Daily Dialogue — October 4, 2011

His voice trails off. There is something familiar about the cracked mirror of the compact — and the fleur-de-lis pattern on the case confirms his suspicion. Fran notices the peculiar expression on his face.

FRAN: What is it?

BUD (with difficulty): The mirror — it’s broken.

FRAN: I know. I like it this way — makes me look the way I feel.

— Fran (Shirley MacLaine), Bud (Jack Lemmon), The Apartment (1960), written by Billy Wilder & I.A.L. Diamond

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is great exposition, suggested by Teddy Pasternak, who also suggested The Apartment.

Trivia: The film’s classic last line was thought up by the writers at the last minute on-set.

Dialogue On Dialogue: Why do you consider this great exposition?

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