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Memorable Movie Dialogue
Prologue

I’ve long worried about a gross injustice in the world of great literature. A “crime” it truly is, and has caused me to lay awake during long nights of restlessness…stewing, worrying, fretting, pullin’ my hair and, generally speaking, enduring a lifetime of discomfort because of a glaring omission.
The written words presented here is an earnest attempt, feeble though it may be, to atone for a great injustice that’s run rampant much too long. Hopefully the long discrimination will end, and the world of illustrious American literature can be seen in it’s true light…

Clint

                For many months I’ve been involved with a project which I truly believe can fit in nicely with the format ALUMZ.COM offers here. Much thought ( of the mind-boggling variety ) has gone into this work. But the fervent effort will not be in vain if my plan matures into fruition ( yet I must be honest here. To date, for a period spanning 78 years, I’ve formulated 173,693 plans. Not one has ever come close to being workable. However, I feel that sorry record will come to a screeching halt with the work about to be presented in this space ).
          So then…on with the PROJECT. For decades I’ve kept busy with a rather unusual hobby…studying the classic one-liners that are the very best Hollywood has made available to the movie-going public. The true “jewels” that are the handiwork of movieland script writers…”gems” uttered by macho matinee idols and rising young starlets alike on the silver screen.
          The ones you’ll hear about now are worthy of five-star rating and stand head and shoulders above anything ever penned by Shakespeare, or spoke by Laurence Olivier. Neither Romeo nor Juliet ever uttered a one-liner even remotely comparable to what your eyes will perceive on these pages.
          These literary treasures will appear here maybe one per month, perhaps every other month. But let’s not be obligated and saddled with an iron-clad schedule. A sure-fire way to invite monumental disaster. Wholesale chaos is an unwanted by-product when schedules are introduced into any situation.
          But enough poppycock. Our initial “classic” was spoken by none other than Clint Eastwood, the “man with no name” of Spaghetti western fame.
          The lanky cowpoke ( gunslinger ) had rushed to a bedside where an old-timer lay prone on his deathbed. Time was quickly running out for Clint’s former sidekick. But the white-haired citizen who had saddled his last trusty steed had something in his head ( certain data ) that Eastwood desperately needed. With compassion showing in his icy eyes , the “most dangerous man who ever lived” spoke words of comfort to his old saddle-mate.
          And then made clear his reason for being there by stating the greatest one-liner ever heard on a movie soundtrack: “OUT HERE A MAN”S LIFE OFTEN DEPENDS ON MERE BITS AND SCRAPS OF INFORMATION.” ( a massive manhunt should be launched immediately to find the script-writer responsible for that immortal line and, after all these years, award him with the 1965 Pulitzer Prize for literature. ).
          The old man motioned for him to bend near, and the camera zoomed in close as the elderly one whispered in Clint’s ear. We movie patrons weren’t privy to their conversation, and to this very day don’t know what was said twixt the two frontiersmen.
          Anyway, the old fella’ evidently knew in detail what Clint wanted to know. That movie, “For a Few Dollars More,” ended with Clint unscathed, full of pep, vim and vigor. Not a single indication he’d suffered even a superficial wound that is the trademark of “gittin’ nicked” by a bullet.
          But the barren countryside was strewn with scores of outlaw cadavers, perhaps numbering 75. Clint, thanks to “mere bits and scraps of information,” had dispatched them all to their cold eternal resting places in Boothill…
                                                                   The End

Epilogue

          I’ve been a faithful Eastwood fan since first he stepped onto the world stage in 1959 with his TV series, “Rawhide.” Television, movies, personal appearances,,, I don’t miss anything Clint is associated with. And so I’ve been treated to thousands of beautiful “poetry-like” lines such as “mere bits and scraps of information” mentioned in the above.
          Actually, I’m ashamed for anyone to know how many times I’ve viewed “them thar oaters,” especially the Spaghetti trio filmed in Spain. And I’ve experienced a profound uneasiness about Eastwood for 49 years. Many scenes in his westerns have mystified me across the decades. One in particular stands out as far more puzzling than any others, and not until yesterday did the answer unravel before my eyes ( at which time I felt like kicking myself in the posterior for not being aware sooner ).
          Clint had moseyed into a saloon wanting only a cold beer, but quickly became embroiled in a melee with 10 outlaws, a really mean crowd of hombres. Words were exchanged, a confrontation and gunplay ensued: “ Draw when you’re ready,” Clint said, looking as though he relished the challenge. In a movement too fast for the human eye to follow, Eastwood “cleared leather” and 10 neer-do-wells lay sprawled on the floor…deader’n a doornail!
          Now the mystery. I’d always believed cowboys toted six-guns in their holsters…the world-renowned “six-shooter.” I watched closely while the mayhem unfolded on the screen and can state the following with conviction…Clint didn’t reload his weapon during the shootin’ scrape!! And again I wondered…hmm, six-shooter. Ten dead outlaws who had unwisely challenged “the man with no name.”
          And finally yesterday, after more than 45 years of pondering, the answer came as a thunderclap during a violent storm.
          Clint wasn’t totin’ a six-shooter inside that saloon. Clint was totin’ a ten-shooter…

