Memorable Quotes from Bette Davis
23 quotesThe Cost of Ambition for Women
Margo Channing
Funny business, a woman's career. The things you drop on your way up the ladder so you can move faster. You forget you'll need them again when you get back to being a woman.
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A Polite Introduction in Conversation
Margo Channing
Enchanté to you, too!
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Guilt and Innocence in a Competitive World
Margo Channing
In this rat race, everybody's guilty till they're proved innocent!
[responding to Karen's disbelief]
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A Fatal Encounter in a Moment of Passion
Leslie Crosbie
He tried to make love to me and I shot him.
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Protective Feelings in a Harsh Environment
Margo Channing
Suddenly, I've developed a big protective feeling for her. A lamb loose in our big stone jungle.
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Boundaries Between Home and Performance
Margo Channing
This is my house, not a theater. In my house, you're a guest, not a director.
[to Bill]
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Loneliness and Unfulfilled Dreams in Youth
Regina Hubbard Giddens
I was lonely when I was young. Not in the way people usually mean. I was lonely for all the things I wasn't gonna get.
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Critique of Autograph Seekers in Showbiz
Margo Channing
Autograph fiends, they're not people. Those are little beasts that run around in packs like coyotes...They're nobody's fans. They're juvenile delinquents, they're mental defectives, they're nobody's audience. They never see a play or a movie even. They're never indoors long enough.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Self-Discovery and Public Perception in Margo Channing
Margo Channing
So many people know me. I wish I did. I wish someone would tell me about me.
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Margo Channing's Disdain for Aging Men
Margo Channing
Bill's thirty-two. He looks thirty-two. He looked it five years ago, he'll look it twenty years from now. I hate men.
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Bumpy Night Ahead
Margo Channing
Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night.
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Reflection on Care and Responsibility
Leslie Crosbie
The boys take such good care of us. Funny the head boy running off tonight.
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Struggling with Maternal Expectations and Self-Identity
Charlotte Vale
My mother didn't think that Leslie was suitable for a Vale of Boston. What man is suitable, Doctor? She's never found one. What man would ever look at me and say, "I want you"? I'm fat. My mother doesn't approve of dieting. Look at my shoes. My mother approves of sensible shoes. Look at the books on my shelves. My mother approves of good, solid books. I'm my mother's well-loved daughter. I'm her companion. I'm my mother's servant. My mother says. My mother! My mother! My mother!
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Expressions of Deep Resentment and Hatred
Regina Hubbard Giddens
I hope you die! I hope you die soon! I'll be waiting for you to die!
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Uninvited Guest at the Party
Margo Channing
I distinctly remember, Addison, crossing you off my guest list. What are you doing here?
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The Complexity of Margo Channing's Character
Margo Channing
*Note: ranked #9 in the ] in American cinema.
[[w:AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes|American Film Institute's list of the top 100 movie quotations]
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Margo Channing's Perspective on Awards and Heart
Margo Channing
Nice speech, Eve. But I wouldn't worry too much about your heart. You can always put that award where your heart ought to be.
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A Plea for Understanding and Compassion
Leslie Crosbie
Poor Robert, he doesn't deserve it. He's never hurt anyone in his life. He's so good and simple and kind and he trusts me so. I mean everything, everything in the world to him. It's gonna ruin his life. Oh, I know what you're thinking. You despise me.
[to Howard]
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The Nature of Compassion in Humanity
Margo Channing
Everybody has a heart - except some people.
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Margo Channing's Vengeance Against Critics
Margo Channing
The little witch must have sent out Indian runners, snatching critics out of bars and steam rooms and museums, or wherever they holed up. Well, she won't get away with it, nor will Addison De Witt and his poison pen. If Equity or my lawyer can't or won't do anything about it, I shall personally stuff that pathetic little lost lamb down Mr. De Witt's ugly throat.
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Notification of an Accident and Death
Leslie Crosbie
Tell him there's been an accident and Mr. Hammond's dead.
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Aging and Vulnerability in Margo Channing
Margo Channing
Lloyd, I am not twenty-ish. I am not thirty-ish. Three months ago, I was forty years old. Forty. Four oh - That slipped out. I hadn't quite made up my mind to admit it. Now I suddenly feel as if I've taken all my clothes off.
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Embracing Change and New Beginnings
Margo Channing
Never have I been so happy...I'm forgiving tonight, even Eve, I forgive Eve...Do you know what I'm going to be?...A married lady...No more make believe off stage or on. Remember, Lloyd? I mean it now...I don't want to play Cora...It isn't the part. It's a great part in a fine play. But not for me anymore. Not for a four-square, upright, downright, forthright married lady...It means I finally got a life to live. I don't have to play parts I'm too old for, just because I've got nothing to do with my nights.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.