And The Oscar Goes To...

Carolyn, the Magpie Pixie herself,

is celebrating her birthday today! And whoa. Does this lovely woman know how to throw a blowout gala!

Stop by to check it all out and to hop on links to other bloggers who will be celebrating with her!

Everyone who is anyone will be there...oh yeah, and I'll be there too.

Now most of you know how much I love the art of film. Okay, so I am absolutely gaga over the movies and have enjoyed watching the award shows since I was but a sprout! I adore the Oscars...the dresses, the hairstyles, the glitz, the glamor, the sheer unbridled excess of it all!

But to actually BE there, to walk the red carpet...this is truly a dream come true.

And now, thanks to Carolyn's generosity, I will be there! Whew! So much to do, so little time...where do I begin...

A dress...I need a dress. Hmmm...let's rummage through my closet...oof...what about...nah...too much cleavage shows...let's try...ooh. Too tight...aw...I hear Kate Winslett is wearing this one and I wouldn't want to show her up poor thing...sooo...whatcha think? How about this one? Understated, really expresses who I am...

Too much?? Okay...

What about this? Doesn't show too much skin...LOVE

the red...what d'ya think?

Sheesh are you people hard to please!

Ah...now THIS is it. I think it says,

"I am elegant and sophisticated but in a youthful and childish way...er...childlike way." That's the one...

What am I forgetting...uh...OH! Shoes! How about these sweet little numbers? Comfy and just made to bounce down that red carpet!

Now Carolyn requested that our dates all be "Toy Boys" but as most of you well know, my heart belongs to one Mr. Dennehy. Besides, he has been to so many of these award shebangs that

he is JUST the person I want to be with...yeah, that's the only reason...um...but Brian is who I pick to be my escort! Yup. He is it...my date. M.Y. D.A.T.E.

* Did I just get goosebunps?*

Yoo hoo...Brian?

Oh you silly man...put that weapon down...this will be fun! I promise...Brian! Put that gun DOWN! NOW!

Yes sweetie, I SEE that you have your own tuxes. Whole closets of them. After all, you HAVE done this type of gig a time or two. But I have chosen the most PERFECTO tux to compliment my dress. Heads will turn my handsome man...heads will turn!

See darlin? You will stand out in the crowd!!

Stop crying Brian! Puleeze! Just put it on!

You are making such a scene...

Now doesn't my date look tickled pink about all of this?? I can not wait to step down that red carpet with Brian on my arm...or...ME on HIS arm? Which ever...as long as I get to touch his arm. For your gift dear Carolyn, I wish to present you with an Oscar Gift Basket filled with just a few of those odds and ends that all award nominees and presenters receive. It is only fair that you receive one after all...it is YOUR big day!

Your treasures will include: • A Krups kitchen set. Not just a coffeemaker, either. This year's gift includes a toaster, an electric kettle and a year's supply of coffee and tea ($700) • A two-night stay at The Carlyle hotel in New York ($2,300) • A red leather case filled with Shu Uemura cosmetics, including mink eyelashes ($600) • A year's supply of Vonage broadband phone service ($500) • A three-night stay for two at Palmetto Bluff in South Carolina ($3,600) • A two-night stay for two at Bernardus Lodge in Carmel Valley (Calif.) wine country ($2,500) • A three-night stay for two (plus a "personal surf-butler") at St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort & Spa in Dana Point, Calif. ($5,900) • A dinner party at any Morton's, The Steakhouse ($1,500) • Kay Unger cashmere pajama bottoms ($500) • An assortment of Manni Oils' extra virgin olive oil ($540) • An unlimited day of services at Cornelia Day Resort, which just opened this month on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue ($3,500) • A three-night stay at San Ysidro Ranch, a popular celebrity honeymoon spot in Montecito, Calif. ($3,000)

And, as an added touch, I will add some of the swag from other Oscar years...goodies like:

