Blue Collar (1978)

Yaphet Kotto: Smokey

Photos 

Quotes 

• [last lines] 

  Smokey James : [voiceover echoing earlier line]  They pit the lifers against the new boy and the young against the old. The black against the white. Everything they do is to keep us in our place.

• Smokey James : Why do you go to the line every Friday?

  Jerry Bartowski : Well...

  Smokey James : Because the finance man's gonna be at your house on Saturday, right? That's exactly what the company wants - to keep you on their line. They'll do anything to keep you on their line. They pit the lifers against the new boys, the old against the young, the black against the white - EVERYBODY to keep us in our place.

• Zeke Brown : [after outlining their plan for blackmailing the union]  Smoke, what if the motherfuckas don't wanna pay?

  Smokey James : If they don't pay, then we're gonna cut'em a new asshole.

• Zeke Brown : [SPOILER - final scene]  Hey, scumbag. You know, I'd hate to be livin' in them pretty little white shoes.

  Jerry Bartowski : I see they finally fixed your locker, Zeke.

  [Burrows tries to intervene but Bartowski holds up his hand] 

  Jerry Bartowski : No, it-it's all right. Lemme, lemme, lemme, lemme talk to the new steward.

  Zeke Brown : Yeah, let him talk to me. Tell me about how you like the workin' man.

  [points at him angrily] 

  Zeke Brown : You don't care about nothin' but your own dumb Polack ass.

  Jerry Bartowski : [venemously]  Hey, blood, you double-crossed me, tried to get me killed. Didn't ya'?

  Zeke Brown : I ain't your blood, motherfucker! You do anything to stay out of jail! Even sell out on your friends!

  Jerry Bartowski : I ain't the one that sold out, nigger-shit, YOU are!

  Zeke Brown : Yeah, ya' jive honky? You ain't lookin' out for nobody but number one and that's you, ain't it? You jive white boy!

  Jerry Bartowski : You ain't nothing now, you fucking nigger!

  Zeke Brown : [referring to the two federal agents with Bartowski]  I hope your mother and father gon' protect your ass, 'cause you're gonna have to HIDE!

  Jerry Bartowski : FUCKING NIGGER!

  Zeke Brown : MOTHERFUCKER!

  Zeke Brown , Jerry Bartowski : [Brown and Bartowski grab weapons and charge at each other, the other workers struggling to get in between them and just as chaos is erupting and the two former best friends are about to clash with harmful intent, the frame freezes and in the background echoes an earlier quote from Smokey James] 

  Smokey James : They pit the lifers against the new boy; the young against the old; the black against the white. Everything they do is to keep us in our place.

  [the screen then fades to red and the end credits roll]