Glengarry Glen Ross

AARONOW: Fine.

MOSS: Uh-huh.

AARONOW: If anyone's going, I could use some coffee.

AARONOW: Can we get some coffee...?

MOSS: How ya doing?

AARONOW: And why is that?

MOSS: Because you listened.

AARONOW: Well, well, well, talk to me, we sat down to eat dinner, and here I'm a criminal...

MOSS: You went for it.

AARONOW: In the abstract...

MOSS: So I'm making it concrete.

AARONOW: Why?

MOSS: Why? Why you going to give me five grand?

AARONOW: Do you need five grand?

MOSS: Is that what I just said?

AARONOW: You need money? Is that the...

MOSS: Hey, hey, let's just keep it simple, what I need is not the...what do you need...?

AARONOW: What is the five grand? What is the, you said that we were going to split five...

MOSS: I lied. Alright? My end is my business. Your end's twenty-five. In or out. You tell me, you're out you take the consequences.

AARONOW: I do?

MOSS: Yes.

AARONOW: ...you don't have to come in...

MOSS: ...and rob the place...

AARONOW: ...I thought that we were only talking...

MOSS: ...they take me, then. They're going to ask me who were my accomplices.

AARONOW: Me?

MOSS: Absolutely.

AARONOW: That's ridiculous.

MOSS: Well, to the law, you're an accessory. Before the fact.

AARONOW: I didn't ask to be.

MOSS: Then tough luck, George, because you are.

AARONOW: Why? Why, because you only told me about it?

MOSS: That's right.

AARONOW: Why are you doing this to me, Dave. Why are you talking this way to me? I don't understand. Why are you doing this at all...?

MOSS: That's none of your fucking business...

MOSS: Oh, yes, George.

AARONOW: What does that mean?

MOSS: Listen to this. I have an alibi, I'm going to the Como Inn, why? Why? The place gets robbed, they're going to come looking for me. Why? Because I probably did it. Are you going to turn me in? George? Are you going to turn me in?

AARONOW: What if you don't get caught?

MOSS: They come to you, you going to turn me in?

AARONOW: Why would they come to me?

MOSS: They're going to come to everyone.

AARONOW: Why would I do it?

MOSS: You wouldn't, George, that's why I'm talking to you. Answer me. They come to you. You going to turn me in?

AARONOW: No.

MOSS: Are you sure?

AARONOW: Yes. I'm sure.

MOSS: Then listen to this: I have to get those leads tonight. That's something I have to do. If I'm not at the movies...if I'm not eating over at the inn...If you don't do this, then I have to come in here...

AARONOW: Dave.

MOSS: Yes.

AARONOW: You want me to break into the office tonight and steal the leads?

MOSS: Yes.

MOSS: Yes.

AARONOW: I...

MOSS: It's not something for nothing, George, I took you in on this, you have to go. That's your thing. I've made the deal with Graff. I can't go. I can't go in, I've spoken on this too much. I've got a big mouth. "The fucking leads" et cetera, blah blah blah "...the fucking tight ass company..."

AARONOW: They'll know when you go over to Graff...

MOSS: What will they know? That I stole the leads? I didn't steal the leads, I'm going to the movies tonight with a friend, and then I'm going to the Como Inn. Why did I go to Graff? I got a better deal. Period. Let 'em prove something. They can't prove anything that's not the case.

AARONOW: Me?

MOSS: You have to go in. You have to get the leads.

MOSS: Yes. It is, George. Yes. It's a big decision. And it's a big reward. It's a big reward. For one night's work. But it's got to be tonight.

AARONOW: What?

MOSS: What? What? The leads.

AARONOW: You have to steal the leads tonight?

MOSS: That's right, the guys are moving them downtown. After the thirtieth. Murray and Mitch. After the contest.

AARONOW: You're, you're saying so you have to go in there tonight and...

MOSS: You...

AARONOW: I'm sorry?

MOSS: You.

AARONOW: A job with Graff.

MOSS: Is that what I said?

AARONOW: He'd give me a job.

MOSS: He would take you on. Yes.

MOSS: Yes.

AARONOW: What will he pay?

MOSS: A buck a shot.

AARONOW: For five thousand?

MOSS: However they are, that's the deal. A buck a throw. Five thousand dollars. Split it half and half.

AARONOW: You're saying "me."

MOSS: Yes. Twenty-five hundred apiece. One night's work, and the job with Graff. Working the premium leads.

MOSS: Did I say that?

AARONOW: Did you talk to Graff?

MOSS: Is that what I said?

AARONOW: What did he say?

MOSS: What did he say? He'd buy them.

AARONOW: You're going to steal the leads?

MOSS: Have I said that?

AARONOW: Because, because, you know, it's a crime.

MOSS: That's right. It's a crime. It is a crime. It's also very safe.

AARONOW: You're actually talking about this?

MOSS: That's right.

AARONOW: You didn't?

MOSS: No. Not actually.

AARONOW: Did you?

MOSS: What did you say?

MOSS: Yes. I said, "Not actually." The fuck you care, George? We're just talking...

AARONOW: We are?

AARONOW: So all this, um, you didn't, actually, you didn't go talk to Graff.

MOSS: Not actually, no.

MOSS: No.

AARONOW: Talking about it as a...

MOSS: No.

AARONOW: As a robbery.

MOSS: As a "robbery"?! No.

AARONOW: Well. Well...

MOSS: Hey.

AARONOW: Yes. I mean are you actually talking about this, or are we just...

MOSS: No, we're just...

AARONOW: We're just "talking" about it.

MOSS: We're just speaking about it. As an idea.

AARONOW: As an idea.

MOSS: Yes.

AARONOW: We're not actually talking about it.

AARONOW: How many leads have we got?

MOSS: The Glengarry...the premium leads...? I'd say we got five thousand. Five. Five thousand leads.

AARONOW: And you're saying a fella could take and sell these leads to Jerry Graff.

MOSS: Yes.

AARONOW: How do you know he'd buy them?

MOSS: Graff? Because I worked for him.

AARONOW: You haven't talked to him.

MOSS: No. What do you mean? Have I talked to him about this?

AARONOW: What could somebody get for them?

MOSS: What could we get for them? I don't know. Buck a throw...buck-a- half a throw...I don't know...Hey, who knows what they're worth, what do they pay for them? All told...must be, I'd... three bucks a throw...I don't know.

MOSS: Someone should rob the office.

AARONOW: Huh.

MOSS: That's what I'm saying. We were, if we were that kind of guys, to knock it off, and trash the joint, it looks like robbery, and take the fuckin' leads out of the files...go to Jerry Graff.

MOSS: Something. To pay them back. Someone, someone should hurt them. Murray and Mitch.

AARONOW: Someone should hurt them.

MOSS: Yes.

AARONOW: How?

MOSS: How? Do something to hurt them. Where they live.

AARONOW: What?

MOSS: ...you're absolutely right.

AARONOW: They...

MOSS: They have...

AARONOW: When they...

MOSS: Look look look look, when they build your business, then you can't fucking turn around, enslave them, treat them like children, fuck them up the ass, leave them to fend for themselves... no. No. You're absolutely right, and I want to tell you something.

AARONOW: What?

MOSS: I want to tell you what somebody should do.

AARONOW: What?

MOSS: Someone should stand up and strike back.

AARONOW: What do you mean?

MOSS: Somebody...

AARONOW: Yes...?

MOSS: Should do something to them.

AARONOW: What?

MOSS: To say "I'm going on my own." 'Cause what you do, George, let me tell you what you do: you find yourself in thrall to someone else. And we enslave ourselves. To please. To win some fucking toaster...to...to... and the guy who got there first made up those...

AARONOW: That's right...

MOSS: He made up those rules, and we're working for him.

AARONOW: That's the truth...

MOSS: That's the God's truth. And it gets me depressed. I swear that it does. At MY AGE. To see a goddamn: "Somebody wins the Cadillac this month. P.S. Two guys get fucked."

AARONOW: Huh.

MOSS: You don't ax your sales force.

AARONOW: No.

MOSS: You...

AARONOW: You...

MOSS: You build it!

AARONOW: That's what I...

MOSS: You fucking build it! Men come...

AARONOW: Men come work for you...

MOSS: That's what I'm saying. Why? The leads. He's got the good leads... what are we, we're sitting in the shit here. Why? We have to go to them to get them. Huh. Ninety percent our sale, we're paying to the office for the leads.

AARONOW: The leads, the overhead, the telephones, there's lots of things.

