A WEEK OFF (and a request for help)

Mac, the bartender

Sorry, but there’ll be no regular post this week.  It’s late Thursday night, and I’ve got nothing ready.  I blame it on working on taxes, training a new bartender,  . . . and falling behind on just about everything else as well.

I suppose it didn’t help spending hours searching online for a particular movie clip.  My Darling Clementine has one of my all-time favorite bar lines.  Wyatt Earp (Henry Fonda) leans on the bar talking with Mac the barman (J. Farrell MacDonald.)

“Mac,” Wyatt asks, “You ever been in love?”

“Nope,” Mac replies without blinking, “I’ve been a bartender all me life.”

I did find one really ragged clip of the scene . . . but it’s dubbed in Spanish (I think).

This has been a favorite line for years . . . I met fellow blogger Scribbler50 (Behind the Stick) while trying to track it down in 2010.  I even ordered my own DVD of the movie just so I would have that scene . . . but I can’t figure out how to copy it.  I think there’s some kind of protection code blocking me.

So, if anyone has seen an existing clip online, please let me know.  Caveman (Tales From A Bar), . . . you seem to find all the great bartender vids.  If you’re reading this, let me know if you’ve seen an English-speaking version.

In the meantime, here are a few of my other favorite bar scenes from movies.

From The Graduate:

From A Bronx Tale:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYmuGKBGnmM

From Donnie Brasco:  (I love the bartender in this one — first giving the OK nod for the conversation, later trying to hide a smile at what he overhears while cutting limes, and finally hoping to cool things down by offering Lefty a drink.  The old guy at the bar has a short, but classic I-know-nothing lookaway at one point.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BLEaMqONGQ

And two from Goodfellas (click on the YouTube logo to view the second one):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igHuG0HWVf4

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXwQ-v2T3-w[/youtube]

So I’m taking this week off, but we’ll be back next Friday with a more typical post.

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9 Responses to A WEEK OFF (and a request for help)

  1. David Hayden says:

    Man I love A Bronx Tale. I took a quick look. If anyone can find a stream on the movie, I can get the clip.

  2. Starbucks8294 says:

    I’ll keep my eyes open, Bud. Enjoy the break.

  3. Colleen says:

    Great bar scene clips–but no Pulp Fiction?

  4. DAbertini says:

    Donnie Brasco is the best wiseguy movie out there. I hear the director spent time hanging out with made guys to get down the way they talk. The quick nod by the bartender is short and hard to see most people don’t know what’s going on. He’s letting Donnie know that Lefty is a connected guy. That it’s cool to talk business with him. That’s how it really goes down. These guys read a lot into little signals they all know.

  5. Joel says:

    ¨Now yous cant leave¨- Classic. The dice scene from Bronx Tale is my favorite. ¨Put him in the bathroom¨Thanks for the videos Mike!

  6. Llylak says:

    Ah, Mrs. Robinson so worldly and sure of herself. I’ll never forget the later scene though, once her daughter learns of her affair with Ben. She looks so worn and tired standing against that white wall as she says, “Goodby Benjamin.” Now that was a great movie. Enjoy the week off.

  7. Caveman says:

    Mike…that is such a classic line! I can’t believe I have never heard it before. I am constantly learning from your posts! I will dig around online and see if I can find a clip.

  8. MikeQ says:

    David Hayden: Thanks, David, but I would never ask you to do that … not with all the irons you have in the fire. (David’s latest project is http://hospitalityformula.com/marketing/ — a blueprint for how to capitalize on Facebook marketing. I bought my copy last week. Great stuff.)

    Starbucks8294: Thanks, my friend!

    Colleen: OK, OK … how could I forget! (Colleen has seen Pulp Fiction something like 1000 – 2000 times. Maybe I’ll post a funny story about one of those times.)

    DAbertini: The attention to detail in that movie is amazing, isn’t it DA? I think it’s an overlooked classic.

    Joel: Glad you enjoyed them, Joel. I’ve got to post some of those pictures you sent from the bar life in Chili.

    Llylak: I think The Graduate is ranked something like #17 on someone’s list of the best hundred movies of all time, Lly. It’s one of my favorites, for sure.

    Caveman: Thanks, Caveman … that was an informative note on your blog about the Korean liquor/liqueur, by the way. Egads! . . . distilled with dead mice????

  9. Case says:

    Good choices.

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