Noirvember Day 20: Sunday Words of Noir (Part 3)

— “How can a man be so dumb?”

If it’s Sunday, it’s time to step into another shower of words from the world of noir. This week’s batch of noteworthy lines comes from the mouths of the femmes. Don’t forget your umbrella…

“How can a man be so dumb? I’ve wanted to laugh in your face ever since I met you. You’re old and ugly and I’m sick of you. Sick, sick, sick!” Kitty March (Joan Bennett) in Scarlet Street (1946)

“I don’t envy you – I’m sorry for you. You’re the most pitiful creature I’ve ever known.” Ruth Berent (Jeanne Crain) in Leave Her to Heaven (1945)

“You’ve got to let me keep that money. I won’t let you give it away. Chances like this are never offered twice. This is it. I’ve been waiting for it, dreaming of it all my life.” Jane Palmer (Lizabeth Scott) in Too Late for Tears (1949)

— “You’re a bigger idiot than I thought.”

“You’re a bigger idiot than I thought. When are you gonna get it through your square head that this is big business? Wake up, Brown – this train’s headed for the cemetery. But there’s another one coming along. The gravy train. Let’s get on it.” Mrs. Neil (Marie Windsor) in The Narrow Margin (1952)

“What am I guilty of? What were their lives compared to mine? What was she? A mean, vicious, hateful old woman who never did anything for anybody. What was he? A thief, a drunk, someone who would have died in the gutter anyway. Neither on of them had any right to live.” Martha Ivers (Barbara Stanwyck) in The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946)

“I want a monopoly on you, David, or whatever it is that people have when they don’t want anyone else to have any of you.” Louise Howell Graham (Joan Crawford) in Possessed (1947)

“I was trying to get that money for you – for us! You always said that you would never marry me unless we had some money. I didn’t mean to kill him. I’m not bad. I’m not a killer.” Ruth Dillon (Claire Trevor) in Street of Chance (1942)

— “I have no connection with you . . .”

“You’ll never be anything but a common frump whose father lived over a grocery store and whose mother took in washing.” Veda Pierce (Ann Blyth) in Mildred Pierce (1945)

“How far could I get with you? What do you want me to do, let him get us both? You have to watch out for yourself – that’s the way it is, I’m sorry. What do you want me to do, throw away all this money?” Anna Dundee (Yvonne DeCarlo) in Criss Cross (1949)

“I have no more connection with you than with a toad out in the street.” Poppy (Gene Tierney) in The Shanghai Gesture (1941)

Join me tomorrow for Day 21 of Noirvember!

~ by shadowsandsatin on November 20, 2022.