Attack of the Crab Monsters

By Charles B. Griffith
 Cast of Characters
__________________

QUINLAN:
_______

DEVEROUX:
________

HUNTER:
______

DREWER:
______

FELLOWS:
_______

SOMERS:
______

CHAPMAN:
_______

WEIGAND:
_______

CARSON:
______

VOICE OF MCLANE:
_______________

DJ:
__

TATE:
____
 1.

ACT I
_____

_
1

V.O
And the lord said,"I will destroy man whom I have
created from the face of the earth;Both man, and
beast, and the creeping thing,and the fowls of the
air;For it repenteth me that I have made them."

A dingy lands on the shore of a rich yet

deserted island. Out step DEVEROUX, QUINLAN,
HUNTER, DREWER, WEIGAND, and CHAPMAN. SOMER,
FELLOWS, and TATE are on a second boat behind
them

QUINLAN
Make that line fast. Everybody ashore.

DEVEROUX
Strange. We can only see a small part of the island
from this spot, but yet you can feel lack of welcome.
A lack of abiding life, eh?

QUINLAN
Yeah, I felt the same when I came here before to
rescue your first team. I not only knew that they
were gone,but that they were lost completely and
forever, body and soul.

HUNTER
Please, lieutenant, some of those men were our
friends from the same institute.

QUINLAN
Sorry, Miss Hunter.

DEVEROUX
I'm not so sure you are right, monsieur Quinlan.
Maybe their bodies are gone, but who can tell of
their souls, eh? Maybe if I call to them they will
answer...Their ghosts will answer. McLane! Hello!
McLane!

DREWER
Where is the house, Lieutenant?

QUINLAN
You can't see it from the shore. It's back in the
hills, at the head of that gorge. Just hidden in the
cliff.
 2.

DEVEROUX
How fitting.

DREWER
Might as well have a look at it.

QUINLAN
Well, they're coming in with the second load of
supplies from the plane. I'll have it sent right up.

He shouts to the men in the second boat

Hold your headway!You're gonna broach! Tate, sit down
in there!

TATE falls in the water. We see a strange

creature moving in the murky water
Well, get him up!

FELLOWS
I see him. He's on the bottom.

QUINLAN
What's the foul-up there?

TATE screams. SOMERS pulls him up and he is

missing his head

SOMERS
God help us.

QUINLAN
Cover him.

_
2

Fellows and Somers are waiting with the

explosives and TATE'S decapitated body

FELLOWS
You know, I wish they'd get back. I don't like being
out here all alone with old Tate's rigor mortis.

SOMERS
Sam, how did a nervous guy like you ever get involved
in demolitions work?

FELLOWS
Nervous? What do you mean, nervous? I'm not nervous,
just a little high-strung, that's all.
 3.

He gestures to the box of handgrenades

SOMERS
Come on... help me get these pineapples inside. You
know, I don't know what we're gonna use these for out
here anyway. Unless it's to practice pitching to
those babies out there.

We see a few crabs of various sizes

_
3

On land there is a small outpost that everyone

is loading the supplies from the boat into

CHAPMAN
Took his head off? His head?

QUINLAN
I'm afraid so. We're gonna take him back to Enewetak
for burial.

WEIGAND
I hope that man's death is not an omen of things to
come.

QUINLAN
Frankly, doctor, I wouldn't care to stay here with
you,but if you run into trouble or you need extra
supplies,you can always reach the base by radio. That
is, if this rotten weather will let us get back to
the base at all.

WEIGAND
Something in the air is wrong. Can you tell me what
it is, lieutenant?

QUINLAN
Well, I don't know, sir. Maybe it's because there's
no sound, no animal noises of any kind.

CARSON
Well, looks like we got the dynamite by mistake. I'll
cart it back down to the beach. Oh, excuse me,
Doctor.

HUNTER
That's quite all right. Just call me Martie.

CARSON
Okay, Martie.
 4.

HUNTER
You know, the navy boys really fixed this place up.
I'm almost gonna enjoy being here.

CHAPMAN
Yeah, you'd never think it was a complete wreck a few
months ago.

DEVEROUX
If you want to see a wreck, take a look at my back.

QUINLAN
Karl, it'll be dark in a few minutes. Want to come
watch the takeoff?

CHAPMAN
I'd like to. I'll get the others.

CHAPMAN takes the dynamite and starts to leave.

WEIGAND takes QUINLAN aside

WEIGAND
Lieutenant, I don't want to annoy you again, but
nothing was left? Not a hair, nor a fingernail
clipping? Only McLane's journal?

QUINLAN
Well, that's all, doctor.

WEIGAND
That they are dead,I can believe possible, but to
vanish from the face of the earth? No!

QUINLAN
The navy thinks they were all at sea in their small
boat when the typhoon hit. Lost with all hands is an
old story.

WEIGAND
Yes, but...

There is rumble with what sounds like explosions

coming from below. The ground shakes and we see
a landslide somewhere else on the island. After
a few seconds, it stops

CHAPMAN
Everybody okay?

SOMERS
Yeah, it looks that way. You okay, Mac?
 5.

QUINLAN
Yeah, nothing that getting off this old pile won't
cure.

They are now all at the beach watching QUINLAN

get into a boat
See you in a month!

DEVEROUX
One month, no more, oui?

