Mean Streets (1973)
Harvey Keitel: Charlie
Photos
Quotes
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[They all raise their glasses to The Queen]
Charlie : You know what the Queen said? If I had balls, I'd be King.
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Charlie : It's all bullshit except the pain. The pain of hell. The burn from a lighted match increased a million times. Infinite. Now, ya don't fuck around with the infinite. There's no way you do that. The pain in hell has two sides. The kind you can touch with your hand; the kind you can feel in your heart... your soul, the spiritual side. And ya know... the worst of the two is the spiritual.
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Johnny Boy : Y'know Joey Clams...
Charlie : Yeah.
Johnny Boy : ...Joey Scala, yeah.
Charlie : I know him too, yeah.
Johnny Boy : ...yeah. No. No, Joey Scala is Joey Clams.
Charlie : Right.
Johnny Boy : Right.
Charlie : ...they're the same person!
Johnny Boy : Yeah!
Charlie : 'ey!
Johnny Boy : 'ey...
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Charlie : You know something? She is really good-lookin'. I gotta say that again. She is really good-lookin'. But she's black. You can see that real plain, right? Look, there isn't much of a difference anyway, is there. Well, is there?
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Johnny Boy : Hey, why don't you lower the jukebox, I can't hear nothin'.
Joey 'Clams' Scala : Hey, the girls like the music loud.
Johnny Boy : Girls. You call those skanks girls?
Joey 'Clams' Scala : [to Charlie] Hey, what's a matter with this kid, huh?
Johnny Boy : Hey, there ain't nothin' wrong with me my friend, I'm feelin' fine.
Charlie : Keep your mouth shut.
Johnny Boy : You tell me that in front of this asshole?
Joey 'Clams' Scala : Alright, alright, we're not gonna pay. We're not paying.
Jimmy : But why? Joey, we just said we were gonna have a drink.
Joey 'Clams' Scala : [Joey interupts] We're not payin', because this guy, this guy's a fuckin' mook.
Jimmy : But I didn't say nothin'.
Joey 'Clams' Scala : And we don't pay mooks.
Jimmy : Mook? I'm a mook?
Joey 'Clams' Scala : Yeah
Jimmy : What's a mook?
Johnny Boy : A mook, what's a mook?
Tony DeVienazo : I don't know...
Johnny Boy : What's a mook?
Jimmy : You can't call me a mook!
Joey 'Clams' Scala : I can't?
Jimmy : No...
Joey 'Clams' Scala : [pause] I'll give you mook!
[punches Jimmy in the face]
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[repeated line]
Charlie : What's the matter with you?
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Giovanni Cappa : This Johnny Boy is like your mister Groppi... a little crazy. It's nice you should help him out because of his family and our family but watch yourself... Don't spoil anything. His whole family has problems... his cousin, the girl who lives next door to you...
Charlie : Teresa.
Giovanni Cappa : ...The one who's sick, right? In the head.
Charlie : No, she's got epilepsy.
Giovanni Cappa : Yeah. That's what I said, sick in the head.
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Charlie : [naked in bed] Forget it. If there's any chance of me falling in love with you, Teresa, I wouldn't be here right now. Believe me.
Teresa : Because?
Charlie : Because with you I can't get involved.
Teresa : Because?
Charlie : Because you're a cunt! - Wait! It was only a joke.
Teresa : Where do you get off talkin' like that!
[gets out of bed]
Charlie : It was only a joke! Teresa, hey, come here.
Teresa : The hell it was!
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Michael Longo : What do I look like? A jerk? On his next payday, I'm comin' down here to Tony's. Johnny Boy better show or I'm gonna find him and I'm gonna break his fuckin' legs. Do we understand each other?
Charlie : I heard you.
Michael Longo : Good.
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Oscar : Look Charlie, you're a good boy. Will you just tell your uncle that I have nothing. There is nothing to give him. No envelopes with cash inside, no checks, nothing.
Charlie : That bad, huh?
Oscar : I can't make this week's payment and if this keeps up not next week's either.
Charlie : Not next week's either... listen... you tell that to Giovanni, not me.
Oscar : Listen, I should wrap up this place in a ribbon and hand it to him, you know that. I don't need this aggravation. I'm getting old.
