Reel Life 101: 1,101 Classic Movie Lines That Teach Us About Life, Death, Love, Marriage, Anger and Humor

By Jon Anthony Dosa

Reel Life: 101 meticulously and cleverly presents more than 1,101 of the most culturally influential movie lines of our time, it is not a mere collection of familiar movie quotes from popular movies.  In fact, you probably won’t remember most of them.  But, they remember you.

Reel Life 101 is a fascinating first-ever compilation of those special lines and bits of dialogue that went, as if by some divine cinematic guidance, directly to your brain. There, it was compressed and stored in a unique one-of-a-kind “celebrity cell,” ready to be re-act-ivated into the scenes of your own reel life dramas.

Jon Anthony Dosa, the Emmy Award winning producer of A Day At The Movies, lovingly and meticulously presents more than 1,101 of these literary gems, these nuggets of “behavioral truths,” in a meaningful, easy to read, and entertainingly clever way.

Years in the making, and a true labor of love, Reel Life 101 is a must-have resource book for film buffs, sociologists, therapists, historians, writers, speakers, and anyone who wants to understand what life, death, love, marriage, anger, and humor are all about.

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Apr 20, 2006
• ISBN: 9781546271659

Jon Anthony Dosa

Jon Anthony Dosa is the Emmy Award winning producer of A Day At The Movies, the 90-minute,   no-holds-barred, behind-the-scenes documentary shot during the filming of the 1976 horror classic Burnt Offerings with Bette Davis, Oliver Reed, and Karen Black. Born in Akron, Ohio, Dosa was a “poster child” of the fifties, and a “flower child” of the sixties. After graduating from San Jose State University with a major in Advertising and Psychology, he studied subliminal advertising before becoming a “systems analyst” for Title Insurance and Trust Corp, in San Francisco. In 1968, Dosa’s well-researched and well organized opposition to the Vietnam War led to his first media position, as producer of the politically controversial “Joe Dolan Show,” on KNEW-Talkradio in Oakland, California.   He also produced “The Pat Michael’s Show” and “The Hilly Rose Show” on KTVU-TV and KBHK-TV, in San Francisco. As Program Director for TelePrompTer Cable TV, one of the nation’s premier systems, Dosa’s highly creative and innovative programming caught the attention of the media, and owner Jack Kent Cooke. (“Wow! On a par with the Lakers.”) He’s also credited with creating the first shop-by-tv show, “TV Window Shopping,” in 1976. In 1980, Dosa moved to Los Angeles, where he became a Program Coordinator for KABC-Talkradio.   He produced local and nationally syndicated shows for such talk show luminaries as Larry Elder, Tavis Smiley, Dennis Prager, Bill Press, Gloria Allred, Michael Jackson, Susan Estrich, and psychiatrist David Viscott. He also appeared as a regular on the late night NBC-TV call-in series, “The Dr. David Viscott Show.” Now retired, Dosa lives  in Palm Springs, California, where he reads, walks, swims, writes, socializes, and watches lots of old movies on TCM. Reel Life: 101 is his first book.

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© 2006 Jon Anthony Dosa. All Rights Reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse June 1, 2006

ISBN: 978-1-4208-3451-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5462-7165-9 (ebook)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2005901469

Cover Design by Jon Anthony Dosa

You want me to count to three … like a movie?

Bob Steele

The Big Sleep

Dedication

To my mom, Margery, and my dad, Augie;

They taught me how to watch a good movie.

And to my older sister, Rosalie and big brother, Paul;

They let me go to the movies with them.

Acknowledgments

The author wishes to gratefully acknowledge the following:

First, and foremost, to the screenwriter, whose brilliant talent and creative ability to express it, made this book meaningful.

To the Writers Guild of America; for protecting the rights of their members.

To Ted Turner; whose blessed foresight embraced and preserved one of America’s greatest treasures: our cinematic cultural heritage.

To Turner Classic Movies; for generously and wisely sharing these cultural cinematic treasures with the American public, without commercial interruption.

To Ron Howell, Lynda Jean Groh, Shawn Davis and Shany and Rebecca Abraham for their friendship, assistance and encouragement.

To my dear departed soul sister Marilyn Van derVeer and my dear departed buddy BuzCovalt.

