Movie Quotes: 100-96

In 2005 the American Film Institute compiled a list of best film quotes, as selected by judges who comprised film artists, critics and historians. Selection criteria of the quotes included cultural impact and legacy, for example, to what extent the quote had become part of everyday language and the memories of the film as a result of the quote. Selections were from films shown in American cinemas, hence there is a weighting for American films. There have also been many superb films since 2005: the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Queen to name just a couple. Nonetheless the list is fun to consider.

The list below begins a countdown of those 100 movie lines, on their own at first to enable you to see if you can identify the film and the actor speaking the line. This is followed by an identification and some trivia.

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Top 100 movie quotes countdown: 100-96

100. “I’m the king of the world.”

99. "I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog too!"

98. "Nobody puts Baby in the corner."

97. "My mother thanks you. My father thanks you. My sister thanks you. And I thank you."

96. "Snap out of it!"

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100. “I’m the king of the world.”

Spoken by Leonardo Di Caprio in the role of Jack Dawson in the 1997 film Titanic.

Some trivia:

• When the scenes set in the present day, along with the opening and ending credits, are subtracted from the movie, the movie length (all the 1912 scenes) adds up to two hours and forty minutes, the exact time it took for Titanic to sink.

• In the movie, exactly 37 seconds pass between the lookouts warning and the actual collision with the iceberg - the same amount of time it took in real life.

• When James Cameron was writing the movie, he intended for the main characters Rose DeWitt Bukater and Jack Dawson to be entirely fictitious. It was only after the script was finished that he discovered that there had been a real "J. Dawson" who died aboard the Titanic. This "J. Dawson" was trimmer Joseph Dawson, who had been born September 1888 in Dublin, Ireland. His body was salvaged and buried at Fairview Lawn cemetery in Nova Scotia with many other Titanic victims. Today, his grave stone (#227) is the most widely visited in the cemetery.

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99. "I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog too!"

Spoken by Margaret Hamilton in her role as the Wicked Witch of the West in 1939’s The Wizard of Oz.

Trivia:

• When the wardrobe department was looking for a coat for Frank Morgan (Professor Marvel / The Wizard), they decided they wanted one that looked like it had once been elegant but had since "gone to seed". They visited a second-hand store and purchased an entire rack of coats, from which Morgan, the head of the wardrobe department, and director Victor Fleming chose one they felt gave off the perfect appearance of "shabby gentility". One day, while he was on set in the coat, Morgan idly turned out one of the pockets and discovered a label indicating that the coat had been made for L Frank Baum. Mary Mayer, a unit publicist for the film, contacted the tailor and Baum's widow, who both verified that the coat had at one time been owned by the author of the original "Wizard of Oz" books. After the filming was completed, the coat was presented to Mrs. Baum.

• Many of the Wicked Witch of the West's scenes were either trimmed or deleted entirely, as Margaret Hamilton's performance was thought too frightening for audiences.

• Judy Garland had to wear a painful corset-style device around her torso so that she would appear younger and flat-chested.

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98. "Nobody puts Baby in the corner."

Spoken by Patrick Swayze as Johnny Castle in the 1987 film Dirty dancing.

Trivia:

• Although it is never explicitly spelled out, the medical procedure for which Penny needs Baby's money is an illegal, back-alley abortion (the doctor is described as having only "a dirty knife and a folding table"). In 1963, when this movie is set, abortion was still illegal in the US (it would become legal in New York State up to the 24th week of pregnancy in 1970 and across the country in 1973 with the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision), and women seeking abortions either went to a country where they were legal or (much more commonly) went to an abortionist who was willing to perform the procedure in secret. Since abortion was illegal, it was medically unregulated and often performed by people who were not even actually doctors (some women even tried performing the procedure on themselves), and thousands of women every year were killed, maimed, or rendered sterile from septic or botched illegal abortions.

• The book that Robbie tries to lend to Baby as an explanation for his refusal to help Penny is 'The Fountainhead' by Ayn Rand (pictured below). Rand was the creator of a philosophy called Objectivism, which holds (among other beliefs) that it is more important for a person to be concerned with his or her own well-being rather than to try to help others. Some of her adherents (including, apparently, Robbie) interpret her books as justification for selfish and self-serving behaviour and the disavowal of responsibility to others.

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97. "My mother thanks you. My father thanks you. My sister thanks you. And I thank you."

Spoken by James Cagney as George M Cohan in the 1942 film Yankee Doodle Dandy.

Trivia:

• A biopic loosely based on the of the life of George M Cohan (pictured below), American composer, librettist, actor, dancer, author, director, and producer on the stage. Cohan started his career in his family vaudeville shows (the above line being spoken at the end of performances) and came to Broadway at the beginning of the 20th century. He was the composer of the American battle hymn of World War 1, 'Over There' and received the Congressional Gold Medal for his lifetime achievement in 1936.

• George M Cohan chose James Cagney to play him. If you think of Cagney only as an actor, have a look at this film to see some Cagney singing and quite impressive dancing.

• This was the very first black and white movie to be colourised using a controversial computer-applied process. Despite widespread opposition to the practice by many film aficionados, stars and directors, the movie won over a sizeable section of the public on its re-release.

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96. "Snap out of it!"

Spoken by Cher as Loretta Castonini in the 1987 film Moonstruck

Trivia:

• Cher had just done two movies back-to-back and was so tired, she originally turned this part down. She also thought she could not play a bookkeeper because she is such a lavish spender in real life.

• Nicolas Cage’s screen test didn't impress the studio, and they wanted to get someone else to play Ronny. But Cher insisted that Cage was the one to play that role, and threatened to quit unless he was hired. After a few days, the studio relented.

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