MovieChat Forums > Charley Varrick (1973) Discussion > the're very few men theat speak to me in...

the're very few men theat speak to me in that tone

posted 20 years ago by adventguy2004
23 replies | jump to latest

the're very few men that speak to me in that tone
few caucasions
no negros at all

this line is classic.its by far the best bit in the movie.
also the part when he tells the guy in the whorehouse to "keep throwin your darts before i put you in the hospital old man"
"yes sir"

then theres the part when he shoves the old man in the wheel chair way back into the wall and follows it up with that huge grin.

all classic and all from joe don baker

[–] 20 years ago

[deleted]

[–] gschwertley 15 years ago

Did you notice that the gun shop owner in the wheelchair was Tom Tully? You may remember him as the ship's captain in "The Caine Mutiny" before Capt. Queeg took over.

[–] snakej32 15 years ago

All those lines are great but Molly's best are still:

"I didn't drive 6,000 miles for the amusement of morons" and "I don't sleep with whores...at least not knowingly"

[–] johnmarti59 (2356) 4 years ago

6000 miles? Where the hell did he drive? Back and forth across the country.

[–] Gooner_Ali 15 years ago

the're very few men that speak to me in that tone
few caucasions
no negros at all

this line is crap.Its by far the worst bit in the movie.

Pasty faced pillocks need to get out more.

[–] psdhart 15 years ago

lets box the compass

[–] gschwertley 15 years ago

The catchy, often sardonic one-liners in this movie are part of what make it interesting. However politically correct they may now seem, people have actually said things like the "speak to me in that tone" line. Some movies "sell" to their audiences on the basis of raw, real life and this is one of them.

In my later years, that scene where Baker makes that utterance gives me more pause for thought. I think about the kid in the window, watching his father getting whipped. When these things happen in reality, the scenes play out in people's minds forever. Poor kid watching this stuff, but it happens all the time. Worse, the old man goes inside after getting whipped and lets the kid have it.

[–] rroach50 14 years ago

I doubt someone calling himself Gooner_Ali is going to do that.

[–] ecarle 14 years ago

There's something about that line:

"I don't sleep with whores. At least not knowingly."

...that seems very erudite and precise to me.

Had Molly just brusquely brushed the Mustang Ranch ladies off with the first line("I don't sleep with whores") he'd just be a regulation Mean Bad Guy.

But the second clause -- "At least not knowingly" -- suggests a funny, self-aware guy, who realizes that, in his grim criminal world, he probably has slept with a few whores, but "not knowingly" (the Mob often offers them up to their male employees for free, like girlfriends.)

[–] amd8404 14 years ago

No, it shows that he hates women. For him, any woman might be a whore. Nothing erudite about that. Besides, "regulation Mean Bad Guys" do sleep with whores.

In this scene and others, the filmmakers decided to put their villain's misogyny and racism on display, rather than let it casually reveal itself like it does in other crime films. Here it's the anchor of Molly's characterization. Why?

The movie's antifeminism can probably be best understood as a reaction to the progressive attitudes in vogue at the time. This is a movie in which a female character gets slapped across the face for no reason, thinks about it for a second and then goes to bed with the slapper. Welcome to "raw, real life."

[–] KutWrite 12 years ago

I agree re: Molly's misogyny... the irony of his name, maybe even a result of it. Imagine his being teased about it as a kid, maybe accidentally put on the girls' team, etc.

On the other hand, a girlfriend of mine whose name was Molly thought Joe Don's character's name was a homonym for the Spanish "Male," or "Bad One."

In that vein, I thought the other bad guy's name, "Harmon," was a homonym for "Harmin'" which he sure likes to do!

Miss Fort "holds the fort" for Western Fidelity... and want to guess what I think about Maynard Boyle's last name?

As to photographer Jewell Everett being slapped, I felt her reaction was that she kind of liked it. You know, an S & M kinda gal. Plus, being so forceful and businesslike, she has met a man who one-ups her, earning her respect. Plus she's obviously very money-oriented (her licking her lips when Charley counts out her $1k).

