Thirteen Days (film) Quotes

Thirteen Days (film) is a television show that was first aired in 1970 . Thirteen Days completed its run in 1970.

It features Trevor Jones (composer) in charge of musical score, and Andrzej Bartkowiak as head of cinematography.

Thirteen Days (film) is recorded in English and originally aired in United States. Each episode of Thirteen Days (film) is 145 minutes long. Thirteen Days (film) is distributed by New Line Cinema.

The cast includes: Lucinda Jenney as Kenny O'Donnell, Janet Coleman as President Kennedy, Elya Baskin as Dobrynin, Lucinda Jenney as Helen O'Donnell, Tom Everett as Walter Sheridan, Tim Kelleher as Ted Sorensen, Boris Lee Krutonog as Alexander Fomin, and Marya Kazakova as Soviet Woman.

Thirteen Days (film) Quotes

Lucinda Jenney as Kenny O'Donnell

• (Lucinda Jenney) "It's ten pages of sentimental fluff, but he's saying it right here; he'll remove the missiles in return for a no-invasion pledge."
• (John McCone, CIA Director) "Mr. President, our early analysis says this probably was written by Khruschev himself. It's a first draft; it shows no signs of being polished by the foreign ministry. In fact, it probably wasn't even approved by the Politburo, as they wouldn't the emotionalism go by. The analysts say it was written by someone under considerable stress."
• (Janet Coleman) "Glad to know we're not alone."

• (Lucinda Jenney) "If the sun comes up tomorrow, it is only because of men of good will. And that's; that's all there is between us and the devil."

• (Lucinda Jenney) "Call me Irish, but I don't believe in cooler heads prevailing."

• (Lucinda Jenney) "They know each other, Jack; Khruschev and Fomin were war buddies."
• (Janet Coleman) "You sure?"
• (Lucinda Jenney) "Don't take it to court, but we've got good circumstantial evidence."
• (Janet Coleman) "Well, you're there; I mean, what's your instinct? I gotta move on this."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "My gut's telling me that Khruschev's turning to a trusted old friend to carry his message."
• (Janet Coleman) "Ok; we're going."

• (Jacqueline Kennedy) "And I want my kids to stop eating the candy in the Oval Office."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "That's not me."
• (Jacqueline Kennedy) "Then who is it?"
• (Lucinda Jenney) "I don't rat on my friends."
• (Jacqueline Kennedy) "Well, I'm going to take this whole list thing up with your "friend.""
• (Lucinda Jenney) "Are you trying to go around me?"
• (Jacqueline Kennedy) "Go around you, over you, through you; whatever it takes."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "You're starting to bug me."
• (Jacqueline Kennedy) "Good."

• (Lucinda Jenney) "I got a bad feeling about what's going on in there."
• (Janet Coleman) "In the morning I'm taking charge of the blockade from the situation room and Macnamara is gonna set up shop at the flagpot at the Pentagon and keep an eye on things there."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "Good. Because you've got armed boarders climbing onto Soviet ships, and shots being fired across bows."
• (Janet Coleman) "I know. I know."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "Well, what about these low level flights?"
• (Janet Coleman) "We need the flights."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "They're starting them when?"
• (Janet Coleman) "An hour."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "An hour. You realize what you're letting yourself in for?"
• (Janet Coleman) "Kenny, no, we need the flights, because the minute that first missile becomes operational we gotta go in there and destroy it."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "Fair enough. But Castro's on alert and we're flying attack planes over their sites, on the deck. There's no way for them to know we're carrying cameras, not bombs."
• (Janet Coleman) "God damn it."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "They're gonna be shot at, plain and simple."

• (Lucinda Jenney) "You sleeping?"
• (Janet Coleman) "No, not much. I slept last night, though, you know, and, geez, when I woke up, I just, somehow I'd forgotten that all this had happened, you know? You know, then, of course, I remembered, and I just wished for a second that somebody else was president."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "You mean that?"
• (Janet Coleman) "I said for a second."

• (Robert Kennedy) "You smell that?"
• (Lucinda Jenney) "They're burning their documents."
• (Robert Kennedy) "They think we're going to war -- God help us, Ken."

• (Lucinda Jenney) "Hi."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "Hi -- You look old, O'Donnell."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "You don't."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "It's 2:30 in the morning; are you flirting with me?"
• (Lucinda Jenney) "We got a back-channel communication from Khruschev this evening, feeling us out about a deal. He confirmed it, just a little while ago in a letter."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "Thank god."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "Jack kicked us out of his house for the night."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "Darn it. For a second there, I thought you'd been fired."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "No such luck -- I'm driving home, there was something I wanted to tell you."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "Finish that thought."

