Sunday, July 03, 2005

“You know how to whistle, don't you, Steve? You just put your lips together and... blow.”

The Movie: To Have and Have Not, 1944 (Jules Furthman and William Faulkner, screenwriters, loosely based on a novel by Ernest Hemingway; Howard Hawks, dir.)
Who says it: Lauren Bacall as Slim, a nightclub singer in Martinique
The context: Slim makes her availability clear to Steve Morgan (Humphrey Bogart), a charter boat captain.
How to use it: Do I really need to explain this to you?

The whole line: “You know you don't have to act with me, Steve. You don't have to say anything, and you don't have to do anything. Not a thing. Oh, maybe just whistle. You know how to whistle, don't you, Steve? You just put your lips together and... blow.”

This movie is not among my favorites, but it is a great line, and my mother, in her younger days, looked like Lauren Bacall. My mother still looks pretty good, I'm glad to report.

Using this line reminds me to mention that we are now in the final month of this incarnation of the blog. The "You Talking to Me?" theme will end on July 31, so if you have any lines you can't believe I haven't used already, send them on. Thanks to the people who've already sent me some; I will need to watch a couple of movies before I can use some of the lines that have been suggested, but I'll do my best.

The blog will take a break for the month of August, and return on September 1 in its new incarnation. I do know what the new theme will be, but won't announce it here until the end of the month.

Our Chris, my brother James and I saw War of the Worlds last night. The movie is very scary, very well-made, and I hated it. Last night I just felt uneasy about it; this morning I feel a little disgusted, as if I'd participated in some kind of mob behavior. Stephanie Zacharek, in her review for Salon magazine, explains why better than I can.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I respectfully request quotes from the following films, in order of desire:

1. Quiz Show
2. Repo Man
3. Galaxy Quest
4. Out of Sight

Tom Ehrenfeld said...

Not that there isn't a plethora of quotes from the quartet of titles, but haven't you already cited lines from Repo Man (Plate o Shrimp) and Galaxy Quest (did you guys ever watch the show?)

What lines do you have in mind? From Galaxy Quest, I'd still love to see the line about "Guy, did you ever think you might be the plucky comic relief?" (paraphrased), or soemthing about Gwen repeating everything the computer says (there are some days I accuse my friends--and have even done so with my wife of acting this way....), or maybe just "never surrender."

What from Out of Sight? Great movie, but what line?

Anna said...

If anyone reading this hasn't seen War of the Worlds and wants to, don't read on.

You have to admit, Elle, that having Tom Cruise kill Tim Robbins was a great Hollywood moment. My very conservative husband turned to me at that point and said "I've been wanting to do that for years!"

Unknown said...

Okay, you don't have to use my suggestion but at least do some line from Donnie Darko. There are plenty to choose from.

Tiffany said...

This is cool!