QUINLAN
Oui!

DREWER
We'll watch you from the cliffs.

DEVEROUX
Au revoir!

CARSON takes DEVEROUX aside

CARSON
Did you hear those sounds just before the quake?

DEVEROUX
What sounds, Mon ami?

CARSON
A deeper booming and rumbling?

DEVEROUX
No, I'm afraid not.

WEIGAND
Doctor Carson means the explosions. We should get up
to the cliffs.

SOMERS
Hey, Hank, you're a scientist. How come they need a
demo team like us on this hunk of dirt?

CHAPMAN
I'm no scientist. I'm a technician and a handyman.

SOMERS
So, you still don't know what's going on?

CHAPMAN
Well, you remember that first big H-bomb test? The
 6.

one that blew Elugelab Island right out of the ocean?

SOMERS
Who forgets that?

CHAPMAN
A tremendous amount of the radioactive fallout came
this way. A great seething, burning cloud of it sank
into this area, blanketing the island with hot ashes
and radioactive seawater. Dr. Weigand's group is here
to study fallout effects at their worst. Dr. James
Carson is a geologist. He'll try to learn what's
happening to the soil. The botanist, Jules Deveroux,
will examine all the plant life for radiation
poisoning. Martha Hunter and Dale Drewer are
biologists. He works on land animalism, while she
takes care of the seafood. Dr. Karl Weigand is a
nuclear physicist. He'll collect their findings and
relate them to the present theories on the effects of
too much radiation.

SOMERS
We blow up mountains for the geologist Carson. But
this is the second bunch of brains to come out here.
What happened to the first?

CHAPMAN
They were here,and a storm hit. Then they were gone.
That's all anybody knows.

SOMERS
Doesn't anybody wonder?

CHAPMAN
Everybody wonders. They just don't like to talk about
it. Come on, we'll miss the takeoff.

The boat has reached a seaplane. As the plane

takes off and flies high into the sky, it
explodes in spectacular fashion

WEIGAND
Hank, get to the radio.

_
4

In the outpost lab there is a radio, various

pieces of lab equipment, and 2 rats in a cage

HUNTER
There's something.
 7.

CHAPMAN
It's a commercial station, probably Manila or Samoa.
It's all from beyond the area of disturbance. I don't
get a thing on the navy bands.

WEIGAND
Keep trying.

HUNTER
All those men killed. We can't even send word through
this storm.

DREWER
The navy'll send a search plane, honey.

WEIGAND
No, the navy will assume that Lieutenant Quinlan
decided to remain here, rather than risk the storm.

CHAPMAN
Enewetak's probably getting as much static as we are.

DREWER
Probably, which means we can't do anything until
conditions improve. So why don't we let Hank keep
trying while we begin our own working? We have to go
over McLane's journal sooner or later, so it might as
well be now.

WEIGAND
Then let us go into the living room.

They do and Weigand reads from McLane's journal

WEIGAND
"Thursday, March 11. Today Dr. Ben Diaz' culture
failed to produce any sign of bacteria, though left
for five days in the open."

"Friday, March 12. This afternoon,Professor Carter

found a large piece of flesh having the same
composition as that of the common earthworm,but
measured 24 inches by 8. With this section as a
measure, the worm like creature would be more than
five feet in length. Most intriguing is the tissue's
consistency. It proved impossible to cut, knives
passing through the flesh, leaving no mark. Fire was
applied to the tissue, and the calorie result..." The
journal ends there.
 8.

DREWER
Well, it's getting very late. Why don't we work out
tomorrow's schedule and then get some sleep.

CHAPMAN
What about that 5-foot nightcrawler?

Everyone smiles or titters

Well, excuse me for being so stupid. Me and that book
you're reading.

DREWER
We weren't laughing at you, Hank. It's just that
McLane didn't really mean to imply that the flesh was
from a big worm. He said, "from a worm like
creature."

HUNTER
You know, it might've been a sea worm. They've been
known to grow much longer than 5 feet.

CHAPMAN
Well, excuse me for shooting my mouth off, but the
journal didn't say anything about the sea. Just
talked about worms.

Another Earthquake with those booming sounds

_
5

DREWER covers the rats before turning in. He

meet WEIGAND and DEVEROUX in the living room

DREWER
Nothing in my experience leads me towards McLane's
worm theory. Nothing.

WEIGAND
You would know better than I. But why, I ask, did the
writer stop in the middle of a sentence?

DREWER
Yes, why, Karl? Unless something really unusual
happened, I'm sure he would've finished.

WEIGAND
We shall find out, I think.

DEVEROUX
Well, gentlemen, I will head down to south valley in
 9.

the morning. You know, I haven't seen any insect life

since we arrived.

WEIGAND
Shh. Quiet. Listen.

They hear weird noises. They grab a gun and

follow the sound. It's a cable outside blowing
in the wind
Just the wind.

_
6

A large swimming sequence. Hunter is swimming

alone but Drewer comes to find her. They surface

HUNTER
You nearly frightened me to death.

DREWER
Well, now, I couldn't very well announce myself
underwater, could I? Besides, you looked scared down
there.

HUNTER
I was scared and lost too. You know, Dale,it's funny,
but I was using a big blackrock as a landmark,but
when I swam back,the rock was gone.

DREWER
Well, I did see something move near you.

