Daily Dialogue — April 4, 2016
NESS: What, you got a heading here: ‘Circuit Court.’ You got a heading here, ‘Circuit Court.’ What is this?
GEORGE: Nothin’. And there’s nothin’ you can make out of it.
NESS: What is this?
WALLACE: If we can establish that any of these coded entries indicate payment to Capone then we can put Capone away.
NESS: I want you to tell us which of these entries is Al Capone.
WALLACE: This A. Costa. Is that your code name for Capone?
MALONE: You’ll do the whole thing in the joint unless you help us here, pal.
NESS: I want you to translate this ledger for us!
GEORGE: In hell.
MALONE: In hell? You’re muckin’ with a G, here, pal. You’re gonna hang higher’n Hayman unless you cooperate.
WALLACE: This man can finger Al Capone. This man can put Capone behind bars.
GEORGE: Look, why don’t you guys just fuck off.
Malone decks George. Ness tries to hold Malone back.
MALONE: I fuckin’ with you, mister Hard Case. We have to have that information one way or another.
Malone goes for George but Ness pushes him back.
NESS: Not that way.
MALONE: You’re gonna talk, eh.
NESS: Out.
MALONE: You’re gonna be begging to talk! Or somebody’s gonna talk.
GEORGE: You dirty son of a bitch!
NESS: Enough out of you.
Malone notices the corpse of a bootlegger killed earlier outside. He goes after it as if the man is still alive.
MALONE: Hey, c’mon you. On your feet. I need you to help me to translate this book, hmm. Now, I’m not gonna ask you a second time. (Pulls his pistol.) I’m gonna count to three. (Puts the gun in the man’s mouth.) Uh, what’s the matter? Can’t you talk with a gun in your mouth? One. Two. Three. (Shoots the corpse.)
GEORGE: (Terrified) I’m gonna talk! Don’t! Don’t! I’m gonna tell ya, I’m gonna tell ya whatever ya want. What do ya want to know?
MALONE: And don’t let him clean himself ’til after he talks. Now, ask him what you want to know.
WALLACE: All right, uh, okay, I want to know the name of the bookkeeper. I want a complete translation of the code. I want complete information…
Ness and Malone start to walk outside.
MOUNTIE CAPTAIN: Mister Ness! I do not approve of your methods.
NESS: Yeah? Well, you’re not from Chicago.
— The Untouchables (1987), written by David Mamet, suggested by the book by Oscar Fraley and Eliot Ness
The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Tantrum. Today’s suggestion by Will King.
Trivia: Paramount Pictures made this film because they still held the filming rights to Eliot Ness’ autobiography which they used to produce the TV series The Untouchables (1959). Originally, Paramount intended to make this, like so many other films since, as a big screen adaptation of a TV series. However, director Brian De Palma, producer Art Linson, and writer David Mamet all felt that they didn’t want to remake the series so they took their own dramatic license with the story, and the true events that inspired it, in order to make what they felt would be a good big screen epic.
Dialogue On Dialogue: Commentary by Will: “After a stakeout goes sour, Ness and his team are left with one potential source for information about Al Capone, but he’s unwilling to talk. Malone reaches his limits, but even using physical force against George doesn’t loosen his tongue. Malone’s tantrum is born of frustration and he finally fakes an execution using the dead body of another criminal to terrify George into talking.”