Good morning. Let’s start off with a little film noir…
One of the most common questions any writer is asked is: what led you to this particular genre. For me, the answer begins with black-and-white movies and actors like Bogart, Mitchum, Lancaster, etc. My father was a huge film noir fan, and if he’s ever been disappointed in my career choice he has only himself to blame: show an eight-year-old kid The Maltese Falcon 20 times and it’s bound to have an influence. (Sadly, we watched the Marx Brothers just as much, and you can imagine what that has resulted in…)
So, in a tribute to the films that led me to this genre of fiction, I thought I’d solicit some of your favorite film noir quotes. To get the ball rolling, I asked a few of my fellow film noir fans to share some of their favorites. Here they are.
Dennis Lehane, www.dennislehanebooks.com :
“Harry thinks if you call him Harry one more time he’s going to make you eat that cat.”
Gene Hackman, NIGHT MOVES
Cathy: Is there a way to win at this?
Jeff: No, but there’s a way to lose more slowly.
Jane Greer & Robert Mitchum, OUT OF SIGHT
Phyllis: I wonder if I know what you mean.
Walter: I wonder if you wonder.
Barbara Stanwyck & Fred McMurray, DOUBLE INDEMNITY
“Anyone checked you for a heartbeat lately?”
Lawyer (JT Walsh) to Bridget (Linda Fiorentino) THE LAST SEDUCTION
“When you commit a crime, there are a hundred ways to fuck up. If you think of fifty of `em, you’re a genius. And you ain’t no genius.”
_Mickey Rourke, BODY HEAT
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Laura Lippman, www.lauralippman.com :
My favorite quote isn’t from a truly noir film, but from All About Eve: “You’re much too short for that gesture.”
And my other favorite line doesn’t appear in the film version, and the film isn’t truly noir, although some might think it is. The last line of Mildred Pierce (bear in mind, I’m away from my library) is: “Let’s get stinko.”
Theresa Schwegel, www.theresaschwegel.com :
Phyllis: We’re both rotten.
Walter Neff: Only you’re a little more rotten.
Double Indemnity
Jon Jordan, www.crimespreemag.com :
“People think it’s all about misery and desperation and death and all that shit which is not to be ignored, but what they forget is the pleasure of it. Otherwise we wouldn’t do it. After all, we’re not fucking stupid. “
Renton, Trainspotting
“I killed him for money and for a woman. I didn’t get the money. And I didn’t get the woman.”
Double Indemnity
Cameron Hughes, www.chud.com :
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<strong>Two of my own favorites:</strong>
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"Sidney, this syrup you’re giving out with…you pour over waffles, not JJ Hunsecker."
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<em>Burt Lancaster as Hunsecker, The Sweet Smell of Success</p>
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Carmen: "You’re not very tall, are you?"
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Marlowe: "Well, I, uh, I try to be."
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<em>Martha Vickers and Humphrey Bogart, The Big Sleep<br /></em>
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<strong><br />Best 1940s-style film noir quote misplaced into another decade and medium:</strong>
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From the rapper Jay-Z. I have no idea the name of the song, but I will never forget the line.
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"I pack heat like I’m the oven door."
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<strong><br />And, credit where credit is due, one of dad’s favorite exchanges from <em>The Maltese Falcon:</em></strong>
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<span style="font-size: 0.8em;">Gutman: Well sir, there are other means of persuasion besides killing and</span>
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<span style="font-size: 0.8em;"> threatening to kill.</span>
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<span style="font-size: 0.8em;">Spade: Yes, that’s…that’s true. But there’re none of them any good </span>
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<span style="font-size: 0.8em;"> unless the threat of death is behind them.</span><span style="font-size: 0.8em;"> Do you see what I mean?</span>
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<span style="font-size: 0.8em;"> If you start something, I’ll make it a matter </span><span style="font-size: 0.8em;">of your having to kill me or call it off.</span>
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<span style="font-size: 0.8em;">Gutman: That’s an attitude, sir, that calls for the most delicate judgment on</span>
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<span style="font-size: 0.8em;"> both sides. Because, as you know, sir, in the heat of action men </span>
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<span style="font-size: 0.8em;"> emotions carry them away.</span>
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<span style="font-size: 0.8em;">Spade: And the trick from my angle is to make my play strong enough to tie</span>
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<span style="font-size: 0.8em;"> you up, but not make you mad enough to bump me off against your </span>
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<span style="font-size: 0.8em;"> better judgment.</span>
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<span style="font-size: 0.8em;">Gutman: By gad, sir, you are a character. </span>
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