HUNTER
You did?I wonder what it could've been?

DREWER
I don't know.Just a big black shape moving through
the kelp.Land crabs and seagulls.Everything else is
dead.

CARSON calls to them from the cliffs

CARSON
Dale! Martha!

HUNTER
What's the matter, Carson?!

CARSON
Come up the path!
 10.

DREWER
They must have found something. Come on, hon.

They get right up that cliff. WEIGAND is also

there

CARSON
Oh, hold it. That ridge will drop right off.

DREWER
Off what?

WEIGAND
Come. See for yourself.

CARSON shows them to the edge of a gigantic pit.

SOMERS AND FELLOWS are already there

HUNTER
But only this morning I came along this path on my
way to the beach.

WEIGAND
And it wasn't there.

FELLOWS
You mean this pit wasn't here before?

WEIGAND
It has only appeared in the last 20 minutes. And it's
at least 50 feet deep.

SOMERS
(suspiciously) Nothing but land crabs.

CARSON
I want to go down there.

WEIGAND
No.

CARSON
Why not?

WEIGAND
You are a geologist. You know that a second
disturbance would cause a cave-in that would crush
anybody down in the pit.

WEIGAND leaves
 11.

DREWER
He seems pretty definite, Jim. Is he right about a
cave-in?

CARSON
He could be, assuming this was caused by a
disturbance.

CARSON picks up a piece of earth around the pit

and shows it to HUNTER

HUNTER
Why, it's glazed, as though it had been fired in a
kiln.

DREWER
Sommers, you better put a couple of your lanterns
around this pit so as to keep any of us from falling
in in the middle of the night. Come on, honey, let's
go back to the house.

_
7

In the middle of the night, HUNTER is woken by

the spooky disembodied VOICE OF MCLANE
Martha. Awake. Martha Hunter. Awake. Awake, Martha.
It is McLane. Awake.

HUNTER
McLane?

VOICE OF MCLANE
Martha, come to me. Help me. Help me. Martha. Martha
Hunter. Help me. Help me. Martha, help me. Help me.
Martha. Come to me.

HUNTER goes outside and runs in to CARSON

HUNTER
Jim, but.. what...?

CARSON
I thought...So you heard it too?

HUNTER
Yes, it was awful. McLane's voice.

CARSON
He called me as plain as day.
 12.

HUNTER
Strange, because I only heard him call my name.

CARSON
How could the navy search this whole island and miss
a survivor?

HUNTER
If he is a survivor.

CARSON
What does that mean?You heard him as well as I.

HUNTER
Someone could've been imitating his voice.

CARSON
Well, who would do that?

HUNTER
I don't know, but I do know that McLane's dead.

CARSON
Maybe, maybe not. I'm going to find out for sure.

HUNTER
Jim, you're not going down there.

CARSON
Yes, I am.

HUNTER
But Karl's against it. He's afraid of cave-ins.

CARSON
I'm not.

He gives her his flashlight

Keep this on me till I'm out of sight.

HUNTER
Jim, you don't know what's down there.

CARSON
What could be other than earth, water, and a few land
crabs?

Carson goes into the pit. Earthquake, he falls.

 13.

HUNTER
Jim? Jim.

She screams and faints. Enter DEVEROUX, DRRWER,

CHAPMAN, and WEIGAND at a run

DEVEROUX
I see her.

DREWER
Martha. Martie.

DEVEROUX
Oh, she has fainted, no more.

HUNTER
Wh...?

DREWER
It's all right, honey. It's all right.

CHAPMAN
Where's Jim?

HUNTER
He's in the pit. He went into the pit. I saw the rope
go slack.

DEVEROUX
He must've fallen during the quake.

WEIGAND
I warned him. Carson! Can you hear me? Are you alive?

We hear him from the pit

CARSON
Dr. Weigand! My knee, it's broken!

WEIGAND
We are coming for you! Don't try to move!

DEVEROUX heads towards the pit

No, Jules.

DEVEROUX
But we must go down to him.

WEIGAND
Not this way. The rope may be too short.
 14.

CHAPMAN
Then how?

DREWER
Through the caves.

WEIGAND
The great caves to the sea.

DEVEROUX
But how do you know the caves connect with the pit?

WEIGAND
Gentlemen, for reasons I have guessed- Dr. Carson
also- These caves must join the pit,because the pit
was created from below, not from the surface.

DEVEROUX
Dale, take Martha back to the house. The rest of us
will look for Dr. Carson.

HUNTER
Dale, I'm all right. They'll need you with them.

WEIGAND
If we can bring Dr. Carson out, two of us are enough.
If we can't, a whole army will do us no good.

DREWER
Are you hiding something from us, doc? A theory
perhaps?

WEIGAND
Maybe. Come. We must hurry

DREWER
You all right?

HUNTER
Just a little shaky.

DREWER
Let's get back to the house and get some coffee.

SOMERS and FELOWS meet WEIGAN et al

SOMERS
Oh, I thought you were the boogeyman. I thought we
heard a girl screaming during the quake.
 15.

WEIGAND
Did part of the cliffs fall away into the sea?

FELLOWS
Part of them? Well, it was pretty dark where we
were,but it looked like the whole island was coming
down. The boulders almost crashed us in the tent.

WEIGAND
The whole island, yes.We must go faster. There is
very little time.

