Turner Are you sure about this ideogram?
Janice
Look at this face. Could I be wrong about an ideogram?
Turner [Turner laughs.]
It's a great face. But it's never been to China.
2nd most-quoted character in Three Days of the Condor (1975): in 26 of its 36 quotes
Most scenes with: Mr. Wabash (24), Kathy Hale (12), Higgins (6)
Scenes with Turner
26 scenes Turner Turner
Dr. Lappe
[Turner is repairing some computer equipment.]
We have people to service these machines.
Turner These things are really pretty simple — they just look complicated.
Dr. Lappe
Mr. Turner, I wonder if you're… entirely happy here.
Turner Within obvious limits, yes sir.
Dr. Lappe
Obvious limits?
Turner It bothers me that I can't tell people what I do.
Dr. Lappe
Why is it taking you so long to accept that?
Turner Well, I actually trust a few people. That's a problem.
Jimmy
[Turner stops at a deli to pick up lunch for the office.]
Hey, Shakespeare! How's it going?
Turner Terrific. I'm building up a great collection of rejection slips.
Jimmy
Yeah, I know the feeling. I always wanted to be Escoffier.
Turner Well, maybe it's not too late. You know, Van Gogh was thirty before he started to paint.
Jimmy
No kiddin'?
Turner There's no mayonnaise on Dr. Lappe's. On the other hand, Mozart was three when he started to play the piano, and he was composing at six.
Jimmy
Fast starter. 'S probably better.
Turner Well, I don't know. Van Gogh never sold a painting in a whole lifetime. Mozart died a pauper.
Customer
Where am I, the public library?
Jimmy
That's a very bright man.
Customer
It's educational. That's why I come in here.
Turner You come in here to get sick like everybody else.
Jimmy
Come on.
Turner No butter on Ray's sandwich. He gets panicky about butter.
Major
[on the phone]
This is the Major.
Turner This is Joe Turner.
Major
Identification.
Turner What?
Major
Identification.
Turner My name's Turner. I work for you.
Major
Identify yourself.
Turner I-- I don't--
Major
What is your designation?
Turner Uh, Condor. Section 9, Department 17. The section's been hit.
Major
What level?
Turner What level?
Major
Level of damage.
Turner Everybody. Dr. Lappe, Janice, Ray, Harold. Harold was in the, uh--
Major
Are you on a company line?
Turner No, I'm in a phone booth. I'm in the street.
Major
You're in violation of secure communication procedures, Condor.
Turner Listen, you son of a bitch! I came back with lunch. The house was murdered. Everybody is dead.
Major
Has the incident been discovered by anyone outside the company?
Turner I don't-- I don't know. I don't think so.
Major
Are you damaged?
Turner Damaged? No.
Major
Are you armed?
Turner I don't-- I have Mrs., uh-- I can't remember her code name. Nightingale. She kept a gun in her desk. I've got the gun.
Major
Identify the armament.
Turner It's a .38 automatic. Will you bring me in, please? I'm not a field agent. I just read books.
Major
Leave the area.
Turner All right. Well-- Do I come in to headquarters now?
Major
Negative. Find a secure location.
Turner Where?
Major
Avoid any place you're known. Do not go home. Do not go home. Surface again in two hours. And call the Major. That'll be 1430 your time.
Turner Wait-- Wait a minute. All right. 2:30 right?
Major
Walk away from the phone. Don't hang it up.
Turner Don't--
[Click]
Hello, Condor.
Turner Who is this?
Deputy Director Higgins, New York Center. I'm controlling now, Condor. Where are you?
Turner How come I need a code name, and you don't?
Where are you, Turner?
Turner Here.
You all right?
Turner Are you insane? Everybody's dead.
Take it easy. Just take it easy, and we'll bring you home. Here's how we'll do it. Do you know the Ansonia Hotel?
Turner Broadway and, uh...74th st.
Broadway and 73rd. There's an alley behind the hotel. One hour from now at exactly 1520, enter that alley from the 73rd Street side.
Turner Will you be there?
The head of your department just came from D.C. He'll bring you home.
Turner I've never met him.
Don't worry. He's studying your photos now. Turner?...Turner!
Turner I don't know you, either.
We'll meet. He'll be carrying a Wall Street Journal in his left hand.
Turner There were two guys at my house.
