King Kong Quotes

Jack Driscoll: I always knew you were nothing like the tough guy you play on the screen. I just never figured you for a coward.

Bruce Baxter: Hey, pal. Hey, wake up. Heroes don't look like me - not in the real world. In th real world they got bad teeth, a bald spot, and a beer gut. I'm just an actor with a gun who's lost his motivation. Be seeing you.

Ann Darrow: Is this the moving picture ship?

Carl Denham: Not exactly. It's actually this one over here.

Carl Denham: Ann, I'm telling you - you're perfect. Look at you. You're the saddest girl I've ever met. You're gonna make them weep, Ann. You're gonna break their hearts.

Ann Darrow: See, that's where you're wrong, Mr. Denham. I make people laugh, that's what I do. Good luck with your picture.

Carl Denham: Ann? Miss Darrow, please! I'm offering you money. Adventure, fame, the thrill of a lifetime, and a long sea voyage. You want to read a script? Jack Driscoll's turning in a draft as we speak.

Ann Darrow: Jack Driscoll?

Carl Denham: Sure, why? Wait. You know him?

Ann Darrow: No, not personally. I've seen his plays.

Carl Denham: What a writer, huh? And let me tell you, Ann. Jack Driscoll does not want just anyone starring in this picture. He said to me, "Carl, somewhere out there is a woman born to play this role." And as soon as I saw you, I knew.

Ann Darrow: Knew what?

Carl Denham: It was always going to be you.

Carl Denham: [to aboriginal girl] Look, chocolate! Here, take it. Go ahead, take it.

[through clenched teeth]

Carl Denham: Here, put it in you hand and take it.

Hayes: When I tell you to run, run.

Jimmy: I'm not a coward. I ain't gonna run.

Hayes: It's not about being brave, Jimmy.

Ann Darrow: Why would you do that?

Jack Driscoll: Why would I write a play for you? Isn't it obvious?

Ann Darrow: Not to me.

Jack Driscoll: It's in the subtext.

Carl Denham: $2,000. It's a deal. Will you take a check?

Captain Englehorn: Do I have a choice?

Carl Denham: I'll give you another thousand if we leave right now.

Captain Englehorn: You haven't given me the first thousand yet.

Carl Denham: Can we talk about this later? Can't you see we are in the company of a VIP guest?

Captain Englehorn: Ma'am.

Ann Darrow: Ann Darrow.

Captain Englehorn: Ma'am?

Ann Darrow: Ann Darrow.

Captain Englehorn: So, you are ready for this voyage, Miss Darrow?

Ann Darrow: Sure.

Captain Englehorn: Nervous?

Ann Darrow: Nervous? No. Why? should I be?

Carl Denham: [filming the dinosaurs] Walk forward, Bruce.

Bruce Baxter: What?

Carl Denham: You're the star of this picture. Get into character and head towards the animals.

Bruce Baxter: What the hell kind of place is this? Are you sure about this, Denham? Don't we have a stand-in for this type of thing?

Carl Denham: I need you in the shot, or people will say they're fake.

Bruce Baxter: Oh nobody's gonna think these are fake.

Jack Driscoll: Where's Carl?

Bruce Baxter: Carl? He's up there, filming.

Captain Englehorn: That's the thing about cockroaches. No matter how many times you flushed them down the toilet, they always crawl back up the bowl.

Carl Denham: Hey buddy, I'm out of the bowl. I'm drying off my wings and trekking across the lid.

[after already promising to dedicate the film to Mike]

Carl Denham: Goddamn it Preston we're gonna finish this film for Herb. And We'll donate the proceeds to his wife and kids.

[first lines]

Manny: [practicing sneezes] That's a funny one. Isn't that funnier?

[the boat is leaving the dock, and Carl made Jack stay because he hasn't finished the script]

Carl Denham: I keep telling you, Jack, there's no money in theater. That's why you should stick with film.

Jack Driscoll: No Carl, it's not about the money. I love theater.

Carl Denham: No you don't. If you really loved it, you would've jumped.

Carl Denham: I've risked everything I had on this film.

Captain Englehorn: No Denham, you risked everything I have.

