24 quotes
Hardboiled and Terrific: A Bold Statement
Taglines
Two-fisted, Hardboiled, Terrific!
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Haunted by Beauty and Wrongful Accusation
Taglines
Haunted by a lovely face... hunted for another's crime!
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Attraction and Mutual Interest
Helen Grayle
I find men very attractive.
Philip Marlowe
I imagine they meet you halfway.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Manner Disputes Between Two Characters
Lindsay Marriott
I'm afraid I don't like your manner.
Philip Marlowe
Yeah, I've had complaints about it, but it keeps getting worse.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
A Dive into Darkness and Uncertainty
Philip Marlowe
I caught the blackjack right behind my ear. A black pool opened up at my feet. I dived in. It had no bottom. I felt pretty good - like an amputated leg.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Feeling Out of Place in Danger
Lt. Randall
How do you feel?
[during an interrogation]
Philip Marlowe
Like a duck in a shooting gallery.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Facing Challenges with Humor and Grit
Philip Marlowe
Okay Marlowe, I said to myself. You're a tough guy. You've been sapped twice, choked, beaten silly with a gun, shot in the arm until you're crazy as a couple of waltzing mice. Now let's see you do something really tough - like putting your pants on.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Questioning the Nature of the Conversation
Philip Marlowe
I don't know what you talked him into. Was it murder or something serious?
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Gun and Romance Don't Mix
Helen Grayle
You shouldn't kiss a girl when you're wearing that gun... leaves a bruise.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
The Nature of Unspoken Remarks
Philip Marlowe
What were you saying?
Dr. Sonderborg
I made no remark.
Philip Marlowe
Remarks want you to make them. They got their tongues hanging out waiting to be said.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
A Night of Unforgettable Murder and Mystery
Taglines
A night of murder the police won't let him forget! The only key to his safety... a woman's face he can't remember!
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Confusion About Loyalties and Intentions
Ann Grayle
You know, I think you're nuts. You go barging around without a very clear idea of what you're doing. Everybody bats you down, smacks you over the head, fills you full of stuff... and you keep right on hitting between tackle and end. I don't think you even know which SIDE you're on.
Philip Marlowe
I don't know which side anybody's on. I don't even know who's playing today.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Detective Work and Its Unexpected Appeal
Helen Grayle
I hadn't supposed there were enough murders these days to make detecting very attractive to a young man.
Philip Marlowe
I stir up trouble on the side.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Late Night Office Reflections
Lt. Randall
Let's get it on the record... from the beginning.
Philip Marlowe
With Malloy, then. Oh, it was about seven o'clock. Anyway it was dark.
Lt. Randall
What were you doing at the office that late?
Philip Marlowe
I'm a homing pigeon. I always come back to the stinking coop, no matter how late it is. I'd been out peeking under old Sunday sections for a barber named Dominick whose wife wanted him back - I forget why. Only reason I took the job was because my bank account was trying to crawl under a duck.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
A Critique of Detective Skills
Lt. Randall
You're not a detective, you're a slot machine. You'd slit your own throat for 6 bits plus tax.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
A Threat of Violence and Its Response
Lindsay Marriott
How would you like a swift punch on the nose?
Philip Marlowe
I tremble at the thought of such violence.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Preference for Scotch over Water
Philip Marlowe
Skip the water. Make that one with scotch. It'll save time.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
A Classic Philip Marlowe Mystery Unfolds
Taglines
An original Philip Marlowe mystery
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
A Nonchalant Take on His Weapon
Philip Marlowe
That's just part of my clothes. I hardly ever shoot anybody with it.
[about his gun]
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Exploring Hatred Towards Men and Their Women
Ann Grayle
Sometimes I hate men. ALL men. Old men, young men... beautiful young men who use rosewater and... almost heels who are private detectives.
[Philip Marlowe]
Helen Grayle
Oh, I'm sorry, darling, I couldn't help laughing; but you should know by now that men play rough. They soften you up, throw you off guard, and then belt you one. That was a dirty trick, but maybe it'll teach you not to overplay a good hand. Now she doesn't like you. She hates men.
[hidden in the shadows, laughs - then she comes out; to Marlowe]
Ann Grayle
That was only the first half of the speech. The rest of it goes like this: I hate their women, too - especially the "big league blondes". Beautiful, expensive babes who know what they've got... all bubble bath, and dewy morning, and moonlight. And inside: blue steel, cold - cold like that... only not that clean.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
A Gritty Description of a Complex Character
Philip Marlowe
She was a charming middle-aged lady with a face like a bucket of mud. I gave her a drink. She was a gal who'd take a drink, if she had to knock you down to get the bottle.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
Indications of an Amateur Killing
Philip Marlowe
He was doubled up on his face in that bag-of-old-clothes position that always means the same thing: he had been killed by an amateur. Or, by somebody who wanted it to look like an amateur job. Nobody else would hit a man that many times with a sap.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
A Conversation on Unpleasant Tales
Helen Grayle
It's a long story and not pretty.
Philip Marlowe
I got lots of time and I'm not squeamish.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.
The Complexity of Inaction and Motivation
Philip Marlowe
Now this is beginning to make sense, in a screwy sort of a way. I get dragged in and get money shoved at me. I get pushed out and get money shoved at me. Everybody pushes me in, everybody pushes me out. Nobody wants me to DO anything. Okay, put a check in the mail. I cost a lot not to do anything. I get restless. Throw in a trip to Mexico.
Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.