MOSS: What do you need? A telephone, some broad to say "Good morning," nothing...nothing...

AARONOW: No, it's not that simple, Dave...

MOSS: Yes. It is. It is simple, and you know what the hard part is?

AARONOW: What?

MOSS: Starting up.

AARONOW: What hard part?

MOSS: Of doing the thing. The dif...the difference. Between me and Jerry Graff. Going to business for yourself. The hard part is...you know what it is?

AARONOW: What?

MOSS: Just the act.

AARONOW: What act?

MOSS: That's thinking. Now, he's got the leads, he goes in business for himself. He's...that's what I... that's thinking! "Who? Who's got a steady job, a couple bucks nobody's touched, who?"

AARONOW: Nurses.

MOSS: So Graff buys a fucking list of nurses, one grand--if he paid two I'll eat my hat--four, five thousand nurses, and he's going wild...

AARONOW: He is?

MOSS: He's doing very well.

AARONOW: I heard that they were running cold.

MOSS: The nurses?

AARONOW: Yes.

MOSS: You hear a lot of things...He's doing very well. He's doing very well.

AARONOW: With River Oaks?

MOSS: River Oaks, Brook Farms. All of that shit. Somebody told me, you know what he's clearing himself? Fourteen, fifteen grand a week.

AARONOW: Himself?

AARONOW: Shoes, boots, yes...

MOSS: For some fuckin' "Sell ten thousand and you win the steak knives..."

AARONOW: For some sales pro...

MOSS: ...sales promotion, "You lose, then we fire your..." No. It's medieval... it's wrong. "Or we're going to fire your ass." It's wrong.

AARONOW: Yes.

MOSS: Yes, it is. And you know who's responsible?

AARONOW: Who?

MOSS: You know who it is. It's Mitch. And Murray. 'Cause it doesn't have to be this way.

AARONOW: No.

MOSS: Look at Jerry Graff. He's clean, he's doing business for himself, he's got his, that list of his with the nurses...see? You see? That's thinking. Why take ten percent? A ten percent comm...why are we giving the rest away? What are we giving ninety per...for nothing. For some jerk sit in the office tell you "Get out there and close." "Go win the Cadillac." Graff. He goes out and buys. He pays top dollar for the... you see?

AARONOW: Yes.

AARONOW: And it's not right to the customers.

MOSS: I know it's not. I'll tell you, you got, you know, you got...what did I learn as a kid on Western? Don't sell a guy one car. Sell him five cars over fifteen years.

AARONOW: That's right?

MOSS: Eh...?

AARONOW: That's right?

MOSS: Goddamn right, that's right. Guys come on: "Oh, the blah blah blah, I know what I'll do: I'll go in and rob everyone blind and go to Argentina cause nobody ever thought of this before."

AARONOW: ...that's right...

MOSS: Eh?

AARONOW: No. That's absolutely right.

MOSS: And so they kill the goose. I, I, I'll...and a fuckin' man, worked all his life has got to...

AARONOW: ...that's right...

MOSS: ...cower in his boots...

AARONOW: It's not.

MOSS: No.

AARONOW: They did.

MOSS: They killed the goose.

AARONOW: They did.

MOSS: And now...

AARONOW: We're stuck with this...

MOSS: We're stuck with this fucking shit...

AARONOW: ...this shit...

MOSS: It's too...

AARONOW: It is.

MOSS: Eh?

AARONOW: It's too...

MOSS: You get a bad month, all of a...

AARONOW: You're on this...

MOSS: All of, they got you on this "board..."

AARONOW: I, I...I...

MOSS: Some contest board...

AARONOW: I...

MOSS: It's not right.

MOSS: You had one you'd know it. Patel. They keep coming up. I don't know. They like to talk to salesmen. They're lonely, something. They like to feel superior, I don't know. Never bought a fucking thing. You're sitting down "The Rio Rancho this, the blah blah blah," "The Mountain View--" "Oh yes. My brother told me that..." They got a grapevine. Fuckin' Indians, George. Not my cup of tea. Speaking of which I want to tell you something: I never got a cup of tea with them. You see them in the restaurants. A supercilious race. What is this look on their face all the time? I don't know. I don't know. Their broads all look like they just got fucked with a dead cat, I don't know. I don't know. I don't like it. Christ...

AARONOW: What?

MOSS: The whole fuckin' thing...The pressure's just too great. You're ab...you're absolu...they're too important. All of them. You go in the door. I..."I got to close this fucker, or I don't eat lunch," "or I don't win the Cadillac..." We fuckin' work too hard. You work too hard. We all, I remember when we were at Platt...huh? Glen Ross Farms... didn't we sell a bunch of that..."

AARONOW: They came in and they, you know...

MOSS: Well, they fucked it up.

MOSS: You have to cheer up, George, you aren't out yet.

AARONOW: I'm not?

MOSS: You missed a fucking sale. Big deal. A deadbeat Polack. Big deal. How you going to sell 'em in the first place...? Your mistake, you shoun'a took the lead.

AARONOW: I had to.

MOSS: You had to, yeah. Why?

AARONOW: To get on the...

MOSS: To get on the board. Yeah. How you goan'a get on the board sell'n a Polack? And I'll tell you, I'll tell you what else. You listening? I'll tell you what else: don't ever try to sell an Indian.

AARONOW: I'd never try to sell an Indian.

MOSS: You get those names come up, you ever get 'em, "Patel?"

AARONOW: Mmm...

MOSS: You ever get 'em?

AARONOW: Well, I think I had one once.

MOSS: You did?

AARONOW: I...I don't know.

MOSS: Polacks and deadbeats.

AARONOW: ...Polacks...

MOSS: Deadbeats all.

AARONOW: ...they hold on to their money...

MOSS: All of 'em. They, hey: it happens to us all.

AARONOW: Where am I going to work?

AARONOW: Did the leads come in yet?

ROMA: No.

AARONOW: Oh, God, I hate this job.

ROMA: I'll be at the restaurant.

AARONOW: Did they...?

ROMA: You understand?

AARONOW: Did they catch...?

ROMA: Do you understand? My stuff is mine, his stuff is ours. I'm taking half of his commissions-- now, you work it out.

ROMA: Will you excuse...

AARONOW: Where did Moss...? I...

ROMA: Will you excuse us please?

AARONOW: Uh, uh, did he go to the restaurant? I...I...

ROMA: See...? Were you the guy who broke in?

AARONOW: Was I?

ROMA: Yes.

AARONOW: No.

ROMA: Then don't sweat it, George, you know why?

AARONOW: No.

ROMA: You have nothing to hide.

AARONOW: When I talk to the police, I get nervous.

ROMA: Yeah. You know who doesn't?

AARONOW: No, who?

ROMA: Thieves.

AARONOW: Why?

ROMA: They're inured to it.

AARONOW: You think so?

ROMA: Yes.

AARONOW: He said we...

ROMA: To the cops?

AARONOW: Yeah.

ROMA: Yeah. That's swell. Another waste of time.

AARONOW: A waste of time? Why?

ROMA: Why? 'Cause they aren't going to find the guy.

AARONOW: The cops?

ROMA: Yes. The cops. No.

AARONOW: They aren't?

ROMA: No.

AARONOW: Why don't you think so?

ROMA: Why? Because they're stupid. "Where were you last night..."

AARONOW: Where were you?

ROMA: Where was I?

AARONOW: Yes.

ROMA: I was at home, where were you?

AARONOW: At home.

AARONOW: He said we're all going to have to go talk to the guy.

ROMA: What?

AARONOW: Were the leads...

ROMA: ...what am I going to do all month...

AARONOW: Were the leads insured?

AARONOW: You think they're going to catch... where are you going?

ROMA: Down the street.

AARONOW: What. What kind of outfit are we running where...where anyone...

ROMA: They stole the phones.

AARONOW: Where criminals can come in here... they take the...

ROMA: They stole the phones. They stole the leads. They're...Christ. What am I going to do this month? Oh, shit...

AARONOW: It is dead.

ROMA: It's a waste of time.

AARONOW: Yes. I'm no fucking good.

ROMA: That's...

AARONOW: Everything I...you know...

ROMA: That's not...Fuck that shit, George. You're a, hey, you had a bad month. You're a good man, George.

AARONOW: I am?

ROMA: You hit a bad streak. We've all... look at this: fifteen units Mountain View, the fucking things get stole.

AARONOW: He said he filed...

ROMA: He filed half of them, he filed the big one. All the little ones, I have, I have to go back and...ah, fuck, I got to go out like a fucking schmuck hat in my hand and reclose the... I mean, talk about a bad streak. That would sap anyone's self confi... I got to go out and reclose all my... Where's the phones?