• (Lucinda Jenney) "The sun came up. Every day the sun comes up says something about us."

• (Robert F. Kennedy) "Jack, I'm as conniving as they come, but a sneak attack is just wrong."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "Listen, things are happening too fast; I mean, this is starting to smell like the Bay of Pigs all over again."
• (Janet Coleman) "Well, tonight, listening to Taylor and Acheson, I kept seeing Lemnitzer and Dulles, telling me all I had to do was sign on the dotted line, and the invasion would succeed, and Castro;"
• (Janet Coleman) "and Castro would be gone, just, easy, just like that."

• (Lucinda Jenney) "Tomorrow the President may have a cold."
• (Pierre Salinger) "A what?"
• (Lucinda Jenney) "A cold."
• (Pierre Salinger) "Kenny do I get any input around here?"
• (Lucinda Jenney) "Yeah, um -- how bad it is is up to you."

• (Lucinda Jenney) "Adlai. It's Ken; how you doin'?"
• (Adlai Stevenson) "Busy, Ken. What do you need?"
• (Lucinda Jenney) "The president told me to pass the word to you: Stick it to them."
• (Adlai Stevenson) "I hear you. I'm glad it's you calling; I thought it would be Bobby."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "Adlai, the world has to know we're right. If we're gonna have a chance at a political solution we need international pressure -- You gotta be tough, Adlai. You need to find it, buddy."
• (Adlai Stevenson) "If they're still sticking to their stonewalling stategy, I'll get them. I'm an old political cat, Kenny, but I've got one life left."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "I know you do."

• (Robert Kennedy) "We gave up so much to get here -- I don't know; sometimes I think, "What the hell did we do it for?""
• (Lucinda Jenney) "Well, I don't know about you, but -- I'm in it for the money."

• (Lucinda Jenney) "Commander, my name is Ken O'Donnell, special assistant to the President."
• (Commander William B. Ecker) "Yes sir."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "The President has instructed me to pass along an order to you. You are not to get shot down."
• (Commander William B. Ecker) "Uh, we'll do our best sir."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "I don't think you understand me, Commander. You are not to get shot down, under any circumstances. Whatever happens up there, you were not shot at. Mechanical failures are fine. Crashing into mountains, fine. But you and your men are not to be shot at, fired at, or launched upon."
• (Commander William B. Ecker) "Excuse me sir, what the hell is going on here?"
• (Lucinda Jenney) "Commander, if you are fired upon, the President will be forced to attack the sites that fire on you. He doesn't want to have to do that. It's very important that he doesn't, or things can go very badly out of control."
• (Commander William B. Ecker) "What about my men? We don't have anyone to protect us, I don't want to be writing letters home to parents."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "If the President protects you, Commander, he may have to do it with the bomb. Now I've known the man for fifteen years. The problem is -- he will protect you. So I'm asking you, don't make him protect you. Don't get shot at."
• (Commander William B. Ecker) "Okay Mister O'Donnell, we'll do what we can."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "I know you will."

• (Lucinda Jenney) "You know the pictures upstairs, pictures of Lincoln? He looked so old near the end. When we got here, I said, "That's not gonna happen to us -- We were too young.""

• (Lucinda Jenney) "The point is, you trade our missiles in Turkey for theirs in Cuba, they're gonna force us into trade after trade, until finally, a couple of months from now they demand something we won't trade, like Berlin, and we do end up in a war. Not to mention that long before that happens this administration will be politically dead."
• (Robert Kennedy) "I don't care if this administration ends up in the freaking toilet. We don't do a deal tonight there won't be any administration."

• (Lucinda Jenney) "They want a war, Jack, and they're arranging things to get one."

• (Lucinda Jenney) "And while you're under a rock somewhere with the President, what am I supposed to do with our five children, Kenny?"
• (Lucinda Jenney) "Honey, we're not going to let it come to that, I promise. Jack and Bobby, they're smart guys."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "You're smart, too."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "Not like them."

• (Lucinda Jenney) "Jesus, I -- I feel like we caught the Jap carrier steaming for Pearl Harbor."

• (Robert Kennedy) "Oh, by the way, Scali, your activities now fall under the secrecy codicils of the National Security Act."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "Sorry, John; no Pulitzer."

