Turner Classic Movies Announces the Network's Choices for 10 Best Comedy Lines from Classic Movies

ATLANTA, June 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Turner Classic Movies (TCM) today unveiled the network's list of 10 Best Comedy Lines from Classic Movies, timed to coincide with the buildup to sister network TBS and Just For Laughs' second annual comedy festival in Chicago, which runs June 15-19.  The list includes lines from a number of memorable comedies, spoken by such notables as Groucho Marx, Mel Brooks, Ginger Rogers, Peter Sellers, John Belushi and Rob Reiner's mother.

With this latest authoritative list, TCM set out to find lines that leave audiences in stitches.  Many of the lines are repeated by even the most casual movie fans, demonstrating their strong foothold in pop culture.

"Great movie quotes frequently make their way into everyday conversation, and that is especially true for lines that make us laugh out loud," said TCM host and film historian Robert Osborne.  

Here are the lines included on TCM's list of 10 Best Comedy Lines from Classic Movies, listed in chronological order:

"It must have been hard on your mother, not having any children." – Ginger Rogers, 42nd Street (1933)

Warner Bros.' Busby Berkeley musicals may be best remembered for his kaleidoscopic choreography, but they were also a treasure trove of wise cracks and put downs, delivered by some of the best "dames" on screen, including Joan Blondell, Una Merkel, Glenda Farrell and Rogers.  Even though the films' plot contrivances and grandiose musical stagings may seem dated today, the zingers that kept audiences laughing remain as fresh as ever.

"You can't fool me!  There ain't no sanity clause!" – Chico Marx, A Night at the Opera (1935)

No nose was spared tweaking when the Marx Bros. hit the screen, whether their targets were dignified matrons, bombastic villains or such institutions as college sports, big business and, in this case, grand opera.  Not even the English language was safe as Groucho and Chico subjected audiences to some of the funniest pun-ishment they'd ever heard.

"What do they think I am? Dumb or something? Why, I make more money than - than - than Calvin Coolidge! Put together!" – Jean Hagen, Singin' in the Rain (1952)

The dumb blonde is one of comedy's most reliable archetypes, and few were dumber than Lina Lamont, the silent love goddess whose screechy voice and dim wits threaten her career when sound arrives.  Conceived for Judy Holliday and considered for Lana Turner, the role ultimately went to Hagen, one of the most talented actors never to become a star.

"Well, nobody's perfect!" – Joe E. Brown, Some Like It Hot (1959)

Arguably the definitive movie punchline, Osgood Fielding's response to the revelation that his fiancee Geraldine is really Jerry (Jack Lemmon) still brings this classic comedy to an explosive conclusion.  Co-writers Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond always credited each other with creating the line, but they both agreed that they intended to dub in another line later, only to find it a showstopper during previews.

"Gentlemen, you can't fight in here!  This is the War Room." -- Peter Sellers, Dr. Strangelove: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

Stanley Kubrick gave viewers more than the daily dose of irony with his comic take on the lunacy of the nuclear arms race, nowhere more so than when President Merkin Muffley used this line to break up a fight between his top military advisor and the Russian ambassador.  Although the president was conceived as the film's straight man, the line, possibly improvised by Sellers, consistently gets one of the film's biggest laughs.

"Listen, strange women lyin' in ponds distributin' swords is no basis for a system of government." – Michael Palin, Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

Parody reached a new pinnacle when the landmark British comedy troupe released their first entirely original film.  The madcap comics took every opportunity to debunk Arthurian legends, with arguably the best being this protest from one of Palin's eight characters, a peasant questioning the king's divine authority.

"Over?  Did you say 'over'?  Nothing is over until we decide it is!  Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?  Hell no!" – John Belushi, Animal House (1978)

When Bluto Blutarsky convinces his Delta Tau Chi frat brothers to get back at the school that had thrown them out, a star was born, with Belushi playing one of his most iconic characters in his film debut.  He helped make this manic farce one of the most profitable movies ever (earning $141 million to date on a $3 million investment) and popularized a new genre, the gross-out comedy, which would inspire such later hits as Porky's (1982) and American Pie (1999).

"Joey, do you like movies about gladiators?" – Peter Graves, Airplane! (1980)

Sometimes it's all in the delivery.  Directors Jim Abrahams and the Zucker Brothers, who also wrote the screenplay, knew that one of the funniest lines they ever wrote would be offensive if played for laughs. Therefore, it made sense that, as they did with other key roles in the movie, they would cast an actor (Graves) best known for no-nonsense dramatic roles to deliver it with a perfect deadpan.

"It's good to be the king." – Mel Brooks, History of the World, Part 1 (1981)

Of all the great comic lines crafted by writer-director Mel Brooks (including his invention of the phrase "creative accounting" for 1968's The Producers), perhaps the most iconic is this quip from his take-off on historical epics.  Not only did Brooks use it several times in the film, but he also included it in the stage version of The Producers (2001).  It even served as a tagline for the hit Showtime series The Tudors.

"I'll have what she's having." – Estelle Reiner, When Harry Met Sally... (1989)

Director Rob Reiner gave his mother one of the greatest punch lines in movie history.  Nora Ephron's script about the problems men and women have being just friends already had the makings of a hit.  But the famous deli scene gave it the catchphrase that kept people talking.  It was a moment that literally fell from the stars: Meg Ryan suggested demonstrating a fake orgasm rather than just talking about it, as originally written, and Billy Crystal supplied the punch line.  Reiner's mother, a jazz singer off-screen, then gave the perfect dry delivery that left audiences howling.

Turner Classic Movies is a Peabody Award-winning network that presents great films, uncut and commercial-free, from the largest film libraries in the world.  Currently seen in 85 million homes, TCM features the insights of veteran primetime host Robert Osborne and weekend daytime host Ben Mankiewicz, plus interviews with a wide range of special guests.  As the foremost authority in classic films, TCM offers critically acclaimed original documentaries and specials, along with regular programming events that include The Essentials, 31 Days of Oscar and Summer Under the Stars.  TCM also stages special events and screenings, such as the TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood; produces a wide range of media about classic film, including books and DVDs; and hosts a wealth of materials at its Web site, www.tcm.com.  TCM is part of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news, entertainment, animation and young adult media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.

SOURCE Turner Classic Movies

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