Mannix (TV Series)

The Deadly Madonna (1973)

Mike Connors: Joe Mannix

Quotes 

• Hal Seagrave : Well, Mr. Mannix, I take it you're what we used to call a gumshoe.

  Joe Mannix : Bogey would be proud of me.

  Hal Seagrave : Mm. If you're here for the lowdown on the Labor Day party in Malibu, it'll all be in next week's issue. Should be good for a couple of divorces, which I guess, means some quick money for you chaps.

  Joe Mannix : I don't handle divorce cases, Mr. Seagrave.

  Hal Seagrave : Aw. You quite obviously haven't got a healthy interest in dirt.

  Joe Mannix : I find it tough enough living with smog.

  Hal Seagrave : I assume that, uh, you're here on someone's behalf.

  Joe Mannix : Mm, someone who's interested in the golden days of Hollywood.

  Hal Seagrave : Mm... Nostalgia time. Mm! Gable and Tracy fighting over Myrna Loy. Lombard and Harlow... Ty Power and Flynn. All the beautiful, magical people.

  Joe Mannix : Including, of course, Victoria Page.

  Hal Seagrave : That name somehow falls short of stimulating me. Is she your client?

  Joe Mannix : Yes.

  Hal Seagrave : Why come to me? Surely not for help. The last time I saw Miss Page was in court, 15 years ago, when she sued me for libel. Fat chance.

  Joe Mannix : Meaning, uh, she lost the case.

  Hal Seagrave : She lost.

  Joe Mannix : But the melody lingers on.

  [Seagrave nods] 

  Joe Mannix : Obviously, you still hold a grudge.

  Hal Seagrave : One that I shall cherish to the end of my days.

  Joe Mannix : Why?

  Hal Seagrave : Mark Baxter used to be top of the heap. He was number one director in Hollywood. Then he found this mousy, undernourished fugitive from a repertory company in, of all places, Long Beach. He taught her how to... how to talk, how to wear clothes. He gave her a presence, a posture, an incandescent glow. Then he put together a movie package to launch her as a ready-made star. And how did our lady thank him? Halfway through, she walked out on him and the picture. That, uh... that finished Mark Baxter in Hollywood.

  Joe Mannix : That's what you hold against her?

  Hal Seagrave : I couldn't care less about their love life. But I ponied up $50,000 of my own money to get The Deadly Madonna rolling. And then when it ground to a halt, thanks to dear Vicki, I was out every nickel.

  Joe Mannix : You once let it be known that you had a work print on The Deadly Madonna.

  Hal Seagrave : Yeah. I kept it in a closet, gathering dust, to remind me that show business is for fools.

  [sighs] 

  Hal Seagrave : Then, a few years ago, I got a tip that...

  [sighs] 

  Hal Seagrave : ... that Mark Baxter was holed up in some mission for drunks downtown. So I, uh, I sent it to him. I figured he needed it more than I did to cheer up his declining years.

  Joe Mannix : Do you, uh, remember where you sent it?

  Hal Seagrave : Some dump on Los Angeles Street.

  Joe Mannix : Well... thanks for your help, Mr. Seagrave.

  Hal Seagrave : Mr. Mannix... I'm sorry I couldn't be more specific, but, uh, Skid Row is not exactly my beat.

  Joe Mannix : Some drunks have all the luck.