Glengarry Glen Ross Rules and Order Quotes

The rules of the game are in place to keep people like Moss down. He's busting his butt out there every day, but he can't do what he wants because someone else is calling the shots.

Who cares about the rules if you don't get caught, right? This gives good insight into Moss's character—this is not a guy who sees right and wrong as black and white. Sure, it's a crime, but that's not the important thing. The important thing is it can be pulled off, it can benefit him, and he can get away with it.

You know a good way to show total disrespect for someone? Refuse to even acknowledge their position in society. Roma knows the guy is a cop, and he knows what that means, but he will not admit that this guy has any power over him. "Who is this?" he asks, like the cop is a nobody.

Roma couldn't care less about the perceived authority of the police. He's in the office and he's doing business, which means he has no time for the law.

As much as Roma mocks the cops, he knows the score: they run the show while they're there, and there is a reason to get nervous. Cops make everyone nervous. But, if you haven't broken their rules, you have nothing to worry about. It's actually a pretty simple view of the way the world works, and far less cynical than you might expect from a man like Roma.

Wethinks the Moss doth protest too much. Okay, so he didn't literally rob the place, but he set the whole plan in motion, and he got a big old cut from it. To show his innocence though, he's going to take a shot at the cops and their rules.

Gotta love this quote. Business trumps the law, folks, and there is no question in Roma's mind about that. We hinted at it earlier, but this is Roma just saying it straight out. Some people put God first, others keep their country on top, and some hold law and order in high esteem, but all of that takes a back seat to business for Roma. Say what you will, but this take on the world has worked out for Roma. After all, he's top man on the board.

Wow—this just keeps getting better. Now Roma isn't just snubbing his nose at the rules (of the police, mind you), he's just going to take off for a bit to keep trying to save his sale. The only rules that matter right now are the rules of business.

It takes a guy who loves order like Williamson to respect order. It also takes a guy who doesn't spend his time mocking the law to know that the law can bring Levene down. These guys can talk and talk and talk about business, but all the talking in the world won't get Levene out of this one.

The cop, Baylen, doesn't talk much, but in this moment he makes things all too clear—the business world has no real say when it comes to the law. In the end, this guy doesn't care who the leader on the board is because the leader on the board can't do anything to stop the Rule of Law.