MARY CARTER
Commentary
Eighteen years ago, The American Film Institute compiled a list of the top 100 movie quotes of all time. Approximately 1,500 film and history related panelists elected a line from 1939’s “Gone With The Wind” as number one.
Rhett Butler’s closing remark, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn,” was a sensation (not for its, well, frankness), but for the fact that the word damn defied a 1930 Motion Picture Production Code. “Gone With the Wind” producer David O. Selznick was fined $5k, which translates to nearly $106k today.
As for today, ask anyone under a certain age who played Rhett Butler, and many would reply with a shrug and a stare.
A top movie quote list compiled by the staff of InfoPlease in July of this year crowned its first place to, “You’re gonna need a bigger boat,” from the 1975 film “Jaws.” Gone With the Wind’s iconic line dropped to number two, and the InfoPlease staff kindly explained the movie and scene from which it came.
Luckily, today’s audiences don’t need explanations for: “Just keep swimming,” “On Wednesdays, we wear pink,” and “This is Sparta!”
Back in the day, “Casablanca,” “Gone With the Wind”, and “The Wizard of Oz” championed the most quotable lines. Presently, “Fight Club” beats the pack, even if the first rule of Fight Club is that you don’t talk about it.
In fairness to the classics, today’s movies have a distinct advantage. Online sites, particularly those such as IMDb, offer a communal place for collecting film quotes and catchphrases. Before the internet, one had to recall a line by hearing it in the theater, or through a friend. This is why some were incorrectly quoted.
For example, “Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore,” is close, but it’s actually, “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” “Play it again, Sam,” sounds right, especially when bantered with a Humphrey Bogart accent. But it’s really, “Play it, Sam,” and Ingrid Bergman said it.
Speaking of “Casablanca,” its original number 5 placement, “Here’s looking at you, kid,” got knocked out by the 2015 Star Wars’, “Chewie, we’re home.” Dorothy’s, “There’s no place like home,” in “The Wizard of Oz” held onto the InfoPlease roster at number 90.
It wasn’t always the film writers who were responsible for these catchy lines. Actor Robert DeNiro improvised the now famous, “Are you talking to me?” in 1976’s “Taxi Driver.” In the 1980 thriller, “The Shining,” Jack Nicholson ad-libbed, “Here’s Johnny!” as his character broke through a bathroom door with an ax.
This was in reference to how “Tonight Show” icon Johnny Carson was introduced by co-host Ed McMahon from 1962 to 1992. Likely, Carson and McMahon are names that would stump today’s younger generation.
While new movie quotes like, “I’m one stomach flu away from my ideal weight,” continue to invade popular culture, many of the old ones such as, “All right, Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my closeup,” remain.
The staff at InfoPlease lists, “Snap out of it!” from Moonstruck at number 100. The American Film Institute granted Titanic’s, “I’m king of the world!” that very same spot, which circles us back to that bigger boat.
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