Bob Gale - Back to the Future - 3

Marty: I know, I know Doc, it's beautiful.

Copernicus starts to whine. Doc goes over to him.

Doc: Oh, it's all right, Copernicus! Everything's going to be fine.

Marty: I'm sorry, Doc, it's all my fault you're stuck back there. I never should've let Biff get to me.

Doc: There are plenty worse places to be than the Old West. I could've ended up in the Dark Ages. They probably would've burned me at the stake as a heretic or something. Let's look at the map. It says here the time vehicle is buried here in a side tunnel. We may have to blast.

Cut to Boot Hill Cemetery. An old mineshaft, just like 1985 Doc in 1885 mentioned in his letter, can be seen. Nearby are a few tombstones. Dynamite blows and Marty, Doc and Copernicus, safely hidden away, cover their ears.

Marty: Whoa. I think you woke up the dead with that blast.

Doc: Take this camera. I want to document everything!

Inside, Marty and Doc try to find the DeLorean.

Doc: This reminds me of the time I attempted to reach the centre of the earth. I'd be reading my favorite author, Jules Verne. I spent weeks preparing for the expedition, I didn't even get this far. Of course, I was only 12 at the time. It was the writings of Jules Verne that had a profound effect on my life. I was 11 when I first read "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea." That's when I realised that I must devote my life into science.

Marty notices a little alcove. It's covered with wooden planks, one of which has the letters ELB marked on it.

Marty: Doc...check it out...look at this.

Doc: My initials - just like in "Journey To The Center of the Earth"! That means the time machine must be right through this wall.

Doc and Marty chop through the planks and rocks. They get through and see the DeLorean, covered in a sheet. Doc sighs with astonishment.

Doc: It's been buried here for 70 years, 2 months, and 13 days. Astounding.

Later, Marty and Doc are repairing the time machine. Marty is reading 1985 Doc in 1885's instructions. Doc stares at some parts through a magnifying glass.

Marty: "...As you can see, the lightning bolt shorted out the time circuit control microchip. The attached sh...sh..."

Doc: Schematic.

Marty: "...schematic diagram will allow you to build a replacement unit with the 1955 components, thus restoring the time machine to perfect working order."

Doc: Unbelievable, that his piece of junk could be such a big problem. No wonder this circuit failed - it says, "Made in Japan."

Marty: What do you mean, Doc? All the best stuff is made in Japan.

Doc: Unbelievable!

That night, Marty and Doc are back at the cave with a tow truck which they're loading stuff onto.

Doc: You know, when I was a kid I always wanted to be a cowboy. Now, knowing I'll spend my future in the past it sounds like a wonderful way to spend my retirement years. It just occurred to me - since I end up in 1885, perhaps I'm now in the history books. I wonder - could I go to the library and look myself up in the old newspaper archives?

Marty: I don't know, Doc, you're the one whose always saying, you know, it's not too good to know too much about your own destiny.

Doc: You're right, Marty. I know too much already. Better that I not attempt to uncover the circumstances of my own... future. Copernicus! Come home boy!

Marty: I'll get him Doc. Copernicus!

Copernicus, off stage, is whining.

Marty: Come on, let's go home, boy.

Copernicus whines again.

Marty: What's wrong? What's wrong, Copernicus, come on, let's go home. Come on.

Copernicus is standing in front of a gravestone. Marty puts the flashlight onto it, but doesn't notice what the audience can clearly see - "Here Lies Emmett Brown, Died, September 7th, 1885. Erected in eternal memory by his beloved Clara.". Marty walks off, stops, turns back, and reads the writing.

Marty: Doc! Doc! Come here! Quick!

Doc comes over.

Doc: What's wrong, Marty? You look like you've seen a ghost.

Marty: You're not far off, Doc. Look at this.

Doc reads the gravestone and clutches his chest.

Doc: Oh! Great Scott!

Marty: Check this out. (reading) "Died, September 7th, 1885." (to Doc) That's one week after you wrote the letter! (reading) "Erected in eternal memory by his beloved Clara."

Marty stand up.

Marty: Who the hell is Clara??!!

Doc: Marty, please don't stand there!!

Marty: Oh, right, sorry. I gotta get another picture.

Marty takes a picture of the tombstone.

Doc: (reading) "...shot in the back by Buford Tannen over a matter of 80 dollars!" What kind of a future do you call that?

In the library, Marty reads through some old newspapers and Doc is searching for more information on September 1885.

Marty: (reading) "Buford Tannen was a notorious gunman whose short temper and a tendency to drool earned him the nickname Mad Dog. He was quick on the trigger and bragged that he had killed 12 men, not including Indians or Chinamen."

Doc: Does it mention me? Am I one of the 12?

Marty: Just a minute. (reading) "However, this claim can not be substantiated since precise records were not kept after Tannen shot a newspaper editor after printing an unfavourable story about him in 1884." That's why we can't find anything.

Doc has found a book of old pictures. He shows Marty one,

Doc: Look ... the William McFly family. Your relatives?

Marty: My great-grandfather's name was William.

Marty lays his finger over photograph of William (posed by Michael J Fox)

Marty: That's him. Good looking guy.

Doc: McFlys...but no Browns!

Marty: Look, Doc, maybe it was mistake. Maybe that grave wasn't yours. There could've been another Emmett Brown back in 1885. Did you have any relatives here back then?

Doc: The Browns came to America in 1908, and then they were the Von Brauns. My father changed our name in World War I.

Marty: Doc! Look!

Marty has found a picture of Doc in front of the "new clock" (the one that is now stuck at 10.04). It's dated September 5th 1885.

Doc: Oh! Great Scott! It's me! Then it is true. All of it. It is me who goes back there - and gets shot.

Marty: It's not gonna happen Doc. After you fix the time circuits and put new tires on the DeLorean, I'm going back to 1885 and I'm bringing you home.

Cut to an Indian themed drive in outside Hill Valley. Doc is preparing the DeLorean. Marty is getting changed.

Doc: The clothes fit?

Marty: (o.s) Yeah! Everything except the boots, Doc. They're kind of tight! I dunno, are you sure this stuff is authentic?

Doc: Of course. Haven't you ever seen a Western?

Marty comes out. He's wearing a pink outfit that would look very out of place in 1885.

Marty: Yeah, I have Doc, but Clint Eastwood never wore anything like this.

Doc: Clint who?

Marty: That's right....

Marty gestures toward the movie posters. One of them, Revenge Of The Creature , starred Clint Eastwood in a small uncredited role!

Marty: (continued) ...you haven't heard of him yet.

Doc looks at Marty's feet. He still has his Nikes on.

Doc: Marty, you have to wear the boots. You can't wear those futuristic things in 1885. You shouldn't even be wearing them in 1955.

Marty: All right, Doc, look. Once I get there I'll put them on, I promise.

Doc: OK, I think we're about ready. I put gas in the tank, your future clothes are packed, just in case fresh batteries for your walkie-talkies. Oh, and what about that floating device?