Film noiris one of the most significant and influential genres in film history. It’s characterized by morally corrupt characters, cynical storylines, tragic endings, and moody, atmospheric cinematography. But one of the most significant features of film noir is its sharp dialogue.Characters of this genre are typically gritty and quick-witted and will speak in fast, memorable lines.
The dialogue of film noir is often as dark and gritty as its context, and in this way it often captures the essence of the genre just as much as any other element. So if you really want to understand the dark, seedy poetry of film noir, then the dialogue is an ideal place to start looking. From the punchy flirtiness ofDouble Indemnityto any one ofHumphrey Bogart’slines, this list includes the most genre-defining lines of film noir.
10"When a man’s partner is killed, he’s supposed to do something about it."
‘The Maltese Falcon’ (1941)
John Huston’sThe Maltese Falconis the quintessential film noir and one of thegreatest detective movies of all time. Bogart stars as private detective Sam Spade, who’s approached by a mysterious woman (Mary Astor) who claims to be searching for her missing sister. Later that night, Sam is informed that his partner, Miles Archer (Jerome Cowan), has been killed.Sam soon finds himself entangled in a complex crime conspiracyinvolving the search for the coveted Maltese Falcon, a highly prized artifact.
After finding out that his partner’s been killed, Sam responds by saying, “when a man’s partner is killed, he’s supposed to do something about it,” which reallycaptures Sam’s justice-oriented personality and a common motif in film noir. There’s typically a jaded and/or cynical central character who represents some form of authority amidst a chaotic and morally bankrupt world. We see this in several film noir movies, and inThe Maltese Falcon,which is Sam is arguably the earliest version of it.
The Maltese Falcon
San Francisco private detective Sam Spade takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a gorgeous liar and their quest for a priceless statuette, with the stakes rising after his partner is murdered.
9"I can afford a blemish on my character, but not on my clothes."
‘Laura’ (1944)
Otto Preminger’sclassic film noir,Laura,follows detective Mark McPherson (Dana Andrews) as he hunts for the killer of advertising executive Laura Hunt (Gene Tierney).McPherson investigates potential suspects that include Laura’s playboy fiancée, Shelby Carpenter (Vincent Price), as well as her mentor, the highly influential columnist, Waldo Lydecker (Clifton Webb), as he finds himself falling in love with a dead woman.
Shelby, the eponymous character’s fiancée, is a suave-talking, freeloading “kept man” whocares more about his appearance than his character. He says as much during a party while he’s trying to take a stain off his suit; “I can afford a blemish on my character, but not on my clothes.” Film noir often featurescharacters whose beauty and glamor conceal a dark, nefarious, or otherwise empty interior. This motif extends over to the settings of the films as well. Think the stunning mansions and settings ofDouble Indemnity,which are juxtaposed against dark and gloomy interiors.
A police detective falls in love with the woman whose murder he is investigating.
8"With my brains and your looks, we could go places."
‘The Postman Always Rings Twice’ (1946)
When Nick Smith (Cecil Kellaway) hires a problematic drifter, Frank Chambers (John Garfield), to start working at his diner, the man quickly begins an affair with his young wife, Cora Smith (Lana Turner). As if the affair wasn’t bad enough,the two conspire and succeed in killing Smith and taking his assets. It seems like a perfect murder until a local prosecutor (Leon Ames) grows suspicious of the two.
“With my brains and your looks, we could go places,” is a classic line Frank says to Cora, and it captures two fundamental elements of film noir: conspiracy and seduction. In film noir,there’s typically a salacious affair that leads to a conspiracy that ultimately results in murder. This is a common trope in film noir. You’ll often find male characters who think they’re smarter than they really are being influenced byfemme fatalesthey’re head-over-heels for.
The Postman Always Rings Twice
7"It’s a hard world for little things."
‘The Night of the Hunter’ (1955)
The Night of the Hunteris Naughton’s only film,but it’s pretty damn good, particularly due to Mitchum’s outstanding role as a cold-blooded murderer. He dominates every scene he’s in with his piercing gaze and intimidating demeanor. Rachel Cooper’s (Lillian Gish) quote emphasizes the brutality of the world they live in, wherethe innocent are often the prey of brutal injustice perpetrated by evil characters, a common trope in film noir.
The Night of the Hunter
6"Such a lot of guns around town and so few brains."
‘The Big Sleep’ (1946)
InThe Big Sleep, Humphrey Bogart fills another leading role in yet another classicRaymond Chandler adaptation, this one directed byHoward Hawks. Bogart plays private detective Phillip Marlowe,who gets hired to resolve some gambling debtsfor General Sternwood’s (Charles Waldron) young daughter, Carmen (Martha Vickers). The general’s older daughter, Vivian (Lauren Bacall), assists Marlowe, but suggests that there’s more to the story, and when people associated with the Sternwoods start dying, Marlowe finds himself at the center of a complicated web of murder and conspiracy.
A common trope in film noir is the brooding, intelligent, cynical detective who’s no stranger to the criminal underworld. Bogart plays this role with staggering precision. This is exemplified by his role inThe Big Sleep, and particularly this quote. The quick-witted Marlowe takes stock of yet another recurring motif in the genre: fools committing crimes. Noir films almost alwaysend with the perpetrators being caught and brought to justice, underscoring the inherent faults in their ill-conceived plans. It’s a crucial element of the genrethat Marlowe cleverly points out.
The Big Sleep
5"Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown."
‘Chinatown’ (1974)
InRoman Polanski’sclassicChinatown,Jack Nicholsonplays private investigator J. J. “Jake” Gittes, who’s approached and hired by a woman to investigate her husband, Hollis (Darrell Zwerling),the chief engineer at the Department of Water and Power who she suspects of having an affair. Jack takes photos revealing the alleged affair, but Hollis mysteriously dies soon after and that’s when he is the real Mrs. Mulwray arrives (Faye Dunaway) shows up, setting Jack on a journey that will embroil him in a complex mystery involving corruption, murder, and incest.
