Mannix (TV Series)
To Quote a Dead Man (1973)
David Wayne: Boston
Photos
Quotes
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Joe Mannix : Deadly serious, you say?
Boston : Oh, yes, yes. I might as well start from scratch. I haven't any. Scratch, that is. I suppose the fee is one of the first things that crosses your mind when you take a case.
Joe Mannix : No, it's not the first, but, it's right up there.
[Peggy hands Boston his coffee]
Boston : Oh, thank you.
Peggy Fair : Joe?
Joe Mannix : No thanks.
Boston : [after drinking his coffee] Oh, there's something extravagant about coffee that's only gone through the grounds once.
[Peggy leaves]
Boston : Let me put it to you this way, Mr. Mannix. I would like to panhandle your services for a spell. Flat out, that's it.
Joe Mannix : Widows and orphans only. Except under special circumstances.
Boston : Widows and orphans will be with us always, Mr. Mannix, but I am the last of a dying breed. I'm offering you an opportunity to preserve a touch of Americana. I am a hobo. One of the last, you may be sure.
[Joe frowns]
Boston : Ah, I see I have touched a chord of longing that exists on all red-blooded men. Steel wheels on the steel rails, free and moving from Ft. Lauderdale to Seattle.
Joe Mannix : Well, I don't know about that.
Boston : But what it gets down to is this, Mr. Mannix: I'm offering you a rare opportunity. If this proposition became public knowledge, there are people who would consider it your duty.
Joe Mannix : Uh, you say that you're the last of a dying breed, and that somebody is trying to rush things.
Boston : Someone is trying to kill me, that's a plain fact.
Joe Mannix : Oh. Anyone with a reason?
Boston : I haven't laid a straw in anyone's way in 40 years.
Joe Mannix : Just how are they trying to kill you?
Boston : Gunshots. I was walking on 7th Street on my way to Marcel's.
Joe Mannix : The restaurant?
Boston : Yes, it was almost time for the nightly backdoor buffet. Marcel, as you know, is very generous with his unclaimed entrees. I was about a block away and I heard this noise. I thought a first, of course, that it was the backfire of some passing automobile, but then I noticed the pungent odor of gun smoke.
[shows Joe a bullet hole in his coat]
Boston : You see, backfires don't cause bullet holes, Mr. Mannix.
Joe Mannix : Are you sure they were shooting at you?
Boston : Well, as there was no one else within a block of me at the time, I jumped to that conclusion, yes.
Joe Mannix : Uh... a shot in the dark. That's, uh, really not very much to go on.
Boston : Would it help to know that this is not the first time that foul play has been attempted?
Joe Mannix : You mean somebody tried to kill you before?
Boston : Not me. Gully Anderson, Old Steam Whistle, as he was known, rest his soul.
Joe Mannix : He was killed?
Boston : Cheap whiskey and a rainy night in St. Louis. Pneumonia. That would've been three weeks ago Tuesday.
Joe Mannix : What has that got to do with your being shot at?
Boston : Well, Gully was shot at in the same neighborhood just before bad weather and bad habits done in him. That's a dangerous world for hobos, Mr. Mannix. I'd like you to find out why.
Joe Mannix : Oh. I'll tell you what, Boston.
Boston : Stanton Elliot Collier for your files. You will start a file?
Joe Mannix : Well, I will canvas the area for you and check with the police, but I'm afraid that about the best I can do.
Boston : Well, that's all I can ask: your best.
Joe Mannix : Well, I suggest you get back to where you're staying... I'll give you a lift.
Boston : All right. But first, I have an engagement for brunch at the Hollywood Bowl.