AARONOW: They stole...

ROMA: They stole the...

AARONOW: I can't close 'em.

ROMA: Well, they're old. I saw the shit that they were giving you.

AARONOW: Yes.

ROMA: Huh?

AARONOW: Yes. They are old.

ROMA: They're ancient.

AARONOW: Clear...

ROMA: Clear Meadows. That shit's dead.

AARONOW: Then, you know, they wouldn't be so ups...

ROMA: Yeah. That's swell. Yes. You're right. How are you?

AARONOW: I'm fine. You mean the board? You mean the board...?

ROMA: I don't...yes. Okay, the board.

AARONOW: I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm fucked on the board. You. You see how...I... I can't...my mind must be in other places. 'Cause I can't do any...

ROMA: What? You can't do any what?

AARONOW: I, you know, they should be insured.

ROMA: What do you care...?

AARONOW: ...how can you talk to me that... that...

LEVENE: Rick, I'm going to flag a cab.

AARONOW: I didn't rob...

LEVENE: Wh...wh...Wha...?

AARONOW: We had a robbery.

AARONOW: Shelly, the Machine, Levene.

LEVENE: You...

AARONOW: That's great.

LEVENE: Thank you, George.

LEVENE: Read it. Bruce and Harriett Nyborg. What happened here?

AARONOW: Fuck. I had them on River Glen.

WILLIAMSON: Mmm.

AARONOW: Did they find the guy who broke into the office yet?

AARONOW: I meet gestapo tactics...I meet gestapo tactics...That's not right... No man has the right to..."Call an attorney," that means you're guilt... you're under sus..."Co...," he says, "cooperate" or we'll go downtown. That's not...as long as I've...

WILLIAMSON: Will you get out of here. Will you get out of here. Will you. I'm trying to run an office here. Will you go to lunch? Go to lunch. Will you go to lunch?

AARONOW: ...Come in here...I work here, I don't come in here to be mistreated...

WILLIAMSON: Go to lunch, will you...

AARONOW: I want to work today, that's why I came...

WILLIAMSON: The leads come in, I'll let...

AARONOW: ...that's why I came in. I thought I...

WILLIAMSON: Just go to lunch.

AARONOW: I don't want to go to lunch.

WILLIAMSON: Go to lunch, George.

AARONOW: Where does he get off to talk that way to a working man? It's not...

WILLIAMSON: Will you take it outside, we have people trying to do business here...

AARONOW: That's what, that's what, that's what I was trying to do. That's why I came in...I meet gestapo tac...

WILLIAMSON: Excuse me...

WILLIAMSON: Shelly: get in the office.

AARONOW: I didn't...why should I..."Where were you last..." Is anybody listening to me...? Where's Moss...? Where...?

WILLIAMSON: What?

AARONOW: That they're going to be upset.

WILLIAMSON: That's right. You want to go out today...?

WILLIAMSON: I don't know, George, why?

AARONOW: 'Cause, you know, 'cause they weren't, I know that Mitch and Murray uh...

AARONOW: I, um, and may...maybe they're in... they're in...you should, John, if we're ins...

WILLIAMSON: I'm sure that we're insured, George...

WILLIAMSON: Who used to say that?

AARONOW: In school.

ROMA: Hey, hey, hey, easy friend. That's the "Machine." That is Shelly "The Machine" Lev...

BAYLEN: Get in the goddamn room.

BAYLEN: Mr. Levene, I think we have to talk.

ROMA: I'm going to the Chinks. You're done, come down, we're going to smoke a cigarette.

BAYLEN: Mr. Levene...?

ROMA: You're done, come down, and let's...

BAYLEN: Would you come in here, please?

ROMA: And let's put this together. Okay? Shel? Say okay.

ROMA: You stupid fucking cunt. You, Williamson...I'm talking to you, shithead...You just cost me six thousand dollars. Six thousand dollars. And one Cadillac. That's right. What are you going to do about it? What are you goin to do about it, asshole. You fucking shit. Where did you learn your trade. You stupid fucking cunt. You idiot. Whoever told you you could work with men?

BAYLEN: Could I...

ROMA: I'm going to have your job, shithead. I'm going downtown and talk to Mitch and Murrray, and I'm going to Lemkin. I don't care whose nephew you are, who you know, whose dick you're sucking on. You're going out, I swear to you, you're going...

BAYLEN: Hey, fella, let's get this done...

ROMA: Anyone in this office lives on their wits... I'm going to be with you in a second. What you're hired for is to help us--does that seem clear to you?

BAYLEN: Roma, would you, I'd like to get some lunch...

ROMA: I'm talking with Mr. Lingk. If you please, I'll be back in. I'll be back in a while...I told you, check with Mr. Williamson.

BAYLEN: The people downtown said...

ROMA: You call them again. Mr. Williamson...!

BAYLEN: Roma! I'm talking to you...

ROMA: I've...look. Will someone get this guy off my back.

BAYLEN: You have a problem?

ROMA: Yes, I have a problem. Yes, I do, my fr...It's not me that ripped the joint off, I'm doing business. I'll be with you in a while. You got it...? Where are you going?

ROMA: Listen to me, the statute, it's for your protection. I have no complaints with that, in fact, I was a member of the board when we drafted it, so quite the opposite. It says that you can change your mind three working days from the time the deal is closed.

BAYLEN: Levene!

ROMA: Which, wait a second, which is not until the check is cashed.

BAYLEN: Levene!!

BAYLEN: Aaronow...

ROMA: They took the typewriters, they took the leads, they took the cash, they took the contracts...

ROMA: Fuck insured. You owe me a car.

BAYLEN: Please don't leave. I'm going to talk to you. What's your name?

ROMA: Are you talking to me?

ROMA: And I don't want any fucking shit and I don't give a shit, Lingk puts me over the top, you filed it, that's fine, any other shit kicks out you go back. You...you reclose it, 'cause I closed it and you...you owe me the car.

BAYLEN: Would you excuse us, please.

BAYLEN: Who told you...?

ROMA: Who told me wh...? You've got a fuckin', you've...a...who is this...? You've got a board-up on the window...Moss told me.

BAYLEN: Moss...Who told him?

ROMA: How the fuck do I know? What...talk to me.

ROMA: Oh, fuck. Fuck. FUCK FUCK FUCK! WILLIAMSON!!! WILLIAMSON!!! OPEN THE FUCKING...WILLIAMSON...

BAYLEN: Who are you?

BAYLEN: Excuse me, fella.

ROMA: ...did they...

BAYLEN: Would you excuse us, please...?

ROMA: Don't fuck with me, fella. I'm talking about a fuckin' Cadillac car that you owe me...

ROMA: Williamson...Williamson, they stole the contracts...?

BAYLEN: Excuse me, sir...

ROMA: Did they get my contracts?

LEVENE: Don't.

WILLIAMSON: I'm sorry.

LEVENE: Why?

WILLIAMSON: Because I don't like you.

LEVENE: John: John:...my daughter...

WILLIAMSON: Fuck you.

LEVENE: The check's no good?

WILLIAMSON: You stick around I'll pull the memo for you. I'm busy now...

LEVENE: Their check's no good? They're nuts...?

WILLIAMSON: Call up the bank. I called them.

LEVENE: You did?

LEVENE: What sales...? I just closed eighty-two grand...Are you fuckin'...I'm back...I'm back, this is only the beginning.

WILLIAMSON: Only the beginning...

LEVENE: Abso...

WILLIAMSON: Where have you been, Shelly? Bruce and Harriet Nyborg. Do you want to see the memos...? They're nuts... they used to call in every week. When I was with Webb. And we were selling Arizona...they're nuts...did you see how they were living? How can you delude yours...

LEVENE: I've got the check...

WILLIAMSON: Forget it. Frame it. It's worthless.

LEVENE: Wait...uh, look... Look, twelve, twenty, two, twen... twenty-five hundred, it's...take it. Take it all... Take it!

WILLIAMSON: No, I don't think so, Shel.

LEVENE: I...

WILLIAMSON: No, I think I don't want your money. I think you fucked up my office. And I think you're going away.

LEVENE: I...what? Are you, are you, that's why...? Are you nuts? I'm...I'm going to close for you, I'm going to... Here, here, I'm going to make this office...I'm going to be back there Number One...Hey, hey, hey! This is only the beginning...List...list... listen. Listen. Just one moment. List...here's what...here's what we're going to do. Twenty percent. I'm going to give you twenty percent of my sales... Twenty percent. For as long as I am with the firm. Fifty percent. You're going to be my partner. Fifty percent. Of all my sales.

