Eula Varner (Lee Remick) I only know one reason for living quiet. That's if you're too old to live any other way.
Ben Quick (Paul Newman) What happens if a federal man comes
by?
1st Resident Oh, they've been known to come by.
Also been known to disappear.
2nd Resident Well, not entirely.
1st Resident No, not entirely. The missing man's shoes might show up, or his hat; maybe even his suspenders. Of course, somebody else is wearing them.
Agnes Stewart (Sarah Marshall) I'd give something to know what goes on in my brother's temperature dreams. I know what goes on in mine.
Clara Varner (Joanne Woodward) Don't throw in the towel yet, Agnes dear. Those tranquilizers may see us through yet.
Ben Quick Summertime, and the livin' is easy.
Ben Quick Miss Clara, you slam the door in a man's face before he even knocks on it.
Will Varner (Orson Welles) I'm gonna crawl over them books like an old fly over flypaper.
Will Varner Do you know what Quick means in this county? Hellfire! Ashes and char! Flame follows that man around like a dog! He's a barn burner!
Ben Quick If you're scared of me, mister, why
don't you just come right out and say so?
Will Varner Sir, why should I be scared of you?
Ben Quick 'Cause I got a reputation for being a
dangerous man.
Will Varner You're a young dangerous man. I'm an
old one. I guess you don't know who I am. I better introduce myself. I'm the
big landowner, chief moneylender in these parts. I'm commissioner of
elections, veterinarian, own a store and a cotton gin and a grist mill and
a blacksmith shop--and it's considered unlucky for a man to do his trading or
gin his cotton or grind his meal or shoe his stock anywhere else. Now that's
who I am.
Ben Quick You talk a lot.
Will Varner Well, yes I do, sir. I'm done talking to you, except for passing you on this piece of information. I built me a new jail in my courthouse this year, and if during the course of your stay, something, anything at all should just happen to catch fire, I think you ought to know that in my jail, we never heard of the words habeas corpus. You rot.
Ben Quick Yes or no, mister. Ain't no in between.
Ben Quick Life's very long and full of salesmanship, Miss Clara. You might buy something yet.
Minnie Littlejohn (Angela Lansbury) I made
plans, Will, matrimonial plans.
Will Varner Now you ain't ever heard me say the
word matrimony.
Minnie Littlejohn Well now, I'm willing to overlook that.
Minnie Littlejohn proposing marriage Look, honey. It's no good you trying to tell me you're too old. I happen to be in a position to deny it.
Will Varner The man that built this place, his name's forgotten. This was his dream and his pride. Now it's dust. Must be a moral there somewhere.
Will Varner I've been watching you. I like your push, yes. I like your style. I like your brass. It ain't too dissimilar from the way I operate.
Ben Quick That's a long time to live in one
place.
Alan Stewart (Richard Anderson) You don't
believe in living in one place, Mr. Quick?
Ben Quick Well, my family moved. Not that they wanted to. They was encouraged by the local citizens.
Alan Stewart My people have stood off Indians, Yankees, carpetbaggers. The least they could expect of me is to stand up to a Varner.
Will Varner They don't have to see her. They can smell her.
Will Varner I was young myself once. I used to
hide in the greenery and hoot and bellow.
Clara Varner I'll bet you did. I'll bet you
stayed longest and yelled loudest.
Will Varner Your mama listened.
Ben Quick Get out of character, lady. Come on, get way out.
Ben Quick I respect him. I admire his manners, and I admire the speeches he makes, and I admire the big house he lives in. But if you're saving it all for him, honey, you've got your account in the wrong bank.
Will Varner Thousands of acres out there.
Millions of seeds put down in the ground, and every year the seeds come up
again. Life goes on. Where's my crop, huh? What follows me? What happens
when I'm dead?
Clara Varner You'll probably have the biggest
funeral in the state of Mississippi.
Will Varner That don't scare me none, just so
long as there are plenty of Varners to mourn me.
Clara Varner Jody and I'll be there.
Will Varner You and Jody and Jody's kids and
yours and their kids, my descendants, sister, a line, a long line with my
face stamped on 'em, my blood flowing in their veins.
Clara Varner All of that from the two of us?
Will Varner Listen, I'm gonna get me some man in the Varner family, some good strong strappin' man Varners. That's what I want, Varners and more Varners. Yeah, more Varners still. Enough Varners to infest the countryside. I'm gonna see that happen, sister, before I die. I'm gonna accomplish that, yes ma'am, by means of that Quick, that big stud horse.
Will Varner Can't teach an old dog new tricks, but you sure can teach a young willing puppy just about anything.
Will Varner Give him time. A penny on the waters pays interest when the flood turns.
Ben Quick The world belongs to the meat eaters, Miss Clara, and if you have to take it raw, take it raw.
Ben Quick I can see my white shirt and my black tie and my Sunday manners didn't fool you for a minute. Well, that's right, ma'am, I'm a menace to the countryside. All a man's gotta do is just look at me sideways and his house goes up in fire. And here I am, living right here in the middle of your peaceable little town, right in your back yard, you might say. Guess that ought to keep you awake at night.
Ben Quick Well, I'll be damned.
Will Varner More than probable, you will be. But first, you're going to church and get married, yeah, to my daughter.
Will Varner She has quality, quality. Which is as close as you and me will ever get to it.
Will Varner I put down a big footprint. I said: "Here. Step here. Fill it." You never did.
Auctioneer This is gonna be about the most
expensive chicken supper you ever had, boy, but worth every cent of it,
considering the charming company you're gonna be eating it in. I, uh, I hope
you're gonna give him dessert for that price, Clara.
Clara Varner He'll get his just deserts, all right.
Clara Varner You are barking up the wrong girl, Mr. Quick.
Clara Varner You're too much like my father to
suit me, and I'm an authority on him.
Ben Quick He's a wonderful old man.
Clara Varner One wolf recognizes another.
Ben Quick Tame us. Make pets out of us. You could.
Ben Quick Let 'em talk. I'll tell you one thing:
you're gonna wake up in the morning smiling.
Clara Varner That's not enough. Do you
understand me? That is not nearly enough. Mr. Quick, I am a human being. Do
you know what that means? It means I set a price on myself, a high high
price. You may be surprised to know it, but I've got quite a lot to give.
I've got things I have been saving up my whole life, things like love and
understanding and, and jokes and good times and good cooking. I'm prepared
to be the queen of Sheba for some lucky man, or at the very least the best
wife that any man could hope for. Now that's my human history, and it's not
gonna be bought and sold, and it's certainly not gonna be given away to any
passing stranger.
Ben Quick All right then, run, lady, and you keep on running. Buy yourself a bus ticket and disappear. Change your name, dye your hair, get lost--and then maybe, just maybe, you're gonna be safe from me.
Will Varner You got hellfire and damnation in you, Jody Varner, but you got redemption too. When I think of the hate that put me in there and locked the door and set fire to it, and when I think of the love that wouldn't let me go... I got me a son again! I got me a good right arm--and a left!
Passerby I wouldn't fool with them folks, boy.
I'd light out.
Ben Quick I'm just not in a running mood.
Will Varner I got influence. I'll dog you, boy,
wherever you go. I'll break you.
Ben Quick No, you won't. You'll miss me.