Performance

Synopsis: Chas, a violent and psychotic East London gangster needs a place to lie low after a hit that should never have been carried out. He finds the perfect cover in the form of guest house run by the mysterious Mr. Turner, a one-time rock superstar, who is looking for the right spark to rekindle his faded talent.
Genre: Crime, Drama
Production: Warner Bros. Pictures
 
IMDB:
7.0
Rotten Tomatoes:
84%
R
Year:
1970
105 min
1,556 Views


Chas?

Breakfast?

You're up.

Yeah.

You're gonna be late for work, Dana.

Cornflakes or Rice Krispies?

It's all right. I'll get my own.

Confirmed bachelor, aren't you?

A fella last night in the club...

...said that my voice

was wasted on cabaret material.

Oh, yeah?

Shall I come over tonight?

I'll call you at the club about 2.

Half past.

- Two?

- Two, or half past.

Morning, Rose.

It's 8:
00 in the evening, right?

The kiddies are still viewing, ain't they?

You bastard foreign female.

I mean, there's claret

all over the screen.

- Jesus got half his ear hanging off.

- Disgusting.

I mean, how are the kids

gonna grow up?

- It's not right.

- Definitely not.

- Where to, Chas?

- The minicab depot.

Put your tie on.

Gentlemen of the jury...

...I would solemnly suggest to you

that what are really on trial here today...

...are the ethics of a community.

Our national economy,

even our national survival...

...devolves upon the consolidation,

by merger...

...of the smaller and weaker

economic units...

...with the larger and lustier pillars

of our commercial context.

What did I tell you? What did I tell you?

Look at this pigsty.

Correspondence not answered.

- Aren't you with us?

- Hey...

Hello? Hello?

I want that pig, Pooley.

- Are you Pooley?

- Yes, I am.

You're a disgrace,

an incompetent disgrace.

- You're not fit to run a...

- Business is business...

...and progress is progress.

- Where's your brother?

- At the pictures.

- Answer yes or no.

- It's around the office.

- Stretch your mind.

- Filth and disorder.

You need help. Help and protection.

Well, we offered it, my governor, personally.

You had an appointment.

He waited 15 minutes.

- You slag, 15 minutes.

- He checked the letter.

You call this a service to the public?

Look at this equipment.

Not maintained, is it?

You're a technician, Mr. Wilson.

Makes you weep, eh?

Yeah, makes me weep.

- No, don't.

- It's obsolete.

It is alleged by the prosecution...

...that the dividend of 15 percent...

...which was declared

on the non-voting B shares...

...was indeed fraudulently designed...

...solely to expedite

this admittedly bold...

...but in no way unethical, merger.

I say, merger, gentlemen, not takeover.

Words still have meanings...

...even in our days of the computer.

The question is:

Was my client a party to that fraud?

Innuendo is a method I despise.

Therefore, I say bluntly...

...that already, you have heard sufficient

to point to the responsibility...

...and guilt of another party.

A guilty man, gentlemen...

... whose identity I shall not shrink

from establishing...

... in the course of my presentation

of the case for the defense.

Hello, Chas.

You be there tomorrow

at Number 11 Monk Street.

Five thirty on the dot.

Do you understand?

Well, son,

how was the clientele tonight?

Spot on, Harry, no aggravation.

What about this lawyer geezer?

Did you see him?

That man, I submit, should be standing...

...where my unfortunate client

now stands.

- I can rely on that, eh?

- It'll be straightened out in the morning.

He's a nutcase. Like all artists.

But I can rely on him.

- I know my...

- Business is business.

And progress is progress.

In the fluid state of business ethics,

pertaining today...

...we must protect the inalienable right

of the smaller businessman...

...to be conjoined in commercial union...

You want to turn off the electricity

and cut the gas...

You're worth it. Come on, Greasy.

- Don't you understand?

- Eighty-five pounds.

I've got the new furnace coming in.

I already had to pay it.

Mr. Molloy, you bleeding me white.

- You're wasting my time.

- Why does it work?

Would you like a drink?

You like it with ice or...?

You stink. You stinking foreign parasite.

Please, my customers.

Theresa, please hold the door.

You know, I don't think I'm gonna

let you stay in the film business.

British justice.

Here, what the...?

- All right, let's keep our hair on, eh?

- Why?

- Mr. Fraser?

- Yes?

I've got a message for you.

From an old pal.

An old pal and an old partner,

who wants you to know, number one...

...that he's ever so upset

about all this aggravation you got.

And number two, don't involve old pals.

Not even a little bit.

- You follow me, Mr...?

- Lf you're an emissary...

...from Mr. Harold Flowers,

it would be most improper for us...

Don't interrupt.

And no subpoenas for old pals, old mate.

And no snide insinuations

in court, neither.

Look here.

I'm Mr. Fraser's counsel and I warn...

I know that.

Now shut your hole, Mr. Counsel.

- What did you say?

- Do you follow me, Fraser?

- Hole.

- Now let's face it.

They're gonna convict you.

It's better to spend

five years of your life...

...in a nice comfy nick...

...than rest of your miserable

existence in a filthy wheelchair.

- Are you threatening my client?

- You bet I am, poncey.

Do you follow me, eh?

Boy?

I do.

- Yeah. Good.

- Now listen to me.

I must insist you address

your remarks to me.

Address my remarks?

Okey-dokey. Why not?

Mr. Butler, we got his address,

haven't we?

Why not, Mr. Humphrey? If he insists.

Best of luck, Mr. Fraser.

You don't intimidate me...

Nor my client.

- George.

- Fraser.

- Morning.

- Morning.

- Easy.

- Good morning, mate.

A tasty finish.

A man of taste.

Looks after his property,

your owner, does he?

Does he?

Rate this script:5.0 / 1 vote

Donald Cammell

Donald Seton Cammell (17 January 1934 – 24 April 1996) was a Scottish painter, screenwriter, and film director. He has a cult reputation largely due to his debut film Performance, which he wrote the screenplay for and co-directed with Nicolas Roeg. more…

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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    "Performance" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/performance_15771>.

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