Misquotes

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Permalink Reply by Shari on January 4, 2009 at 6:57pm

"Play it again, Sam" - was a line never spoken by Ingrid Bergman or Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca (1942) to Sam (Dooley Wilson), the nightclub pianist and reluctant performer of the sentimental song 'As Time Goes By' (written by Herman Hupfeld). The closest Bogart came to the phrase was this: "You played it for her, you can play it for me...If she can stand it, I can. Play it!"

The line "Play it again, Sam" appeared in the Marx Brothers' A Night in Casablanca (1946). When "Play It Again Sam" became the title of a Woody Allen comedy Play It Again, Sam (1972) that, in part, spoofed the classic 1942 film, the misquote was further reinforced. Variations on the line were spoken, however, by the two leads:

Permalink Reply by Shari on January 4, 2009 at 6:58pm

One of the most oft-quoted lines in cinema history has often been misquoted or paraphrased, notably in director Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles (1974) as "Badges? We don't need no stinkin' badges!", in Gotcha! (1985), in "Weird Al" Yankovic's UHF (1989) as: "Badgers??? We don't need no steenkin' badgers!", and in Troop Beverly Hills (1989) regarding the patches of the Wilderness Girls Troop as: "Patches? We don't need no stinkin' patches." In its original form in director John Huston's The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), it was actually: "Badges? We ain't got no badges. We don't need no badges. I don't have to show you any stinkin' badges!"

Permalink Reply by Shari on January 4, 2009 at 6:58pm

The last line of Casablanca (1942) is also often misquoted (and the name Louis mis-spelled as Louie) - the correct line is: "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." It is often stated as: "This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship" or "I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship."

Permalink Reply by Shari on January 4, 2009 at 6:58pm

"I'm ready for my closeup, Mr. De Mille" has often been presented as Norma Desmond's (Gloria Swanson) line, but it's actually a misquote of her original closing: "All right, Mr. De Mille, I'm ready for my closeup"

Permalink Reply by Shari on January 4, 2009 at 6:59pm

In The Graduate (1967), Benjamin (Dustin Hoffman) asked the Mrs. Robinson (Anne Bancroft) character: "Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me. Aren't you?," NOT "Mrs. Robinson, are you trying to seduce me?" At one point, however, Mrs. Robinson asked Benjamin: "Would you like me to seduce you?"

Permalink Reply by Shari on January 4, 2009 at 6:59pm

Steven Spielberg's Jaws (1975) has often been misquoted, when Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) exclaimed to his crewmate Quint (Robert Shaw): "You're gonna need a bigger boat." He has been attributed as saying: "We're gonna need a bigger boat".

Permalink Reply by Shari on January 4, 2009 at 7:02pm

"If you build it, they will come" was NOT what the voice said in Field of Dreams (1989). Instead, it was: "If you build it, he will come."

Permalink Reply by Shari on July 9, 2010 at 11:21am

"Judy...Judy...Judy" - was falsely attributed to Cary Grant. In Only Angels Have Wings (1939), Grant said the name 'Judy' numerous times to costar Rita Hayworth (playing a character named Judith McPherson), but never repeated her name in rapid succession.

Permalink Reply by Shari on July 9, 2010 at 11:22am

The most beloved family film, The Wizard of Oz (1939) has had problems with one of its most famous lines spoken by Judy Garland (as Dorothy Gale) to her dog: "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore." It's generally misquoted as: "Toto, I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore" or "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, Toto." [The second misquote was heard in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989).]

Permalink Reply by Shari on July 9, 2010 at 11:22am

"Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?" - is actually an incorrect quote. In Disney's animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), the wicked Queen asked: "Magic Mirror on the Wall, who is the Fairest one of all?" [The misquote was heard in Elvira, Mistress of the Dark (1988), 101 Dalmatians (1996), 54 (1998), and other films.]