Day 13 of Noirvember: Monday Words of Noir
It’s about that time . . . time for some more of those awesome film noir lines. Dig in!
“Perhaps you don’t realize. It’s painful being killed – a piece of metal sliding into your body, finding its way to your heart. It takes a while to die, too. Sometimes a long while.” – Claire Trevor in Born to Kill (1947)
“Next time you want any information, don’t scratch for it like a dog. Ask for it like a man.” – Marty Milner in Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
“What a place. I can feel the rats in the wall.” – Franchot Tone in Phantom Lady (1944)
“Occasionally I always drink too much.” – Richard Erdman in Cry Danger (1951)
“I used to live in a sewer. Now I live in a swamp. I’ve come up in the world.” – Linda Darnell in No Way Out (1950)
“As you grow older, you’ll discover that life is very much like coffee. The aroma is always better than the actuality.” – Walter Slezak in Born to Kill (1947)
“You can’t go back and start again. The older you get, the worse things get.” – Joan Bennett in Hollow Triumph (1948)
“That’s a nice outfit. Better add to it before you go to church.” – Cornel Wilde in Road House (1948)
“I told you he had a cash register mind. Rings every time he opens his mouth.” – Dennis O’Keefe in Raw Deal (1948)
“Not only don’t you have any scruples, you don’t have any brains.” – Ann Savage in Detour (1945)
shadowsandsatin 
Marty Milner — it was one of only a few times that Martin Milner (Route 66 and Adam-12) used the name “Marty”.
I can’t believe he used it at all! LOL
Also from Sweet Smell of Success, this one-liner: “You’re a cookie full of arsenic.” – J.J. Hunsecker (Burt Lancaster).
My favorite!
IMHO Film Noir is the most quotable of movie genres, and my favorite kind of poetry.
To your gloriously curated list, I humbly add:
ROADHOUSE:
“She reminds me of the first woman who ever slapped my face.”
SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS
“I’d hate to take a bite out of you. You’re a cookie full of arsenic.” Sweet Smell of Success
DETOUR
“That’s life. Whichever way you turn, fate sticks out a foot to trip you.”
BORN TO KILL
“You can’t just go round killing people whenever the notion strikes you. It’s not feasible.”
Love every one of these! (And the Roadhouse quote made me laugh out loud!)
I could’ve used it, sister. More than once!
The Big Sleep (1946)
“I don’t mind if you don’t like my manners. I don’t like them myself. They’re pretty bad. I grieve over them long winter evenings.” – Philip Marlowe (Humphrey Bogart)
— and —
“She tried to sit in my lap while I was standing up.”
That first one is such an awesome quote — and Bogart delivers it with perfection. and the second cracks me up every single time!
These are so great. Some like the Raw Deal one are old faves but the Cry Danger one is new to me, I love it! Best thing is you can HEAR the voices as you read them.
You’re so right about hearing the voices saying these great lines!