BEAU GESTE (1939)                       

Beau Geste (Gary Cooper), as Schwartz shouts at the legionnaires, exhorting them to mutiny against Sgt. Markoff: ‘Wait a minute. I don’t know much about mutinies, but I do know it isn’t good form to plan them at the top of your voice!’

Gary Cooper as Beau Geste

Rasinoff (J Carrol Naish), about Markoff: ‘Oh…he’s a madman! He was expelled from the Siberian penal colony for cruelty!’

Brian Donlevy as Sgt. Markoff

Markoff (Brian Donlevy): ‘I am Sergeant Markoff. I make soldiers out of scum like you, and I don’t do it gently. You’re the sloppiest lot I’ve ever seen. It’s up to me to prevent you from becoming a disgrace to the regiment. And I will prevent that if I have to kill half of you with work. But the half that lives will be soldiers, I promise you!’

Lieutenant Martin (Harvey Stephens) on his death-bed: ‘I’m going to die. I’m going to be buried under the sand and forgotten. When I was a little boy, I thought soldiers always died in battles. I didn’t know there were so many soldiers…and so few battles…and so many fevers.’

Beau: (to Markoff): ‘There’ll be a flag flying out there in the morning that I swore to uphold. Armies of good men have died for it – gladly. It’s a battle flag and it’s a flag of victory. I’m rather proud to be under it. And I wouldn’t want to go out in the morning, like you, and know that I was going to be a traitor to it!’

Markoff: ‘And now, you scum, it’s my turn. I’m going to give you a lesson in putting down an attempted mutiny that’ll be the last thing you’ll ever see. Maybe this’ll make you die happy. Markoff thanks you. When he’s an officer and has the Legion of Honour, he’ll think often of the stupid, blundering pigs that put him where he is.’

Bodies propped by Markoff at the parapets at Fort Zinderneuf

Markoff (as he props a dead man at a fort parapet): ‘Everybody does his duty at Zinderneuf, dead or alive! We’ll make those Arabs think we’ve got a thousand men. The rest of the bullets you stop won’t hurt as much as that first one.’

The Geste Brothers (L to R) John (Milland), Beau (Cooper), Digby (Robert Preston)

John Geste (Ray Milland): ‘Charming fellow, our sergeant.’

Beau: A trifle uncouth, but the best soldier we’ll ever see.’

CHINATOWN (1974)                        

Man with a Knife (Roman Polanski) to Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson): ‘You’re a very nosy fellow, kitty cat. Huh? You know what happens to nosy fellows? Huh? No? Wanna guess? Huh? No? OK. They lose their noses.’ (He slashes Gittes’ nose). ‘Next time you lose the whole thing. Cut it off and feed it to my goldfish.’

Yelburton (John Hillerman) to Gittes: ‘My goodness, what happened to your nose?’

Gittes: ‘I cut myself shaving.’

Yelburton: ‘You ought to be more careful. That must really smart.’

Gittes: ‘Only when I breathe.’

Noah Cross (John Huston): Exactly what do you know about me? Sit down.’

Gittes: ‘Mainly that you’re rich, too respectable to want your name in the newspapers.’

Cross: ‘Of course I’m respectable- I’m old! Politicians, ugly buildings and whores all get respectable if they last long enough.’

Lt. Escobar (Perry Lopez) discussing the murder of Hollis Mulwray: ‘You must really think I’m stupid, don’t you, Gittes.’

Gittes: ‘I don’t think about it that much, but gimme a day or two and I’ll get back to yuh. Now I’d like to go home.’…

Escobar: ‘C’mon Gittes. Who the hell d’you think you’re dealing with? A bunch of assholes? Mulwray had salt water in his lungs. You were following him day and night; you saw who killed him. You even took pictures of it. It was Evelyn Mulwray, and she’s been payin’ you off like a slot machine ever since.’

Gittes: ‘You accusin’ me of extortion?’

Escobar: ‘Absolutely!’

Gittes: ‘I don’t think I need a day or two; you’re dumber than you think I think y’are.’

Gittes: ‘A memorial service was held at the Mar Vista Inn today for Jasper Lamar Crabb. He passed away two weeks ago.’

Evelyn Mulwray (Faye Dunaway): ‘Why is that unusual?’

Gittes: ‘He passed away two weeks ago and one week ago he bought the land. That’s unusual.’

Jack Nicholson as Jake Gittes & Faye Dunaway as Evelyn Mulwray

Walsh (Joe Mantell) to Gittes: ‘Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown.’

5 FINGERS (1952)                

Count Franz Von Papen (John Wengraf): ‘I’ve often wondered, Countess – why did you leave Warsaw?’

Countess Anna Staviska (Danielle Darrieux): ‘Bombs were falling. I felt I was in the way.’

Von Papen: ‘And why did you come here? You and your late husband had lived so long in England.’

Staviska: ‘I did not consider being bombed in London more attractive than being bombed in Warsaw.’

Von Papen: ‘You could have counted on our protection.’

Staviska: ‘I understand you’re ‘protecting’ all of my estates and possessions in Poland. Who has them?’

Von Papen: ‘Field Marshall Goering, I believe.’

Staviska: Many of our German friends, before the war, would come as our guests to hunt wild pigs. I refused to invite Goering. I couldn’t tolerate Goering killing a wild pig. It seemed too much like brother killing brother.’

[Von Papen informs Moyzisch that the German High Command has given the spy Diello the code name of ‘Cicero’].

Moyzisch (Oskar Karlweis): ‘Cicero?’

Von Papen: ‘The name is the personal choice of Herr Ribbentrop.’

Moyzisch: ‘Has it any significance, sir?’

Von Papen: ‘None that I know of. Except the surprising fact that Herr Ribbentrop has even heard of Cicero.’

[Moyzisch to Diello: ‘We would prefer that you come to the German consul at the same hour, if you like.’

Ulysses Diello (James Mason): No, thank you, although I’m tempted. So many more people go into German consulates than come out. I’ve often wondered what possible attraction would keep them there so long.’

James Mason as Diello – Danielle Darrieux as Countess Staviska

Diello: ‘Spies are notoriously poor businessmen. Most of them are professional patriots, frustrated liberals, or victims of blackmail. And in all such cases the emotional involvement weakens their bargaining position and destroys sound business judgments.’

Spy catcher Colin Travers (Michael Rennie) to Diello: ‘You’re the most cold-blooded thief, traitor and criminal I’ve seen in a lifetime of looking at human trash.’

Diello: ‘What a pity. I rather hoped I’d look like a gentleman.’