There’s a lot the movies don’t get right about love, just as there’s a lot that the singers and the poets don’t. But now and then, someone up on the screen – like the occasional bard, or voice on the radio – says something you can identify with, in a way you can understand.
In honor of Valentine’s Day, and of those who speak a little truth about the subject most dear to our hearts, I yield my own writing space to a few movie lines that nail the tender moments and tempests especially well.
First, to the mystery – why on earth we choose the one we choose.
A father, trying to fathom his daughter’s feelings for a man he himself hasn't met:
“Who is he?”
“I don’t know very much about him, except that I love him.”
“Well, if it’s as serious as all that, we’ll move heaven and earth to …”
“No, it’s no use. He despises me. Despises everything about me. Says that I’m spoiled and selfish and pampered and thoroughly insincere.”
“Oh, ho – ridiculous!”
“He doesn’t think so much of you, either. Blames you for everything that’s wrong with me. Says you raised me stupidly.”
“Well, now … that’s a fine man to fall in love with.”
“Oh, he’s marvelous.”
The father has no better luck with the young man, once he finally meets him:
“Do you love my daughter?”
“Any guy that’d fall in love with your daughter ought to have his head examined.”
“Do you love her?”
“A normal human being couldn’t live under the same roof with her without going nutty! She’s my idea of nothing!”
“I asked you a simple question. Do you love her?”
“YES! But don’t hold that against me – I’m a little screwy, myself.”
It Happened One Night, 1934
A woman stupefied by her own affections:
“I love him. I love those hick shirts he wears with the boiled cuffs and the way he always has his vest buttoned wrong. Looks like a giraffe, and I love him. I love him because he’s the kind of a guy that gets drunk on a glass of buttermilk, and I love the way he blushes right up over his ears. I love him because he doesn’t know how to kiss – the jerk. I love him!”
Ball Of Fire, 1940
A young man suspects he may not be smart enough for the girl he’s chosen. She tries to reassure him:
“I resent what you said about your brain. I think it’s beautiful.”
“Yeah, that’s probably the first thing you noticed about me that you liked – my colossal brain.”
“Well, no. No, it was … the back of your head.”
“The back of my head? I’ve got a big bump back there. What happened when I turned around?”
“Well, I figured I’d just have to get used to that.”
You Can’t Take It With You, 1938
A fellow worries that he’s not entirely the man-among-men his beloved had in mind:
“Are you disappointed?”
“Psychologically, I'm very confused ... but personally, I don't feel bad at all.”
The Shop Around The Corner, 1940
The moment of decision, when someone finally calls for the question.
A young woman, with no illusions, to her indecisive intended:
“I want you to know somethin’. I'd be a good wife for you. A damn good wife. I'm smarter than you in some ways – and I know what's good about you and what's bad, and 'm not afraid to tell you. You're not easy to love, but you do need someone. And I love you. I love you.”
Wild River, 1960
A man, pledging his troth and pressing his case:
“In love or war, with people like us,
We've got to work fast, or we'll miss the bus.
If you straddle a fence and you sit and wait,
You get too little and you get it too late.
What'll you say if we see it through?
You stick by me and I'll stick by you.
And our 18 children will be glad we said,
‘Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!
‘Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!”
The More The Merrier, 1943
A glimpse of reality.
“… I wonder if our troubles are all over.”
“You promised to marry me, didn’t you?’
“I seem to recall that I did.”
“Then, my dear, our troubles are not over.”
The Emperor’s Candlesticks, 1937
“When I married him, we were both a couple of maladjusted misfits. We are still maladjusted misfits, and we have loved every minute of it.”
Rear Window, 1953
“I don’t say Joe’s the greatest thing that ever lived. Probably wouldn’t love him if he was – I’d just want to look at him. But you see, I’m not the greatest girl in the world, either. Two people look at each other, and they see something way deep inside that nobody else can. And that’s it.
“We get along just average, I guess. A little arguing, even maybe being a little bored, now and then, if we’d admit it. But, if I knew I’d never see him again – I guess that’s the test of it. If I thought I’d never see him again … I don’t think I’d care if I lived or died.”
The Devil And Miss Jones, 1941
Making up is hard to do.
A wife has a “come to Jesus” moment with her husband.
“If you didn't feel the way you do, things wouldn't be the way they are, would they? I mean, things could be the same if things were different.”
“But things are the way you made them.”
“Oh, no. No, things are the way you think I made them. I didn't make them that way at all. Things are just the same as they always were, only, you're the same as you were, too ... so I guess things will never be the same again. [Pause] You’re all confused, aren’t you?”
“Aren’t you?”
“No.”
“Well, you should be, because you're wrong about things being different because they're not the same. Things are different except ... in a different way. You're still the same, only I've been a fool... but I'm not now.”
“Oh.”
“So long as I'm different don't you think that ... well, maybe things could be the same again – only a little different, huh?”
The Awful Truth, 1937
The wonder of it all.
“I know nothing of you … except your soul. That’s all I need to know.”
Under Two Flags, 1936
“Whose side are you on?”
“Yours, darling. Always.”
North By Northwest, 1959
“If you knew how much I love you, you’d faint.”
Foreign Correspondent, 1940
“Big love for my darlin', as we share whatever may come our way – beautiful, glorious, heavenly, marvelous – wonderful, wonderful day!”
Seven Brides For Seven Brothers, 1954
“God has offered us a new beginning...”
“God?”
“Don’t slap His hand away.”
“Can I never escape Him?”
“No, He is in everything. Even in a kiss.”
The Count Of Monte Cristo, 2002
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