Those words echoed across cinema goers’ psyche as Clark Gable spoke them in “Gone With the Wind” on December 15, 1939. The movie debut broke all box office records. It was a line spoken by Rhett Butler to Scarlet O’Hara at the end of the movie. A line that pushed the boundaries of Hollywood’s production code. A swear word that re-defined public limits for art imitating life as it really was. Let the games begin…how many F—bombs in your favorite thriller?
This past week Robert Duvall died. For me he was the greatest actor of my memory. In 1983 I saw the movie “Tender Mercies”. Duvall’s character, Mac Sledge, is speaking to the woman who tried to love him back to wholeness. She is hanging clothes on a line during a West Texas wind. His life that seemingly had gotten back on track, was tragically derailed. His word to her— “I don’t trust happiness, never did, never will”. They went straight to my core. I was slowly recovering from a broken marriage and the death of my brother Don. At that time those words were both prophetic and seemed true. I desperately wanted to trust happiness but like Mac Sledge my untreated alcoholism eroded any embrace of grace that came to me. Truly those words invited me to change my life… and I did not even realize it.
Well, on that note I want to jump to the larger category of memorable movie lines that are etched in my journey… and countless others:
“Here’s looking at you kid”—Casablanca
“You can’t handle the truth”—A Few Good Men
“I am going to make him an offer he can’t refuse”—The Godfather
“There’s no place like home” and
“Dorothy we aren’t in Kansas anymore”— Wizard of Oz
“Sometimes the magic works and sometimes it doesn’t”— Little Big Man
“May the Force be with you”—Star Wars
“Here’s Johnny”— The Shinning
“You talking to me”— Taxi Driver
“To Infinity and Beyond”—Toy Story
“I love the smell of napalm in the morning”— Apocalypse Now
“If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all”— Bambi
“Bird”—Bambi
“You’re going to need a bigger boat” —Jaws
“I am mad as hell and I am not going to take it anymore”— Network
“It’s just a flesh wound”— Monty Python and the Holy Grail
“Snakes, I hate snakes”— Indiana Jones
“There is no crying in baseball”—A League of Their Own
“We’re on a mission from God”—Blues Bothers
“He’s not the Messiah, he is a very naughty boy”—Life of Brian
“Get in loser, we are going shopping”—Mean Girls
“I feel the need… the need for speed”—Top Gun
Feel free to add your own.
One of the most honest movies I ever saw about Christianity was “The Apostle”, thanks again Robert Duvall. I am a huge fan of “The Princess Bride” ( thank you stepdaughter Faith). “Oh Brother Where Art Thou”, “Forrest Gump” and my all time forever favorite “The Frisco Kid”. The lines never get old.
Robert Duvall lived to 95 years of age. His contributions to his craft are timeless.
Sorry ‘Mac Sledge’ I am no longer afraid of being happy and Hollywood helped me along the way.
Onward and Upward,
Mark
Lyfting Me Up 