When television became popular in the early part of the ’60s, the film industry struggled to compete. Nevertheless, this was a time of innovation, with the introduction of in-flight movies in first class and the broadcasting of movies onto television screens to reach viewers. The culture was stormy with the rise of the civil rights movement. A major transition from traditional social norms was underway. 1963 saw the lowest number of feature releases but cinema still managed to reflect the shifting perspectives that epitomized the decade.
Due to the tumultuous wave that roared through the decade, there was a shift to more independent films making their way to the limelight. The first multiplex movie theater was opened and studios and networks were being bought and sold during a period of madness. British influence brought forth films like David Lean’s “Lawrence of Arabia” (1962) while historical epics were phased out to make room for more budget-friendly creations.
Director Jean-Luc Godard explored the themes of crime, love, and loyalty in his film, “Breathless” (1960) and Roger Corman invited viewers into a comedic musical with his film, “Flower Drum Song” (1961). Musicals became popular at the time and included Robert Wise’s romantic film, “The Sound of Music” (1964), and Robert Stevenson’s fantasy film, “Mary Poppins” (1964). The later part of the decade brought forth films with unlikely pairs like John Schlesinger’s “Midnight Cowboy” (1969). There were other unforgettable pairs like in Arthur Penn’s “Bonnie and Clyde” (1967) that illustrated the musings of passionate, unguided love.
To compile this list of the most unforgettable lines from ’60s movies, 247 Tempo reviewed several sources, including those where movie lovers unite to revel in their mutual appreciation for cinema, like Fandom. We also reviewed IMDb, which offers factual information about movies, including characters, actors, and directors. When you’re finished here, take a look at some things you might not know about “Psycho.”
“Bond. James Bond.”
- Character: James Bond
- Played By: Sean Connery
- Movie: “Dr. No” (1962)
- Director: Terence Young
“Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here. This is the War Room!”
- Character: Merkin Muffley
- Played By: Peter Sellers
- Movie: “Dr. Strangelove” (1964)
- Director: Stanley Kubrick
“There are worse things than chastity, Mr. Shannon.”
- Character: Hannah Jelkes
- Played By: Deborah Kerr
- Movie: “The Night of the Iguana” (1964)
- Director: John Huston
“I don’t know if I’m unhappy because I’m not free, or if I’m not free because I’m unhappy.”
- Character: Patricia Franchini
- Played By: Jean Seberg
- Movie: “Breathless” (1960)
- Director: Jean-Luc Godard
“Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.”
- Character: Mary Poppins
- Played By: Julie Andrews
- Movie: “Mary Poppins” (1964)
- Director: Robert Stevenson
“I flip when a fellow sends me flowers. I drool over dresses made of lace.”
- Character: Linda Low
- Played By: Nancy Kwan
- Movie: “Flower Drum Song” (1961)
- Director: Henry Koster
“And when Eric Von Zipper don’t like somebody, they stay don’t liked.”
- Character: Eric Von Zipper
- Played By: Harvey Lembeck
- Movie: “Beach Blanket Bingo” (1965)
- Director: William Asher
“I’m walkin’ here!”
- Character: Enrico “Ratso” Rizzo
- Played By: Dustin Hoffman
- Movie: “Midnight Cowboy” (1969)
- Director: John Schlesinger
“We rob banks.”
- Character: Bonnie Parker
- Played By: Faye Dunaway
- Movie: “Bonnie and Clyde” (1967)
- Director: Arthur Penn
“Feed me!”
- Character: Audrey Jr.
- Played By: Charles B. Griffith
- Movie: “The Little Shop of Horrors” (1960)
- Director: Roger Corman
“What we’ve got here is failure to communicate.”
- Character: The Captain
- Played By: Strother Martin
- Movie: “Cool Hand Luke” (1967)
- Director: Stuart Rosenberg
“I could never answer to a whistle. Whistles are for dogs and cats and other animals, but not for children, and definitely not for me. It would be too humiliating.”
- Character: Maria von Trapp
- Played By: Julie Andrews
- Movie: “The Sound of Music” (1965)
- Director: Robert Wise
“And what is love? Love is the mornin’ and the evenin’ star.”
- Character: Elmer Gantry
- Played By: Burt Lancaster
- Movie: “Elmer Gantry” (1960)
- Director: Richard Brooks
“Then you mean, all this time we could’ve been friends?”
- Character: Baby Jane Hudson
- Played By: Bette Davis
- Movie: “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?” (1962)
- Director: Robert Aldrich
“We all go a little mad sometimes.”
- Character: Norman Bates
- Played By: Anthony Perkins
- Movie: “Psycho” (1960)
- Director: Alfred Hitchcock
“Infamy! They’ve all got it in for me.”
