Ok, they tell me “Play it again, Sam” is a misquote from Casablanca. Also, George Burns’ wife, Gracie, did NOT reply “Goodnight, Gracie” when George would instruct “Say goodnight, Gracie”.
So, what other infamous misquotes are being spread out there?
This is not exactly a misquote, but Sherlock Holmes never said, “Elementary, My Dear Watson” in the stories by Conan Doyle. That line was uttered by Basil Rathbone in one of the films, and took on a life of its own.
Steve Biodrowski
http://www.thescriptanalyst.com
Cary Grant never said “Judy, Judy, Judy,” but it’s been the archtypal (if not Archie Leachical) Cary Grant line.
“You’re going out a youngster, but you’re coming back a star” is often misquoted. The actual line (from “42nd Street”) is “You’re going out a youngster, but you’ve got to come back a star.” The intention is “if you don’t star, we’re screwed.”
OTOH, despite some sources that call it a misquote, Greta Garbo did say “I want to be alone” --in “Grand Hotel.”
“You dirty rat, you killed my brother” was not spoken by James Cagney.
Not a movie, but according to the Brady Bunch Pop Ups, Jan only uttered, “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!” in one episode. Not quite the widely quoted thing everyone believes it to be.
When I hear someone say “Alas, poor Yorick, I knew him well” I want to throttle them.
Me too, Spoonbender.
The words “Beam me up, Scotty” were never uttered on Star Trek.
IIRC, there is no “a” in Strother Martin’s line: “What we have here is failure to communicate.” Not “a failure.”
Sir Rhosis
It’s “Lay on, MacDuff”, not “Lead on…” in Macbeth.
Not a misquotation, but it’s annoying when people think that “Wherefore” means “Where” rather than “Why”, as in “Wherefore art thou Romeo?”. (Understandable if you’ve never read the play).
Andy Warhol’s “Everyone deserves to be famous for fifteen minutes” must be one of the most misquoted and misused lines ever. Please correct me if I’ve picked up one of the many erroneous versions.
I thought Warhol’s line was “In the future, everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes.”
Mae West said “Why don’t you come up some time and see me?”, not “Why don’t you come up and see me sometime?” in She Done Him Wrong
(Re the famous Andy Warhol quote) But http://www.hackwriters.com/KateSimpkins.htm suggests it’s the other version. The thing is they mean completely different things. Perhaps he said both.
I imagine this whole problem of misquotation has considerably diminished with the advent of home video and DVD. Anyone can double check this stuff now, whereas decades ago they had to rely on memory.
As late as the '80s, I recall certain movie critics (intentionally) misquoting lines from movies they disliked, as if to make them sound worse than they actually were.
Steve Biodrowski
http://www.thescriptanalyst.com
Regarding Warhol, as I’ve heard it the “15 minutes” quote is not only mangled, but misused. It was not meant to imply that everyone will get their moment of fame. What it meant was that, in the future, fame will be so fleeting that it will last no more than 15 minutes.
I’ll also point out that Rodney King did not say “Can’t we all just get along?” He said “Can we all just get along?”
Are you sure? I swear I heard “a,” (“uh” really) and I was paying close attention since I’d heard that that line, and the one about saying it’s your job doesn’t make it right were in that movie. Oh well, I could watch it again, it’s been about nine years since I saw it.
There’s also Twain’s line, “This report of my death was an exaggeration,” often misquoted as “Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated,” which makes no freakin’ sense.
No, I’m not, hence the “IIRC.” I don’t think there is an “a”, but I won’t bet mine or your life on it. Perhaps, as you said, Martin really enunciated “uh”, and I was listening for a properly sounded out “a.”
S. R.
Ok, now you’ve all got me wondering what the hell Strother Martin said in that movie. I’ve got Cool Hand Luke at home on DVD. I’ll watch the scene tonight after I get off work and post what I here. (Of course, I remember Paul Newman says the line again at the end, so either version of the quote may be from the film, depending on which character you quote.)
Re: Cool Hand Luke
I think it’s quite clear that there is no “a” in the line. But don’t take my word for it. Go here to listen to the line. I ripped it directly from the DVD.