Friday Film Quiz

Captain Admiral knew what last week's quote was and Linda seemed to be on the trail but no one actually spoke up so, for the first time in FFQ history, there is no Fabulous Prize to be claimed. It's alright though. I consider Fred Sanford rising from the muddy waters to be my magnum opus so far. I need to rest after something as perfect as that.

Anyway, the quote came from 1941's The Maltese Falcon. Directed and adapted by John Huston, it starred Humphrey Bogart, of course, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, and others. The film begins with the death of Sam Spade's partner and tells the tale of him trying to unravel a very convoluted plot to steal a jewel-encrusted statue of a falcon. It's considered a proto-noir and established a lot of the conventions for movies about world-weary, tough-talking private eyes. Bogart's Spade has more to do with contemporary ideas about private eyes and black and white movies than almost any other single character from the era.

My favorite moment in the movie is when, at one point, the conniving Brigid O'Shaughnessy (Astor) slaps Joel Cairo (Lorre). When Cairo tries to retaliate, Spade grabs him, slaps him a couple more times and says, "When you're slapped, you'll take it and like it." It made me laugh out loud the first time I saw it and Avery, my 8 year old, still says it sometimes because she knows it makes me chuckle.

Aaaaaaanyway, here's this week's quote. This film is more contemporary and certainly not as widely seen. Take a guess:

"The President is coming to Somersville. Will you have the cars and the machine guns ready in about an hour?"