Walter Huston: Howard
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Quotes
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Howard : Ah, as long as there's no find, the noble brotherhood will last but when the piles of gold begin to grow... that's when the trouble starts.
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[Howard eats, while Dobbs and Curtin snooze]
Howard : Hey you fellas, how 'bout some beans? You want some beans? Goin' through some mighty rough country tomorrow, you'd better have some beans.
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Howard : We've wounded this mountain. It's our duty to close her wounds. It's the least we can do to show our gratitude for all the wealth she's given us. If you guys don't want to help me, I'll do it alone.
Curtin : You talk about that mountain like it was a real woman.
Dobbs : She's been a lot better to me than any woman I ever knew. Keep your shirt on, old-timer. Sure, I'll help ya.
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Howard : I know what gold does to men's souls.
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Howard : Say, answer me this one, will you? Why is gold worth some twenty bucks an ounce?
Flophouse Bum : I don't know. Because it's scarce.
Howard : A thousand men, say, go searchin' for gold. After six months, one of them's lucky: one out of a thousand. His find represents not only his own labor, but that of nine hundred and ninety-nine others to boot. That's six thousand months, five hundred years, scramblin' over a mountain, goin' hungry and thirsty. An ounce of gold, mister, is worth what it is because of the human labor that went into the findin' and the gettin' of it.
Flophouse Bum : I never thought of it just like that.
Howard : Well, there's no other explanation, mister. Gold itself ain't good for nothing except making jewelry with and gold teeth.
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Howard : If I were you boys, I wouldn't talk or even think about women. T'aint good for your health.
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Howard : Water's precious. Sometimes may be more precious than gold.
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Howard : Aah, gold's a devilish sort of thing, anyway. You start out, you tell yourself you'll be satisfied with 25,000 handsome smackers worth of it. So help me, Lord, and cross my heart. Fine resolution. After months of sweatin' yourself dizzy, and growin' short on provisions, and findin' nothin', you finally come down to 15,000, then ten. Finally, you say, "Lord, let me just find $5,000 worth and I'll never ask for anythin' more the rest of my life."
Flophouse Bum : $5,000 is a lot of money.
Howard : Yeah, here in this joint it seems like a lot. But I tell you, if you was to make a real strike, you couldn't be dragged away. Not even the threat of miserable death would keep you from trying to add 10,000 more. Ten, you'd want to get twenty-five; twenty-five you'd want to get fifty; fifty, a hundred. Like roulette. One more turn, you know. Always one more.
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Howard : Without me, you two would die here, more miserable than rats.
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Howard : Now here's where we're bound for, hereabouts. Don't show properly whether there's mountains, swamp, or desert. That shows the makers of the map themselves don't know for sure. Once on the ground, all we gotta do is open our eyes and look around. Yes, and blow our noses, too. Believe it or not, I knew a fellow once who could smell gold like a jackass can smell water.
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Dobbs : Why am I elected to go to the village? Why me instead of you and Curtin? Oh, don't think I don't see through that. You two've thrown in against me. The two days I'd be gone would give you plenty of time to discover where my goods are, wouldn't it?
Howard : If you feel along those lines, why don't you take your goods with you?
Dobbs : And run the risk of having them taken from me by bandits?
Howard : If you was to run into bandits, you'd be out of luck anyway. They'd kill you for the shoes on your feet.
Dobbs : Oh, so that's it. Everything's clear now. You're hoping bandits will get me. That would save you a lot of trouble, wouldn't it? And your consciences wouldn't bother you none, neither.
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Dobbs : You know what I'm thinkin'. I'm thinkin' we ought to give up. Leave the whole outfit - everything behind and go back to civilization.
Howard : What's that you say? Go back? Ha, ha. Well, tell my old grandmother! I've got two very elegant bedfellows who kick at the first drop of rain and hide in the closet when thunder rumbles. My, my, my, what great prospectors, two shoe clerks readin' a magazine about prospectin' for gold in the land of the midnight sun, south of the border, or west of the Rockies, ha, ha, ha...
Dobbs : [picking up a rock] Shut your trap! Shut up or I'll smash your head flat.
Howard : Go ahead, go ahead, throw it. If you did, you'd never leave this wilderness alive. Without me, you two would die here more miserable than rats.
Curtin : [to Dobbs] Aw, leave him alone. Can't you see the old man's nuts?
Howard : Let me tell you something, my two fine bedfellows, you're so dumb, there's nothin' to compare ya with, you're dumber than the dumbest jackass. Look at each other, will ya? Did you ever see anything like yourself for bein' dumb specimens. You're so dumb, you don't even see the riches you're treadin' on with your own feet. Yeah, don't expect to find nuggets of molten gold. It's rich but not that rich. And here ain't the place to dig. It comes from someplace further up. Up there, up there's where we've got to go. UP THERE!
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Mexican Boy Selling Lottery Tickets : Senor! Give me my money Senor! 10% I get for selling the winning ticket!
Dobbs : Get away from me, will you?
Mexican Boy Selling Lottery Tickets : Aww, please Senor. Whoever draws the lucky number gives away the present to the seller.
Dobbs : I tell you, I don't want any lottery ticket.
Mexican Boy Selling Lottery Tickets : If you don't, you have bad luck rest of your life.
Dobbs : Wait a minute, what did you first say?
Howard : He's trying to tell you, he sold you the winning ticket.
Dobbs : Hey, hey, wait a minute, this is what you mean?
Mexican Boy Selling Lottery Tickets : Si, Senor!
Dobbs : You say it's a winner?
Mexican Boy Selling Lottery Tickets : Si, A 200 Pesos prize. Tres-Siete-Dos-Uno
Dobbs : Hey, that's my number. Sure enough! Oh! just look at that fat, rich printed number. That's the kind of "Sugar Papa likes" Oh! 200 Pesos. Welcome sweet little smackaroos. Here son, Here's a present for you with my blessing.
