The Sting (1973)

Robert Shaw: Doyle Lonnegan

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Quotes 

• Floyd : Doyle, I KNOW I gave him four THREES! He had to make a SWITCH! We can't let him get away with that.

  Doyle Lonnegan : What was I supposed to do, call him for cheating better than me in front of the others?

• Doyle Lonnegan : Your boss is quite a card player, Mr. Kelly; how does he do it?

  Johnny Hooker : He cheats.

• Henry Gondorff : What's your problem?

  Doyle Lonnegan : I'm putting half a million dollars on Lucky Dan to win, third race at Riverside Park.

  Henry Gondorff : Can't lay that off in time. A bet like that could break us.

  [Hooker stares at him incredulously] 

  Doyle Lonnegan : Not only are you a cheat, you're a gutless cheat as well.

  Henry Gondorff : What are the odds?

  Eddie Niles : Four to one.

  Henry Gondorff : Take all of it!

• Doyle Lonnegan : I put it all on Lucky Dan; half a million dollars to win.

  Kid Twist : To win? I said *place*! "Place it on Lucky D-" That horse is gonna run second!

  Doyle Lonnegan : [There is a pause, and Lonnegan runs horrified to the betting booth]  There's been a mistake! Gimme my money back!

• Doyle Lonnegan : Mr. Shaw, we usually require a tie at this table... if you don't have one we can get you one.

  Henry Gondorff : That'd be real nice of you, Mr. Lonniman!

  Doyle Lonnegan : Lonnegan.

  [Gondorf nods and burps in response] 

• Doyle Lonnegan : [Repeated line]  You follow?

• Doyle Lonnegan : Not only are you a cheat, you're a gutless cheat as well.

• Doyle Lonnegan : [losing his temper with Henry]  The name's Lonnegan! Doyle Lonnegan! You're gonna remember that name or you're gonna get yourself a new game! You follow?

• Doyle Lonnegan : Four nines.

  Henry Gondorff : Four jacks.

• Doyle Lonnegan : You see that fella in the red sweater over there? His name's Donnie McCoy. Works a few of the protection rackets for Cunnaro when he's waiting for something better to happen. Donnie and I have known each other since we were six. Take a good look at that face, Floyd. Because if he ever finds out I can be beat by one lousy grifter, I'll have to kill him and every other hood who wants to muscle in on my Chicago operation.

• Henry Gondorff : I'd think you'd get tired of losing, Harrigan.

  Doyle Lonnegan : [going to the betting window]  Blue Note, $2,000 to win, fourth race, Narragansett.

  Henry Gondorff : Make sure you see the cash, Eddie. He's got a name for betting money he doesn't have.

• Johnny Hooker : Sometime after 2:00, a guy's gonna call on that phone there and give you the name of a horse.

  [handing over an envelope] 

  Johnny Hooker : All you gotta do is take this two grand across the street and down the alley to Shaw's place and bet it on that pony. There's nothing to it. But don't take too much time. We've only got three or four minutes after you get the call.

  Doyle Lonnegan : You'll not break him with a $2,000 bet.

  Johnny Hooker : This is just a test. The big one comes later. But be careful with that. That's all I got.

  Doyle Lonnegan : And you were going to pay me back out of your own pocket?

  Johnny Hooker : I am. After the race.

• Johnny Hooker : Here's your wallet. He hired a dame to take it from you. Shaw's been planning to beat your game for months. He's just been waiting for you to cheat him so he could clip you.

  Doyle Lonnegan : [pushing him up against the wall]  Who do you think you're talking to, errand boy? Nobody sets me up! Take him back to the baggage room! Put one in his ear!

  Floyd : For Christ's sake, there were four witnesses at that table!

  Doyle Lonnegan : Then go back, get that other goddamn son of a bitch and we'll dump them in the first tunnel we hit.

  Floyd : Doyle, we're gonna be in the station in a couple of minutes!

  Johnny Hooker : It ain't gonna look too good, you killing a guy you owe money to. There's better ways of taking him down. What do you think Shaw would do to me if he knew I was telling you this?

  Doyle Lonnegan : Okay. Why the rat?

  Johnny Hooker : I want to take over his operation, and I need you to help me break him.

  Doyle Lonnegan : Where's my money?

  Johnny Hooker : Shaw's got it. How the hell could I ask him for it back?

