Manuscript for Hanktown, U.S.A. comedy show pilot, 1953

5/3/53 ???ANK-TOWN U . S . A , " Hank-Town U.S.A,, nsar the r a ilro a d ;ards of a big c it y , with it s inhabitants the proud, ind?pendant gentlemen of the road, Although the people o f it s several winding s tree ts crowded w ith dw ellings o f m in d iffe r e n t architectu re are to a l l appearances hoboes, they are of ?. d iffe r e n t breed a lto geth er, Banded togeth er in Hank-Town are men and women, some married, who regard employment as a necessary e v i l , ev ryd&y l i f e as a continuing b a ttle w ith those esta b lish ed ? c itiz e n s of a -s o c ie ty located on the other aids o f the tracks. These unenlightened members of a tig h t law-and-order sect are alw&y? .pressing upon the ranks, of shackle Hank-Town, to s e k m e ? them with the d u ll prison o f time, convert them in to what they c a ll ??r e s p e c t a b ilit y ,? and s trip away wMt l i t t l e freedom Hank-Townors have' created fo r? themselves. The c o n flic ts w ith ?? ou tsid ers,? the struggle w ithin the lim its of the town fo r p re s tig e and even p o l i t i c a l power, the funny situ ations that develop from everyday human entanglements, with the mayor being a cen tral in flu en ce, are endless and contain the true Gomedy of l i f e i t s e lf , . ' - ? HuMl-TOWN U.S.ri" -2. C hief character, around whom a l l in te r e s t grows in to various s to ry p lo ts , is Mayor Hank Henry? He liv e s in on? o f the most elegant dw ellings in , oratin g Hank-Town ? a piano box. Not &ssm. an ordinary piano, th is home form erly hous ed a concert grand. The Mayor is an elegant bum, an "?inventor o f I . ' labor-saving d evises. No one has ever accepted any of his many gadgets, but at le a s t h? hag saved him self-from having to labor, perhaps his most noteworthy fe a t . He pursues h is 'p o s itio n of Mayor with a firm hand, inventing laws of the moment to take car? of any situ ation that could endanger his c o n tro l. But, also having a keen sympathy fo r the democratic processes, he would set up electio n s from time to time as the mood s trik e s , n a tu ra lly funny H? is a b ig , a ffa b le , /r: guy given to mixing his English, seeking to b e tte r him self w ith knowledge o f e l l kinds o f s-trange fa c ts and fa n c ie s , Th? Mayor is a combination in looks, a ction and speech of Wallace Beery and W, C, F ie ld s . L i t t l e w is tfu l character liv in g in shadow o f Hank Henry is Stew, He is d e fin it e ly in d e fin ite about anything and everyth in g, Eis c l him to ? g lo r y in Bank-Sown is a s lig h t ta le n t fo r music. He plays fid d le , harmonica, nursed and g u ita r, but has always? ksM a s e c re t desire to play a tuba. Everything a A .h'-- he does wrong somehow seems to -turn out okay. P e rfe c t f o i l fo r Hank Henry's b lu s te r. liv o in O ffic e r D ooley does not feBtzJxgxtw the community of Hank-Town, but h? "b elo n g s,? in the sense,that M s li&son between the shanty dwollcrs a n d 'c itize n s on the other side of the tracks is at le a s t a com forting thing to D ooley, Jtexaxwifa?8?iit*tl?*x?fxtJa*x3iajuryS: Ho has mad? Hank-Town p art o f his beat, mainly because most of i t s people have sim ilar to h is, bonafid? Ifa sp ite o f easy-going n a tu r e ,? aspirations/and not as ?/rep resen tative of the ,!la w .!l /^HbExfexiiaxsaKox occasional showing o f au th ority seems to have l i t t l e e ffe c t upon Hank-T.owners , a s itu a tio n which BxnsBSxgtxns brings him much concern and exasperation at times, A good guy, an Irishman o f decided blarney, "HANK-TOWN U ,S ,A ? ? , " P lato is a mysterious man, around whom rumors are threaded concerning his past. They say, he was a c o lle g e p rofessor, s. wealthy patron, o f the arts wh.cs e money was lo s t in the stock market crash, a former ??s in ? surgeon having ...................u. who lo s t his nerve during a c r i t i c a l operation and other/cu ltu ral -cifX?i.44?..a. a sage who . He has knowledge of many ,th in gs,/ ?