# "Three Days of the Condor" question **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 28, 2014, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-days-of-the-condor-question/679994 "2014-01-28T23:15:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2014, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-days-of-the-condor-question/679994/1 "2014-01-28T23:15:55Z")
Yes, I know this movie is nearly 40 years old, but I just watched it for the first time. I figure if there’s anyone out there who can speak to this they’d likely be right here. So, at the very end of the movie (I think 40 years negates the spoiler rules…) when Robert Redford’s character tells the CIA agent that he went to the press with the story. the spook asks him how he knows they’ll print it, and that he’ll be in big danger if they don’t. The last line of the movie is Redford saying, “They’ll print it” as he walks away. Did they? What made him so sure they would? There was nothing in the movie (that I saw) that made it a certainty. Anyone remember? ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2014, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-days-of-the-condor-question/679994/2 "2014-01-28T23:41:52Z")
> [@Southern\_Yankee](#): > > There was nothing in the movie (that I saw) that made it a certainty. Nope, there wasn’t. The movie ends on that note, with a deliberate tinge of uncertainty. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2014, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-days-of-the-condor-question/679994/3 "2014-01-28T23:43:38Z")
^^^ You aren’t supposed to have any more certainty than Redford’s character had. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2014, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-days-of-the-condor-question/679994/4 "2014-01-28T23:45:47Z")
That’s why the condor was an endangered species. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2014, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-days-of-the-condor-question/679994/5 "2014-01-28T23:50:49Z")
Pretty much the same answer: the end is a prayer that the news media of the U.S. resists government control. If not, Redford’s character is screwed and – by extension – so are we all. His response is a prayer, not a declaration. ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-days-of-the-condor-question/679994/6 "2014-01-29T00:01:22Z")
Thanks everyone. I just re-watched the ending and Redford’s facial expression \*does \*convey uncertainty which I missed the first time. I guess this was the Watergate era and uncertain times. All in all I thought it was a good movie. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-days-of-the-condor-question/679994/7 "2014-01-29T00:11:59Z")
> [@Southern\_Yankee](#): > > I guess this was the Watergate era and uncertain times. After Watergate and the Pentagon Papers, why would he (how _could_ he) doubt that they’d print it? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-days-of-the-condor-question/679994/8 "2014-01-29T02:06:57Z")
I remember an interpretation I agreed with, in the final scene the Salvation Army is in the background singing God Rest you Merry Gentlemen. > **[RAJA95.id : Link Resmi Login & Daftar Akun RAJA95 Terpercaya di Indonesia](https://raja95.id/)** > > Situs RAJA95 Resmi Terpercaya Nomor 1 di Indonesia Login Games Online Sedang Populer Saat Ini. Daftar Akun RAJA95 Paling Viral Hari ini di Link RAJA95.id Pasti Cuan Besar Disini. Besides the “salvation” as what I think the band symbolizes for the hero, I think another clue is on the song. > **[God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God_Rest_You_Merry,_Gentlemen)** > > "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen", also known as "God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen", is an English traditional Christmas carol. It is in the Roxburghe Collection (iii. 452), and is listed as no. 394 in the Roud Folk Song Index. It is also known as "Tidings of Comfort and Joy," and by other variant incipits. > An early version of this carol is found in an anonymous manuscript, dating from the 1650s. It contains a slightly different version of the first line from that found in later texts, with the firs... > [@](#): > > God rest you merry Gentlemen, > Let nothing you dismay; > Remember Christ our Saviour, > Was born on Christmas-day; > To save our souls from Satan’s power, > Which long time had gone astray: > This brings Tidings of Comfort and Joy. To me it is a clue that indeed the hero will be comforted and saved from the evil powers he encountered by shining a light over the forces gone astray. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-days-of-the-condor-question/679994/9 "2014-01-29T02:17:08Z")
Just checked the final scene, I think that idea is good because the Salvation Army, regardless of what doubts the hero has, is now between him and the guy representing evil/satan. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-days-of-the-condor-question/679994/10 "2014-01-29T02:39:33Z")
It’s up to the audience what happens. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-days-of-the-condor-question/679994/11 "2014-01-29T02:58:48Z")
I love that movie. The hit on the house chilled me to the bone. I won’t scream I know ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-days-of-the-condor-question/679994/12 "2014-01-29T08:36:28Z")
I think it’s a great, almost-forgotten movie. Max Von Sydow’s character was wonderful. The cat and mouse between Redford and the CIA was really well done. And I remember seeing it a few years after it first came out, and the ‘spy’ tech was pretty cool then. Pretty quaint now, though. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-days-of-the-condor-question/679994/13 "2014-01-29T13:55:48Z")
I want to know what happened to the other four days… ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-days-of-the-condor-question/679994/14 "2014-01-29T16:11:23Z")
One of my all-time favorite films…_You can always depend on the ol’ spy fucker._ The Twin Towers show up in a million movies and tv shows, but this is one of the rare films to have had scenes filmed inside. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2014, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-days-of-the-condor-question/679994/15 "2014-01-29T23:42:20Z")
I forget his name, but, the guy who played the mailman was one of the funniest comedians of the 60s. Also, I like the part where Higgins says “We don’t use mailmen…” ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-days-of-the-condor-question/679994/16 "2014-01-30T13:44:24Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#): > > I forget his name, but, the guy who played the mailman was one of the funniest comedians of the 60s. > > Also, I like the part where Higgins says “We don’t use mailmen…” IMDB says Hank [Garrett](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0308056/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm). I’ve never heard of him. He was also a professional wrestler! ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2014, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-days-of-the-condor-question/679994/17 "2014-01-30T21:30:15Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > I want to know what happened to the other four days… Is this a reference to the book’s original title? if so, I think you’re off by one day. The book title is Six Days of the Condor. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2014, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-days-of-the-condor-question/679994/18 "2014-01-31T23:51:17Z")
It really is a movie of the 70’s, when reporters were heroes, governments were evil, but good would always triumph. But as I get older, I don’t think Higgins was so wrong. In justifying the actions of the CIA that led to the assassinations in the movie, he proposes that people are not as idealistic as Turner thinks: Higgins: It’s simple economics. Today it’s oil, right? In ten or fifteen years, food. Plutonium. Maybe even sooner. Now, what do you think the people are gonna want us to do then? Joe Turner: Ask them? Higgins: Not now - then! Ask 'em when they’re running out. Ask 'em when there’s no heat in their homes and they’re cold. Ask 'em when their engines stop. Ask 'em when people who have never known hunger start going hungry. You wanna know something? They won’t want us to ask 'em. They’ll just want us to get it for 'em! I believe the movie intended him to be wrong, but even in 1975 I’m not sure he was. In out ‘post 9/11 world’ he probably isn’t going far enough in what the people would want. Maybe I’m just too cynical in my old age… ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2014, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-days-of-the-condor-question/679994/19 "2014-02-01T01:08:40Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > After Watergate and the Pentagon Papers, why would he (how _could_ he) doubt that they’d print it? 😕 That’s how I interpreted it. The question was intended as an implied threat, and to indicate the speaker did not fully appreciate how things had changed. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2014, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-days-of-the-condor-question/679994/20 "2014-02-01T03:23:51Z")
> [@Enright3](#): > > Is this a reference to the book’s original title? if so, I think you’re off by one day. The book title is Six Days of the Condor. IIRC (it’s been many years) the book ends the same way, even though he had three more days. Maybe it was published in the Sunday paper, but I haven’t read the sequel. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-days-of-the-condor-question/679994.md?page=2)