The Color of Money

Eddie Felson:
Vincent, get in the car, this is embarrassing. You're acting like some girl who got felt up at the drive-in.

Vincent Lauria:
I think maybe the money's what's throwing you off here today.

Eddie Felson:
I'm not your daddy, I'm not your boyfriend, so don't be playing games with me. I'm your partner.

Eddie Felson:
It's even, but it ain't settled. Let's settle it.

Eddie Felson:
Money won is twice as sweet as money earned.

Eddie Felson:
You gotta have two things to win. You gotta have brains and you gotta have balls. Now, you got too much of one and not enough of the other.

Opening Voiceover:
Nine-ball is rotation pool, the balls are pocketed in numbered order. The only ball that means anything, that wins it, is the 9. Now, the player can shoot eight trick shots in a row, blow the 9, and lose. On the other hand, the player can get the 9 in on the break, if the balls spread right, and win. Which is to say, that luck plays a part in nine-ball. But for some players, luck itself is an art.

Eddie Felson:
Do you smell that?

Vincent Lauria:
What, smoke?

Carmen:
No, Money...

Eddie Felson:
I can always go back to whiskey, it's been very good to me.

Vincent Lauria:
Hey Grady. Up your ass with the spot. Is that OK with you?

Grady Seasons:
[laughs] That's fine by me.

Eddie Felson:
You're some piece of work... You're also a natural character.

Vincent Lauria:
[to Carmen] You see? I been tellin' her that. I got natural character.

Eddie Felson:
That's not what I said, kid. I said you *are* a natural character; you're an incredible flake.

[Vincent's smile fades; Eddie continues]

Eddie Felson:
But that's a *gift*. Some guys spend half their lives trying to invent something like that. You walk into a pool room with that go-go-go, the guys'll be *killing* each other, trying to get to you. You got that... But I'll tell you something, kiddo. You couldn't find Big Time if you had a road map.

Eddie Felson:
How much did you take off Moselle? I heard a hundred...

Vincent Lauria:
One Fifty!

Eddie Felson:
[sarcastically] A hundred and fifty?

Vincent Lauria:
That's right, a hundred and fifty.

Vincent Lauria:
You walk into a shoe store with a hundred and fifty bucks, you come out with one shoe! We were working on five thousand!

Carmen:
You win one more game, you're gonna be humping your fist for a long time. Got that, Vincent?

Eddie Felson:
Pool excellence is *not* about excellent pool.

Eddie Felson:
[to Vincent] I'll change my teeth, you change your god damned diapers!

Vincent Lauria:
[Eddie has just run the table] Pretty damn good.

Eddie Felson:
Not bad for a blind man. Rack 'em.

Vincent Lauria:
Yes sir, boss. Rack 'em up for Mr. Fast Eddie!

Eddie Felson:
I haven't played serious pool since before you were born, and right off the bat, I'm layin' 'em to waste! Watch this. Nine on the break...

Eddie Felson:
Did you ever hear of a hustle called Two Brothers and a Stranger?

Vincent Lauria:
Yeah, uh, that's the guy in the Bible with the many colored coats, right?

[grins widely; Eddie and Carmen look disgusted]

Vincent Lauria:
Hey, what's wrong with you guys? It's a joke, okay?

Eddie Felson:
Did I get through to you last night, kiddo? 'Cause if I didn't, I'll run it by you another way. If you'd have kicked ass in any other place but Chalkie's, Atlantic City would be dead for us. The Guys Never Leave The Street. Otherwise, it'd be all around.

Eddie Felson:
Human moves, kid. You study the watch... while I study you.

Eddie Felson:
This ain't pool. This is for bangers. Straight pool is pool. This is like hand-ball, or cribbage, or something. Straight pool, you gotta be a real surgeon to get 'em, you know? It's all finesse. Now, every thing is nine-ball, 'cause it's fast, good for T.V., good for a lot of break shots... Oh, well. What the hell. Checkers sells more than chess.

Eddie Felson:
The balls roll funny for everybody, kiddo.

Amos:
[to Eddie, after hustling him] Hey, I want to ask you something, an' I want you to be real honest. Do you think I need to lose some weight?

Eddie Felson:
[to Carmen about Vincent] We got a racehorse here, a thoroughbred. You make him feel good, I teach him how to run!

Eddie Felson:
Where's the Balabushka?

Carmen:
Vincent took it.

Eddie Felson:
You said he was out.

Carmen:
He was in and out.

Eddie Felson:
He took the cue stick?

Carmen:
Yes.

Eddie Felson:
And you let him?

Carmen:
Well, so what?

Eddie Felson:
Sh*t.

Carmen:
Oh, man, I'm sorry.

Eddie Felson:
Jesus. Goddamn. Child care!

Moselle:
What you got in there?

Vincent Lauria:
In here? [Opens case; smiles widely] Doom.

Moselle:
Come on, boy. Let's play.

Vincent Lauria:
Yeah, let's play. We're gonna' have a lot of fun.

Eddie Felson:
You know what this is turning into?

Vincent Lauria:
What?

Eddie Felson:
A waste of my time, and a waste of my money. [Slams car door]

Vincent Lauria:
What? You're just gonna' leave me here? [Eddie drives off] I don't believe this guy!

[after challenging everyone in the bar to a game, offering to spot balls, give them break, pay if he loses but not be paid if he wins, etc]

Vincent Lauria:
Cowards! Off with their heads.

Eddie Felson:
I can always go back to whiskey; it's been very good to me. I mean, you're sitting in it, and I'm wearing it.

Vincent Lauria:
[Eddie is pushing to go on the road] This is my job, Eddie.

Eddie Felson:
You think so? Hmmm. That's funny. I don't think so. I think it's your problem.

Orvis:
You know who you got stakehorsin' here for you? This here's Fast Eddie Felson. Who the hell are you? The end of the world?

[last lines]

Vincent Lauria:
Hey Eddie, what are you going to do when I kick your ass?

Eddie Felson:
Pick myself up and let you kick me again.

Vincent Lauria:
Oh yeah?

Eddie Felson:
Yeah.

[pause]

Eddie Felson:
Just don't put the money in the bank, kid. Because if I don't whip you now, I'm gonna whip you next month in Dallas.

Carmen:
You mean Houston - there's nothing coming up in Dallas.

Eddie Felson:
Houston, Dallas... And if not then, then the month after that, in New Orleans.

Vincent Lauria:
Oh yeah? What makes you so sure?

Eddie Felson:
[stares at Vincent for a second, then gets ready to break] Hey - I'm back.

[Eddie breaks]