Arabesque (1966)

Alan Badel: Beshraavi

Photos 

Quotes 

• Beshraavi : [Offering Pollock a small platter of dried dates]  Take a date, Mr. Pollock, as a gesture of friendship. I'm a very Arabian Arab, I'm afraid.

  David Pollock : [Takes a date, then offers one to the falcon]  Friends?

  Beshraavi : Flesh, Mr. Pollock. Hassan eats only flesh.

  David Pollock : I thought he looked at it wistfully.

  Beshraavi : It must have been your fingers.

• Beshraavi : Before you came home, I received word that... Mr. Pollock had arrived safely in his rooms at Oxford.

  Yasmin Azir : A hearty race, the Americans.

  Beshraavi : I was also told that he was riding a bicycle... and singing a very strange song.

  Yasmin Azir : A hearty and fun-loving race.

• Beshraavi : Extraordinary sensation. Perhaps it was the way he looked at you?

  Yasmin Azir : Who?

  Beshraavi : Pollock!

  Yasmin Azir : Darling, if you start getting jealous over everyone who looks at me, it will do terrible things to your blood pressure. I don't think you have to worry about college professors.

  Beshraavi : Why not?

  Yasmin Azir : They're only interested in work.

  Beshraavi : They're the most dangerous kind, my love. They're such expert peekers.

  Yasmin Azir : Don't worry. If I were standing stark naked in front of Mr. Pollock, he'd probably yawn.

• Beshraavi : Must you mismanage everything?

• Beshraavi : Those slippers are absolutely beautiful, my darling. Are you wearing them for my benefit?

  Yasmin Azir : Of course, Nejim. Mr. Pollock does not have your exotic refinements. He prefers nighties.

  David Pollock : She said it, I didn't.

  Beshraavi : Mr. Pollock, some Bedouins are in the habit of saying to their guests, "All that I possess is yours"... I am not one of them.

• Beshraavi : What do you suppose happened to Mustafa? He hasn't come back yet.

  Yasmin Azir : Dead, I'm afraid.

  Beshraavi : And servants so hard to come by these days...

  Yasmin Azir : I saw several possible replacements at the zoo.

• Beshraavi : Your brokers gossip like old Arab women at the well.

• Beshraavi : Mr. Pollock, very good of you to reonsider my proposal.

  David Pollock : I always try my best to cooperate with the very rich Mr. Beshraavi.

• Beshraavi : Oh - and if I don't hear from you by noon tomorrow - try and think of some remote corner of the world where I won't find you. I don't think you can - but try.

• Beshraavi : You mustn't mind Hassan, Mr. Pollock.

  David Pollock : 'Hassan'?

  Beshraavi : He's a peregrine falcon. I've named him Hassan Jena after our beloved prime minister. They share so many sterling qualities. A sharp eye, a fierce dedication, and *very* sharp claws. Hassan won't harm you, Mr. Pollock, if you don't separate him from his master. He is excessively loyal.

  David Pollock : You keep him well fed, I trust.

  Beshraavi : Of course. Nobody's *that* loyal.

• Beshraavi : People who lock doors generally have things to hide.

  Yasmin Azir : Would you care to search me?

  Beshraavi : Will I find your thoughts?

• Yasmin Azir : That really is extraordinary. Jealous? You?

  Beshraavi : I'm jealous of thoughts, Yasmin. I'm jealous of everything I can't see or hear.

• Beshraavi : Your shower's still running.

  Yasmin Azir : I'll turn it off.

  Beshraavi : No. Take your shower.

  Yasmin Azir : Maybe I won't tonight. I'm so sleepy.

  Beshraavi : In that case, please do. I want you wide awake.

• Beshraavi : Your shower must have been quite - stimulating.

  Yasmin Azir : It was.

  Beshraavi : But, how do you suppose he happened to be in there, my pet?

  Yasmin Azir : I neglected to ask him. All I know is he was there, waiting for me.

• Yasmin Azir : Oh, I am exhausted.

  Beshraavi : Of course you are, my poor darling. Let me give you a massage.

  Yasmin Azir : How can you continue being so good to me?

• Beshraavi : Roll over, my love.

• Beshraavi : You must have been very convincing.

  Yasmin Azir : It's a feminine talent.

  Beshraavi : What a waste not to exploit it.