Original artwork, not a still
He pulls a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue.
— The Untouchables • 1987
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
It is the film's mission statement, delivered by a tired Irish-American cop to a straight-arrow Treasury man who still thinks the law will be enough. Malone is telling Ness that against an enemy who kills with impunity the only deterrent is an answer in kind, and the speech marks the point where Ness crosses over from rule-follower to leader of a squad that will bend them. It has become the standard shorthand for escalating a fight, quoted in any argument about meeting force with force.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for The UntouchablesShow the scene
In The Untouchables (1987), Treasury agent Eliot Ness has just seen his first raid on Al Capone's liquor fail, and a veteran Chicago beat cop, Jim Malone, leads him out of earshot ("these walls have ears") and asks if he really wants Capone. Ness says he will do everything within the law. Malone answers that if Ness opens the ball, he must be prepared to go all the way, and lays out the Chicago way: he pulls a knife, you pull a gun; he sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. He then tells Ness he has just taken a blood oath, warns him that nobody on the force can be trusted, and goes on to recruit a young police-academy cadet for the team.
Sources (2)
- The Untouchables (1987), fan-transcribed scriptMalone and Ness conversation after the failed raidReference checked
- Wikiquote: The UntouchablesJim Malone quotesReference checked
Context reviewed