SOMERS
Little time for what?

DEVEROUX
That is Dr. Weigand's small secret. Let us catch him
and find out.

_
8

At the mouth of the caves, CHAPMAN throws a rock

at a crab. WEIGAND stops him

CHAPMAN
Doctor, why did you try to stop me from throwing that
rock?

WEIGAND
I just don't like to kill anything, even such ugly
creatures as these.

DEVEROUX
Poor helpless things.

SOMERS
Helpless nothing. You ever see a bunch of them start
on a wounded marine? They finish him off in five
minutes.

CHAPMAN
That's all the more reason to get Jim out of that
pit.

WEIGAND
Yes, all the more reason.

Back at the outpost HUNTER is looking over

Mclane's journal
 16.

DREWER
Now, what do you want with McLane's journal now,
honey?

HUNTER
I just thought I'd look through it and see what it
was Mac said about those great caves appearing in the
sides of the hills.

DREWER
Well, he didn't say much,except that it always
happened at night.

HUNTER
It was right in here.

Earthquake with an extra strange sound

There it is again.

DREWER
Another quake?

HUNTER
No, the other sound. I heard it at the pit.

A strange sound comes from the other room

DREWER
You know if we both hadn't heard it,I'd swear it was
my own imagination.

HUNTER
Dale, what can it be?

DREWER
I don't know, but I'm gonna find out.

He grabs a gun
Now, stay here, Martie.

HUNTER
Don't go in there.

He goes in there. Out of nowhere a giant claw

knocks the gun from his hand.

Back in the caves

 17.

WEIGAND
Put out the lights.

CHAPMAN
There's light ahead.

WEIGAND
It's coming from the pit.

DEVEROUX
Carson, we are near you!

WEIGAND
Quiet.

CARSON
(V.O) Come quickly.

CHAPMAN
He's still alive.

SOMERS
So let's get him out of here.

WEIGAND
We can get him out, but we must move with caution.

SOMERS
Why?

WEIGAND
Do not call to him.

CHAPMAN
Why not, doctor?

They find the bottom of the pit. A streak of

blood is on the floor

SOMERS
Blood. Where could he drag himself?

WEIGAND
We will not find him tonight.We had better return in
the morning when there is more light.

CHAPMAN
I don't like the idea of leaving him here all night
with a busted leg.
 18.

WEIGAND
Nor do I. Up the rope. Quickly.

CHAPMAN
We might as well go back through the caves.

WEIGAND
No! Up the rope.

Chapman climbs up the rope

DEVEROUX
Dr. Weigand, you are a great nuclear physicist while
I am a simple provincial botanist, but there are
things I do not understand...

WEIGAND
There are many things that I do not understand also,
Jules. You had better climb.

Deveroux climbs

SOMERS
Our tent's just outside the cave. We don't have to go
up the rope.

WEIGAND
Up the rope!

SOMERS
That's what I was afraid of.

Back at the outpost. The lights go out

HUNTER
It stopped.

They go into the lab. It's a wreck

DREWER
Whatever it was must've damaged the wiring. Light one
of the kerosene lamps, will you, honey?

She does. They look around. The rats have gone

Here's your motive.

HUNTER
Food.
 19.

DREWER
But not much, considering the size of the thing that
did all of this.I guess there's no point in waiting
for the rest to get back. The storm should've let up
enough for me to get through to the navy now. Come
on.

They look to the radio but it's in pieces

HUNTER
Oh, Dale.

DREWER
Whatever it was that did this deliberately destroyed
the radio. It had to be deliberate. Every piece of
wiring has been ripped out and chopped to bits. Look.
Every tube has been sliced neatly in half. And it had
to reach way inside to do it without wrecking these
cabinets.

__
10

The lab the next day. Everyone's here. We can

see the large hole that the creature has left in
the wall

WEIGAND
Well, all I can say is, why wasn't I invited to the
party? Not funny, eh? Well, that's as it should be.
Do you think you can fix it?

CHAPMAN
Fix it? I'll need a whole new outfit from the bottom
up.

WEIGAND
You have parts? Enough to build a new one?

CHAPMAN
I don't know.

DREWER
Why do you suppose it didn't come through the door
and get us, Karl?

WEIGAND
I don't know.I can only guess.It would take
considerable power to keep the intruder behind this
door.There is power in the lighting in the living
room.
 20.

DREWER
You mean it's afraid of electricity?

WEIGAND
I think so. Have you any other ideas?

HUNTER
Once upon a time, there was a mountain.

WEIGAND
Hmm?

HUNTER
Yesterday, when we came to this island,there was a
mountain out there. Today there's no mountain.

WEIGAND
I am not surprised.

HUNTER
You're not surprised at anything, are you, doctor? I
suppose you can tell us what tore up this room last
night.

WEIGAND
No, I cannot tell you that. But I can tell you this:
Everything that has happened from the death of the
first sailor to the destruction of our radio must be
somehow related. They are too far from the normal
scheme of things to be separate accidents.

DREWER
If there is a single cause,then that cause is outside
of nature as we know it.

WEIGAND
Yes, that is why I insisted on caution entering the
caves. We are unquestionably on the brink of a great
discovery. It is not likely that that discovery will
be of a pleasant nature.That is the sum of my
knowledge. If you need more, I suggest you ask Dr.
McLane,when next his voice calls in the night. Now,
let us again seek Dr. Carson.