To Ruud Van der Veer and to John Jake Dunno for their grammatical assistance.

And to the Revs. Richard Drasen and Rev. John Levy for their spiritual treatments.

Table of Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Table of Contents

Index of Movie Icons

The Beginning

Chapter One: Life 101

Chapter Two: Death 101

Chapter Three: Love 101

Chapter Four: Marriage 101

Chapter Five: Anger 101

Chapter Six: Humor 101

Chapter Seven: Marilyn Monroe: Sex 101

Chapter Eight: Frank Sinatra: Anger 101

Chapter Nine: Natalie Wood: Marriage 101

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Index of Movie Icons

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The Beginning

In the beginning was the word.

- John 1:1

There’s a scene in the 1991 comedy Grand Canyon, in which filmmaker Steve Martin asks an associate: Mac, did you ever see the movie called Sullivan’s Travels?

No. the asscociate answers.

Martin: "That’s part of your problem, you know. You haven’t seen enough movies. All of life’s riddles are answered in the movies."

And that’s what this book is all about; how the movies have helped us to understand and re-act to the great questions of our time: What is life all about? Who are we? Where do we come from? Why are we here? What is love? What is marriage? What makes us angry? What is death? And, hey … what’s so funny?

Why is it that hundreds of people can sit in the same theater, see the same movie, walk out at the same time, yet feel completely different about the same experience?

Why does the lady sitting on our right cry during a scene, while the man on our left thinks about business? Why is the child in front of us sitting on the edge of his seat, eyes wide, mouth open, filled with anticipatory excitement, while the lady sitting behind us concentrates on a candy bar wrapper she can’t quite open? Why do some people feel they got their moneys worth, and others consider it a waste of time?

The truth is, whether you’re sitting by yourself in an old movie house, with family and friends in an ornate theatrical palace, or among strangers in a simple multiplex, every movie you have ever seen was meant for only one person …you!

But, while the movies may provide a few hours distraction from our fears and anxieties, their ultimate value manifests when we re-en-act the appropriate, instilled, cinematic behavioral truths into our reel life scenes and dramas.

It’s not surprising that most of us fondly recall at least one scene, or even a single line, from some movie, that inevitably and indelibly altered our lives. That’s because it was a personal message for you! And you got it.

For some, it’s Scarlett O’Hara’s line: Tomorrow is another day, that encourages us not to buckle under to today’s trials and tribulations. For others, it’s Mae West’s come-hither invitation to Cary Grant to: Come up and see me sometime that gives you permission to ask for what you really want. And how can you measure the value of a good line to relieve you of a burden carried too long?

Remember Tivoing your mind when you heard an image on the screen say something that resonated within you? Perhaps it was a new thought that you’ve never considered before … a new way of saying what you’ve always thought, or mayby it changed your mind. Somebody is verbally expressing something that is so deep within your heart, you’re instinctively stunned by its impact on you. Reluctant to miss any of the story, you quickly categorize and file it away, knowing that, somehow, it has transformed you. You hope to remember the line long enough to tell others, sure that it will affect them as much.That’s what Reel Life 101 is all about.

Reel Life Stories

One Sunday morning, not long ago, I attended services held by Dr. David Walker at the Church of Religious Science on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles. Sitting near the front, I spotted another regular attendee: the great swimming icon of the silver screen, Esther Williams. After the service I approached the still glamorous legend and told her that I was writing this book, and asked if there was a particular line from a movie that had changed her life?

Without hesitation, America’s Mermaid responded: "Of course. It was in Gone With The Wind. It was during the scene near the middle of the film when Scarlett O’Hara was in tears. Her beloved Atlanta is in flames around her, and all of her dreams are going up in smoke. Then, she stops, stands still, wipes her tears away, and says: ‘I can’t think about that right now. If I do, I’ll go crazy. I’ll think about it tomorrow.’ Hearing that taught me not to re-act immediately to the appearance of negativity. That it’s OK to put it off, to postpone it, ‘to … think about it tomorrow.’ It taught me that time helps us to see events in their proper perspective. Miss Williams is a loyal devotee and practioner of the Science of Mind".

