The Top Ten Best Movie Quotes from the 1940s and 50s

Some movie scenes just stick with you, even decades later. We’ve gathered together the top ten quotes from 1940s and 50s films.

5) North by Northwest

“Something wrong with your eyes? Yes, they’re sensitive to questions.” The famous evasive conversation between Cary Grant and the ticket booth operator (Ned Glass) at the train station. This one makes me giggle every time because it’s such a great comeback! You’d expect nothing less from Cary Grant.

Via/ Wikimedia Commons

4) It’s a Wonderful Life

“Every time a bell rings, an angel gets it wings,” is the saying shared between father and daughter (Jimmy Stewart and Karolyn Grimes) in this quintessential holiday film from 1946. It’s a sweet idea from a sweet movie.

Via/ Wikimedia Commons

3) Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

“Nobody chaperones the chaperone,” uttered by Jane Russell’s character, Dorothy. Truer words were never spoken!

Via/ Wikimedia Commons

2) Arsenic and Old Lace

“Insanity runs in my family… It practically gallops,” Cary Grant not only hits the nail on the head, but we bet this could describe a lot of our families! This film is one of the best movies made during the 1940s!

Via/ Wikimedia Commons

1) Casablanca

“Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine,” spoken by Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca. This classic line strikes a chord with us because it’s such a hopeless statement, but fits this melancholy classic perfectly. Bogarts’s line is still used all the time in films and TV despite the fact that the film is 70-years-old! That’s pretty incredible.

Via/ Wikimedia Commons

Those are the lines from our favorite 1940s and 50s films. They speak to us of a completely different time: when going to the movies was cheap and watching them at home wasn’t an option. A time when the ladies wore gloves and the men took their hats off inside. These lines capture that time in a nutshell and send us way back. Did we forget any of your favorites? Let us know in the comments!

Subscribe to Dusty Old Thing