No great movie is complete without a few memorable characters. But what really brings characters to life is a great script, some unforgettable dialogue and a collection of iconic quotes. Famous movie quotes also play a role in shaping a film’s lasting cultural impact.
Some films feature not just one standout quote, but an abundance of lines that stick with you long after the movie is over. Take the film “Casablanca,” for instance, which seems to have iconic phrases in almost every scene. Similarly, films like “Jerry Maguire” and “The Godfather” are also sprinkled with so much unforgettable dialogue that their scripts read like a collection of cultural catchphrases.
In creating a list of the 50 greatest movie quotes of all time, 24/7 Tempo reviewed the American Film Institute’s “100 Years…100 Movie Quotes.” This collection was assembled by the AFI, who gathered input from over 1,500 film artists, critics, and historians. These individuals were asked to nominate “quotes from American films which circulate through popular culture, become part of the national lexicon and evoke the memory of a treasured film, thus ensuring and enlivening its historical legacy.”
Here’s looking at you, kid. See if you can recall the scene from each movie when the famous quote was uttered. (For a different point of view, click here for the most famous quotes from the smartest people in history.)
Here are 50 iconic movie quotes:
50. “Houston, we have a problem.”
- Said by: Kevin Bacon in Apollo 13 (1995)
49. “It’s alive! It’s alive!”
- Said by: Colin Clive in Frankenstein (1931)
48. “Well, nobody’s perfect.”
- Said by: Joe E. Brown in Some Like It Hot (1959)
47. “Shane. Shane. Come back!”
- Said by: Brandon De Wilde in Shane (1953)
46. “Oh, Jerry, don’t let’s ask for the moon. We have the stars.”
- Said by: Bette Davis in Now, Voyager (1942)
45. “Stella! Hey, Stella!”
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- Said by: Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
44. “I see dead people.”
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- Said by: Haley Joel Osment in The Sixth Sense (1999)
43. “We’ll always have Paris.”
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- Said by: Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca (1942)
42. “Plastics.”
- Said by: Mr. McGuire in The Graduate (1967)
41. “We rob banks.”
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- Said by: Warren Beatty in Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
40. “My mama always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.”
- Said by: Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump (1994)
39. “If you build it, he will come.”
- Said by: Kevin Costner in Field of Dreams (1989)
38. “Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.”
- Said by: Gary Cooper in The Pride of the Yankees (1942)
37. “I’ll be back.”
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- Said by: Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Terminator (1984)
36. “Badges? We ain’t got no badges! We don’t need no badges! I don’t have to show you any stinking badges!”
- Said by: Alfonso Bedoya in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
35. “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.”
- Said by: Roy Scheider in Jaws (1975)
34. “You know how to whistle, don’t you, Steve? You just put your lips together and blow.”
- Said by: Lauren Bacall in To Have and Have Not (1944)
33. “I’ll have what she’s having.”
- Said by: Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally… (1989)
32. “Round up the usual suspects.”
- Said by: Claude Rains in Casablanca (1942)
31. “After all, tomorrow is another day!”
- Said by: Vivien Leigh in Gone with the Wind (1939)
30. “I want to be alone.”
1932: American actress Joan Crawford (1904 - 1977) sits with her head in her hand as a man reaches to take her champagne glass, in a still from director Edmund Gouldings film, Grand Hotel. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
- Said by: Greta Garbo in Grand Hotel (1932)
29. “You can’t handle the truth!”
- Said by: Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men (1992)
28. “Play it, Sam. Play ‘As Time Goes By.’”
- Said by: Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca (1942)
27. “I’m walking here! I’m walking here!”
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- Said by: Dustin Hoffman in Midnight Cowboy (1969)
26. “Why don’t you come up sometime and see me?”
- Said by: Mae West in She Done Him Wrong (1933)
25. “Show me the money!”
- Said by: Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire (1996)
24. “I am big! It’s the pictures that got small.”
- Said by: Gloria Swanson in Sunset Blvd. (1950)
23. “There’s no place like home.”
- Said by: Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz (1939)
22. “Bond. James Bond.”
- Said by: Sean Connery in Dr. No (1962)
21. “A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.”
- Said by: Anthony Hopkins in The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
20. “Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”
- Said by: Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca (1942)
19. “I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!”
- Said by: Howard Beale in Network (1976)
18. “Made it, Ma! Top of the world!”
- Said by: James Cagney in White Heat (1949)
17. “Rosebud.”
- Said by: Orson Welles in Citizen Kane (1941)
16. “They call me Mister Tibbs!”
- Said by: Sidney Poitier in In the Heat of the Night (1967)
15. “E.T. phone home.”
- Said by: Pat Welsh in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
13. “The stuff that dreams are made of.”
- Said by: Humphrey Bogart in The Maltese Falcon (1941)
13. “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.”
- Said by: Ali MacGraw in Love Story (1970)
12. “I love the smell of napalm in the morning.”
- Said by: Robert Duvall in Apocalypse Now (1979)
11. “What we’ve got here is failure to communicate.”
- Said by: Strother Martin in Cool Hand Luke (1967)
10. “You talking to me?”
- Said by: Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver (1976)
9. “Fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to be a bumpy night.”
- Said by: Bette Davis in All About Eve (1950)
8. “May the Force be with you.”
- Said by: Alec Guinness in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977)
7. “All right, Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my close-up.”
- Said by: Gloria Swanson in Sunset Boulevard (1950)
6. “Go ahead, make my day.”
- Said by: Clint Eastwood in Sudden Impact (1983)
5. “Here’s looking at you, kid.”
- Said by: Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca (1942)
4. “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.”
- Said by: Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz (1939)
3. “You don’t understand! I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I could’ve been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am.”
- Said by: Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront (1954)
2. “I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse.”
- Said by: Marlon Brando in The Godfather (1972)
1. “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.”
- Said by: Clark Gable in Gone with the Wind (1939)