Another serendipitous encounter occured at the Palm Springs Film Noir Festival. Mickey Spillane, one of the best selling, most translated authors in literary history, and the creator of the fabled private eye character Mike Hammer, was a featured guest at the popular annual homage to the black-and-white dramas from the 40s and 50s. (www.palmspringsfilmnoir.com)

I fired the same question at Mickey. He smiled: Sure,he said, still looking and acting like the classic tough guy he he wrote for the screen: "It was the last line in I The Jury. One of the characters, very upset, very shaken up, asks Hammer, ‘How could you do it?’ Nonchalantly, Hammer says: ‘Easy.’ That’s my favorite." This may account for Spillane’s easy going-manner. Incidentally, he received writing credit for both the 1953 original and the 1982 remake.

It wasn’t a specific line, but a specific scene, that created a lasting impression on Dustin Hoffman. He remembers a scene in On The Waterfront in which Marlon Brando’s character picks up a glove Eva Marie Saint drops, and casually puts it on. Hoffman: "He was the first actor to exude a femininity. It was extraordinary. He redefined masculinity. Who else would have done that in those days, in the early 1950s, when actors had to hide the fact that they were gay? He’s throwing caution to the wind and saying, ‘No one’s going to tell me what defines masculinity’." (Angela Dawson. Entertainment News Wire). It was a lesson gleaned from celluloid that would serve Hoffman especially well 28years later when he played drag in Tootsie.

During a more recent 60 Minutes interview with correspondent Steve Kroft, Hoffman summed up his thoughts with: "Movies are like life. Everything depends on a few decisions you make at the very beginning."

Another wonderful example of cinematic simpatico was recently published in the Los Angeles Times. In an interview with actor Jack Nicholson entitled, Riffs on Life, in the Key of Jack, Rachel Abramowitz asks: For you, what movies were instructive? Nicholson: "This is basically what movies are; the learning process. Education. We learn how to kiss, or drink, how to talk to our buddies. All the things that you can’t really teach in social studies or history, we all learn them at the movies. I could put it in scenes from old movies: Lawrence is talking to Alec Guinness in Lawrence of Arabia. They’re having this big argument about what should be done and who should do it. Guinness turns and says, ‘Look, Lawrence, you do things according to your real and honest passions of the moment. I do things according to the way in which they should be done traditionally. I ask you to judge which is more trustworthy over the long run.’ I love that scene."

In a true celluloid shuffle showing how life imitates art, screen legend Joan Crawford, in an interview for the PBS American Cinema segment entitled The Star (1995), revealed: You see, pictures have given me all the education I’ve ever had, since I never went beyond the fifth grade. I’ve had no formal education whatsoever. I used to read scripts and then look up the words I didn’t know in the dictionary; how to pronounce them, what they meant; all before I could learn the line.

One day, while watching my other favorite TV channel, C-Span, I had the pleasure of listening to a gentleman named Ken Paulson. Mr. Paulson was giving a fascinating talk at Vanderbilt University on The Future of Journalism. Near the conclusion of his presentation, he casually mentioned that he was originally inspired to enter the noble profession of journalism after seeing an old movie as a youth. He recalled that Humphrey Bogart played a newspaper editor. He said it was Bogie’s impassioned lines, (about being the only profession that’s mentioned in our Constitution,) that inspired him. The words, and the believability of the character saying them, struck a special chord within the young man.

Today, Ken Paulson is the star of his own reel life movie; he’s the Editor of USA Today, the nation’s top-selling newspaper. I sent a note to Mr.Paulson and received this kind reply from him: I suspect there are a great many people who heard the right line at the right time and it had a dramatic and positive impact on their lives.

Incidentally, I believe the movie that set Mr. Paulson on his reel life calling was entitled Deadline U.S.A. In this hard-hitting 1952 crime drama, Humphrey Bogart plays Ed Hutcheson, the tough, crusading editor of the New York Sun. With the paper about to fold after three more issues, Bogie takes on organized crime, and wins; for himself, his paper and the public. Mr. Paulson must have taken the words to heart when he heard Bogie say: A profession is a performance for public good. That’s why newspaper work is a profession. Or perhaps it was when he said: About this wanting to be a reporter, don’t ever change your mind. It may not be the oldest profession, but, it’s the best. Or perhaps it was when Jim Backus’ character says: A journalist makes himself the hero of the story. A reporter is only a witness. Actually, the movie is full of great lines. One of my favorites is when Bogie goes on the record with: Stupidity isn’t hereditary, you acquire it by yourself.

