Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) quotes

View Quote Bartender: [overheard by Raymond, who had just primed himself to receive a command by dealing the Queen of Diamonds] Why don't you go and take yourself a cab and go up to Central Park and go jump in the lake?

View Quote His brain has not only been washed, as they say, it's been dry-cleaned.

View Quote Psychiatrist: Human fish, swimming at the bottom of the great ocean of atmosphere, develop psychic injuries as they collide with one another. Most mortal of all are those gotten from the parent fish.

View Quote Rosie: [To Ben] ...You were a pretty solid type yourself, according to Washington - with whom they had apparently checked. So I figured if they were willing to go to all the trouble to get a comment on you out of George Washington, why - you must be somebody very important indeed. And I must say it was rather sweet of the General with you only a Major. I didn't even know you knew him. If they were the tiniest bit puzzled about you, they could have asked me. Oh yes, indeed, my darling Ben. They could have asked me and I would have told them. [They kiss]

View Quote Secretary of Defense: Since no great naval power menaces the free world today, the Navy's overwhelming preponderance of surface ships seems to be superfluous, hence the cuts in budget.

View Quote Senator Thomas Jordan: [To Mrs. Iselin] I despise John Iselin and everything that Iselin-ism has come to stand for. I think if John Iselin were a paid Soviet agent, he could not do more to harm this country than he's doing now.

View Quote Senator Thomas Jordan: [To Raymond] I once found it necessary to sue your mother for defamation of character and slander... One of your mother's more endearing traits is her tendency to refer to anyone who disagrees with her about anything as a Communist.

View Quote TV News Broadcast: ...Jocelyn Jordan, daughter of Senator Thomas Jordan and Korean war hero Raymond Shaw, step-son of Senator John Iselin. It appears, however, that this Montague-Capulet note would have little effect on the feud now raging between the two party leaders. From his campaign headquarters this morning, Senator Iselin stepped up his charges against the leader of the group attempting to block his nomination.

View Quote Chairlady: You will notice that I have told them they may smoke. I've allowed my people to have a little fun in the selection of bizarre tobacco substitutes... Are you enjoying your cigarette, Ed?
Ed Movole: Yes ma'am.
Dr. Yen Lo: Yak dung!... hope tastes good - like a cigarette should!

View Quote Col. Milt: [Gesturing towards a pile of books] You read them all?
Ben: Yeah, they also make great insulation against an enemy attack! But the, uh, truth of the matter is that I'm just interested, you know, in, uh, Principles of Modern Banking and, History of Piracy. [Picking up books] Paintings of Orozco. Modern French Theater. The... Jurisprudential Factor of Mafia Administration. Diseases of Horses and novels of Joyce Cary and... Ethnic Choices of the Arabs. Things like that.

View Quote Dr. Yen Lo: Attractive plant you have here.
Zilkov: Thank you, doctor. It's actually a rest home for wealthy alcoholics. We were able to purchase it three years ago. Except for this floor and the floor above it, which is sealed off for security purposes, the rest functions quite normally. In fact it's one of the few Soviet operations in America that actually showed a profit at the end of the last fiscal year.
Dr. Yen Lo: Profit? Fiscal year? Tsk! Tsk! Tsk! Beware, my dear Zilkov, fires of capitalism are highly infectious. Soon you'll be lending money out at interest. [Chuckles] You must try, Comrade Zilkov, to cultivate a sense of humor. There's nothing like a good laugh now and then to lighten the burdens of the day. [To Raymond] Tell me, Raymond, do you remember murdering Mavole and Lembeck?

View Quote General: Congratulations, son. How do you feel?
Raymond: Like Captain Idiot in Astounding Science comics.

View Quote Jocie: Darling.
[Pause]
Raymond: What?
Jocie: Nothing, Just... Darling.

View Quote Mrs. Iselin: Would it really make it easier for you if we settled on just one number?
Sen. Iselin: Yeah. Just one, real, simple number that'd be easy for me to remember.
[Mrs. Iselin watches Sen. Iselin pour Heinz Tomato Ketchup (with its "57 Varieties" slogan on its label) onto his dinner plate]
[Cut to Senate chamber]
Sen. Iselin: There are exactly 57 card-carrying members of the Communist Party in the Department of Defense at this time!

View Quote Mrs. Whittaker: Tell me Raymond, have you ever killed anyone?
Raymond: No, ma'am.
Mrs. Whittaker: Not even in combat?
Raymond: In combat? Yes, ma'am, I think so.
Yen Lo: Of course you have, Raymond. Raymond has been a crack shot since childhood -
Mrs. Whittaker: A marvelous outlet for his aggressions.