Sen. Ralph Owen Brewster:
All right, let's get down to business. Let's talk turkey. My investigation... [He nearly bursts into laughter]
Sen. Ralph Owen Brewster:
My investigation has turned up a lot of dirt. It could be really embarassing if this stuff got out. I'd like to save you from that embarassment.
Howard Hughes:
That's very kind of you, Owen.
Sen. Ralph Owen Brewster:
My committee has the power to hold public hearings. I'd like to spare you from that.
Howard Hughes:
[smirks] Would you, now? [Brewster abruptly drops his silverware]
Sen. Ralph Owen Brewster:
Look, do you wanna go down in history as a war profiteer, Howard? Is that what you want?
Howard Hughes:
[gravely] What do you want, Owen?
Sen. Ralph Owen Brewster:
You agree to support my C.A.B. bill, and I won't hold public hearings.
Howard Hughes:
I can't do that, Owen. Can't do that. The C.A.B. bill would kill TWA.
Sen. Ralph Owen Brewster:
Sell T.W.A. to Pan Am. You'll get a good price. You'll get a fair price, I'm telling you.
Howard Hughes:
And then...? Then you won't go public?
Sen. Ralph Owen Brewster:
Right. That's right. The investigation's closed. Nobody knows a thing. It's better for everybody. [pause]
Howard Hughes:
You know, Owen, I'm still wondering one thing. The picture of the llama you got last year. Where'd you sail from?
Sen. Ralph Owen Brewster:
[disinterested] We didn't sail. We flew.
Howard Hughes:
You flew?
Sen. Ralph Owen Brewster:
Yeah.
Howard Hughes:
Ah.
Sen. Ralph Owen Brewster:
[Brewster stops chewing abruptly, realizing what Howard's implying]
Howard Hughes:
[leans in] Are you sure you want to do this, Owen? You want to go to war with me?
Sen. Ralph Owen Brewster:
It isn't me, Howard. It's the United States government. We just beat Germany and Japan. Who the hell are you?
Wyatt Earp:
All right, Clanton... you called down the thunder, well now you've got it! You see that? [pulls open his coat, revealing a badge]
Wyatt Earp:
It says United States Marshal!
Ike Clanton:
[terrified, pleading] Wyatt, please, I...
Wyatt Earp:
[referring to Stilwell, laying dead] Take a good look at him, Ike... 'cause that's how you're gonna end up! [shoves Ike down roughly with his boot]
Wyatt Earp:
The Cowboys are finished, you understand? I see a red sash, I kill the man wearin' it! [lets Ike up to run for his life]
Wyatt Earp:
So run, you cur... RUN! Tell all the other curs the law's comin'! [shouts]
Wyatt Earp:
You tell 'em I'M coming... and hell's coming with me, you hear?... [louder]
Wyatt Earp:
Hell's coming with me!
Deputy Marshal Samuel Gerard:
Sheriff Rawlins, with all due respect, I'd like to suggest check points on a 15 mile radius out here on I-57, I-24 and on route 13 out of Chester...
Sheriff Rawlins:
Whoa, whoa, whoa. The prisoners are all dead and the only thing checkpoints are gonna do is get a lot of good people frantic around here and flood my office with calls.
Deputy Marshal Samuel Gerard:
[deadpan] Well, shit, sheriff, I'd hate to see that happen, so I guess I'll just take over your investigation.
Sheriff Rawlins:
[flustered] You? On what authority?
Deputy Marshal Samuel Gerard:
Governor of the state of Illinois, United States Marshals Office, 5th District Northern Illinois.
Admiral:
What we're going to tell you Commander, may come as a surprise, but it must be held in the utmost secrecy, and its importance will become obvious. I think you'll understand.
Court-Martial Captain:
All charges against your boys have been dropped.
Cdr. Camparelli:
Sir?
Court-Martial Captain:
They're gone, dropped, never happened.
Cdr. Camparelli:
What do you want me to do, Captain?
Court-Martial Captain:
Cover it up, sweep it under the rug. Take your men back to your carrier first thing in the morning, keep their mouths shut. Beyond that, you can do what you want to with them, but this affair's over.
Cdr. Camparelli:
May I ask the captain, why?
Admiral:
Because the President of the United States, Richard M. Nixon is quite irritated at the opposition for leaving the peace table. He has just ordered Operation Linebacker II; the unrestricted bombing of all military targets in North Vietnam.
Court-Martial Captain:
We'd look like real idiots if we court-martialed an A-6 crew for doing what the President of the United States just told us to do. If even a rumor got back to the press, you can understand the ramifications.
Cdr. Camparelli:
Yes. Yes, sir.
Melvin Udall:
Never, never, interrupt me, okay? Not if there's a fire, not even if you hear the sound of a thud from my home and one week later there's a smell coming from there that can only be a decaying human body and you have to hold a hanky to your face because the stench is so thick that you think you're going to faint. Even then, don't come knocking. Or, if it's election night, and you're excited and you wanna celebrate because some fudgepacker that you date has been elected the first queer president of the United States and he's going to have you down to Camp David, and you want someone to share the moment with. Even then, don't knock. Not on this door. Not for ANY reason. Do you get me, sweetheart?
Simon Bishop:
[clears his throat] Uhm, yes. It's not a... subtle point that you're making.
Melvin Udall:
Okay then. [Shuts door in Simon's face]
Carmine:
I got this idea; I don't know why I never told you about it... My cousin Pauly's been into this for a year or so; he's making money hand-over-fist. It's check-cashing. Listen to how this works, it's great: About a year ago, Pauly's out of work. So, one day, he's collecting a check over at unemployment... when this guy approaches him and tells Pauly about this check-cashing business he's running. He lets him know how simple it is, how much bread he can make; and then he checks Pauly out, to make sure he's not connected to the cops or feds. So then he sets Pauly up with the works - false fingerprints, phony ID... Pauly showed me how to use a spray-on surgical glove to cover the prints. Then he showed me how to use a graphite/cold-cream mixture, which creates a glow on any photo taken by any bank. This guy has major, intense banking knowledge. So he starts selling Pauly checks that he's making on his pay-order machine. Then Pauly starts passing these things out left and right, one end of the state to the other, and a few across the border. Nobody caught on in a year, and he's living like Bill Gates. The best part is this: Pauly buys his own United States Money Order machine, and he starts pumping these checks out twice as fast... The other guy's all right; he's not hurting none - he's doing 8 to 10 in Chino for passing off bad checks. The point is, PAULY'S still making a ton of money. We'd only need two checks.
[first lines]
Narrator:
The United States of America: rich, diverse, well-fed, proud, free. The United States of America: poor, hungry, scared, oppressed. There are those who say the United States is an empire, a dictatorship possessing fascistic elements. There are others who insist it's a democracy, or a representative republic: the realized dream of the founding fathers. Can both assessments be correct? How can the nation known as the United States of America be both? How can there be two totally different views of the same thing? Is America an empire, or a democracy, or somewhere in-between? I travelled from one end of the country to the other exploring these questions: by train, plane, bus, and micro-bus.
