Daily Dialogue — December 11, 2015
MAN: Good evening. Not what I expected. A little taller…a little more polished than the others.
THORNHILL: I’m so glad you’re pleased, Mr. Townsend.
MAN: But, I’m afraid, just as obvious.
THORNHILL: What the devil is all this about? Why was I brought here?
MAN: Games? Must we?
THORNHILL: Not that I mind a slight case of abduction, but I have tickets for the theater tonight. To a show I was looking forward to. I get unreasonable about things like that.
MAN: With such expert play-acting, you make this very room a theater. Leonard, have you met our distinguished guest?
LEONARD: He’s a well-tailored one, isn’t he?
MAN: My secretary is a great admirer of your methods, Mr. Kaplan. Elusiveness, however misguided…
THORNHILL: Wait a minute. Did you call me “Kaplan”?
MAN: I know you’re a man of many names, but I’ll accept your current choice.
THORNHILL: Current choice? My name is Roger Thornhill. It’s never been anything else.
MAN: Of course.
THORNHILL: Your friends picked up the wrong package when they bundled me in the car.
MAN: Sit down, Mr. Kaplan.
THORNHILL: I told you, I’m not Kaplan, whoever he is.
WOMAN: Excuse me.
MAN: Yes?
WOMAN: The guests are here, dear.
MAN: Look after them. I’ll be with you in a few minutes. Now, shall we get down to business?
THORNHILL: I’m all for that.
MAN: I’d like you to tell me how much you know of our arrangements… and how you’ve come by this information. I don’t expect to get this for nothing.
THORNHILL: Of course not.
MAN: Don’t misunderstand. I don’t expect you to fall in with the suggestion… but the least I can do is afford you the opportunity of surviving the evening.
THORNHILL: What is that supposed to mean?
MAN: Why don’t you surprise me, Mr. Kaplan, and say yes?
THORNHILL: I’ve told you…
LEONHARD: We know where you’re headed for.
THORNHILL: I know where I’m headed. The Winter Garden Theater in New York. And I think I’d better get going.
MAN: This is not going to lead to a very happy conclusion, Mr. Kaplan.
THORNHILL: I’m not Kaplan!
— North by Northwest (1959), written by Ernest Lehman
The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Misunderstanding. Today’s suggestion by Katha.
Trivia: Roger O. Thornhill claims that the “O” stands for “nothing”. This is a reference to David O. Selznick, whose “O” also signified nothing.
Dialogue On Dialogue: Commentary by Katha: “Without this misunderstanding there wouldn‘t be a story.”
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