Destry Rides Again (1939) · 15 quotes
3rd most-quoted character in Destry Rides Again (1939): in 4 of its 15 quotes
Most scenes with: Tom Destry, Jr. (4)
Wash Everybody's laughin' at ya. Tom, you made an impression on this town that's got to be eradicated right now.
Oh now, Wash, don't you think them first impressions are darn fool things to jump at, though?
Wash Around here, you gotta jump first or you don't live long.
Wash What in tarnation do you believe in?
Law and order.
Wash Without guns?
Without 'em!
Wash Well, if that don't beat all, let go. Oh Tom, the reason they made me sheriff here is because I was the town drunk. They wanted someone they could kick around, someone who wouldn't ask questions. But I was aimin' to fool 'em, do things right, sendin' for you. And now, you fooled me.
Well, you will fool 'em, Wash. We'll fool 'em together.
Wash The only way to do that is fill 'em full of lead.
No, no, no, what for? You shoot it out with 'em and for some reason or other, I don't know why, they get to look like heroes. But you put 'em behind bars and they look little and cheap, the way they oughta look. And that serves as a warnin' for the rest of 'em to keep away.
Wash Oh that won't work here in Bottleneck. You go on home and I'll go back to bein' the town drunk. That's all I'm good for.
Now you're not goin' back to bein' the town drunk and I'm gonna stay here and do this job I come for. My pa did it the old way and I'm gonna do it a new way. And if I don't prove to you that I'm right, I'll get out of town quick enough, don't worry. But first you got to give me a chance, Wash. You've got to give me a chance on this thing...Now come on, come on, swear me in, Sheriff.
Wash Look at this post. Soaked through and through with the blood of Saw-tooth Magee. Yeah, he objected to a petticoat a neighbor's wife was wearing and they fit to a draw. Both buried in the same grave.
It's all due to the petticoat.
Wash No, Saw-tooth and the neighbor and four innocent bystanders. You gotta listen to reason or get out of town.
Aw, I think I'll stick around. You know, I had a friend once who used to collect postage stamps. He always said the one good thing about a postage stamp - it always sticks to one thing 'til it gets there, you know. I'm sort of like that too.
Wash Well Tom, they came.
Now don't do any talkin' now, just rest.
Wash I'll talk if I wanna - for a little while, anyway.
All right, if you wanna talk.
Wash I'll bet you knew a fellow once who did something like falling asleep when he oughta kept awake. Didn't ya, huh?
Yeah, I knew a fella that lived down around Wichita. He was a ...well you see, he tried to keep awake one night when he was gonna catch a stage over to a nearby town and he had a girl over there he was courtin'...
Wash A man must be an awful fool to get shot in the back....
Wait a minute, you know, that's how they shot my father. They didn't dare face him either.
Wash They didn't give us a chance, did they?
No.
Wash Oh, I'm sleepy, plumb-tuckered out.