WILLIAMSON: What sales?

LEVENE: What?

WILLIAMSON: You've got a big mouth, and now I'm going to show you an even bigger one.

LEVENE: Okay: I...look: I'm going to make it worth your while. I am. I turned this thing around. I closed the old stuff, I can do it again. I'm the one's going to close 'em. I am! I am! 'Cause I turned this thing a...I can do that, I can do anyth...last night. I'm going to tell you, I was ready to Do the Dutch. Moss gets me, "Do this, we'll get well..." Why not. Big fuckin' deal. I'm halfway hoping to get caught. To put me out of my... But it taught me something. What it taught me, that you've got to get out there. Big deal. So I wasn't cut out to be a thief. I was cut out to be a salesman. And now I'm back, and I got my balls back...and, you know, John, you have the advantage on me now: Whatever it takes to make it right, we'll make it right. We're going to make it right.

WILLIAMSON: I want to tell you something, Shelly. You have a big mouth.

LEVENE: It was his idea.

WILLIAMSON: Was it?

LEVENE: I...I'm sure he got more than the five, actually.

WILLIAMSON: Uh-huh?

LEVENE: He told me my share was twenty-five.

WILLIAMSON: Mmm.

LEVENE: Do I have to tell you? Moss.

WILLIAMSON: That was easy, wasn't it?

LEVENE: I sold them to Jerry Graff.

WILLIAMSON: How much did you get for them? How much did you get for them?

LEVENE: Five thousand. I kept half.

WILLIAMSON: Who kept the other half?

WILLIAMSON: Well, I'm saying this, Shel: usually I take the contracts to the bank. Last night I didn't. How did you know that? One night in a year I left a contract on my desk. Nobody knew that but you. Now how did you know that? You want to talk to me, you want to talk to someone else...because this is my job. This is my job on the line, and you are going to talk to me. Now how did you know that contract was on my desk?

LEVENE: You're so full of shit.

WILLIAMSON: You robbed the office.

LEVENE: Sure! I robbed the office. Sure.

WILLIAMSON: What'd you do with the leads? You want to go in there? I tell him what I know, he's going to dig up something...You got an alibi last night? You better have one. What did you do with the leads? If you tell me what you did with the leads, we can talk.

LEVENE: I don't know what you are saying.

WILLIAMSON: If you tell me where the leads are, I won't turn you in. If you don't, I am going to tell the cop you stole them, Mitch and Murray will see that you go to jail. Believe me they will. Now, what did you do with the leads? I'm walking in that door--you have five seconds to tell me: or you are going to jail.

LEVENE: I...

WILLIAMSON: How do you know I made it up?

LEVENE: What?

WILLIAMSON: How do you know I made it up?

LEVENE: What are you talking about?

WILLIAMSON: You said, "You don't make something up unless it's sure to help." How did you know that I made it up?

LEVENE: What are you talking about?

WILLIAMSON: I told the customer that his contracts had gone to the bank.

LEVENE: Well, hadn't it?

WILLIAMSON: No. It hadn't.

LEVENE: Don't fuck with me, John, don't fuck with me...what are you saying?

WILLIAMSON: You are?

LEVENE: Yes, I am.

WILLIAMSON: What are you trying to tell me?

LEVENE: What Roma's trying to tell you. What I told you yesterday. Why you don't belong in this business.

WILLIAMSON: Why I don't...

LEVENE: You listen to me, someday you might say, "Hey..." No, fuck that, you just listen what I'm going to say: your partner depends on you. Your partner...a man who's your "partner" depends on you...you have to go with him and for him...or you're shit, you're shit, you can't exist alone...

WILLIAMSON: Excuse me...

LEVENE: ...excuse me, nothing, you be as cold as you want, but you just fucked a good man out of six thousand dollars and his goddamn bonus 'cause you didn't know the shot, if you can do that and you aren't man enough that it gets you, then I don't know what, if you can't take some thing from that... you're scum, you're fucking white- bread. You be as cold as you want. A child would know it, he's right. You're going to make something up, be sure it will help or keep your mouth closed.

WILLIAMSON: Mmm.

LEVENE: You can't think on your feet you should keep your mouth closed. You hear me? I'm talking to you. Do you hear me...?

WILLIAMSON: Yes. I hear you.

LEVENE: You can't learn that in an office. Eh? He's right. You have to learn it on the streets. You can't buy that. You have to live it.

WILLIAMSON: Mmm.

LEVENE: Yes. Mmm. Yes. Precisely. Precisely. 'Cause your partner depends on it. I'm talking to you, I'm trying to tell you something.

LEVENE: Would you? Would you...? Or you're gonna what, fire me?

WILLIAMSON: It's not impossible.

LEVENE: On an eighty-thousand dollar day? And it ain't even noon.

WILLIAMSON: How could I tell 'em your sale? Eh? I don't have a tel...I'll tell 'em your sale when they bring in the leads. Alright? Shelly. Alright? We had a little... You closed a deal. You made a good sale. Fine.

LEVENE: It's better than a good sale. It's a...

WILLIAMSON: Look: I have a lot of things on my mind, they're coming in, alright, they're very upset, I'm trying to make some sense...

LEVENE: All that I'm telling you: that one thing you can tell them it's a remarkable sale.

WILLIAMSON: The only thing remarkable is who you made it to.

LEVENE: What does that fucking mean?

WILLIAMSON: That if the sale sticks, it will be a miracle.

LEVENE: Why should the sale not stick? Hey, fuck you. That's what I'm saying. You have no idea of your job. A man's his job and you're fucked at yours. You hear what I'm saying to you? Your "end of month board..." You can't run an office. I don't care. You don't know what it is, you don't have the sense, you don't have the balls. You ever been on a sit? Ever? Has this cocksucker ever been...you ever sit down with a cust...

WILLIAMSON: I were you, I'd calm down, Shelly.

LEVENE: Ah, fuck. Leads! Leads! Williamson! Send me out! Send me out!

WILLIAMSON: The leads are coming.

LEVENE: Get 'em to me!

WILLIAMSON: I talked to Murray and Mitch an hour ago. They're coming in, you understand they're a bit upset over this morning's...

LEVENE: Did you tell 'em my sale?

LEVENE: What happened?

WILLIAMSON: Somebody broke in.

WILLIAMSON: Is that what you're saying?

LEVENE: That's what I'm saying. Yeah. I'd like something off the other list. Which, very least, that I'm entitled to. If I'm still working here, which for the moment I guess that I am. What? I'm sorry I spoke harshly to you.

WILLIAMSON: That's alright.

LEVENE: The deal still stands, our other thing.

LEVENE: You want to do business that way...? Alright. Alright. Alright. Alright. What is there on the other list...?

WILLIAMSON: You want something off the B list?

LEVENE: Yeah. Yeah.

LEVENE: Why?

WILLIAMSON: Because I say so.

LEVENE: Is that it? Is that it? You want to do business that way...?

LEVENE: Wait. Alright. Fine. The one. Give me the lead. Give me the one lead. The best one you have.

WILLIAMSON: I can't split them.

LEVENE: Well, I want to tell you something, fella, wasn't long I could pick up the phone, call Murray and I'd have your job. You know that? Not too long ago. For what? For nothing. "Mur, this new kid burns my ass." "Shelly, he's out." You're gone before I'm back from lunch. I bought him a trip to Bermuda once...

WILLIAMSON: I have to go...

WILLIAMSON: I wish I could.

LEVENE: You fucking asshole. I haven't got it. I haven't got it, John. I'll pay you tomorrow. I'm coming in here with the sales, I'll pay you tomorrow. I haven't got it, when I pay, the gas...I get back the hotel, I'll bring it in tomorrow.

WILLIAMSON: Can't do it.

LEVENE: I'll give you thirty on them now, I'll bring the rest tomorrow. I've got it at the hotel. John? We do that, for chrissake?

WILLIAMSON: No.

LEVENE: I'm asking you. As a favor to me? John. John: my daughter...

WILLIAMSON: I can't do it, Shelly...

LEVENE: Now? Now?

WILLIAMSON: Now. Yes...When?

WILLIAMSON: What are we going to say?

LEVENE: No. You're right. That's for later. We'll talk in a month. What have you got? I want two sits. Tonight.

WILLIAMSON: I'm not sure I have two.

LEVENE: I saw the board. You've got four...

WILLIAMSON: I've got Roma. Then I've got Moss...

