely naked. She checks her watch and rushes to dress herself. She rides off on her bike.

Rose and Ethel reach her new residence. The street it’s on—Hotel Street—is notorious for exotic and fancily named attractions, including a series of ‘hotels’ that function as brothels. The atmosphere inside Ethel’s place is chaotic and frenzied. The women offer Rose a warm welcome even as they scurry to prepare for the night. Ethel warns her about curfew, and shows her to her room. While Rose settles, Jean stashes her bike someplace safe and climbs up the fire escape. The two will be bunking near one another. The night begins. ‘Paddy wagons’ full of Navy and Army privates rush into the HOTEL AMBASSADOR. Inside, MOOSE (20’s), a massive sailor, chases one of the girls around her room as she fends off his sloppy drunken advances with a tin wash basin. Jean cinches her silken robe and deftly intervenes, redirecting him to her own room, where he very quickly falls asleep.

In a nicer part of town, Burke and his civic leader cadre—the PINEAPPLE CLUB—enjoy dinner at The Royal Hawaiian. It’s an upscale establishment where customers are waited on exclusively by Fillipinos and native Hawaiians in white uniforms. A place where our protagonist, or any of the Ambassador girls for that matter, aren’t allowed to set foot in.

The next day, at the Ambassador, the girls are gathered for breakfast in the kitchen. They’re all sleepy but in high spirits, and comment on Ethel’s absence. Some ask Rose questions about her background. Jean shuffles in just GINA reads from Reader’s Digest: “We are all prisoners of our own shackles...” Jean replies morosely that she’s serving her time there. The sounds of detonations and what should be training drills from Peal Harbor startle the girls. Two low flying jets zip by outside and the

windows rattle. The girls duck for cover as they realize the harbor’s been attacked. The remain’s of Ethel’s groceries and yellow taxi cab burn on the side of the road.

At the Ambassador, the girls pace the parlor and search for a radio signal. They’re at a loss for what to do until Jean says “they’ll need a lot of blood.” A small army of hotel-girls arrive at the hospital, all dressed in work clothes, and a nurse on duty warns them about the gruesome sight that is the ward. All the girls give blood, despite the distaste of some of the army doctors, and soon find the hospital’s run out of room for injured men. Jean offers the Ambassador up, and the girls begin hosting injuring soldiers there. As Honolulu attempts to recover, the Ambassador girls work at the hospital. Martial law is instituted on the island, meaning curfew for all residents begins at 7pm. The girls are temporarily out of a job. COL. STEBENS oversees fortification efforts around the Pearl Harbour base, and gets promoted to Provost Marshall. He’s in charge of all military on the island.

After Ethel’s funeral, the girls wonder where they’ll be staying. Jean surprises them with a six bedroom cottage rental in the KAMEHAMEHA HEIGHTS, a neighborhood reserved for rich whites. The majority of them are packing and beating a hasty retreat off the island, leaving the Ambassador girls the run of the place. Despite fears of a Japanese invasion, the narrator explains that one has already begun, though they fly a different flag. Hundreds and hundreds of young, fit, white American troops pour out of boats, while HOTEL STREET HARRY, a sleazy radio announcer, promises the eager troops the scoop on all the finest pleasure sites in paradise.

Realizing they have no money, and that their patriotic sacrifice left the Hotels closed for business, the girls begin taking customers at the cottage. Despite the ever growing demand for their services, uppercrust neighbors grow suspicious, and soon the police are called. The Honolulu police, led by Vinnick, arrive and begin trashing the girls’ personal belongings and throwing them on the lawn. Even Jean’s bike gets confiscated. The older MADAMS of Hotel Street gather in the bail bond office, all equally furious with the injustice that are Burke’s ’Ten Commandments’, and the absence of options left to them and their girls. Jean points out that the police are no longer in charge, and that martial law means the army runs things. They all rack their brains for the highest ranking men they’ve slept with, but Jean retrieves a photograph in the paper of Lt. Col. Stebens, the Provost Marshall over them all. An older madam volunteers her to go.

After deliberation over a few outfits, Jean confronts Stebens. In a series of clever innuendos, she asserts the importance of her profession to the island and the masses of soldiers coming in. With a single phone call, Stebens makes the medical corps relinquish and return the Hotels’ beds.

All the ‘sporting girls’ from neighboring hotels return with their suitcases in hand, and the ever eager G.I’s at the nearby bars assist them with their luggage. In accordance with curfew, the Ambassador begins taking customers during the day, and the girls find themselves booked and busy with Jean as their new madam. The officers and enlisted men alike can’t get enough of them. There are far more enlisted men than officers however, meaning the former group get less face time with the girls. Fueled by their ever present rivalry, the officers invite the entire band of girls to the Royal Hawaiian Hotel. On their way there, they’re quickly stopped by Vinnick and his men, reminded of the too-strict rules.

