Don't Bother to Knock (1952)
Richard Widmark: Jed Towers
Photos
Quotes
-
Jed Towers : Another rye, please. You married?
Joe the Bartender : Sure. Who's not?
Jed Towers : You and your wife fight... argue all the time?
Joe the Bartender : Some of the time she sleeps.
Jed Towers : Seventy-eight percent of the pilots in Skyway Airlines are married. Ya' see, you get married, you become a statistic.
Joe the Bartender : Yeah... Stay single, and you wind up talkin' to bartenders.
-
Jed Towers : Hello. Are you the girl in 809?
Nell Forbes : Why, yes. Who is
[Jed answers before Nell finishes her question]
Jed Towers : I'm the guy in 821, across the court. Can I ask you a question?
Nell Forbes : I don't know; I suppose so. Are you sure you want me?
Jed Towers : Yeah, you're the one I want, all right. Are you doing anything you couldn't be doing better with somebody else?
Nell Forbes : I guess I'll have to hang up!
Jed Towers : Why? You cant get hurt on a telephone.
Nell Forbes : Who are you?
Jed Towers : I told you. The man across the way; a lonely soul.
Nell Forbes : You sound peculiar.
Jed Towers : I'm not peculiar; I'm just frustrated. And I got a bottle of rye. And as I was saying, what are you doing?
Nell Forbes : What's your name?
Jed Towers : Uh... Billy.
Nell Forbes : Oh...
Jed Towers : What's the matter? Don't you like Billy?
-
Jed Towers : [to elevator operator] You're lucky to have such a steady job.
Eddie Forbes : Oh - it has its ups and downs - most people laugh at that one, sir.
-
Nell Forbes : Did you fly a bomber during the war?
Jed Towers : Who didn't?
-
Jed Towers : I said: "Look, I believe in a drink, a kiss, and a laugh now and then." That's the way it'd be. "Fine," she said, I can hear her saying it now. "Fine, I like to laugh."
Lyn Lesley : I still like to laugh... but not at myself. I just don't want it any more. Life's too long.
Jed Towers : All right, I'll send you a valentine. What *do* you want? Hearts and flowers? Forever and ever? Love?
Lyn Lesley : Don't be afraid to say it; it's not a dirty word.
-
Jed Towers : What am I supposed to do about it?
Lyn Lesley : Fly back to Chicago. Find another bar. Find another girl.
Jed Towers : Or find a wedding ring? Marriage isn't always the answer to everything, you know.
Lyn Lesley : Who's talking about marriage?
Jed Towers : Weren't you?
Lyn Lesley : No. But I'm sure that's all you thought I had on my mind. That's where you're wrong. That's just the point. I wouldn't want to marry you.
Jed Towers : Why not?
Lyn Lesley : It's something to do with the way you are.
Janey : They're all finished, Mister. We got a new process that develops them right away; instantaneous. The patent is pending. You can take your choice. There's the postcard, the folder, the matches, the handkerchief, and the ashtray. A dollar per each, except the ashtray; he's $2.
Jed Towers : I'll take one "per each".
Janey : Oh, thanks. Thanks a lot! He's a doll!
-
Jed Towers : The female race is always cheesing up my life!
-
Jed Towers : Why didn't you tell me you were working here?
Nell Forbes : I'm not. I'm just doing it for the night.
Jed Towers : Yeah, I know. You're an heiress. Tomorrow morning, you ride through your estate sidesaddle.
Nell Forbes : She made you say that!
-
[Last lines]
Lyn Lesley : [Watching Nell being led away] Jed, you care what happens to that girl, don't you.
Jed Towers : She didn't want to hurt the kid. She didn't wanna hurt anybody.
Lyn Lesley : [Lyn taking Jed by the arm] You do care.
Lyn Lesley : [Walking slowly arm in arm] Come on, I'd like to buy you that drink now.
-
Jed Towers : Female race is always cheesing up my life.
-
Eddie Forbes : I just got the wind knocked out of me.
Jed Towers : You're wrong, boy. You almost got the brains bashed out of you.
-
Jed Towers : You know, I met a girl right here - right here at this bar, six months ago. Six months and a week. I asked her to sing a song. She did. And it gave me gooseflesh and notions.
-
Jed Towers : What's been wrong with it?
Lyn Lesley : Nothing much. It's what was going to be wrong with it. Call it the old blank wall. The future without a future.
-
Jed Towers : Little Miss Larceny.
Lyn Lesley : She's a nice kid, Jed.
Jed Towers : Reminds me of a chicken thief I used to know.
-
Lyn Lesley : All you can focus on is the cold outside of things. The simple facts. Not any causes or whys or wherefores. Oh, you're sweet - and you're fun. And you're *hard*. You lack something I ask for in a man.
Jed Towers : And what's that?
Lyn Lesley : An understanding heart.
-
Nell Forbes : I like you.
Jed Towers : Thanks.
Nell Forbes : I'll probably dream about you tonight.
Jed Towers : Don't be rash.
-
Jed Towers : You're a gal with a lot of variations.
-
Nell Forbes : You came over to flirt, didn't you?
Jed Towers : Well, I guess that was the general idea.
Nell Forbes : I don't mind. As long as you're not grouchy about it.
Jed Towers : Oh, I'm never grouchy.
-
Jed Towers : How are you going? To South America.
Nell Forbes : Oh. By sea. Are you really going? How?
Jed Towers : By turtle. I own a big turtle, I'm gonna ride on his back.
Nell Forbes : [giggles] Well, some day I will. I'm going to go down there and drink a lot of coffee. I'm going to talk to all the parrots. Maybe we'll go together.
-
Jed Towers : I'm sorry I made fun of you. Things will be better. They even up, bad breaks, good breaks.
-
Nell Forbes : If you go, then none of it can be true.
Jed Towers : None of what? Half the time, I don't know what you're talking about.
-
Jed Towers : I can't figure you out. You're silk on one side and sandpaper on the other.
Nell Forbes : I'll be any way you want me to be.
-
Nell Forbes : He tries to get tough. He doesn't have any respect what people really want. I know what I mean.
Jed Towers : You mean he hasn't got an understanding heart.
Nell Forbes : Yes, that's it exactly. He's not the way you are at all.
-
Jed Towers : What do you people want? What are you staring at? This isn't a midway.
-
Jed Towers : Here. I'll buy you a drink.
Lyn Lesley : I'm not thirsty.
Jed Towers : All right, then buy me one.
-
Lyn Lesley : Why'd you leave her?
Jed Towers : Because, comes a time in the affairs of man when he's had too many.
-
Jed Towers : Now, look, my odd bird, everybody's entitled to his own little kinks; but, nothing like this.
Nell Forbes : He insulted me.
Jed Towers : That's no reason for murder.
-
Jed Towers : Are you all right?
Ruth Jones : Yes.
-
Jed Towers : Did you ever take two called strikes and hit a home run?
Jed Towers : I don't know what you mean.
Jed Towers : Well, you can never really tell on the phone, you know. You might've been a droopy-lookin'...
Jed Towers : You like the way I look?
Jed Towers : I like.