Lots of non-PC language in this movie: Boyle's aspersions against Mr "Finkle," the racist line that's the subject of this thread, Charley coming on to Miss Fort and her responding. Probably more.

My favorite line... there are so many already mentioned. I like Molly's "'Charley Varrick, last of the independents.' I like that, it has a ring of finality." and "Now sit there, and start talking... with good will."

When I sold my record collection I used Tom Tully's line: "Just went to 6 (hundred)... want to bargain, buy yourself a rug."

Best scene I think is the one with Boyle and Harold Young by the cattle corral. Boyle's "Look at that big brown one... Man, what a set o' jugs!" Had to be improvised!

[–] Jes' Sayin' (6349) 15 days ago

"Harmon" might also be because he plays the harmonica.

[–] johnmarti59 (2356) 4 years ago

That's why Molly's the one for the job. He doesn't care about anything or anybody.

[–] WardenGordonBorden 14 years ago

I saw a TV showing of this once where they had edited out the 'Few Caucasians... and no Negros at all' ...line. You know, for the betterment of mankind.

These guys were way ahead of the latest watchdog editors who are saving our children from 'The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn'.

Hi, Bob.

[–] layton59 13 years ago

Walter Matthau's character was the good guy villian and Joe Don Baker's character was the bad guy villian.

JDB was voicing those lines to show how evil he was in the movie.

Those lines are perfectly right and dead-on for his character.

***********************************************
Ye Olde Sig Line:

It should be "I can NOT care less."

You are at the lowest level of caring.

[–] ronm1945 13 years ago

The line " no negroes at all " was not in the closed captioned version which I recently viewed, although I have heard that line before.

[–] tricksoftrade01 13 years ago

I find it amazing how many people just do not listen carefully to that exchange, they see the scene where a bigger stronger white man beats up a black man, drives off and says the word 'Negro' and assume that Bakers character is racist.

Molly calls the black man 'Sir' several times and treats him with respect. The black man loses his cool and calls Molly a 'Pink-ass punk' which is a big mistake and is racist in itself. These are fighting words and Molly decks him and repos his car. If Molly called the black man the n word, nobody would have a problem with him decking Molly, but the reverse happened does not seem to hold as much weight.

So did the station allow the 'pink ass punk' statement get through but not the negro one? I find that funny if it did.

[–] Henry_Framus_Valentine 9 years ago

At the beginning of the confrontation, the Black man refers to the Chinese man as a "chiñk". Nobody is blameless here.

🇺🇸 Liberty and Union, Now and Forever, One and Inseparable. 🇺🇸

[–] DmitriKnipper (202) 4 years ago

And, amusingly, Benson Fong grins at that!

[–] manage-932-700755 12 years ago

It wasn't "negros." It was "negras."

[–] hobartz 12 years ago

No, it wasn't "negras" it was "niggras", a sly modification of the N-word into an "acceptable" form which the speaker could pass off as having said "Negro". Negro was the most respectful address for American blacks prior to 1965 or so, but many whites couldn't bring themselves to say "negro" yet good manners meant they couldn't say something rude like the N-word. Niggras was the happy medium of showing both manners and disdain.

I think the scene shows the professionalism of Molly. He is respectful to the car's owner until the owner insults him, then he takes control of an escalating confrontation by decking the guy. He even explains why he did it afterwards. The line could very well have gone, "Few folks speak to me in that tone. Few good men. And no deadbeats a'tall"

[–] manage-932-700755 12 years ago

Yes, you are right. But it sounded like Molly said "negras" or "neggras" even though the intended word was "niggras." I had never heard Molly's interpretation of the word before.

Molly was a tough guy. I am glad he bought it at the end. Too bad he didn't get it from a "niggra" or "neggra."

[–] movies789 9 years ago

Exactly right; well-clarified.