• (Lucinda Jenney) "I need a minute."
• (Janet Coleman) "Kenny, no."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "A minute."
• (Janet Coleman) "Look, I don't want a god-damn pep talk; you're not the Harvard quarterback anymore. We're on the brink here. They're trying to second-guess me into World War III; well it's not gonna happen."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "What did you think Congress was gonna do?"
• (Janet Coleman) "Well, I, you know --"
• (Lucinda Jenney) "Offer you unconditional support? Kiss your Catholic ass? They don't think we even deserve to be here."
• (Janet Coleman) "Well, what the hell do you think?"
• (Lucinda Jenney) "Well, I think we haven't been that impressive today; they have good reason to question our judgment."

• (Lucinda Jenney) "How do you become the KGB top spy in the United States?"
• (Tom Everett) "You gotta know someone."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "You gotta know someone."

• (McGeorge Bundy) "I need to see the president, Kenny."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "All right: 2:30 to 2:45 or 4:30 to 5:00; take your pick."
• (McGeorge Bundy) "No, I need to see him now, Ken."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "Then go on up; I'll let him know you're coming."

• (Lucinda Jenney) "Good speech, Teddy."
• (Tim Kelleher) "Yeah, well, I guess I get to keep my job."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "No; it was a really good speech. I can't imagine what you did with the air-strikes version."
• (Tim Kelleher) "I wasn't able to write it, Kenny. It's kind of hard to write -- the unthinkable. I tried, just, I couldn't."

• (Robert F. Kennedy) "You know, I; I hate being called the brilliant one, the ruthless one, the guy everybody's afraid of. I hate it. I'm not so smart, you know? I'm not so ruthless."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "Well you're right -- about the smart part."

• (Lucinda Jenney) "That's going to be tough; you know how these guys are about their chains of command."
• (Janet Coleman) "Listen, you tell 'em those chains of command end at one place: me."

Janet Coleman as President Kennedy

• (Janet Coleman) "Well, who the hell authorized this missile test?"
• (Robert Kennedy) "Who do you think? God knows what this is gonna communicate to the Soviets."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "Communicate with the Soviets? We can't communicate with the Pentagon; and it's just across the god**** river."

• (Janet Coleman) "Acheson's scenario is just, it's unacceptable, and he's got more experience than anybody."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "There is no expert on the subject; I mean, there is no wise old man. There's; s***, there's just us."
• (Janet Coleman) "The thing is that Acheson's right, 'cause talk alone's not gonna accomplish anything."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "Well, let's bomb the s*** out of 'em. Everybody wants to. I mean, even you, I mean, even me, right? It sure would feel good."

• (Janet Coleman) "So quarantine, or air strike?"
• (Adlai Stevenson) "There, uh, there is a third option. With either course we undertake the risk of nuclear war, so it seems to me that maybe one of us in this room should be a coward -- so, I guess I'll be. A third course is to strike a deal: We trade Guantanamo and our missiles in Turkey; get them to pull their missiles out. We employ a back channel; we attribute the idea to U Thant. U Thant then raises it at the UN."
• (Janet Coleman) "I don't think that's possible, Adlai."

• (Janet Coleman) "You know, it's been a long two weeks and, uh; or whatever; but I'd like to thank you all; I think you all did a great job, and I just think; I don't think we should be gloating too much, 'cause it was just as much a victory for them as it was for us -- Enjoy your morning."

• (Janet Coleman) "Bobby, you gotta go in there and you gotta make them understand -- that we have to have an answer tomorrow -- because Monday, we go to war."

• (Janet Coleman) "So they'll remove the missiles, and we'll pledge not to invade Cuba or destabilize Castro, or assist anyone who plans on doing so."
• (Robert Kennedy) "I think this may be our first real message from Khruschev."

• (Janet Coleman) "What kind of peace do we seek? am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living. Not merely peace in our time but peace for all time. Our problems are manmade; therefore, they can be solved by man. For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal."

• (Janet Coleman) "I'll tell you one thing, Kenny. Those brass hats have one big advantage. That is, if we do what they want us to do, there's none of us gonna be alive to tell them they were wrong."

• (Janet Coleman) "You know they think I froze in there."
• (Robert Kennedy) "You didn't freeze."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "You did exactly what you should've done; you stayed out of the corner. You didn't decide."

• (Janet Coleman) "I was eating that."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "No, you weren't."
• (Janet Coleman) "I was."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "No, you weren't."
• (Janet Coleman) "I was -- I was -- Bastard."

