Old Movies, part two

I have to talk about comedies because they often have the best lines of any movies. One of my favorites is “…when you loomed up in your nightie and shot me in the arm.” That’s from the heist comedy How to Steal a Million with Audrey Hepburn and Peter O’Toole. What young woman doesn’t imagine looming up in her nightie with an antique gun and accidentally shooting a would-be burglar who is actually a government fraud expert and drives the hottest yellow Jaguar? And, for the guys, who doesn’t imagine stealing a priceless, heavily guarded statue all to win the tender heart of Audrey Hepburn who is the to-die-for sophisticate in a black Givenchy dress. (Yeah, I know you guys don’t know or care who Givenchy is, but if you’d seen the movie you’d appreciate the designer.) And the “stealing” is for a higher cause—so it’s all good.

Charade is another movie with a thousand quotable lines. Audrey Hepburn says, “I already know an awful lot of people and until one of them dies I couldn't possibly meet anyone else.” To which, Cary Grant replies, “Well, if anyone goes on the critical list, let me know.” (I’m thinking of recommending the line to Ariel to try on some of the strange guys that insist on introducing themselves to her at UTC.)

Of course, not all the great lines are from comedies: “Round up the usual suspects” (Casablanca). That line gets used at our house when something goes awry—it means “Was it Matt or Jake?”

And the Humphrey Bogart/Lauren Bacall movies sizzled. “You do know how to whistle, don’t you, Steve,…” or “Anybody got a match?” Well, this is a family blog, but the lines are worth memorizing for later—Cal’s heard me quote Lauren Bacall many times. But, that’s probably more than you wanted to know.