(On James Cagney) Such a pro! Got up there, knew his lines, did his work.

One of the wonderful things about working at Warners was the wealth of character actors a screenwriter could draw on. It was the greatest stock company going. Lots of times we didn't know who the leads were going to be, but often we'd write scripts with specific character actors in mind. We knew who was under contract - Frank McHugh, S.Z. Sakall, Hugh Herbert, Allen Jenkins, Ruth Donnelly - and we kept them in mind. Show less «

(On John Garfiels) Garfield was a nice guy, but kind of a sad sack. We'd tease him. Thhere was something called The Writers' Table, where writers sat around at lunch in the commissary, and I remember Garield coming up once and saying, 'Let's have an intellectual discussion.' I said, 'Sure, who's going to represent you? Show less «

[on Ronald Reagan being considered for Casablanca (1942)]: "I still have nightmares."

[)n 'Casablanca', 1984] "Just a routine assignment. Frankly, I can't understand it's staying power. If it were made today, line for line, each performance as good, it'd be laughed off the screen. It's such a phony picture. Not a word of truth in it. It's camp, kitsch. it's just...slick shit!" Show less «

(1984 interview) I'm not used to collaboration - except for my brother, which was not really a collaboration; it was like one. Show less «