Riff We need Tony. He's got a rep that's bigger than the whole West Side...He always came through for us and he always will.
Played by Russ Tamblyn 
West Side Story (1961) · 58 quotes
West Side Story (1961) · 58 quotes
5th most-quoted character in West Side Story (1961): in 7 of its 58 quotes
Most scenes with: Tony (2), Bernardo (2), Action (2)
When you're a Jet, you're a Jet all the way
From your first cigarette to your last dyin' day!
When you're a Jet, let 'em do what they can
You've got brothers around, you're a family man!
You're never alone, you're never disconnected, you're home with your own
When company's expected, you're well-protected!
Then you are set with a capital J
Which you'll never forget till they cart you away
When you're a Jet you stay a Jet.
More lines from Riff
1 quote Riff Scenes with Riff
5 scenes Riff Now we fought hard for this turf and we ain't just gonna give it up...The Emeralds claimed it. We shut 'em out. The Hawks, remember, they tried to take it away, and we knocked 'em down to the cellar.
Yeah, but these PRs are different. They multiply. They keep comin'. Like cockroaches. Close the windows. Shut the doors. They're eatin' our food. They're breathin' all the air. The end to free enterprise...
Riff Hey, you heard what that Lieutenant Schrank said, eh? We gotta make nice with 'em Puerto Ricans or else. We gotta let 'em move in right under our noses and take it all away from us, or else.
No!
Riff You're damned right NO. So what are we gonna do buddy-boys? I'll tell ya what we're gonna do. We're gonna speed fast. We're gonna move like lightnin'. And we're gonna clean them Sharks up once and for all so they ain't never gonna set foot on our turf again. And we're gonna do it in one, all-out fight...The Sharks want a piece of this world too. And they're real down boys. They might ask for blades, zip guns...I say this turf is small, but it's all we got, huh? Now I want to hold it like we always held it, with skin. But if they say blades, I say blades. If they say guns, I say guns. I say I want that just to be the number one - to sail, to hold the sky...OK cats, we rumble. Now, protocality calls for a war council between us and the Sharks, to set the whole thing up. So I would personally give the bad news to Bernardo.
Riff Now I know Tony like I know me and I guarantee you can count him in.
In, out, let's get crackin'.
Gee-Tar
Where you gonna find Bernardo?
Baby John It ain't safe to go in P.R. territory.
Riff He'll be at the dance tonight at the gym.
A-rab Yeah, but the gym's neutral territory.
Riff A-rab. I'm gonna make nice with him! I'm only gonna challenge him.
Great, Daddy-o!
Riff So listen, everybody dress up sweet and sharp. Meet Tony and me at the dance at ten. And walk tall!
A-rab We always walk tall!
Baby John We're Jets!
Another member
The greatest!
Every single night for the last month, I wake up. And I'm reachin' out.
Riff For what?
I don't know.
Riff A dame?
It's right outside the door. Just around the corner. But it's comin'.
Riff What is?
I don't know. It's like the kick I used to get from bein' a Jet, you know?
Riff Oh, well now you're talkin'. Oh man, without a gang, you're an orphan. With a gang, you walk in twos, threes, fours. And when your crew is the best, when you're a Jet, you're out in the sun, buddy-boy. You're home free home.
Riff, I've had it.
Riff Tony, Tony, look at me, will ya? Come on, look at me...Now, I never asked the time of day from a clock, did I? I never asked nothin' from nobody. But I'm askin' you: 'Come to the dance tonight.'
I promised Doc I'd clean up the store tonight.
Riff Then do it after the dance. Tony, I already told the guys you'd be there. If you don't show up, I'll be marked lousy.
What time'd ya tell 'em?
Riff Ten. For me Tony, for Riff!
Ten it is.
Riff Womb to tomb!
Birth to Earth. And I'll live to regret this.
Riff Who knows? Maybe what you're waitin' for will be twitchin' at the dance tonight?
Get your hands off, American...Stay away from my sister.
Sister?
Couldn't you see he's one of them?
No. I saw only him.
There's only one thing they want from a Puerto Rican girl.
That's a lie!
Riff Later, Tony.
Get away.
Stay out of this, Chino. [To Maria] Don't listen.
She will listen to her brother before she listens to you.
Riff We challenge you to a rumble. All out, once and for all. Accept?
On what terms?
Riff Whatever terms you're callin'? You crossed the line once too often.
You started it.
Riff Who jumped Baby John this afternoon?
Who jumped me the first day I moved here?
Who asked you to move here?
