 Introduction:
Film speeches are normally delivered orally and directed at an audience
of three or more people, although there can be exceptions. They are usually
persuasive-type speeches, either designed to promote or to dissuade, and
they are highly quotable.
Greatest Film Speeches and Monologues: Video store
chain Blockbuster Video (in the UK) held a series of polls in
late 2003 with its customers to determine the 20 Greatest Film Speeches
and Monologues in cinematic history. These are marked in the following
lists with this symbol --  and
by their original ranking number in the top 20. Although
there were some excellent choices in their poll, the results almost
completely ignored early films, and entirely disregarded films with
speeches made by female characters. Greatest Films has provided
this expanded listing of Best Film Speeches and Monologues here
of deserving, best film monologues and speeches.
Note: The films that are marked with
a yellow star 
are the films that "The Greatest Films" site has selected as the 100
Greatest Films.
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Film and Brief Title |
Speech |
Example |
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The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920, Ger.) (Silent
film)
 Somnambulist's
Introduction
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Dr. Caligari's (Werner Krauss) introduction
of the deadly sonambulist Cesare (Conrad Veidt) to a crowd: ("Step
right up. Now showing for the first time: Cesare, the miraculous,
twenty-three years of age, has for these three-and-twenty years
been sleeping -- night and day -- without a break. Before your very
eyes, Cesare will awaken from his death-like rigidity. Step right
up. Step right up. Ladies and Gentlemen, Cesare will now answer
any question you like to put to him. Cesare knows every secret.
Cesare knows the past and can see into the future. Come up and test
him for yourselves.") |
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Metropolis (1927) (Silent film)
Parable
of Babel
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Maria (Brigitte Helm) told the
parable or legend of the Tower of Babel to teach the workers -- and a hidden Freder Fredersen (Gustav Fröhlich), about the importance of cooperation and unity, as she clutched her breast: ("Come, let us build us a tower whose top may reach unto the stars!
And on top of the tower we will write the words: Great is the world and its Creator! And great is Man!" ...but the minds that had conceived the Tower of Babel could not build it. The task was too great. So they hired hands for wages. But the hands that built the Tower of Babel knew nothing of the dream of the brain that had conceived it. BABEL! BABEL!
BABEL! One man's hymns of praise became other men's curses. People spoke the same language, but could not understand each other..."HEAD and HANDS need a mediator." "THE MEDIATOR BETWEEN HEAD AND HANDS MUST BE THE HEART!") |
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All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
Preaching
the "Glory of the Fatherland"
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Professor Kantorek's (Arnold Lucy) preaching
of the "Glory of the Fatherland" to his classroom of students:
("You are the life of the Fatherland, you boys - you are the
iron men of Germany. You are the gay heroes who will repulse the
enemy when you are called to do so....Sweet and fitting it is to
die for the Fatherland...Now our country calls. The Fatherland needs
leaders. Personal ambition must be thrown aside in the one great
sacrifice for our country. Here is a glorious beginning to your
lives. The field of honor calls you.") |
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Realities
of War |
Paul Baumer's (Lew Ayres) return speech
to his Professor's class after experiencing warfare's despair: ("I
heard you in here reciting that same old stuff, making more iron
men, more young heroes. You still think it's beautiful and sweet
to die for your country, don't you? Well, we used to think you knew.
The first bombardment taught us better. It's dirty and painful to
die for your country") |
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Dracula (1931)
Nocturnal
Visitation by Dracula
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Mina Seward's (Helen Chandler) description
of a "dream" she had -- after a nocturnal visitation by
Dracula (Bela Lugosi) while she was sleeping -- to her fiancee John
Harker (David Manners): ("And just as I was commencing to get
drowsy, I heard dogs howling. And when the dream came, it seemed
the whole room was filled with mist. It was so thick, I could just
see the lamp by the bed, a tiny spark in the fog. And then I saw
two red eyes staring at me, and a white livid face came down out
of the mist. It came closer and closer. I felt its breath on my
face, and then its lips, ohhh,...and then in the morning, I felt
so weak. It seemed as if all the life had been drained out of me...") |
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M (1931, Ger.)
"I
Must!" Defense
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Child-murderer Hans Beckert's (Peter
Lorre) famous "I must!" defense of his actions in front
of an underworld kangaroo court: ("... I have no control over
this. This evil thing inside me, the fire, the voices, the torment!
It's there all the time -- driving me to wander the streets, following
me silently, but I can feel it there -- it's me, pursuing myself
-- I want to escape, to escape from myself but it's impossible...
