INT. FERNANDO’S CAFE - DAY
Mr Kringle and Sofia Castle are seated in a cafe on opposite sides of a table.
SOFIA CASTLE: Do you still claim to be Santa Claus Mr Kringle?
MR KRINGLE: To be honest, it’s not important to me whether people believe me but it would be nice not to be mocked and laughed at. That’s what gets me down.
SOFIA CASTLE: You claim to be one hundred and sixty two years old. Where have you been all that time?
MR KRINGLE: Mostly, making toys at the north pole.
SOFIA CASTLE: I ran a check on a Christian Kringle. I could find no birth cert, just an article in a newspaper from the 1870s claiming that there was one Christian Kringle who disappeared. This was witnessed by a young man named Dexter Unger. This teenager claimed that Christian Kringle used witchcraft to disappear. Are you alleging that you are the same boy who disappeared in the 1870s?
MR KRINGLE: I had nobody. I lost my parents, my sister and my aunt. There was nowhere to go, except the North Pole.
SOFIA CASTLE: How do you explain the fact that explorers have been to the North Pole and found no evidence of a base there?
MR KRINGLE: Maybe they didn’t look hard enough
SOFIA CASTLE: Is there anyone who could corroborate your story? Relatives? Friends?
MR KRINGLE: Mrs Kringle died some years ago. There are only my helpers who prefer to remain anonymous.
SOFIA CASTLE:Have you ever been to a hospital Mr Kringle?
MR KRINGLE: Apart from breaking my leg - no thank god. Have been as healthy as the day I was born.
SOFIA CASTLE: Have you ever seen a dentist?
MR KRINGLE: No, but I probably should. If you’ve eaten as many cookies as me in my lifetime, your bound to be due a few fillings.
SOFIA CASTLE: Have you ever been to a psychiatrist?
MR KRINGLE: The Hadley’s were kind enough to send me to one though I can’t say I agreed with him.
SOFIA CASTLE: What was his name?
MR KRINGLE: I can’t rightly remember.
SOFIA CASTLE: Mr Kringle. I’m on your side. I want what is best for you. All I want is to report the truth.
INT. HADLEY FAMILY HOME KITCHEN - EVENING
CHRISTOPHER HADLEY: Dad, we saw Mr Kringle today.
DUNCAN HADLEY: Oh yeah? How was he?
CHRISTOPHER HADLEY: He is homeless Dad. He doesn’t have a job or a place to stay.
DUNCAN HADLEY: Well son that’s what happens if you don’t get a good education and do your homework.
CHRISTOPHER HADLEY: Can’t we help him Dad
DUNCAN HADLEY: If we let him back into this house it could be a disaster son. Your Dad struggles to have enough money to put both of you through school and put food on the table.
CHRISTOPHER HADLEY: Just for a few days Dad. You can’t leave him to die on the side of a street.
DUNCAN HADLEY: Christopher we’ve had this conversation numerous times. The answer is no.
MELANIE HADLEY: I saw on the news that there was a reindeer in an old woman’s garden. She was complaining that it took a bite out of her laundry.
CHRISTOPHER HADLEY: Can’t we at least, round up all Mr Kringles reindeer Dad? Then maybe he can fly back to the North Pole.
DUNCAN HADLEY: There is no such thing Christopher as flying reindeer.
CHRISTOPHER HADLEY: Well then, how does Mr Kringle deliver all his presents? Hasn’t your good education taught you anything Dad?
MELANIE HADLEY: Duncan, can’t you humour him? Tomorrow is Saturday. You could at least go looking for them.
CHRISTOPHER HADLEY: Yes Dad please.
DUNCAN HADLEY: Oh, I don’t know
INT. CARTER RESIDENCE CHERINGHAM - DAY
Al Carter welcomes Sofia Castle into her home. His two young children (a four year old girl and a five year old boy) are running around the house. His wife Tabatha greets her with a warm smile.
