The single thing I'm grateful for that's come out of the whole [Vietnam] war mess has been the recog...
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The single thing I'm grateful for that's come out of the whole [Vietnam] war mess has been the recognition of the need for communication. I've gone sometimes on dangerous waters in the interest of communication because I believe in it. I believe that everyone in the world should at least have the privilege of knowing what's happening all at the same time. One thing I've learned is that the greatest fuckin' slavery is ignorance, and the biggest commodity is ignorance -- the dissemination of ignorance, the sale and burgeoning marketing of ignorance.
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When I drop dead and they rush to the drawer, there's going to be nothing in it but a note saying 'l...
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When I drop dead and they rush to the drawer, there's going to be nothing in it but a note saying 'later'.
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I kept the same suit for six years - and the same dialog. We just changed the title of the picture a...
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I kept the same suit for six years - and the same dialog. We just changed the title of the picture and the leading lady.
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Not that I'm a complete whore, understand. There are movies I won't do for any amount. I turned down...
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Not that I'm a complete whore, understand. There are movies I won't do for any amount. I turned down Patton (1970) and I turned down Dirty Harry (1971). Movies that piss on the world. If I've got five bucks in my pocket, I don't need to make money that f***ing way, daddy.
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[1983] Stars today are just masturbation images.
[1983] Stars today are just masturbation images.
I get along with people very well, really. I do. I do. Really. Every now and then, some guy gets the...
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I get along with people very well, really. I do. I do. Really. Every now and then, some guy gets the hots and figures to go home and tell his old lady he just decked that motherfucker Mitchum. Why, she'll shoot him, man! "Robert Mitchum? You stomped his ass? Why, you dirty motherfucker!" Me, I'm easy. I don't go through red lights. I don't steal.
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[1967] Where are the real artists? Today it's four-barreled carburetors and that's it.
[1967] Where are the real artists? Today it's four-barreled carburetors and that's it.
I came back from the war and ugly heroes were in.
I came back from the war and ugly heroes were in.
Sometimes, I think I ought to go back and do at least one thing really well. But again, indolence wi...
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Sometimes, I think I ought to go back and do at least one thing really well. But again, indolence will probably cause me to hesitate about finding a place to start. Part of that indolence perhaps is due to shyness because I'm a natural hermit. I've been in constant motion of escape all my life. I never really found the right corner to hide in.
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I worked three pictures for 28 days straight. We'd shoot all night at RKO [The Locket (1946)], then ...
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I worked three pictures for 28 days straight. We'd shoot all night at RKO [The Locket (1946)], then I'd report to Undercurrent (1946) from seven in the morning until noon, when I'd be flown to Monterey to work all afternoon with Greer Garson [Desire Me (1947)].
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Movies bore me; especially my own.
Movies bore me; especially my own.
People make too much of acting. You are not helping anyone like being a doctor or even a musician. I...
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People make too much of acting. You are not helping anyone like being a doctor or even a musician. In the final analysis, you have exalted no one but yourself.
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I started out to be a sex fiend but couldn't pass the physical.
I started out to be a sex fiend but couldn't pass the physical.
[1948] I never will believe there is such a thing as a great actor.
[1948] I never will believe there is such a thing as a great actor.
[on Steve McQueen] He sure don't bring much brains to the party, that kid.
[on Steve McQueen] He sure don't bring much brains to the party, that kid.
RKO made the same film with me for ten years. They were so alike I wore the same suit in six of them...
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RKO made the same film with me for ten years. They were so alike I wore the same suit in six of them and the same Burberry trench coat. They made a male Jane Russell out of me. I was the staff hero. They got so they wanted me to take some of my clothes off in the pictures. I objected to this, so I put on some weight and looked like a Bulgarian wrestler when I took my shirt off. Only two pictures in that time made any sense whatever. I complained and they told me frankly that they had a certain amount of baloney to sell and I was the boy to do it.
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[on Sarah Miles] She's a monster. If you think she's not strong, you'd better pay attention.
[on Sarah Miles] She's a monster. If you think she's not strong, you'd better pay attention.
