"Bond. James Bond." and Other Iconic Movie Lines

Hubby and I were out at dinner the other night, and we started talking about great movie lines. Being a fan of Gone with the Wind, the first one that came out of my mouth was, “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.” GWTW has a few iconic lines, like “After all, tomorrow is another day,” and “As God is my witness, I’ll never be hungry again.”

The romantic movie, Casablanca, starring Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart, supplied many great one-liners:

• “Here’s looking at you, kid.” 
• “Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she comes into mine.” 
• “Round up the usual suspects.” 
• “We’ll always have Paris.” 
• "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

The Wizard of Oz delivered as well with lines like:

• “Toto, I’ve got a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.”
• “There’s no place like home.” 
• “I’ll get you, my pretty, and your little dog too!”

You know these lines because so many of them have made their way into our daily lexicon. Here’s a list of a few more that come to mind:

• “I’m going to make him an offer he can’t refuse.” – Vito Corleone, The Godfather
• “Go ahead, make my day.” – Harry Callahan, Sudden Impact
• “E.T. phone home.” – E.T., E.T. the Extraterrestrial
• “May the force be with you.” – Han Solo, Star Wars
• “I’ll be back.” – The Terminator, The Terminator
• “Houston, we have a problem.” – Jim Lovell, Apollo 13

Romantic one-liners:

• “You had me at ‘hello.’” – Dorothy Boyd, Jerry Maguire
• “Love means never having to say you’re sorry.” – Jennifer Barrett, Love Story
• “Nobody puts Baby in a corner.” – Johnny Castle, Dirty Dancing

Scene stealers:

• “I’ll have what she’s having.” Customer (Rob Reiner’s mother), When Harry Met Sally
• “Here’s Johnny!” – Jack Torrance, The Shining
• “You can’t handle the truth!” – Col. Nathan Jessup, A Few Good Men

What are some of your favorite movie one-liners?

Top 5 Most Romantic Classic Novels of All Time

Continuing my theme of "top five most romantic," since I'm at the national conference of the Romance Writers of America this week, it seems only fitting that I should list my top five most romantic classic novels of all time. So here they are. 

#5 Wuthering Heights – Wuthering Heights is the turbulent and wildly passionate love-story of Cathy and Heathcliff, two people who cannot love together, yet cannot bear to live apart. Their love-hate relationship and unresolved passion eventually threatens to destroy them and many around them. But they’re two parts of the same soul destined to be joined for all eternity.

#4 Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte’s classic story of a young orphan girl who overcomes cruelty,

loneliness and heartbreak and falls in love with her dark, dashing and handsome employer, Mr. Rochester, is one of great passions and dark secrets. A true Gothic tale complete with a shadowy manor house, unexplained noises, suspicious activities, and a brooding hero. But it’s the love of Jane and Rochester that make this number four on my list.

#3 Gone With the Wind – Margaret Mitchell’s sweeping epic novel about the South during the Civil War. The saga tells the story of Scarlett O’Hara and the dashing, roguish Rhett Butler, beginning on the eve of the war through Sherman’s March, the Reconstruction Era and beyond. Scarlett’s evolution from spoiled Southern Belle to tough, smart business woman is one of the main reasons I love the story. Many find nothing to admire in Scarlett, but I admire her grit in the face of war, hunger, and death.

Rhett is the quintessential bad boy, but the one soft spot in his heart is for Scarlett. He not only loves her for who she is, he respects her smarts and her determination. She leads him a merry chase, but she finally succumbs to his relentless pursuit. While he does leave her in the end, I believe the two are destined to be together in the story after the story.

#2 Emma - Jane Austen’s brilliant novel about the beautiful, wealthy, meddling matchmaker, Emma,

who refuses to listen to her friend George Knightley when it comes to arranging marriages. Emma is stubbornly certain she knows the best match for all involved. The complications Emma runs into, with Austen’s cast of droll characters, each mistaken in their beliefs as to who loves whom, including Emma herself, makes for delightful comedy. Emma must learn she isn’t always right, but it takes a spark of jealousy to make her realize she has loved Mr. Knightley all along.

#1 Pride and Prejudice – Austen’s “darling child” celebrated its 200^th anniversary in 2013! It’s astonishing to think a novel published 200 years ago is still relevant today. For those of you who don’t know, this wonderful novel tells the story of the fiercely independent, Elizabeth Bennett, one of five sisters who must marry rich.  Along comes Mr. Darcy, wealthy, arrogant, and of course, quite handsome. Confounded by her, he plays the aloof, superior gentleman, determined to snub his nose at her and her family. But he soon finds himself unable to resist her wit, charm, and beauty. With delightful twists and turns, this comedy of manners is far and above my favorite romantic novel of all time. 

What novels would make your top five most romantic classics?