Charlie : He'd rather have the loan payed, you know that.
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Charlie : Look... I'll give ya $20 to hold ya for now.
Michael Longo : What, are ya kidding? $20 doesn't pay the interest for 2 hours. Now, with a vig, it's almost $3000.
Charlie : $3000? Shit, you charge a guy from the neighborhood $1800 vig? One day he's late with his payments.
Michael Longo : Whatta ya think I am, his father?
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Michael Longo : We just stiffed a couple of kids.
Charlie : Ah, how much did you take 'em for?
Michael Longo : Twenty dollars.
Charlie : What are you laughin' at? Twenty dollars! Let's got to the movies!
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Charlie : I hate the sun. Come on, let's go inside, will ya?
Teresa : What else do you hate?
Charlie : I hate the ocean and I hate the beach and I hate the sun and - the grass and the trees - and I hate heat!
Teresa : Charlie, what do you like?
Charlie : I like spaghetti and clam sauce, mountains, Francis of Assisi, chickens with lemon and garlic, John Wayne...
Teresa : You know, there aren't any mountains in Manhattan.
Charlie : Tall buildings are the same thing. And I like you.
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Charlie : That's all that's important to me now.
Teresa : Right. Guys like my cousin Johnny.
Charlie : No, not exactly your cousin Johnny.
Teresa : Why I hope not because he is crazy! I mean he is driving me nuts! I don't know how you can be with him all the time. He's like an insane person!
Charlie : What is the matter with you? How can you talk to me about him? He's your own cousin.
Teresa : Oh, fuck him!
Charlie : That's terrible. Who's gonna help him if I don't? That's what's the matter. Nobody, nobody tries anymore.
Teresa : Tries what?
Charlie : Tries to - to help, that's all. To help people.
Teresa : You help yourself first.
Charlie : Bullshit, Teresa! That's where you're all wrong. Francis of Assisi had it all down. He knew!
Teresa : What are you talkin' about?
Charlie : He knew!
Teresa : What are you talkin' about? St. Francis didn't run numbers.
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Johnny Boy : Meanwhile, I lost the deal, I go outside, I'm a little depressed, now. Anyway, I wanna cut this story short, 'cause I know you don't wanna hear all this and, I know I know I know, but, I'm gonna - to make a long story short, anyway, I went to Hal Kaplan, gotta new tie and I got this shirt. Do you like this shirt? It's nice. This tie...
Charlie : Hey! Michael doesn't care if your depressed. What is he - your priest? What do go out shopping when you owe somebody money, Johnny. That ain't right.
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Charlie : How you been Joey?
Joey 'Clams' Scala : Not bad.
Charlie : You're lookin' good. Looks like you took off a couple of tons.
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Johnny Boy : Your grandma's gonna die, right?
Charlie : Yeah, right.
Johnny Boy : Did you like her?
Johnny Boy : What do you mean do I like her? She's my grandma.
Johnny Boy : So what? That don't mean nothin'. So what?
Charlie : What's the matter with you?
Johnny Boy : What's a matter wit chu?
Charlie : Anyway, she ain't dead yet. God forbid. So, shut up.
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Charlie : Don't be smart, Johnny.
Johnny Boy : What do you mean? I ain't smart. I'm stupid. Remember? I'm so stupid you gotta look out for me. Right? Right?
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Charlie : Okay, okay, I just come out of confession, right? Right. And the priest gives me the usual penance, right? Ten hail Marys, ten Our Fathers, ten whatever. Now, you know the next week I'm going to come back and he just going to give me another ten Hail Marys and another ten Our Fathers, and... And I mean you know how I feel about that shit. Those things, they don't mean anything to me, they're just words. Now that may be okay for the others, but it just doesn't work for me. I mean, if I do something wrong I just want to pay for it my way. So I do my own penance for my own sins.
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Giovanni Cappa : These politicians... Ball Breakers. All blackmailers... if they had to live honestly, they would starve to death. They are not like us. They know where to come when they need us. I realized this a long time ago during the World War II. Charlie Lackey was working for the government, taking care of the docks.
Charlie : What did he do?
Giovanni Cappa : What did he do? He was there. That's what he did.
