“Glengarry, Glen Ross” (1992)

Glengarry, Glen Ross is a 1992 movie, based on a screenplay by David Mamet. This isn’t a Jerry Bruckheimer “blow ‘em up” movie. Mamet’s movies are typically dialogue driven, and Glengarry is no exception.

I used to teach this movie in my Online Business Ethics Through Film class in Xavier’s MBA program, but shifted away from it after the scandal with Kevin Spacey. Be prepared for the foul language and mistreatment of these condo salesmen played by Jack Lemmon, Alan Arkin and Ed Harris. Al Pacino’s Ricky Roma escapes the verbal beat downs by being “Number 1 on the Cadillac Board”, meaning he’s tricked the most people into buying the swampland in Florida.

The major ethics and compliance theme of the movie deals with pressure to perform, and how people will react when faced with limited options.

For more information about the movie, click here for a review by Roger Ebert and here for an article in wikipedia.