Carl Denham: I'll give you another thousand to leave right now.

Captain Englehorn: You haven't given me the first thousand yet.

Carl Denham: Ann, I'm not that kind of person.

Ann Darrow: Oh really, then what kind of person are you Mr.Denham?

Carl Denham: I'm someone you can trust, I'm a movie producer.

[Hayes has just explained the subtext of Heart of Darkness to Jimmy]

Jimmy: It's not an adventure story. Is it, Mr. Hayes?

Hayes: No, Jimmy. It's not.

Carl Denham: I'm finished.

Jack Driscoll: How did you think this would end, Carl?

Hayes: If someone were to tell you this ship was headed for Singapore, what would you say?

Lumpy the Cook: I'd say they're full of it Mr. Hayes. I mean we turned Southwest last night.

Carl Denham: Fellas, we're not looking for any trouble...

Jimmy: No. You're looking for somethin' else.

Venture Crew - Helmsman: Fifteen Fathoms! We have seabed!

Hayes: You should stop the ship!

Captain Englehorn: [continues steering] We're getting out of here Mr. Hayes.

Carl Denham: [Denham stalls as the ship prepares to depart] Alright. We might as well settle up.

Jack Driscoll: You're gonna pay me?

Carl Denham: I'm not gonna stiff a friend.

Jack Driscoll: I've never known you to volunteer cash before.

Carl Denham: How does two grand sound?

Jack Driscoll: That sounds great... sounds great.

Carl Denham: Here ya go.

Jack Driscoll: Carl, you... you've written, "two grand".

Carl Denham: Thought I did. I'm sorry, let's just do this from the beginning.

[Jack Driscoll must sleep in a cage where animals slept]

Captain Englehorn: So what are you, Mr. Driscoll, a lion, or a chimpanzee?

[last lines]

Carl Denham: It wasn't the airplanes. It was beauty killed the beast.

Bruce Baxter: What do you think, Driscoll? Dialogue's got some flow now, huh?

Jack Driscoll: [sarcastically] That was pure effluence.

Bruce Baxter: I beefed up the banter.

Jack Driscoll: Try to resist that impulse.

Bruce Baxter: It's just a bit of humor, bud. What are you a Bolshevik or something?

Jack Driscoll: Actors. They travel the world, all they ever see is a mirror.

Preston: He was right. There is still some mystery left in this world, and we can all have a piece of it for the price of an admission ticket.

Jack Driscoll: That's the thing you come to learn about Carl, his undying ability to destroy the things he loves.

Carl Denham: Oh! Ann, this is... uh... Ann?

Ann Darrow: That's all right Mr. Denham. I know who this is. Thrilled to meet you. It's an honor to be a part of this.

[shakes hands with Mike]

Mike: [confused] Gee, thanks.

Ann Darrow: Actually, I'm quite familiar with your work.

Mike: [very confused] Really?

Ann Darrow: Yes, and what I most admire is the way you've captured the voice of the common people.

Mike: [smiling now] Well, uh, that's my job.

Ann Darrow: I'm sure you've heard this before, Mr. Driscoll, if you don't mind me saying, but, you don't look at all like your photograph.

[Jack Driscoll looks over]

Mike: [smile disappears] I'm sorry...

Carl Denham: Wait a minute, Ann.

Ann Darrow: [to Carl] He's so much younger in person. And much better looking.

Carl Denham: [as Jack approaches Ann from behind] Ann, stop. Stop right there.

Ann Darrow: [to Mike again] You see. I was just afraid that you might be one of those self-obsessed, literary types.

Mike: I'm sorry. I'm not...

Ann Darrow: You know, the tweedy twerp with his nose in his book and his head up his a...

[Jack snaps his book shut just behind her head. She turns around]

Jack Driscoll: It's nice to meet you too, Miss Darrow.

Carl Denham: She's standing at the railing. She doesn't know it yet, but they are sailing toward disaster. You got that?

Jack Driscoll: Okay, so she turns and the first mate is staggering toward her. There's a knife sticking out of his back.

Carl Denham: Wait a second... We're killing off the first mate?

Jack Driscoll: Well that's assuming she knows who the first mate is.

