The Shawshank Redemption · written by Frank Darabont · 1994

Andy carves a chess piece from stone in his cell.

Scene 78 of 249 · ≈ 1 min on screen · Act two

Act oneAct twoAct three

Begins 49 min into a 1:57 film

The story so farBefore scene 78

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.
Scene 31
Andy and Red begin the friendship that will carry the film’s argument about hope and connection.
Scene 51
Andy tells Red that prisoners retain an inner life and hope, though Red warns hope can be dangerous.
Just before
Scene 75
Andy identifies a tax deduction for a guard during a baseball game.
Scene 76
The opposing team’s batter brings Andy his tax forms during the game.
Scene 77
Andy continues sending weekly requests to the legislature.
Scene 78
This scene

78INT -- ANDY'S CELL -- NIGHT (1953)

Dark. Andy's in his bunk, polishing a four-inch length of quartz. It's a beautifully-crafted chess piece in the shape of a horse's head, poise and nobility captured in gleaming stone.

He puts the knight on a chess board by his bed, adding it to four pieces already there: a king, a queen, and two bishops. He turns to Rita. Moonlight casts bars across her face.