At the end ofChinatown,Jack witnesses the horrific death of Evelyn Mulwray. Shocked by the incident, Jack is led away by his associates when one of them says to him “forget it Jake, it’s Chinatown”.This quote underscores the futility of Jake’s effortsto bring about some sort of peace in this crime-ridden world, a crucial motif of the film noir genre. All attempts at justice seem to fall flat in the dark, shadowy genre of film noir. Despite their best efforts, it seems that evil always prevails in these films.
Originally released in 1974, Chinatown is an American neo-noir mystery movie starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway. Its story was inspired by the California water wars, a series of conflicts between the city of Los Angeles and the people of Owen’s Valley around the beginning of the twentieth century. The movie received 11 Academy Award nominations in total, with Robert Towne winning the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.
4"Maybe I’ll live so long that I’ll forget her. Maybe I’ll die trying."
‘The Lady from Shanghai’ (1947)
InOrson Welles’classic film noir,The Lady from Shanghai, Welles stars as Irish sailor Michael O’Hara, who is invited to work as a seaman aboard a yacht after he rescues a woman named Elsa (Rita Hayworth) from a couple of ruffians.O’Hara falls for Elsa and naively commits to a murder plotwith the hopes of taking the money and running away with her, but soon finds he’s being framed for murder.
Falling in love is one of the worst moves you can make in a film noir. It almost never works out (unless maybe you’re Bogart or Bacall inKey Largo). Chances are you’re more likely to end up like O’Hara, who instead spends the rest of his life trying to shake off the memory of a brutal femme fatale that almost got him convicted of murder. At the very least, he gets to keep his life, unlike other, less fortunate film noir leads.
The Lady From Shanghai
The Lady From Shanghai is a film noir directed by Orson Welles, starring Welles, Rita Hayworth, and Everett Sloane. The story follows Michael O’Hara, a sailor who becomes embroiled in a complex web of deceit and murder after he agrees to work for a wealthy couple, Arthur and Elsa Bannister. As Michael becomes increasingly entangled in their lives, he uncovers secrets that threaten to destroy them all.
3"I am big, it’s the pictures that got small."
‘Sunset Boulevard’ (1950)
InBilly Wilder’snoir masterpiece,Sunset Boulevard,William Holdenplays Joe Gillis,a struggling, sleazy screenwriter who lands at an opulent mansion while avoiding debt collectorson a mission to take his car. At the mansion, Gillis encounters former starlet Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson), who refuses to accept that her stardom has come to an end. Desmond invites Gillis to stay at her mansion and write a new film for her to star in. Gillis accepts, eager to exploit the situation, but his freeloading is complicated when the delusional and dangerous Desmond falls in love with him.
In what’sconsidered the greatest film noir of all time, Gillis encounters Norma for the first time, and recognizes her from her old silent films and comments that she “used to be big”. Insulted, Desmond asserts that sheis bigand that it’s the pictures that “got small”. This statement reflects her hubris that sustains her delusions, and also gestures to a common theme in film noir:the inability of characters to objectively accept the reality of their circumstances, which generally leads to an ill-fated attempt at subverting them. Instead of approaching a situation from a rational position, many of the characters react insanely, whether they’re driven by a passionate love, a covetous desire for money, power or some other goal that eventually ends up getting them imprisoned or killed.
Sunset Boulevard
2"I was born when she kissed me. I died when she left me. I lived a few weeks while she loved me."
‘In a Lonely Place’ (1950)
Bogart plays what’s arguably his most underrated role in the classicIn a Lonely Place, a temperamental struggling screenwriter named Dixon Steele. While developing a relationship with his neighbor Laurel Gray (Gloria Grahame),he’s also investigated for the murder of another woman he briefly met. The tension of this investigation coupled with Dixon’s proclivity for violence tragically ruins his relationship with Laurel.
This is one of the most profound and moving quotes of any film noir, and it captures the tragic poetry of the genre. While noirs are typically stories that include thrilling mysteries and gruesome crimes,there’s also somethingdeeply tragic and somewhat romantic about these films. The characters of film noir might fall in love, but they’re either deceived, hurt, murdered, or simply just victims of their own human faults, like Dixon, for instance. This underscores the fallibility and humanity of noir characters.
In A Lonely Place
1"Yes, I killed him. I killed him for money, and a woman, and I didn’t get the money and I didn’t get the woman. Pretty, isn’t it?"
‘Double Indemnity’ (1944)
In Wilder’sDouble Indemnity,Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) is an insurance salesman who pays a visit to the Dietrichson residence. There, he meets the alluring Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck),who he quickly falls for, despite her obvious attempt to try and lure him into murdering her husband and frame it as an accident to collect on the insurance payout. Unable to resist,Walter ultimately submits to Phyllis and helps murder her husband, but insurance investigator and friend Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson) soon grows suspicious of the ruse, jeopardizing Walter and Phyllis’s plot.
In his final dying moments, Walter confesses his crime and admits that he was driven by his desire for money and a woman, which is easily the most genre-defining quote in film noir. There’s no shortage of characters like Walter who end uprisking it all for either women, money, or both, in some outlandishly dangerous scheme only to end up with nothing in the end. This is the veryessenceof film noir: characters are driven to commit heinous acts only to get their just deserts. This statement alone encompasses the basis of the genre.
Double Indemnity
A Los Angeles insurance representative lets an alluring housewife seduce him into a scheme of insurance fraud and murder that arouses the suspicion of his colleague, an insurance investigator.
