Throughout the history of commercial life nobody has ever quite liked the commission man. His function is too vague, his presence always seems one too many, his profit looks too easy, and even when you admit that he has a necessary function, you feel that this function is, as it were, a personification of something that in an ethical society would not need to exist. If people could deal with one another honestly, they would not need agents.

Without magic, there is no art. Without art, there is no idealism. Without idealism, there is no integrity. Without integrity, there is nothing but production.

When in doubt, have a man come through the door with a gun in his hand.

There is no bad whiskey. There are only some whiskeys that aren't as good as others.

From 30 feet away she looked like a lot of class. From 10 feet away she looked like something made up to be seen from 30 feet away.

The moment a man sets his thoughts down on paper, however secretly, he is in a sense writing for publication.

A really good detective never gets married.