Chinatown (1974)

Jack Nicholson: J.J. Gittes

Photos 

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Quotes 

• [an anonymous caller has telephoned Gittes] 

  Ida Sessions : Are you alone?

  Jake Gittes : Isn't everybody?

• Loach : What happened to your nose, Gittes? Somebody slammed a bedroom window on it?

  Jake Gittes : Nope. Your wife got excited. She crossed her legs a little too quick. You understand what I mean, pal?

• Jake Gittes : How much are you worth?

  Noah Cross : I have no idea. How much do you want?

  Jake Gittes : I just wanna know what you're worth. More than 10 million?

  Noah Cross : Oh my, yes!

  Jake Gittes : Why are you doing it? How much better can you eat? What could you buy that you can't already afford?

  Noah Cross : The future, Mr. Gittes! The future. Now, where's the girl? I want the only daughter I've got left. As you found out, Evelyn was lost to me a long time ago.

  Jake Gittes : Who do you blame for that? Her?

  Noah Cross : I don't blame myself. You see, Mr. Gittes, most people never have to face the fact that at the right time and the right place, they're capable of ANYTHING.

• Evelyn Mulwray : Tell me, Mr. Gittes: Does this often happen to you?

  Jake Gittes : What's that?

  Evelyn Mulwray : Well, I'm judging only on the basis of one afternoon and an evening, but, uh, if this is how you go about your work, I'd say you'd be lucky to, uh, get through a whole day.

  Jake Gittes : Actually, this hasn't happened to me for a long time.

  Evelyn Mulwray : When was the last time?

  Jake Gittes : Why?

  Evelyn Mulwray : It's an innocent question.

  Jake Gittes : In Chinatown.

  Evelyn Mulwray : What were you doing there?

  Jake Gittes : Working for the District Attorney.

  Evelyn Mulwray : Doing what?

  Jake Gittes : As little as possible.

  Evelyn Mulwray : The District Attorney gives his men advice like that?

  Jake Gittes : They do in Chinatown.

• Evelyn Mulwray : She's my daughter.

  [Gittes slaps Evelyn] 

  Jake Gittes : I said I want the truth!

  Evelyn Mulwray : She's my sister...

  [slap] 

  Evelyn Mulwray : She's my daughter...

  [slap] 

  Evelyn Mulwray : My sister, my daughter.

  [More slaps] 

  Jake Gittes : I said I want the truth!

  Evelyn Mulwray : She's my sister AND my daughter!

• Jake Gittes : But, Mrs. Mulwray, I goddamn near lost my nose. And I like it. I like breathing through it. And I still think you're hiding something.

• Lt. Escobar : How'd you get past the guard?

  Jake Gittes : Well, to tell you the truth, I lied a little.

• Yelburton : My goodness, what happened to your nose?

  Jake Gittes : I cut myself shaving.

  Yelburton : You ought to be more careful. That must really smart.

  Jake Gittes : Only when I breathe.

• Evelyn Mulwray : Hollis seems to think you're an innocent man.

  Jake Gittes : Well, I've been accused of a lot of things before, Mrs. Mulwray, but never that.

• [Gittes pretends to seek a nursing home for his father] 

  Jake Gittes : Do you accept people of the Jewish persuasion?

  Mr. Palmer : I'm sorry, we do not.

  Jake Gittes : Don't apologize - neither does Dad.

• Noah Cross : Exactly what do you know about me? Sit down.

  Jake Gittes : Mainly that you're rich, too respectable to want your name in the newspapers.

  Noah Cross : Of course I'm respectable. I'm old! Politicians, ugly buildings and whores all get respectable if they last long enough.

• Yelburton : After you've worked with a man a certain length of time, you come to know his habits, his values - you come to know him - and either he's the kind who chases after women or he isn't.

  Jake Gittes : Mulwray isn't?

  Yelburton : He never even kids about it.

  Jake Gittes : Well, maybe he takes it very seriously.

• Jake Gittes : What can I tell you, kid? You're right. When you're right, you're right, and you're right.

• Jake Gittes : So there's this guy Walsh, do you understand? He's tired of screwin' his wife... So his friend says to him, "Hey, why don't you do it like the Chinese do?" So he says, "How do the Chinese do it?" And the guy says, "Well, the Chinese, first they screw a little bit, then they stop, then they go and read a little Confucius, come back, screw a little bit more, then they stop again, go and they screw a little bit... then they go back and they screw a little bit more and then they go out and they contemplate the moon or something like that. Makes it more exciting." So now, the guy goes home and he starts screwin' his own wife, see. So he screws her for a little bit and then he stops, and he goes out of the room and reads Life Magazine. Then he goes back in, he starts screwin' again. He says, "Excuse me for a minute, honey." He goes out and he smokes a cigarette. Now his wife is gettin' sore as hell. He comes back in the room, he starts screwin' again. He gets up to start to leave again to go look at the moon. She looks at him and says, "Hey, what's the matter with ya? You're screwin' just like a Chinaman!"