  Doyle Lonnegan : I'm giving you a lift home.

  Johnny Hooker : I was supposed to go with Shaw.

  Doyle Lonnegan : Explain it to him somehow.

  Johnny Hooker : Yeah, but he's expect...

  Doyle Lonnegan : [insistently]  I'm giving you a lift home. You follow?

• Doyle Lonnegan : You're past-posting, aren't you?

  Johnny Hooker : [a little taken aback, but keeping his cool]  Could be.

  Doyle Lonnegan : How?

  Johnny Hooker : You're gonna stay in?

  Doyle Lonnegan : Not until I get some answers.

  Johnny Hooker : I got a partner downtown. And he runs the central office of the Western Union. Now, race results from all over the country come in there and go right across his desk to the bookies. Now, all he does is hold them up for a couple of minutes 'til he can call us, get a bet down on a winner. Then he releases the results to the bookies. We clean up on a race that's already been run. Now, you can't miss. Unless the Western Union dicks get a hold of it.

  Doyle Lonnegan : You got the 400 grand yet?

  Johnny Hooker : [taking an envelope from one of Lonnegan's bodyguards]  No, not yet, but... hey, there's only a grand here.

  Doyle Lonnegan : Make another bet tomorrow.

  Johnny Hooker : What the hell is this? Where's my money? I got 16 grand coming.

  Doyle Lonnegan : You owe me 15 grand already. Besides, if your setup's as good as you say it is, there's plenty more to come.

  Johnny Hooker : I decide when to place the bets!

  Doyle Lonnegan : Not if you want me to keep making them for you.

  Johnny Hooker : Well, I gotta talk to my partner first. We can't afford to expose too much.

  Doyle Lonnegan : I'll talk to him myself.

  Johnny Hooker : No!

  Doyle Lonnegan : You've been waiting a long time for this, Kelly. Don't ruin it for yourself. I'll pick you up tomorrow at 3:00. You follow?

• Doyle Lonnegan : [having had enough of "Shaw's" boorish behavior]  Stack me a cooler, Floyd.

  Floyd : Oh, come on, Doyle. We'll be in the station in another hour. The other guys are the big losers. You're still okay.

  Doyle Lonnegan : Fix me a deck, threes and nines. I'll cut it in on Clayton's deal.

  Floyd : What do you want Clayton to get?

  Doyle Lonnegan : Nothing. I want him out of there early. I'm gonna bust that bastard bookie in one play.

• Floyd : We had a little trouble in Chicago today. One of our runners got hit for 11 grand.

  Doyle Lonnegan : What makes you think he just didn't pocket it?

  Floyd : Well, we checked his story with a tipster. He was cleaned by two grifters.

  Doyle Lonnegan : They workin' for anybody?

  Floyd : I don't know. Could be. We're running that down now.

  Doyle Lonnegan : Have some local people take care of them. Nothing fancy. We got to discourage this kind of thing. You follow?

• Floyd : We just talked to Chicago. They got one of the grifters last night, a nigger.

  Doyle Lonnegan : How about the other one?

  Floyd : They're still looking for him.

  Doyle Lonnegan : Who did Combs put on it?

  Floyd : He gave it to Riley and Cole. They staked out the other guy's place last night, but he never showed. They figure maybe he skipped town.

• Doyle Lonnegan : All right, Riley, what the hell happened?

  Riley : We missed him.

  Doyle Lonnegan : Whoever he is, he made a fool out of you.

  Riley : There's wasn't no way he could've known we was in that room. Somebody must've wised him up.

  Doyle Lonnegan : What does Cole say about that?

  Riley : I don't know. He took it hard.

  Doyle Lonnegan : Get out of here, Riley. Put Salino onto it.

  Combs : Salino? Why waste our best people on a small-time job? This is a nickel-and-dime grifter we're after, Doyle. They'll get him next time.

  Doyle Lonnegan : They had their chance. All they did was shoot up a neighborhood, make a lot of noise, wake up a few cops.

  Combs : Yeah, but that was...

  Doyle Lonnegan : Vince, I just told you put Salino onto it. It may take a little more time, but there won't be any holes.

• Mr. Jameson from Chicago : [losing a hand of poker]  Well, that finishes me.

  Henry Gondorff : Don't worry about it, pal. They wouldn't have let you in here if you weren't a chump! Lombard will be joining you in a couple of minutes.

