Check out how everyone in that scene reacts differently while holding the phone.
Some take a quick glance,some are checking the weight of the phone,some examine it further and show a look of appreciation, and some, like Hyman Roth dont even bother to look at it and pass it on like nothing.

Now what can we say about every one of the characters from the way they handled the phone?

I believe that phone and the fact that its gold meant to symbolize something and the pepole's reaction to it could reveal us about their characters, or perhaps their greed.

Its intersting that Hyman Roth, who wants the 2 Millions so badly,doesnt even care about a gold telephone. I think it show Roth didnt really care about the money, what he really cared about was to be in control.
Also noted,that he had more than enough money to live the rest of his life as a rich man, but he wanted to stay in the game,to be a player,he was looking for power,thats why he wanted the 2 mil deal.

My opinion anyway.

What about the rest of the ppl who are holding the telephone?

I believe its an important scene, I think it deserves an analysis.

Lets hear your opinion.

Thats an interesting theory, Fame. Roth's modest lifestyle (his home, cars, clothing, etc.) would back up your "take" on him (about not being all that interested in money).

The others that examined the gold phone were businessmen. They might have been executives in large corporations but the bottom line was they were working men. They may have been well off, but they certainly weren't as rich as Roth, and so they were probably more impressed by the phone (because of its value). What gets me is the two guys from the telephone corporation who gave the gift of the phone looked so astonished at it. Didn't they know what they were bringing to Cuba?

A very symbolic scene followed this one ... when all the wiseguys were sitting on the hotel patio celebrating Roth's birthday he (Roth) cut the cake. The cake had a map of Cuba on it, and it was symbolic of them "slicing up" the island amongst themselves.

Great observation SC!

I have just now made up a theory for the telephone scene. Maybe Michael and Roth were the people who were going(or supposedly going to) invest the largest amounts of money in cuba and both of them were concerened about rebel activity more than anybody else(high stakes). Thus they were keen to start off the real business related talk and cut the crap about stuff like golden telephone, which they were not going to get anyway.

It seemed to me that both Michael and Roth simply passed the telephone along and ignored it. The corporate types gazed at it, and also got a sense of its weight and one commented to another about it i a favorable way. To Roth and Michael this was just a bribe for a crooked politician, and they probably thought less of him for showing it off than for taking it in the first place.

Hi all.
[new here and glad to have found you - and first of all, sorry for my english :\ ]

Regarding the telephone scene, i don't really think this phone was a "big hit" for anyone of them. What did _you_ think of it for the first time? "Wow, a golden telephone! What a miracle!"? Not really, huh? So for them, it was probably just an expensive toy - a cool giveaway, at which they rolled their inner eyes.

The different reactions are not showing their greed imho, but rather their "state" or "rank". The guys gazing at the phone just try to give the impression of being impressed, if you know what i mean... And assuming that Michael an Roth probably don't need to demonstrate anything, they show it clearly by not paying attention to the telephone.

Just my thought.

I sort of disagree about Roth not being interested in money.He wanted the 2 million and Michael dead.For a guy like Roth it's always about the money.Rememeber Ola telling Michael Hyman Roth always made money for his partners?

I see 2 members with 1 post- that calls for a double welcome!
Tabularasa and Mike Alto - welcome to the forum!Have fun!

Another theory: Everyone had to bribe Batista (the Cuban president) to do business there. Obviously, the United Telephone and Telegraph Company was in the same bribery pool. But bribery is supposed to be a discrete, silent business. So, when they gave Batista a flashy gold phone--and Batista bragged about it by passing it around the table and inviting the "gentlemen" to ooh-and-aaah over it--it put the bribery right out in the open, embarrassingly.

Michael and Roth also were on a bribery mission, but they preferred to keep it discrete. That's why they passed the phone without a comment or a glance, as if to say, "Those phone company guys are a buncha jerks--that friggin' gold phone is like flying the Goodyear blimp over Havana with a sign: 'President for Sale'. Batista, we're both part of the same hypocrisy, but never think it pays to brag about it openly."

Money and power are two sides of the same coin. Control is the coin. Roth ultimately wanted control. The gold telephone meant little to him since it was just represented another form of currency, a tool, if you will, that would help him achieve control. The business men were impressed with the telephone because it is a novel way of expressing wealth which is what they are pursuing. They don't understand power or control given the limited worlds in which they live in. For them, murder is not really on the table as a way to achieve wealth or control. For Roth and Mike, murder is pretty much a casual instrument.

Maybe we all would like to control everything around us. Roth and Mike wanted to control as much of their environments as they could, but they realized that control has limits. So, they concentrate on what they figure they have the best chance of controlling.