Night Moves (1975) - Quotes

Unseen Dangers in a Private Eye's Search

Taglines: What private eye Harry Moseby doesn't know about the girl he's looking for... just might get him killed.

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Search for Identity and Connection

Taglines: Maybe he would find the girl... maybe he would find himself.

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A Casual Introduction Among Friends

Nick: Where do you know Arlene from?

Joey Ziegler: From way back.

Nick: Oh, yeah? What's your name again? Ziegler? Joey Ziegler?

Joey Ziegler: Joey Ziegler.

Nick: I don't think you were one of the names.

Joey Ziegler: What names?

Nick: One of those she cheated on Grastner with. I got them all.

Joey Ziegler: I'm one of a small, select group. We hold meetings in a telephone booth.

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Reflections on Significant Historical Events

Paula: Where were you when Kennedy got shot?

Harry Moseby: Which Kennedy?

Paula: Any Kennedy.

Harry Moseby: When the president got shot, I was on my way to San Diego. Football game. When Bobby got shot, I was sitting in a car waiting for a guy to come out of a house with his girlfriend. Working on a divorce case. One of those times I wish I was in another business.

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Resisting Temptation with Positive Thoughts

Paula: How do you resist Delly?

Harry Moseby: Oh, I just think good, clean thoughts, like Thanksgiving, George Washington's teeth.

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Detective Loyalty and Modern Challenges

Arlene Iverson: Are you the kind of detective who, once you get on a case nothing can get you off it? Bribes, beatings, the allure of a woman...

Harry Moseby: That was true in the old days. Before we had a union.

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Unexpected Bath Conversation

Arlene Iverson: Caught me in my bath.

Harry Moseby: I'm sorry.

Arlene Iverson: [seductively] Oh, that's all right. You could've joined me. It's a big bath.

Harry Moseby: [with a wry grin] Maybe some other time, when I'm feeling really dirty.

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Prize for Pain

Harry Moseby: What happened to your face?

Quentin: I won second prize in a fight.

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Consequences of Emotional Attachments

Tom Iverson: I want that kid the hell out of here. You see, I... I get pretty foolish with her, and I... Well, you've seen her. God, there ought to be a law!

Harry Moseby: There is.

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Regret and Missed Opportunities in Life

Paula: Oh, that's a beauty.

Harry Moseby: Yeah, but he didn't see it. He played something else and he lost. He must have regretted it every day of his life. I know I would have. As a matter of fact I do regret it, and I wasn't even born yet.

Paula: That's no excuse.

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Exploring Past Choices and Intentions

Harry Moseby: What'd you do before this?

Paula: [coyly; pauses, gives him a look] This and that... I taught school, I... kept house. I waited tables... I did a little stripping, I did a little hooking... and I trod a lot of water.

Harry Moseby: Sounds kind of bleak. Or is it just the way you tell it?

Paula: [sharply] Do you ask these questions because you wanna know the answer, or is it just something you think a detective should do?

Harry Moseby: I just want you to know I'm here.

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The Appeal of Unconventional Pets

Harry Moseby: [observing Paula, who is feeding dolphins in a special pen] What do you got em for?

Paula: Well, there's a big demand for dolphins. Lots of people want em, you'd be surprised. People buy them for their swimming pools. They think it's chic to have a dolphin for a pet. Like that craze for baby alligators in New York years back. When they got bored with em, they flushed them down the john. Now they got a sewage system swarming with blind, albino, shit-eating alligators.

Harry Moseby: [listening with a bemused look on his face] I'm not too sure I believe that.

Paula: You're not one of those "intent on the truth" types, are you?

Harry Moseby: Well, not religious about it, no, but I...

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Familiar Faces in Conversation

Nick: Where do you know Arlene from?

Joey Ziegler: From way back.

Nick: Oh, yeah? What's your name again? Ziegler? Joey Ziegler?

Joey Ziegler: Joey Ziegler.

Nick: I don't think you were one of the names.

Joey Ziegler: What names?

Nick: One of those she cheated on Grastner with. I got them all.

Joey Ziegler: I'm one of a small, select group. We hold meetings in a telephone booth.

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Awareness of Relationships in Night Moves

Harry Moseby: You think Delly knew that Marv and her mother were making it?

Joey Ziegler: [[w:Lillian Gish|Lillian Gish] A blind man on a galloping horse would've known. Arlene ain't ].

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Search for Delly Grastner's whereabouts

Harry Moseby: I'm looking for Delly Grastner.

Quentin: Delly isn't around here anymore.

Harry Moseby: You got any idea where she could be? Is she visiting friends? Is she meditating? Did she join a commune?

Quentin: [scoffs] Delly's idea of a "commune" is her and a guy on top of her.

A Decision to Travel on Someone Else's Dime

Harry Moseby: [speculating that the missing daughter, Delly, may be in Florida with her stepfather] My guess is that I should go down there.

Arlene Iverson: [melodramatically] You're gonna go all the way to Florida on a guess?

Harry Moseby: No. I'm gonna fly all the way to Florida on your money, Mrs. Iverson. It's up to you.

Arlene Iverson: [indifferently] Go ahead.

Reflections on Fame and Personal Identity

Arlene Iverson: [shows Harry a picture] This is my second husband, Tom lverson, the bum. The only thing I got out of him was a new name. That's ahfter I quit acting. Did you ever see me in anything?

Arlene Iverson: [sighs] I was never "big," not really big. There were a lot like me. You know, studio premieres, studio romances, not much talent. But I got lucky and grabbed off one of the big guns, Irving Grastner. Oh, I had lovely tits... even if I do say so myself. Ahh, they're sitting on a little bit of silicone now... but when they were up for grabs, they were really something special.

The Illusion of Victory in Conflict

Ellen Moseby: [of a football game] Who's winning?

Harry Moseby: Nobody. One side is just losing slower than the other.

Perspectives on Life and Relationships

Joey Ziegler: He'd fuck a woodpile on the chance there was a snake in it.

Joey Ziegler: Well, the world is getting smaller, the kids are getting younger and I'm getting drunk!

Marv Ellman: There's nothing like having a mother and a daughter. Gives you sort of a kind of perspective.

Freedom and Chaos in Society

Paula: When we're all as free as Delly there'll be rioting in the streets.

Confronting Past Trauma and Emotional Detachment

Arlene Iverson: [as Harry confronts her at her poolside, after Delly's death; drunkenly; sighs; drunkenly waves him away] So I'm not grief-stricken. What does that make me? You know, Delly isn't the only kid who ever had it rough. When I was her age... I was down on my knees to half the men in this town. I'm sorry the poor little bitch is dead. And when the time comes, I'll cry for her... but you won't be around to see it, Mr. Smart-Ass-Moseby. So... Out... OUT!