Camelot (1967) - Quotes

A New Era of Musical Entertainment

Taglines: A whole new world of magnificent musical entertainment.

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The Most Beautiful Love Story Ever

Taglines: The Most Beautiful Love Story Ever!

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The Sparkle Among the Drops

Pellinore: Who is that, Arthur?

Arthur: One of what we all are, Pelly. Less than a drop in the great blue motion of the sunlit sea. But it seems some of the drops sparkle, Pelly. Some of them do sparkle! Run, boy!

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Hypothetical Accusations in a Royal Discussion

Arthur: Let us say you are accused of burning down a farm.

Pellinore: Whose?

Arthur: Er...let us say, a farmer named...William?

Pellinore: Well, can't see it happening, but get along.

Arthur: Now, Pelly, you claim you haven't. What does he do then?

Pellinore: Well, he keeps his mouth shut if he knows what's good for him!

Arthur: No, Pellinore. He takes you to court.

Pellinore: Ah! And we fight there!

Arthur: No, Pellinore. Look, in the court, there is a prosecutor for Farmer William and a defendant for you.

Pellinore: Oh, I see! I see! And they fight!

Arthur: No. In the court there is also a jury, who decides whether you are guilty or not guilty.

Pellinore: Well, what's the jury got to do with it? None of their damn business in the first place! Any jury finds me guilty, I'll have a whack at every last one of em!

Arthur: Then you'd be charged with murder, Pelly!

Pellinore: Well, the ruddy thing's endless! Another jury finds me guilty, and I'll have to have a whack at them! And so on and so on, and whacking and whacking--

Arthur: Oh, Pellinore, forget it! You will never burn down a barn, you will never know a farmer named William and you will never, ever, be found in a court!

Pellinore: Not without my ruddy sword I won't!

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Confession of Forbidden Love

Lancelot: Jenny, I - I love you. God forgive me, but I do.

Guinevere: Then God forgive us both, Lance.

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A King's Decision on Clemency

Lancelot: If the king grants you clemency, you shall be banished. If not, you hang.

Arthur: Clemency is granted.

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The Dilemma of Might and Morality

Arthur: Wrong or right, they have the might, so wrong or right, they're always right, and that's wrong... right?

Guinevere: Absolutely.

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A Call for Action and Honor

Arthur: We must arrange for your knighthood.

Lancelot: No, sire! Invest me because of deeds, not words! Give me an order!

Arthur: Now?

Lancelot: This moment! Is there some wrong I can right, some peril I can face, some quest I can undertake?

Arthur: Well... actually... there's not much going on today. The Queen and some of her court have gone a-maying.

Lancelot: Gone... a-maying?

Arthur: Well, it's a sort of... um... picnic? They pick flowers and chase young...

Lancelot: Picnic?

Arthur: It's a custom we have here. This is England, you know. And this is the season for gathering flowers.

Lancelot: Knights? Gathering FLOWERS?

Arthur: Well, SOMEONE has to do it!

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Lancelot's Confusion About Guenevere

Lancelot: Dap, you are older than I. You know this Earth better than I. I only fell upon it a few hours ago.

Dap: What are you talking about?

Lancelot: Guenevere!

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The Debate on Might and Right

Arthur: But for what purpose? Might isn't always right, Jenny.

Guinevere: Nonsense, dear, of course it is. To be right and lose couldn't possibly be right.

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A Challenge to King Arthur's Authority

Lancelot: The next time you traffic with me, remember... you challenge the right hand of King Arthur!

Arthur: I am King Arthur!

Lancelot: What? You... are the king?

Arthur: Almost the late king...

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A Plea for Trust and Understanding

Arthur: [She stops and looks at him coweringly] A thousand pardons, Milady. Wait! Don't run. Please! I won't harm you.

Guenevere: You lie! You'll leap at me and throw me to the ground.

Arthur: [He takes a step toward her. She takes a step backwards. He stops] I won't do any such thing.

Guenevere: Then you'll twist my arm and tie me to a tree.

Arthur: But I won't.

Guinevere: Then you'll sling me over your shoulder and carry me off.

Arthur: No, no, no! I swear it! By the Sword Excalibur! I swear I won't touch you.

Guinevere: [Hurt; Sudden rage] Why not? How dare you insult me in this fashion. Do my looks repel you?

