The Horn Blows at Midnight (1945)

Jack Benny: Athanael

Photos 

Quotes 

• Athanael : What are they supposed to be doing?

  Maitre d' : I wouldn't know, sir; they call it dancing.

  Athanael : I must tell St. Vitus about this.

• Athanael : Alright, but you're driving me right into the hot girdle business!

• Athanael : Can't we just be friends? After all, all I did was save your life.

  Fran Blackstone : Come close to me, dearest. Come close. Please, darling, kiss me. Do you hear me, darling? Come close to me! Please, Athanael, come closer to me.

  Athanael : If I got any closer, I'd be standing behind you. Now let me go!

  Fran Blackstone : Look at me darling. Can't you see what my eyes are saying?

  Athanael : Yes, and you oughta watch your language!

• Athanael : Hey... I'm getting wet!

• Athanael : It's an ungrateful world, Elizabeth. If I had my way, things would be different. There'd be a lot of changes made.

• The Chief : So, you're Emmanuel, huh?

  Athanael : Uh, Athanael, sir. Angel Junior grade, Third phalanx, 15th cohort.

  The Chief : Nothing wrong with your record.

  Athanael : I hope not, sir.

  The Chief : Application excellent. Deportment excellent. Kindness excellent. Virtue excellent. Monotonous!

  Athanael : Yes, sir.

  The Chief : That's for me to say!

• Athanael : Oh, Elizabeth, the whole world is against me. Here I am, a great musician, sitting here playing third trumpet.

  Elizabeth : Well, you're making money. You're eating.

  Athanael : That's unimportant. I'm an artist. I wish I'd never heard of food or money.

• Athanael : I practice a lot in my spare time.

  The Chief : Yes, so I hear, *constantly*, from this female.

  Elizabeth : I've told the Chief how we study together, you with your trumpet and me with my harp.

  Athanael : You have, Elizabeth?

  Elizabeth : I told him how pleasant it is, just the two of us - and the music.

• Elizabeth : That's the planet Earth, sir.

  The Chief : Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. I created rather hurriedly, as I recall.

  Athanael : Just a six-day job, wasn't it?

  The Chief : Practically slapped together, you might say.

• The Chief : Usually when a planet goes berserk, it's our demolition expert who descends, blows his horn, and - poof.

  Athanael : Poof?

  The Chief : Just now, however, our demolition expert is disposing of one of the larger planets, so for this bit of destruction, I'm using you.

  Athanael : Me?

  The Chief : Yes, as the angel least likely to be missed.

• Elizabeth : First, you take the elevator down to the wardrobe department. Then you change to elevator number 3.

  Athanael : What for?

• Athanael : What kind of a party?

  Osidro : Nothing much. Just a little sociability, Some music.

  Athanael : Oh. Well, I'm sorry, but at the moment, I'm not interested in - Music? What kind of music?

  Doremus : Like you never heard before, Athanael.

  Osidro : Swing music. Also, we have 8 or 10 beautiful girls.

  Athanael : Well, you know they don't interest me, not 8 girls or 9 girls or - 10 beautiful girls, you say?

  Osidro : Yes. Oh, you owe it to yourself to look the place over, just out of curiosity.

  Athanael : Oh. Well, if you're going to force me.

• Athanael : D-don't - g-get - nervous!

• Fran Blackstone : Don't let go!

  Athanael : Who wants to let go?

  Fran Blackstone : Can't you pull me up?

  Athanael : Yes, if you stop pulling me down!

• Athanael : Pardon me. Mr. Starr, what are they doing?

  Sherman Starr : Jitterbugging, but they're all pooped. They've been working the swing shift all night.

• Osidro : If you're wise, you'll listen to us. The business for you is hot girdles.

  Athanael : But I've never handled a girdle, hot or cold. I don't even know what a girdle is.

• Athanael : Am I really a fallen angel?

  Doremus : You ain't little bo peep, brother!

• Athanael : Say, that looks rather interesting.

  Lew Poplinski - Waiter : A double scoop jumbo delight. Right. Vanilla and strawberry ice cream on a sliced banana with chocolate syrup and chopped walnuts. Anything else, mon-sewer?

  Athanael : Well, I'd - I'd - I'd like some of that, I think.

  Lew Poplinski - Waiter : You want that with a double scoop jumbo delight? Okay. Imported herring with domestic onions, a large order. With a double scoop jumbo delight, that goes just ducky. Of course, the blend ain't exactly right unless you got a nice, big, juicy dill pickle.

  Athanael : Really? Well, then a nice, big, juicy dill pickle it shall be.

  Lew Poplinski - Waiter : You got it, brother.

  Athanael : Hey, this is going to be fun.

  [dips the big, juicy, dill pickle in the double scoop delight and takes a bite] 

• Trumpet Player : Take off, pops. Curl it, beat it, and twist it!

  Athanael : Twist it?

  Trumpet Player : Yeah.

  Trombonist in Swing Band : Fake it, man. Ain't you hep?

• Cliffside Park Policeman : You looking for trouble?

  Athanael : No, no, no. I'm looking for Junior Porplinski.

• Athanael : You're wonderful, Elizabeth. I don't deserve you. I'm a weakling. That's what I am - just a blundering, inefficient nothing!

  Elizabeth : That's right, Athanael.

  Athanael : Well, you don't have to agree so fast, do you?

• Athanael : What do you wish?

  Humphrey Rafferty : I wish that you'd bounce that babe out of here, and quick.

• Fran Blackstone : You can't save a girl's life and then ignore her!

  Athanael : Oh, yes, I can, but of course, you'll take quite a bit of ignoring.

• [last lines] 

  Athanael : Elizabeth, I just had the craziest dream. You know, if you ever saw it in the movies, you'd never believe it.

• Athanael : As Methuselah remarked to me one day, "You should live so long. "

• Fran Blackstone : Don't I appeal to you? Aren't I young, soft, and yielding?

  Athanael : Now, look, stop, please.

  Fran Blackstone : You are shy. Maybe it's I who should make the approach, I who should forget my foolish pride.