An Indie Classic

INT. THE MOTEL OFFICE - (NIGHT)

Norman looks about, tray in hand, sees there is no reasonable
place to spread out a supper. He turns, sees Mary standing
in the doorway.

NORMAN
Eating in an office...
(a rueful smile)
...to officious, even for me. I have
the parlor behind this... if you'd
like.

Mary nods. Norman walks on, behind the counter and into the
darkened parlor. Mary follows.

INT. NORMAN'S PARLOR -(NIGHT)

In the darkened room, lit only by the light from the office
spilling in, we see Norman placing the tray on a table. Mary
comes to the doorway, pauses. Norman straightens up, goes to
lamp, turns on the light.

Mary is startled by the room. Even in the dimness of one
lamp, the strange, extraordinary nature of the room rushes
up at one. It is a room of birds. Stuffed birds, all over
the room, on every available surface, one even clinging to
the old fashioned fringed shade of the lamp. The birds are
of many varieties, beautiful, grand, horrible, preying. Mary
stares in awe and a certain fascinated horror.

CLOSE UP - THE VARIOUS BIRDS TWO SHOT - MARY AND NORMAN

NORMAN
Please sit down. On the sofa.

As Norman goes about spreading out the bread and ham and
pouring the milk, we follow Mary across the room. She studies
the birds as she walks, briefly examines a bookcase stacked
with books on the subject of "Taxidermy."

CLOSE UP - THE BOOKS ON TAXIDERMY MED. CLOSE SHOT - MARY

She notices, too, the paintings on the wall; nudes, primarily,
and many with a vaguely religious overtone.

Finally Mary reaches the sofa, sits down, looks at the spread.

MARY
You're very... kind.

NORMAN
It's all for you. I'm not hungry.
Please go ahead.

Mary begins to eat, her attitude a bit tense. She takes up a
small slice of ham, bites off a tiny bite, nibbles at it in
the manner of one disturbed and preoccupied.

Norman gazes at her, at the tiny bite she has taken, smiles
and then laughs.

NORMAN
You eat like a bird.

MARY
You'd know, of course.

NORMAN
Not really. I hear that expression,
that one eats "like a bird," is really
a falsie, I mean a falsity, because
birds eat a tremendous lot.
(A pause, then
explaining)
Oh, I don't know anything about birds.
My hobby is stuffing things...
taxidermy. And I guess I'd just rather
stuff birds because... well, I hate
the look of beasts when they're
stuffed, foxes and chimps and all...
some people even stuff dogs and
cats... but I can't... I think only
birds look well stuffed because
they're rather... passive, to begin
with... most of them...