Touch of Evil (1958) - Quotes

Menzies Acknowledges Hank's Success Again

Menzies: [to Vargas] Well, Hank has done it again. He's nailed his man.

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Debate on Guilt and Evidence in Crime

Quinlan: Just because he speaks a little guilty, that don't make him innocent, you know.

Vargas: If you can show motive, yes, but don't you need a bit more than that?

Quinlan: Oh, we'll get it. Oh, there's my coffee. Didn't you bring me any donuts or sweet rolls?

Vargas: You'll have to put him on the scene of the crime.

Quinlan: We will.

Schwartz: You've got to have some evidence.

Quinlan: We'll get it.

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Questioning Assumptions about Innocence and Intuition

Vargas: That boy may be unpleasant, but he could even be innocent, you know.

Schwartz: Intuition?

Vargas: Why not? Quinlan doesn't have a monopoly on hunches.

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Language Barriers and Misunderstandings in Conversation

Quinlan: I don't speak Mexican...Let's keep it in English, Vargas.

Vargas: That's alright with me. I'm sure he's just as unpleasant in any language.

Sanchez: Unpleasant? Strange? I've been told I have a very winning personality. The very best shoe clerk the store ever had.

Quinlan: You weren't workin as a shoe clerk out in that construction crew...

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Misunderstandings About Friendship and Arrest

Night Manager: [He winks] That, that friend of yours, Mr. Grandi, he, he ain't gonna leave you here for long.

Susan: He is not my friend.

Night Manager: He, he brought you here in that, that car, didn't he?

Susan: No, he didn't. As a matter of fact, he's under arrest.

Night Manager: [He laughs and then quickly steps away] Under arrest? Mr. Grandi?

Susan: Yes he is.

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The Burden of Enforcing the Law

Quinlan: I'm no lawyer. All a lawyer cares about is the law.

Vargas: Captain, you are a policeman, aren't you?

Quinlan: Mmm hmm. Aren't you? You don't seem very positive about the job.

Vargas: There are plenty of soldiers who don't like war. It's a dirty job, enforcing the law, but it's what we're supposed to be doing, isn't it?

Quinlan: I don't know about you, when a murderer's loose, I'm supposed to catch him.

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A Caution About Spicy Chili

Quinlan: Well, when this case is over, I'll come around some night and sample some of your chili.

Tana: Better be careful. Maybe too hot for you.

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Late Night Encounter in Touch of Evil

Tana: We're closed.

Quinlan: You've been cookin at this hour?

Tana: Just cleanin up.

Quinlan: Have you forgotten your old friend, hmm?

Tana: I told you we were closed.

Quinlan: I'm Hank Quinlan.

Tana: I didn't recognize you. You should lay off those candy bars.

Quinlan: It's either the candy or the hooch. I must say, I wish it was your chili I was gettin fat on. Anyway, you're sure lookin good.

Tana: You're a mess, honey.

Quinlan: Yeah. That pianola sure brings back memories.

Tana: The customers go for it - it's so old, it's new. We got the television too. We run movies. What can I offer you?

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Uncertain Connections in Touch of Evil

Schwartz: I don't know what Quinlan thinks she's got to do with it.

Adair: Tana? Oh, maybe she'll cook chili for him, or, uh, bring out the crystal ball.

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Tension Between Vargas and Quinlan

Vargas: Captain, you won't have any trouble with me.

Quinlan: You bet your sweet life, I won't.

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Power Dynamics in a Small Town

Adair: An hour ago, Rudi Linnekar had this town in his pocket.

Coroner: Now you can strain him through a sieve.

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Concerns About Consequences for Mexico

Vargas: This could be very bad for us.

Susan: For us?

Vargas: For Mexico, I mean.

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First Moments in a Foreign Land

Susan: Mike, do you realize this is the very first time we've been together in my country?

Vargas: Do you realize I haven't kissed you in over an hour?

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Family Ties and Professional Struggles

Marcia Linnekar: I guess that's my father. I'm not acquainted with my father's girlfriends.

Pete Menzies: [to Vargas, about Quinlan's bad leg] He got it in a gun fight...He was wounded stopping a bullet that was meant for me.

