Torrid Zone (1940)

James Cagney: Nick Butler

Photos 

Quotes 

• Wally Davis : A house doesn't have to fall on me.

  Nick Butler : It might help.

• Nick Butler : I've never seen such luck!

  Lee Donley : Lucky in cards, unlucky in love.

• Wally Davis : I smell a drink! I smell two drinks!

  Nick Butler : You smell!

• Nick Butler : Oh, Lee, if you see Case, give him a kiss for me.

  Lee Donley : Not even a foreign general would kiss that guy!

• Lee Donley : Why don't you send that mind of yours out and have it dry-cleaned.

  Nick Butler : What's the use? Look at the company I'm in.

  Lee Donley : You won't be for long!

• Lee Donley : [as Gloria enters]  Here comes Malicious.

  Nick Butler : Can that talk!

  Lee Donley : Well, some days a girl can't make a cent!

  Gloria Anderson : I don't imagine you have any trouble.

  Lee Donley : Why do you malk around making noises like a lady? All a guy has to do is wink and he hits the jackpot.

  [Gloria turns around and leaves] 

• Gloria Anderson : [cutting off Nick's shirt so she can dress his wound]  Oh, did I hurt you?

  Nick Butler : [sarcastically]  Oh, no. How could you hurt me by sticking a scissors in my arm?

• Steve Case : Where do you think you're going?

  Lee Donley : New York. Maybe, Chicago.

  Nick Butler : Make it New York.

  Gloria Anderson : But, Nick, aren't you going to Chicago?

  Nick Butler : Sure.

  Gloria Anderson : Oh, I get it!

  [looking at Lee] 

  Gloria Anderson : You finally stepped down to your own level!

  Lee Donley : That's still about three floors above you.

• [last lines] 

  Nick Butler : [to Lee]  You and your 14 karat oomph!

• Nick Butler : Come on, hand over that dough.

  Lee Donley : What are you talking about?

  Nick Butler : The three hundred bucks you clipped me for last night.

  Lee Donley : Well, I never tagged you for a bad loser.

  Nick Butler : And I never tagged you for a phony shuffle either.

  Lee Donley : Now, wait a minute, Mister. You've got yours all off the top. I just had the run of luck.

  Nick Butler : I know that kind of house luck. Now, hand it over!

  Lee Donley : I haven't got it.

  Nick Butler : Haven't got it, huh? Want me to turn you upside down and shake it out of you?

  Wally Davis : Can I stand here and watch?

  Lee Donley : Look, I haven't got it. I hid it in town last night.

  [Nick picks Lee up, turns her upside down, starts shaking her up and down] 

  Lee Donley : All right, all right, handsome. Put me down! I'll give it to you!

• Nick Butler : Hello. I'm Nick Butler, chairman of the entertainment committee. Can we depend upon you for our shuffleboard tournament?

  Lee Donley : I'm afraid you play a little rough.

  Nick Butler : I can ease off for the ladies, Miss...

  Lee Donley : Donley, Lee Donley. Thanks for taking care of my centipede friend.

• Nick Butler : I'll be seeing you later.

  Lee Donley : Going all the way?

  Nick Butler : Right to the end of the line.

• Nick Butler : How's my successor in number seven gettin' on?

  Steve Case : Who, Anderson? Oh, he turned out great. A real scientific fruit-grower.

  Nick Butler : Scientific, huh? I suppose by now, he's growing bananas with zippers on 'em.

• Steve Case : Nick, you're lookin' swell.

  Nick Butler : Oh, Look at the Captain of the all-American rat team. You know, Sweetheart, I ought to belt you right in the puss for sending me down that swamp.

• Gloria Anderson : Nick, why should I draw a blank like Anderson?

  Nick Butler : Oh, like a lot of good-looking gals, you think the right guys are like streetcars. Miss one, another one will be along in five minutes. Always waiting for Prince Charming on that white horse. Well, there aren't enough of them to go around. Most guys are just like me, plain mugs.

  Gloria Anderson : If a mug like you had been around, I wouldn't be here.

• Nick Butler : Can you put her up?

  Gloria Anderson : Oh, I suppose we can find room for her somewhere.

  Lee Donley : Oh, don't strain yourself, Mrs. Anderson. I can always sleep in a tree... .

  Gloria Anderson : Hereditary?

• Nick Butler : Didn't you know what you were letting yourself in for when you came down here with him?

  Gloria Anderson : All I know is what I read in the travel folder: "Soft tropical breezes. Gay romantic couples finding ecstatic happiness under the silvery Caribbean moonlight. A green paradise, where idyllic romance and lazy comfort walk hand in hand."

• Nick Butler : [to Lee]  If you think you're going to use this plantation as a hideout, you're daffy. You're going right back to town on the next train.

  Wally Davis : That's tomorrow.

  Nick Butler : [to Wally]  Then, it's your job to pack her with the bananas and unload her at Puerto Aguilar.

  Wally Davis : Well, have you got any more jobs like that?

• Gloria Anderson : I thought you were on your way back there.

  Nick Butler : I'm off on a two-week detour. Maybe it won't be so rough as I thought.

  Gloria Anderson : Detours can be very interesting.

• Shaffer : Can you beat three 10's?

  Lee Donley : Three ladies, all dressed up and going places. Loser's push.

  Nick Butler : [walks into the cabin]  Oh, you guys are suckers. You're getting a fast shuffle. Here, pick up your money.

  [to Lee] 

  Nick Butler : I thought I told you to keep your nose clean.

  Lee Donley : Didn't think you'd mind me having a little recreation.

  Nick Butler : Well, from now you can Amuse yourself with solitaire and then you can cheat all you like.

• Nick Butler : I'm blowing. I may not see you again.

• Nick Butler : The trouble with you dames is you're always building castles and trying to move into 'em.

  Lee Donley : Well, you can't blame a girl for trying, can you?