The purpose of our life, is to reel-ize what our purpose is. And movies help us on this journey.

As George Sanders said in The Picture of Dorian Gray: "The aim of life is self development. To realize one’s nature perfectly. That’s what we’re here for."

Matt Lauer and Tony Soprano

As a child of old movies and early television, I still watch both. But, sitting in front of the old plasma, I find myself frequently hitting the remote to find something worthwhile. And, it’s not getting any easier.

June 27, 2005. LA Times.

Rachel Abramowitz and R. Kinsey Lowe report that "the domestic box office remains mired in the longest slump in 20 years."

The Press Enterprise. Headline: Movies Losing Magic Touch. Carla Wheeler and Kimberly Pierceall report from Los Angeles: "Attendance is down 10 percent at theaters from a year ago … (Industry observers) … claim the problem lies with … lackluster scripts, stars and storytelling. Darryl Macdonald, executive director of the Palm Springs International Film Festival: The current crop of stories simply doesn’t satisfy people. Independent filmmaker Varum Kanna: I think we have to go back to storytelling."

Veteran screenwriter Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull ) says "I came into the business in the late ‘60s when there was a lot of room for individual statements, and films were very important to the social fabric of our culture. Films have become less important that way. Fewer and fewer people regard them as serious anymore. And certainly the role of the individual filmmaker has greatly diminished. (Parade Magazine 7-2-05)

Today there are even those who even predict the demise of going to the movies. One of Hollywood’s top filmmakers, M. Night Shyamalan, speaking at the annual ShowEast convention in Orlando, Fla. (10-28-05) warned the nation’s theater owners of the demise one of the great American traditions - the collective movie-going experience. The director told the more than 800 theater operators at their closing-night dinner, When I sit down next to you in a movie theater, we get to share each other’s point of view. We become part of a collective soul. That’s the magic in the movies. Then he added: If this thing happens, you know the majority of your theaters are closing. "Art is the ability to convey that we are not alone.

Responding to Shyamalan, LA Times readers readily responded, citing more reasons for declining ticket sales: parking problems: $10 tickets: under-ventilated auditoriums: sticky floors: 20 minutes of ads played at jet-takeoff sound levels: cellphones tinkling: chairs being kicked: plots and problems being loudly discussed while the movie unfolds, and 126 minutes of three-act predictability

Except for a few well written, intelligent, clever and insightful TV shows, the growing proliferation of lackluster dramas, fake reality shows, and unfunny sitcoms, I find myself inevitably drawn to the always reliable C-SPAN, or some classic movie playing on a high-end channel (thank God for TCM) It seems only classic films can provide the cleverness and wisdom we so crave in today’s world of the mundane. Researching this book has provided me with so many delightful hours of literal discoveries, the older I get, the more I appreciate our wonder-filled celluloid history. I may never again be able to settle for the blandness of today’s fare. Yes, I am spoiled.

Does anything go by so quickly as a good movie punctuated by the staccato of wonderfully clever dialogue? Following the rapier banter between Tracy and Hepburn is guaranteed to keep you in your seat.

Reel Life 101 contains just some of the lines that a brilliant screenwriter had the intelligence and creativity to dream up, an actor/actress had the talent to convey effectively, and some farsighted director had the good sense to leave untouched.

The lines chosen for this book come from theatrical films only, and for the most part, those made prior to the 80s. Unfortunately, contemporary movies do not seem to enjoy the quality of thought as do the old fashioned ones. (In 2005, The American Film Institute aired its annual special entitled: The 100 Best Movie Lines. Of the 100, only one or two came after the year 2000.

Recently on the Today Show, host Matt Lauer discussed this very subject with actress Kimberly Elise, there to promote her new movie, a remake of the classic 1962 Frank Sinatra thriller The Manchurian Candidate. Elise, a self-confessed movie buff admitted: "I love older films in general because I love the dialogue and the time they take to talk and communicate. They don’t do that so much anymore. Lamenting this modernization of movies, she added: Today’s audiences don’t have the patience for the way films were made before."

There was also an interesting discussion the other day on The View. Starr Jones and Joy Behar were talking about a new phenomenon called movie rage. Starr: I want those two hours out of my life back. Joy: "Acting is considered a special effect."