Arthur: No. You're beautiful.

Guinevere: Well, then? We're alone. I'm completely defenseless. What kind of a cad are you? Apologize at once.

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The Nature of Thought and Reflection

Arthur: But even the thought, "I'm not thinking a thought" is thinking, isn't it?

Merlyn: Yes, and thinking is the sort of thing you should get into the habit of doing as often as possible.

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The Dilemma of Guinevere

Pellinore: Forgive the interruption. Anyone here seen a beast with the head of a serpent, the body of a boar and the tail of a lion, baying like forty hounds?

Mordred: [to Arthur about Guenevere] What a magnificent dilemma! Let her die, your life is over; let her live, your life's a fraud. Which will it be, Arthur? Do you kill the Queen or kill the law?

Company: [singing] Guinevere, Guinevere.In that dim, mournful yearSaw the men she held so dearGo to war for Guinevere.

Company: [singing] Guinevere, GuinevereOh, they found GuinevereIn the dying candle's gleamCame the sundown of a dream.

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The Burden of Being a Fanatic

Lancelot: I am irritating. I always will be. All fanatics are bores, Pellinore, and I'm a fanatic. Even when I was a child I irritated the other children. I wanted to play their games, but I knew I could not. Even then I was filled with a sense of divine purpose. I'm not saying I enjoy it. All my life I've locked the world out. And, you know, when you lock the world out, you're locked in.

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Lancelot's Declaration of Identity

Lancelot: C'est moi!

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Celebrating Absence: A Lighthearted Reflection

Guinevere: Must we talk about Mordred? This is the first time in a month that he's not coming to dinner and not having him makes it seem like a party!

Guinevere Reflects on Marriage Prospects

Guinevere: [about Mordred] The one thing I can say for him is that he's bound to marry well. Everybody is above him.

The Unfulfilled Longing for Maidenhood

Guinevere: [Bitterly] Just when I reach the golden age of eligibility and wooability. Is my fate determined by love and courtship? Oh, no. Clause one: fix the border; Clause two: establish trade; Clause three: deliver me; Clause four: stop the war; five, six: pick up sticks. How cruel! How unjust! Am I never to know the joys of maidenhood? The conventional, ordinary, garden variety joys of maidenhood?

Civilized Man with Occasional Lapses

King Arthur: [angrily] Mordred, I must remind you that I am a civilized man. With occasional lapses.

Advice on Redemption and Self-Improvement

King Arthur: [to Mordred] Far more seasoned rascals than you have polished their souls, I advise you, get out the wax. Better to be rubbed clean than rubbed out.

The Legend of Camelot's Glory

King Arthur: [singing] Ask ev'ry person if he's heard the story;And tell it strong and clear if he has not:That once there was a fleeting wisp of gloryCalled Camelot.Camelot! Camelot!

A Desire for Freedom and Transformation

King Arthur: Merlyn! Merlyn, make me a hawk. Let me fly away from here!

The Meaning of Blood Relationships Explained

King Arthur: The adage, "Blood is thicker than water," was invented by undeserving relatives.

The Burden of Love and Vengeance

King Arthur: [Calming down] I love them and they answer me with pain and torment. Be it sin or not sin, they betray me in their hearts and that's far sin enough. I can feel it in their eyes, I can feel it when they speak, and they must pay for it and be punished. I shall not be wounded and not return it in kind! I'm through with feeble hoping! I demand a man's vengeance! Proposition: I'm a king, not a man. And a civilized king. Could it possibly be civilized to destroy what I love? Could it possibly be civilized to love myself above all? What of their pain and their torment? Did they ask for this calamity? Can passion be selected?

The Elusiveness of Ideals and Reality

King Arthur: All we've been through, for nothing but an idea! Something that you cannot taste, smell, or feel; without substance, life, reality, memory.

A Dream of Possibilities

King Arthur: I dreamed ... I dreamed.

Understanding Women in Relationships

King Arthur: Merlyn told me once: Never be too disturbed if you don't understand what a woman is thinking. They don't do it often.

Exploration of Identity and Learning Through Nature

King Arthur: [singing] And -what of teaching me by turning me to animal and bird,From beaver to the smallest bobolink!I should have had a -whirlAt changing to a girl,To learn the way the creatures think!