L.A. Confidential (1997)

James Cromwell: Dudley Smith

Photos 

Quotes 

• Captain Dudley Smith : I wouldn't trade places with Edmund Exley right now for all the whiskey in Ireland.

• Captain Dudley Smith : Go back to Jersey, sonny. This is the City of the Angels, and you haven't got any wings.

• Captain Dudley Smith : Have you a valediction, boyo?

  Jack Vincennes : [gasping out a name]  ... Rollo Tamasi.

  [laughs, painfully, to himself as he dies] 

• Captain Dudley Smith : Edmund, you're a political animal. You have the eye for human weakness, but not the stomach.

  Ed Exley : You're wrong, sir.

  Captain Dudley Smith : Would you be willing to plant corroborative evidence on a suspect you knew to be guilty, in order to ensure an indictment?

  Ed Exley : Dudley, we've been over this.

  Captain Dudley Smith : Yes or no, Edmund?

  Ed Exley : No!

  Captain Dudley Smith : Would you be willing to beat a confession out of a suspect you knew to be guilty?

  Ed Exley : No.

  Captain Dudley Smith : Would you be willing to shoot a hardened criminal in the back, in order to offset the chance that some... lawyer...

  Ed Exley : No.

  Captain Dudley Smith : Then, for the love of God, don't be a detective. Stick to assignments where you don't have...

  Ed Exley : Dudley, I know you mean well, but I don't need to do it the way you did. Or my father.

  Captain Dudley Smith : At least get rid of the glasses. I can't think of another man in the department who wears them.

• Captain Dudley Smith : [Captain Smith briefs the squad room on Jack Vincennes' death; Exley is standing beside him]  Sergeant Vincennes was killed by a .32 slug to the heart. Time of death, approximately 1 a.m. Although he was found in Echo Park, preliminary forensics indicates his body was most likely moved. I want two-man teams to scour that entire neighborhood. Our justice must be swift and merciless. That is all.

  Captain Dudley Smith : [Exley starts to leave with the other officers]  Edmund, might I have a word with you? We're trying to run down a lead on an associate of Vincennes. The records check has led to a dead end.

  Ed Exley : What's the name?

  Captain Dudley Smith : Rollo Tomasi. Have you ever heard Vincennes mention him?

  Ed Exley : [poker-faced]  No. No, I haven't.

  Captain Dudley Smith : Well, it's probably nothing. Still, keep your eyes open, eh, boyo?

  [Captain Smith exits as Exley glares at him from behind] 

• Ed Exley : A naked man with a gun? Do you really expect anyone to believe that?

  Bud White : Get the fuck away from me.

  Ed Exley : How's it gonna look in your report?

  Bud White : It'll look like justice. That's what the man got. Justice.

  Ed Exley : You don't know the meaning of the word, you ignorant bastard.

  Bud White : Oh yeah, well you think it means getting your picture in the paper. Why don't you go after criminals for a change, instead of cops?

  [punches Exley in the shoulder and then starts to walk away] 

  Ed Exley : Stensland got what he deserved, and so will you.

  [a furious White tries to attack Exley, only to be restrained by the Captain and by several other cops] 

  Captain Dudley Smith : It's best to stay away from a man when his blood is up.

  Ed Exley : His blood is always up.

  Captain Dudley Smith : Then perhaps you should stay away from him altogether.

• Captain Dudley Smith : You'll do as I say, and ask no questions. Do you follow my drift?

  Bud White : In technicolor, sir.

• Ed Exley : Rollo Tomasi.

  Captain Dudley Smith : Who is he?

  Ed Exley : You are. You're the guy who gets away with it. Jack knew it, and so do I.

• Captain Dudley Smith : Hold up your badge, so they'll know you're a policeman.

• Captain Dudley Smith : Don't start tryin' to do the right thing, boy-o. You haven't the practice.

• [Exley has to perform the interrogation] 

  Jack Vincennes : Are you sure Golden Boy is up to the task, Cap?

  Captain Dudley Smith : Oh, I think you'd be surprised what the lad is capable of.

• Captain Dudley Smith : Bud White is a valuable officer.

  Ed Exley : White's a mindless thug.

  Captain Dudley Smith : No, Edmund, he's just a man who can answer yes to those questions I've asked you from time to time.

• Captain Dudley Smith : I admire you as a policeman - particularly your adherence to violence as a necessary adjunct to the job.

• Captain Dudley Smith : I doubt you've ever taken a stupid breath. Don't start now.

• Captain Dudley Smith : [interrogation at the Victory Motel]  Reciprocity, Mr. Hudgens, is the key to every relationship.

• Captain Dudley Smith : Our justice must be swift and merciless.

• [Before killing Sid Hudgens] 

  Captain Dudley Smith : Hush hush.

• Captain Dudley Smith : What's this all about, boyo?

  Jack Vincennes : Part of it has to do with a murder. I've been working with Ed Exley on it.

  Captain Dudley Smith : You're narco, Jack, not homicide. Since when do you work with Edmund Exley?

  Jack Vincennes : Well, it's a private investigation.

  Captain Dudley Smith : Ah.

  Jack Vincennes : I messed something up; I'm trying to make amends.

  Captain Dudley Smith : Don't start trying to do the right thing, boyo. You haven't had the practice.

• Captain Dudley Smith : You're a bit of a puzzlement to me these days, Wendell. You don't seem to be your old cruel self anymore. And I had such grand plans for your future.

• Bud White : Well, Captain, what do you want?

  Captain Dudley Smith : Call me Dudley.

  Bud White : Dudley... what do you want?

• Bud White : There's no god damn bill on me?

  Captain Dudley Smith : Four of the witnesses recanted their testimony.

  Bud White : Why?

  Captain Dudley Smith : They had a change of heart.

  Bud White : What about Stensland?

  Captain Dudley Smith : Your partner's through. Departmental scapegoat on the chief's orders.

  Bud White : A year from his pension. Exley.

  Captain Dudley Smith : Exley made his play and got what he wanted. As a politician, he exceeds even myself. The Department needs smart men like Exley... and direct men like you.

• Captain Dudley Smith : Wendell - I'd like full and docile co-operation on every topic.

• Captain Dudley Smith : Captain Dudley Smith. The department needs smart men like Exley and direct men like you

• Captain Dudley Smith : Cromwell, James Jack, I doubt you've ever taken a stupid breath in your life. Don't start now.

• Captain Dudley Smith : Captain Dudley Smith: Don't start trying to do the right thing, boyo, you haven't got the practice

• Captain Dudley Smith : Captain Dudley Smith to gangster. go back to Jersey, Sonny. This is the City of Angels and you haven't got any wings.