-- Three-night stay at the Esperanza resort in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico ($3, 000) (Paul McCartney recently took advantage of the gift certificate he received in last year's package) or Rancho Valencia in Rancho Santa Fe (San Diego County) OSCARS 2003 -- SkinCeuticals skin care products: antioxidant serum, skin lightener and sunscreen lotion ($208) -- Dinner party at Morton's steakhouse ($1,500 gift certificate) and a set of six steak knives -- Two-night stay at the Fairmont Hotels & Resorts' Willow Stream spa (six locations) -- Gaiam's Organic Night's Sleep Bag ($475) including sheets, blanket and alarm clock -- Custom shirt from Oliveri Fashion ($100 to $300) -- Four-night stay at Rosewood's Badrutt's Palace Hotel in St. Moritz, Switzerland($1,500) -- Charles Worthington shampoo and conditioner made of champagne extract and truffle oil, with a diamond hair pin designed by Erikson Beamon ($2,000) -- Jean Patou Enjoy perfume, not yet available in stores ($85) -- Kiehl's Academy Collection of skin care products ($200) -- Beamer Phone Video Station -- Amy Reiley's Pocket Vineyard and Amy Reiley's Pocket Gourmet software for Palm OS devices and Pocket PCs -- Palm Pilot software -- KATA Eyewear by Blake Kuwahar Sesna sunglasses ($350) -- Danier Leather flask with two shot glasses ($28) -- Jay Strongwater mirror compacts with salamander or frog detail adorned with Swarovski jewels ($275-$325) -- "Handbags World According to Jess" book -- A.T. Cross Liquid Saffron Ion Pen -- SkyMeals gift certificate ($150) -- Sanyo 5300 Camera Phone with one year of free service from Sprint -- Sleep Number Bed by Select Comfort ($2,600 gift certificate) -- Cargo cosmetics in sterling silver gift box ($600) -- Nomination Composable Charm Bracelet made of stainless steel, 18-karat gold and precious stones -- Christofle Collection 3000 silver cocktail spoon -- Dooney & Bourke leather tassel bag -- Leather Accent Table from Thomasville Furniture Bogart Collection ($840) -- Revlon cosmetics Red Carpet Bag -- Trip to Kenya from Micato Safaris -- A.T. Cross Ion Pen with gel-ink ($25) -- Giorgio Armani cosmetics ($250)

Well, thank you so, so much Carolyn for letting me come along and experience the Oscars as only YOUR birthday party guests can do! It was

an experience to remember...and does anyone know where Brian went??

Happy Birthday Carolyn!

Love and Hugs,

Susie Q

It Is SUCH A Wonderful Life Isn't It?

And no Christmas holiday season would be complete without seeing this classic at least once...twice...298 times. Okay, that is just me who watches it 298 times but then I AM a movie goofball you know! And this movie has so much heart and soul and oh but isn't Jimmy Stewart just phenomenal? Than man could surely show some of today's...well...ahem...what passes for... *stars* in Hollywood a thing or two about acting AND about being a man. But I digress and this is about a film. A classic film, a Christmas treasure, a movie to be watched, absorbed, digested and *felt*. If watching this movie does not make you *feel* something good about life, well, aw gee. You just HAVE to feel something good after seeing it!

"Just a minute - just a minute. Now, hold on, Mr. Potter. You're right when you say my father was no businessman. I know that. Why he ever started this cheap, penny-ante Building and Loan, I'll never know. But neither you nor anyone else can say anything against his character, because his whole life was - why, in the twenty-five years since he and Uncle Billy started this thing, he never once thought of himself. Isn't that right, Uncle Billy? He didn't save enough money to send Harry to school, let alone me. But he did help a few people get out of your slums, Mr. Potter, and what's wrong with that? Why - here, you're all businessmen here. Doesn't it make them better citizens? Doesn't it make them better customers? You - you said - what'd you say a minute ago? They had to wait and save their money before they even ought to think of a decent home. Wait? Wait for what? Until their children grow up and leave them? Until they're so old and broken down that they... Do you know how long it takes a working man to save five thousand dollars? Just remember this, Mr. Potter, that this rabble you're talking about... they do most of the working and paying and living and dying in this community. Well, is it too much to have them work and pay and live and die in a couple of decent rooms and a bath? Anyway, my father didn't think so. People were human beings to him. But to you, a warped, frustrated old man, they're cattle. Well, in my book he died a much richer man than you'll ever be." ~George Bailey

"Look, daddy! Teacher says, every time a bell rings, an Angel gets his wings."