Their alternative is Wakiki Beach; another place off limits for all ‘entertainers.’ Rose is nervous, but Jean’s made up her mind. The officers and girls are in their bathing suits, playing music, volleyball, and actively enjoying themselves. From the bushes, Vinnick and a few police spy on the festivities. When they come onto the beach, insulting the girls and telling them to get lost, Jean holds her ground. One of the police attempts to grab her, but the Naval men gather around to defend their lady friends.

At the police station, Burke’s having none of it. He sends in more cops to the beach. What arises as a result is a stand off. A bevy of more Naval men arrive at Wakiki to back their brethren. Another wave of police officers show up on the shore, but they’re met with an ARMORED CAR of Army men, which swings its massive CANNON in their direction. The Ambassador girls sit on the sidelines and watch gleefully. The entire event is the talk of the town, thanks to Hotel Street Harry.

Burke, fuming at this humiliation, writes in a General Order declaring the police department not responsible for enforcing rules and regulations anywhere on Hotel Street. He places this responsibility in the hands of the military instead.

Stebens gets chewed out by his superiors over the phone. He arranges a meeting with Burke, and the two of them come to some agreements. The Commissioner and police will reassume control over Hotel street in exchange for the ‘sporting girls’ to be allowed on Wakiki beach.

A montage begins that shows the girls all over Hotel Street busier than ever. One by one the most frivolous ’Commandments’, those directly in opposition to the military mens’ desires, are abolished.

Business is booming. Jean’s even able to open a bank account. When she raises the price from three dollars a visit to five, however, she’s met with opposition. It’s a week’s pay for a service man, but Col. Steben’s can barely discuss the services they’re charging for. They debate, negotiate, but Steben’s puts his foot down. The flat rate for a visit will be three dollars.

The Madams of Hotel Street are up in arms. Jean introduces the concept of time limits on the men. Lines outside the hotels grow even longer. The voice over narration details the immense production efficiency that the new class of blue collar working women brought to the American war effort. These women produced more weaponry and war materials than all of the Axis Powers combined, yet “they had nothing on the Hotel Street girls.”

Jean goes to the bank again, with enough money that the tellers and bank manager all greet her cheerily. To Burke’s chagrin, another commandment is crossed off his list. At the Ambassador, Jean tells the girls she’s opened savings accounts for all of them, and that they may not have to be hookers anymore if they don’t want to. They discuss their goals and dreams. While the girls go to the naval hospital to volunteer, Jean hosts Vinnick and pays him off. He asks for something more and when she declines, he hits her hard. She falls and even as she resists, he shuts the door behind the two of them. When the girls return home, Jean’s locked herself in her room. She won’t open the door for anyone but Rose, who can tell something awful’s happened. She’s drunk and bruised, her dress torn on the bathroom floor. She laments about her past as a movie star, a career she was cheated out of by morality clauses, and the abuse she’d suffered in her pursuit of the dream. The next day she takes the money and buys a bright green Cadillac. She and the girls take a Sunday drive through town, and try as he might, according to the DISTRICT ATTORNEY Burke can’t get his commandment against it enforced. To get back at Jean, Comissioner Burke and the fire Marshalls run a series of unnecessary ’fire drills’ on Hotel Street, disturbing the clientele and irking the working girls. Even Col. Stebens arrives to chastise Burke for his pettiness and the disturbance it causes for troops trying to get some R&R. It seems the majority of the island is against Burke’s outrageous behavior.

The girls go to the naval ball as volunteers to sell war bonds. It’s a swanky establishment, and all of them are impressed. Rose sees BILLY, a cornfed all American cutie whom she read to at the naval hospital. The two hit it off, but she feels she must be honest with him about her profession. Billy insists he doesn’t care what Rose does in her free time, he’s just glad to dance with her. Rose and Billy smoke on the balcony together. They share the farm background, and Billy’s post-war hopes to buy back his father’s land and settle down make Rose sentimental.

Inside, Jean pulls Steben’s away from the stuffy Generals and Admirals and onto the dance floor.

A slow song comes on, and after a moment of hesitation the two share a dance. The tension and mutual admiration that’s built bubbles to the surface here, but Jean spots his wife at the edge of the room, and directs him to go back to her. The two part with a handshake. Moments later, Jean is called on stage and presented an award by the mayor for Outstanding Public Service, on account of all the war bond’s she’d purchased. Despite the glory of the moment, Burke and his underlings snidely remind her of her place.

To spite them all, Jean goes and buys the cottage she rented in Kamahameha Heights. The neighbors are appalled to see her, and they’re none other than Burke’s righthand man, DOYLE, and his wife. She lets them know in no uncertain terms that she’ll be inviting all her hooker friends over for parties.

