Nearly all classic movies end on a note of exceptional pathos, irony, or humor. Take “there’s no place like home,” “tomorrow is another day,” and “nobody’s perfect,” which perfectly match the movies they conclude: The Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind, and Some Like It Hot. The first of these concluding lines states the moral of Dorothy’s story, the second sums up the indomitable character of Scarlett O’Hara, and the third is the perfect punchline for a joke that’s gone as far as it could go.
Below is a list of 10 other terrific last lines. Test your knowledge using only the hints provided below—then read on for the answers and explanations.
- 1. “Hello, America, hang on to your lights; they’re the only lights in the world.”Hint: Windmills.
- 2. “Miss Harrington knows all about it.”
Hint: The drama critic can help make it happen.
- “Always the same. People come. People go. Nothing ever happens.”
Hint: Revolving door.
- “Ah, what’s the difference?”
Hint: Cheap luggage.
- “What do we do now?”
Hint: Vote for me!
- “Lazy legs.” “Jeepers, I love you, Johnny.”
Hint: Echoes in the mind of a man on a park bench.
- “The old man was right, only the farmers won. We lost. We’ll always lose.”
Hint: Minus five, leaves two.
- “Maybe I’ll live so long that I’ll forget her. Maybe I’ll die trying.”
Hint: Mirrors, mirrors, on the walls. And guns.
- “Frankie, your mother forgives me!”
Hint: Ave Maria.
- “. . . the first known instance of a man who was killed because he had lousy ratings.”
Hint: Mad as hell.
For the answers, click here. Posted by The American Scholar, July 21, 2022.
Bonus: Sterling Hayden at the end of The Killing, facing either arrest by the police or a sure-to-be foiled attempted escape, says "What's the difference?" The line was adopted in what manner and to what end by the central character of a 1970s TV sit com? Which Yale professor made the most of this?