The Quick 10: 10 Movie Misquotations

by Stacy Conradt

“Life is like a box of chocolates: You never know what you’re gonna get.”

We all know that quote – Forrest Gump, right? Wrong! Forrest never actually said that. He got close, and his mom got close, but that exact quote was never said.

There are so many famous misquotations, I’m making this a two-parter: misquotations from fictional characters and misquotations from real-life events. Today will be the fictional version, because I can’t imagine you guys would be too happy with me if I told you that Forrest Gump quote was wrong and then didn’t bother to tell you what it really is until tomorrow.

1. “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” There are two real sayings from the movie, but not quite that one. Here are the two:
• “My momma always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get,” said by Forrest.
• “Life is like a box of chocolates, Forrest. You never know what you’re gonna get,” said by Forrest’s mom.

2. “Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him well.” According to Shakespeare’s original work, Hamlet actually says, “Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio: a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy.”

3. “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.” Supposedly said by Perez in William Congreave’s play Mourning Bride, except not. He really said, “Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, nor hell a fury like a woman scorned.”

4. “A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.” Yeah, it sounds like something John Wayne would say. But he didn’t, at least not in those words. In Hondo, The Duke says, “A man oughta do what he thinks is best.”
It’s also often thought to be from the Alan Ladd movie Shane, but he didn’t say it, either. There are two similar quotes from the movie, though:
• “I couldn’t do what I gotta do if I hadn’t always knowed that I could trust ya”
• “A man has to be what he is.”

5. “Play it again, Sam.” Probably one of the most famous movie quotes of all time never actually happened. Ingrid Bergman’s actual quote is, “Play it, Sam. Play As Time Goes By.” And later Humphrey Bogart says, “You played it for her, you can play it for me!”

6. Another insanely famous quote that is wrong: “Luke, I am your father.” Darth says it, sure, but not quite like that. He leaves off the “Luke” part and simply says, “No, I am your father.”

7. “Do you feel lucky, punk?” Well, do ya? Probably not, if you thought that quote was accurate. Clint Eastwood really says, “You’ve got to ask yourself one question. ‘Do I feel lucky?” Well, do ya, punk?”

8. “Hello, Clarice.” I’ve seen Silence of the Lambs probably 100 times, and I’ve definitely quoted that non-existant line. Dr. Lecter does greet Clarice, but the actual words are, “Good evening, Clarice.”

9. Paul Hogan (AKA Crocodile Dundee) never said, “Throw another shrimp on the barbie!” He was doing American commercials for the Australian Tourist Commission and actually offered to grill for you, not demanding more shrimp for himself. The real quote? “I’ll slip an extra shrimp on the barbie for you.”

10. “Badges? We don’t need no steenking badges!” The real quote from The Treasure of the Sierra Madre is, “Badges? We ain’t got no badges! We don’t need no badges! I don’t have to show you any stinkin’ badges!” (or “badgers,” if you’re a Weird Al fan)

Original here