Salesman
1969 · 90 MIN · IMDB 7.6 · 5,891 VOTES · DIR. Albert Maysles, David Maysles, Charlotte Zwerin
Overview
This documentary from Albert and David Maysles follows the bitter rivalry of four door-to-door salesmen working for the Mid-American Bible Company: Paul "The Badger" Brennan, Charles "The Gipper" McDevitt, James "The Rabbit" Baker and Raymond "The Bull" Martos. Times are tough for this hard-living quartet, who spend their days traveling through small-town America, trying their best to peddle gold-leaf Bibles to an apathetic crowd of lower-middle-class housewives and elderly couples.
Dialogue Timeline — 1,429 lines
A SAMPLE ACROSS THE RUNTIME — EVERY LINE IS SEARCHABLE
00:00:16 The best seller in the world is the Bible.
00:03:53 - l just got two. - How was the dips ?
00:07:36 Thank you.
00:11:02 - She hates her supervisor. - l don't believe in workin'.
00:15:32 And they come in red or white. Some people prefer red and--
00:19:34 [ Laughing ]
00:22:52 - Yeah ? - And, uh, he says
00:26:38 Well, I still got my hat.
00:31:29 than you now hold, knowing what you're doing...
00:34:38 Humphrey Bogie.
00:38:17 Just have a seat and be right at home. l'll try not to interrupt too much.
00:41:22 But the only thing, l don't think l'd be pushing her...
00:45:04 [ Muttering Continues ]
00:49:23 - [ Waitress ] I have one here for you. - Oh, do you ?
00:52:35 We take orders on 'em, the new one.
00:55:48 Yeah, just the ''C.'' See, in other words, they have the ''A,'' ''B'' or ''C'' plan.
00:58:57 would you be kind enough to write out your address ?
01:01:57 You know what you have ? You have a sense of humor, which most people lack.
01:05:46 - Yeah. - Well, l wish l had ten of them a day, believe you me.
01:09:30 How are you today ? This is on a display we had at the church.
01:13:06 [ Clock Chiming ]
01:18:01 [ Ray ] That's one Bible and a C.P.E.-- Catholic People's Encyclopedia.
01:22:40 These Mickies were rough. Really rough.
01:26:47 Because if your house doesn't have a foundation, you've got no kind of a house.
Cast & Characters
Paul Brennan
Self - 'The Badger'
Charles McDevitt
Self - 'The Gipper'
James Baker
Self - 'The Rabbit'
Raymond Martos
Self - 'The Bull'
Kennie Turner
Self - Supervisor
Melbourne I. Feltman
Self - Designer and Theological Consultant 'The World's Greatest Salesman of the World's Best Seller'
Margaret McCarron
Dialogue Record
Lines indexed1,429
Dialogue density15.9 lines / min
First line00:00:16
Final line01:26:47
Production Record
DirectorAlbert Maysles, David Maysles, Charlotte Zwerin
LanguageEnglish
Budget$105,000
IMDb votes5,891