__
11

Down at the bottom of the pit

DREWER
I don't understand this. We've covered every exit in
the base of the pit. Wounded as he was, he couldn't
 21.

have crawled this far.

WEIGAND
Yet, still no sign of him.

DEVEROUX
Nor will be, eh, Karl?

Another booming earthquake, much louder this

time.
Deveroux! Get close to the walls!

A rock slide lands on top of DEVEROUX. He looks

and sees that his hand has been cut off

WEIGAND
Quick, Something to tie it with.

DREWER
Top of my pack, Karl.

HUNTER
Here, you'll need a tourniquet too.

Enter SOMERS and FELLOWS

SOMERS
Hello, there. Anybody alive?

FELLOWS
He all right?

DREWER
How did you know we were in here?

SOMERS
We didn't; We were on the other side of the island.
Well, what used to be the other side of the island.
Most of it's fallen to the drink, already. So we run
in here when we heard you call.

DREWER
Call? We didn't call you. Whose voice did you hear?

SOMERS
Well, it sounded like the other guy. You know, the
fellow who fell into the pit.

HUNTER
So he is still alive.
 22.

WEIGAND
If we do not move fast, Jules will not be alive.
Come. Give us a hand.

__
12

In DEVEROUX'S bedroom. He is laid up in bed

HUNTER
This will help you sleep, Jules.

DEVEROUX
Thank you, Martha. I could use some sleep.

DEVEROUX
Merci, madame. Je voudrais presenter UN inspection.

__
13

FELLOWS and SOMERS are playing poker with sticks

of dynamite as chips

SOMERS
Give me two.

FELLOWS
Here's two. And I'll take...One.

SOMERS
Bet you ten.

FELLOWS
Okay, I bet you ten,and I'll raise you ten.

SOMERS
If you're not careful, you'll raise us both 10 feet.

FELLOWS
What's the matter, nervous?

SOMERS
What do you mean, nervous?

FELLOWS
Okay, what do you got?

SOMERS
Three queens.
 23.

FELLOWS
Well, big deal, so you finally won a hand.

SOMERS
I'm still 100 sticks of dynamite andone wild
explosion ahead of you.

The sound that we heard from before

What's that?

FELLOWS
Sounds like a kid dragging a stick across a Pickett
fence.

SOMERS
We ain't got no Pickett fence out here.

They leave the tent to check it out. We hear

screams

__
14

Back in DEVEROUX's bedroom

SOMERS
Professor Deveroux. Professor Deveroux.

DEVEROUX
Who is there?

FELLOWS
Seaman Ron Fellows.

SOMERS
And Sam Sommers. We found Dr. Carson.

DEVEROUX
Where are you?

SOMERS
We're outside. We can take you to Dr. Carson,but you
got to be quiet.

FELLOWS
Very quiet. Will you come?

DEVEROUX
Yes.
 24.

SOMERS
Come down the path toward the big pit. We'll meet you
there and lead you to Carson.

DEVEROUX
I will be there.

At the pit
Fellows? Sommers?

SOMERS
We're right here, professor.

DEVEROUX screams. Lights go on in the outpost.

Everyone gathers in the living room

HUNTER
Sounded like Jules.

WEIGAND
Deveroux?

DEVEROUX
(V.O) Yes, what is it? I am here.

DREWER
Are you all right?

DEVEROUX
Yes. The pain is less.

WEIGAND
(to Drewer) Keep talking.

They start looking around, moving towards

DEVEROUX'S room

DREWER
We thought we heard you cry out.

DEVEROUX
I have been asleep.

DREWER
Perhaps you were talking in your sleep.

DEVEROUX
UN-huh. Yes. Then I hope I did not blemish the
reputations of any fair ladies I may have known.
 25.

DREWER
You didn't mention any names.

DEVEROUX
I never asked any names.Tell me of this cry you
heard.

WEIGAND
It sounded like you...Like you would've sounded in
your death agonies.

DEVEROUX
It could hardly have been me, doctor,when I have been
here all the time, dreaming of all the things I might
learn to do with only my left hand. And though even
it was fixed with a hook,and when I...

They discover DEVEROUX'S bed empty. Weigand

picks up a metal dish by the bed. DEVEROUX'S
voice seems to be coming from it
Congratulations, Dr. Weigand.

WEIGAND
Where are you?

DEVEROUX
Where all of you soon will be. I shall be back
tomorrow night. Bon soir.

WEIGAND
Deveroux! Deveroux!

CHAPMAN
What does it mean, doctor?

WEIGAND
He is dead.

DREWER
But he spoke, Karl. This supposed to be a ghost
story?

WEIGAND
No...No, I do not believe in ghosts. We are dealing
with a man who is dead, but whose voice and memory
live. How this can be, I do not know. But its
implications are far more terrible than any ghost
could ever be.
 26.

________
Interval
 27.

ACT II
______

__
15

The next day at SOMMER'S and FELLOWS' tent

DREWER
But what happened to their bodies, Karl?

WEIGAND
They were eaten.

HUNTER
Even the bones?

WEIGAND
The bones are, I think, hidden.

CHAPMAN
Most of the dynamite is gone.

WEIGAND
Huh, dynamite?