                                                                             The End

                                                                             M. L. Wilkinson

November, 2008

James Cagney

          It was 1949 when the movie “White Heat” made it’s debut in theaters all across America. An epic cinema production, the picture was a “shoot ‘em up” gangster flick. The movie had James Cagney portraying a character named Cody Jarrett, a severly deranged gang-leader, mad as the infamous “Hatter,” and with an insanity level equalling 6 serial killers combined ( I still get a terrifying case of heebie-jeebies, with chills running along my spine when thinking of Cagney in that movie. Man!…he was “skeery.” )
          Cody’s miserable life had been shaped by a domineering mother, played by Margaret Wycherly ( she played Gary Cooper’s mother in the 1941 “Sergeant York” film ). The old hussy was meaner than her insane offspring, and after every bank heist would place her adult son on her lap, pour him a tall glass of liquor and offer a toast: “Top of the world to you, Cody my son.”
          Two days later, following a big jewelry theft, the disgusting scene repeated itself: “ Top of the world to you, Cody my son.”
          The Jarrett gang did lotsa’ stealing and robbing, drank liquor by the barrel and stayed drunker than a bunch of monkeys from the minute “White Heat” began till it ended.
          Cody’s final crime spree, a strong-armed robbery,happened at a chemical factory. It was a fiasco from the word go, and his criminal career ended with a resounding finality.
          Seems the cops had been tipped off, had set an ambush and a deadly gunfight ensued. Finding himself in a lotta’ trouble, Cody climbed to the top of a huge gasoline storage tank. The air was filled with hot lead as gangsters and cops found themselves locked in a fierce duel.
          Naturally a fusillade of bullets punctured the gasoline tank as Cagney ( Cody ) stood atop the dang thing. Bursting into flames, the tall structure became a raging inferno within seconds. The felon criminal, trapped like a drowning rat, stood defiantly as the fire crept closer. He was last seen just before the hot searing flames completely engulfed him. With arms outstretched and wild eyes gazing toward the sky, the world listened as Cody screamed one of Hollywood'’ all-time greats: “MADE IT MA! TOP
OF THE WORLD!”
          The whole world heard that final awful cry by the maniacal gangster, and breathed a sigh of relief. Even as it trembled.

That script-writer who wrote that great line must be found. A prestigious award awaits him, and it’s long overdue… “made it Ma! Top of the World!”

The End

M. L. Wilkinson

November, 2008

Epilogue

          Roger Bannister is in the record books as being the first human, in 1954, to run the mile in under 4 minutes. Yessir, all record books have it listed thusly. What follows in this short epilogue is not a sneaky attempt to strip Roger of his prestigious title.
          However, the full story has never been told. That is, until now. Five years prior to 1954 ( in 1949 ) the 4 minute mile barrier was shattered in a much more convincing fashion than Roger could manage.
          How do I know this? Well, modesty has kept me silent lo these many years. But now it’s time to speak out…I did the shattering!
          I’d just exited Mr. Jack Reel’s theater in downtown Narrows after watching, completely enthralled, the incomparable James Cagney portrayal of a crazed crime-boss on the big screen. A frightening rendition he gave to that role, and “skeered” me right outta’ my skin.
          From Narrows theater to my home was 2.6 miles. I imagined Cody was lurking behind every tree and bush, crouching in every alley to spring forth and make my heart stop functioning. With legs moving like pistons in an engine block, I ran that 2.6 miles in exactly 2 minutes and 52 seconds!
          I’ve remained quiet about this for 59 years now, and for very good reason. Certain facts about my “run” that long-ago night brings shame I’d very much like to forget.
          Ladies and gentlemen, in the year of Our Lord 1949 I’d already celebrated 19 birthdays…adulthood had been attained! I’ve remained silent, until now, about how a movie could leave an adult so filled with terror.!
          But now, as birthday number 80 nears and the shadows lengthen it seems such a trivial matter.
          And a final word for Roger Bannister. Rog…your time would’ve been much faster had you seen “White Heat”.played by Margaret Wycherly ( she played Gary Cooper’s mother in the 1941 “Sergeant York” film ). The old hussy was meaner than her insane male offspring, and after every bank heist would place her adult son on her lap, pour him a tall glass of liquor and offer a toast: “Top of the world to you, Cody my son.”
          Two days later , following a big jewelry theft, the scene would repeat itself as Ma Jarrett looked adoringly in his eyes: “Top of the world to you, Cody my son.” And on and on it went for a lifetime.
          The Jarrett gang did lotsa’ stealing and robbing, drank liquor by the barrel, and stayed drunker’n a bunch of monkeys all thru the movie.
          Cody’s final crime spree, a strong-armed robbery, happened at a chemical factory.