Glengarry Glen Ross (8 page)

Roma
(To
Williamson
):
You stupid fucking cunt.
You,
Williamson . . . I’m talking to
you,
shit-head. . . . You just cost me
six thousand dollars. (Pause.)
Six thousand dollars. And one Cadillac. That’s right. What are you going
to
do about it? What are you going 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 Murray, 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
. . . .
(To
Baylen
:)
I’m going to be with you in a second.
(To
Williamson
:)
What you’re hired for is to
help
us—does that seem clear to you? To
help
us.
Not
to fuck us up . . . to help
men
who are going
out
there to try to earn a
living.
You
fairy.
You company man . . . I’ll tell you something else. I hope you knocked the joint off, I can tell our friend here something might help him catch you.
(Starts into the room.)
You want to learn the first rule you’d know if you ever spent a day in your life . . . you
never open your mouth till you know what the shot is.
(Pause.)
You fucking
child
. . . (Roma
goes to the inner room.)

Levene:
You
are
a shithead, Williamson . . .
(Pause.)

Williamson:
Mmm.

Levene:
You can’t think on your feet you should keep your mouth closed.
(Pause.)
You hear me? I’m
talking
to you. Do you hear me . . . ?

Williamson:
Yes.
(Pause.)
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.
(Pause.)
I’m
talking
to you, I’m trying to tell you something.

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
(Brushing past him):
Excuse me . . .

Levene:
. . . excuse you,
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 . . .
(Blocking his way.)
you’re
scum,
you’re fucking white-bread. You be as cold as you want. A
child
would know it, he’s right.
(Pause.)
You’re going to make something up, be sure it will
help
or keep your mouth closed.
(Pause.)

Williamson:
Mmm. (Levene
lifts up his ann.)

Levene:
Now I’m done with you.
(Pause.)

Williamson:
How do you know I made it up?

Levene
(Pause):
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.”
(Pause.)
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.
(Pause.)
It hadn’t.

Levene:
Don’t
fuck
with me, John, don’t
fuck
with me . . . what are you saying?

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?
(Pause.)
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
(Laughs):
Sure! I robbed the office. Sure.

Williamson:
What’d you do with the leads?
(Pause. Points to the
Detective’s
room.)
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:
I don’t care. You understand?
Where are the leads? (Pause.)
Alright. (Williamson
goes to open the office door.)

Levene:
I sold them to Jerry Graff.

Williamson:
How much did you get for them?
(Pause.)
How much did you get for them?

Levene:
Five thousand. I kept half.

Williamson:
Who kept the other half?
(Pause.)

Levene:
Do I have to tell you?
(Pause.
Williamson
starts to open the door.)
Moss.

Williamson:
That
was easy,
wasn’t
it?
(Pause.)

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:
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 . . .
(Pause.)
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.
(Pause.)

Levene:
What?

Williamson:
You’ve got a big mouth, and now I’m going to show you an even bigger one.
(Starts toward the
Detective’s
door.)

Levene:
Where are you going, John? . . . you can’t do that, you don’t want to do that . . . hold, hold on . . . hold on . . . wait . . . wait . . . wait . . .
(Pulls money out of his pockets.)
Wait . . . uh, look . . .
(Starts splitting money.)
Look, twelve, twenty, two, twen . . . twenty-five hundred, it’s . . . take it.
(Pause.)
Take it all. . . .
(Pause.)
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 . . .
(Thrusting money at him.)
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. . . .
(Pause.)
Twenty percent.
(Pause.)
For as long as I am with the firm.
(Pause.)
Fifty percent.
(Pause.)
You’re going to be my partner.
(Pause.)
Fifty percent. Of all my sales.

Williamson:
What sales?

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 Harriett 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.
(Pause.)

Levene:
The check’s no good?

Williamson:
You stick around I’ll pull the memo for you.
(Starts for the door.)
I’m busy now . . .

Levene:
Their check’s no good? They’re nuts . . . ?

Williamson:
Call up the bank.
I
called them.

Levene:
You did?

Williamson:
I called them when we had the lead . . . four months ago.
(Pause.)
The people are insane. They just like talking to salesmen. (Williamson
starts for door.)

Levene:
Don’t.

Williamson:
I’m sorry.

Levene:
Why?

Williamson:
Because I don’t like you.

Levene:
John: John: . . . my
daughter
. . .

Williamson:
Fuck you. (Roma
comes out of the
Detective’s
door.
Williamson
goes in.)

Roma
(To
Baylen
):
Asshole . . .
(To
Levene
:)
Guy couldn’t find his fuckin’ couch the
living room
. . . Ah, Christ . . . what a day, what a day . . . I haven’t even had a cup of
coffee
. . . . Jagoff John opens his mouth he blows my Cadillac. . . .
(Sighs.)
I swear . . . it’s not a world of men . . . it’s not a world of men, Machine . . . it’s a world of clock watchers, bureaucrats, officeholders . . . what it is, it’s a fucked-up world . . . there’s no adventure
to
it.
(Pause.)
Dying breed. Yes it is.
(Pause.)
We are the members of a dying breed. That’s . . . that’s . . . that’s why we have to stick together. Shel: I want to talk to you. 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?