Carl Denham: Come on, Jack. It was an honest mistake. Anne is near-sighted. It could'a happened to anyone.

Jack Driscoll: I was joking, Carl.

Jack Driscoll: [looking at map] What is that?

Carl Denham: What?

Jack Driscoll: That. That right there.

Carl Denham: I don't know. What is it? A coffee stain?

Carl Denham: Bring the tripod and all of the film.

Herb: Want to switch to the six-inch lens?

Carl Denham: [considering Kong, who only he has seen] The wide-angle will do just fine.

Carl Denham: Fay's a size four.

Preston: Yes, she is, but she's doing a picture with RKO.

Carl Denham: Cooper, huh? I might've known.

Captain Englehorn: There's nothing out there!

Carl Denham: Then you have nothing to lose...

Photographer: Why would he do that? Climb up there and get himself cornered? The ape must have known what was coming.

Photographer: It's just a dumb animal. Doesn't know nothing.

[Carl is filming a man being eaten]

Lumpy the Cook: Didja get that, did you?

Carl Denham: [Before climbing to the top of the bug-pit] Just as you go down... for the third and final time... as your head disappears beneath the waves... and your lungs fill with water... do you know what happens in those last precious seconds before you drown?

Bruce Baxter: [pushing Denham towards the rope] Come on, buddy. Get up the rope. Come on. Get out of here. Come on.

Carl Denham: [continuing] Your whole life passes before your eyes. And if you've lived as a true American... you get to watch it all in color.

[smiles]

Bruce Baxter: Oh, and you will. Now why don't you climb up the rope, huh? Come on.

[calling out to Jack]

Bruce Baxter: Come on, Driscoll. Let's go!

General: [Riding in a truck full of troops on its way to deal with Kong] Listen up. This is New York City, and this is sacred ground. You hear me? It was built for humans, by humans. Not for stinking lice-infested apes. The thought of some mutant gorilla crapping all over the streets of this fair city fills me with disgust. So this is how it's going to be: We find it. We kill it. We cut its ugly head off and we ram it up...

[the truck is immediately trampled by Kong]

[after a studio executive has suggested nude film shots]

Carl Denham: What are you, an idiot? Do you think they ever asked Cecil B. DeMille if he wasted his time on nudie shots? No! They respected the filmmaker! They showed some class! Not that YOU would know what class is, you cheap lowlife!

[repeated line]

Bruce Baxter: Coming through!

Ann Darrow: [Jack reminiscing] You're writing a comedy?

Jack Driscoll: I guess, I am. I'm writing it, for you.

Ann Darrow: Why would you do that?

Jack Driscoll: Why would I write a play for you?

[pause]

Jack Driscoll: Isn't it obvious?

[Play going on: "Cry Havoc!" by Jack Driscoll]

Theatre Actor: So he took me to this fancy french restaurant, and half way through the hors d'oeuvres, he clutches my hand...

Theatre Actor: ...and that's when he told you how he felt?

Theatre Actor: No. He never said it.

Theatre Actor: He never said it?

Theatre Actor: [Man disguised as a Woman] He probably thought he didn't need to say it!

Theatre Actor: Well then how does she know that it's real?

Theatre Actor: He said that it was not about the words.

Theatre Actor: Oh! Please! If you feel it, you say it! It's really very simple.

Theatre Actor: He said we'd talk about it later. Only, there was no later. It never happened.

Theatre Actor: [Lady 1 Stands, walks towards the audience] Lady 1: That's how it ended.

Theatre Actor: He just let you walk away? He didn't try to save it?

Theatre Actor: I honestly believed things might actually work out, which was really very...

Jack Driscoll: [along with Lady 1] foolish.

Theatre Actor: Men! Oh, they'll give you the world! But they let the one thing that truly matters slip through their fingers, typical!...

Captain Englehorn: There's a warrant out for your arrest. Did you know that? I have been ordered to divert to Rangoon.

Carl Denham: Another week. I haven't got a film yet. Please I have risked everything.

Captain Englehorn: No Denham. You risked everything I have.

Carl Denham: What do you want? Tell me what you want. I will do anything.

Captain Englehorn: I want you off my ship.