DOYLE offers to buy the house off her, and she asks three times it’s sale price. He’s livid, but writes the check regardless. As she leaves, she reveals the entire move was a bluff.

The girls pore over real estate listings and contemplate homes to really buy, while Rose lingers over a bouquet Billy sent to her. Jean warns her not to get sentimental.

While all the girls go out to the ROLLER RINK with the new boat of GI’s that just docked, Rose and Billy get tattoos representing each other’s names. At the same time, DOYLE and VINNICK follow one of the girls, DAPHNE, down a dark alley. She’s leaving one of the houses she’s considering buying. The two crooked cops jump her and beat her up as a warning to the other girls.

Jean calls in favors at the Navy Hospital and they take Daphne in, giving her a private room. The girls gather at her bedside, and Jean comforts Daphne. Jean is devastated that something like this happened on her watch.

In solidarity, the girls of Hotel Street go on strike. They shut down the whole street in protest.

They encircle city hall, lead by Jean, and demand full rights or ‘cold nights.’ Burke and his cadre are at a standstill, the civilians are shocked. Chinese food places send delivery boys and dishwashers out with food to feed the girls. Navy and Army men alike are suffering through the dry spell. WAR CORRESPONDENTS from all over the country have gathered to cover the story of the strike, and Jean stands on a soapbox to tell them all about it. Tensions rise from some of the other hotel madams.

Although their systems for breaks and shifts are orderly, the protest goes for days. Rose breaks ranks to ask Jean if it’s about them or about her. Jean snaps at her and walks away. Civilian women stand in solidarity with the girls. Labor groups take to the streets to show their support. Even Burke’s SECRETARY makes his coffee bitter. Bar fights and brawls increase dramatically. The governor of Hawaii wants to push for stateship after the war, and demands that the army put a lid on the foolishness that is the strike. Jean, Burke, and Stebens meet in a conference room. When the doors open and Jean emerges, the protestors present don’t even listen to Burke’s statement. They lift Jean on their shoulders and carry her off as the crowds celebrate. Every one of Burke’s commandments have been abolished.

While work starts back up again, the narrator informs that the Allies have advanced on all fronts.

At the Ambassador, in the middle of the work day, Rose gets word that Billy’s died in action. She pushes through the grief with a smile and goes to her next customer. Martial law ends, and Steben’s is released from his Provost position.

Jean goes to the Royal Hawaiian with a handsome sailor JACK. He wants to be with her after the war, after everything, and gifts her a diamond necklace. She takes it, but with reservation. She isn’t sure she’ll fit into the high life anymore. Vinnick watches her from across the bar. On her drive home, he follows. Once at her house, he parks and tries to drag her out of her car. She fights against him and starts the car. They both struggle for control of it. Someone shoots her back window out. She screams and crashes. The dirty cops come and drag her out of the car.

Photos are taken of her, disheveled and tear stained, and an addendum is signed into law.

Prostitution is outlawed on the whole island. Jean has been charged with the attempted killing of a police officer. Under the new law, all the ex-sporting girls have 48 hours to get off the island.

All the girls are bussed out of town and Jean’s trial proceeds. The jury is stern and unforgiving. She pleads not guilty, despite the ‘evidence’ Vinnick’s defense has against her. Stebens defies his orders so that he can visit her in jail. He tries to convince her to take the plea deal Burke and co. have offered up, but she refuses.

Court adjourns while the jury deliberates. Burke and his cadre celebrate with cigars. When court is back in session the jury announce their verdict: Jean is Not guilty.

Amidst a crowd of fans and well wishers, she returns to the Ambassador. It is empty, pillaged, except for her bike, with a note attached. Rose thanks her for her drive, her courage, and the inspiration she provided all of them with.

As Jean leaves, Stebens intervenes one last time. The two exchange quips, she gives him a lei as is Hawaiian tradition and kisses him goodbye. She pedals down the street, servicemen on the sidewalk

run beside her bike and salute her. Navy and army alike, airmen, seamen and whole squadrons of others snap to attention when they see her.

The narrator goes on to detail the lives of everyone after the war. The narrator cites the spark lit from the strike in Honolulu as the flame that burned through the entirety of the second wave feminist movement.

The narrator reveals herself as Rose, citing her tattoo, and the last image is of the Hotel Ambassador girls posing in front of their hotel.

NOTES: Prisoners of Paradise is a fun, nuanced take on a little known community. The world of Hawaiian hotel girls is one that might be considered incredibly niche, were it not couched in the context of the burgeoning women’s rights movement and World War II. The movie takes a concept and an era rife with corruption and strife, yet still manages to balance truth with romance in every sense of the word. The use of music from the time period, fast paced montages, and the character’s flippant attitudes toward conservative ideals of the time make for an entertaining story, even amidst oppression and pain.