AL CARTER - 48 YEARS OLD. FIVE FEET NINE INCHES TALL, SLIM, TIGHTLY CROPPED DARK HAIR, LIGHT BLUE EYES, AFRICAN AMERICAN, CASUALLY DRESSED
TABATHA CARTER: 43, ATTRACTIVE, FIVE FEET EIGHT INCHES TALL, MEXICAN DESCENT, SLIM, HAZEL EYES.
Mr Carter sits down on a sofa and gestures for Sofia to sit on an armchair. He is very relaxed and pets a small dog that climbs onto his lap.
SOFIA CASTLE: Thank you for inviting me into your home Mr Carter. It really is quite lovely.
AL CARTER: I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t
SOFIA CASTLE: I’ve interviewed numerous people who claim to know this guy Christian Kringle but none of their stories check out. Why should I believe yours?
AL CARTER: Mr Kringle is my Uncle. I can show you photos with my Mother and with me as a young boy.
Mr Canter climbs up from the couch retrieves the photos and shows them to Sofia/
SOFIA CASTLE: Well I have to say that there is a resemblance
AL CARTER: Resemblance? I know this guy since I was a toddler. He’s flesh and blood.
SOFIA CASTLE: Where has he been all these years?
AL CARTER: He spent some time in a psychiatric facility. After that I heard he went to live in the wilderness. That was nearly twenty years ago. If you check with the Hodges Facility in Perkingham they will corroborate my story.
SOFIA CASTLE: What is his real name?
AL CARTER: Christian Barkley.
SOFIA CASTLE: Do you have legal documents, like birth certs, identification, anything?
AL CARTER: When I heard you were coming I asked my mother for all the legal documents she could find. I have his birth cert and an old driving licence here.
Sofia accepts the documents from Mr Carter and takes a quick look at them
SOFIA CASTLE: I have to say that these documents look real. May I borrow them?
AL CARTER: I know you come across some chancers lady but this guy really is my uncle. I wouldn’t lie about something like that. I hope he comes through this. As a matter of fact I was planning on visiting your city and bringing him back here where he belongs. I’m not rich but I still think I can offer him the best treatment available. I’m confident he can be cured.
Tabatha enters the living room.
TABATHA CARTER: You know, Miss Castle, I never met Christian, but Al always told me what a nice guy he was. We want what is best for him. Would you like some tea?
INT. HADLEY FAMILY CAR - MORNING
Christopher, Hadrian and Duncan Hadley are driving through the countryside in their car looking for reindeer.
DUNCAN HADLEY: Remind me why I’m driving my car around the countryside looking for an animal that doesn’t exist?
CHRISTOPHER HADLEY: Because it’s the right thing to do Dad. We have to help Mr Kringle
HADRIAN HADLEY: I don’t see why I have to tag along
DUNCAN HADLEY: Well son, it’s probably better for your development than playing computer games all day.
CHRISTOPHER HADLEY: There’s one. There’s a reindeer, outside that old farm there.
Duncan Hadley stops his car. He notices a number of signs saying “Keep out”, “trespassers will be shot”
DUNCAN HADLEY: No son, I think that what you saw was a deer.
CHRISTOPHER HADLEY: It’s definitely a reindeer dad. You’re just afraid of being shot.
DUNCAN HADLEY: Well it does rank high on my list of priorities.
CHRISTOPHER HADLEY: Jiminy Doolittle says this farm belongs to old man Grumble and he’s half blind anyway.
DUNCAN HADLEY: Half blind or fully blind? There is a difference.
Christopher opens the door and climbs out.
DUNCAN HADLEY: Christopher, come back here.
Christopher climbs over the gate. And Duncan gets out of the car.
DUNCAN HADLEY: Your Mother is going to kill me if anything happens to you. I knew this was a bad idea.
HADRIAN HADLEY: I’d rather take my chances with mom than an old man with a shotgun.
Duncan climbs over the gate and follows Christopher around the side of the house as quietly as he can. They make their way into the back garden where they see a tied up reindeer eating some grass.
DUNCAN HADLEY: (in a whisper) Son let’s get out of here before the old man comes out and shoots us. Forget the reindeer. It’s not worth it.