  [laughs hysterically] 

• Lt. Escobar : You must really think I'm stupid, don't you, Gittes.

  Jake Gittes : I don't think about it that much, but gimme a day or two and I'll get back to yuh. Now I'd like to go home.

  Lt. Escobar : I want the other pictures, Gittes.

  Jake Gittes : What pictures?

  Lt. Escobar : THIS broad hired you, not Evelyn Mulwray.

  Jake Gittes : Yeah?

  Lt. Escobar : Yeah. Somebody wanted to shake Mulwray down; she hired you. That's how come you found out he was murdered.

  Jake Gittes : I heard it was an accident.

  Lt. Escobar : C'mon, Gittes. The hell d'you think you're dealing with? A bunch of assholes? Mulwray had salt water in his lungs. You were following him day and night; you SAW who killed him. You even took pictures of it. It was Evelyn Mulwray, and she's been payin' you off like a slot machine ever since.

  Jake Gittes : You accusin' me of extortion?

  Lt. Escobar : Absolutely!

  Jake Gittes : I don't think I need a day or two; you're dumber than you think I think y'are.

• [Evelyn Mulwray drives while Gittes reads an obituary from the newspaper] 

  Jake Gittes : A memorial service was held at the Mar Vista Inn today for Jasper Lamar Crabb. He passed away two weeks ago.

  Evelyn Mulwray : Why is that unusual?

  Jake Gittes : He passed away two weeks ago and one week ago he bought the land. That's unusual.

• Noah Cross : You may think you know what you're dealing with, but, believe me, you don't.

  [Gittes grins] 

  Noah Cross : Why is that funny?

  Jake Gittes : That's what the District Attorney used to tell me in Chinatown.

• Jake Gittes : Mulvihill! What are you doing here?

  Mulvihill : They shut my water off. What's it to you?

  Jake Gittes : How'd you find out about it? You don't drink it; you don't take a bath in it... They wrote you a letter. But then you have to be able to read.

• Jake Gittes : Maid's night off?

  Evelyn Mulwray : Why?

  Jake Gittes : What do you mean, why? Nobody's here, that's why.

  Evelyn Mulwray : I gave everyone the night off.

  Jake Gittes : Easy. It's an innocent question.

  Evelyn Mulwray : No question from you is innocent, Mr. Gittes.

  Jake Gittes : I guess you're right.

• [first lines] 

  Jake Gittes : All right, Curly. Enough's enough. You can't eat the Venetian blinds. I just had them installed on Wednesday.

• Jake Gittes : May I speak frankly, Mrs. Mulwray.

  Evelyn Mulwray : You may if you can, Mr. Gittes.

• Jake Gittes : Evelyn, put that gun away. Let the police handle this.

  Evelyn Mulwray : He owns the police!

• Jake Gittes : Hello, Claude. Where'd you get the midget?

• Lt. Escobar : [pointing to a graffito on the wall]  Isn't that your phone number?

  Jake Gittes : Is it? I forget. I don't call myself that often.

• Mulwray's Gardener : [in heavy Japanese accent, referring to the grass]  Bad for glass.

  Jake Gittes : Yeah, sure. Bad for the glass.

• Jake Gittes : Mulvihlll, what are you doing here?

  Mulvihill : They shut my water off, what's it to you?

  Jake Gittes : How'd you find out? You don't drink it, you don't take a bath in it, maybe they sent you a letter. Ah, but then you'd have to be able to read. Relax, Mulvihill, glad to see you.

  Jake Gittes : [to YELBURTON]  Do you know Claude Mulvihill here?

  Yelburton : I hope so. He's working for us.

  Jake Gittes : Doing what?

  Yelburton : Well frankly, there's been some threats to blow up the city reservoirs.

  Jake Gittes : Any particular reason?

  Yelburton : Well, it's this darn drought. We've had to ration water in the valley and the farmers are desperate. But what can we do? The city needs drinking water.

  Jake Gittes : Well, you're in luck, Mr. Yelburton.

  Yelburton : How's that?

  Jake Gittes : When Mulvihill here was sheriff of Ventura County the rum runners landed hundreds of tons of booze on the beach and never lost a drop. He ought a be able to hold on to your water for ya.

• Jake Gittes : There's no point in getting tough with me. I'm just...

  Evelyn Mulwray : I don't get tough with anyone, Mr. Gittes. My lawyer does.

• Jake Gittes : Have you ever heard the expression "Let sleeping dogs lie"? Sometimes you're better off not knowing.

• [a woman identifying herself as Evelyn Mulwray is hiring Gittes] 

  Jake Gittes : What makes you certain that your husband is, um, involved with someone?

  Mrs. Mulwray : A wife can tell.

  Jake Gittes : Mrs. Mulwray, do you love your husband?

  Mrs. Mulwray : Yes, of course.

  Jake Gittes : Then go home and forget everything.

• Jake Gittes : He's rich! Do you understand? He thinks he can get away with anything.