[his opinion of Method actors Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Jack Nicholson] They are all small.
[his opinion of Method actors Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Jack Nicholson] They are all small.
I've still got the same attitude I had when I started. I haven't changed anything but my underwear.
I've still got the same attitude I had when I started. I haven't changed anything but my underwear.
Sure I was glad to see John Wayne win the Oscar. I'm always glad to see the fat lady win the Cadilla...
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Sure I was glad to see John Wayne win the Oscar. I'm always glad to see the fat lady win the Cadillac on television, too.
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They could never decide to their satisfaction what type I was. One would say, "He's a heart-broken B...
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They could never decide to their satisfaction what type I was. One would say, "He's a heart-broken Byronic." Another would say, "No, he ain't; he's an all-American boy." People began talking about Mitchum-type roles, but I still don't know what they mean. They'd paint eyes on my eyelids, man, and I'd walk through it.
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You've got to realize that a Steve McQueen performance lends itself to monotony.
You've got to realize that a Steve McQueen performance lends itself to monotony.
I know production values are better, but are the scripts, are the pictures? The thing is, it's a hel...
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I know production values are better, but are the scripts, are the pictures? The thing is, it's a hell of a lot more work, and I don't see overall where the films are any better, really?
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These kids only want to talk about acting method and motivation; in my day all we talked about was s...
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These kids only want to talk about acting method and motivation; in my day all we talked about was screwing and overtime.
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Young actors love me. They think if that big slob can make it, there's a chance for us.
Young actors love me. They think if that big slob can make it, there's a chance for us.
Years ago, I saved up a million dollars from acting, a lot of money in those days, and I spent it al...
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Years ago, I saved up a million dollars from acting, a lot of money in those days, and I spent it all on a horse farm in Tucson. Now when I go down there, I look at that place and I realize my whole acting career adds up to a million dollars worth of horse shit.
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The only difference between me and my fellow actors is that I've spent more time in jail.
The only difference between me and my fellow actors is that I've spent more time in jail.
John Wayne had four-inch lifts in his shoes. He had the overheads on his boat accommodated to fit hi...
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John Wayne had four-inch lifts in his shoes. He had the overheads on his boat accommodated to fit him. He had a special roof put in his station wagon. The son-of-a-bitch, they probably buried him in his goddamn lifts.
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They think I don't know my lines. That's not true. I'm just too drunk to say 'em.
They think I don't know my lines. That's not true. I'm just too drunk to say 'em.
[on four-time co-star Deborah Kerr] The best, my favorite... Life would be kind if I could live it w...
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[on four-time co-star Deborah Kerr] The best, my favorite... Life would be kind if I could live it with Deborah around.
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Every two or three years, I knock off for a while. That way I'm always the new girl in the whorehous...
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Every two or three years, I knock off for a while. That way I'm always the new girl in the whorehouse.
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I never take any notice of reviews - unless a critic has thought up some new way of describing me. T...
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I never take any notice of reviews - unless a critic has thought up some new way of describing me. That old one about my lizard eyes and anteater nose and the way I sleep my way through pictures is so hackneyed now.
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I've survived because I work cheap and don't take up too much time.
I've survived because I work cheap and don't take up too much time.
[on press stories] They're all true - booze, brawls, broads, all true. Make up some more if you want...
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[on press stories] They're all true - booze, brawls, broads, all true. Make up some more if you want to.
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I have two acting styles: with and without a horse.
I have two acting styles: with and without a horse.
[asked why, in his mid-60s, he took on the arduous task of an 18-hour mini-series, The Winds of War ...
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[asked why, in his mid-60s, he took on the arduous task of an 18-hour mini-series, The Winds of War (1983)] It promised a year of free lunches.
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[on Jane Russell] Miss Russell was a very strong character. Very good-humored when she wasn't being ...
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[on Jane Russell] Miss Russell was a very strong character. Very good-humored when she wasn't being cranky.
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[on The Good Guys and the Bad Guys (1969)] How the hell did I get into this picture anyway? I kept r...
