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Michael O'Hara: Maybe I'll live so long that I'll forget her. Maybe I'll die trying.
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Michael O'Hara: The only way to stay out of trouble is to grow old, so I guess I'll concentrate on that.
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Arthur Bannister: Killing you is killing myself. It's the same thing. But, you know, I'm pretty tired of both of us.
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Michael O'Hara: I've always found it very... sanitary to be broke.
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Mrs. Elsa 'Rosalie' Bannister: You need more than luck in Shanghai.
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Michael O'Hara: New York is not as big a city as it pretends to be.
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Arthur Bannister, Criminal Lawyer: You've been traveling around the world too much to find out anything about it.
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Bessie, Bannister's Maid/Cook: You heard him, Mr. Poet. I need the money.
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George Grisby: Beautiful, isn't it?
Michael O'Hara: The beach, you mean, or the tourists?
George Grisby: Everything!
Michael O'Hara: There's a fair face to the land, but you can't hide the hunger and guilt. It's a bright, guilty world.
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George Grisby: Just tell 'em you're taking a little tarrrr-get practice
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Michael O'Hara: [voiceover] This is I, thinking myself a very gay dog, indeed. But, here was a beautiful girl, all by herself, and me with plenty of time, nothin' to do but get myself into trouble. Some people can smell danger. Not me.
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Michael O'Hara: That's how I found her and from that moment I did not use my head, except to think about her.
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Michael O'Hara: Personally, I don't like a girlfriend to have a husband. If she'll fool a husband, I figure she'll fool me.
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Arthur Bannister, Criminal Lawyer: So money doesn't interest you, are you independently wealthy?
Michael O'Hara: I'm independent.
Arthur Bannister, Criminal Lawyer: Of money?
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Michael O'Hara: Do all rich women play games like this?
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'Goldie' Goldfish: Mike's got a lot of blarney but he knows how to hurt a man when he gets mad.
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Michael O'Hara: You were smart to carry a gun traveling alone in the park, but I knew you had the gun in your bag. Why throw away the bag?
Mrs. Elsa 'Rosalie' Bannister: I meant you to find it. I don't know how to shoot.
Michael O'Hara: It's easy, you just pull the trigger.
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Michael O'Hara: Everybody is somebody's fool.
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Michael O'Hara: Once, off the hump of Brazil, I saw the ocean so darkened with blood it was black, and the sun fainting away over the lip of the sky. We'd put in at Fortaleza, and a few of us had lines out for a bit o' idle fishin'. It was me had the first strike. A shark, it was. Then there was another, and another shark again... 'till all about, the sea was made of sharks, and more sharks, still, and no water at all. My shark had torn himself from the hook, and the scent, or maybe the stain, it was, and him bleeding his life away drove the rest of them mad. Then the beasts to to eatin' each other. In their frenzy, they ate at themselves. You could feel the lust of murder like a wind stinging your eyes, and you could smell the death, reeking up out of the sea. I never saw anything worse... until this little picnic tonight. And you know, there wasn't one of them sharks in the whole crazy pack that survived.
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Arthur Bannister: George, that's the first time anyone ever thought enough of you to call you a shark. If you were a good lawyer, you'd be flattered.
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Arthur Bannister: Do you drink?
Michael O'Hara: I beg your pardon?
Arthur Bannister: I asked you if you drink.
Michael O'Hara: Whatever's set in front of me. Doesn't have to be wholesome, just so as long as it's strong.
Arthur Bannister: Do you drink habitually?
Michael O'Hara: May I ask, mister, if you're extending an invitation?
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[first lines]
Michael O'Hara: When I start out to make a fool of myself, there's very little can stop me. If I'd known where it would end, I'd never let anything start... if I'd been in my right mind, that is. But once I'd seen her, once I'd seen her, I was not in my right mind for quite some time.
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Mrs. Elsa 'Rosalie' Bannister: Tell me, Michael. Is their some reason the police don't like you?
Michael O'Hara: Well, they never put me in jail in America. You know, the nicest jails in the world are in Australia, the worst in Spain.
Mrs. Elsa 'Rosalie' Bannister: What law did you break in Spain?
Michael O'Hara: I killed a man.
Mrs. Elsa 'Rosalie' Bannister: Just now, you almost killed a girl.
Michael O'Hara: Is there a law against that?
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Michael O'Hara: Well, Mr. Bannister's picnic party was most typical of him. A lot of trouble and a great deal of money went into it, but it was no more a picnic than Bannister was a man.
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Michael O'Hara: [to Grisby and the Bannisters] Is this what you folks do for amusement in the evening - sit around toasting marshmallows and call each other names? If you're so anxious for me to join the game, I'll be glad to. I have a few names I'd like to be calling you myself.
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'Goldie' Goldfish: [Speaking about Broome] I don't speak their language, see, and they want me to identify this guy. What's the Spanish for drunken bum?
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Arthur Bannister, Criminal Lawyer: [to Michael] I might as well tell you this is one case I've enjoyed losing.
