Daily Dialogue — July 17, 2015
REISMAN: Tomorrow night is going to be the real thing, and if you want to know how real, I’ll tell you. It’s my guess that a lot of you guys won’t be coming back. But, there’s no sense in squawkin’ about that, right? Because the Army never did love you, anyway. Besides, you all volunteered, right? Well that’s more than I did. Sergeant Bowren — look, I know we’ve been over this a thousand times but there’s a lot of things that can go wrong. We’ve got to be prepared to improvise. So, let’s see what happens if everything goes right. (Bowren removes the cover from the model.) Ready? Alright. One.
GROUP: (Half-heartedly) Down to the road block, we’ve just begun.
REISMAN: One!
GROUP: (In unison) Down to the road block, we’ve just begun.
REISMAN: Two.
GROUP: The guards are through.
REISMAN: Three.
GROUP: The Major’s men are on a spree.
REISMAN: Four.
GROUP: Major and Wladislaw go through the door.
REISMAN: Five.
GROUP: Pinkley stays out in the drive.
REISMAN: Six.
GROUP: The Major gives the rope a fix.
REISMAN: Seven.
GROUP: Wladislaw throws the hook to heaven.
REISMAN: Eight.
GROUP: Mayonnaise has got a date.
REISMAN: Nine.
GROUP: The other guys go up the line.
REISMAN: Ten.
GROUP: Sawyer and Gilpin are in the pen.
REISMAN: Eleven.
GROUP: Posey guards points five and seven.
REISMAN: Twelve.
GROUP: Wladislaw and the Major go down to delve.
REISMAN: And where’s Donald Duck?
POSEY: Donald Duck’s down at the crossroads with a machine gun.
REISMAN: He better not be asleep or we’ll all be in trouble, huh?
REISMAN: Thirteen.
GROUP: Franko goes up without being seen.
REISMAN: Fourteen.
GROUP: Zero-hour.
REISMAN: And?
GROUP: Mayonnaise cuts the cable, Franko cuts the phone.
REISMAN: Fifteen.
GROUP: Franko goes in where the others have been.
REISMAN: Sixteen.
GROUP: We all come out like it’s Halloween.
REISMAN: And kill every officer in sight.
FRANKO: Ours or theirs?
REISMAN: Well, let’s start off with theirs, huh?
— The Dirty Dozen (1967), screenplay by Nunnally Johnson and Lukas Heller, novel by E.M. Nathanson
The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Survival. Today’s suggestion by Will King.
Trivia: Production on the film ran for so long that Jim Brown was in danger of missing training camp for the up-coming 1967–68 football season. As training camp and the NFL season approached, the NFL threatened to fine and suspend Brown if he did not leave filming and report to camp immediately. Not one to take threats, Brown simply held a press conference to announce his retirement from football. At the time of his retirement, Brown was considered to be one of the best in the game and even today is considered to be one of the NFL’s all-time greats.
Dialogue On Dialogue: Commentary by Will: “Survival means everyone knowing their part of the plan and performing flawlessly. The crew has been training for a long time, yet even on the night before the gig, the Major drills his men again. This scene shows that Reisman intends that every one of his men survive, even though he knows that’s not likely. He won’t let them go in unprepared.
What I like about this film is that a large portion is devoted to the men’s training and how they evolve from individuals to a group. In many films plans are made, then carried out without showing all the stress and effort to prepare. By contrast, The Dirty Dozen spends most of its time showing how the group prepares, and how that affects each of the team members.”
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