What were you doing there? You were told not to go there!
Turner I was homesick. Who were they?
They were ours.
Turner What were they doing in my house? I'm not going into any alley. **** the Wall Street Journal!
It's been a long day. You've been under--
Turner Damn right I've been under.
All right, Turner. We'll bring along a familiar face, somebody you know.
Turner Who's left?
Got a friend in statistics named Sam Barber.
Turner Sam. You guys are something.
Will he do?
Turner Yes, Sam will do.
All right, Turner. Stay well for 60 minutes, and you're home.
Turner Can I ask a question?
Sure.
Turner What is happening?
I'll talk to you in 60 minutes.
Turner It's a cover. I work for the CIA.
Oh, Jesus. Your assignment for today was to go out and kidnap a girl.
Turner Look it up. Look it up. Tentrex Industries. Then look up the number for the CIA.
They're listed, like my Aunt Gladys?
Turner Under " U.S. Government Agencies." Go on. So is this what you do? This photography?
O.K., uh--It's the same number. You could have had the card made--
Turner Yes, I could have, but I didn't.
I'm scared!
Turner So am I!
Why? You've got the gun!
Turner Yes! Yeah, and it's not enough. Listen. I work for the CIA. I'm not a spy. I just read books. We read everything that's published in the world, and we-- we feed the plots-- dirty tricks, codes into a computer, and the computer checks against actual CIA plans and operations. I look for leaks, new ideas. We read adventures and novels and journals. I-- I can-Who'd invent a job like that? I-- Listen! People are trying to kill me!
Who?
Turner I don't know, but there's a reason. There is a reason! And I just need some safe, quiet time to pull things together.
Here.
Turner Here.
That's only fair.
Turner You're funny. You take pictures of empty streets and trees with no leaves on them.
It's winter.
Turner Not quite winter. They look like November. Not autumn, not winter. In-between. I like them.
Thanks.
You're not entitled to personal questions! That gun gives you the right to rough me up; it doesn't give you the right to ask me...
Turner Wh- wh- Rough you up? Have I roughed you up?
Yes! What are you doing in my house?
Turner Have I? Have I?
Going through all my stuff? Force...
Turner Have I raped you?
The night is young.
Turner You don't believe anything I've said.
I believe you're in trouble...danger...but I don't know what kind, and I'm not sure how much of it is made up. Real, but, uh...
Turner Doesn't make any difference--doesn't matter.
Wait a minute. Will you--
Turner Forget it.
I'm trying to understand!
Ow! You're hurting me. Wait a minute. You-- Oh! You bully! Don't tie me up! Come on, please! This is... unfair!
Turner I know.
Turner Listen, I'll be going in the morning.
Where? Was it all right?
Turner All right?
Outside-- Was it safe? Wherever you went.
Turner Oh. I'm not sure.
Oh, God. I wish I knew more. About you, yesterday, today…
Turner I don't remember yesterday. Today it rained.
Sometimes, I— I take a picture that… isn't like me, but I took it, so it is like me. It has to be. I put those pictures away.
Turner I'd like to see those pictures.
We don't know each other that that well.
Turner Do you know anybody that well?
I don't think I want to know you very well. I don't think you're gonna live much longer.
Turner Well, I may… surprise you. Anyway, you're not telling the truth.
What do you mean?
Turner You'd rather be with somebody who's not going to live much longer, at least somebody who would be on his way.
I'm not--
Turner You take pictures. Beautiful pictures, but of empty streets and trees with no leaves--November. Why haven't you asked me to untie your hands?
H-How much doyou want...
Turner I just...want to stop it. For a few hours. For the rest of the night. And then I'll go.
You didn't sleep well.
Turner You didn't?
No, you didn't. You're up early.
Turner Oh, I had--I had some thoughts. I've got a plan. I don't know if it'll work or not, but...I'll need your help.
Have I ever denied you anything?
Turner Hey.
Well, when things quiet down...you're really a very sweet man to be with. You had bad dreams. Talked in your sleep.
Turner What did I say?
Who's Janice? Well, was she a volunteer or a draftee like me?
Turner She was...a friend. She's dead.
Do I have permission to take a shower?
Turner You don't have to help, you know?
Oh no, I'll help. You can always depend on the ol' spy-****er.
Turner OK
I'm sorry.