- Character: Julius Caesar
- Played By: Kenneth Williams
- Movie: “Carry on Cleo” (1964)
- Director: Gerald Thomas
“I Am Spartacus!”
- Character: Antonius
- Played By: Tony Curtis
- Movie: “Spartacus” (1960)
- Director: Stanley Kubrick
“You see, in this world there’s two kinds of people, my friend: Those with loaded guns and those who dig. You dig.”
- Character: Man with No Name
- Played By: Clint Eastwood
- Movie: “The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly” (1966)
- Director: Sergio Leone
“Mrs. Robinson, you’re trying to seduce me.”
- Character: Benjamin Braddock
- Played By: Dustin Hoffman
- Movie: “The Graduate” (1967)
- Director: Mike Nichols
“I like to be in America!”
- Character: Anita
- Played By: Rita Moreno
- Movie: “West Side Story” (1961)
- Director: Jerome Robbins, Robert Wise
“That’s the way it crumbles, cookie-wise.”
- Character: C.C. Baxter
- Played By: Jack Lemmon
- Movie: “The Apartment” (1960)
- Director: Billy Wilder
“Eliza? Where the devil are my slippers?”
- Character: Professor Henry Higgins
- Played By: Rex Harrison
- Movie: “My Fair Lady” (1964)
- Director: George Cukor
“Some days, you just can’t get rid of a bomb.”
- Character: Batman
- Played By: Adam West
- Movie: “Batman” (1966)
- Director: Leslie H. Martinson
“When the Lord closes a door, somewhere he opens a window.”
- Character: Maria von Trapp
- Played By: Julie Andrews
- Movie: “The Sound of Music” (1965)
- Director: Robert Wise
“Well, boys, I reckon this is it. Nuclear combat, toe-to-toe with the Rooskies…”
- Character: Major T.J. “King” Kong
- Played By: Slim Pickens
- Movie: “Dr. Strangelove” (1964)
- Director: Stanley Kubrick
“Hey, Boo.”
- Character: Scout Finch
- Played By: Mary Badham
- Movie: “To Kill a Mockingbird” (1962)
- Director: Robert Mulligan
“Now that we’re through with Humiliate the Host…and we don’t want to play Hump the Hostess yet…how about a little round of Get the Guests?”
- Character: George
- Played By: Richard Burton
- Movie: “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” (1966)
- Director: Mike Nichols
“Take your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape!”
- Character: George Taylor
- Played By: Charlton Heston
- Movie: “Planet of the Apes” (1968)
- Director: Franklin J. Schaffner
“No matter where you run, you end up running into yourself.”
- Character: Paul Varjak
- Played By: George Peppard
- Movie: “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” (1961)
- Director: Blake Edwards
“Well, a boy’s best friend is his mother.”
- Character: Norman Bates
- Played By: Anthony Perkins
- Movie: “Psycho” (1960)
- Director: Alfred Hitchcock
“If they move, kill ’em.”
- Character: Pike Bishop
- Played By: William Holden
- Movie: “The Wild Bunch” (1969)
- Director: Sam Peckinpah
“Look, Dave, I can see you’re really upset about this. I honestly think you ought to sit down calmly, take a stress pill, and think things over.”
- Character: HAL 9000
- Played By: Douglas Rain
- Movie: “2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968)
- Director: Stanley Kubrick
“They call me Mister Tibbs.”
- Character: Detective Virgil Tibbs
- Played By: Sidney Poitier
- Movie: “In the Heat of the Night” (1967)
- Director: Norman Jewison
“They’re coming to get you, Barbra.”
- Character: Johnny
- Played By: Russell Streiner
- Movie: “Night of the Living Dead” (1968)
- Director: George Romero
“We looked for the good in them, and we found it, didn’t we?”
- Character: Reverend Paul Ford
- Played By: Karl Malden
- Movie: “Pollyanna” (1960)
- Director: David Swift
“Think ya used enough dynamite there, Butch?”
Robert Redford leans on wall holding gun in a scene from the film 'Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid', 1969. (Photo by 20th Century-Fox/Getty Images)
- Character: The Sundance Kid
- Played By: Robert Redford
- Movie: “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” (1969)
- Director: George Roy Hill
“A martini. Shaken, not stirred.”
- Character: James Bond
- Played By: Sean Connery
- Movie: “Goldfinger” (1964)
- Director: Guy Hamilton
“The trick, William Potter, is not minding that it hurts.”
- Character: British Lieutenant T.E. Lawrence
- Played By: Peter O’Toole
- Movie: “Lawrence of Arabia” (1962)
- Director: David Lean