“With all my heart, I still love the man I killed!”

– Bette Davis in “The Letter”

Reporter: Say listen, is he working on a case? 

Nora Charles: Yes, he is. 

Reporter: What case? 

Nora Charles: A case of scotch. Pitch in and help him.

From “The Thin Man,” starring William Powell as Nick and Myrna Loy as Nora.

Prince John: A knife! He’s got a knife! 

Eleanor: Of course he has a knife, he always has a knife, we all have knives! It’s 1183 and we’re barbarians! How clear we make it. Oh, my piglets, we are the origins of war: not history’s forces, nor the times, nor justice, nor the lack of it, nor causes, nor religions, nor ideas, nor kinds of government, nor any other thing. We are the killers. We breed wars. We carry it like syphilis inside. Dead bodies rot in field and stream because the living ones are rotten. For the love of God, can’t we love one another just a little - that’s how peace begins. We have so much to love each other for. We have such possibilities, my children. We could change the world.

From “The Lion In Winter,” by James Goldman.

From “Bullets Over Broadway:”

Helen Sinclair (to a waiter): Two martinis please, very dry.

David Shayne: How’d you know what I drank?

Helen Sinclair: Oh, you want one, too? Three.

The film, directed by Woody Allen, stars Dianne Wiest at Helen and John Cusack as David. Watch a clip of the scene here.

“It took more than one man to change my name to Shanghai Lily.” – Marlene Dietrich in “Shanghai Express.”

These amazing movie posters are designed for Mondo, an offshoot of the Alamo Drafthouse theater chain in Austin, Texas. Check The New York Times article to see more of their work.

Today is the birthday of silent film comic great Buster Keaton. He was born in 1895. The Great Stone Face was one of the giants of film comedy of any era. “The Writer’s Almanac” has a good, concise history. Kevin Brownlow and David Gill’s documentary, “Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow,” will tell you everything you need to know and make you laugh in the process.

Watching “Erin Brockovich” on cable just now reminded me of how good the movie is and, particularly, how good Albert Finney is in it. When the film first came out, a friend said it made her fall in love with him all over again. Julia Roberts is the star, of course, but Finney gives a consummate performance and shows how to make a character part into a starring role. The final scene where he presents Erin with her bonus check is a classic and leaves Finney’s character, and the audience, smiling. Not bad work.