The Cotton Club (1984) — Screenplay
In 1920s Harlem, a jazz trumpeter and a dancer navigate love and danger at the Cotton Club, where mobsters and musicians collide.
- Written by
- Francis Ford Coppola, Mario Puzo, William Kennedy
- Genre
- Drama, Crime, Music
- Length
- 107 pages
This screenplay is a masterclass in ensemble storytelling, weaving multiple character arcs without losing momentum. Study its use of music as a narrative device to build atmosphere and its sharp, period-specific dialogue that reveals class and racial tensions within the club's glittering facade.
Read the full The Cotton Club (1984) screenplay in PDF, page by page, right here on Laper — or download the original script to study Francis Ford Coppola, Mario Puzo, William Kennedy’s scene work, dialogue and structure at your own pace. A free resource for screenwriters and film students learning Hollywood script format.