^Mksxjpsistiiyxscjwa spends his" time in ? - ... - v ? ............. painting p o r tr a its o f Hank-Townera which turn out to b? more than abstracts -- %* ' .// - they ar? blobs, Sports much philosophy, pscRXixuiauEk^ to Mayor Hank Henry, who immediately 'picks up the wisdom as his own, ih9cc?ff3B2$*xs^3rid?fc^*ar?sxjd?xdbBtjBxgxj2hie;xx I r i s , a woman of indeterminate middle ag? and a seamstress, She is outwardly shrewish, but th is is to hide a b ig h eart, Has romantic leanings toward the Mayor and tr ie s to cover her fe e lin g s by seeming to pick on him at a l l times, Does l i t t l e things, fo r people, swws on buttons, patches, cooks occasional "banquets? fo r her frien d s whenever she receives money fo r a b ig sawing job , ? HANK-TOM TJ.S.A" - 4 - B ilk I a tii? b u lly o f Hank-Iowa. I'He is a bi^ hulk of a guy, sworn #namy o f the Wiayor, p erson ally and p o l i t i c a l l y . H? wants to be boss o f the town, is con stan tly working to undermine the ps&c? and qu iet Through fe a r sfxhiasi and fo res severa l fo llo w ers o f tli? community, help him xsfcfcax* in p e tty schemes to Hu tw it the Mayor's fa c tio n . Th? Ifay'or tr io s to p a c ify S ilk , is wary o f him, and showdown w ill come one day. But, fo r in t e r e s t, f?ud is kept going. Comes and goes. \ Love in te r e s t is brought in by means of occasional scrip ts having hi 3 fa th er young son of the Mayor, a cabbie, v is it in g KaHkisigawsq; and a goodlooking young s o c ia l worker who makes p erio d ic trip s in order to e le va te liv in g in xxxracker, sx of Hank-Town, Pup ther /Atmosphere is created by in cid en ta l characters both-male and fem ale, from other side *of the tracks and from Hank-Town. I f need a ris e s , new people a rrive in Hank-Town fo r purposes of p lo t and to keep in te r e s t by or-novel"' introdu ction of d iffe re n t/ c h a ra c te rs . For sake of economy, most of action takes place in or outside o f piano box -shanty of Hank Henry. Backdrop can serve as panorama o f Hank-Town. Other action can be e x te rio r with crude board background, tin s id in g s, old signboards e tc . Commercial can bo brought in by la t t e r d e v is e . - 5- Story Ideas: Income tax time, Hank Henry tr ie s to f i l l out his tax form* V acation: Travel fo ld e rs fo r imaginary t r ip . E lectio n : P o lit ic s within Hank-Town? Runs f o r several programs. E le c tio n : C ity to remove Hank-Town because o f an eccen tric who. wants to buy property and put up an a via ry, b e n e fit: To ra is e funds to buy property and keep the eccen tric out o f Hank-Town, Big p arty. Art E xh ibit: P la to 's outdoor show, Romance? Long buildup in to eventual doubls wedding o f Hank 5 I r i s , Hank's son & so cia l worker. Human In te r e s t: Hank-Town decides to ra is e an- orphan. Hank Henry and P lato combat juvenile delinquency by combining sports and the a rts . Stew's Dilemma: Stew finds-;.a jalopy in the c it y dump. Drags i t home with horse towing, A l l attempt to make i t run, F igh t: B ilk attempts a shxmdown scene with Hank v ia a w restlin g mutch. Captures in te re s t o f newspapers and TV, They cover, " HANK-TOWN U .S .A ." ? the i n i t i a l introducing From tx&rgaftxxAxxy program JjEiJag&fcgci? the characters, such a show cm f o r a long time, certa in to be sustain i t s e l f fB&xxsxlsBgxxsxVi?Tiers are/captivated by the warm, human comedy o f Mayor Hank Henry and the d e lig h tfu l c itiz e n s of Hank-Town, Budget, is vary reasonable. "Hank-Town U.S.A*" characters, idea, and story lxiiyxpxa?Hx? by B i l l H illa rd and Hank Henry f u l l y copywrighted,