It's a Wonderful Life is a 1946 film produced and directed by Frank Capra and based on the short story, "The Greatest Gift" written by Philip Von Doren Stern.

The film takes place in the fictional town of Bedford Falls shortly after World War II and stars James Stewart as George Bailey, a man whose attempted suicide on Christmas Eve gains the attention of his guardian angel, Clarence Odbody (Henry Travers) who is sent to help him in his hour of need. Most of the film is told through flashbacks spanning George's entire life and narrated by Franklin and Joseph, unseen Angels who are preparing Clarence for his mission to save George. Through these flashbacks we see all the people whose lives have been touched by George and the difference he has made to the community in which he lives.

The film is regarded as a classic and is a staple of Christmas television around the world, although, due to its high production costs and stiff competition at the box office, financially, it was considered a "flop." The film's break-even point was actually $6.3 million, approximately twice the production cost, a figure it never came close to achieving in its initial release. Here is a brief synopsis of the plot: The story begins on Christmas Eve, 1946, and George Bailey is in a dark place. Faced with the loss of his business and the scandal of bankruptcy, and wanted by the police for misappropriation of funds, he is on the verge of suicide. The prayers of his family and friends alert Heaven to George’s state of mind, and Clarence Odbody, an Angel Second Class, is sent to Earth to save George. Clarence later reveals that he is also being tested; after over 200 years of trying, he still has not earned his wings. In preparing for his mission, Clarence is brought before Joseph, the head angel, to see a review of George's life. Subsequently, much of the film is in flashback spanning George Bailey's entire life to date and highlighting all the good he has done for others.

Here is some trivia of the now classic holiday film!

• Lionel Barrymore convinced James Stewart to take the role of George, despite his feeling that he was not up to it so soon after World War II.
• Originally ended with "Ode to Joy", not "Auld Lang Syne".
• Films made prior to this one used cornflakes painted white for the falling snow effect. Because the cornflakes were so loud, dialogue had to be dubbed in later. Frank Capra wanted to record the sound live, so a new snow effect was developed using foamite (a fire-fighting chemical) and soap and water. This mixture was then pumped at high pressure through a wind machine to create the silent, falling snow. 6000 gallons of the new snow were used in the film. The RKO Effects Department received a special award from the Motion Picture Academy for the development of the new film snow.