Turner No.
No, I didn't mean… I didn't mean to say that. I'm really sorry. I'd like to help you.
What did you do to those people?
Turner What people? I don't know who they are. I file a report. A guy in Washington reads it. He's supposed to-- He's my section chief. He comes to New York to shoot me.
Did you know him?
Turner No.
Did you know the mailman?
Turner No, but the guy in Washington did.
You won't know the next one.
Turner I'm not waiting for the next one.
Turner This is no goddamned book! Somebody or something is rotten in the Company!
You never complained 'til yesterday.
Turner You didn't start killing my friends 'til yesterday!
Turner You wouldn't also happen to be acquainted with a tall gentleman, 6'4", blond hair, strong like a farmer. He's not American, has an accent. Country, toward Germany, maybe Alsace-Lorraine.
I want to see that report, Turner.
Turner No, no..Higgins. C'Mon! ..Do you know him?
Professionally, yes.
Turner Professionally, he kills people.
Yes! Yes.
Turner He works for the company?
He did once. He's a contract agent.
Turner Contract agent.
Freelance. Where did you see him?
Turner Uh-uh.
It would help if I knew.
Turner Who would it help? Who'd hire him now?
Anybody.
Turner Terrific answer.
I wouldn't accept it, either.
Turner What's his name?
When I knew him, Joubert.
Turner Come on, Higgins. Who'd hire him? You don't look up Joubert in the yellow pages.
That's right. It'd have to be somebody in the community.
Turner Community?
Intelligence field.
Turner Community! Jesus, you guys are kind to yourselves. Community.
I want to see that report, Turner.
Turner That report was sent to headquarters and disappeared.
Who read it?
Turner You mean besides Wicks? You tell me. I pick up traces of what I think's an intelligence network the company doesn't know about, and I report it. Now, why is that going to make anybody mad? Unless it was the company's network and you didn't want it blown, even to your own guys. Unless somebody is lying, Higgins. Come on. Why is everybody so shy?
I'm not shy. I don't know. That's what worries me. I don't know.
Turner Ask Wicks.
Wicks died. Someone yanked him off the life support system at Guvenor Hospital.
Turner Get me in, Higgins.
What good would that do if you're right, and they are inside? What good would it do to bring you in?
Turner What am I supposed to do?
I'm sorry.
Turner You're sorry? You're sorry. Oh, I get it. I get it. You expect me to draw fire, like one of those penny arcade bears that parades back and forth, waiting for somebody, somebody good, to take another shot. You'll pick him up before he does it, or just after?
Turner [shakes his head]
Trust.
Does he trust you?
Turner He's in the suspicion business. He can't trust anybody.
How could anybody fool them?
Turner Maybe nobody did.
Then--
Turner Maybe there's another CIA...inside the CIA.
[Turner and Kathy say their goodbyes at a train station.]
You… you have a lot of very fine qualities. But…
Turner What fine qualities?
You have good eyes. Not kind, but… they don't lie, and they don't look away much, and they don't miss anything. I could use eyes like that.
Turner But you're overdue in Vermont. [pauses] Is he a tough guy?
He's pretty tough.
Turner What will he do?
Understand, probably.
Turner Boy. That is tough.
Turner Kathy, I need time.
Hmm?
Turner Eight hours or so, that's all. Till noon, to do what I have to do. Do you understand what I'm saying? Are you going right to Vermont?
Yes.
Turner What I mean is don't call anyone. Don't stop, please. Don't tell anyone about--
Turner Jesus. Jesus. I-- I didn't--
Conductor
All aboard!
Turner Hey. You take care of yourself.
I'll do my best.
Turner Do your best.
Turner What does Operations care about a bunch of goddamn books? A book in Dutch. A book out of Venezuela. Mystery stories in Arabic.
Wait!
Turner What the hell is so important about…
Turner [He stops as he sees the connection.]
Oil fields. Oil. That's it, isn't it? This whole damn thing was about oil! Wasn't it? Wasn't it?
Yes, it was.
Don't turn for a moment. Put your thumb in front of the hammer. Release it slowly. Set down the gun on the desk. And don't move. Back up. You were quite good, Condor, until this. This move was predictable.
[Joubert shoots Atwood]
Turner Why?