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[on The Good Guys and the Bad Guys (1969)] How the hell did I get into this picture anyway? I kept reading in the papers that I was going to do it, but when they sent me the script I just tossed it on the heap with the rest of them. But somehow, one Monday morning, here I was. How the hell do these things happen to a man?
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How do I keep fit? I lay down a lot.
How do I keep fit? I lay down a lot.
I never changed anything, except my socks and my underwear. And I never did anything to glorify myse...
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I never changed anything, except my socks and my underwear. And I never did anything to glorify myself or improve my lot. I took what came and did the best I could with it.
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I often regret my good reviews, because there is no point in doing something I know to be inferior a...
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I often regret my good reviews, because there is no point in doing something I know to be inferior and then I find I have come off the best in the film. Wouldn't you find that worrying?
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I only read the reviews of my films if they're amusing. Six books have been written about me but I'v...
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I only read the reviews of my films if they're amusing. Six books have been written about me but I've only met two of the authors. They get my name and birthplace wrong in the first paragraph. From there it's all downhill.
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You know what the average Robert Mitchum fan is? He's full of warts and dandruff and he's probably g...
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You know what the average Robert Mitchum fan is? He's full of warts and dandruff and he's probably got a hernia too, but he sees me up there on the screen and he thinks if that bum can make it, I can be president.
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No, I don't identify in my mind with criminals, but my exposure to them has helped my understanding....
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No, I don't identify in my mind with criminals, but my exposure to them has helped my understanding. Oh, sure, sure, sure, sure. Sure. I know the freakers, you know -- the burglars, the uptighters, those creeps who puke or jerk off or something every time they make a score, so you can pick up on their modus operandi.
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[1968] The Rin Tin Tin method is good enough for me. That dog never worried about motivation or conc...
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[1968] The Rin Tin Tin method is good enough for me. That dog never worried about motivation or concepts and all that junk.
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Just after we shot Secret Ceremony (1968), lesbianism came in... I'm no damned good as a lesbian.
Just after we shot Secret Ceremony (1968), lesbianism came in... I'm no damned good as a lesbian.
[asked what he looks for in a script before accepting a job] Days off.
[asked what he looks for in a script before accepting a job] Days off.
[on working with Faye Dunaway] When I got here I walked in thinking I was a star and then I found I ...
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[on working with Faye Dunaway] When I got here I walked in thinking I was a star and then I found I was supposed to do everything the way she says. Listen, I'm not going to take any temperamental whims from anyone, I just take a long walk and cool off. If I didn't do that, I know I'd wind up dumping her on her derrière.
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There just isn't any pleasing some people. The trick is to stop trying.
There just isn't any pleasing some people. The trick is to stop trying.
[asked what jail was like, after being released on a marijuana possession charge] It's like Palm Spr...
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[asked what jail was like, after being released on a marijuana possession charge] It's like Palm Springs without the riff-raff.
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People think I have an interesting walk. Hell, I'm just trying to hold my gut in.
People think I have an interesting walk. Hell, I'm just trying to hold my gut in.
I gave up being serious about making pictures around the time I made a film with Greer Garson and sh...
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I gave up being serious about making pictures around the time I made a film with Greer Garson and she took a hundred and twenty-five takes to say no.
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Up there on the screen you're thirty feet wide, your eyeball is six feet high, but it doesn't mean t...
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Up there on the screen you're thirty feet wide, your eyeball is six feet high, but it doesn't mean that you really amount to anything or have anything important to say.
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I got a great life out of the movies. I've been all over the world and met the most fantastic people...
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I got a great life out of the movies. I've been all over the world and met the most fantastic people. I don't really deserve all I've gotten. It's a privileged life, and I know it.
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[on his acting talents] Listen. I got three expressions: looking left, looking right and looking str...
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[on his acting talents] Listen. I got three expressions: looking left, looking right and looking straight ahead.
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[his opinion about the Vietnam war, in 1968] If they won't listen to reason over there, just kill 'e...
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[his opinion about the Vietnam war, in 1968] If they won't listen to reason over there, just kill 'em. Nuke 'em all.
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