by Bob Gale
They all give up their guns.
Deputy Marshall: Yeah. Right.
But Marshall Strickland obviously knows Buford a bit better than he wants to, because:
Marshall Strickland: Tannen - your knife, too.
Angry, Buford takes out the knife he's hidden in his boot. He throws it onto a nearby table as if it were a dart. He then turns to Marshall Strickland.
Buford: (being a bit of a smart ass) Smile, Marshall. After all, this is a party.
Marshall Strickland: The only party I'll be smiling at is the one that sees you at the end of a rope.
Buford and Marshall Strickland glare at each other before the Marshall lowers his gun. Buford and his gang are allowed in.
Deputy Marshall: Have fun!
A young boy is now seen next to Marshall Strickland. He's the Marshall's SON - the future father of Mr Strickland.
Marshall Strickland: That's how you handle them son, never give them an inch. Maintain discipline at all times. Remember that word. Discipline.
Son: I will, Pa.
Cut to the dance. At the table, Marty is eating some pie when Seamus, Maggie and William walk past him.
Seamus: Why, Mr Eastwood. Nice to see ya. I see you got yourself some respectable clothes, lad. And a fine hat.
Marty: Yeah, well, a couple other people didn't like the way the other one looked on me.
Maggie: Sure that one suits you Mr Eastwood. Very good for you.
Marty: Uh, thanks.
Marty finishes his pie and notices writing on the plate - "Frisbee".
Marty: Hey...Frisbee. Far out.
Marty grins at his ancestors and then leaves. Seamus and Maggie look at each other in a "how strange was that?" type of way.
Seamus: What was the meaning of that?
Maggie: It was right in front of him.
Seamus: Aye.
Cut to the dance. Doc and Clara, as well as other couples, are dancing to the music. Below the dance floor though, Buford and his gang are trying to find Doc. Gang Member 1 spots him.
Gang Member 1: There he is, Buford.
Buford: Where?
Gang Member 1: Right there. Dancing with that piece of calico.
Gang Member 2: What are ya gonna do, boss?
Buford: (darkly) I figure...I'll bury this muzzle deep enough in his back. Nobody'll hear the shot.
Gang Member 1: Careful, Buford, you only got the one bullet with that.
Buford: I only need one.
Cut back to Doc and Clara. They are enchanted with each other and dance into a corner. Doc suddenly feels a gun barrel in his back and freezes. It's happening! Two days earlier than he thought!
Buford: I told you to watch your back, smithy.
Doc: Tannen. But you're early.
Buford: It's a Derringer, smithy. Small but effective. Last time I used it the fella took two days to die. Bled to death inside, it was real painful. That means you'd be dead by about suppertime Monday.
Clara: (to Buford) I don't know who you think you are, but we're dancing.
Buford: Well lookie what we have here! Introduce me to the lady; I'd like a dance.
Doc turns around to face Buford with a brave and determined look on his face. Buford moves the gun barrel to Doc's throat.
Doc: I wouldn't give you the pleasure. You'll just have to go ahead and shoot.
Buford: All right.
Clara senses what is about to happen.
Clara: No, Emmett. I'll dance with him.
Buford: (to his gang) Boys, keep the blacksmith company while I get acquainted with the filly.
Buford pushes Doc aside to his gang, who hold him down as Buford and Clara start dancing. Doc isn't very happy with this and has an angry look on his face.
Buford: Woo...ha, ha, ha! Yeah. Ooh!
Clara: I don't dance very well when my partner has a gun in his hand.
Buford pulls Clara closer.
Buford: Well, you'll learn. (to Doc) You know, smithy, I may just take my $80 worth outta her.
Doc struggles again to be let go.
Buford: Woo...ha, ha, ha! Yeah. (to Clara) I bet there's something you can do that's worth $80.
Clara: I'm afraid you've underestimated me, Mr.
Buford: Have I now?
Clara kicks Buford in the shins, and he cringes over with pain as Clara walks away. Doc mangoes to free himself, as the music stops and everyone (including Seamus and Maggie) stops to stare at Doc and Buford.
Doc: Stop it! Damn you, Tannen!
Buford: No, I damn you!