• (Janet Coleman) "Dear Mr. and Mrs. Anderson: I was deeply shocked when advised your son was lost on an operational mission on Saturday, October 27th, 1962. Your son rendered distinguished and dedicated service to his country throughout his career. He was admired and respected for his courage and his professional skill by all with whom he served. His tragic loss will be deeply felt and a grateful nation will be forever in his debt."

• (Janet Coleman) "What do you want, Kenny?"
• (Lucinda Jenney) "I want you to sit down."
• (Janet Coleman) "Well, I'm not gonna sit down."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "I want you to sit down, loosen your tie, take a minute --"
• (Janet Coleman) "I haven't got a a minute."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "You're the President of the United States. They can wait for you."

• (Janet Coleman) "Good evening my fellow citizens, this government as promised has maintained the closest surveillance on the Soviet military buildup on the island of Cuba, within the past week unmistakable evidence has established the fact that a series of offensive missile sites is now in preparation on that imprisoned island, the purpose of these bases can be none other to provide a nuclear strike capability against the western hemisphere, acting therefore in the defense of our own security and under the authority entrusted to me in The Constitution, I have directed the following initial steps be taken immediately, first, to halt this offensive build up a strict quarantine on all offensive military equipment on shipment to Cuba is being initiated, all ships of any kind bound for Cuba from whatever nation or port, will it found cargos of offensives weapons will be turned back, second, I've directed the continued and increased close surveillance of Cuba and it's military buildup, should these military continue to build up further action will be justified, I've directed the armed forces to prepare for any eventualities and third, it shall be the policy of this nation regard any nuclear missile launched from Cuba against any nation in the western hemisphere as an attack by the Soviet Union on the United States requiring a full retaliatory response upon the Soviet Union"

• (General Curtis LeMay) "You're in a pretty bad fix, Mr. President."
• (Janet Coleman) "What did you say?"
• (General Curtis LeMay) "You're in a pretty bad fix."
• (Janet Coleman) "Well, maybe you haven't noticed: You're in it with me."

• (Janet Coleman) "What is it that Sun Tzu says? "Wars are moral contests and they're won in the temples before they're ever fought.""
• (Janet Coleman) "It's right here; it's right here. This is where we turn it around. You call Adlai; you tell him to stick it to this son of a bitch."

• (Janet Coleman) "Dean, how does this all play out?"
• (Dean Acheson) "Your first step sir, will be to demand that the Soviet withdraw the missiles within 12 to 24 hours. They will refuse. When they do you will order the strikes, followed by the invasion. They will resist and be overrun. They will retaliate against another target somewhere else in the world, most likely Berlin. We will honor our treaty commitments and resist them there, defeating them per our plans."
• (Janet Coleman) "Those plans call for the use of nuclear weapons. So what is the next step?"
• (Dean Acheson) "Hopefully cooler heads will prevail before we reach the next step."

• (Janet Coleman) "Have you canceled Chicago and the rest of the weekend yet?"
• (Lucinda Jenney) "You don't show for Chicago, everyone'll know there's something going on."
• (Janet Coleman) "I don't care. Just cancel --"
• (Lucinda Jenney) "Forget it."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "I'm not calling and canceling on Daley."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "You call and cancel on Daley."
• (Janet Coleman) "You're scared to cancel on Daley?"
• (Lucinda Jenney) "You're damn right I'm scared."
• (Janet Coleman) "Well I'm not."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "Watch this."

• (Janet Coleman) "god**** it. How the god**** hell could this happen? I'm gonna have Powell's head on a platter; next to LeMay's. Kenny, you hear me give the order to go to DEFCON 2? 'Cause I remember giving the order to go to DEFCON 3 but, y'know I must be suffering from amnesia. I've just been informed our nuclear forces are at DEFCON 2."
• (Gen. Max Taylor) "They were limited, Mr. President. The orders were limited to our strategic forces --"
• (Janet Coleman) "Max."
• (Gen. Max Taylor) "-- in the continental United States. General LeMay is correct. Technically, SAC has the statutory authority --"
• (Janet Coleman) "I have the authority. I am the commander in chief of the United States, and I say when we go to war."

• (Janet Coleman) "Boy, there is a lot of noise out there, Kenny."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "You know what you're doing, Mr. President. You're gonna make the best call you can, and you know they're gonna second-guess you. So what? We're just gonna have to take our beatings as we go -- So what are we gonna do now?"
• (Janet Coleman) "I'm going on TV -- You know, maybe the American people will go with me, even if their elected representatives won't."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "You wear something nice for the TV; make sure Jackie picks it."

