Marvin Miller: Michael Anthony

Quotes 

• Michael Anthony : [Anthony enters the Silverstone estate hothouse to discover Tipton pruning, clipping and trimming some flowers in a flowerbox. Tipton is off-camera with only his gloved hands visible to the viewers]  You sent for me, sir?

  John Beresford Tipton : What do you know about camellias, Mike?

  Michael Anthony : Not much, sir.

  John Beresford Tipton : [Holding up a single plant]  Take this pretty young thing. Most people would want to leave it alone, to let it grow.

  Michael Anthony : Isn't that the general idea, sir?

  John Beresford Tipton : If you want something big, strong, and beautiful, you have to give it room to grow.

  [Tipton removes the pot in which the camellia was growing, freeing the roots and placing the plant into soil in a larger environment] 

  John Beresford Tipton : Then one day soon, I'll show you a strong, healthy, and possibly perfect camellia. Sometimes, people have to do the same thing in their lives.

  Michael Anthony : I see what you're driving at, sir.

  John Beresford Tipton : So,

  [Tipton hands an envelope to Anthony] 

  John Beresford Tipton : here is the name of my new millionaire, Mike. Let's see if he has the courage to grow.

• Michael Anthony : [to the viewers]  Everyone has his hobby. I worked for a man unique in all the world. He liked to give people $1,000,000. My name is Michael Anthony. For many years, I was Executive Secretary to John Beresford Tipton, who could give such money away often. You never heard of him? That's the way he wanted it. He lived at Silverstone, 60,000-acres of privacy, from which nothing was remote to him. His fingertips felt the pulsebeat in a hundred cities in dozens of countries. A man who was pleased to give $1,000,000 to someone who was never to know who or why; would have to be like that. For example, John Beresford Tipton grew camellias. Like everything else in his life, they had to be perfect.

• Michael Anthony : [to the viewers]  They were a quiet family. Good citizens. He worked hard and sought favors from no man. Their name was Fowler - or that's the way he and his wife were known in this town now.