Glengarry Glen Ross. 1992. USA. Directed by James Foley. Screenplay by David Mamet, based on his play. With Jack Lemmon, Al Pacino, Ed Harris, Alan Arkin, Alec Baldwin. 35mm. 100 min.
Four Brooklyn real estate salesmen cold call potential clients in order to sell them land parcels in the new Glengarry Highlands and Glen Ross Farms developments, but none of the sales leads are paying off. Enter Blake (Alec Baldwin), a brutal “motivator” sent in from the head office, who unleashes a profanity-filled surge of vitriol, culminating in the announcement that, at the end of the next 48 hours, all but the top two sellers are getting the axe. Most at risk is Shelley “The Machine” Levene (Lemon), once a star at Premiere Properties but now older and distracted by a sick daughter in the hospital. Shelley tries to cajole the branch manager to pass along some of his many leads, but the hardhearted colleague wants money in exchange for the information and Shelley is broke. David Mamet’s play, first performed in 1983 in London, won the Pulitzer Prize in 1984.