LEVENE: Bullshit. They ain't been in the office yet. Give 'em some stiff. We have a deal or not? Eh? Two sits. The Des Plaines. Both of 'em, six and ten, you can do it...six and ten...eight and eleven, I don't give a shit, you set 'em up? Alright? The two sits in Des Plaines.

WILLIAMSON: Alright.

LEVENE: Good. Now we're talking.

LEVENE: Alright.

WILLIAMSON: And fifty bucks a lead.

LEVENE: John. Listen. I want to talk to you. Permit me to do this a second. I'm older than you. A man acquires a reputation. On the street. What he does when he's up, what he does otherwise...I said "ten," you said "no." You said "twenty." I said "fine," I'm not going to fuck with you, how can I beat that, you tell me?...Okay. Okay. We'll...Okay. Fine. We'll...Alright, twenty percent, and fifty bucks a lead. That's fine. For now. That's fine. A month or two we'll talk. A month from now. Next month. After the thirtieth. We'll talk.

LEVENE: I will close.

WILLIAMSON: What if you don't? Then I'm fucked. You see...? Then it's my job. That's what I'm telling you.

LEVENE: I will close. John, John, ten percent. I can get hot. You know that...

WILLIAMSON: Not lately you can't...

LEVENE: Fuck that. That's defeatist. Fuck that. Fuck it...Get on my side. Go with me. Let's do something. You want to run this office, run it.

WILLIAMSON: Twenty percent.

WILLIAMSON: Of what?

LEVENE: And what if you don't close.

LEVENE: I will close.

WILLIAMSON: What if you don't close...?

LEVENE: Why?

WILLIAMSON: The leads are assigned randomly...

LEVENE: Bullshit, bullshit, you assign them... What are you telling me?

WILLIAMSON: ...apart from the top men on the contest board.

LEVENE: Then put me on the board.

WILLIAMSON: You start closing again, you'll be on the board.

LEVENE: I can't close these leads, John. No one can. It's a joke. John, look, just give me a hot lead. Just give me two of the premium leads. As a "test," alright? As a "test" and I promise you...

WILLIAMSON: I can't do it, Shel.

LEVENE: I've seen those leads. I saw them when I was at Homestead, we pitched those cocksuckers Rio Rancho nineteen sixty-nine they wouldn't buy. They couldn't buy a fucking toaster. They're broke, John. They're cold. They're deadbeats, you can't judge on that. Even so. Even so. Alright. Fine. Fine. Even so. I go in, FOUR FUCKING LEADS they got their money in a sock. They're fucking Polacks, John. Four leads. I close two. Two. Fifty per...

WILLIAMSON: ...they kicked out.

LEVENE: They all kick out. You run in streaks, pal. Streaks. I'm... I'm...don't look at the board, look at me. Shelly Levene. Anyone. Ask them on Western. Ask Getz at Homestead. Go ask Jerry Graff. You know who I am...I NEED A SHOT. I got to get on the fucking board. Ask them. Ask them. Ask them who ever picked up a check I was flush. Moss, Jerry Graff, Mitch himself...Those guys lived on the business I brought in. They lived on it...and so did Murray, John. You were here you'd of benefited from it too. And now I'm saying this. Do I want charity? Do I want pity? I want sits. I want leads that don't come right out of a phone book. Give me a lead hotter than that, I'll go in and close it. Give me a chance. That's all I want. I'm going to get up on that fucking board and all I want is a chance. It's a streak and I'm going to turn it around. I need your help.

LEVENE: Money. A fortune. Money lying on the ground. Murray? When was the last time he went out on a sit? Sales contest? It's laughable. It's cold out there now, John. It's tight. Money is tight. This ain't sixty-five. It ain't. It just ain't. See? See? Now, I'm a good man--but I need a...

WILLIAMSON: Murray said...

LEVENE: John. John...

WILLIAMSON: Will you please wait a second. Shelly. Please. Murray told me: the hot leads...

LEVENE: ...ah, fuck this...

WILLIAMSON: The...Shelly? The hot leads are assigned according to the board. During the contest. Period. Anyone who beats fifty per...

LEVENE: That's fucked. That's fucked. You don't look at the fucking percentage. You look at the gross.

WILLIAMSON: Either way. You're out.

LEVENE: I'm out.

WILLIAMSON: Yes.

LEVENE: I'll tell you why I'm out. I'm out, you're giving me toilet paper. John.

LEVENE: ...and I'm going to get bounced and you're...

WILLIAMSON: ...let me...are you listening to me...?

LEVENE: Yes.

WILLIAMSON: Let me tell you something, Shelly. I do what I'm hired to do. I'm...wait a second. I'm hired to watch the leads. I'm given...hold on, I'm given a policy. My job is to do that. What I'm told. That's it. You, wait a second, anybody falls below a certain mark I'm not permitted to give them the premium leads.

LEVENE: Then how do they come up above that mark? With dreck...? That's nonsense. Explain this to me. 'Cause it's a waste, and it's a stupid waste. I want to tell you something...

WILLIAMSON: You know what those leads cost?

LEVENE: The premium leads. Yes. I know what they cost. John. Because I, I generated the dollar revenue sufficient to buy them. Nineteen senny-nine, you know what I made? Senny-nine? Ninety-six thousand dollars. John? For Murray... For Mitch...look at the sheets...

WILLIAMSON: Murray said...

LEVENE: Fuck him. Fuck Murray. John? You know? You tell him I said so. What does he fucking know? He's going to have a "sales" contest...you know what our sales contest used to be?

LEVENE: ...it isn't you...? Who is it? Who is this I'm talking to? I need the leads...

WILLIAMSON: ...after the thirtieth...

LEVENE: Bullshit the thirtieth, I don't get on the board the thirtieth, they're going to can my ass. I need the leads. I need them now. Or I'm gone, and you're going to miss me, John, I swear to you.

WILLIAMSON: Murray...

LEVENE: ...you talk to Murray...

WILLIAMSON: I have. And my job is to marshal those leads...

LEVENE: Marshal the leads...marshal the leads? What the fuck, what bus did you get off of, we're here to fucking sell. Fuck marshaling the leads. What the fuck talk is that? What the fuck talk is that? Where did you learn that? In school? That's "talk," my friend, that's "talk." Our job is to sell. I'm the man to sell. I'm getting garbage. You're giving it to me, and what I'm saying is it's fucked.

WILLIAMSON: You're saying that I'm fucked.

LEVENE: Yes. I am. I'm sorry to antagonize you.

WILLIAMSON: Let me...

LEVENE: What is this "you say"? A deal kicks out...I got to eat. Shit, Williamson, shit. You...Moss... Roma...look at the sheets...look at the sheets. Nineteen eighty, eighty-one...eighty-two...six months of eighty-two...who's there? Who's up there?

WILLIAMSON: Roma.

LEVENE: Under him?

WILLIAMSON: Moss.

LEVENE: Bullshit. John. Bullshit. April, September 1981. It's me. It isn't fucking Moss. Due respect, he's an order taker, John. He talks, he talks a good game, look at the board, and it's me, John, it's me...

WILLIAMSON: Not lately it isn't.

LEVENE: Lately kiss my ass lately. That isn't how you build an org...talk, talk to Murray. Talk to Mitch. When we were on Peterson, who paid for his fucking car? You talk to him. The Seville...? He came in, "You bought that for me Shelly." Out of what? Cold calling. Nothing. Sixty-five, when we were there, with Glen Ross Farms? You call 'em downtown. What was that? Luck? That was "luck"? Bullshit, John. You're burning my ass, I can't get a fucking lead...you think that was luck. My stats for those years? Bullshit...over that period of time...? Bullshit. It wasn't luck. It was skill. You want to throw that away, John...? You want to throw that away?

WILLIAMSON: It isn't me...

WILLIAMSON: Shelly...

LEVENE: ...and what is that, John? What? Bad luck. That's all it is. I pray in your life you will never find it runs in streaks. That's what it does, that's all it's doing. Streaks. I pray it misses you. That's all I want to say.

WILLIAMSON: What about the other two?

LEVENE: What two?

WILLIAMSON: Four. You had four leads. One kicked out, one the judge, you say...

LEVENE: ...you want to see the court records? John? Eh? You want to go down...

WILLIAMSON: ...no...

LEVENE: ...do you want to go downtown...?

WILLIAMSON: ...no...

LEVENE: ...then...

WILLIAMSON: ...I only...

LEVENE: ...then what is this "you say" shit, what is that? What is that...?

WILLIAMSON: All that I'm saying...