• As Uncle Billy is leaving George's house drunk, it sounds as if he stumbles over some trash cans on the sidewalk. In fact, a crew member dropped some equipment right after Uncle Billy left the screen. Both actors continued with the scene ("I'm all right, I'm all right!") and director Frank Capra decided to use it in the final cut. He gave the clumsy stagehand a $10 bonus for "improving the sound."
• The Bells of St. Mary's (1945) is showing at the movie house as George runs down the street in Bedford Falls. Henry Travers, who plays Clarence, the angel, starred in that film as Horace P. Bogardus.
• For the scene that required Donna Reed to throw a rock into the window of the Granville House, Frank Capra hired a marksman to shoot it out for her on cue. To everyone's amazement, Donna Reed broke the window with true aim and heft without the assistance of the hired marksman!
• James Stewart was nervous about the phone scene kiss because it was his first screen kiss since his return to Hollywood after the war. Under Frank Capra's watchful eye, Stewart filmed the scene in only one unrehearsed take, and it worked so well that part of the embrace was cut because it was too passionate to pass the censors.
• Jean Arthur was Frank Capra's first choice for the part of Mary.
• When composer Dimitri Tiomkin's original score for the finale (featuring "Ode To Joy") was eliminated, tracks of Alfred Newman's score from The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939) were used instead, most notably the chorus singing "Hallelujah".
• The movie drew fierce criticism for its political statements about post-WWII society when it was released in 1946. Even the FBI labeled it a "subversive" movie and charged that its use of a nasty, Scrooge-like businessman "was a common trick used by communists".
• The gym floor that opens up to reveal a swimming pool was real and was located at Beverly Hills High School in Los Angeles.
• In 2004 the BBC TV listings magazine "Radio Times" conducted a poll into the Best Film Never to Have Won an Oscar. "It's a Wonderful Life" came second (The Shawshank Redemption (1994) was first).
• This was the first and last time that Frank Capra produced, financed, directed and co-wrote one of his films.
• At $3.7 million, this was a very expensive independent production. In its initial box office run, it only earned $3.3 million and was considered a box office flop!
• James Stewart cited George Bailey as being his favorite character. The part was originally developed at another studio with Cary Grant earmarked for the role. When Frank Capra inherited the project, he rewrote it to suit Stewart.
• Vincent Price was considered for the part of Mr. Potter.
• Donna Reed's first starring role.
• After the war Frank Capra set up Liberty Films with George Stevens and William Wyler to make more serious, soul-searching films. This was Liberty's only production.
• 350,000 feet of film were used.
• The Motion Picture Association of America's strict production code in 1946 censored such phrases and words as "nuts to you", "impotent", "dang", "lousy", and "jerk". But Capra managed to bypass the production code stipulating that criminals be punished for their crime: Potter never met justice for stealing the $8,000. Capra noted several times that he had received more mail about this point than anything else in the film.
• The instant that George says "God" on the bridge, it starts snowing, showing that he is back in the real world.
• The cigarette lighter seen in this film (the one which George wishes he had a million dollars on) was previously seen in another Frank Capra film, You Can't Take It with You (1938).
• James Stewart repeated his role in a one-hour radio version for NBC Radio Theater in 1949.
• The set for Bedford Falls was constructed in two months and was one of the longest sets that had ever been made for an American movie. It covered four acres of the RKO's Encino Ranch. It included 75 stores and buildings, main street, factory district and a large residential and slum area. The Main Street was 300 yards long, three whole city blocks!
• The Bailey Park scenes were filmed in La Crescenta, California.
• Dalton Trumbo, Dorothy Parker, and Clifford Odets all did uncredited work on the script.
• In the original script, Clarence confronts Potter about what he did to George. It was to take place right after Potter yelled, "And Happy New Year to you, in jail!"
• The raven, named Jimmy, appeared in all of Frank Capra's movies.
• Two of "Sesame Street" (1969)'s most famous Muppets, Bert and Ernie, share their names with the cop and cab driver in this film, but this is said to be just a coincidence.
• While filming the scene where George prays in the bar, James Stewart has said that he was so overcome that he began to sob right then and there. Later, Frank Capra reframed the shot so it looked like a much closer shot than was actually filmed because he wanted to catch that expression on Stewart's face.
• James Stewart and Donna Reed reprised their roles in 1947 on radio, first on "The Lux Radio Theatre" and then on "Camel Screen Guild Theatre." In the Lux version, instead of putting Zuzu's petals in his pocket, George has a bell that Zuzu likes to play with. The "Lux" version aired in March; the "Screen Guild" version aired December 29th.
• Actor and producer Sheldon Leonard said in an interview that the only reason he agreed to play Nick the bartender in this film was so that he would have money to buy Dodger baseball tickets.
• The film has two lines of "secret dialog" - spoken quietly through a door. (They can be heard when amplifying the volume, and are also explicitly depicted in the closed-captioning.) The lines occur at the end of the scene set in Bailey's private office with Bailey and his son George, and Potter and his goon present. After George raves to Potter that "you can't say that about my father", he is ushered out of the room by his father, then George is shown standing outside the office door. At that moment, George overhears the following two lines of dialog through the glass pane of the door behind him: POTTER: What's the answer? BAILEY: Potter, you just humiliated me in front of my son.
• Pharmacist Gower's son's death at college is attributed to "Influenza" in the telegram that Young George reads, dated May 3, 1919. This is probably a reference to the "Spanish Flu" worldwide epidemic that killed millions of people around that time, and would have still been fresh in many people's minds when the movie was first released.
• The name of Bedford Falls was combined from Bedford Hills, in Westchester County, New York, and Seneca Falls, a small town midway between Rochester and Syracuse. The town of Elmira, mentioned by the bank examiner, is a real town in New York, not that far from the actual Seneca Falls.
• The scene on the bridge where Clarence saves George was filmed on a back lot on a day where the temperature was 90 degrees Fahrenheit. This is why James Stewart is visibly sweating in a few scenes.
• Frank Capra often said that this was his favorite of all his films.
• James Stewart's performance as George Bailey is ranked #8 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006).
• Voted the #1 inspirational film of all time in AFI's "100 Years, 100 Cheers" (June 14th, 2006)
• Ranked as the #1 Most Powerful Movie of All Time by the American Film Institute (2006).
• In 2007, the American Film Institute ranked this as the #20 Greatest Movie of All Time.
• Debuted a week after William Wyler's The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), which explained why this movie was a disappointment at the box office and at the Academy Awards.
• When Officer Bert shoots at George, the "s" in the electric "Pottersville" sign far away in the distance, goes out.
• Despite being set around Christmas, it was filmed during a heat wave. It got to be so hot that Frank Capra gave everyone a day off to recuperate.
• According to an interview with Karolyn Grimes, the actress who played Zuzu, the name Zuzu comes from Zu Zu Ginger Snaps.