Buford gets his gun out and aims at Doc. Marty realises what's going on and grabs the Frisbee plate.
Buford: (continued) I damn you to hell!
Buford fires his one bullet. At the same time, Marty throws the Frisbee plate - well, like a Frisbee! It blocks the bullet and Doc is saved! He's a bit stunned and his hat falls off. Buford looks around to see who threw the plate. He spots Marty.
Buford: You!
Marty walks towards him.
Marty: Hey, lighten up, jerk!
Confused as to what Marty means, Buford turns to his gang members who are equally confused. He then turns back to Marty.
Buford: Mighty strong words, runt! You man enough to back that up with more than just a pie plate?!
Marty: Look, just leave my friends alone.
Marty starts walking away.
Buford: What's wrong, dude, you yella?
Marty pauses and slowly turns to face Buford
Buford: That's what I thought. Yellow belly.
Marty points at Buford.
Marty: Nobody...calls me yellow.
Buford: Let's finish it. Right now.
Gang Member 1: Uh, not now, Buford. Marshall's got our guns.
Buford: Well, like I said, we'll finish this tomorrow.
Gang Member 2: Tomorrow we're robbing the Pine City Stage.
Buford turns to his gang.
Buford: How 'bout Monday? We doing anything on Monday?
The gang members check with each other then nod their heads.
Gang Member 3: No, Monday be fine. You can kill him on Monday.
Buford turns back to Marty.
Buford: I'll be back this way on Monday. We'll settle this then. (pointing) Right there out in the street, in front of the Palace Saloon.
Marty is a little uncomfortable with this.
Marty: Yeah, right, well, when? High noon?
Buford: Noon? I do my killing before breakfast. 7 o'clock!
Marty: 8 o'clock. (more confidently) I do my killing after breakfast.
Doc: (whispering, concerned) Marty, no.
He notices Clara looking at them and smiles at her instead. In the crowd, William McFly (in Maggie's arms) begins to cry. After a long silence, Marshall Strickland arrives with his rifle.
Marshall Strickland: All right now, break it up. What's all this about? You causing trouble here, Tannen?
Buford: No trouble, Marshall. Just a little personal matter between me and Eastwood. This don't concern the law.
Marshall Strickland: Tonight everything concerns the law - now break it up. Any brawling, there's 15 days in the county jail.
He lowers his rifle and talks to the crowd.
Marshall Strickland: Come on, this is a party! Come on, let's have some fun!
The music starts playing again and the dancing resumes. Buford goes to Marty.
Buford: 8 o'clock. Monday. You ain't here, I'll hunt you and shoot you down like a duck.
Gang Member 1: It's dog, Buford. Shoot 'im down like a dog.
Buford is upset that everyone has seen his stupidity.
Buford: Let's go, boys! Let these sissies have their party!
They leave and Doc talks to Marty.
Doc: Marty, what are you doing, saying you're going to meet Tannen??
Marty: Doc, don't worry about it! Monday morning, 8am. We're gonna be gone, right?
Doc: Theoretically, yes, but what if the train's late?
Marty
hasn't thought of this.
Marty: Late??
Clara arrives at Doc's side again.
Doc: We'll discuss this later.
Marty: No, we'll discuss this now - late?
Clara: Thank you for your gallantry, Mr Eastwood.
Marty tries to be modest.
Marty: No, hey, ma'am.
Clara: Had you not interceded, Emmett might have been shot!
Doc: Marty - (covering) uh, Clint, I'm going to take Clara home.
Two MEN at the party pull Marty to them before he can respond to Doc.
Man 1: You sure set him straight, Mr Eastwood. I'm glad somebody finally got the gumption to stand up to that son of a bitch.
Man 2: You're all right in my book, Mr Eastwood. I'd like to buy you a drink.
Marty: Hey, look, I don't want a drink. It was no big deal.
There is a tap on Marty's shoulder. It's the Colt Gun Salesman. He's holding a Colt Peacemaker and a gun belt.
Colt Gun Salesman: Young man, young man. I'd like you to have this brand new Colt Peacemaker and gun belt, free of charge!
Marty takes them.
Marty: Free?
Colt Gun Salesman: I want everybody to know that the gun that shot Buford Tannen was a Colt Peacemaker.
