Movie Posters

James Cagney

"You dirty rat!"

What James Cagney actually said was: "Mmm, that dirty, double-crossin' rat," in the 1931 film, Blonde Crazy. As another example of how misquotes can take on a life of their own, in the 1990 comedy, Home Alone, Macauley Culkin watches a scene from a fictional gangster movie entitled, "Angels With Filthy Souls" (a take-off on the 1938 Cagney film Angels With Dirty Faces), in which a gangster shoots while saying, "Take that, you dirty rat!

Tarzan

"Me Tarzan, you Jane."

The actual exchange between Maureen O'Sullivan and Johnny Weissmuller in the 1932 movie, Tarzan the Ape Man is much more involved, and realistic I think. It goes like this:

Jane: "Thank you for protecting me."

Tarzan: (pointing to Jane) "Me?"

Jane: "I said, 'Thank you for protecting me."

Tarzan: (pointing to Jane) "Me."

Jane: "No, I'm only 'me' for me.

Tarzan: (pointing to Jane) "Me."

Jane: "No. To you I'm 'you'."

Tarzan: (pointing to himself) "You."

Jane: "No... I'm Jane Parker, understand? Jane, Jane."

Tarzan: (pointing to Jane) "Jane, Jane, Jane."

Jane: "Yes, Jane. You? (pointing to herself) Jane."

Tarzan: (pointing to Jane) "Jane."

Jane: "And you, you."

Tarzan: (pointing to himself) "Tarzan, Tarzan."

Jane: "Tarzan."

Bela Lugosi

"I want to suck your blood."

Count Dracula (Bela Lugosi) does not utter this line in the 1931 classic movie, Dracula. However, It is used humorously in the 1994 Tim Burton directed film, Ed Wood by Ned Bellamy's character, Dr. Tom Mason, in the context of his doing a Bela Lugosi impersonation; which proves that a misquote can sometimes take on a life of its own and continue to haunt the person who never said it, even after death.



This is a different, but very funny seen from Ed Wood with Martin Landau as Bela Lugosi.

Mae West

"Why don't you come up and see me sometime?"

The actual line is, "Why don't you come up sometime, and see me." Which is only slightly different from the misquote, but what can't be seen in print is the way she says it. Mae West could've read out the phone directory and made it sound absolutely scandalous. In this clip her character hits on Carey Grant with this line: "You know, I...I always did like a man in a uniform. That one fits you grand."


According to The Yale Book of Quotations' editor, Fred R. Shapiro, Mae West did say, "Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?", but as herself. He insists the line was not in any of her movies, including the one her fans swear it was in, She Done Him Wrong.
According to Shapiro, West used it to greet a policeman assigned to her as an escort. As she once said of herself, "I used to be Snow White, but I drifted."

However, the line does make a cameo appearance in her final film Sextette (1978), said to co-star George Hamilton.

Casablanca

"Play it again Sam."

After Captain Kirk, the most oft-misquoted character in fiction is probably Rick Blaine, memorably portrayed by Humphrey Bogart in the 1942 Hollywood classic Casablanca, who never once throughout the movie says, "Play it again, Sam." This is what he actually says: "If she can stand it, I can. Play it!" Earlier in the film, Ilsa Lund--Rick's old flame, played by Ingrid Bergman--says, "Play it, once Sam, for old time's sake. Play it Sam, play 'As Time Goes By'."



I've also included a clip of something Bogey thankfull did actually say:

"Here's looking at you kid."

The Treasure of Sierra Madre

"Badges, we don't need no stinkin' badges!"

Ah, The Treasure of Sierra Madre. In the most famous scene of this truly great film, (It's amazing how many great movies Bogey appeared in: The Treasure of Sierra Madre, Casablanca, African Queen, The Maltese Falcon... My favorite Bogey film is The Maltese Falcon. I love the hard-boiled dialog)



what the Bandito says in full is: "Badges? We ain't got no badges. We don't need no badges. I don't have to show you any stinking badges!" And then the shooting starts.

Greta Garbo

"I want to be alone."

Greta Garbo was not so much misquoted in this case as she was taken out of context. She did say, "I want to be Alone," but she said it while playing the role of Grusinskaya in the 1932 movie Grand Hotel. In real life, Garbo once reportedly told a friend, "I never said, 'I want to be alone.' I only said, 'I want to be let alone.' There is all the difference."