• Noah Cross : Well, Mr. Gittes, you don't look too much the worse for wear, I must say! Now where's the girl?

  Jake Gittes : I've got her.

  Noah Cross : Is she all right?

  Jake Gittes : She's fine.

  Noah Cross : Well, where is she?

  Jake Gittes : With her mother.

• [Lunch is served; it's fish] 

  Noah Cross : I hope you don't mind. I believe they should be served with the head.

  Jake Gittes : Fine... long as you don't serve the chicken that way.

• [Evelyn Mulwray and Gittes in her bathroom] 

  Jake Gittes : There's something black in the green part of your eye.

  Evelyn Mulwray : Oh, that. It's a... it's a flaw in the iris.

  Jake Gittes : Flaw?

  Evelyn Mulwray : Yes, it's a sort of birthmark.

• Jake Gittes : Let me explain something to you, Walsh. This business requires a certain amount of finesse.

• Jake Gittes : Son of a bitch! Goddamn Florsheim shoe!

• Noah Cross : Who's the investigating officer?

  Jake Gittes : Lou Escobar -- he's a Lieutenant.

  Noah Cross : Do you know him?

  Jake Gittes : Oh, yeah.

  Noah Cross : Where from?

  Jake Gittes : We used to work together - in Chinatown.

  Noah Cross : Would you call him a capable man?

  Jake Gittes : Very.

  Noah Cross : Honest?

  Jake Gittes : As far as it goes; of course, he has to swim in the same water we all do.

• Jake Gittes : How do you like them apples?

• Jake Gittes : Look, I do matrimonial work, It's my metiay. When a wife tells me that she's happy her husband is cheating on her, it runs contrary to my experience.

  Evelyn Mulwray : Unless what?

  Jake Gittes : She was cheating on him.

• Jake Gittes : Look, you sue me, your husband dies, you drop the lawsuit like a hot potato, and all of it quicker than wind from a duck's ass - excuse me. Then you ask me to lie to the police.

  Evelyn Mulwray : It wasn't much of a lie.

  Jake Gittes : If your husband was killed it was.

• Noah Cross : It disturbs me. It makes me think you're taking my daughter for a ride - financially speaking, of course. What are you charging her?

  Jake Gittes : My usual fee - plus a bonus if I get results.

  Noah Cross : Are you - sleeping with her? Come, come, Mr. Gittes, you don't have to think about that to remember, do you?

  Jake Gittes : If you want an answer to that question, Mr. Cross, I'll put one of my men on the job.

• Farmer in the Valley : Mulwray? That's the son of a bitch who's done it to us.

  Jake Gittes : Mulwray's dead. You don't know what you're talking about, you dumb Okie.

• Jake Gittes : What the hell is going on here, Lou?

  Lt. Escobar : I don't know. What's going on? What's happening with you?

• Morty : [at the morgue]  Jake, what're you doin' here?

  Jake Gittes : Nothin', Morty, it's my lunch hour, I thought I'd drop by and see who dropped dead lately.

• Jake Gittes : Somebody went to a lot of trouble here, and I want to find out, lawsuit or no lawsuit. I'm not the one who's supposed to be caught with his pants down.

• Jake Gittes : Does my talking about your father upset you?

  Evelyn Mulwray : Why, no! Yes, a little. You see Hollis and my fa - my father had a falling out - finally.

  Jake Gittes : Over you or over the water department?

  Evelyn Mulwray : Not over me. Why should it - be over me?

• Evelyn Mulwray : You really don't like to talk about the past, do you?

  Jake Gittes : I'm tired.

  Evelyn Mulwray : No. Why does it bother you to talk about it.

  Jake Gittes : It bothers everybody that works there.

  Evelyn Mulwray : Where?

  Jake Gittes : Chinatown. Everybody. To me it was just bad luck.

  Evelyn Mulwray : Why?

  Jake Gittes : You can't always tell what's going on.

• Lt. Escobar : You look like you've done well by yourself.

  Jake Gittes : I get by.

  Lt. Escobar : Well, sometimes it takes a while for a man to find himself. Maybe you have.

  Loach : Yeah, goin' through other people's dirty linen.

  Jake Gittes : Yeah. Tell me. You still throw Chinamen into jail for spittin' on the laundry?

  Lt. Escobar : You're a little behind the times, Jake. They use steam irons now. And I'm out of Chinatown.

• Curly : Thank you, Mr. Gittes.

  Jake Gittes : Call me Jake.

• Jake Gittes : It's nothing personal, Mrs. Mulwray.

  Evelyn Mulwray : It's very personal! It couldn't be more personal. Is this a business or an obsession with you?

  Jake Gittes : Let's look at it this way. Now this phony broad, excuse the language, says tells me she's you. She hires me. Now, whoever put her up to it, doesn't have anything against me. They're out to get your husband.

• Jake Gittes : Mrs. Mulwray, I think you're hiding something.

• Jake Gittes : Tell me, are you frightened for the girl or what Evelyn might do to her?

  Noah Cross : Just - find the girl.