CHRISTOPHER HADLEY: No Dad. We have to help Mr Kringle
Suddenly the backdoor opens and Mr Grumble emerges with a shotgun.
MR GRUMBLE: I know your there. Now clear off and run away before I shoot you. You’ve got ten seconds.
Duncan Hadley looks extremely worried but Christopher puts a restraining hand on him. Ten seconds elapse and Mr Grumble fires his shotgun and hits a tin can in the corner of the garden. He reloads and shoots again, hitting a wooden post.
DUNCAN HADLEY: (worriedly in a whisper) He’s getting closer.
Christopher steps forward.
CHRISTOPHER HADLEY: Mr Grumble, this is a special reindeer. It can fly and help Santa Claus deliver presents.
MR GRUMBLE: Don’t give me a load of old codswallop. This is Gatsby my pet reindeer and he’s here to stay.
CHRISTOPHER HADLEY: But Mr Grumble, this reindeer can bring incredible joy and happiness to children. It’s important that we return him to his owner. His real name is Vixen
MR GRUMBLE: And what about me. What am I going to do?
CHRISTOPHER HADLEY: Mr Grumble, as a reward for your generosity, my Dad will buy you, your very own pet. Something that nobody can take from you. What would you like?
MR GRUMBLE: I guess I was always partial to a Saint Bernard
DUNCAN HADLEY: Son aren’t they expensive?
MR GRUMBLE : You bring me a Saint Bernard and I’ll release the reindeer
CHRISTOPHER HADLEY: Don’t worry Dad, I’ll pay you back. I have thirty two dollars in my piggy bank. It’s a deal Mr Grumble. We’ll be back in a few days.
DUNCAN HADLEY: Son, how did you know it was called Vixen?
CHRISTOPHER HADLEY: I was bluffing Dad. It’s like playing poker
DUNCAN HADLEY: Only with a shotgun. Right?
INT. PSYCHOLOGISTS OFFICE - EVENING
Doctor Steiner is questioned by Sofia Castle.
SOFIA CASTLE: Dr Steiner, I’m aware that Mr Kringle, the guy who claims he is Santa Claus saw you for four sessions. Can you tell me of your final diagnosis.
DR STEINER: Miss Castle, unfortunately I don’t discuss my patients cases with journalists.
SOFIA CASTLE: And if I gave you two hundred dollars, would you spill the beans?
DR STEINER: Well considering that Mr Kringle claims to not have a family I don’t see any harm in providing you with a little information.
Dr Steiner pauses for a moment.
DR STEINER: Unfortunately, Mr Kringle is completely delusional. I could not discover the root cause of this. His story was consistent, but nobody lives to be one hundred and sixty two years old. It’s clearly an attempt to escape a difficult life. As Santa Claus he can claim notoriety, fame and possibly fortune.
SOFIA CASTLE: How do you explain his lack of history. Anyone who claims to have known him, has so far turned out to be lying. I have already verified thirty dishonest stories of people who have come forward.
DR STEINER: Eventually his past will catch up with him. It always does. Someone or something will come out of the woodwork. Maybe he is escaping a past indiscretion, something he is ashamed of.
SOFIA CASTLE: Go on Doctor.
INT. OFFICE OF HARDECKER & CO - MORNING
Mr Hardecker calls Duncan Hadley into his office. Mr Miller is standing to his right while Mr Hardecker is seated at his desk.
MILLER: HUMAN LIKE ROBOT, BLOND HAIR, BLUE EYES, SIX FEET TALL, WEARING A BLUE SUIT.
MR HARDECKER: Hardecker, Miller here is a state of the art robot. I’m trialling him. I’ve heard rumours you’ve been helping that imposter who calls himself Santa Claus. Is that right?
DUNCAN HADLEY: No sir. I haven’t been helping him. He’s still out in the street..
MR HARDECKER: Well, I’ve heard rumours that you’ve been helping to round up some reindeer.
DUNCAN HADLEY: I wasn’t aware that Mr Kringle had any Reindeer sir.
