Robert Morse: J. Pierpont Finch
Photos
Quotes
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Miss Jones : What's your name?
J. Pierpont Finch : Finch, F-I-N-C-H. J. Pierpont Finch.
Miss Jones : Well, why haven't I seen you before?
J. Pierpont Finch : Well, ma'am, I'm not supposed to deliver the executive mail. That's his job. Bud Frump, F-R-U-M-P.
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J. B. Biggley : I like the way you thinch, Fink.
[Long pause]
J. Pierpont Finch : That's "think, Finch."
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J. Pierpont Finch : What are you taking that down in?
Hedy LaRue : Long hand. It's safer. I make up for it when I type.
J. Pierpont Finch : Oh, you type fast.
Hedy LaRue : Like a jack rabbit - 12 words a minute.
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Mr. Twimble : Last month I became a quarter-of-a-century man.
J. Pierpont Finch : Oh, that's beautiful, a quarter-of-a-century.
Mr. Twimble : Quarter-of-a-century.
J. Pierpont Finch : How long have you been in the mail room?
Mr. Twimble : Twenty-five years. It's not easy to get this medal. It takes a combination of skill, diplomacy, and bold caution.
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J. Pierpont Finch : Mediocrity is not a mortal sin.
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J. Pierpont Finch : Look, even though we're all part of the cold, corporate set-up, deep down under our skins there's flesh and blood. We're all brothers.
J. B. Biggley : But, some of us are uncles.
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J. Pierpont Finch : Be patient? Don't you realize I've been working here... well, two whole hours now?
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Rosemary : Lunch.
J. Pierpont Finch : Huh?
Rosemary : I said, "Lunch."
J. Pierpont Finch : What about "lunch"?
Rosemary : I'd love to!
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J. Pierpont Finch : I feel sorry for men who don't knit, they lead empty lives.
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J. Pierpont Finch : I feel that when a man wants to rise in the world of business, a girl, or well, let's say an emotional involvement, can only lead to getting involved - emotionally.
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J. Pierpont Finch : This is the secret ingredient: it can't miss, I'm combining greed with sex.
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J. B. Biggley : Do you know who I am?
J. Pierpont Finch : No, sir.
J. B. Biggley : I'm J. B. Biggley, the President of this company, that's who I am. In fact, that's who the hell I am.
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Bud Frump : Are you ambitious, Finch?
J. Pierpont Finch : No, not necessarily.
Bud Frump : Good. You just keep that in mind. If you just remember who I am and who you are, we'll get along fine. If not...
Rosemary : You go crying to your uncle!
Bud Frump : I beg your pardon, I do not go crying to my uncle! It just happens my mother is Mrs. Biggley's sister. If I feel something's wrong, I phone my mother. She phones Mrs. Biggley, and Mrs. Biggley phones Mr. Biggley. That's the DEMOCRATIC way.
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[There is music when Finch thinks of Rosemary]
J. Pierpont Finch : Can't you hear it? It's all around me, it's like a beautiful pink sky.
Rosemary : J. Pierpont Finch, what are you...
J. Pierpont Finch : Rosemary, darling, will you please marry J. Pierpont Finch?
Rosemary : NOW I hear it.
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[Song lyrics]
Smitty : Now she's thinking:
Rosemary : I wish that he were more of a flirt.
Smitty : And he's thinking:
J. Pierpont Finch : I guess a little flirting won't hurt.
Smitty : Now she's thinking:
Rosemary : For dinner we could meet.
Smitty : And he's thinking:
J. Pierpont Finch : We both've gotta eat.
Smitty : And she says:
Rosemary : [Sneezes]
Smitty : And he says:
J. Pierpont Finch : Gesundheit... well, it's been a long day.
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J. Pierpont Finch : [Twimble is singing the praises of the company] The company restaurant?
Mr. Twimble : Every day, same lunch. The haddock sandwich, it's delicious!
J. Pierpont Finch : [Unimpressed] I must try it.
Mr. Twimble : [a warning] Early in the week.
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Bert O. Bratt : I'm the personnel manager. We're not hiring anyone.
J. Pierpont Finch : Well, I was just speaking to Mr. Biggley.
Bert O. Bratt : Biggley?
J. Pierpont Finch : Yes, sir.
Bert O. Bratt : J.B. Biggley?
J. Pierpont Finch : Yes, sir. He told me to see you.
Bert O. Bratt : You were speaking to J.B. Biggley himself?
J. Pierpont Finch : Yes, sir, I just - bumped into him.
Bert O. Bratt : He's a friend of yours?
J. Pierpont Finch : Well, sir, I don't think a man should trade on friendship to get a job.
Bert O. Bratt : By George, I like a man who stands on his own two feet.
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Rosemary : Good luck, Mr. Finch.
J. Pierpont Finch : Thank you, Miss...
Rosemary : Pilkington, Rosemary Pilkington.
J. Pierpont Finch : Pilkington, Rosemary Pilkington.
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J. Pierpont Finch : [singing] Is there anything you're against?
Mr. Twimble : Unemployment
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J. Pierpont Finch : by George, ethical behavior always pays, sir.
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J. Pierpont Finch : I try to fit in.
Mr. Twimble : No, no, it's more than that, Finch. You have an inborn gift for mailroomery.
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J. Pierpont Finch : I've been working so hard and trying to do my best at the company, I don't even have my own office yet.
Rosemary : Ponty, you've only been working there two days.
J. Pierpont Finch : Yes, but I feel I'm never gonna get any place.
Rosemary : Ponty, some men spend years trying to accomplish what you've just done in two days.
J. Pierpont Finch : Yes, but I'm 27 years old, and I'm only a junior executive. I'm not getting any younger.
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J. Pierpont Finch : Sir, if you had a man with ideas.
J. B. Biggley : Ideas? That's what I look for. I keep hiring a lot of fellows who are supposed to have brilliant ideas, but not one of them will ever do what I tell him.
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J. Pierpont Finch : Miss LaRue. Hedy. Tell me something. I'd like to know. What, now, what was your last - position?
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J. Pierpont Finch : Miss LaRue, let's try some dictation.
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Rosemary : Don't let me keep you. Go on. Go back to making love to her. Kiss her! Take her home for the weekend. I don't care.
J. Pierpont Finch : All right, now what'll I do?
Hedy LaRue : Let's do what she said.
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J. Pierpont Finch : I'll give it a bit of a think-think, you know. Just, mull it around a bit.
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J. Pierpont Finch : You know, J.B., look, I've - I've always thought of you as a man of - a man of perspicacity and vision. Open to new ideas!
