The Shawshank Redemption · written by Frank Darabont · 1994

The cellblock hears Rory vomiting and Red breaks into laughter.

Scene 184 of 249 · ≈ 1 min on screen · Act three

Red
Rory
Norton
Hadley

Act oneAct twoAct three

Begins 1:34 into a 1:57 film

The story so farBefore scene 184

After a banker is wrongly imprisoned for murder, he uses patience, expertise, and friendship to survive Shawshank and build a path to freedom.

Scenes 1–8
Andy’s former life and conviction frame a banker whose apparent control has vanished.
Scenes 9–10
Inside prison, Andy needs a way to survive without surrendering the inner self he is trying to protect.
Scenes 11–30
Andy enters Shawshank and confronts its violence, hierarchy, and rules.
Scenes 31–154
He adapts through Red’s help, builds the library, and slowly earns trust while preparing for freedom.
Scenes 155–156
Tommy reveals that another inmate confessed to the murders, offering Andy a route to prove his innocence.
Scenes 157–166
Norton refuses to help and has Tommy killed, costing Andy the legal hope he had found.
Scene 176
The morning count reveals Andy is gone, confirming that the hidden plan worked.
Just before
Scene 181
Young guard Rory is lowered into Andy’s tunnel to search for him.
Scene 182
Rory crawls through the tunnel toward the vertical shaft.
Scene 183
Rory reaches the dark shaft and panics at the drop.
Scene 184
This scene

184INT -- VERTICAL SHAFT -- DAY (1966)

Dark as midnight. Concrete walls rise on both sides. If you imagine them as two huge slices of bread, the meat of this particular sandwich is about three feet of airspace and a dark tangle of pipes between the cellblocks. Rory's appears, shining his flashlight down the shaft. Somewhere, a rat SQUEAKS.

RED (V.O.)

It was his third day on the job.

RORY

Warden? There's a space here

between the walls 'bout three feet

across! Smells pretty damn bad!

NORTON (O.S.)

I don't care what it smells like!

HADLEY (O.S.)

Go on, boy! We got a hold of you!

Looking none too happy about it, Rory squeezes from the tunnel and dangles into the shaft. He gets lowered, shining his light, smothered by darkness. Not having a good time.

RORY

Hoo-whee! Smell's gettin' worse!

NORTON (O.S.)

Never mind, I said! Just keep

going!

RORY

Smells pretty damn bad, Warden! In

fact, it smells just like shit. His

feet touch the ground -- or what he

assumed was the ground. It's not.

In fact, it's just what it smells

like. He sinks in past his ankles.

He slips and sits heavily in it.

RORY (CONT'D)

Oh God, that's what it is, it's

shit. oh my God it's shit. pull me

out 'fore I blow my groceries, oh

shit it's shit, oh my Gawwwwwwd!