Bugsy (1991)

Ben Kingsley: Meyer Lansky

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Quotes 

• Meyer Lansky : Ben, I don't understand this desert thing of yours. What are we - bedouins? What's wrong with concentrating on Cuba? You got legalized gambling down there too. You're right off the coast of Florida. It's like another state.

  "Bugsy" Siegel : Yeah, maybe it's like another state, but it's not another state. A foreign country, Meyer, can always throw you out. Nevada *is* another state. And it's open. If we do this thing right, if we follow the hotel with the schools, the churches, and the synagogues, we build all the things that give a city backbone, we'll be in charge before you know it.

  Meyer Lansky : In charge of what?

  "Bugsy" Siegel : The state! And if you got a state, the whole country's within your reach.

• Meyer Lansky : Famous isn't good, Ben. For Clark Gable, it's good. For Joe DiMaggio, it's good. Famous for you is not good.

• Meyer Lansky : Benny's always put women first. That's what makes him Benny. Only this time it's one women that's got him instead of the whole damn female race. So, I believe Benny would accept anything that broad told him.

• Meyer Lansky : Can you come up with that kind of money?

  "Bugsy" Siegel : No problem.

  Meyer Lansky : Would you stop with the "no problems"? What are you going to do to get the money?

• Meyer Lansky : Benny's got one basic problem: he doesn't respect money. The truth is he's not even interested in money for himself off this deal. He's interested in the idea.

  Mob Boss : What idea?

  Meyer Lansky : Building something. Making something. Benny's a dreamer. Lookit, I'm not excusing it. I'm explaining it.

• Meyer Lansky : When you get to Los Angeles, would you do us all a favor, don't call George. I know he's a good friend of yours; but, he's such a big-shot movie star now he attracts more attention than Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The whole trip's got to be quick and quiet.

  "Bugsy" Siegel : And amiable.

  Meyer Lansky : Very funny. 12 days: 4 days out, 4 days of diplomacy, 4 days back. No one even knows you were there.

• Meyer Lansky : Fellas, stop all this nonsense. This is a farewell party for old friends.

  Charlie Luciano : *Fuck* old friends.

• "Bugsy" Siegel : Meyer, I have found the answer to the dreams of America.

  Meyer Lansky : You want to be more specific?

  "Bugsy" Siegel : The Flamingo.

  Mob Boss : A bird?

  "Bugsy" Siegel : What do people fantasize about? Sex, romance, money, adventure. I'm building a monument to all of them.

  Vito Genovese : Are you talking about here? A whorehouse?

  "Bugsy" Siegel : No. I'm talking about a hotel. I'm talking about Las Vegas, Nevada. I'm talking about a place where gambling is allowed. Where *everything* is allowed. The whole territory is wide open. I'm talking about a palace, an oasis, a city. Do you know when the Hoover Dam is finished, electrical power is going to to be available on a massive scale in Las Vegas.

  Mob Boss : I don't follow. The Hoover Dam and fucking are connected how?

  "Bugsy" Siegel : By air conditioning! It's the wave of the future! Everything will be air-cooled. Every room, 72 degrees at all times. The casino will put Monte Carlo to shame. We'll have wall-to-wall carpeting, we'll have Italian marble, we'll have badminton courts, stables, we'll have a lightning-fast train going from Los Angeles to Las Vegas in an hour. We'll have planes back and forth. Meyer, we'll have our own airport!

  Meyer Lansky : I think what Ben is saying is it's a good place to trap people in to take their money. Is that what you're getting at here, Benny?

  "Bugsy" Siegel : No, much more. Much more!

• Meyer Lansky : Who's going to assassinate Mussolini? Come here. Lookit, Benny, don't fuck this up by trying to be funny.

  Bugsy Siegel : I'm not trying to be funny. Mussolini and Hitler have to be stopped. They're trying to knock off every jew on earth. If I don't do something about it, who will? A bunch of Italians? I can stop Mussolini.

  Meyer Lansky : Did you ever hear of the Allied Forces? Why don't you leave it to them?

  Bugsy Siegel : Your missing the point. The Allied Forces don't have the access. I have the access.

  Meyer Lansky : You have the access?

  Bugsy Siegel : One of Mussolini's best friends is the Count di Frasso. The Count di Frasso's wife, Dorothy, has the hots for me. She will get me right up close to this cocksucker Mussolini. I can blow him halfway to Siberia.