The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1975)

Anne Bancroft: Edna Edison

Photos 

Quotes 

• Edna : We've been robbed.

  Mel : What do you mean, "robbed"?

  Edna : Robbed. Robbed! What does "rob" mean? They come in, they take things out. You had 'em, now they got 'em. They used to be yours, now they're theirs. We've been robbed!

  Mel : Uh, I don't understand... You mean someone walked in here and robbed us?

  Edna : What do you think, they called up and made an appointment? We've been ROBBED!

• Edna : I thought you wanted to do something, help him.

  Harry Edison : We *do* want to help him!

  Edna : Then help him!

  Harry Edison : Not when he's sick. When he's better, we'll help him.

• Edna : Mel, who's behind the plot? Is it the kids? The addicts? The Army? The Navy? The Book-of-the-month Club? Who?

  Mel : It is the human race. The deterioration of the spirit of Man. Man undermining himself, causing a self-willed, self-imposed, self-evident self-destruction! That's what it is. That's who it is.

  Edna : The human race, Mel?

  Mel : Yes.

  Edna : The human race is responsible for the unemployment?

  Mel : You're surprised, aren't you?

  Edna : I never would've guessed. All this time, I kept thinking it was somebody else.

• Edna : I have no strength left. Nothing. I couldn't even open my pocketbook on the bus today. A little boy hadda help me.

  Mel : You have strength, Edna.

  Edna : I have ANGER! No strength.

• Mel : And as sure as you are sitting here in this room, there is a plot going on in this country today.

  Edna : Against whom?

  Mel : Against me!

  Edna : The whole country?

  Mel : Well, not against me personally. But they're after you, our kids, my family, every one of our friends. They're after the cops, hippies, the government, women's lib, the blacks, the fags, the whole military complex and even more.

  Edna : Who? You mentioned everybody, there's no one left.

  Mel : Oh, baby, there's someone left, all right.

• Edna Edison : I banged for you, why won't you bang for me?

• Edna : If Mel could get out of New York and move to the country somewhere, he'd be one hundred percent better off.

  Harry Edison : I agree with you one thousand percent!

• Edna : Why you havin pain's in your chest?

  Mel : Because I don't have a job! Because I don't have a suit to wear. Because I'm having a God-damned nervous breakdown and they didn't even leave me with a decent pair of pajamas.

• Mel : God... God... God... God...

  Edna : Mel?

  Mel : Huh?

  Edna : Can't you sleep?

  Mel : If I could sleep would I be laying here calling God at 2:00 in the morning?

• Edna : Come on, Mel. I haven't seen you since breakfast yesterday, and I'm gonna' be fast asleep in 15 minutes. Talk to me. What did you do today?

  Mel : [with sarcasm in his tone]  I took a *walk*!

  Edna : Good. Where?

  Mel : From the bedroom into the living room.

  Edna : That's all?

  Mel : Mm mm. Then I walked back into the bedroom... and once I went into the kitchen for a glass of water. I'd say that was my "high peak" of the day.

• Mel : I got my wallet back!

  [showing Edna the wallet] 

  Edna : Your wallet is Brown. This One's Black. You left your's on the dresser this morning. This isn't your wallet, Mel.

  Mel : By God I mugged a kid! I mugged some poor kid in the street.

  Edna : How much did we get?