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'I'll be back' is most-quoted movie line

'Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn'

Arnold Schwarzenegger's famous "I'll be back" line from Terminator has been fingered as the movie quote people use most in everyday chat.

A poll of 2,000 film buffs by the UK Film Council's myfilms.com also revealed that people were wont to utter "Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn" in the style of Rhett Butler from Gone With The Wind, and, of course, "Beam me up, Scotty".

Those two classics took second and third spots, respectively, followed by "May the force be with you" and "Life is like a box of chocolates".

A quick check down here at Vulture Central revealed a completely difference set of preferences. Way out in front was "I demand to have some booze!" from Withnail and I, followed by "You talkin' to me?" (Taxi Driver), "No, Mr Bond, I expect you to die" (Goldfinger), "We don't need to show you no steeenkin' badges"* (Treasure of the Sierra Madre) and "Get three coffins ready" (A Fistful of Dollars).

And if those don't wet your whistle, the UK's Odeon cinemas in 2003 complied its own list of the top ten movie quotes of all time, which pretty well confirms that when it comes to catchy one-liners, Arnie and Clark Gable are indeed in a class of their own.

  1. "I'll be back." - Terminator
  2. "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn!" - Gone With the Wind
  3. "Get busy livin' or get busy dyin'." (Goddamn right.) - The Shawshank Redemption
  4. "Hasta la vista, baby." Terminator 2: Judgment Day
  5. "But you don't understand, Osgood. Uh, I'm a man." "Well, nobody's perfect!" - Some Like It Hot
  6. "Dave, this conversation can serve no purpose anymore. Goodbye." - 2001: A Space Odyssey
  7. "Goodbye, Mr. Bond." - Goldfinger
  8. "I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tanhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time like tears in rain. Time to die." - Blade Runner
  9. "Made it, Ma! Top of the world!" - White Heat
  10. "Fuh-get about it!" - Donnie Brasco

Bootnote

*Yes, yes, we know it's a misquote. The full original is: "Badges? We ain't got no badges. We don't need no badges. I don't have to show you any stinking badges."

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