Marty: Hey, hey, thanks.
Colt Gun Salesman: Of course, you understand that if you lose - I'm taking it back.
The Colt Gun Salesman smiles as he walks off. Marty tries to think of something to say.
Marty: Thanks again.
Marty walks off and meets up with Seamus and Maggie. The three walk together. During the following Marty has a "I don't really need this" look on his face.
Seamus: You had him, Mr Eastwood! You could have just walked away, and nobody would of thought the less of ya for it. All it would have been was words - hot air from a buffoon. Instead you let him rile ya - rile ya into playing his game, his way, playing his rules.
Marty: Seamus, relax, I know what I'm doing.
Maggie: He reminds me of poor Martin.
Seamus: Aye.
Marty: Who?
Seamus: Me brother.
Marty is amazed - there's another Martin McFly? (Note: before Marty ever went back in time, he may have been named after Seamus' brother).
Marty: Wait a minute - you have a brother named Martin McFly?
Seamus: Had a brother. Martin used to let men provoke him into fighting. He was concerned people would think him a coward if he refused. That's how he got a bowie knife shoved through his belly in a saloon in Virginia City. Never considered the future, poor Martin. God rest his soul.
Seamus walks off. Maggie turns to Marty.
Maggie: Sure hope you're considering the future, Mr Eastwood.
She follows her husband. Marty looks after them.
Marty: (to himself) I think about it all the time.
Cut to a field at night, outside Clara's cabin. Doc and Clara are sat on their horses watching the stars through her telescope.
Clara: And that crater in the middle north-west, out there all by itself like a starburst?
Doc: Uh-huh.
Clara: That one's called Copernicus. (laughing) Listen to me, I feel like I'm teaching school!
Doc: Oh, please, continue your lesson. (laughing) I never found lunar geography so fascinating. You're quite knowledgeable.
Clara: When I was 11, I had diphtheria. I was quarantined for 3 months, so my father bought me this telescope and put it next to my bed so I could see everything out my window. (pauses) Emmett, do you think we'll ever be able to travel to the moon, like we travel across the country on trains?
Doc smiles - he doesn't just think it will happen, he knows!
Doc: Definitely, although not for another 84 years and not on trains. We'll have space vehicles - capsules to sail off in rockets - devices that create giant explosions - explosions that are so powerful that they...
Clara finishes his sentence - she seems to know it from somewhere.
Clara: (continued) ...they break the pull of the Earth's gravity and send their projectile through outer space.
Clara: Emmett, I read that book too. You're quoting Jules Verne, "From The Earth To The Moon".
Doc: You've read Jules Verne?
Clara: I adore Jules Verne.
Doc: So do I. "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea", my absolute favorite. The first time I read that when I was a little boy I wanted to meet Captain Nemo and...
Clara: (laughs) Please, Emmett, you couldn't have read that when you were a little boy, it was only first published 10 years ago.
Doc: (covering) Oh, yes, well - I meant it made me feel like a boy. (he pauses) I never met a woman who liked Jules Verne before.
Clara: I never ever met a man like you before.
They kiss, and a shooting star flies overhead.
SEPTEMBER 6, 1885
Cut to next morning at Doc's workshop. In a scene very similar to the first scene in BTTF1, we pan across to see Doc's inventions and clocks. Eggs and pancakes start cooking as Marty wakes up and gets out of his bed.
Marty: Doc! Doc!
Doc isn't there, so Marty talks to himself.
Marty: I hope you know what you're doing.
Marty spots the gun and its belt. He picks them up and looks in the mirror.
Marty: (a la Robert De Niro from "Taxi Driver") You talking to me? You talking to me, Tannen? (pause) Well I'm the only one here. (a la Clint Eastwood) Go ahead - make my day.
Cut to Courthouse Square. It's later on that day, Marty is now in his usual 1885 clothes. He spots 3 MEN who come up to him.
Man 3: Hey, good morning, Mr Eastwood!
Marty: Morning.
Man 4: Have a cigar, Mr Eastwood. Anything I can do for you today, Mr Eastwood?
Marty: No, no, it's... fine.
MAN 5 rides past in a carriage.
