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“Actors such as Cagney, Robinson and Bogart seem to gather within themselves the qualities of the genres they appear in, so that the violence, suffering and angst of the films is restated in their faces, physical presence, movement and speech. By the curious alchemy of the cinema, each successive appearance in a given genre further solidifies the actor's screen persona until they no longer play a role but assimilate it to the collecive entity made up of their own body, personality and past screen roles. For instance, the beat-up face. tired eyes and rasping voice by which we identify Humphrey Bogart are, in part, selections we have made from his roles as Sam Spade, Philip Marlowe and others.”
― Underworld USA
― Underworld USA
“Hell is repetition”
― Storm of the Century
― Storm of the Century
“I certainly wish you would have invented a more reasonable story. I felt distinctly like an idiot repeating it."
Joel Cairo to Sam Spade”
― The Maltese Falcon
Joel Cairo to Sam Spade”
― The Maltese Falcon
“Our conversations in private have not been such that I am anxious to continue them.”
― The Maltese Falcon
― The Maltese Falcon
“A half smart guy," she said with a tired sniff. "That's all I ever draw. Never once a guy that's smart all the way around the course. Never once.”
― The Big Sleep
― The Big Sleep
Sam’s 2025 Year in Books
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