If there is one thing I think we all can agree on this political season it is this: November can’t come soon enough. With that in mind, I took a break from work and politics before flying home this past week and managed to watch an old movie favorite; “Casablanca,” which contains one of the classic lines of all time (see below). The line is even better knowing that it was ad-libbed by Bogie. That prompted me to put a list together, culled from memory, with additions attributable to family and old friends, who serve as de facto resident movie experts (hat tip to Emerson, Donnie and Jack).
Below follows a list of favorite ad-libs from numerous movies. The rule used to establish the list were simple: An ad-lib must be a non-scripted addition to a movie, it must be from a movie I have seen (it is my list–mostly– after all) and it must be from a movie I enjoyed. Given that, here we go:
* “Here’s looking at you kid,” “Casablanca,” Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) – Reportedly spoken first by Bogart, as he was teaching Ingrid Bergman how to play poker between takes. He then spontaneously added it to the movie.
* “Leave the gun, take the canolli” “The Godfather,” Clemenza (Richard Castellano) – Castellano was coming off an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor for ‘Lovers and Other Strangers” and threw in this now classic line. * (Slaps Johnny Fontaine) “You can act like a man,” “The Godfather,” Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) – The slap was not in the script. If you watch Al Martinho in that scene, the shocked look was real.
* “You can’t handle the truth,” “A Few Good Men,” Col. Nathan R. Jessup (Jack Nicholson) – A more impactful modification of the original line: “You already have the truth.”
* “I’m alright, I’m alright,” “It’s a Wonderful Life,” Uncle Billy (Thomas Mitchell) – After leaving the party at the Bailey house, Uncle Billy seemingly knocks over some trash cans off camera. The sound was actually a stagehand dropping some film cans. Mitchell stayed in character to ad-lib the line.
* “I was going to make espresso,” “Young Frankenstein,” Harold (aka. The Blindman) (Gene Hackman) – Hackman had lobbied Brooks for a part, and this was the only available role. The unscripted line caused an immediate reaction from the crew, which forced the director to cut to black quickly so that the crew’s laughter is not heard.
* “Mein Fuhrer, I can walk”, “Dr. Strangelove,” Dr. Strangelove (Peter Sellers) – Additional note on this movie regarding a changed line, though not an ad-lib. Major Kong (Slim Pickens), originally delivered the line: “Shoot, a feller could have a pretty good weekend in Dallas with all this stuff”. The movie was in post-production in November of 1963, when JFK was assassinated in Dallas. In the movie, “Vegas” was over dubbed in place of “Dallas.”
* “You’re gonna need a bigger boat,” “Jaws,” Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) – Another example of a spontaneous comment becoming a classic line.
* “I’m walkin HERE!!”, “Midnight Cowboy,” Ratzo Rizzo (Dustin Hoffman) – A cab ignored the street closure and almost ran into the actors. Hoffman staying in character responded in true New Yorker fashion.
* “Heeerrrree’s Johnny!” – “The Shining,” Jack Torrance (Jack Nicholson) – Director Stanley Kubrick, being British, did not get the joke when made by Nicholson as he was not familiar with the “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.” Kudos for Kubrick for keeping the line in.
* “HSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS” “Silence of the Lambs,” Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) – Delivered after the ‘Fava beans and a nice Chianti” line, the brilliant actor intended it as a joke. But the reaction from Foster was real, which warranted keeping the line in.
* “Hey, what’s going on? You hear that?” “Reservoir Dogs” Vic Vega (Michael Madsen) – The actor’s ad-lib added a bit of humor to a dark scene, as he spoke into the ear he had just amputated.

Special Mentions:

* “I am Gunnery Sargent Hartman, your Senior Drill Instructor” “Full Metal Jacket” Sgt. Hartman (R. Lee Ermey) – Originally hired as a technical adviser, Ermey had the crew in stiches showing the actor how a DI actually behaves, causing Kubrick to put him in the movie. Most of his dialogue was unscripted.
* “You talking to me?” – “Taxi Driver,” Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) – This one deserves special recognition as the entire scene was unscripted.
* “I’m a zit, get it?”, “Animal House,” John Blutarsky (John Belushi)- Another special note: Most of the cafeteria scene, starting with Belushi stuffing food in his mouth was ad-libbed.
* “Caddyshack,” Carl Spackler (Bill Murray) – Special mention as Bill Murray did this movie virtually unscripted.
* “There was my brother Dan, with a girl, Alice Jardene” “Saving Private Ryan,” Private Ryan (Matt Damon) – In a quiet moment, Private Ryan character relates a story of boyhood pranks on the farm. Damon delivered a story that was unscripted, but well worth saving.

I am sure many of you have your favorite ad libs as well, I would look forward to seeing them in the comment section below.

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