I'm Dreaming Of A...

...white snowy, frosty, cold, cozy Christmas!

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas Just like the ones I used to know Where the treetops glisten, and children listen To hear sleigh bells in the snow I'm dreaming of a white Christmas With every Christmas card I write May your days be merry and bright And may all your Christmases be white I'm dreaming of a white Christmas With every Christmas card I write May your days be merry and bright And may all your Christmases be white

Tonight we all cuddled up on the couch (No easy feat considering there were four of us, 1 dog and two cats!) had a little hot chocolate and watched "White Christmas" after doing a little Christmas decorating. This is probably my favorite of all the holiday films and that is a tough call! A bit like a proud mom trying to pick which of her many children she favors! I admit that I know every word to every song and can repeat most of the dialogue too but still watch it every year...once or twice. Or 28 times. Here is a very brief plot summery of this classic... After leaving the Army after W.W.II, Bob Wallace (Bing Crosby) and Phil Davis (Danny Kaye) team up to become a top song-and-dance act. Davis plays matchmaker and introduces Wallace to a pair of beautiful sisters (Betty and Judy) who also have a song-and-dance act. When Betty and Judy travel to a Vermont lodge to perform a Christmas show, Wallace and Davis follow, only to find their former commander, General Waverly, is the lodge owner. A series of romantic mix-ups ensue as the performers try to help the General.

Some facts about the holiday classic...

• Danny Kaye was a last-minute replacement for the originally cast Donald O'Connor.
• The first film produced in Paramount's wide screen process "VistaVision".
• The TV camera in the Ed Harrison Show scene is a real one (a classic RCA monochrome; the cameraman is hiding the telltale logo with his hand), but the call sign atop it was real as well - it was that of Channel 4, NBC's (and thus RCA's) flagship station in New York, which changed its call sign to WRCA-TV the year of the film's release. (They adopted their current WNBC-TV calls in 1960.)

