# In Glengarry Glen Ross, what exactly are the salesmen selling? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 7, 2012, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-glengarry-glen-ross-what-exactly-are-the-salesmen-selling/614998 "2012-03-07T01:53:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2012, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-glengarry-glen-ross-what-exactly-are-the-salesmen-selling/614998/101 "2012-03-21T16:03:27Z")
I didn’t get the impression that the Glengarry leads were guaranteed sales so much as that the old leads were guaranteed rejection (people had already been pitched to, never had interest, etc). The fresh Glengarry leads were “gold” in comparison – new people, new money. ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2012, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-glengarry-glen-ross-what-exactly-are-the-salesmen-selling/614998/102 "2012-03-22T17:23:38Z")
You all have _almost_ convinced me to watch this again. I’ve been wating \* Breaking Bad\*; I think my tolerance for tense situations might have improved since the last time I saw Glengarry Glen Ross. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-glengarry-glen-ross-what-exactly-are-the-salesmen-selling/614998/103 "2012-06-12T22:43:25Z")
[Al Pacino will be starring](http://www.playbill.com/news/article/166975-Is-Glengarry-Glen-Ross-Starring-Al-Pacino-Staking-Out-Real-Estate-on-Broadway) in a Broadway revival of Glengarry Glen Ross, but as Shelley Levene rather than Rick Roma. (The article may sound tentative, but it was confirmed on entertainment news on TV.) ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-glengarry-glen-ross-what-exactly-are-the-salesmen-selling/614998/104 "2012-06-12T22:55:11Z")
Boy, that would be interesting to see! I wonder if he’s done any interviews about his take on playing the two different characters. I’ve never seen the stage play, so Shelly Levine is inseparable from Jack Lemon’s performance in my mind. I can’t even imagine Pacino in the role, but I’m sure he’d be amazing. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-glengarry-glen-ross-what-exactly-are-the-salesmen-selling/614998/105 "2012-06-12T23:08:35Z")
I’m guessing the scene where Levene dresses down Williamson (Kevin Spacey’s character in the movie) will be a lot more brutal. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-glengarry-glen-ross-what-exactly-are-the-salesmen-selling/614998/106 "2012-06-12T23:27:58Z")
Huh. I would like to see that. I wonder if I’ll be able to swing it. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-glengarry-glen-ross-what-exactly-are-the-salesmen-selling/614998/107 "2012-06-13T00:18:32Z")
The article doesn’t list any dates for shows (as it’s still in pre-pre-production), so if and when it makes it to the stage, please post here. I love NYC and might be willing to make a special trip to see this (and then have fun doing other NYC things). ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-glengarry-glen-ross-what-exactly-are-the-salesmen-selling/614998/108 "2012-06-13T00:40:47Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > I’m guessing the scene where Levene dresses down Williamson (Kevin Spacey’s character in the movie) will be a lot more brutal. And contain a higher incidence of “HOO-ah!” ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-glengarry-glen-ross-what-exactly-are-the-salesmen-selling/614998/109 "2012-06-13T15:52:01Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > [Al Pacino will be starring](http://www.playbill.com/news/article/166975-Is-Glengarry-Glen-Ross-Starring-Al-Pacino-Staking-Out-Real-Estate-on-Broadway) in a Broadway revival of Glengarry Glen Ross, but as Shelley Levene rather than Rick Roma. (The article may sound tentative, but it was confirmed on entertainment news on TV.) This casting may or may not work, but it’s more logical than you might think. After all, Shelley Levene WAS Ricky Roma, long ago! Shelley WAS a confident, manipulative hotshot salesman years back. He seems like such a pathetic loser early in the play that we don’t think about what a louse he must have been long ago. If Pacino plays Levene, we may see a tiny trace of the creep he once was, under the sad sack exterior. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-glengarry-glen-ross-what-exactly-are-the-salesmen-selling/614998/110 "2012-06-13T23:24:06Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > If Pacino plays Levene, we may see a tiny trace of the creep he once was, under the sad sack exterior. With Pacino the trace might not be that tiny.😛 ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-glengarry-glen-ross-what-exactly-are-the-salesmen-selling/614998/111 "2012-06-14T13:55:00Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > With Pacino the trace might not be that tiny.😛 True enough- a lot will depend on the director. Will he give Pacino any real guidance or just turn him loose to ham it up? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-glengarry-glen-ross-what-exactly-are-the-salesmen-selling/614998/112 "2012-06-14T14:18:48Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > if there’s any other possible repercussion other than being called a lying sack of dog shit (or much worse if Mamet is writing it). I did IT for a metal building company. One of the salesmen had a phrase: “Yes Sir, I am, but I’m a son of a bitch with your money.” ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-glengarry-glen-ross-what-exactly-are-the-salesmen-selling/614998/113 "2012-06-14T22:43:17Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Decades ago, I saw a “60 Minutes” type TV show (not “60 Minutes,” just a news prgram following the same format) about a sleazy real estate operation very much like the one David Mamet wrote about in _ **Glengarry Glen Ross** _. In this case, the salesmen were selling desert land in Arizona and New mexico, mostly to elderly people looking for a place to retire. That’s Rio Ranchos, which is mentioned in the movie. My father bought a lot there in the mid-60s. He gave it to me and I still have it - property taxes are like $19 a year. Maybe my grandkids will get some use out of it. There is actually a town there, and Intel has a fab there. The property he bought had the option of him being able to trade it for property where they were actually building, but he had to build to do that. Later property did not have that option, and people who bought that could get their money back after a suit. And he actually did go out to look at it. The pitch was that the city just had to grow that way. it didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-glengarry-glen-ross-what-exactly-are-the-salesmen-selling/614998/114 "2012-06-15T17:59:22Z")
