Editor’s note: Another of the pieces lost in the reset.
I was on the verge of falling for another clickbait deal last night when I stopped.
The picture with the link was of Gene Wilder, and it said that he had spoken the most memorable line ever in a movie and it wasn’t even in the script.
I have a hard time believing that, but I may look at the list later. For right now, I’m going to use it as a jumping-off point for a look at great lines in film history. I’ll give you 10 in no particular order, basically my favorites, just one from each film. Then, whether in the comments here or on Facebook, you canadd your favorites.
From “CASABLANCA,” one of the most beloved of all films and one of the most quotable. Many quotes would be worthy of inclusion, but one — which appears in the movie four times, stands out.
“Here’s looking at you, kid.”
From new love affair in Paris to the heroic farewell on the tarmac in Casablanca, it’s a quote ranging from pleasantly quippy to beautifully poignant. Plenty of other great ones, but the runnerup would have to be the last nine of the movie.
“Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”
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From “GONE WITH THE WIND,”the quote that would probably top many lists, another farewell scene.
“Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.”
A huge controversy in 1939 for allowing Rhett Butler to speak a term definitely not for mixed company then.
A runner-up and also a very famous one is the soliloquy Scarlett gives after digging a turnip from the group and eating it uncooked and uncleaned.
“As God is my witness, as God is my witness they’re not going to lick me. I’m going to live through this and when it’s all over, I’ll never be hungry again. No, nor any of my folk. If I have to lie, steal, cheat or kill. As God is my witness, I’ll never be hungry again.”
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Staying in the same general time period of filmmaking, our next film is one of the most beloved ever. Those watching “THE WIZARD OF OZ” in 1939 saw a young girl escape from the depths of the Dust Bowl and fly over the rainbow to the land of Oz.
So of course this line made perfect sense to them.
“Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas any more.”
Variations of that line are still spoken more than 80 years later.
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Bouncing around a little, one of director Ron Howard’s earliest successes was also the same movie that made Michael Keaton a star. “NIGHT SHIFT” was a comedy about two guys working in a morgue, and the Keaton character decides they can make money by running a call-girl operation out of their office.
His partner, played by Henry Winkler, starts talking about how crazy it is that when are having sex with men all over the city, and he and Keaton are making money off it.
That’s when we get the classic line.
“Is this a great country or what?”
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Estelle Reiner might be the least famous person on this list to deliver one of the great quote. She was the wife on Carl Reiner and the mother of Rob Reiner, and it was in her son’s film “WHEN HARRY MET SALLY” that she spoke the five words that got her on the list.
It’s the scene everyone who has seen the movie remembers. Sally (Meg Ryan) demonstrates to Harry (Billy Crystal) that women can and do fake orgasms. When she is finished and the waiter at the next table asks for Estelle’s order, she delivers maybe the funniest line of the movie.
“I’ll have what she’s having.”
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Marlon Brando is on the list twice for two of the most famous lines in film history, and both come from roles he won a Best Actor Oscar for.
First was the classic “ON THE WATERFRONT,” where his Terry Malloy character was basically a thug. He was a an ex-boxer who had gotten out of the game because his brother and other gangsters made him throw a fight he should have won. It has been eating at him ever since.
“I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender.”
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Brando’s other quote would probably be in most people’s top three. Francis Ford Coppola’s Mafia epic “THE GODFATHER” gave Brando his role as Mafia don Vito Corleone, and while there were certainly quite a few memorable lines, it was this one that became timeless.
“I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse.”
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The eighth film on our list is often considered the greatest comedy of all time. “SOME LIKE IT HOT” is about two male musicians, played by Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis, who find themselves on the run after witnessing a mob massacre. They escape by dressing as women and catching on with an all-girl band.
It’s actually a minor player, portrayed by comedian Joe E. Brown, who gets the classic line. He’s a rich guy who falls in love with Lemmon/Daphne. He/she tries to convince her suitor that they can never be married, citing not being a real blonde, having a bad smoking habit and being unable to bear children.
After none of those work, Lemmon takes off his wig, lowers her voice and says, “I’m a man.”
Brown responds with the classic line.
“Well, nobody’s perfect.”
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The last two are ones I have trouble thinking of as “old movies,” but both are
Saving the best for last, let’s start with one of my favorite comedies, “USED CARS.” Kurt Russell, Gerrit Graham and Jack Warden (playing twins) in a battle between two brothers who own opposing used car lots. There are all sorts of great lines, including the classic “Fifty bucks never killed anybody,” but the one that lives forever in my mind is when Graham gives Russell some good advice before a date.
“Don’t let the little head do the thinking for the big head.”
Amen, brother.
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Last on our list, but certainly not least, is one of the classic comedies of the late ’70s, “ANIMAL HOUSE.”
Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?
No, and it wasn’t even over when the Negroes took their dates.
There are so many hilarious lines in this movie, but for me, one stands out above all the others. Four of the brothers return from a road trip that ended in disaster, and Flounder’s older brother’s car is nearly totaled. Otter, played by Tim Matheson, grins at Flounder and tells him where he went wrong.
“You fucked up … you trusted us.”
Times sure have changed from 1939, when the word “damn” stirred up a major controversy.
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So there they are. My top 10. I realized I’ve dated myself by not including anything made after 1989, but that just leaves more films for you to use.
Enjoy.