Henry Fonda movie quotes

“Becoming an actor can be embarrassing. Having to cry in front of the world, or be seen naked on screen. It's also a virtual confession that you had a rotten childhood or are some kind of emotional cripple.”
Henry Fonda

“- Billy Ray: So, I heard you turned 80 today.
- Norman Thayer Jr.: Is that what you heard?
- Billy Ray: Yeah. Man, that's really old.
- Norman Thayer Jr.: You should meet my father.
- Billy Ray: Your father's still alive?
- Norman Thayer Jr.: No, but you should meet him.”
Doug McKeon - Billy Ray
Henry Fonda - Norman Thayer Jr.

“- Juror #6: You think he's not guilty, huh?
- Juror #8: I don't know. It's possible.”

Edward Binns - Juror 6
Henry Fonda - Juror 8

“- Juror #2: It's hard to put into words. I just think he's guilty. I thought it was obvious from the word, 'Go'. Nobody proved otherwise.
- Juror #8: Nobody has to prove otherwise. The burden of proof is on the prosecution. The defendant doesn't even have to open his mouth. That's in the Constitution.”
John Fiedler - Juror 2
Henry Fonda - Juror 8

“- Juror #3: You're talkin' about a matter of *seconds!* Nobody can be that accurate!
- Juror #8: Well, I think testimony that can put a boy into the electric chair should be that accurate.”

Lee J. Cobb - Juror 3
Henry Fonda - Juror 8

“It's always difficult to keep personal prejudice out of a thing like this. And wherever you run into it, prejudice always obscures the truth. I don't really know what the truth is. I don't suppose anybody will ever really know. Nine of us now seem to feel that the defendant is innocent, but we're just gambling on probabilities - we may be wrong....” (continue)(continue reading)
Henry Fonda - Juror 8

“Gentlemen, I did not seek this command, but since it's been assigned me, I intend to make this regiment the finest on the frontier. I fully realize that prolonged duty in a small outpost can lead to carelessness... and inefficiency and laxity in dress and deportment. I call it to your attention that only one of you has reported here this morning...” (continue)(continue reading)

Henry Fonda - Lt. Col. Owen Thursday

“- Captain York: I'm Captain Yorke, sir. I bid you welcome, General Thursday.
- Lt. Col. Owen Thursday: I'm not a general, Captain. A man is what he's paid for. I'm paid in the rank of Lt. Colonel.
- Captain York: I'd remembered you as a general from the war, sir.”
John Wayne - Capt. Kirby York
Henry Fonda - Lt. Col. Owen Thursday

“- Clementine Carter: I love your town in the morning, Marshal. The air is so clean and clear... the scent of the desert flower.
- Wyatt Earp: That's my... barber.”
Cathy Downs - Clementine Carter
Henry Fonda - Wyatt Earp

“Sure is a hard town for a fella to have a quiet game o' poker in.”
Henry Fonda - Wyatt Earp

“- Wyatt Earp: Mac, you ever been in love?
- Mac: No, I've been a bartender all me life.”
Henry Fonda - Wyatt Earp
J. Farrell MacDonald - Mac the Barman

“- Zeb Rawlings: Mike King don't own the railroad!
- Jethro Stuart: Oh? I don't think he knows that.”
George Peppard - Zeb Rawlings
Henry Fonda - Jethro Stuart

“Jane has survived more bad movies than any actress should be able to in a lifetime.”
Henry Fonda On Jane Seymour Fonda

“The best actors do not let the wheels show. This is the hardest kind of acting, and it works only if you look as if you are not acting at all.”
Henry Fonda

“All it takes is one man, could be anybody... your neighbor, my neighbor... one man to destroy a city.”
Henry Fonda - Fire Chief Albert Risley

“For me, college wasn't a breeze. I had 8 o'clock classes, I worked from 3 to 11 at the Settlement House. On weekends, if Northwestern Bell needed me, I'd troubleshoot for them, and I had a steady girl. God!”
Henry Fonda

“I've been close to Bette Davis for thirty-eight years - and I have the cigarette burns to prove it.”
Henry Fonda On Bette Davis

“I was not, shall we say, a go-getter. I guess I was sort of a bum.”

Henry Fonda

“- Peter Kirk: Why should a few million dollars keep me from having the same opportunities as anyone else?
- Marshall: What you said sounds right... but it must be wrong.”
Henry Fonda - Peter Kirk
George Lessey - Marshall

“You only live once.”
Henry Fonda - Eddie Taylor

“I may not know much of law Mr. Felder, but I know what's right and what's wrong. And I know what you're asking is wrong.”

Henry Fonda - Abraham Lincoln

“- Major Baker: I noticed Dr. Crane seemed uneasy in here.
- Dr. Walter Krim: I can't imagine why anyone would be uneasy around all these dead men. Can you, Major?”

Bradford Dillman - Major Baker
Henry Fonda - Dr. Walter Krim

“Wanna dance or would you rather just suck face?”

Henry Fonda - Norman Thayer Jr.

“He might have been a preacher but he seen things clear. He was like a lantern. He helped me to see things clear.”

Henry Fonda - Tom Joad

“- Peter Kirk: Are there many lady doctors?
- Helen Hunt: A few.
- Peter Kirk: As beautiful as you?
- Helen Hunt: No doubt.
- Peter Kirk: The time I've wasted being well.”
Henry Fonda - Peter Kirk
Barbara Stanwyck - Helen Hunt