MR HARDECKER : That being said, Hadley, there is only one way to find out whose side you are on. I want you to go on local television denouncing this bum as a fraud. Can you do that Hadley?
DUNCAN HADLEY: I’m sorry sir, but it would just crush my son.
MR HARDECKER: If you don’t do it Hadley, I’ll see to it that Miller here will get your job and you will find yourself without one. Do I make myself clear?
DUNCAN HADLEY: Yes sir.
INT. LOCAL TV NEWSROOM - EVENING
KELLY FAY: Today I am joined by Mr Hardecker a successful business man in our city and Mr Duncan Hadley his employee and the man that took in the now homeless Santa Claus. Mr Hardecker, you are the chairman of the Anti-Claus movement. What have you to say about this man who calls himself Mr Kringle.
MR HARDECKER: Well Kelly, I think I speak for the majority of people out there when I say that there is no such person as Santa Claus. He is a commercial phenomenon to make loads of money in the month of December. The idea that he is a fair man who can tell who is naughty or nice is a lie. Santa Claus is and always will be a fraud.
KELLY FAY: What do you say to the children who go to bed on Christmas Eve dreaming of what they will wake up to find the next day?
MR HARDECKER: We live in a world, Kelly, of too many dreamers and not enough doers. If you want to fulfil your dreams it takes hard work, efficiency and discipline. There are many millionaires and billionaires in our Anti-Claus society but there is no room for dreamers and my employee here will confirm this. Hadley, here was hoodwinked by this guy claiming to be Santa Claus. He took him in and fed him and then when he told him to leave, Kringle went on a crime spree, threatening old ladies and holding up liquor stores. This man belongs in prison. Isn’t that right Hadley?
DUNCAN HADLEY: Well eh?
KELLY FAY: Go on Mr Hadley. What do you have to say on the matter.
DUNCAN HADLEY: I eh.. I have an eight year old son who believes in Santa Claus. Mr Kringle is one of his best friends. In the short time that I have known Mr Kringle, he has come across as a decent human being..
MR HARDECKER: And..Hadley
DUNCAN HADLEY: I don’t know whether Mr Kringle is the real deal but I do think that he is a person worth believing in.
KELLY FAY: Ok, well I think we’ll leave it there. We’ve got a breaking news story of two little fledglings found in a nest in ten year old Billy Baxters garden.
MR HARDECKER: Consider yourself fired Hadley.
INT. SOFIA CASTLE’S HOME - EVENING
Sofia’s long term boyfriend Charles Manning is preparing dinner when Sofia walks in to her apartment.
SOFIA CASTLE: What’s cooking?
CHARLES MANNING: It’s going to have to be a surprise.
Sofia looks at a magazine cover on the kitchen table and contemplates opening it.
CHARLES MANNING: I read your piece on the Santa fraud. It’s better than anyone else has written on him up to now.
SOFIA CASTLE: I wasn’t happy with it. I know he’s a fraud. I just can’t prove it. I thought I had something. A guy invited me into his home, showed me pictures and documents that showed a resemblance to Kringle, but it turns out, he’s a con artist and was only interested in the money the paper paid him for the scoop. He was arrested this morning. The house he invited me into wasn’t even his. How could I have missed it?
CHARLES MANNING: Nobody believes this guy. Eventually something will turn up.
SOFIA CASTLE: How could anyone live for one hundred and sixty-two years. Even grandad didn’t live that long.
CHARLES MANNING: Well at least he left you an inheritance. And if you win the court case with your sister over your Father’s estate you won’t have to work another day.
SOFIA CASTLE: Let’s not talk about money for once.
CHARLES MANNING: Are you going to do a follow up article?
SOFIA CASTLE: Are you mad? He wouldn’t let me near him after what I wrote about him. The only thing that would make me want to do a follow up article would be, if I found out who he really is.
CHARLES MANNING: Something is bound to turn up eventually.
SOFIA CASTLE: There’s no STRONG evidence he stole anything, harassed anybody or came from some town that nobody had heard of until now. It’s bizarre.
CHARLES MANNING: Maybe he’s an illegal. Maybe he should be deported.