SETTING The time period, 1940’s, was handled delicately. Through a series of montages with voice over narration, the audience is presented with the realities of America as a whole during this time, and allowed to make their own contrasts or comparisons with life in Hawaii.

The music, the energy of the narration make this decade feel alive and active. A certain dynamism is instilled as the story moves along, largely because of the emphasis on changes to the average American woman’s life that came with the progression of the war.

As for the physical location, writers take care to present Hawaii as a whole; lush with natural beauty yet a place where colonialism and colorism have run rampant. The natives and Filipinos on the island all serve in manual labor roles, but this is treated as an injustice rather than mere reality.

With that acknowledgement comes commentary on the American military’s presence on the island. While the influx of troops was great for the hotel-girls’ business, it showed a clear lack of respect and regard for the sovereignty of the island itself. Natives and their comfort were presented as an afterthought, and the masses of resources and space that the army took up were taken for granted by almost all characters, as was the reality of the time.

CHARACTERS Jean is a well defined protagonist with motivation and goals to get things done. Her wandering spirit is established in a meaningful scene the first time she’s introduced on the beach.

Everything the audience needs to know is apparent then and there, with little dialogue. Her growth into the madam of the house and transition into a well respected public figure make her emblematic of the sex-workers’ triumph as a whole; a representation of the newly independent American woman of the mid 20th century.

During the climax of the film, when the women’s strike has reached a head and Rose asks Jean if it’s about her or about them, Jean snaps back defensively. This is not explored further. It seems that Jean’s flaws, though few, are addressed briefly but not resolved. Though the triumph of the hotel-girls is inevitable under her leadership, her admittance of fault, or final reconciliation with Rose after the aforementioned scene would be a nice touch.

Rose serves as a sympathetic proxy through which the audience is introduced to the world. With the large cast of characters and ever heightening stakes on the island, there are some missed opportunities for relationship building between her and Jean. That being said, the steady progression of Rose’s comfort and success withing the world of Hotel Street, and her dutiful service as Jean’s right hand is expertly charted throughout the story. Rose’s burgeoning romance with Billy and her conflicting desires for a settled life and a career in the medical field give her a depth and warmth that separate her from the stereotypes of a sex worker.

Every choice the characters in this story make are strong, and not one ounce of humanity is sacrificed. The antagonists are all believable and necessary for the time and place. Even Vinnick and Doyle, for whom no sympathy is necessary because of their cruelty, are functional and realistic. Burke’s pang of conscience toward the end is fitting, as it is indicative that a change will come. One choice that was meant to be poignant but fell flat was the placement of the tenyear-old Hawaiian girl in this scene with Burke. Her non-verbal exchange with him might have been more impactful had there been no ‘inner dialogue’ written out here. The implication that his inhumane treatment of the women would startled her is strong enough. The emotional punch here might have been better achieved with a group of young girls, or even a teenager.

The cast of Ambassador girls were familiar and had a fun dynamic, but they could be more easily identifiable and unique upon initial introductions. Gina, for instance, was supposed to be Greek or Italian, and Blanche was a Southern Belle. The others, however, I couldn’t place. It’d be interesting to have their quirks, backgrounds and personalities established more clearly up front during the first breakfast scene, even if only briefly.

DIALOGUE Dialogue is quippy, sharp, and time period appropriate. The characters have a sense of humor, and manage to interact with one another with realistic snark and pep. Jean has some of the best lines, most of which close the scenes. The narrator and Hotel Street Henry serve almost the same purpose, and their dialogue does well to keep the story moving, to link major parts, and to emphasize the macro effects that stem from the micro events.

Only a couple phrases are a little forced and overused; ‘what a dame,’ for instance.

OTHER The story itself was moving and emotional, attached to three dimensional characters that were larger than life and much more than their professions. The history lesson couched in a story is a great foray into the lives of sex workers in a way that they often aren’t depicted onscreen. The

take on the revolution, the strike they held that paved the way for women in all professions to demand better made the movement tangible and impactful. The final montage depicted its widespread effects elegantly, and Jean’s final ride ties a nice bow on the impact she’s made in the community.

With an unlikely group of protagonists and a rich, under-represented historical background to draw from, the film manages to share the women’s stories in a way that’s gritty, sympathetic, and ultimately revolutionary.

CONCLUSION: In today’s political climate, stories of women and minority empowerment do incredibly well and garner large audiences. Sex workers are a faction that are increasingly vocal and increasingly supported, yet who receive little mainstream recognition. With the slightest script tweaks, I would recommend this script, as a film or even a limited series.

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