Daily Dialogue — November 11, 2019

“Is it safe?”

— Marathon Man (1976), screenplay by William Goldman based on his novel

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Interrogation. Today’s suggestion by Philip A. McClimon and James V. Simpson.

Trivia: In the documentary The Magic of Hollywood… Is the Magic of People (1976), Dustin Hoffman recalls that Sir Laurence Olivier got inspiration for the torture scene from seeing a gardener pruning roses shortly before shooting. Olivier realized that Szell at that moment saw himself as a craftsman, using tools with skill.

Dialogue On Dialogue: Here is the entire ‘getting grilled while getting drilled’ sequence in Marathon Man.