Robert Mitchum movie quotes

“I'm a Utopian anarchist — which means nothing. You know, the intellectuals take over and the government crumbles. I'm a less than convincing dilettante, much less an intellectual. I go to the store for a loaf of bread and come back with a quart of milk. So I act. To compensate for this indignity they put roses in the dressing room on the first...” (continue)(continue reading)
Robert Mitchum

“People think I have an interesting walk. Hell, I'm just trying to hold my gut in.”
Robert Mitchum

“Salvation is a last-minute business, boy.”
Robert Mitchum - Harry Powell

“- Ben Harper: What religion do you profess, preacher?
- Rev. Harry Powell: The religion the Almighty and me worked out betwixt us.”
Peter Graves - Ben Harper
Robert Mitchum - Harry Powell

“The new kids that come up, that's what gets you. The new ones, some of them have just got a little fuzz on their faces. They don't know what its all about. Scared to death. You know, Ernie, I know it ain't my fault that they get killed, but it makes me feel like a murderer. I hate to look at 'em, the new kids.”
Robert Mitchum - Lt. Walker

“- Nelly Bain: You're staying?
- Clint Tollinger: Mm-hmm.
- Nelly Bain: Of course - a target right to the end. Standing in front of people who won't stand in back of you.”
Jan Sterling - Nelly Bain
Robert Mitchum - Clint Tollinger

“- Clint Tollinger: Jeff Castle made just one mistake.
- Marshal Lee Sims: What?
- Clint Tollinger: He didn't shoot to kill.”
Robert Mitchum - Clint Tollinger
Henry Hull - Marshal Lee Sims

“- Marshal Lee Sims: You remind me of a hungry lion I once seen pace in a cage in St. Louis.
- Clint Tollinger: I'm hiding out.
- Marshal Lee Sims: You? From what?
- Clint Tollinger: Questions I can't answer.”
Henry Hull - Marshal Lee Sims
Robert Mitchum - Clint Tollinger

“- Jeff Castle: You figure you can tidy up a town single-handed, Mr. Tollinger?
- Clint Tollinger: With a little bit of luck, yes.
- Saul Atkins: He's been a hundred percent lucky and when it adds up like that, it ain't luck.”
John Lupton - Jeff Castle
Robert Mitchum - Clint Tollinger
Emile Meyer - Saul Atkins

“- Stella Atkins: But then you're not a marshal or a sheriff.
- Jeff Castle: He's a town tamer.
- Clint Tollinger: The difference is there are no rules in my end of the business except maybe one - never stay in one town too long.”
Karen Sharpe - Stella Atkins
John Lupton - Jeff Castle
Robert Mitchum - Clint Tollinger

“- Kathie Moffat: Can't you even feel sorry for me?
- Jeff Bailey: I'm not going to try.”
Jane Greer - Kathie Moffat
Robert Mitchum - Jeff Bailey

“It sure beats working.”

Robert Mitchum

“What's history going to say about the movies? All those rows of seats facing a blank screen. Crazy!
”
Robert Mitchum

“I gave up being serious about making pictures around the time I made a film with Greer Garson and she took a hundred and twenty five takes to say ‘no’.”
Robert Mitchum

“I kept the same suit for six years and the same dialogue. They just changed the title of the picture and the leading lady.”
Robert Mitchum

“- Petey: Nice!
- Jeff Bailey: Awfully cold around the heart.”

Wallace Scott - Petey
Robert Mitchum - Jeff Bailey

“There's one wonderful thing about this business. You're privileged to meet some great people. There's a bond of sincere commiseration. The stuffed shirts form a fence behind which the others can get and tell naughty stories.”

Robert Mitchum

“Years ago, I saved up a million bucks from acting — a lot of money back then — and I spent it all on a ranch outside Tucson. Now when I go down there, I look at the place and I realize my whole acting career adds up to a million bucks' worth of horse shit.”
Robert Mitchum

“I sell gasoline, I make a small profit. With that I buy groceries. The grocer makes a profit. We call it earning a living. You may have heard of it somewhere.”
Robert Mitchum - Jeff Bailey

“Listen, I got three expressions: looking left, looking right, and looking straight ahead.”
Robert Mitchum

“I'm not naturally paranoid, but you gotta watch your every move. That, or the public does. Ever since I got arrested and jailed for smoking pot, I get all sorts of people, and actors sometimes, looking at me funny when I light up a cigarette. Hell, I like to shock people, so I'm not about to quit.”
Robert Mitchum

“- Meta Carson: You are an idiot.
- Jeff Bailey: So is he.
- Meta Carson: You think so?
- Jeff Bailey: Why not? He's in love with you.”
Rhonda Fleming - Meta Carson
Robert Mitchum - Jeff Bailey

“- Meta Carson: I was expecting you.
- Jeff Bailey: Well... I wasn't expecting you.
- Meta Carson: Should I take that as a compliment?”
Rhonda Fleming - Meta Carson
Robert Mitchum - Jeff Bailey

“- Kathie Moffat: I'm running the show, don't forget it.
- Jeff Bailey: I doubt you'll ever let me.”
Jane Greer - Kathie Moffat
Robert Mitchum - Jeff Bailey

I could go down to the cliff and look at the sea like a good tourist. But, it's no good if there isn't somebody you can turn to and say "Nice view there". It's the same with the churches, the relics, the moonlight or a Cuba Libre.
Robert Mitchum - Jeff Bailey