Mr. Nelson Quotes in Violent Road (1958)

Mr. Nelson: For your information, Barton, I called Walker long-distance. Just the mention of your name shot his blood pressure up twenty points.

Mitch Barton: Well he probably figured it was a collect call!

Mr. Nelson: He said you're reckless, defiant, have no respect for traffic regulations or people.

Mitch Barton: I like women; dogs; cats. Some cats.

Mr. Nelson: Walker said I'd have to be crazy if I ever hired you.

Mitch Barton: You bring me up here to tell me that? Why don't you call up your psychiatrist?

Mr. Nelson: I already did, Barton.

Mitch Barton: So what did he say?

Mr. Nelson: He said to call him again, if you didn't bring my trucks through for me.

Mitch Barton: Oh, okay. What's the haul?

Mr. Nelson: Lawrence, tell him.

George Lawrence: Three trucks. Red fuming Nitric Acid, Hydrogen Peroxide, Hydrazine. The three, basic component parts of a rocket-testing fuel.

Mitch Barton: I drove a tankful of Hydrazine before...

Mr. Nelson: On paved highway, maybe; not over roads like this. The authorities won't let us through the populated section. You'll by-pass every checking station. Any bump, any jar, any pebble could set this stuff off like a bomb. Come here.

Mr. Nelson: [they look at a map] Here's the new plant, the other side of these mountains at Thunder Dry Lake. Here's where we are. You start out here, cut across this road, takes you to the old, blocked off ridge route, the one they banned when they finished the new highway. There's just you and the trucks and empty space.

Mitch Barton: And now I lay me down to sleep.

Mr. Nelson: All three trucks arrive together. Each propellant is dependent on the other. One without the other is no good.

George Lawrence: Alone, out of their natural chemical environment too long, well...

[he clicks his fingers]

George Lawrence: Bang!

Mitch Barton: How long's bang?

Mr. Nelson: Bismarck is half way. You make that the first day. You don't dare risk driving at night so you stay over, start out the next morning.

Mitch Barton: Well, that's real generous. Anything else?

George Lawrence: Well, Mr Nelson just about said it; they're all unpredictable. The Hydrazine can explode if even a drop touches the dirt. The Hydrogen Peroxide is 100% concentrated; same thing can happen. Nitric Acid goes in three, separate tanks, installed on one truck. The fumes are poisonous, corrosive. This acid can burn a man alive.

Mitch Barton: Maybe, Walker knew what he was doing.

Mr. Nelson: Three trucks, six men. Three drivers, three helpers, in case of mechanical or road trouble. You round up your men and pull out of here within 24 hours.