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Arthur Bannister, Criminal Lawyer: [to Elsa] You know, for a smart girl, you make a lot of mistakes. You should have let me live. You're going to need a good lawyer.
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Elsa Bannister: I told you, you know nothing about wickedness.
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George Grisby: Mr. Bannister tells me you once killed a man. You are Michael, aren't you?
Michael O'Hara: That's right.
George Grisby: I'm very interested in murders. Forgive me if I seem inquisitive, but where'd it happen?
Michael O'Hara: At Murcia.
George Grisby: How'd you do it? No, let me guess... You did it with your hands, didn't you? Does it ever bother you when you think about it? What did he do to you?
Michael O'Hara: Nothing.
George Grisby: You just killed him for the fun of it, eh?
Michael O'Hara: He was a Franco spy. There was a war on at the time.
George Grisby: Then it wasn't murder, I suppose. Tell me, would you do it again? Would you mind killing another man?
Michael O'Hara: I'd kill another Franco spy.
George Grisby: I was on a pro-Franco committee during the Spanish War. Would you kill me if I gave you the chance? I may give you the chance.
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George Grisby: How'd you like 5,000 dollars?
Michael O'Hara: What?
George Grisby: That's what I said. 5,000 dollars, fella.
Michael O'Hara: What do I have to do for it?
George Grisby: I'll fill in the details later. Meanwhile, think it over, Michael. 5,000 dollars. It's yours. All you have to do is kill somebody.
Michael O'Hara: Who, Mr. Grisby? I'm particular who I murder.
George Grisby: Good boy!
Michael O'Hara: You know, I wouldn't like to kill just anybody. Is it someone I know?
George Grisby: Oh, yeah. But you'll never guess.
Michael O'Hara: I give up.
George Grisby: It's me. I'm perfectly sober, Michael. I'm willing to pay 5,000 if the job is well done. This is a straightforward business proposition. I want you to kill me. So long, fella!
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George Grisby: What's your guess, Michael? You think the world's coming to an end?
Michael O'Hara: Well, there was a start to the world sometime, so I guess there'll be a stop.
George Grisby: It's coming, you know. Oh, yeah. It's got to come. First the big cities. Then, maybe even this. It's just *got* to come.
Michael O'Hara: I'd prefer to be somewhere else, if it does.
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Mrs. Elsa 'Rosalie' Bannister: I don't know how to shoot.
Michael O'Hara: It's easy. You just pull the trigger.
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Michael O'Hara: Would Your Highness care to gamble?
Mrs. Elsa 'Rosalie' Bannister: Gamble? She's done it for a living.
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Mrs. Elsa 'Rosalie' Bannister: If you're a sailor, Michael, there's a job for you. Would you like to work for me? I'd like it.
Michael O'Hara: I'm shippin' out tomorrow.
Mrs. Elsa 'Rosalie' Bannister: So are we! To the West Coast, by way of the canal. We're short a man on the crew. I'll make it worth your while.
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Michael O'Hara: [voiceover] I spent the next day in the hiring hall waitin' for a ship. That way, big boob that I am, I thought I could escape her.
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Jake Bjornsen: What's a tough guy?
Arthur Bannister: I don't know.
Jake Bjornsen: A guy with an edge. What makes him sing better than me? Something in here. What makes it loud? A microphone. That's his edge.
Arthur Bannister: Edge?
Jake Bjornsen: A gun or a knife, a nightstick or a razor. Something the other guy ain't got. Yeah, a little extra reach on a punch, instead of brass knuckles. A stripe on the sleeve. A badge that says cop on it. A rock in your hand, or a bankroll in your pocket. That's an edge, brother. Without an edge, they ain't no tough guy.
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Michael O'Hara: [voiceover] He was exactly as helpless as a sleeping rattlesnake.
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Mrs. Elsa 'Rosalie' Bannister: I wasn't sure you'd come.
Michael O'Hara: I'm not stayin'.
Mrs. Elsa 'Rosalie' Bannister: You've *got* to stay!
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Michael O'Hara: [voiceover] And what was I, Mike O'Hara, doin' on a luxury yacht, pleasure cruisin' in the sunny Caribbean Sea? Well, it's clear now. I was chasin' a married woman. But, that's not the way I wanted to look at it. No. To be a real prize fathead like Mike O'Hara, you've got to swallow whole all the lies you can think up to tell yourself.
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Mrs. Elsa 'Rosalie' Bannister: Will you help me? Give me a cigarette. I'm learning to smoke now.
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Mrs. Elsa 'Rosalie' Bannister: You're scared, aren't you? You're scared! I'm scared too!
Michael O'Hara: You think you needed me to help ya. You're not that kind... If you need anything, you help yourself.
Mrs. Elsa 'Rosalie' Bannister: I'm not what you think I am. I just try to be like that.
Michael O'Hara: Keep on tryin'. You might make it.