LEVENE: John...John...John. Okay. John. John. Look: The Glengarry Highland's leads, you're sending Roma out. Fine. He's a good man. We know what he is. He's fine. All I'm saying, you look at the board, he's throwing...wait, wait, wait, he's throwing them away, he's throwing the leads away. All that I'm saying, that you're wasting leads. I don't want to tell you your job. All that I'm saying, things get set, I know they do, you get a certain mindset... A guy gets a reputation. We know how this...all I'm saying, put a closer on the job. There's more than one man for the... Put a...wait a second, put a proven man out...and you watch, now wait a second--and you watch your dollar volumes...You start closing them for fifty 'stead of twenty- five...you put a closer on the...

WILLIAMSON: Shelly, you blew the last...

LEVENE: No. John. No. Let's wait, let's back up here, I did...will you please? Wait a second. Please. I didn't "blow" them. No. I didn't "blow" them. No. One kicked out, one I closed...

WILLIAMSON: ...you didn't close...

LEVENE: ...I, if you'd listen to me. Please. I closed the cocksucker. His ex, John, his ex, I didn't know he was married...he, the judge invalidated the...

LEVENE: Dave...

MOSS: ...Shut up. Decide who should be dealt with how? Is that the thing? I come into the fuckin' office today, I get humiliated by some jagoff cop. I get accused of...I get this shit thrown in my face by you, you geniune shit, because you're top name on the board...

LEVENE: Rick. Let me tell you. Wait, we're in the...

MOSS: Shut the fuck up. Ricky. You have a mean streak in you... And what the fuck are you babbling about...?

LEVENE: I got 'em in the kitchen. I'm eating her crumb cake.

MOSS: What does that mean?

LEVENE: "You do get the..." Huh? Huh?

MOSS: Fuck is that supposed to mean?

LEVENE: "You do get the opportunity...You get them. As I do, as anyone does..."

MOSS: Ricky?...That I don't care they stole the contracts?

MOSS: ...the fuck is that supposed to mean...?

LEVENE: Will you shut up, I'm telling you this...

MOSS: Hey, they're fuckin' garbage any case...This whole goddamn...

LEVENE: "...You look around, you say, 'This one has so-and-so, and I have nothing..."

MOSS: Shit.

LEVENE: "'Why? Why don't I get the opportunities...?"

MOSS: And did they steal the contracts...?

MOSS: Give me some leads. I'm going out... I'm getting out of...

LEVENE: "...you have to believe in yourself..."

MOSS: Na, fuck the leads, I'm going home.

LEVENE: "Bruce, Harriet...Fuck me, believe in yourself..."

MOSS: Those fuckin' deadbeats...

LEVENE: My ass. I told 'em. Listen to this: I said...

MOSS: Hey, I don't want to hear your fucking war stories...

MOSS: You did that?

LEVENE: Eighty-two thousand dollars.

LEVENE: Ricky, I...

ROMA: Okay, okay, I'll be at the resta...

LEVENE: Ricky...

ROMA: I've wanted to talk to you for some time. For a long time, actually. I said, "The Machine, there's a man I would work with. There's a man..." You know? I never said a thing. I should have, don't know why I didn't. And that shit you were slinging on my guy today was so good...it...it was, and, excuse me, 'cause it isn't even my place to say it. It was admirable...it was the old stuff. Hey, I've been on a hot streak, so what? There's things that I could learn from you. You eat today?

LEVENE: Me.

ROMA: Yeah.

LEVENE: Mm.

ROMA: Well, you want to swing by the Chinks, watch me eat, we'll talk?

LEVENE: I think I'd better stay here for a while.

LEVENE: Rick...

ROMA: One moment, I'll be right with you. In fact, a...one point, which I spoke to you of which I can't talk to you about here.

LEVENE: Rick...?

ROMA: I'm coming, Ray...what a day! I'll call you this evening, Jim. I'm sorry you had to come in...Monday, lunch.

LEVENE: Rick...?

ROMA: I'm sorry, Jim. I can't talk now. I'll call you tonight...I'm sorry. I'm coming, Ray.

ROMA: What?

LEVENE: Kenilworth...?

ROMA: I'm sorry...?

LEVENE: Kenilworth.

ROMA: Oh, God...Oh, God... Jim, excuse me...Ray, I told you, who he is is the senior vice- president American Express. His family owns 32 per...Over the past years I've sold him...I can't tell you the dollar amount, but quite a lot of land. I promised five weeks ago that I'd go to the wife's birthday party in Kenilworth tonight. I have to go. You understand. They treat me like a member of the family, so I have to go.

ROMA: You're sure?

LEVENE: Go ahead.

ROMA: Well, Ray was eating at one of his company's men's home in France...the man's French, isn't he?

LEVENE: No, his wife is.

ROMA: Ah. Ah, his wife is. Ray: what time do you have...?

LEVENE: Twelve-fifteen.

ROMA: Oh! My God...I've got to get you on the plane!

LEVENE: Didn't I say I was taking the two o'...

ROMA: No. You said the one. That's why you said we couldn't talk till Kenilworth.

LEVENE: Oh, my God, you're right! I'm on the one... Well, let's scoot...

ROMA: Mr. Morton's with American Express... he's... I can tell Jim what you do...?

LEVENE: Sure.

ROMA: Ray is director of all European sales and services for American Ex... But I'm saying you haven't had a meal until you've tasted...I was at the Lingks' last...as a matter of fact, what was that service feature you were talking about...?

LEVENE: Which...

ROMA: "Home Cooking"...what did you call it, you said it...it was a tag phrase that you had,,,

LEVENE: Uh...

ROMA: Home...

LEVENE: Home cooking...

ROMA: The monthly interview...?

LEVENE: Oh! For the magazine...

ROMA: Yes. Is this something that I can talk ab...

LEVENE: Well, it isn't coming out until the February iss...sure. Sure, go ahead, Ricky.

LEVENE: Glad to meet you.

ROMA: I just put Jim into Black Creek...are you acquainted with...

LEVENE: No...Black Creek. Yes. In Florida?

ROMA: Yes.

LEVENE: I wanted to speak with you about...

ROMA: Well, we'll do that this weekend.

LEVENE: My wife told me to look into...

ROMA: Beautiful. Beautiful rolling land. I was telling Jim and Jinny, Ray, I want to tell you something. You, Ray, you eat in a lot of restaurants. I know you do...

ROMA: I own the property, my mother owns the property, I put her into it. I'm going to show you on the plats. You look when you get home A-3 through A-14 and 26 through 30. You take your time and if you still feel.

LEVENE: No, Mr. Roma. I don't need the time, I've made a lot of investments in the last...

ROMA: Oh, Christ.

LEVENE: The hell with him. We'll go to lunch, the leads won't be up for...

ROMA: You're a client. I just sold you five waterfront Glengarry Farms. I rub my head, throw me the cue "Kenilworth."

LEVENE: What is it?

ROMA: Kenilw...

LEVENE: And, and, and, I did it. And I put a kid through school. She...and...Cold calling, fella. Door to door. But you don't know. You don't know. You never heard of a streak. You never heard of "marshaling your sales force..." What are you, you're a secretary, John. Fuck you. That's my message for you. Fuck you and kiss my ass. You don't like it, I'll go talk to Jerry Graff. Period. Fuck you. Put me on the board. And I want three worthwhile leads today and I don't want any bullshit about them and I want 'em close together 'cause I'm going to hit them all today. That's all I have to say to you.

ROMA: He's right, Williamson.

ROMA: You closed 'em today?

LEVENE: Yes. I did. This morning. What I'm saying to you: things can change. You see? This is where you fuck up, because this is something you don't know. You can't look down the road. And see what's coming. Might be someone else, John. It might be someone new, eh? Someone new. And you can't look back. 'Cause you don't know history. You ask them. When we were at Rio Rancho, who was top man? A month...? Two months...? Eight months in twelve for three years in a row. You know what that means? You know what that means? Is that luck? Is that some, some, some purloined leads? That's skill. That's talent, that's, that's...

ROMA: ...yes...

LEVENE: ...and you don't remember. 'Cause you weren't around. That's cold calling. Walk up to the door. I don't even know their name. I'm selling something they don't even want. You talk about soft sell... before we had a name for it...before we called it anything, we did it.

ROMA: That's right, Shel.

