Memorable quotes for
Bad Day at Black Rock (1955) More at IMDbPro »

John J. Macreedy: You're not only wrong. You're wrong at the top of your voice.

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Mr. Hastings, Telegrapher: There must be some mistake. I'm Hastings, the telegraph agent. Nobody told me this train was stopping.
John J. Macreedy: They didn't?
Mr. Hastings, Telegrapher: No, I just told you they didn't. And they ought to. What I want to know is why didn't they?
John J. Macreedy: Maybe they didn't think it was important.
Mr. Hastings, Telegrapher: Important? It's the first time the streamliner's stopped here in four years.

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John J. Macreedy: I want to go to a place called Adobe Flat. Are there any cabs available?
Mr. Hastings, Telegrapher: Adobe Flat?
John J. Macreedy: Yeah.
Mr. Hastings, Telegrapher: No cabs.

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Hector David: Real cool guy.
Reno Smith: Doesn't push easy, huh?
Hector David: Well, that's it. That's just it. He pushes *too* easy.

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Reno Smith: My name's Smith. I own the Three Bar Ranch. I want to apologize for some of the people in town.
John J. Macreedy: Act like they're sitting on a keg.
Reno Smith: A keg? Of what?
John J. Macreedy: Heh-heh, oh, I don't know. Diamonds? Gunpowder?
Reno Smith: Oh, it's nothing like that. We're suspicious of strangers, is all. Hangover from the old days, the Old West.
John J. Macreedy: I thought the tradition of the Old West was hospitality.
Reno Smith: I am trying to BE hospitable, Mr. Macreedy.

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Liz Wirth: What do you care? What do you care about Black Rock?
John J. Macreedy: I don't care anything about Black Rock. Only it just seems to me that there aren't many towns like this in America. But... one town like it is enough. And because I think something kind of bad happened here, Miss Wirth, something I can't quite seem to find a handle to.
Liz Wirth: You don't know what you're talking about.
John J. Macreedy: Well, I know this much. The rule of law has left here, and the guerrillas have taken over.

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Reno Smith: I believe a man is as big as what he's seeking. I believe you're a big man, Mr. Macreedy.
John J. Macreedy: Flattery will get you nowhere.
Reno Smith: Why would a man like you be looking for a lousy Jap farmer?
John J. Macreedy: Ohhh, dadgum, maybe I'm not so big.
Reno Smith: Oh yes you are. I believe a man is as big as what'll make him mad. Nobody around here seems big enough to get you mad.
John J. Macreedy: What makes you mad, Mr. Smith?
Reno Smith: Me? Nothing, nothing...
John J. Macreedy: Ah, you're a pretty big man yourself, then. Yet the... the Japanese make you mad, don't they?
Reno Smith: Well, that's different.

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Reno Smith: I swear, you're beginning to make me mad.
John J. Macreedy: All strangers do, hmm?
Reno Smith: No, they don't. Not all of them. Some do, when they come around snooping...
John J. Macreedy: Snooping for what?
Reno Smith: I don't know, outsiders coming in, looking for something...
John J. Macreedy: Looking for what?
Reno Smith: I don't know! Somebody's always looking for something in this part of the West. To the historian it's the Old West, to the book writer it's the Wild West, to the businessman it's the Undeveloped West -- they say we're all poor and backward, and I guess we are, we don't even have enough water. But to us, this place is *our* West, and I wish they'd leave us alone!
John J. Macreedy: Leave you alone to do what?
Reno Smith: I don't know what you mean.

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John J. Macreedy: I got a problem of my own.
Doc T.R. Velie Jr.: You sure have, they're going to kill you with no hard feelings.
John J. Macreedy: And you're going to sit there and let 'em do it.
Doc T.R. Velie Jr.: Don't get waspish with me, mister.
John J. Macreedy: Oh, I'm sorry, I, uh...
Doc T.R. Velie Jr.: Yeah, well, I feel for you, but I'm consumed with apathy. Why should I mix in?

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Mr. Hastings, Telegrapher: Sure you don't want some lemonade? It don't have the muzzle velocity of some other drinks drunk around here, but it's good for what ails you.

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Sam, Cafe Proprietor: What'll you have?
John J. Macreedy: What've you got?
Sam, Cafe Proprietor: Chili and beans.
John J. Macreedy: Anything else?
Sam, Cafe Proprietor: Chili without beans.

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John J. Macreedy: Your friend's a very... argumentative fellow.
Reno Smith: Sort of unpredictable, too. Got a temper like a rattlesnake.
Coley Trimble: That's me all over. I'm half horse, half alligator. You mess with me and I'll kick a lung outta' ya'

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Doc T.R. Velie Jr.: Four years ago something terrible happened here. We did nothing about it, nothing. The whole town fell into a sort of settled melancholy and all the people in it closed their eyes, and held their tongues, and... failed the test with a whimper. And now something terrible's going to happen again -- and in a way we're lucky, because we've been given a second chance.

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John J. Macreedy: You know, I know what your trouble is, son. You'd like me to die quickly, wouldn't you, without wasting too much of your time; or quietly, so I won't embarrass you too much; or even thankfully, so your memory of the occasion won't be too unpleasant.

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Second Train Conductor: What's all the excitement? What happened?
John J. Macreedy: A shooting.
Second Train Conductor: Thought it was something. First time the streamliner's stopped here in four years.
John J. Macreedy: Second time.

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Reno Smith: Tim, you're just a lost ball in the high weeds.

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Reno Smith: Tim, you've got the body of a hippo but the brain of a rabbit; now don't overtax it.

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John J. Macreedy: [to the town mortician] Mind not looking at me like that?
Doc T.R. Velie Jr.: Like what?
John J. Macreedy: Like a potential customer.
Doc T.R. Velie Jr.: Huh. Everyone is.

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Sheriff Tim Horn: Don't you understand? You know, when you wear this badge, you're the law. And when somebody does something against the law, then you're supposed to do something about it. I did nothing. And that's what's eating me. What kind of prescription do you got for that?
Doc Verlie: I don't know. I haven't found one for myself.

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Hector David: I believe a man is nothing unless he stands up for what's rightfully his. What do you think?

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Reno Smith: Look, Mr. MacReedy, there is a law in this county against shootin' dogs. But when I see a mad dog, I don't wait for him to bite me.

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Pete Wirth: Let's wait and see. There's no danger yet.
Reno Smith: No danger yet? This guy is like a carrier of smallpox! Since he arrived, this town has a fever... an infection. And it's spreading!

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John J. MacReedy: You killed Komoko, Smith, and sooner or later, you're gonna go up for it. Not because you killed him, but because of thinking in a town like this you could get away with it.

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Reno Smith: She must have strained every muscle in her head to get so stupid.

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