CHAPMAN
But not the grenades.

WEIGAND
I don't understand it. I don't understand it.

CHAPMAN
Well, we may as well pick up what's left.

WEIGAND
Yes, we shall need them. We shall have to stay away
from the beach hereafter. Come, Hank. We still have
the radio to repair. Tonight we will wait for Jules
to speak to us.

__
16

That night they are all sitting around the

kitchen table. The gun sits on it

DREWER
Well, it's long after dark. We should've heard him by
now.

WEIGAND
We will hear. Be patient.
 28.

DEVEROUX'S voice comes from the gun

DEVEROUX
(V.O) Good evening, mes amis. I am glad you are all
still with us. Be not shocked that the weapon speaks.
I transmit,so I must be received. Hearken to all
things metal, for I may be in them.

WEIGAND
What do you want?

DEVEROUX
First I want to reassure you that I am of sound
mind,if not of body. Something remarkable has
happened to me. I would like all of you to come and
see for yourselves.

HUNTER
Where are you, Jules?

DEVEROUX
In the caves, at the bottom of Carson's pit.

DREWER
And what about Carson?

CARSON
(V.O) I'm here too. My leg no longer troubles me.
It's all most exhilarating. Will you come?

WEIGAND
Yes. Wait for us.

DEVEROUX
We'll wait.

CHAPMAN
Let's go.

HUNTER
Dale!

DREWER
We shall need the equipment.

WEIGAND
We must go. We have to find out.

__
17

In da cave
 29.

WEIGAND
We are here! Show yourself!

Sound of a giant crab. A giant crab with what

essentially are googly eyes appears

WEIGAND
Get back here!

They shoot at it and throw grenades but it has

limited effect.Drewer throws a grenade at a
stalactite which falls on it's head, killing it

DREWER
I killed it.

WEIGAND
Yes! By the sheerest luck.

CHAPMAN
Why didn't the grenades hurt it?

DREWER
Remember what the journal said about the worm?

CHAPMAN
Yeah, that a knife passed through it like water.

WEIGAND
The stone penetrated its brain or motor area...or
whatever keeps the thing alive.I think if we remove
the stone,the crab would return to life.

CHAPMAN
Oh, let's just leave it be, huh?

WEIGAND
We will bury it.

He grabs a shovel
If a blade passes through it like a finger through
mercury, then like a river of mercury, we should be
able to sever a part of it by completely separating
it from the rest of the body. Thusly.

He cuts off a claw with the shovel

There. Now we have a specimen. Fetch your dynamite,
Hank.
 30.

DREWER
Do you have any theories, doctor?

WEIGAND
Perhaps. All I can tell you now is that this is a
male land crab, which you as a biologist will know
better than I.

DREWER
Yes, Karl, I know the species appears to be that of
an ordinary land crab, but...

Sound. Another Giant crab. Weigand takes a

picture
Out!

CHAPMAN lights a stick of dynamite

Quickly!Down!

The dynamite blows up. DEVEROUX'S voice comes

from the crab

DEVEROUX
(V.O) You have destroyed McLane and all of his party.
You have destroyed them and tried to destroy me.
This, mes amis, was one grave mistake.

__
18

Back at the lab, CHAPMAN is playing with the

radio, WEIGAND is looking at bits of the claw
through a microscope, and DREWER and HUNTER are
helping.

HUNTER
Well, doctor...

WEIGAND
This is ridiculous. The Molecular structure of this
crab is entirely disrupted. There's no cohesion
between the atoms.

CHAPMAN
I don't understand.

WEIGAND
Nor do I. Apparently we have one of those biological
freaks resulting from an overdose of radiation
poisoning. The way to explain it is.. Look:
 31.

Electricity. The free electron in the copper atom

breaks off to circle the next atom, taking the charge
along the wire. Do you follow me, Hank?

CHAPMAN
I think so. The free electrons jump from atom to atom
along the copper at the speed of light. I remember
that from high school.

WEIGAND
Yes, atom to atom. Well, something like that has
happened to our crab. But instead of free
electrons,the crab has free atoms, all disconnected.
It's like a mass of liquid with a permanent shape.
Any metal, therefore,that the crab eats will be
assimilated in his body of solid energy, becoming
part of the crab.

HUNTER
Like the bodies of the dead men?

WEIGAND
Yes. And their brain tissue, which, after all, is
nothing more than a storage house for electrical
impulses.

DREWER
That means that the crab can eat his victim's brain,
absorbing his mind intact and working.

WEIGAND
It's as good a theory as any other to explain what's
happened.

HUNTER
But, doctor, that theory doesn't explain why Jules'
and Carson's minds have turned against us.

DREWER
Preservation of the species. Once they were men, now
they are land crabs.

CHAPMAN
Okay, professor, how are the crabs blowing up the
island?

WEIGAND
I am not sure. But I imagine they are able to send
out arcs of heat. They are packed with it. The sides
of the pit were glazed as if the rock were melted.
 32.

HUNTER
They can melt and fuse parts of the caverns, explode
the materials contained and bring about the slides.

CHAPMAN
Why?

WEIGAND
To get at us, of course.

HUNTER is looking at the pictures WEIGAND took

HUNTER
Looks like we're on the verge of a blessed event.

WEIGAND
What's that?

