as an adult, there are things that gnaw at me.
1) As an F. B. I. agent undercover, why would Sweet get drunk and blow his cover to George, compromising himself, George, and the investigation?
2) THIS really blows me away. Where the police commander gives George a gun and takes him to the shoutout/confrontation. WTF?! He's a book editor! That's got to be a little bit irresponsible, right?
Sweet was only tailing Deveraux and (we don't truly know) but could have been drinking virgin drinks and "acting" as a cover. He only blows his cover AFTER George tells him he saw that the Professor had been shot and dropped off the train, but then back alive again in his cabin car the next morning (which confused him to think he'd been seeing things)... It's only then that Sweet reveals he's NOT a vitamin salesman and is actually an FBI agent.
As for the police commander, he tosses George a revolver and a box of bullets at the location and George says to Richard Pryor "what does he expect me to do with these?" << that's the line dropped in to allow the audience to accept this, as even George thinks it's ridiculous...
The plan was to extract Deveraux and his goons from the Silver Streak, then (I assume) sweep the train, allow the passengers back on to continue to Chicago... which is why George was taken there(so he too could continue his trip)... then when it was obvious Deveraux wasn't going to surrender and a shootout was likely to happen he tosses him the gun for self protection... HE KNEW George could handle himself because he'd already 1. killed Reese 2. Got back on the train twice after getting thrown off 3. escaped a Sheriff's department, 4. Stolen a car.
Of course, as a kid or an adult, it is STILL, only a movie.
"I don't want your watch, man. I want your friendship!" - Lightfoot
1. While George definitely is ("Did you know I intend to be higher?"), I've never been convinced that Sweet is drunk or pretending to be drunk in this scene. So there's no problem that he reveals he's a federal agent after George tells him what he knows. The real issue with this scene is how quickly George sobers up after Sweet takes him to the back of the train.
2. As someone who has loved this movie (except for the love scene) ever since seeing it in the late 1970s, I would like to say thank you for the best justification I've ever read of the gun/bullets scene. Of all the credibility-stretching events in this movie, the police giving a civilian a gun and bullets is the most unbelievable. Yes, it is only a movie, and of course the gun saves George's life near the end, but you can tell by the number of threads on this board that this gimmick ruins the story for many people.
"When I became a man, I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up." C.S.Lewis, 1952
I love that scene where George is building a glass tower with the tiny booze bottles and he's hammered. I love the continuity goofs with his cigarettes in this scene too.
shareI thought George already had the gun and the commander just tossed him some shells to load.
"'Extremely High Voltage.' Well, I don't need safety gloves, because I'm Homer Sim--" - Frank Grimes
Who cares, just enjoy the movie.
shareBob Sweet is a "Federal Agent." No specific affiliation is stated in the film. Sweet is observing a possible art forger, so could be with whatever agency tracks such people. If that is a thing?
sharehaha i came here to post about your second point! Giving George the gun and telling him to come with him is totally ridiculous and was so laughable i thought wtf how can this be right!
shareIt's a comedy film, not a documentary about FBI and police procedures. Relax and enjoy it for what it is.
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