Tracing Quotations
Samuel Goldwyn? Herbert Fields? June Provines? Sheilah Graham? Alva Johnston? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Movie mogul Samuel Goldwyn was famous for his creative and idiosyncratic use of the English language. Hollywood legend asserts that Goldwyn participated in a complex, protracted, and tense corporate negotiation in the 1930s. But he was unhappy with the final …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Gentlemen, You May Include Me Out”
Jack L. Warner? Bill Davidson? Samuel Goldwyn? Louis B. Mayer? Harry Cohn? Apocryphal? Insult: Schmuck? Schlep? Schnook? Question for Quote Investigator: The attitude of Hollywood producers toward writers has been epitomized by the following callous remark: A writer is a schmuck with an Underwood. The Underwood Typewriter Company manufactured the best writing implements when the …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Writers Are Just Schmucks with Underwoods”
Samuel Goldwyn? Bryan O’Loghlen? Boyle Roche? Ed Wynn? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: A contract that is written and signed is easier to comprehend and enforce. But many people rely on unwritten promises. The following cautionary humorous remark is attributed to the famous movie producer Samuel Goldwyn: A verbal contract isn’t worth the paper it’s …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: A Verbal Contract Isn’t Worth the Paper It’s Written On”
Niels Bohr? Samuel Goldwyn? K. K. Steincke? Robert Storm Petersen? Yogi Berra? Mark Twain? Nostradamus? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a family of popular humorous sayings about the formidable task of successful prognostication. Here are five examples: Of course, a prediction is inherently about the future, and the modifiers “especially” and “particularly” emphasize …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: It’s Difficult to Make Predictions, Especially About the Future”
George Bernard Shaw? Howard Dietz? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a wonderful anecdote about a meeting between the famous movie studio chief Samuel Goldwyn and the renowned playwright George Bernard Shaw. Goldwyn flew to England to convince Shaw to write material for him to use in films. Goldwyn emphasized the high quality and …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: You Are Only Interested in Art and I Am Only Interested in Money”
Thomas Jefferson? Coleman Cox? Stephen Leacock? Samuel Goldwyn? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: There is a humorously insightful quotation about luck that is often credited to the American Founding Father Thomas Jefferson: I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it. The class notes of a …
Samuel Goldwyn? Ezra Goodman? Robert Gessner? Question for Quote Investigator: The supply of comical lines credited to the Hollywood chief Samuel Goldwyn seems endless. Here is one that I love: I don’t think anyone should write their autobiography until after they’re dead. But I have become rather skeptical of these jokes because no one seems …
Samuel Goldwyn? Michael Curtiz? Sheilah Graham? Jones? Scones? Louis Cukela? Fictional? Question for Quote Investigator: There is an unintentionally hilarious remark credited to the movie mogul Samuel Goldwyn. He sent an assistant on an important errand and was angry when the task was badly botched. In exasperation Goldwyn created this classic rebuke: The next time …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: The Next Time I Send a Damn Fool for Something, I Go Myself”
Groucho Marx? George Burns? Jean Giraudoux? Celeste Holm? Ed Nelson? Samuel Goldwyn? Daniel Schorr? Joe Franklin? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: The funniest advice I was ever given as a sales associate was from another seasoned employee: The most important thing is honesty. Once you can fake that, you’ve got it made. Later, I read …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: The Main Thing Is Honesty. If You Can Fake That, You’ve Got It Made”
Who Said It?: Samuel Goldwyn? Robert Benchley? Gracie Allen? Alva Johnston? Anonymous? Who or What Was Caustic?: The Little Foxes? Jim Tully? An Unnamed Actor? Mr. Rosenblatt? An Unnamed Script? An Unnamed Writer? Sidney Howard? Moss Hart? Question for Quote Investigator: An entertaining legend about the powerful movie mogul Samuel Goldwyn has been amusing people …
Continue reading “Dialogue Origin: “It’s Too Caustic” “To Hell With the Cost””