HUNTER
Or is this the one you killed?

WEIGAND
No, it is still alive. We did not kill it.

HUNTER
Notice the belt of yellow fat around the base of the
shell? It would indicate that she's in a very
delicate condition, and pretty close too. I, for one,
should not like to be around to hear the patter of so
many tiny feet.

CHAPMAN
Then we've got to kill it.

WEIGAND
Kill it?

HUNTER
It's easier said than done, Hank.

WEIGAND
Now wait. This needs some thought.

HUNTER
Doctor, you're not going to suggest that we save it
for science. That would be suicide.

WEIGAND
No, thank you, Martha. I have no ambition toward
becoming a mad scientist, But I do think we ought to
try and capture the thing. Would you not like to
 33.

examine a live specimen?

HUNTER
Certainly, I would. But I had a chance to see how the
specimen examined the lab wall last night.

CHAPMAN
Hey, take a look at this.You said something about the
crab being afraid of electricity, doctor. Let's find
out.

CHAPMAN fiddles with some radio innards. He zaps

the claw with electricity and it disintegrates

WEIGAND
Ashes!The electricity destroyed the leg in less than
a second.

DREWER
That proves that the crab is negatively charged.

WEIGAND
Yes. Then, Hank, you must create a trap of positive
energy.

__
19

He has and it does a little zap of electricity

WEIGAND
Ha! It works!

CHAPMAN
Well, sure it does, doctor, easier to build than a
model airplane.

WEIGAND
The charge must be just strong enough to DE-energize
the crab, long enough for us to remove the claws and
cage it, but not strong enough to kill the thing.

DREWER
That's fine, Karl, but how do we get the crab to step
into it?

WEIGAND
Apparently the creature sleeps by daytime. We must
take the arc and place it in one of the well-traveled
cave routes. She has eight legs with which to step on
the plate. I am sure she will manage.
 34.

HUNTER
Yes, but you better select a new approach to the
cave.The beach entrance is completely under water,and
the pit is...

Quake. This time the boom is much louder and

sounds like multiple explosions

WEIGAND
He is using the dynamite. We must hurry.

__
20

On a cliff edge. Chapman and Hunter in wetsuits

HUNTER
You've already lowered the electric eyes into the
cave?

WEIGAND
Yes, you must place them either side of one of the
upper caves. The lower caverns will be flooded by
now.

DREWER
Use the underwater channels to the ocean as you
escape. We'll try to attract his attention from up
here. Take care, honey.

They climb down a rope and drop into the

entrance of a cave

CHAPMAN
We might as well get to work. I'll plant this one.
You take the other.

HUNTER
All right.

They place the traps

HUNTER
Lonesome in here.

CHAPMAN
It's lonesome everywhere.

HUNTER
You know, I bet you could even be lonesome in a
crowd.
 35.

CHAPMAN
Yeah.

HUNTER
Unless, of course, you found that special someone.

CHAPMAN
Found him yet?

HUNTER
Why do you ask?

CHAPMAN
Because I...Behind that wall!

CHAPMAN leads and checks behind that wall. A

sleeping crab is behind that wall
This might be the perfect time to collect some of Dr.
Weigand's mercury. If I can't make it back, you get
out of here as fast as you can.

He tries to sneak up on it with a knife. He gets

the claw but It wakes up and goes for him
Get in to the water! The water's down that tunnel!

WEIGAND
Dale, they just ran across the bottom of the pit into
another cave.

DREWER
Martha! Let's get down to the sea entrance.

Swimming pursued by a crab. HUNTER and CHAPMAN

run up the shore. The crab surfaces and DREWER
tries to shoot it

WEIGAND
It's no good shooting, Dale. The bullets pass through
it just like X-rays.

CARSON
So, you have wounded me. I must grow a new claw. Well
and good, for I can do it in a day. But will you grow
new lives when I have taken yours from you?

They run away and the crab can't catch up

 36.

__
21

In the lab, Chapman is fixing the radio

DREWER
Do you think it'll work now, Hank?

CHAPMAN
It should. Everything's put together.The generator's
always worked. All we have to worry about is the
strength of our signal. That is, if Dr. Deveroux and
Carson will leave us alone long enough to try it out.

WEIGAND
I'm afraid they won't. Rather than our receiving
radio signals,they would prefer to receive us in that
great common stomach of theirs.

DREWER
Well, come on, Karl, let's go out and see what's left
of this rock.

WEIGAND
I hope there is still something left upon which to
stand.

They leave

HUNTER
Well, I guess it's about time I fixed us some food.

WEIGAND and DREWER are checking out what's left

of the island

DREWER
There used to be ridges there for maybe two miles.

WEIGAND
Now there's less than half a city block.Soon we will
have nowhere to run.

DREWER
That's the idea, isn't it?

WEIGAND
The path is still there.

DREWER
Yes, Karl, but where does it lead?
 37.

WEIGAND
To the pit and to the sea.

DREWER
At least to the sea.

WEIGAND
We'll soon find out.

In the outpost, the radio crackles into life

DJ
Aloha, Malihinis. This is your favorite disc jockey,
Pineapple Joe. Listen now to Mukakima and his Ola'Kai
boys playing 'Muana Loa Lover'.

HUNTER
It's working.

CHAPMAN
Only the receiver. Not the transmitter.

