I was neat, clean, shaved and sober and I didn't care who knew it.

The most durable thing in writing is style, and style is the single most valuable investment a writer can make with his time.

I think a man ought to get drunk at least twice a year just on principle, so he won't let himself get snotty about it.

I'm a very smart guy. I haven't a feeling or a scruple in the world. All I have the itch for is money. I am so money greedy that for twenty-five bucks a day and expenses, mostly gasoline and whisky, I do my thinking myself, what there is of it; I risk my whole future, the hatred of the cops . . . I dodge bullets and eat saps, and say thank you very much, if you have any more trouble, I hope you'll think of me, I'll just leave one of my cards in case anything comes up.

Television is just one more facet of that considerable segment of our society that never had any standard but the soft buck.

You can always tell a detective on TV. He never takes his hat off.

The wise screen writer is he who wears his second-best suit, artistically speaking, and doesn't take things too much to heart. He should have a touch of cynicism, but only a touch. The complete cynic is as useless to Hollywood as he is to himself. He should do the best he can without straining at it. He should be scrupulously honest about his work, but he should not expect scrupulous honesty in return. He won't get it. And when he has had enough, he should say goodbye with a smile, because for all he knows he may want to go back.