You Can't Take It with You (1938) - Quotes

Choosing Fun Over Business Success

Grandpa Martin Vanderhoff: What if all your deals fall through? It might be a good thing for you.

Anthony P. Kirby: Man, you're crazy.

Grandpa Martin Vanderhoff: Well, maybe I am. I used to be just like you. Then, one morning when I was going up the elevator, it struck me I wasn't having any fun. So, I came right down and never went back. Yes sir. That was 35 years ago.

Anthony P. Kirby: Admirable. You haven't done a thing since, huh?

Grandpa Martin Vanderhoff: Oh, yes, yes, yes. Just the things I wanted to do. I collected stamps. Went to the zoo when I got the notion. Took up the harmonica. And even found time to notice when Spring came around.

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The Joy of Living Authentically

Tony Kirby: [[Walt Disney] I was just thinking about that family of yours. Living with them must be like living in a world of ], my good fellow. Everybody does just as he pleases, doesn't he?

Alice Sycamore: Yes. Grandpa started it. He just suddenly left business one day. He started up in the elevator one day and he turned around and came right down. He never went back. He could have been a rich man; but, he said he wasn't having any fun.

Tony Kirby: Oh, that's wonderful.

Alice Sycamore: Then he started collecting stamps because that's what he likes best.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Debating the Meaning of Interstate Commerce

IRS Agent: [[Washington, D.C.|Washington; [United States Constitution|the Constitution] Who's gonna pay for all those buildings down in ]? And interstate commerce? And ]?

Grandpa Martin Vanderhoff: The Constitution's been paid for years ago. And as for interstate commerce, what is interstate commerce anyway?

IRS Agent: There are 48 states. See. And if it weren't for interstate commerce nothing could go from one state to another. See?

Grandpa Martin Vanderhoff: Well, why not, have they got fences?

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Tax Beliefs and Personal Principles

IRS Agent: Mr. Vanderhof, our records show that you've never paid an income tax.

Grandpa Martin Vanderhoff: That's right!

IRS Agent: Why not?

Grandpa Martin Vanderhoff: I don't believe in it.

Tony Kirby: [quickly downplays reaction] Ha!

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Invitation to a Creative Gathering

Grandpa Martin Vanderhoff: How would you like to come over to our house and work on your gadgets?

Poppins: Your house? Well I don't know, thank you.

Grandpa Martin Vanderhoff: Oh go on, you'll love it. Everybody at over at our place does just what he wants to do.

Poppins: Really?

Grandpa Martin Vanderhoff: Mmm-hmmmm.

Poppins: That must be wonderful. But how would I live?

Grandpa Martin Vanderhoff: The same way we do.

Poppins: The same way? Well who takes care of you?

Grandpa Martin Vanderhoff: The same One that takes care of the lilies of the field, Mr. Poppins, except that we toil a little, spin a little, have a barrel of fun. If you want to, come on over and become a lily too.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Courage and Fear in Everyday Life

Tony Kirby: Your family, boy, they knocked me for a loop. I don't know, it just seems like in their own way, they found what everybody's looking for. People spend their whole lives building castles in the air and then nothing ever comes of it. I wonder why that is? Well, it takes courage. Everybody's afraid to live.

Alice Sycamore: You ought to hear Grandpa on that subject. He says most people nowadays are run by fear. Fear of what they eat, fear of what they drink, fear of their jobs, their future, fear of their health. They're scared to save money and scared to spend it. You know what his pet aversion is? The people who commercialize on fear, you know they scare you to death so they can sell you something you don't need. So, he kinda taught all of not to be afraid of anything, but do what we want to do. Well, its kinda fun, anyway.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Unexpected Birthday Surprise

Alice Sycamore: It's for you.

Grandpa Martin Vanderhoff: Why bless my soul, a new harmonica.

Alice Sycamore: I got it for you for your birthday.

Grandpa Martin Vanderhoff: How do you know when my birthday is? Even I don't know.

Alice Sycamore: Anytime I get an impulse to get you something, that's your birthday.

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A Compliment on Intelligence and Beauty

Alice Sycamore: I resent what you said about your brain. I think it's beautiful.

Tony Kirby: You do, huh?

Alice Sycamore: Mmmhm

Tony Kirby: I see. Yeah, that's probably the first thing you noticed about me that you liked - my colossal brain.

Alice Sycamore: Well, no. No, it was the back of your head.

Tony Kirby: The back of my head? I've got a big bump back there. Well, what happened when I turned around?

Alice Sycamore: Well, I figured I'd just have to get used to that.

Tony Kirby: Oh, you figured.

Alice Sycamore: And, you know, it might not take very long, but I just figured I'd...

Tony Kirby: ...you just figured you'd just... well, I'm glad you figured.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Conflict Between Grandfather and Businessman

Grandpa Martin Vanderhoff: You're an idiot, Mr. Kirby.

Anthony P. Kirby: What?

Grandpa Martin Vanderhoff: A stupid idiot.

Anthony P. Kirby: You can't talk to me like that.

Grandpa Martin Vanderhoff: Oh, yes I can. Scum, are we? What makes you think you're such a superior human being? Your money? If you do, you're a dull-witted fool, Mr. Kirby. And a poor one at that. You're poorer than any of these people you call scum, because I'll guarantee at least they've got some friends. While you with your jungle and your long claws, as you call em, you'll wind up your miserable existence without anything you can call friend. You may be a high mogul to yourself, Mr. Kirby, but to me you're a failure - failure as a man, failure as a human being, even a failure as a father. When your time comes, I doubt if a single tear will be shed over you. The world will probably cry, "Good riddance." That's a nice prospect, Mr. Kirby. I hope you'll enjoy it. I hope you'll get some comfort out of all this coin you've been sweating over then!

A Surprising Family Connection Revealed

Grandpa Martin Vanderhoff: Incidentally, what's his name?

Alice Sycamore: Eh, Tony Kirby.

Grandpa Martin Vanderhoff: Not the son of - the Kirby?

Alice Sycamore: Yes.

Grandpa Martin Vanderhoff: [whistles] Pretty snooty outfit aren't they?

The Humor of Ism-Mania in Dialogue

Grandpa Martin Vanderhoff: Penny, why don't you write a play about Ism-Mania?

Penny Sycamore: Ism-Mania?

Grandpa Martin Vanderhoff: Yeah, sure, you know, Communism, Fascism, Voodooism, everybody's got an -ism these days.

Penny Sycamore: [laughs] Oh, I thought it was an itch or something.

Grandpa Martin Vanderhoff: Well, it's just as catching. When things go a little bad nowadays, you go out, get yourself an -ism and you're in business.

Joyful Exuberance in Everyday Life

Boris Kolenkhov: I feel so good, life is running around inside of me like a squirrel!

Harnessing Nature's Energy for a Sustainable Future

Tony Kirby: There's a tiny little engine in the green of this grass and in the green of the trees that has the mysterious gift of being able to take energy from the rays of the sun and store it up. You see that that's how the heat and power in coal and oil and wood is stored up. Well, we thought if we could find the secret of all those millions of little engines in this green stuff, we could, we could make big ones! And then we could take all the power we could ever need, right from the sun's rays.

Beauty and the Illusion of Reality

Tony Kirby: [to Alice] You're so beautiful. Like, sometimes you're so beautiful it just gags me. Maybe you're not real? Maybe you're a phantom or something? I-I keep expecting you to vanish.