Do you suppose that Toro's South American manager was actually given $5000 before he left?
shareI wouldn't think so. Why would they?
They probably forced 'Agra... something' back.
"It was to be announced at the Party Congress on Monday. As you know, the Premier loves surprises."
I wondered what happened to Toro's manager, too. The sinister way Benko's henchmen turned back and looked at him as he watched them taking the manager 'to the airport' kind of indicated to me that the manager wasn't going to get the $5000 (or even that he was going to make it to the airport at all).
In fact, I thought the letter that Toro gets from his mother later in the movie was going to be something to the effect that the manager never made it back. It was kind of odd that Toro never mentioned the manager again, either. You would have thought he would have expected the manager to communicate with him.
I don't think he got the $5000…Benko considers Eddie a fool for giving away $19000…so why would he do the same thing? He only said he would because he didn't want Eddie to jump off. And Eddie, who was deluding himself all the time, probably tricked himself into believing Agrandi was really bought out with 5K.
No, I think they gave Agrandi the $5000. Had they not, the audience would have been given some tip-off that they hadn't, or that something had happened to Agrandi, as some posters have suggested without evidence. It was a cheap way both to get rid of him and to keep him quiet, and they'd find a way to get it back, maybe out of Toro's "cut". Anyway, there's no indication whatsoever that they didn't give him the money, or harmed him in any way.
By the way, Eddie didn't give away $19,000 -- he gave Toro $26,000, all he had been paid. Personally, I think he should have kept a little of it, perhaps $6000, to tide him over for a few months while he finished the book we see him begin at the end -- "The Harder They Fall".
Yes, it was 26,000, my mistake. It's been a while since I saw it the last time. My impression, judging from Bogie's facial expression, was that Eddie didn't make the decision to give Toro the movie until they were in the taxi…and even then he did it reluctanctly. Maybe he briefly contemplated peeling off some bills for himself, but then suddenly decided that Toro deserved every one of the 26,000 dollars.
Whether or not Agrandi actually received the $5000 is immaterial to the plot, and once he's gone, Agrandi serves no purpose anymore. However, Eddie insisting that Agrandi be paid money mirrors another request of Eddie's: $1000 (I think that was the amount) for every fighter who takes the dive. Several times in the movie, Eddie clears his conscience with generosity. Large amounts of money for the boxers, paid directly to them (we never actually see this happen, either), the $5000 for Agrandi, and, last but not least, the money he sends to Beth.
If it please the court…
Yes, I agree -- I think Eddie's decision to give him the $26,000 was impulsive, made in the taxi. It's obvious he was reluctant, maybe even a bit remorseful, but felt it was the right thing to do.
I also agree that Eddie did seem to be trying to buy his own conscience off by making sure that others got paid off to take a dive and so on. The story shows that Eddie can't make a deal with the devil and walk away clean. It was the way they cheated Toro at the end and just sold him off that finally brought him around.
I'm not so sure Agrandi getting paid off is immaterial to the plot, though it may be a side issue. It shows even Agrandi was willing to take their money to go away and keep quiet. It's also interesting to see that they were willing to pay him something rather than just muscle him out as a safer way of doing business.
(By the way, I misspelled his name "Grandi" last time. Agrandi, of course -- thanks.)