Since You Went Away (1944)

Colonel William G. Smollett: [studying a map] Wettookit. Wettookit. You must have the name wrong.
Bridget 'Brig' Hilton: No. Here it is in Pop's letter. "Now, we're here in Texas on maneuvers... in a little town called Wettookit. We came, we saw, we took it!"
Colonel William G. Smollett: "We took it." Very funny. I would appreciate it, my dear Bridget, if in the future you could spare me from your father's elaborate puns.

---

Lieutenant Tony Willett: Now I don't want to shock you, but it's no wonder those Italians can paint. There was a dame standing right in the middle of the street with a big tub of spaghetti, and she had - she had -
Mrs. Anne Hilton: Now never mind what she had. I have a little imagination.
Lieutenant Tony Willett: Yeah. Well, even as I looked at her, I thought, "She's good, but what are they all? What are all the women in the world compared with Anne?"
Mrs. Anne Hilton: Tony, will you never stop?
Lieutenant Tony Willett: No, I'll never stop, Anne. As long as I can dream about you.
Mrs. Anne Hilton: If you ever thought the dream had a chance of coming true, you'd -
Lieutenant Tony Willett: I'd what, Anne?
Mrs. Anne Hilton: Finish it yourself.
Lieutenant Tony Willett: You make it pretty tough for me. I'd feel I'd been wrong about you all my life. I'd have to go looking for a new ideal. I'm afraid it's a little late for that.
Mrs. Anne Hilton: What's more, you'd run for your life. But first you'd wring my neck, as I'd expect you to.
Lieutenant Tony Willett: That's right, and what would be the fun in that? I'd never be able to break my heart over you anymore.
Mrs. Anne Hilton: Oh, Tony. Never grow up. Never, never. Or I'd lose something very dear to me. Something very dear to all of us.
Lieutenant Tony Willett: All right, but I'm going to sound awful silly someday making verbal passes at you when we're both in wheelchairs.
Mrs. Anne Hilton: [laughing] You are looking forward to that.

---

Jane Deborah Hilton: You were talking about how your grandfather always wanted you to be a soldier. Would you like a sandwich or something?
Corporal William G. 'Bill' Smollett II: He wanted me to be a general.
Jane Deborah Hilton: But didn't you want to be a general?
Corporal William G. 'Bill' Smollett II: Well, no I didn't.
Jane Deborah Hilton: But why not, Bill?
Corporal William G. 'Bill' Smollett II: I had an idea it was more important to build things. But, I don't mean it isn't terribly important being a soldier. I don't know how we'd keep the things we build without them.
Jane Deborah Hilton: Of course. But you said you went to West Point. I should think you'd be a lot more than a -
Corporal William G. 'Bill' Smollett II: More than a corporal, you mean.
Jane Deborah Hilton: Let's have a picnic sometime. I'll bring a - Bill, I didn't mean that. It's wonderful being a corporal.
Corporal William G. 'Bill' Smollett II: No, you meant that if I went to the Academy, I ought to be more than a corporal. Well, you might as well know it. I - I was kicked out and I broke Grandpa's heart.
Jane Deborah Hilton: I'm sure it wasn't your fault.
Corporal William G. 'Bill' Smollett II: Yes, it was.
Jane Deborah Hilton: Bill, come and sit down.
Corporal William G. 'Bill' Smollett II: Look. Grandpa's father carried this watch at Vicksburg. Grandpa gave it to me on my tenth birthday. He had it engraved for me. Read it. I'll light a match.
Jane Deborah Hilton: "To William G. Smollett, the Second, who will lead men to glory on the battlefield." You must have been terribly pleased.
Corporal William G. 'Bill' Smollett II: I said, "Grandpa, don't people hurt each other in war?" You see, I was only ten. He took the watch away from me. But he gave it back to me again when I entered the Academy. Aw, Jane, I did my best, but I could never make a good officer. I can't lead men, and I know it, so even if I led my class the way Grandpa thought I should -

---

read more quotes from Since You Went Away...