  Mr. Jameson from Chicago : Now, look here, Shaw...

  Mr. Lombard : I've had quite enough of this game and quite enough of this company. Check me out, Clemens.

  Henry Gondorff : I guess that just leaves the three of us.

  Doyle Lonnegan : Yes, Mr. Shaw. Just leaves us three. Mr. Clayton, I think we should take a break for five minutes. Tempers seem to be running a little high.

  Henry Gondorff : Oh, come on, Linneman, I was just starting to do good.

• Henry Gondorff : [beating Lonnegan in poker]  You owe me 15 grand, pal.

  Doyle Lonnegan : [reaching into his coat, he realizes he doesn't have his wallet]  Must've left my wallet in my room.

  Henry Gondorff : Don't hand me any of that crap! When you come to a game like this, you bring your money! How do I know you won't take a powder?

  Mr. Lombard : [restraining Doyle before he can do anything]  No, no, no.

  Henry Gondorff : All right, I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll send a boy around to your room in five minutes. You better have the money or it's gonna be all around Chicago that you welched. You won't be able to get a game of jacks!

• Doyle Lonnegan : What makes you think you can beat him?

  Johnny Hooker : I've been planning this for two years. I know his organization backwards and forwards. And I need somebody who's respectable but not completely legit.

  Doyle Lonnegan : I'm a banker, Kelly. That's legit in this state.

  Johnny Hooker : All you gotta do is put down a bet for me at Shaw's place. I'll do the rest. I'll supply the money. I'll supply the information.

  Doyle Lonnegan : What about the money you come to collect? Isn't he gonna miss it?

  Johnny Hooker : I'll tell him you paid it. I keep his books. He trusts me. If you help me out, I'll pay you back the money he stole out of my own pocket.

  Doyle Lonnegan : It's worth that much to you?

  Johnny Hooker : Yeah. Oh, yeah. Maybe a couple of million.

  Doyle Lonnegan : Where do you come from, Kelly?

  Johnny Hooker : From the East Side of New York. A place called Five Points. But I got out of there.

  Doyle Lonnegan : Out and up, huh? Hey, Floyd, I'm gonna have to keep you away from this guy. You're liable to get ideas.

• Johnny Hooker : Well, what'd I tell you?

  Doyle Lonnegan : You got lucky once. That's not enough.

  Johnny Hooker : Oh, lucky, hell. I can do it every time.

  Doyle Lonnegan : Why don't you, then?

  Johnny Hooker : 'Cause it's better to do it all at once. We're gonna put down 400 grand next week. At 5-1 odds, that's $2 million. 20% of that is yours if you stick with it.

  Doyle Lonnegan : Got a system, Kelly?

  Johnny Hooker : No. You can still lose with a system.

• Doyle Lonnegan : [after being "shut out" from placing a bet]  I'll have half a million here by post time tomorrow. We'll lay it on the first race where the odds are 4-1 or better. Make sure I get to the window this time.

  Johnny Hooker : How the hell am I gonna do that?

  Doyle Lonnegan : I don't know. Figure it out for yourself, Kelly.

• Doyle Lonnegan : I want to see it one more time.

  Kid Twist : I can't do it. We got telegraph inspectors all over the place.

  Johnny Hooker : One more time isn't gonna make that much difference.

  Kid Twist : We've got 400 grand coming in from the coast next week. You wanna risk that on a lousy 15 G's?

  Doyle Lonnegan : If it works again tomorrow, I'll finance the whole thing. Half a million dollars. 60/40, we split.

  Kid Twist : What are you talk... I told you, we already got a guy. He's gonna give us half. What am I supposed to say to him?

  Doyle Lonnegan : You'll say to him what you want. What I know about your operation, if I were you, I'd be worried about making me happy.

  Johnny Hooker : He's right, Les. Your guy says a week. How do we know it won't be a month? Lonnegan here's a banker. Now, he can get the money without any questions asked.

  Kid Twist : But we can't keep going into Shaw's place and cleaning up on long shots. He's bound to get wise.

• Doyle Lonnegan : [being ushered out of "Shaw's" betting parlor]  But my money's in there!

  Lieutenant William Snyder : There's a couple of dead guys in there, too. You can't get mixed up in that.

  Doyle Lonnegan : You don't understand. There's a half a million dollars in there!