The Last Tycoon (1976)
Diane Shalet: Stahr's Secretary
Quotes
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Monroe Stahr : Listen.
[He comes out from behind his desk]
Monroe Stahr : Has your office got a stove in it that lights with a match?
Boxley : I think so.
Monroe Stahr : Suppose you're in your office. You've been "fighting duels" all day.
[He throws up his hands wildly]
Monroe Stahr : You're exhausted.
[He throws himself down at a table]
Monroe Stahr : This is you.
[Stahr points to the door]
Monroe Stahr : A girl comes in. She doesn't see you. She takes off her gloves. She opens her purse. She dumps it out on the table.
[Stahr pantomimes the action]
Monroe Stahr : You watch her. This is you.
[He looks out of the corner of his eye]
Monroe Stahr : Now... She has two dimes, a matchbox, and a nickel.
[He bounces nickel on the tabletop]
Monroe Stahr : She leaves the nickel on the table. She puts the two dimes back into her purse. She takes the gloves... they're black.
[Stahr kneels on the floor]
Monroe Stahr : Puts them into the stove. Lights a match.
[He blows out an imaginary match]
Monroe Stahr : Suddenly, the telephone rings. She picks it up. She listens. She says, "l've never owned a pair of black gloves in my life!"
[Stahr slams down the receiver]
Monroe Stahr : She hangs up. Kneels by the stove. Lights another match. Suddenly, you notice...
[He abruptly points]
Monroe Stahr : There's another man in the room! Watching every move the girl makes.
[Stahr sits back down, behind his desk once more, and smiles triumphantly]
Boxley : [asking as if against his will] What happens?
Monroe Stahr : l don't know. l was just making pictures.
Boxley : What... what was the nickel for?
Monroe Stahr : Jane, what was the nickel for?
Stahr's Secretary : The nickel was for the movies.
Boxley : What do you pay me for? I don't understand the damn stuff.
Monroe Stahr : Yes, you do. Or you wouldn't have asked about the nickel.