That's a famous line spoken by Strother Martin in the movie Cool Hand Luke, in which Paul Newman starred.
Out of the blue, I have a strong desire to have a character say, "What we've got here is failure to excommunicate." I even know the alternate history novel I could use that in, but I don't know if I'll ever get around to writing that novel.
Given that line, how can I not write it?
I believe the actual line is "What we have here is ..."
ReplyDeleteBut I like your twist on it.
Wikipedia and IMDB both give it as "What we've got ... "
ReplyDeleteWeird. It's been a long time since I've seen the clip. Must be one of those folksy "Play it again, Sam" / "Frankly, Scarlett, I don't give a damn" things.
ReplyDeleteI stand corrected. D'oh!
ReplyDeleteThere's a spot later in the film, right before Newman gets shot, when he spoofs the line. I wonder if he says it differently then.
I just checked, and Newman says it as "What we got here..." So yeah, I was totally, utterly wrong.
ReplyDeleteBut you publicly* admitted your error, which immediately puts you head and shoulders above Little Georgie and on a par with the current, a.k.a. the actually elected, president!
ReplyDelete*Albeit a small public, given the readership of this blog. Most of the visits here come via Google searches on Benjamin Button, eye blisters, or Jews and the Federal Reserve.
Man, if I had a nickel for every time I publicly admitted making an error, I'd have at least $1.15.
ReplyDelete