I can't escape, I have to obey it, I have to run endless streets
-- I want to escape, to get away and I'm pursued by ghosts -- ghosts
of mothers and of those children, they never leave me, they are
there, always there, always, always except when I do it -- when
I ... then I can't remember anything and afterwards I see those
posters and read what I've done. Did I do that? But I can't remember
anything about it, but who will believe me? Who knows what it's
like to be me? How I'm forced to act -- how I must! -- must!-- don't
want to -- but must -- and then a voice screams -- I can't bear
to hear it -- I can't go on, I can't go on ...") |
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Freaks (1932)
Carnival
Barker's Introduction of a Real Freak
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A carnival barker (Murray Kinnell)
explaining the sideshow freak’s code of honor: ("Offend
one – and you offend them all!"), and then his introduction
of an off-screen creature, causing a woman to scream at the sight
of the hideous human monstrosity, as the barker continues: ("Friends,
she was once a beautiful woman...She was known as the Peacock of
the Air," and he concludes his speech at the end of the film,
"How she got that way will never be known. Some say a jealous
lover, others that it was the code of the freaks, others the storm.
Believe it or not, there she is...!") |
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42nd
Street (1933)
"You've
Got To Come Back a Star"
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Julian Marsh's (Warner Baxter) motivational
instructions to young Peggy Sawyer (Ruby Keeler), culminating with
one of the most famous exhortations in film history: ("Now
Sawyer, you listen to me and you listen hard. Two hundred people,
two hundred jobs, two hundred thousand dollars, five weeks of grind
and blood and sweat depend upon you. It's the lives of all these
people who have worked with you. You've got to go on, and you have
to give and give and give. They've got to like you, they've got
to. Do you understand? You can't fall down. You can't, because your
future's in it, my future and everything all of us have is staked
on you. All right now, I'm through. But you keep your feet on the
ground and your head on those shoulders of yours and go out - and
Sawyer, you're going out a youngster, but you've got
to come back a star.") |
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I'm No Angel (1933)
A
Carnival Barker's Introduction of Vamp Performer
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One-ring circus and sideshow carnival
barker's (Russell Hopton) temptation of a crowded audience and his
introduction of carnival queen and dazzling international small-time,
vamp circus star performer Tira (Mae West): ("Over there, Tira,
the beautiful Tira, dancing, singing, marvel of the age, supreme
flower of feminine pulchritude, the girl who discovered you don't
have to have feet to be a dancer"), and Tira's sauntering entrance
on the catwalk and her purring to spectators: ("A penny for
your thoughts. Got the idea, boys. You follow me?") |
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It Happened One Night (1934)
"Wall
of Jericho" Scene
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Peter Warne's (Clark Gable) bare-chested
demonstration of how a man undresses in the infamous "Wall
of Jericho" scene, scaring young heiress Ellie Andrews (Claudette
Colbert) to the other side of the "wall": ("Perhaps
you're interested in how a man undresses. You know, it's a funny
thing about that. Quite a study in psychology. No two men do it
alike. You know, I once knew a man who kept his hat on until he
was completely undressed. Now he made a picture. Years later, his
secret came out. He wore a toupee. Yeah. I have a method all my
own. If you notice, the coat came first, then the tie, then the
shirt. Now, uh, according to Hoyle, after that, the, uh, pants should
be next. There's where I'm different. I go for the shoes next. First
the right. Then the left. After that, it's, eh, every man for himself") |
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| Bachelor's
Thoughts on Love and Marriage |
Longtime bachelor Peter's thoughts on
love and marriage: ("Sure, I've thought about it. Who hasn't?
If I could ever meet the right sort of girl. Ahh, where you gonna
find her? Somebody that's real, somebody that's alive! They don't
come like that way anymore. Have I ever thought about it? Boy, I've
even been sucker enough to make plans. You know, I saw an island
in the Pacific once, never been able to forget it. That's where
I'd like to take her. She'd have to be the sort of a girl who'd
jump in the surf with me and love it as much as I did. Nights when
you and the moon and the water all become one. You feel you're part
of something big and marvelous. That's the only place to live. The
stars are so close over your head you feel you could reach up and
stir them around. Certainly, I've been thinking about it. Boy, if
I could ever find a girl who was hungry for those things...") |
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Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
Closing
Court Statement
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Midshipman Roger Byam's (Franchot Tone)
closing court statement to defend his men, after he has been sentenced
to hang: ("These men don't ask for comfort. They don't ask
for safety...They ask only (for) the freedom that England expects
for every man...") |
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Ruggles of Red Gap (1935)
Patriotic
Love of Adopted Country
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Ex-English butler-valet Marmaduke 'Bill'
Ruggles (Charles Laughton) expresses his love for America and the
Old West cow-town of Red Gap (in Washington), where he has moved
and started a restaurant - the Anglo-American Grille, with Egbert Floud (Charles Ruggles); he tells people
at the Silver Dollar Saloon that he was inspired by "what Lincoln
said at Gettysburg", and then recites Lincoln's Gettysburg
Address (he has been reading up on Presidential history), first softly and then reaching a higher volume as more
dumb-founded patrons listen |
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Camille (1936)
Words
to a Dying Camille
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Armand Duval's (Robert Taylor) promises
to Marguerite Gautier (Greta Garbo) as she dies in his arms: ("Shhh.