This likely doesn’t have an answer, but why is the film called _Glengarry Glen Ross_? From [this](http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/glengarry.html) screenplay, I see words in the title thusly: The Glengarry Highland’s leads Glen Ross Farms The Glengarry…the premium leads…? Glengarry Highlands River Glen Glengarry Farms But never “Glengarry Glen Ross”. Man, is this a stupid and trivial question, or what? ---
**Author:** ![cletus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@cletus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cletus)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-glengarry-glen-ross-what-exactly-are-the-salesmen-selling/614998/115 "2012-10-24T18:31:16Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > The article doesn’t list any dates for shows (as it’s still in pre-pre-production), so if and when it makes it to the stage, please post here. I love NYC and might be willing to make a special trip to see this (and then have fun doing other NYC things). Looks like the play is on Broadway for 10 weeks starting now. At least as far as I can tell from [this](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-24/pacino-earns-125-000-weekly-plus-profits-in-glengarry-.html) article that popped up on Bloomberg (one of my daily sites) today. I’m seriously contemplating flying up to NYC for a few days just to see this. The movie is easily in my personal top five. I might wait until the end of November so I can find tickets for cheap. Anybody here know how long it takes for Broadway tickets to show up at TKTS or maybe another cheap place to buy? ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-glengarry-glen-ross-what-exactly-are-the-salesmen-selling/614998/116 "2012-10-24T18:44:46Z")
> [@cletus](#): > > Looks like the play is on Broadway for 10 weeks starting now. At least as far as I can tell from [this](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-24/pacino-earns-125-000-weekly-plus-profits-in-glengarry-.html) article that popped up on Bloomberg (one of my daily sites) today. I’m seriously contemplating flying up to NYC for a few days just to see this. The movie is easily in my personal top five. I might wait until the end of November so I can find tickets for cheap. Anybody here know how long it takes for Broadway tickets to show up at TKTS or maybe another cheap place to buy? I wonder, will the “Alec Baldwin” scene be part of the stage production this time, because it wasn’t originally. It’s kind of iconic now and it would seem like it should now be part of the play. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2012, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-glengarry-glen-ross-what-exactly-are-the-salesmen-selling/614998/117 "2012-10-24T21:36:55Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > I wonder, will the “Alec Baldwin” scene be part of the stage production this time, because it wasn’t originally. It’s kind of iconic now and it would seem like it should now be part of the play. A few years back, when I was in NY, I saw a revival of _ **Glengarry** _ with Alan Alda as Shelly Levene, Liev Schreiber as Ricky Roma, Jeffrey Tambor (Hank, on _ **The Larry Sanders Show** _) as George Aaronow, and Gordon Clapp of \*\*\*NYPD Blue \*\*\*as Dave Moss. I wondered, as you did, if the brilliant “Blake” segment that Alec Baldwin did would be part of this production… but it wasn’t. We’ll see if this production is different, but I’d guess not. ---
**Author:** ![COGringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3ab097/32.png) [@COGringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/COGringo)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-glengarry-glen-ross-what-exactly-are-the-salesmen-selling/614998/118 "2012-10-25T16:38:31Z")
OK, so I’ve been to the place that this story was based on. Rio Rancho, NM. Our very large IT company has an office there. There are quite a few NY’rs there. Some even opened restaurants. It’s lame there IMHO. It is desert. It just north of Albuquerque. It has more civil servants and cops (sheriffs) there than anything else. You can’t drive 2 blocks without passing a cop. Of course that probably has nothing to do with that movie. It is a planned town. It really has not taken off but there are a lot of businesses there now and a hospital. It’s pretty shielded from ABQ but it’s lame. I could be wrong but that was the going talk from years ago when I had to travel there on a normal basis. We are the Glengarry Glenross location. It fits the bill. You have people there saying they were scammed and people from the Northeast there with no business being there. ---
**Author:** ![COGringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3ab097/32.png) [@COGringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/COGringo)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-glengarry-glen-ross-what-exactly-are-the-salesmen-selling/614998/119 "2012-10-25T16:46:58Z")
To add to that, the NY’rs I spoke to said that thought they had bought a vacation property and were stuck with it. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2012, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-glengarry-glen-ross-what-exactly-are-the-salesmen-selling/614998/120 "2012-10-25T19:51:35Z")
> [@cletus](#): > > Looks like the play is on Broadway for 10 weeks starting now. At least as far as I can tell from [this](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-24/pacino-earns-125-000-weekly-plus-profits-in-glengarry-.html) article that popped up on Bloomberg (one of my daily sites) today. I’m seriously contemplating flying up to NYC for a few days just to see this. The movie is easily in my personal top five. I might wait until the end of November so I can find tickets for cheap. Anybody here know how long it takes for Broadway tickets to show up at TKTS or maybe another cheap place to buy? TKTs has a 99 cent app which shows which shows are available. I got it last time I was in NY, but it didn’t seem to have made it to my new phone. Probably worth it to check. I just read in the Times that they are going to start selling evening performance in the morning and not make you wait until 3 pm any more. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-glengarry-glen-ross-what-exactly-are-the-salesmen-selling/614998.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-glengarry-glen-ross-what-exactly-are-the-salesmen-selling/614998.md?page=7)