Mrs. Elsa 'Rosalie' Bannister: Oh, Michael. What are we scared of?
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Mrs. Elsa 'Rosalie' Bannister: [singing] Please don't hold me, But if you hold me, Don't take your arms, Away, Comes a change in weather, Comes a change of heart, And who knows when the rain, Will start?
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Mrs. Elsa 'Rosalie' Bannister: I was taught to think about love in Chinese.
Michael O'Hara: The way a Frenchman thinks about laughter in French?
Mrs. Elsa 'Rosalie' Bannister: The Chinese say, it is difficult for love to last long; therefore, one who loves passionately is cured of love - in the end.
Michael O'Hara: Well, that's a hard way of thinkin'.
Mrs. Elsa 'Rosalie' Bannister: There's more to the proverb. Human nature is eternal; therefore, one who follows his nature, keeps his original nature - in the end.
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Michael O'Hara: I never make up my mind about anything at all, until it's over and done with.
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Mrs. Elsa 'Rosalie' Bannister: I haven't a cent, Michael. He wants to cut me off without a cent.
Michael O'Hara: Does that matter so much as if he would?
Mrs. Elsa 'Rosalie' Bannister: Oh, I told you sweet, you don't know anything about the world.
Michael O'Hara: Well, lately I've been roundin' out my education.
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Arthur Bannister: I don't mind a bit if Michael's in love with my wife. He's young. She's young. He's strong. She's beautiful.
[Elsa gets up to leave]
Arthur Bannister: Come on, darling, where's your sense of humor?
Mrs. Elsa 'Rosalie' Bannister: I don't have to listen to you talk like that.
Arthur Bannister: Oh, yes, you do, lover.
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Arthur Bannister: Why doesn't Michael want to work for us?
Mrs. Elsa 'Rosalie' Bannister: Why should he? Why should anyone want to live around us?
Arthur Bannister: Where's his sense of adventure?
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Mrs. Elsa 'Rosalie' Bannister: Everything is bad, Michael. Everything. You can't escape it or fight it. You've got to get along with it! Deal with it. Make terms.
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Mrs. Elsa 'Rosalie' Bannister: You're such a foolish knight errant, Michael. You're big and strong. You just don't know how to take care of yourself. So, how could you take care of me?
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Michael O'Hara: Why don't you do it yourself?
George Grisby: Commit suicide? Me? Don't be silly. Suicide is against the law. We're not going to break the law. This is going to be murder and it's going to be legal.
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George Grisby: There's no such a thing as homicide, unless they find corpse. It just isn't murder if they don't find a body. According to the law, I'm dead, if, you say you murdered me. But, you're not a murderer, unless I'm dead. Silly, isn't it?
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Mrs. Elsa 'Rosalie' Bannister: I don't care where it is, Michael. Just take me there. Take me, quick. Take me!
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Mrs. Elsa 'Rosalie' Bannister: There's more to it than that, Michael. I don't know what; but, there's more. It's a trap of some kind.
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Mrs. Elsa 'Rosalie' Bannister: Oh, Michael, why did you let yourself get dragged into it?
Michael O'Hara: Sure, because I'm a fool. A deliberate intention, a fool. That's the worst kind. Or, did you know?
Mrs. Elsa 'Rosalie' Bannister: Yes, my beloved. My beloved fool. I know.
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Sidney Broome: I'm a snoopy kind of a guy. I find things out. I get around.
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Sidney Broome: You're it. You're the fall guy.
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Michael O'Hara: [voiceover] Well, it's my own fault, but that's how I got into it, big boob that I am.
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Michael O'Hara: [voiceover] Either me or the rest of the whole world is absolutely insane.
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Arthur Bannister: He's going to have to trust me.
Mrs. Elsa 'Rosalie' Bannister: But you, do you trust him?
Arthur Bannister: I wouldn't trust him with my wife.
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Michael O'Hara: "One who follows his nature keeps his original nature in the end." But, haven't you heard ever of somethin' better to follow?
Mrs. Elsa 'Rosalie' Bannister: No.
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Michael O'Hara: Like the sharks, mad with their own blood, chewin' away at their own selves.
Mrs. Elsa 'Rosalie' Bannister: It's true. I made a lot of mistakes.
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Michael O'Hara: He said the world was bad. We can't run away from the badness. And you're right there. But, she said we can't fight it, we must deal with the badness. Make terms. And didn't the badness deal with you and make its own terms in the end? Surely?
Mrs. Elsa 'Rosalie' Bannister: You can fight. But, what good is it?
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Michael O'Hara: You mean we can't win?
Mrs. Elsa 'Rosalie' Bannister: No, we can't win. Give my love to the sunrise.
Michael O'Hara: Well, we can't lose either. Only if we quit.
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Mrs. Elsa 'Rosalie' Bannister: [Lying on the floor dying] Give my love to the sunrise.
The Lady from Shanghai Quotes
Extended Reading
Director: Orson Welles
Language: English,Cantonese Release date: April 14, 1948