Mr. E.L. Waterbury:
I've been watching you for some time, Mr. MacDonald.
Jimmy MacDonald:
Yes, sir. Used to make me kinda nervous.
[squirms in his shirt]

Mr. E.L. Waterbury:
Not nervous any more?
Jimmy MacDonald:
No, sir.
[squirms in his shirt]

Mr. E.L. Waterbury:
Are you a drinking man, then?
Jimmy MacDonald:
Sir?
Mr. E.L. Waterbury:
This is part of your yesterday's work. I believe your number's 112.
Jimmy MacDonald:
Yes, sir.
Mr. E.L. Waterbury:
The Contometer Computing Machine is almost fool-proof, Mr. MacDonald. Yet, you managed to miss your total by a little matter of $11,000 on this one sheet. To what do you attribute that?
Jimmy MacDonald:
I... er... I don't know, Mr. Waterbury.
Mr. E.L. Waterbury:
You're familiar with simple arithmetic, aren't you ? I mean, you know the difference between addition, subtraction and... possibly even multiplication?
Jimmy MacDonald:
Yes, sir.
[incredulous]

Jimmy MacDonald:
I'm pretty good at it.
Mr. E.L. Waterbury:
Have you troubles at home, then? Ya henpecked? Suffering from a broken heart? Had yer teeth examined lately? Do ya play the races? Or are you purely and simply incapable of doing your work?
Jimmy MacDonald:
Well I... I guess it's the contest, Mr. Waterbury - the Maxford House contest. I had no idea it was hurting my work.
Mr. E.L. Waterbury:
How much is the prize?
Jimmy MacDonald:
The *first* prize is $25,000.
Mr. E.L. Waterbury:
Unnh
[smiles ironically]

Mr. E.L. Waterbury:
I used to think about $25,000 too, and what I'd do with it. That I'd be a failure, if I didn't get a hold of it. And then one day I realized that I was *never* gonna have $25,000, Mr. MacDonald.
[reflecting]

Mr. E.L. Waterbury:
And then another day... uhh... a little bit later - *considerably* later - I realized something else - something I'm imparting to you now, Mr. MacDonald. I'm not a failure. I'm a success. You see, ambition is all right if it works. But no system could be right where only half of 1% were successes and all the rest were failures - that wouldn't be right. I'm not a failure. I'm a success. And so are you, if you earn your own living and pay your bills and look the world in the eye. I hope you win your $25,000, Mr. MacDonald. But if you shouldn't happen to, don't worry about it. Now get the heck back to your desk and try to improve your arithmetic.

Film

Un colpo di fortuna (1940)

Persone

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