Welcome to Death, a new category for an old theme. Professor Kinema's funereal tendencies provide such a wealth of material on Death-speak in the movies, you'll just die with morbid delight.
Dracula (1931)
Dracula: “To die, to be really dead, that must be glorious.”
Mina: “Why, Count Dracula!”
Dracula: “There are far worse things awaiting man than death.”
Lucy Weston: “Lofty timbers, the walls around are bare, echoing to our laughter as though the dead were there. Quaff a cup to the dead already. Hooray for the next to die!”
The Lost Squadron (1932)
Arthur von Furst, giving instructions to background players in a battle scene: “Listen men, when I take that scene, those who are supposed to be wounded, act like wounded. Those who are supposed to be dead, act like dead. Don’t move!”
Babes in Toyland (1934)
Stannie Dum (to the evil Barnaby): “You better come up, dead or alive.”
Ollie Dee: “Now how can he come up dead when he’s alive?”
Stannie Dum: “Let’s drop a rock on him, then we’ll make him dead, when he’s alive.”
Ollie Dee: “Now you’re making sense.”
Man on the Flying Trapeze (1935)
Ambrose Wolfinger (WC Fields), after his pistol accidentally goes off and his wife (Kathleen Howard) faints: “Did I kill ya?”
Ambrose Wolfinger : “My poor mother in law died three days ago. I’m attending her funeral this afternoon.”
Secretary: “Isn’t that terrible Mr Wolfinger!”
Wolfinger: “Yes it’s terrible. It’s Awful. Horrible tragedy.”
Secretary: “It must be hard to loose your mother in law”
Wolfinger: “Yes it is, very Hard. It’s almost impossible.”
After the company head decides to send flowers, condolences and a mention to the press of Wolfinger’s mother in law...
Peabody: “By the way, what did she die of?”
Malloy: “Bad liquor.”
The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Pretorious: “Do you know who Henry Frankenstein is and who you are?”
Monster: “Yes, I know, (he) made me from dead. I love dead, hate living.”
Pretorious: “You’re wise in your generation.”
Monster to Pretorious in laboratory: “You stay, we belong dead.”
It's a Wonderful Life (1947)
Old Man Potter to George Bailey (the key statement that proves to be totally false): “Why you’re worth more dead than alive.”
Clarence: “So you still think killing yourself is the best idea?”
George: “Well, it seemed like it at the time”
Scrooge, A Christmas Carol(1951)
Opening narration: “Old Marley was as dead as a doornail. This must be distinctly understood or nothing wonderful can come of the story I’m going to relate.”
The Thing From Another World (1951)
Carrington: “I doubt that it (the Thing) can die…at least how we understand dying...think of what we can learn from such an advanced creature!””
Scotty: “The only thing we can learn from it is a faster way to die.”
