It really is remarkable how everyone's brain and memory works so differently. I never remember actors or singers names. If you say the actors name, I'll put a face with it. But, I always considered myself quite good with quotes or sayings. Maybe it was when I was much younger I wanted to be an actor and thought memorizing lines was important. Duh! So it was most distressing to find out that there are hundreds and hundreds of famous quotes that were never uttered.
Take Casablanca for example. Despite being one of the film’s most oft-quoted lines, the words “Play it again, Sam” are never said. It’s been called “probably the most misquoted line in cinema history,” not least because it’s usually attributed to the wrong character. The 1942 film’s protagonist, conflicted Morocco nightclub owner Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), is often imagined as the one saying the line, even though the closest equivalent —“Play it, Sam” — is actually said by Rick’s endangered ex, Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman). (Rick does later instruct Sam, the piano player in question, to “play it,” however.) For all that, Casablanca, a noir classic set in WWII, still has many other memorable lines, including six on the American Film Institute’s 100 Years …100 Movie Quotes list, the most of any film. (That includes “Here’s looking at you, kid” and “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”)
Of course, Casablanca is far from the only film to be misquoted. Dorothy never actually says “I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore” in The Wizard of Oz, but rather “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas” anymore. Similarly, Darth Vader never says “Luke, I am your father” in The Empire Strikes Back. The actual line to his son is “No, I am your father.” Oh, and my favorite Marie-Antoinette never said, "Let then eat cake."
So, I would like to close with my Dad's famous quote, "Hey, I wasn't done talking!" Sadly, the Catholic Church wouldn't allow us to put it on his tombstone. How about you, got any interesting quotes to share?
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