Monsieur Spade
Sundays 9:00 PM on AMCMonsieur Spade Season 1 Episode 6: "Call Me Sam" Quotes
My grandfather died of a cerebral hemorrhage when he was 59. His last words to my grandmother were, “Ruth, I have a headache.” My grandmother’s last words to him were, “Who the hell is Ruth?” Her name being Betty. So, indeed. Who was Ruth? Some buried secret? Or some buried nonsense? That is my job, to sort the secrets from the nonsense. I promise you, if you carry a secret in my presence, you won’t carry it for long. Do not fool yourselves. You cannot lie to me. You cannot hide anything from me. So. Let’s agree to share then, K? Good. Let’s begin.
Virginia
And what better way to keep him safe than with an army sniper.
Virginia
Virginia: And finally, Mr. Spade.
Sam: You have an interesting accent. What part of Canada are you from, exactly?
Virginia: The south.
Sam: I’m guessing somewhere below Niagara Falls.
Virginia: I would think a man of your experience would not have gotten within a hundred miles of such a rat fuck, not to mention turning the whole affair into such a mess.
Sam: Philippe made the mess. I just tried to clean it up.
Virginia: You pick up vomit with a teaspoon; you make a bigger mess.
Sam: What a swell metaphor.
Virginia: I read a lot of E.E. Cummings.
Virginia: A small constabulary in the ass end of a giant hole is no match for the big guns elsewhere. One phone call to anyone heavier would have ended the whole thing before it got this far.
Sam: A call to who? You? I don’t know who you are or who you work for, and we both know you’re about as Canadian as sweet potato pie, and you’re not here saving this kid out of a sudden spasm of altruism.
Virginia: No one wants another war, Spade, in Algeria or anywhere else.
Sam: Oh, so you’re just snatching him in the name of world peace.
Virginia: I can’t imagine a man of your particular origins is all that upset about body count.
Sam: I supposed I’ve just never understood that whole thing about diplomacy at the end of a rifle.
Virginia: You’re really going to sit there and tell me that you have never had to be your worst in order to do your best?
Sam: I make decisions, and I live by them, for better or worse.
Virginia: One doesn’t go to bed one person and wake up another just because one says so.
Sam: You mean people are simpler than they think? I had no idea.
Virginia: And yet, sadly, our pasts are portable, and you find yourself continually drawn in to the lonely, troubled, the confused.
Sam: Otherwise known as the entire human race. But I’m not drawn to anybody. I’m just dubious about everybody.
Virginia: Common ground. At last!
Teresa: You know, Mr. Spade, I’ll be OK if you don’t want me around.
Sam: Do me a favor. Call me Sam.