LEVENE: The only arrangement I'll accept is full investment. Period. The whole eight units. I know that you're saying 'be safe,' I know what you're saying. I know if I left you to yourselves, you'd say 'come back tomorrow,' and when I walked out that door, you'd make a cup of coffee...you'd sit down...and you'd think 'let's be safe...' and not to disappoint me you'd go one unit or maybe two, because you'd become scared because you'd met possibility. But this won't do, and that's not the subject..." Listen to this, I actually said this. "That's not the subject of our evening together." Now I handed them the pen. I held it in my hand. I turned the contract, eight units eighty-two grand. "Now I want you to sign." I sat there. Five minutes. Then, I sat there, Ricky, twenty-two minutes by the kitchen clock. Twenty-two minutes by the kitchen clock. Not a word, not a motion. What am I thinking? "My arm's getting tired?" No. I did it. I did it. Like in the old says, Ricky. Like I was taught... Like, like, like I used to do...I did it.

ROMA: Like you taught me...

LEVENE: Bullshit, you're...No. That's raw... well, if I did, then I'm glad I did. I, well. I locked on them. All on them, nothing on me. All my thoughts are on them. I'm holding the last thought that I spoke: "Now is the time." They signed, Ricky. It was great. It was fucking great. It was like they wilted all at once. No gesture...nothing. Like together.

ROMA: How was it...?

LEVENE: From the store.

ROMA: Fuck her...

LEVENE: "What we have to do is admit to ourself that we see that opportunity...and take it. And that's it." And we sit there. I got the pen out...

ROMA: "Always be closing..."

LEVENE: That's what I'm saying. The old ways. The old ways...convert the motherfucker...sell him...sell him... make him sign the check. The...Bruce, Harriet...the kitchen, blah: they got their money in government bonds...I say fuck it, we're going to go the whole route. I plat it out eight units. Eighty- two grand. I tell them. "This is now. This is that thing that you've been dreaming of, you're going to find that suitcase on the train, the guy comes in the door, the bag that's full of money. This is it, Harriett..."

ROMA: Harriett...

LEVENE: Bruce..."I don't want to fuck around with you. I don't want to go round this, and pussyfoot around the thing, you have to look back on this. I do, too. I came here to do good for you and me. For both of us. Why take an interim position?

ROMA: Fuck you care...?

LEVENE: "I want to tell you something, Harriet..."

ROMA: Fuck you, Dave...

LEVENE: "You have to believe in yourself... you"--look--"alright...?"

LEVENE: Just now.

ROMA: Guess who?

LEVENE: They took the leads?

ROMA: Mmm.

LEVENE: When?

ROMA: Last night, this morning.

LEVENE: Williamson, get on the phone, call Mitch...

ROMA: They took the phones...

LEVENE: They...

ROMA: Eight units?

LEVENE: That's right.

ROMA: Shelly...!

LEVENE: Hey, big fucking deal. Broke a bad streak...

LEVENE: Get the chalk. Get the chalk...get the chalk! I closed 'em! I closed the cocksucker. Get the chalk and put me on the board. I'm going to Hawaii! Put me on the Cadillac board, Williamson! Pick up the fuckin' chalk. Eight units. Mountain View...

ROMA: You sold eight Mountain View?

LEVENE: You bet your ass. Who wants to go to lunch? Who wants to go to lunch? I'm buying. Eighty-two fucking grand. And twelve grand in commission. John. On fucking deadbeat magazine subscription leads.

LINGK: You cashed the check?

ROMA: Not to my knowledge, no...

LINGK: What are the police doing?

ROMA: It's nothing.

LINGK: What are the police doing here...?

ROMA: What?

LINGK: And the check is...

ROMA: What did I tell you? What did I say about the three days...?

ROMA: What? What? What, Jim: I tell you what, let's get out of here...let's go get a drink.

LINGK: She told me not to talk to you.

ROMA: Let's...no one's going to know, let's go around the corner and we'll get a drink.

LINGK: She told me I had to get back the check or call the State's att...

ROMA: Forget the deal, Jimmy. Forget the deal...you know me. The deal's dead. Am I talking about the deal? That's over. Please. Let's talk about you. Come on. Come on. Come on, Jim. I want to tell you something. Your life is your own. You have a contract with your wife. You have certain things you do jointly, you have a bond there...and there are other things. Those things are yours. You needn't feel ashamed, you needn't feel that you're being untrue...or that she would abandon you if she knew. This is your life. Yes. Now I want to talk to you because you're obviously upset and that concerns me. Now let's go. Right now.

LINGK: The deal.

ROMA: The "deal," forget the deal. Forget the deal, you've got something on your mind, Jim, what is it?

LINGK: I can't talk to you, you met my wife, I...

ROMA: ...what, what, say it. Say it to me...

LINGK: I...

ROMA: What...?

LINGK: I...

ROMA: What...? Say the words.

LINGK: I don't have the power. I said it.

ROMA: What power?

LINGK: The power to negotiate.

ROMA: To negotiate what? To negotiate what?

LINGK: This.

ROMA: What, "this"?

LINGK: I'm...

ROMA: Where are you going...? This is me...This is Ricky, Jim. Jim, anything you want, you want it, you have it. You understand? This is me. Something upset you. Sit down, now sit down. You tell me what it is. Am I going to help you fix it? You're goddamned right I am. Sit down. Tell you something...? Sometimes we need someone from outside. It's...no, sit down...Now talk to me.

LINGK: I can't regotiate.

ROMA: What does that mean?

LINGK: That...

ROMA: No, no. That's just something she "said." We don't have to do that.

LINGK: She told me I have to.

ROMA: No, Jim.

LINGK: I do. If I don't get my money back...

LINGK: What's going on here?

ROMA: Tell me again. Your wife.

LINGK: I told you.

ROMA: You tell me again.

LINGK: She wants her money back.

ROMA: We're going to speak to her.

LINGK: No. She told me "right now."

ROMA: We'll speak to her, Jim...

LINGK: She won't listen.

ROMA: I'm very sorry, Jimmy. I apologize to you.

LINGK: It's not me, it's my wife.

ROMA: What is?

LINGK: I told you.

ROMA: Tell me again.

ROMA: Today. Today. Which, in any case, it was not, as there were a couple of points on the agreement I wanted to go over with you in any case.

LINGK: The check wasn't cashed?

ROMA: I just called downtown, and it's on their desk.

ROMA: You don't count Saturday.

LINGK: I'm not.

ROMA: No, I'm saying you don't include Saturday...in your three days. It's not a business day.

LINGK: But I'm not counting it. Wednesday. Thursday. Friday. So it would have elapsed.

ROMA: What would have elapsed?

LINGK: If we wait till Mon...

ROMA: When did you write the check?

LINGK: Yest...

ROMA: What was yesterday?

LINGK: Tuesday.

ROMA: And when was that check cashed?

LINGK: I don't know.

ROMA: What was the earliest it could have been cashed?

ROMA: Jim, Jim, you saw my book...I can't, you saw my book...

LINGK: But we have to before Monday. To get our money ba...

ROMA: Three business days. They mean three business days.

LINGK: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.

ROMA: I don't understand.

LINGK: That's what they are. Three business...I wait till Monday, my time limit runs out.

ROMA: No, I don't know. Tell me.

LINGK: To change our minds.

ROMA: Of course you have three days.

LINGK: I don't know. They said we have three days. They said we have three days.

ROMA: Three days.

LINGK: To...you know.

ROMA: Monday.

LINGK: She called the consumer...the attorney, I don't know. The attorney gen...they said we have three days...

ROMA: Who did she call?

LINGK: I don't know, the attorney gen... the...some consumer office, um...

ROMA: Why did she do that, Jim?

LINGK: My wife said I have to cancel the deal.

ROMA: It's a common reaction, Jim. I'll tell you what it is, and I know that that's why you married her. One of the reasons is prudence. It's a sizable investment. One thinks twice...it's also something women have. It's just a reaction to the size of the investment. Monday, if you'd invite me for dinner again... This woman can cook...

ROMA: It's funny, you know, you get a picture of the Corporation-Type Company Man, all business...this man, no. We'll go out to his home sometime. Let's see. Tomorrow. No. Tomorrow, I'm in L.A....Monday...I'll take you to lunch, where would you like to go?

LINGK: My wife...

LINGK: I've got to talk to you...

ROMA: I've got to get Ray to O'Hare... Come on, let's hustle... John! Call American Express in Pittsburgh for Mr. Morton, will you, tell them he's on the one o'clock.

LINGK: I've got to talk to you.

ROMA: Jim! What are you doing here? Jim Lingk, D. Ray Morton...