Don't say such things, Marguerite, even if we can't go to the country
today. Think of how happy we were once, how happy we shall be again.
Think of the day you found the four leaf clover, and all the good
luck it's going to bring us. Think of the vows we heard Nichette
and Gustave make and that we're going to make to each other. This
is for life Marguerite..."); when he realizes she has died,
he sobs: ("Marguerite. Marguerite! No, don't leave me. Marguerite,
come back!") |
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Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
(1936)
Argument
for Noblesse Oblige
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Mr. Deeds (Gary Cooper)
successfully argues for noblesse oblige and philanthropy
- those who have money should help those who are the 'underdog':
("From what I can see, no matter what
system of government we have, there will always be leaders and always
be followers. It's like the road out in front of my house. It's
on a steep hill. Every day I watch the cars climbing up. Some go
lickety-split up that hill on high, some have to shift into second,
and some sputter and shake and slip back to the bottom again. Same
cars, same gasoline, yet some make it and some don't. And I say
the fellas who can make the hill on high should stop once in a while
and help those who can't. That's all I'm trying to do with this
money. Help the fellas who can't make the hill on high.") |
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The Life of Emile Zola (1937)
Open
Letter to the French President About Corruption
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Emile Zola (Paul Muni)
brings charges of army corruption, in an open letter to the President
of France, about the "abominable Dreyfus affair," asserting
his truthfulness: ("I shall tell the truth. Because if I did
not, my nights would be haunted by the specter of an innocent being
expiating under the most frightful torture a crime he never committed.
It is impossible for honest people to read the iniquitous bill of
accusation against Dreyfus without being overcome with indignation
and crying out their revulsion. Dreyfus knows several languages
-- crime. He works hard -- crime. No compromising papers are found
in his apartment -- crime. He goes occasionally to the country of
his origin -- crime. He endeavors to learn everything -- crime.
He's not easily worried -- crime. He is easily worried -- also a
crime...For over a year, the Minister of War and the General Staff
have known that Dreyfus is innocent, but they've kept this knowledge
to themselves. And those men sleep, and they have wives and children
they love. One speaks of the "honor of the Army." The
Army is the people of France themselves. And the Dreyfus affair
is a matter pertaining to that Army. Dreyfus cannot be vindicated
without condemning the whole General Staff..."); these words
were followed by a series of "I Accuse" statements, and
his final summation: ("In making these accusations, I am aware
that I render myself open to prosecution for libel. But, that does
not matter. The action I take is designed only to hasten the explosion
of truth and justice. Let there be a trial in the full light of
day! I am waiting.") |
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| Defense
of Captain Dreyfus by Emile Zola |
Emile Zola's inspiring and impassioned
closing argument to the jury in defense of himself and Captain Dreyfus
(Joseph Schildkraut), a scapegoated Jewish army officer for a breach
in security - framed for an espionage crime he did not commit: ("...Not
only is an innocent man crying out for justice, but more -- much
more -- a great nation is in desperate danger of forfeiting her
honor. Do not take upon yourselves a fault, the burden of which
you will forever bear in history. A judicial blunder has been committed!
The condemnation of an innocent man induced the acquittal of a guilty
man. And now, today, you're asked to condemn me because I rebelled
on seeing our country embarked on this terrible course. At this
solemn moment in the presence of this tribunal, which is the representative
of human justice, before you gentlemen of the jury, before France,
before the whole world, I swear that Dreyfus is innocent. By my
40 years of work, by all that I have won, by all that I have written
to spread the spirit of France, I swear that Dreyfus is innocent.
May all that melt away. May my name perish if Dreyfus be not innocent.
He is innocent.") |
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| Eulogy
for Emile Zola |
Great painter Paul Cezanne's (Vladimir
Sokoloff) stirring eulogy for Emile Zola: ("...For no man in
all the breadth of our land more fervently loved humanity than Zola.
He had the simplicity of a great soul. He was enjoying the fruits
of his labor -- fame, wealth, security -- when suddenly, out of
his own free will, he tore himself from all the peaceful pleasures
of his life, from the work he loved so much because he knew that
their is no serenity, save in justice; no repose -- save in truth.
At the sound of his brave words, France wakened from her sleep.
How admirable is the genius of our country. How beautiful the soul
of France which for centuries taught right and justice to Europe
and the world. France is once again today the land of reason and
benevolence because one of her sons, through an immense work and
a great action, gave rise to a new order of things based on justice
and the rights common to all men. Let us not pity him because he
suffered and endured. Let us envy him. Let us envy him because his
great heart won him the proudest of destinies: He was a moment of
the conscience of man.") |
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BEST FILM SPEECHES AND MONOLOGUES