• The original idea was to reunite Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby, as they had been successful in Holiday Inn (1942). Astaire refused, as he had "retired" at the time, so the part was reworked for Donald O'Connor. O'Connor pulled out, and the part was reworked for Danny Kaye.
• The photo that Vera-Ellen shows to Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye of her brother, Bennie, is actually a photo of Carl 'Alfalfa' Switzer.
• The Vermont inn is the remodeled Connecticut inn set of Holiday Inn (1942).
• The song "Snow" was written by Irving Berlin a while before the film was made but with a different lyric and title and indeed subject (it had nothing to do whatsoever with snow): it was called "Free" and it was recorded by the composer.
• The "Sisters" comedy act that Bing Crosbyand Danny Kaye perform was not originally in the script. They were clowning around on the set and the director thought it was so funny that it was written in.
• Even though Betty was the elder of the Haynes sisters, Rosemary Clooney was actually seven years younger than Vera-Ellen in real life.
• Vera-Ellen did not actually sing any of the songs for the movie. Trudy Stevens sang all her songs (with the exception of the song "Sisters", on which Rosemary Clooney sang both parts). Vera's own voice is heard singing only in the "arrival in Pine Tree" scene at the railroad station where the quartet reprises the opening lines of "Snow".
• For The song "Gee, I Wish I Was Back In The Army" there is a small section which says "Jolson, Hope And Benny all for free" This is a reference to three wartime entertainers; Al Jolson, Bob Hope and Jack Benny. The original words were "Crosby, Hope and Jolson all for free", with Bing Crosby in the film it would seem rather weird and it would most likely break the mood.
• Released in 1954, it became the top grossing film of that year.
• The song, "What Can You Do with a General?", which Leonard Maltin calls Berlin's least memorable tune, was originally written for an un produced project called Stars on My Shoulders.
• According to Rosemary Clooney, the "midnight snack" scene in which Bob Wallace expounds on his theory of what foods cause what dreams was almost entirely improvised.
• Many of Bob Wallace's more unusual turns of phrase were lifted straight from Bing Crosby's own speech patterns.
• The train scene had to be shot at Fox, the only studio to house a standing train set.
• Although this movie musical has been a beloved favorite for decades -- especially at Christmastime -- there has never been an official "original soundtrack" album released in any form. Decca controlled the soundtrack rights, but Rosemary Clooney was under exclusive contract to Columbia, who would not allow her to appear on a competing label. As a result, Decca and Columbia each released their own White Christmas albums in 1954, although neither is an official soundtrack. Decca's album featured the movie cast minus Rosemary Clooney, with Peggy Lee taking over Clooney's part. Columbia's album had Rosemary Clooney singing 8 songs from the film. Both albums have been issued on CD in recent years.

Lines from The Film...

Phil Davis: When what's left of you gets around to what's left to be gotten, what's left to be gotten won't be worth getting, whatever it is you've got left.

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Doris: Well how do you like that? Not so much as a "kiss my foot" or "have an apple".

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Bob Wallace: How do you do? Doris: Mutual, I'm sure.

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Phil Davis: I want you to get married. I want you to have nine children. And if you only spend five minutes a day with each kid, that's forty-five minutes, and I'd at least have time to go out and get a massage or something.

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Phil Davis: That's very funny. Ho, ho, ho. The crooner is becoming the comic.

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Phil Davis: How can a guy *that* ugly have the nerve to have sisters? Bob Wallace: Very brave parents.

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Bob Wallace: Oh, Phil, when are you going to learn that girls like that are a dime a dozen? Phil Davis: Please, don't quote me the price when I haven't got the time.

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Bob Wallace: You don't expect me to get serious with the kind of characters you and Rita have been throwing at me, do you? Phil Davis: Well, there have been some nice girls, too, you know. Bob Wallace: Oh yeah, yeah. Like that nuclear scientist we just met out in the hall. Phil Davis: All right, they didn't go to college. They didn't go to Smith. Bob Wallace: Go to Smith? She couldn't even spell it.

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Phil Davis: In some ways, you're far superior to my cocker spaniel.

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Phil Davis: Give me one reason, one good reason, why we should spend our last 2 hours in Florida looking at the sister's of Freckle-Face Haynes, the dog-faced boy. Bob Wallace: Let's just say we're doing it for an old pal in the army. Phil Davis: Well, it's not good, but it's a reason.

