# Misquoted Movies, etc. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 19, 2001, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misquoted-movies-etc/88488 "2001-10-19T20:25:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sylkyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/da6949/32.png) [@Sylkyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylkyn)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2001, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misquoted-movies-etc/88488/21 "2001-10-21T23:27:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RealityChuck \* > \*\* > OTOH, despite some sources that call it a misquote, Greta Garbo **did** say “I want to be alone” --in “Grand Hotel.” \*\* Not according to imDb. [http://us.imdb.com/M/person-biography?Greta+Garbo](http://us.imdb.com/M/person-biography?Greta+Garbo) What she really said was, “I want to be LEFT alone…” ---
**Author:** ![grimpixie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@grimpixie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grimpixie)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2001, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misquoted-movies-etc/88488/22 "2001-10-22T12:03:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Spoonbender \* > \*\*When I hear someone say “Alas, poor Yorick, I knew him well” I want to throttle them. \*\* I feel the same way when anyone uses the “wherefore” from > [@](#): > > Romeo, Romeo - Wherefore art though Romeo?" in a “where are you” sense… Gp ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2001, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misquoted-movies-etc/88488/23 "2001-10-22T12:58:18Z")
Can anyone verify whether Edward G. Robinson actually said, “Do it my way, see?” in a movie? I’ve searched [imdb.com](http://imdb.com) under “memorable quotes” for various Robinson movies and can’t find it. I’m suspecting this may be like Cagney’s “dirty rat.” ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2001, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misquoted-movies-etc/88488/24 "2001-10-22T13:05:25Z")
> [@](#): > > : 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. Circa 1980 Strother Martin was the guest host on Saturday Night Live. He participated in a bizarre skit where he was in charge of an intense French language camp (a la **Cool Hand Luke** ). At the relevant part, he intoned “What we have he-ah is _fail-yah_ tah communicate _bi-lingually_.” There was no “a” in it. (Forgive my attempt to transcribe the accent.) ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2001, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misquoted-movies-etc/88488/25 "2001-10-22T13:39:37Z")
> [@](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > Originally posted by RealityChuck > > > > OTOH, despite some sources that call it a misquote, Greta Garbo did say “I want to be alone” --in “Grand Hotel.” > > \*SilkyThreat says:\*Not according to imDb. > > [http://us.imdb.com/M/person-biography?Greta+Garbo](http://us.imdb.com/M/person-biography?Greta+Garbo) > > What she really said was, “I want to be LEFT alone…” Actually, **ST** , you looked in the wrong place on the IMDB. [This IMDB link](http://us.imdb.com/Quotes?0022958) proves that **RC** is right. What the bio quote you posted refers to is GG’s attempt to be left alone by the media after her retirement from the movies; however, in _Grand Hotel_, she did indeed say “I vant to be alone.” ---
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2001, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misquoted-movies-etc/88488/26 "2001-10-22T16:54:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zoggie \* > \*\*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. \*\* …yeah, but very memorable as many can relate to Jan’s frustration. Also, along these lines, Mom never “always said ‘don’t play ball in the house’”, but if you have a Mom, you get the point. - Jinx ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2001, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misquoted-movies-etc/88488/27 "2001-10-22T21:39:23Z")
This far into a movie misquote thread and no one has mentioned “Badges, we don’t need no stinkin’ badges!” The quote was used in **Blazing Saddles** and on SNL, but in **Treasure of the Sierra Madre** the quote is: Gold Hat: Badges? We ain’t got no badges. We don’t need no badges. I don’t have to show you any stinking badges. ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2001, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misquoted-movies-etc/88488/28 "2001-10-22T22:17:38Z")
Another one is Col. Kilgore in _Apocalypse Now_ – the misquote is usually “I love the smell of napalm in the morning. It smells like … victory.” The original is a lot longer than that : > [@](#): > > "You smell that? Do you smell that? Napalm, son. Nothing else in the world smells like that. **I love the smell of napalm in the morning.** You know, one time we had a hill bombed, for twelve hours. When it was all over I walked up. We didn’t find one of ‘em, not one stinkin’ dink body. The smell, you know, that gasoline smell – the whole hill. \*\* Smelled like … victory.\*\* Does anyone know what the James Cagney line actually is? They way I’ve heard it is something like, “You dirty rat … you did it to my sister, and now I’m going to do it to you,” or, “You’re the dirty rat that did it …” etc. One (possibly questionable) misquote is Abe Lincoln’s, " ‘A house divided against itself cannot stand.’ ". I haven’t found any translation of the Bible that has those exact words, though it is usually said that Mr. Lincoln was creating his own paraphrase. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_The\_Bold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/41988e/32.png) [@Dale\_The\_Bold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_The_Bold)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2001, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misquoted-movies-etc/88488/29 "2001-10-22T22:27:37Z")
“I’ve been slimed” was a t-shirt slogan following _Ghostbusters_, but was never spoken in the movie. “He slimed me” is as close as Bill Murray got to saying that line. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/misquoted-movies-etc/88488.md?page=1)