The Dresser (1983)
Tom Courtenay: Norman
Photos
Quotes
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Norman : [to the ambitious young Irene] Never mind the young Cordelia, ducky. He wants a *light* Cordelia!... It's not youth or talent or star quality he's after, ducky, but a moderate eater!
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Norman : My memory is like a policeman. It is never there when you want it.
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Norman : We all have our little sorrows, ducky; you're not the only one.And the littler you are, the larger the sorrow.You think you love him. What about me?
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[repeated line]
Norman : I had a friend...
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Norman : I had a friend...
Sir : Oh by Christ's sake! I'm sick of your friends. A motley crew they are: pathetic, lonely, despairing!
Norman : That's nice, isn't it?
Sir : I beg your pardon. Uncalled for! Count myself as your friend!
Norman : Never despairing!
Sir : I have apologized!
Norman : Never, NEVER despairing! Well perhaps, sometimes at night, or at Christmas, when you can't get a job in a pantomime! But not once inside the building! Never! Pathetic maybe, but not ungrateful. Too mindful of one's lot, as the saying goes. No duke is more privy t'is beauty, he is spring and summer! Here pain is bearable. And never lonely, not here. For he today, that sheds his blood with me... Soft no doubt, sensitive, that's my nature; easily hurt, that's a virtue. I'm not here for reasons of my own either. No-one could accuse me of base motive. I got what I want! I don't need anyone to know it. Inadequate? Yes! But never NEVER, despairing!