Movie critic Kevin Thomas made a similar observation in his glowing review of the caper thriller After the Sunset. In the Calendar section of the November 12, 2004 issue of the Los Angeles Times, Thomas writes: "It just goes to show there’s nothing like a clever script, along with perfect casting and, above all, direction that’s featherlight. That recipe is usually found in favorite Hollywood movies of the past, not up-to-the-minute productions like this one."

And, for an interesting melding of old and new good writing, one need only watch an episode of the Emmy award winning HBO crime series, The Sopranos. We often find head boss, Tony Soprano, home alone at night. watching old classic movies on TV. The wives even have their own movie-night. They get together in front of a big screen, with all the latest sound components, and watch classics such as Citizen Kane, Casablanca and The Godfather. After, they talk about what they got out of the movie. Their selections come from The American Film Institutes top 100 films, and they share insights from Leonard Maltin’s Movie and Video Guide.

As filmmaker Paul Mazursky explained in TCMs Hidden Values; Movies of the 50s: "It’s much different now. Movies are made now, mostly, because the studios think they’ll have a big weekend. That’s the main reason they make movies. Whereas, in those olden days, a lot of movies were made because filmmakers had ideas that they wanted to communicate, and there were producers around who were willing to help them make those movies."

So, now you understand that Reel Life 101 is not a book of movie-quote trivia. It’s an homage to our screenwriters and the impact they have on our lives.

I have purposely chosen not to include familiar lines, in favor of unmined golden nuggets of celluloid. Some of these films may be among your favorites, others more obscure.

And, please keep this in mind: When you read a quote from a movie that you know you’ve seen before, but you don’t remember the line, it just demonstrates the power of your subconscious to assimilate, process, compress and store them under appropriate conditions.

Reel History

Movies aren’t just for watching anymore.

There’s a psychological phenomenon I call the Zapruder Syndrome.

Of all the moving pictures that man has ever produced, the most valuable is, without question, the 19 inches of 8mm silent Kodachrome II color film shot by Abraham Zapruder on November 22, 1963, It captured the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Yet, the moving images that show us this historic story, are small, shaky, even blurred. Incredibly, the most important moment in the scene is frustratingly obscured behind a common street sign. Yet, it’s 96 seconds is the most prized motion-picture footage in history. The Zapruder Syndrome is the all-time cinematic example of form following function.

The greatest value (use) of moving images lies not in their past but in their potential to alter mass consciousness, for good or for bad.

Sean Astin, son of John Astin and Patty Duke, is a member of President Bush’s Council on Service and Civic Participation. The purpose of the organization is to promote a culture of participation, volunteerism and civic engagement in America. A big job indeed. When asked: "How do you change culture? Astin said: Well, movies are one way to do it."

Rose Truuche, the Director of The L Word, a documentary on lesbianism, said on E: "I think that movies are like owners manuals. I think that a lot of us watch them wondering what to do. And, I think particularly of homosexuality. For example, one groundbreaking film on the subject of self-identity" was the 1926 Flesh and The Devil starring Greta Garbo. Garbo plays a woman, who plays a man, who …. Well, you get it.

Media guru Rupert Murdock, speaking before the American Society of Newspaper Editors Convention, points out: "It’s very powerful to see a moving picture of something." We’ve all heard the old story about moviegoers running from the theater after seeing a cowboy shooting his gun. It’s true.

And here’s a sad, but classic example; Did you know that black Americans were randomly and savagely beaten up on streets all over America by white audiences exiting screenings of the 1915 American film Birth Of A Nation?

D.W. Griffith’s celluloid homage to the Confederacy carries a certain enthusiasm for the Klu Klux Klan and the violent lynchings depicted (in moving images) on a screen, in a dark theater.

The film incited violent racism. Outside the theater, actual mounted Klansman were used to publicize it’s premiere in Hollywood. (It’s title then was The Clansman) Incidentally, it was the first film ever shown at the White House (Woodrow Wilson). Eventually, the movie was banned in several major cities, including Los Angeles. And, today, any university film-history class, community-film society, or local arthouse, that announces a screening of Birth Of A Nation is asking for big trouble.

Now, here’s a happy example; Many film historians consider the WWI epic Grand Illusion to be the greatest anti-war film ever made. Yet,