Man 5: Good luck tomorrow, Mr Eastwood! We'll be praying for ya!
Marty: Thanks.
Marty walks past the undertaker's. The UNDERTAKER stops him.
Undertaker: Good morning, Mr Eastwood. Interest you in a new suit for tomorrow?
Marty: Ah, I'm...I'm fine. Thanks.
Marty sees Doc a small distance away. Doc is sniffing a flower in his jacket. Marty goes to Doc.
Marty: Doc, what are you doing?
Doc: Oh, nothing. Just out enjoying the morning air. It's really lovely here in the morning, don't you think?
Marty: Yeah, it's lovely Doc. Listen, we gotta load the DeLorean, we gotta get ready to roll, all right? - hey, look at that, the tombstone.
Marty has spotted new craved tombstones outside a shop. One of them looks very familiar.
Doc: Marty, let me see that photograph again.
Marty gives it to him and Doc walks to the tombstones.
Doc: My name...it's vanished.
Marty: Hey, that's great Doc! Don't you get it - we're going back to the future tomorrow, so everything's being erased!
Doc: But only my name is erased! The tombstone itself and the date still remain. That doesn't make sense. We know that this photograph represents what will happen if the events of today continue to run their course into tomorrow.
Marty: Right and so?
The undertaker reappears suddenly and measures the distance from Marty's shoulder to his feet.
Undertaker: Excuse me, Mr Eastwood, I just need to take your measurement.
Marty: Hey, look, pal, I don't want to buy a suit!
Undertaker: (laughs) No, this is for your coffin.
Marty: My coffin?
Undertaker: Well, the odds are running two to one against you.
He puts his measuring tape in its original position and pretends to choke himself with his hand.
Undertaker: Might as well be prepared.
He walks off.
Doc: So...it may not be my name that's supposed to end up on that tombstone. It may be yours.
Marty puts his hand to his forehead.
Marty: Great Scott!
Doc: I know, this is heavy.
They start walking off.
Doc: Marty, why are wearing that gun? You're not considering running against Tannen tomorrow?
Marty: Doc, tomorrow morning I'm going back to the future with you. But if Buford Tannen comes looking for trouble I'm going to be ready for him. You heard what that son of a bitch called me last night.
Doc: Marty, you can't go losing your judgement every time someone calls you a name! That's exactly what causes you to get into that accident in the future.
Marty stops and turns to Doc.
Marty: What? What about my future?
Doc: I can't tell you. It might make things worse.
Marty: Wait a minute, Doc...what is wrong with my future?
Doc: Marty, we all have to make decisions that affect the course of our lives. You've gotta do what you've gotta do. And I've gotta do what I've gotta do.
Doc walks off. Marty pauses, wondering what Doc meant by that, before following him. We cut to the railroad tracks that night. Marty is making some repairs to the tracks and Doc stoops down to talk to him.
Doc: Marty.
Marty: Yeah?
Doc: I've made a decision. I'm not going with you tomorrow. I'm staying here.
Marty: (slowly) What are you talking about, Doc?!
Doc: There's no point in denying it. I'm in love with Clara.
Marty: Oh man. Doc, we don't belong here! Neither one of us! You know it could still be you that gets shot tomorrow!
He shows Doc the picture again.
Marty: (continued) This tombstone could still be in your future!
Doc: Marty, the future isn't written. It can be changed, you know that! Anyone can make their future whatever they want it to be. I can't let this one little photograph determine my entire destiny. I have to live my life according to what I believe is right - in my heart.
Marty sighs.
Marty: Doc, you're a scientist. So you tell me. What's the right thing to do, up here?
Marty points to his forehead. Doc sighs. He knows what he has to do.
Doc: You're right, Marty.
Doc pulls a switch, and the DeLorean rolls itself onto the tracks. The tyres have been taken off the car.
Marty: Wow, that worked great.
Doc: I've at least gotta tell her goodbye.
Marty: C'mon, Doc, I mean, think about it - what are you gonna say to her, I gotta go back to the future? I mean, she's not gonna understand that, Doc. How long I been with ya and I don't even understand it? (pauses) Doc. Listen. Maybe we could...I dunno, maybe we could just take Clara with us.