Orchestra Wives (1942)

George Montgomery: Bill Abbot

Photos 

Quotes 

• Bill Abbott : Now listen cutie-pie. I'm a big, bad trumpet player, and never in my life have I seen anything so gorgeous coming off a dance floor. I've seen thousands. I've kissed some of them, but not like I'm going to kiss you.

  Connie Ward : Now, please...

  [long kiss] 

  Bill Abbott : Do you carry a battery?

  Connie Ward : What?

  Bill Abbott : Something made my heels tingle.

• Bill Abbott : Why don't you find someone your own age - about 104?

• Cully Anderson : I'll bust ya right where ya sit!

  Bill Abbott : Ah, that would be a foul.

• Bill Abbott : You fellas are crazy. You were crazy to get married. Now, companionship is all right; but, there's no point in carrying it to an extreme.

• Sinjin : This is the first time I ever saw a canary who looked like she swallowed a canary.

  Bill Abbott : Or a cat who looked like she swallowed another cat.

  Jaynie Stevens : I'll take the starch out of you.

• Connie Ward : No.

  Bill Abbott : What was that?

  Connie Ward : No.

  Bill Abbott : That's not loud enough.

• Bill Abbott : Doc, I'm penciled in for a dream.

• Bill Abbott : That's one of the things I like about you. You look at things like a man.

  Jaynie Stevens : Oh, don't tell anybody. I'm considered very feminine. Well, man to man, old boy, how did this happen?

  Bill Abbott : Well, I kissed her, strictly in passing, when the smoke cleared, I was knee deep in orange blossoms.

• Bill Abbott : Have you told your little bride *everything*?

  Bill Abbott : Everything?

  Natalie Mercer : Well, I mean the way you gamble and browse and things.

  Bill Abbott : Why, I wouldn't think of stealing your thunder. You're going to want something to talk about.

• Bill Abbott : How'd you ever find this place, anyway?

  Connie Ward : Just by inquiring. By trying to find out if there weren't other restaurants to eat in besides all night chop suey places.

• Bill Abbott : It's a pretty topsy-turvy life for you, isn't it?

  Connie Ward : Oh, it was a little bit bewildering the first few days, but, when you love anyone as much as I love you, you're topsy-turvy anyway.

  Bill Abbott : What a lucky mug I am to get a gal like you.

• Jaynie Stevens : I'm hungry. Would I be playing the game if I asked you to take me out and buy me some chop suey?

  Bill Abbott : Well, I guess it's all right. Hey, you don't know a place in town where we can get some nice chicken pot pie, do you?

  Jaynie Stevens : Chicken pot pie? Are you going soft on us?

  Bill Abbott : Okay, chop suey.

• Bill Abbott : How can you be a real wife when you're trailing from one hotel to another like a lot of gypsies? When you have breakfast at lunchtime and lunch at dinnertime and dinner at midnight? Well, this isn't living.

• Bill Abbott : What did you expect? A banker? You married a trumpet player. You knew you weren't getting a suburban home with flower pots and kiddies. At the time you seemed to think the idea was pretty glamorous.

  Connie Ward : Well, at the time I was crazy! This life is about as glamorous as a gymnasium.

• Gene Morrison : Tell her to keep her mouth shut or something.

  Bill Abbott : I can handle my wife without any advice from you.

  Gene Morrison : Well, handle her then! And any blunt instrument will do it.

• Bill Abbott : Look, I married you because you were a happy kid. Gay, cute, cheerful! But, you've gone neurotic on me. You trail me around like a house detective and then with one flick of your tongue you bust up our band. Last night you said you weren't an orchestra wife and you hit the nail right on the head. You aren't and you never will be!

• Bill Abbott : What are you fellas doing here?

  Ben Beck : We all have appointments.

  Bill Abbott : James or Thornhill?

  Ben Beck : Sammy Kaye.

  Buddy Steele : I'm supposed to meet Bob Crosby.

  Bill Abbott : It's beginning to make sense.

  Sinjin : Is it?

  Bill Abbott : Don't you get the angle? Somebody's trying to take over Gene's band as a unit. Send out a bunch of phoney telegrams just so we don't get wise to it.

  Ben Beck : Hey, there's Phil, the last one.

  Bill Abbott : Come on in, Phil, we were expecting you.

  Sinjin : Hi ya, Phil.

  Phil Mercer : All right.

  Sinjin : Who are you meetin' here? Lombardo?

  Phil Mercer : I'm supposed to meet Benny Goodman.

• Bill Abbott : We're all for you Gene. We'll blow our brains out for you! Won't we fellas?