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They couldn't get out the college magazine without one of my stories
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You know, in college I passed for a genius. They couldn't get out the college magazine...

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Don Birnam: You know, in college I passed for a genius. They couldn't get out the college magazine without one of my stories. Boy, was I hot. Hemingway stuff. I reached my peak when I was 19. Sold a piece to the Atlantic Monthly, reprinted in the Readers Digest. Who wants to stay in college when he's Hemingway? My mother bought me a brand new typewriter and I moved right in on New York. Well, the first thing I wrote, that didn't quite come off. And the second I dropped, the public wasn't ready for that one. I started a third and a fourth. Only, by then, somebody began to look over my shoulder and whisper, in a thin, clear voice, like the E-string on a violin, "Don Birnam," he whispered, "is not good enough. Not that way. How about a couple of drinks to set him on his feet, huh?" So, I had a couple. Oh, what a great idea that was! That made all the difference. Suddenly, I could see the whole thing. The tragic sweep of the great novel, beautifully proportioned. But, before I could really grab it and throw it down on paper, the drinks would wear off and everything would be gone, like a mirage. Then, there was despair and the drink to counterbalance despair and then one to counterbalance the counterbalance.


Transcript

Silly, isn't it? You know, in college, I passed for a genius. They couldn't get out the college magazine without one of my stories. Boy, was I hot. Hemingway stuff. I reached my peak when I was 19. Sold a piece to the "Atlantic Monthly", reprinted in the "Reader's Digest". Who wants to stay in college when he's Hemingway? My mother bought me a brand-new typewriter. And I moved right in on New York. Well, the first thing I wrote, that didn't quite come off. And the second, I dropped. The public wasn't ready for that one. I started a third and a fourth. Only by then, somebody began to look over my shoulder and whisper, in a thin, clear voice like the E string on a violin. “Don Birnam," he'd whisper. "It's not good enough, not that way. "How about a couple of drinks, just to set it on its feet, huh?" So I had a couple. Oh, what a great idea that was. That made all the difference. Suddenly, I could see the whole thing. The tragic sweep of the great novel, beautifully proportioned. But before I could really grab it and throw it down on paper, the drinks would wear off and everything would be gone like a mirage. Then there was despair. I'd drink to counterbalance despair. And then one to counterbalance the counterbalance. I'd sit in front of that typewriter, trying to squeeze out one page that was halfway decent. - And that guy would pop up again. - What guy? Who are you talking about? The other Don Birnam. There are two of us, you know. Don the Drunk and Don the Writer. The drunk would say to the writer, "Come on, you idiot. Let's get some good out of that portable. “Let's hock it. Let's take it to that pawn shop on 3rd Avenue. "It's always good for ten dollars. "Another drink, another binge, another bender, another spree." Such humorous words. I've tried to break away from that guy a lot of times but to no good. You know, once I even got myself a gun and some bullets. I was gonna do it on my 30th birthday. Here are the bullets. The gun went for three quarts of whiskey. The other Don wanted us to have a drink first. He always wants us to have a drink first! The flop suicide of a flop writer. Maybe you're not a writer. Why don't you do something else? Sure, take a nice job. Public accountant, real estate salesman. I haven't the guts, Helen. Most men lead lives of quiet desperation. - I can't take quiet desperation! - But you are a writer. You have every quality for it, imagination, wit, pity. Come on. Let's face reality. I'm 33. I'm living on the charity of my brother. Room and board free, fifty cents a week for cigarettes, an occasional ticket to a show or a concert. All out of the bigness of his heart. And it is a big heart and a patient one. - No, Don, I've only been carrying you for... - Shut up, Wick! I've never clone anything. I'm not doing anything. I never will do anything! Zero, zero, zero! - Now you shut up. We'll straighten it out. - Look. Wick has the misfortune of being my brother. You just happened to walk in on this. If you know what's good for you, turn around and walk out. And walk fast, and don't turn back. Why don't you make some coffee, Wick? Strong, three cups. Look, Helen, do yourself a favour. Go on. Clear out. Because I've got a rival? Because you're in love with this? You don't know me, Don. I'm gonna fight and fight and fight.

Clip duration: 224 seconds
Views: 288
Timestamp in movie: 00h 00m 00s
Uploaded: 12 December, 2020
Genres: drama, film-noir
Summary: The desperate life of a chronic alcoholic is followed through a four-day drinking bout.


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