• (Janet Coleman) "Well, things can't get much worse."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "Oh, I don't know; we could have to go down to Lyndon's ranch again, dressed up as cowboys, shoot deer out of the back of his convertible."
• (Janet Coleman) "That was a bad day -- Hell, I thought there'd be -- more good days."

• (Janet Coleman) "If they want this god**** job, they can have it. It's no great joy to me."

• (Janet Coleman) "Okay; let's have it."
• (NPIC Photo Interpreter) "Gentlemen, as most of you now know, a U-2 over Cuba Sunday morning took a series of disturbing photographs. Our analysis at NPIC indicates that the Soviet Union has followed up its conventional weapons build-up in Cuba with the introduction of surface-to-surface, medium-range ballistic missiles, or MRBMs. Our official estimate at this time is that the missile system is the SS-4 'Sandal'. We do not believe that the missiles are as yet operational. Iron Bark reports that the SS-4 can deliver a 3-megaton nuclear weapon 1,000 miles. So far we've identified 32 missiles serviced by about 3400 men, undoubtedly all Soviet personnel. Our cities and military installations in the southeast as far north as Washington, D.C., are in range of these weapons, and in the evnt of a launch would have only five minutes of warning."
• (General Marshall Carter) "Five minutes, gentlemen."
• (Gen. Max Taylor) "In those five minutes, they could kill 80 million Americans; and destroy a significant percentage of our bomber bases, degrading our retaliatory options. The Joint Chiefs' consensus, Mr. President, is that this signals a major doctrinal shift in Soviet thinking; to a first-strike policy. It is a massively destabilizing move."
• (Robert Kennedy) "How long until they're operational?"
• (NPIC Photo Interpreter) "General Taylor can answer that question better than I can."
• (Gen. Max Taylor) "GMAC; Guided Missiles Intelligence Committee; estimates 10-14 days. A crash program could limit that time. However, I must stress that there may be more missiles; that we don't know about. We need more U-2 coverage."
• (Janet Coleman) "Gentlemen, I want first reactions here. Assuming for the moment that Khruschev has not gone off the deep end; and intends to start World War III; what are we looking at?"
• (Dean Rusk) "Mr. President, I believe my team is in agreement. If we permit the introduction of nuclear missiles to a Soviet satellite nation in our hemisphere, the diplomatic consequnces will be too terrible to contemplate. The Russians are trying to show the world they can do whatever they want, wherever they want, and we're powerless to stop them. If they succeed --"
• (Robert Kennedy) "It'll be Munich all over again."
• (Dean Rusk) "Yes. Appeasement only makes the aggressor more aggressive. And the Soviets will be emboldened to push us even harder. Now we must remove the missiles one way or another. Now it seems to me the options are either some combination of international pressure & action on our part, til they give in; or; we hit them. An air strike."

Elya Baskin as Dobrynin

• (Elya Baskin) "You're a good man; your brother is a good man. I assure you there are other good men. Let us hope the will of good men is enough to counter the terrible strength of this thing that was put in motion."

Boris Lee Krutonog as Alexander Fomin

• (Boris Lee Krutonog) "So I understand you correctly, if the missiles in Cuba were dismantled; returned to the Soviet Union; and a guarantee was made not to reintroduce them, the United States would be prepared to guarantee that it would never invade Cuba."
• (John Scali) "That is correct."
• (Boris Lee Krutonog) "And this is from the highest authority?"
• (John Scali) "Yes; the highest authority. There are two conditions. The UN must be allowed to inspect the removal of the missiles."
• (Boris Lee Krutonog) "Of course, the UN must also be allowed to observe the redeployment of forces from the American Southeast."
• (John Scali) "I can't speak to that."
• (Boris Lee Krutonog) "What's the second condition, John?"
• (John Scali) "Time is of the essence."
• (Boris Lee Krutonog) "How much time?"
• (John Scali) "Forty-eight hours. In forty-eight hours, there can be no deals."

Tim Kelleher as Ted Sorensen

• (Dean Rusk) "The FBI has identified this Alexander Fomin as the Soviet Resident; the KGB equivalent of one of our station chiefs. He's their highest-ranking spy in this country, and he knows John's a friend of mine."
• (Tim Kelleher) "All the trademarks of a back-channel overture."
• (Lucinda Jenney) "Yeah, some back channel. ABC news guy, my god-damn next-door neighbor --"

Marya Kazakova as Soviet Woman

• (Marya Kazakova) "Who are you?"
• (Lucinda Jenney) "The friend."

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