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Phil Davis: It's cozier, isn't it? Boy, girl, boy, girl.

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[to the Haynes sisters] Phil Davis: Mr. Wallace was just saying how remarkable it was that Benny Haynes' sisters should have eyes... [voice cracks] Phil Davis: ...I mean, blue eyes. That is eyes... Bob Wallace: Nice out.

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[after Betty finds Judy and Phil embracing] Betty Haynes: What is this? The best two outta three? Judy Haynes: I guess I got carried away. Phil Davis: Yeah, she carried me right with her - I don't weigh very much.

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Judy Haynes: We're booked for the holidays. Phil Davis: Vermont, huh? Judy Haynes: Oh, Vermont should be beautiful this time of year, with all that snow. Phil Davis: Yeah, you know something... Vermont should be beautiful this time of year, with all that snow. Judy Haynes: That's what I just said. Phil Davis: We seem to be getting a little mixed up. Judy Haynes: Maybe it's the music. Phil Davis: Maybe it isn't only the music.

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Bob Wallace: Miss Haynes, if you're ever under a falling building and someone offers to pick you up and carry you to safety, don't think, don't pause, don't hesitate for a moment, just spit in his eye. Betty Haynes: What did that mean? Bob Wallace: It means we're going to Vermont.

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Phil Davis: How much is "wow"? Bob Wallace: It's right in between, uh, "ouch" and "boing". Phil Davis: Wow!

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Gen. Thomas F. Waverly: There's no Christmas in the Army!

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[General Waverly has told the jeep driver to take the new Commanding General back to Headquarters via a short cut] Joe, Adjutant Captain: [pointing after the departed jeep] That's not the way to Headquarters! Gen. Thomas F. Waverly: Joe, *you* know that, and *I* know that, but the General doesn't! At least he won't for the next two hours. Joe, Adjutant Captain: That sergeant will be a private in the morning. Gen. Thomas F. Waverly: [wearily] Yes, isn't he lucky.

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[General Waverly has come downstairs for the Christmas Eve show in his uniform] Gen. Thomas F. Waverly: [to Susan] You didn't expect me to come down in my bathrobe, did you?

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Bob Wallace: [into his water glass] Pushing, pushing.

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Phil Davis: [describing his kind to Judy] I'm the 'I don't mind pushing my best friend into, but am scared stiff if I get anywhere near it' kind.

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Phil Davis: [after performing "Sisters"] Hey, we're a smash let's take a bow! Bob Wallace: We'll take a bow down to the jail house!

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Phil Davis: [about the train tickets] I don't have them. I must have left them in my girdle.

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Phil Davis: [about Betty] I've got a flash for you: she's a real slow mover. Phil Davis: I've got a flash right back for you: she's in there with the champ.

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Phil Davis: [about Bob's idea to help the General] I think it's ridiculous, impossible, and insane! Bob Wallace: Anything else? Phil Davis: Yes, I wish I'd thought of it first.

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Judy Haynes: [about Betty] Yesterday, she couldn't sleep. Today, she won't eat. She's in love. Phil Davis: Well if that's love, somebody goofed.

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Phil Davis: [describing his injury after "falling down the stairs] Probably just a small internal muscular hemorrhage.

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Ex-Soldier: [attempting to button his uniform pants] Captain, these things have shrunked! Bob Wallace: Well, your appetite hasn't shrunk.

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Gen. Thomas F. Waverly: [to Capt. Wallace] Don't just stand there - how do I get off?

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Bob Wallace: When I figure out what that means I'll come up with a crushing reply.

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Phil Davis: We like to take care of our friends. Betty Haynes: But we're practically strangers! Phil Davis: Uh, we like to take care of that too. Betty Haynes: But I don't understand. Why are you doing this? I mean, what's in it for you? Phil Davis: Forty-five minutes all to myself.