I don't interest myself in "why". I think more often in terms of "when", sometimes "where"… always "how much". I suspect he was about to become an embarrassment. As you are.
Turner So you're not finished.
Pardon? Oh, no. I have no arrangement with the company concerning you. They didn't know you'd be here. I knew you'd be here.
Turner But didn't you send the mailman?
That was a business arrangement with Atwood, but you see.
Turner I'd like to go back to New York.
You have not much future there. It will happen this way. You may be walking. Maybe the first sunny day of the spring. And a car will slow beside you, and a door will open, and someone you know, maybe even trust, will get out of the car. And he will smile, a becoming smile. But he will leave open the door of the car and offer to give you a lift.
Turner You seem to understand it all so well. What would you suggest?
Personally, I prefer Europe.
Turner Europe?
Yes. Well, the fact is, what I do is not a bad occupation. Someone is always willing to pay.
Turner I would find it… tiring.
Oh, no — it's quite restful. It's… almost peaceful. No need to believe in either side, or any side. There is no cause. There's only yourself. The belief is in your own precision.
Turner I was born in the United States, Joubert. I miss it when I'm away too long.
A pity.
Turner I don't think so.
...
Turner Do we have plans to invade the Middle East?
Are you crazy?
Turner Am I?
Look, Turner…
Turner Do we have plans?
No. Absolutely not. We have games. That's all. We play games. What if? How many men? What would it take? Is there a cheaper way to destabilize a regime? That's what we're paid to do.
Turner So Atwood just took the games too seriously. He was really going to do it, wasn't he?
A renegade operation. Atwood knew 54/12 would never authorize it, not with the heat on the company.
Turner What if there hadn't been any heat? Suppose I hadn't stumbled on their plan?
Different ballgame. Fact is, there was nothing wrong with the plan. Oh, the plan was all right, the plan would've worked.
Turner Boy, what is it with you people? You think not getting caught in a lie is the same thing as telling the truth?
No. It's simple economics. Today it's oil, right? In ten or fifteen years, food. Plutonium. And maybe even sooner. Now, what do you think the people are gonna want us to do then?
Turner Ask them.
Not now — then! Ask 'em when they're running out. Ask 'em when there's no heat in their homes and they're cold. Ask 'em when their engines stop. Ask 'em when people who have never known hunger start going hungry. You wanna know something? They won't want us to ask 'em. They'll just want us to get it for 'em!
Turner Boy, have you found a home. There were seven people killed, Higgins.
The company didn't order it.
Turner Atwood did. Atwood did. And who the hell is Atwood? He's you. He's all you guys. Seven people killed, and you play **** games!
Right. And the other side does, too. That's why we can't let you stay outside.
Turner [Turner and Higgins stop in front of The New York Times.]
They've got all of it.
What? What did you do?
Turner I told them a story. I told 'em a story. You play games; I told 'em a story.
Oh, you… you poor, dumb son of a bitch. You've done more damage than you know.
Turner I hope so.
You're about to be a very lonely man. It didn't have to end this way.
Turner Of course it did.
Hey Turner! How do you know they'll print it? You can take a walk… but how far if they don't print it?
Turner They'll print it.
How do you know?
Turner [points a gun at him]
Who are you? Who are you?
What are you doing here?
Turner I’m Condor. Sit down. What do you do for a living?
Don't be ridiculous.
Turner What do you do...exactly?
Deputy Director of Operations.
Turner What section?
Middle East.
Turner What are you working on? What are you doing? What's the secret worth murdering everybody at the A.L.H.S. house?
There's no secret.
Turner Wicks showed you my report.
What report? [Turner slams his chair] Yes.
Turner It was your network I turned up. Doing what? Doing what? What does Operations care about a bunch of goddamn books? A book in Dutch. A book out of Venezuela. Mystery stories in Arabic.
Wait!
Turner What the hell is so important about... [He stops as he sees the connection] Oil fields. Oil. That's it, isn't it? This whole damn thing was about oil! Wasn't it? Wasn't it?
Yes, it was.
Turner. Why'd you call so late? We were worried about you.
Turner Likewise. The car for me?
It's all right. It's safe. You'll have a few hours of debriefing.
Turner Hey, Higgins? Let's say, for the purposes of argument, I had a .45 in one of my pockets, and I wanted you to take a walk with me, you'd do it, right?
Which way?