Pete Menzies: [to Vargas, about Quinlan] Sure. You can smear him. Ruin his whole life's work. Vargas, I-I don't even know what he is. That's what you've done to him....He's on an important case and he's disappeared. Good and drunk probably.

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Competing Interests and Consequences in Law Enforcement

Uncle Joe Grandi: We are both after the same exact thing, Captain. If Vargas goes on like this, shooting his face off...Somebody's reputation has got to be ruined. Why shouldn't it be Vargas's?

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Strategic Revenge Without Direct Confrontation

Uncle Joe Grandi: We're gonna get him where it really hurts and without laying a hand on him. He's got a reputation. He's got a young bride. He's gonna leave this town wishing he and that wife of his had never been born.

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Family Legacy in Question

Uncle Joe Grandi: Until he gets out, who's running this outfit?...Oh, what a set-up to work with! One brother in jail, two others dead, and nobody left to carry on the business for the bunch of nephews.

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Duty Amidst Celebration

Susan Vargas: Of course, even on his honeymoon, the chairman of the Pan-American Narcotics Commission has a sacred duty to perform.

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A Married Woman's Firm Stance

Susan Vargas: I understand very well what he wants...Tell him I'm a married woman, and that my husband is a great big official in the government, ready and willing to knock out all those pretty front teeth of his.

A Captain's Burden of Responsibility

Police Captain Hank Quinlan: [after being shot by Menzies] Pete. That's the second bullet I, I stopped for you.

A Warning from Captain Hank Quinlan

Police Captain Hank Quinlan: [Quinlan fires a pistol at Vargas, not hitting him] That wasn't no miss, Vargas. That was just to turn you round, so I don't have to shoot you in the back. Unless you'd rather run for it.

Reflections on Wealth and Career Choices

Police Captain Hank Quinlan: Don't you think I could have been rich? A cop in my position. What do I have...after thirty years, a little turkey ranch - that's all I got. A couple of acres.

Caution Against Idealism in a Corrupt World

Police Captain Hank Quinlan: [to Menzies] Look out. Vargas'll turn you into one of these here starry-eyed idealists. They're the ones making all the real trouble in the world. Be careful, they're worse than crooks. You can always do something with a crook.

Addiction and Deception in Touch of Evil

Police Captain Hank Quinlan: [about Vargas] He's a drug addict. He's got that young wife of his hooked too, but good. If I hadn't seen that hypodermic myself...That's how come he happens to imagine all those crazy things. It's typical. What that wife of his was doing on that dive on skid row. Both a couple of junkies. Course he's using the job as a cover-up.

Struggle for Respect in Law Enforcement

Police Captain Hank Quinlan: 30 years of pounding beats and riding cars, 30 years of dirt and crummy pay. For 30 years, I gave my life to this department. And you allow this foreigner to accuse me. Answer, answer, why do I have to answer him? No sir! I won't take back that badge until the people of this county want me back.

A Captain's Regret Over a Lost Criminal

Police Captain Hank Quinlan: [about his wife's killer] I followed around after him...ate my heart out trying to catch him but I never did. That was the last killer that ever got out of my hands.

Power and Consequences in a Corrupt System

Police Captain Hank Quinlan: Listen, I got a position in this town, a reputation...somebody's gonna be ruined.

Foot in a Shoe Incident

Police Captain Hank Quinlan: There's an old lady on Main Street last night picked up a shoe. The shoe had a foot in it. We're going to make you pay for that mess.

Striving for Justice and Honor

Ramon Miguel Mike Vargas: How can I leave here until my wife's name is clean? Clean!

A Husband's Plea for His Wife's Whereabouts

Ramon Miguel Mike Vargas: Listen, I'm no cop now. I'm a husband! What did you do with her? Where's my wife?

The Complexity of Law Enforcement Ethics

Ramon Miguel Mike Vargas: There are all kinds of policemen, sir. I don't have to tell you that. A few take bribes... Most are honest, yes, but even some of the honest men abuse their power in other ways.

The Illusion of Border Towns

Ramon Miguel Mike Vargas: This isn't the real Mexico. You know that. All border towns bring out the worst in a country. I can just imagine your mother's face if she could see our honeymoon hotel.