HUNTER
Well, can you fix it?

CHAPMAN
I don't know. Maybe with this telegraph key and a
Morse code setup.

WEIGAND and DREWER on a cliff edge

DREWER
Well, we don't have to worry about the pit any
longer, Karl. It's in the ocean

WEIGAND
No. Shall we go?

DREWER
Might as well.

Quake
It's not wasting any time.

WEIGAND
The sound came from over there.

DREWER
Let's go.
 38.

They run off

HUNTER
Oh Hank, I don't know what we'd have done without
you. Where did you ever learn to fix all these
things?

CHAPMAN
In the navy during the war. And I knocked around a
lot in the radio and the TV repair business.

HUNTER
Ended up in the south pacific?

CHAPMAN
Yeah. How'd you get here?

HUNTER
Well, after Dale and I graduated, we stayed on at the
Institute in research.

CHAPMAN
You've been together ever since?

HUNTER
UN-huh. And when his promotion comes through,we'll be
making it a lifetime partnership.

CHAPMAN
Yeah. Well, let's go find Karl and Dale and tell them
this thing works.

HUNTER
All right.

__
22

By an opened rockface there is a stream of oil

WEIGAND
Is that not oil?

DREWER
Yes, it is, Karl. I've never heard of oil being found
on the pacific islands before.

WEIGAND
The detonations must've opened a source deep in the
island.
 39.

DREWER
But look, it seems to becoming from two sources.

WEIGAND
I suggest we trace them.

DREWER
You want to follow this oil underground?

WEIGAND
I feel we must.

DREWER
But the crab, Karl.

WEIGAND
The crab is like a rattlesnake. It can be heard long
before it can be seen.I believe we can keep out of
its way if we only remain alert. He knows this better
than we do. That is why he is trying to reduce this
island to a small corner, from which we cannot
escape.

DREWER
All right.But at the first sound of a rattle,get out
of there, eh?

WEIGAND
All right. Don't worry. Don't worry. You follow this
stream, and I shall follow the other one.

They go through the caves. DREWER hears the crab

sound and runs out but WEIGAND doesn't seem to
hear. HUNTER and CHAPMAN rush to meet him

HUNTER
Dale, what is it?

DREWER
Karl's down in the caves!

CHAPMAN
Why did he go?

DREWER
Never mind! The crab is heading straight for him.
We've got to get him out before it's too late.

HUNTER
Then let's go!
 40.

DREWER
Stay there, Martie!

CHAPMAN and DREWER run into the cave and, after

a pause, HUNTER defiantly runs after them

__
23

WEIGAND in a cave. He finds their electro trap

but also the crab. As he runs away he triggers
the trap and shocks himself. He is eaten

DREWER
Martha!

CHAPMAN
Get out of here!

They run away

DREWER
Keep going!

Drewer turns back

HUNTER
Dale, no!

DREWER
I'm gonna light the oil back there.

CHAPMAN
Come on. He knows what he's doing Come on!

DREWER lights the oil. A large fire

HUNTER
Did you kill it?

DREWER
No. He can avoid the main stream. Of all of us, I
thought Karl would be the one to...

CHAPMAN
That fire won't hold it very long.

DREWER
I don't think it matters much anymore, Hank.

CHAPMAN
Well, just so it holds it long enough for me to get
 41.

one message away,- just one more S.O.S.

DREWER
Hank you've got the radio?

WEIGAND'S voice comes from the cave

WEIGAND
(V.O) That was quick thinking, Dale. The pity is that
all fires must one day burn out.

__
24

The lab. At the radio

DREWER
You getting through, Hank?

CHAPMAN
How should I know? I'm not on the other end of this
thing.

HUNTER
Oh, Hank, you must get through.

CHAPMAN
I know it. It's gone dead

WEIGAND'S voice comes from the radio

WEIGAND
I am afraid that won't help you, Hank. By the time
ships and planes can arrive,this island will have
vanished beneath the waves of the sea. But you will
not drown. You will be a part of me. And as with
McLane, there will be no evidence of how you vanished
or of my existence. We will rest in the caves and
plan our assault upon the world of men!

A Gigantic Earthquake. The outpost falls down

DREWER
No! Run!

CHAPMAN
Get out of here!

CHAPMAN
Look! The water's rising. Come on! Climb!

They climb to the highest point. The island has

 42.

shrunk. There is only the radio tower left on

the high point

DREWER
Hank, you got any fight left?

WEIGAND'S voice comes from the radio tower

WEIGAND
(V.O) What for? It's only wasted energy.

CHAPMAN
Sure, I got fight left.

DREWER
I don't know what good these will be now, Hank, but I
got two grenades left. How about you?

CHAPMAN
I got four. Let's see what's in the toolbox.
Transmitter's still working. Here, this looks good.

HUNTER
Dale!

A big old crab climbs out of the water

DREWER
Go! Let's try and blast him, Hank.

They throw grenades. It has no effect

WEIGAND
(V.O) Foolish. Very foolish.

Chapman runs out of cover

DREWER
Watch it, Hank.

Chapman goes right up to the crab and gets

decked. He starts to climb the transmitter

HUNTER
Hank!

The transmitter falls on the crab and zaps it

with electricity. Chapman is crushed

HUNTER
He gave his life.
 43.

DREWER
I know.

The End
_______