And the best movie line ever is ...
Coeur d'Alene Press | UPDATED 7 years, 1 month AGO
We’re officially in Christmas time now. Bright lights and movies with wonderful endings. Everyone has to watch Jimmy Stewart save his life and soul again.
But that got me thinking: What is the best movie line of all time?
So... This is always an interactive column, so what is YOUR favorite line?
I’ll give you mine in a moment, but first, I find it kind of funny how the public sometimes gets famous or heroic statements wrong. Maybe it’s the passage of time ... except that a couple of iconic movie lines were misstated almost immediately, and then simply repeated incorrectly for generations.
For instance, this year happens to be the 75th anniversary of the classic “Casablanca,” with Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman bringing tears to everyone’s eyes at the finish. From that famous movie, millions of people have repeated the line: “Play it again, Sam.”
Except that Rick Blaine, Bogart’s unforgettable rogue of a character, never uttered those words. Not exactly.
WHAT RICK actually said to Sam the pianist was: “Play it. You know what I want to hear. You played it for her, you can play it for me!”
And yet, haven’t we all heard someone say: “Play it again, Sam”?
If you want a true forever moment from “Casablanca,” it’s actually one of the great lines in movie history: “We’ll always have Paris.”
There is another classic with an oft-misquoted line, the 1938 film “Gone With the Wind.” Almost anyone can remember the brush-off given to Scarlett O’Hara at the end of the movie. Except that most people will be wrong when they recite what happens after Scarlett wails, “What will I do?”
In one of the cruelest goodbyes in movie history (which is probably why we like it so much), Rhett Butler says... What?
“Frankly, Scarlett, I don’t give a damn!”
Nope. That’s what movie buffs have repeated forever, but it’s wrong. Rhett actually says, “Frankly, MY DEAR, I don’t give a damn!” He doesn’t even mention Scarlett’s name.
THERE ARE plenty of great lines we do remember, though.
A fairly innocuous, no-deep-meaning flick about a sports agent played by Tom Cruise somehow produced two of them. In “Jerry Maguire,” your top pick has to depend on romance or reality.
If you’re a heartstrings type, then Renee Zellweger’s line (“You had me at hello!”) would be tops — but real-life folk probably can identify more with Cuba Gooding, playing the part of an NFL wide receiver and screaming: “Show me the money!”
And yes, dreamers, there’s always Judy Garland in “The Wizard of Oz,” looking puzzled as she says: “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.”
But my favorite?
THIS ONE isn’t a classic like “Make him an offer he can’t refuse,” or anything like that. Still, given the characters involved, it was perfect.
In “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” our heroes get chased to the edge of a cliff and have no choice but to leap hundreds of feet into a river.
Sundance (Robert Redford) sheepishly admits he doesn’t want to jump because he can’t swim. Butch (Paul Newman) laughs and replies: “Are you crazy? The fall will probably kill you.”
I love it.
So now, follow the instructions in the little box and send us your own favorite lines. It doesn’t have to be a blockbuster movie. It can be slapstick or pure heartbreak.
Whatever, it’ll be you.
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Steve Cameron is a columnist for The Press. Follow A Brand New Day at facebook.com/BrandNewDayCDAPress. Email: scameron@cdapress.com
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It’s showtime!
There have been a zillion or so great lines uttered in movies — famous flicks and obscure ones.
We want to know YOUR favorite movie line.
Close your eyes, remember all those movies, pick out that one line you like best, and send a quick email to: scameron@cdapress.com