Listen, darling, tomorrow I'll buy you a whole lot of detective stories, but don't worry your pretty little head over mysteries tonight.

It's sometimes better to pretend I don't hear the sound of somebody in the nearby woods with a shotgun.

The truth is you don't like the theater except the times when you're in a room by yourself putting the play on paper.

To get what he wanted, a man had to give other people what they wanted.

I distrust a man that says when. If he's got to be careful not to drink to much it's because he's not to be trusted when he does.

Yes,' Spade growled. 'And when you're slapped you'll take it and like it.' He released Cairo's wrist and with a thick open hand struck the side of his face three times savagely.

The face she made at me was probably meant for a smile. Whatever it was, it beat me. I was afraid she'd do it again, so I surrendered