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Phil Davis: We wouldn't be any good as generals. Gen. Thomas F. Waverly: You weren't any good as privates

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Betty Haynes: [singing on the train] I want to wash my hands, my face, my hair with snow.

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Phil Davis: Oh,I hope I can take back the electric blanket back. Bob Wallace: Where's that? Phil Davis: Under the underwear.

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Bob Wallace: We ate, and then he ate. We slept and then he slept. Phil Davis: Yeah, then he woke up and nobody slept for forty-eight hours.

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Phil Davis: [Buying train tickets] Uh, I don't seem to have any cash. Bob Wallace: Where'd you leave that? In your snood?

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Emma Allen: [Regarding the inn] This place used to be a grist mill and a barn. Now it's a Tyrolean haunted house.

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Phil Davis: We looked at this big ski lodge and said isn't it ideal. That's the word we used, ideal. Absolutely, ideal. Gen. Thomas F. Waverly: We've acknowledged that the ski lodge is ideal.

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Betty Haynes: Why, all of a sudden, are people so concerned about my eating habits? Why don't people just leave me alone?

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Judy Haynes: [after creating her phony engagement with Phil] Don't you think we ought to kiss or something? Phil Davis: [Obviously nervous] Not until it's absolutely necessary.

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Bob Wallace: [Regarding Phil] I don't know what you see in this tall drink of charged water, but after you get to know him he's almost endurable.

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Bob Wallace: [to Judy] You're lucky! You might have been stuck with this weirdsmobile for life!

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Betty Haynes: Mr. Bones? Mr. Bones? How do you feel, Mr. Bones? Phil Davis: Rattlin'! Betty Haynes: Mr. Bones feels rattlin'. Ha ha. That's a good one. Tell a little story, Mr. Bones. Bob Wallace: A funny little story, Mr. Bones! Phil Davis: How do you stop an angry dog from biting you on Monday? Betty Haynes: That joke is old. The answer is to kill the dog on Sunday! Phil Davis: That's not how you stop a dog from biting you on Monday! Betty Haynes: How do you bring a thing about? Phil Davis: Have the doggy's teeth pulled out! Betty Haynes: Oh, Mr. Bones, that's terrible! Phil Davis: Uh-huh. Betty Haynes, Bob Wallace: Yes, Mr. Bones, that's terrible! Phil Davis: Uh-huh.

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Judy Haynes: Looks like it's absolutely necessary.

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Bob Wallace: I have a feeling I'm not going to like this. Phil Davis: I have a feeling you're gonna hate it. Bob Wallace: Then why should I do it. Phil Davis: Let's just say we're doing it for an old Bob Wallace, Phil Davis: pal in the army... yeah

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[Bob leaves to go make a phone call] Phil Davis: [sighs] I don't know what's going on, but he has that Rodgers and Hammerstein look in his eyes. Betty Haynes: Is that bad? Phil Davis: Not bad, but always expensive.

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Gen. Thomas F. Waverly: I got along just fine without you in the Army. Emma Allen: Yeah. It only took 15,000 men to take my place.

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Phil Davis: [after Bob has found out about Phil and Judy's phony engagement] I guess we laid an egg. Bob Wallace: An egg? Brother, you laid a Vermont volleyball!

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Gen. Thomas F. Waverly: How could you have sent all my suits to the cleaners? Emma Allen: [laconically] You only have two.

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Judy Haynes: [to Phil] You are not exactly Superman, but you are awfully available.

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Bob Wallace: Hey, Davis! How you feelin'? Phil Davis: Pretty good, Captain. Bob Wallace: Just dropped by to thank you for saving my life. Phil Davis: Well, uh, it was a life worth saving.

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Betty Haynes: Look who's talking about guilt! Bob Wallace: What do you mean by that? Betty Haynes: I mean you shouldn't mix fairy tales with liverwurst and buttermilk. Bob Wallace: What did you have for lunch today? Betty Haynes: I didn't have lunch. Bob Wallace: Maybe you ought to eat some.