ROMA: Money? If that's what it signifies to you. Security? Comfort? All it is is THINGS THAT HAPPEN TO YOU. That's all it is. How are they different? Some poor newly married guy gets run down by a cab. Some busboy wins the lottery. All it is, it's a carnival. What's special...what draws us? We're all different. We're not the same. We are not the same. Hmmm. It's been a long day. What are you drinking?

LINGK: Gimlet.

ROMA: Well, let's have a couple more. My name is Richard Roma, what's yours?

LINGK: Lingk. James Lingk.

ROMA: James. I'm glad to meet you. I'm glad to meet you, James. I want to show you something. It might mean nothing to you...and it might not.

ROMA: Or a piss...? A great meal fades in reflection. Everything else gains. You know why? 'Cause it's only food. This shit we eat, it keeps us going. But it's only food. The great fucks that you may have had. What do you remember about them?

LINGK: What do I...?

ROMA: Yes.

LINGK: Mmmm...

ROMA: I don't know. For me, I'm saying, what is is, it's probably not the orgasm. Some broads, forearms on your neck, something her eyes did. There was a sound she made...or, me, lying, in the, I'll tell you: me lying in bed; the next day she brought me caf au lait. She gives me a cigarette, my balls feel like concrete. Eh? What I'm saying, what is our life? It's looking forward or it's looking back. And that's our life. That's it. Where is the moment? And what is it that we're afraid of? Loss. What else? The bank closes. We get sick, my wife died on a plane, the stock market collapsed...the house burnt down...what of these happen...? None on 'em. We worry anyway. What does this mean? I'm not secure. How can I be secure? Through amassing wealth beyond all measure? No. And what's beyond all measure? That's a sickness. That's a trap. There is no measure. Only greed. How can we act?

ROMA: ...all train compartments smell vaguely of shit. It gets so you don't mind it. That's the worst thing that I can confess. You know how long it took me to get there? A long time. When you die you're going to regret the things you don't do. You think you're queer...? I'm going to tell you something: we're all queer. You think that you're a thief? So what? You get befuddled by a middle-class morality...? Get shut of it. Shut it out. You cheated on your wife...? You did it, live with it. You fuck little girls, so be it. There's an absolute morality? May be. And then what? If you think there is, then be that thing. Bad people go to hell? I don't think so. If you think that, act that way. A hell exists on earth? Yes. I won't live in it. That's me. You ever take a dump made you feel you'd just slept for twelve hours...?

LINGK: Did I...?

ROMA: Yes.

LINGK: I don't know.

ROMA: I'll show you how to chew it." Your pal closes, all that comes out of your mouth is bile, how fucked up you are...

MOSS: Who's my pal...? And what are you, Ricky, huh, what are you, Bishop Sheean? Who the fuck are you, Mr. Slick...? What are you, friend to the workingman? Big deal. Fuck you, you got the memory a fuckin' fly. I never liked you.

ROMA: What is this, your farewell speech?

MOSS: I'm going home.

ROMA: Your farewell to the troops?

MOSS: I'm not going home. I'm going to Wisconsin.

ROMA: Have a good trip.

MOSS: And fuck you. Fuck the lot of you. Fuck you all.

ROMA: Is that what I did? Dave? I humiliated you? My God...I'm sorry...

MOSS: Sittin' on top of the world, sittin' on top of the world, everything's fucking peachfuzz...

ROMA: Oh, and I don't get a moment to spare for a bust-out humanitarian down on his luck lately. Fuck you, Dave, you know you got a big mouth, and you make a close the whole place stinks with your farts for a week. "How much you just ingested," what a big man you are, "Hey, let me buy you a pack of gum.

MOSS: Bring that shit up. Of my volume. You were on a bad one and I brought it up to you you'd harbor it. You'd harbor it a long long while. And you'd be right.

ROMA: Who said "Fuck the Machine"?

MOSS: "Fuck the Machine"? "Fuck the Machine"? What is this. Courtesy class...? You're fucked, Rick--are you fucking nuts? You're hot, so you think you're the ruler of this place...?! You want to...

ROMA: It means, Dave, you haven't closed a good one in a month, none of my business, you want to push me to answer you. And so you haven't got a contract to get stolen or so forth.

MOSS: You have a mean streak in you, Ricky, you know that...?

ROMA: We haven't got a lead...

MOSS: Why not?

ROMA: They took 'em...

MOSS: You just this morning...

ROMA: Harriet and blah blah Nyborg.

MOSS: Fuck you.

ROMA: Guess who?

MOSS: When...

ROMA: Guess what the Machine did?

MOSS: Fuck the Machine.

ROMA: Mountain View. Eight units.

MOSS: Fuckin' cop's got no right talk to me that way. I didn't rob the place...

ROMA: You hear what I said?

MOSS: Yeah. He closed a deal.

ROMA: Eight units. Mountain View.

MOSS: You did that?

MOSS: Fuckin' asshole.

ROMA: What, they beat you with a rubber bat?

MOSS: Cop couldn't find his dick two hands and a map. Anyone talks to this guy's an asshole...

ROMA: You going to turn State's?

MOSS: Fuck you, Ricky. I ain't going out today. I'm going home. I'm going home because nothing's accomplished here...Anyone talks to this guy is...

WILLIAMSON: ...I wouldn't worry about it.

ROMA: Well I'm going to worry about it, and so are you, so shut up and listen. I GET HIS ACTION. My stuff is mine, whatever he gets for himself, I'm talking half. You put me in with him.

ROMA: ...Mr. Williamson...

WILLIAMSON: Your check as cashed yesterday afternoon. And we're completely insured, as you know, in any case.

WILLIAMSON: We had a slight burglary last night.

ROMA: It was nothing...I was assuring Mr. Lingk...

WILLIAMSON: Mr. Lingk. James Lingk. Your contract went out. Nothing to...

ROMA: John...

WILLIAMSON: Your contract went out to the bank.

WILLIAMSON: Yes.

ROMA: Mr. Lingk and I are going to...

WILLIAMSON: Yes. Please. Please. The police can be...

ROMA: Three? I count two.

WILLIAMSON: Three.

ROMA: Patel? Fuck you. Fuckin' Shiva handed him a million dollars, told him "sign the deal," he wouldn't sign. And Vishnu, too. Into the bargain. Fuck that, John. You know your business, I know mine. Your business is being an asshole, and I find out whose fucking cousin you are, I'm going to go to him and figure out a way to have your ass... fuck you--I'll wait for the new leads.

ROMA: Patel? Ravidam Patel? How am I going to make a living on thses deadbeat wogs? Where did you get this, from the morgue?

WILLIAMSON: If you don't want it, give it back.

ROMA: I don't "want" it, if you catch my drift.

WILLIAMSON: I'm giving you three leads. You...

ROMA: What's the fucking point in any case...? What's the point. I got to argue with you, I got to knock heads with the cops, I'm busting my balls, sell you dirt to fucking deadbeats money in the mattress, I come back you can't even manage to keep the contracts safe, I have to go back and close them again...What the fuck am I wasting my time, fuck this shit. I'm going out and reclose last week's...

WILLIAMSON: The word from Murray is: leave them alone. If we need a new signature he'll go out himself, he'll be the president, just come in, from out of town...

ROMA: Okay, okay, okay, gimme this shit. Fine.

WILLIAMSON: ...you want to go out today...?

ROMA: 'Cause I don't have to eat this month. No. Okay. Give 'em to me... Fucking Mitch and Murray going to shit a br...what am I going to do all...

WILLIAMSON: Where are you going?

ROMA: To the restaura...what do you fucking...?

WILLIAMSON: Aren't you going out today?

ROMA: With what? With what, John, they took the leads...

WILLIAMSON: I have the stuff from last year's...

ROMA: Oh. Oh. Oh, your "nostalgia" file, they's fine. No. Swell. 'Cause I don't have to...

WILLIAMSON: They took some of the con...

ROMA: ...some of the contracts...Lingk. James Lingk. I closed...

WILLIAMSON: You closed him yesterday.

ROMA: Yes.

WILLIAMSON: It went down. I filed it.

ROMA: You did?

WILLIAMSON: Yes.

ROMA: Then I'm over the fucking top and you owe me a Cadillac.

WILLIAMSON: I...

WILLIAMSON: Listen to me: They got some of them.

ROMA: Some of them...

WILLIAMSON: They didn't get the contracts.

ROMA: Did they...

WILLIAMSON: They got, listen to me...

ROMA: The...

WILLIAMSON: They didn't get your contract. I filed it before I left.

ROMA: They didn't get my contracts.

WILLIAMSON: They--excuse me...