# Assault on Precinct 13 (1976 film)

Assault on Precinct 13 is a 1976 American action crime film about a prison bus who stop at a police station due to be closed over the sickness of an inmate only to besieged and bombarded by an out-of-control youth delinquent gang.
    Directed and written by John Carpenter.

## Wells

* Look at that, two cops wishing me luck. I'm doomed.
* In my situation, days are like women - each one's so damn precious, but they all end up leaving you.
* In the meantime, I got this plan. It's called "Save Ass". And the way it works is this - I slip outta one of these windows and I run like a bastard!

## Napoleon Wilson

* [Repeated line] Got a smoke?
* Can't argue with a confident man.
* Chains is all I've got to look forward to.
* I believe in one man.
* You look like someone spit in your sock.

## Captain Collins

* There are no heroes anymore, Bishop. Just men who follow orders.

## Kathy

* I wanted vanilla twist.

## Leigh

* I go through all that, and his gun isn't even loaded.

## Julie

* Why would anybody want to shoot at a police station?

## Starker

* Detective, you run this precinct like chicken night in Turkey.

## Ice Cream Man

* [To Kathy's father] Gun. In the truck, under the dash. [He dies]

## Chaney

* There's nothing out there.

## Dialogue

* Leigh: [Offering Bishop coffee] Black?
* Bishop: For over thirty years.
* Leigh: The very least of our problems is that we're out of time.
* Wilson: It's an old story with me. I was born out of time.
* Ethan: How did you come by a name like Napoleon Wilson?
* Napolean: I'll tell you some time.
* Ethan: When will you tell me?
    [The street gang breaks through the barricade and rush at Bishop and Wilson]
* Napolean: Make that in a minute or two!
* Napoleon: Still have the gun?
* Leigh: Two shots. Should I save them for the two of us?
* Napoleon: Save 'em for the first two assholes who come through that vent.
* Warden: [After punching Wilson out of a chair without the slightest provocation] He just slipped right out of the chair.
* Napoleon: [In sarcastic tone] Yeah, I don't sit in chairs as well as I used to.
* Warden: You know Wilson, I'm gonna miss you.
* Napoleon: That's not the truth, Warden. You should always tell the truth. Even a little white lie can sometimes trip a man up.
    [Trips the Prison Warden with his chain]
* Napoleon: He don't stand up as good as he used to.
* Leigh: I'm curious about one thing.
* Napoleon: Just one?
* Leigh: No, there are other things. But at the moment this one interests me the most.
* Napoleon: What's that?
* Leigh: Why didn't you climb through that vent and take off down the sewer in the other direction?
* Napoleon: Well, there are two things a man should never run from, even if they cost him his life. One is a man who's helpless and can't run with you.
* Leigh: What's the other?
    [Napoleon stares at her]
    [Last lines"]
* Ethan: You're pretty fancy, Wilson.
* Napoleon: I have moments.
* Wilson: What do you want?
* Starker: Do I have to want something?
* Wilson: You're a cop. You're either curious about me, or you wanna give me some shit.
* Starker: I don't understand you, Wilson.
* Wilson: Curious.
* Ethan: [shoves cop violently to one side] Get away from him! [To Wilson] It would be a privilege if you'd walk outside with me.
* Napoleon: [deadpan] I know it would.
    [Wells and Wilson decide who will escape to go for help]
* Wilson: We haven't even flipped the coin yet.
* Wells: I'm gonna lose.
* Wilson: You got a bad attitude, Wells.
* Wells: I ALWAYS lose. Had bad luck all my life. How do you think I ended up in here?
* Wilson: Maybe your luck will change.
* Wells: It might... If we don't flip a coin.
* Wilson: What then?
* Wells: Potatoes.
* Wilson: All right.
* Wilson and Wells: One potato, two potato, three potato, four! Five potato, six potato, seven potato more! Eight potato, nine potato, ten potato, eleven! Kiss my ass and go to heaven! Y-O-U spells YOU!
    [Wells loses]
* Wells: I told you I was gonna lose! Goddamn it, we're gonna do it again!
* Wilson: That basement's not a bad place to be if they come at us again. The only way in aside from the vent is through that long narrow hallway. We might be able to hold them back for a couple of minutes... at best.
* Ethan: We'd be trapped down there. No chance of escape.
* Wilson: Well, we're not going to last one minute up here with only eight shots between us. The upstairs is out. It's flat, wide open up there. No cover at all.
* Ethan: [after a pause; confident tone] Someone will come.
* Wilson: A man with faith. That's a rare quality. [To Leigh] What about you?
* Leigh: I've never had much faith in anyone coming to my rescue.
* Wilson: Maybe you've been associating with the wrong kind of people.
* Leigh: I've worked with police officers for five years.
* Wells: Look, they've moved the cars.
* Bishop: I can't belive it. They parked them where they were before.
* Wells: Why'd they do that?
* Wilson: From a distance, the street looks normal. Like nothing happened.
* Bishop: Like nothing happened? They gunned down five police officers! A secretary, one prisoner, we kill a dozen of them, and that's nothing happened?
Well, where are the bodies? [Scans the ground] They took them away!
* Wells: How'd they do it so fast?
* Wilson: Maybe they got the good fairy to help them.
* Wells: Oh, you really are a smart-ass!
Lt. Ethan Bishop: [looking at the maintenance hole, before Wells goes out] Looks pretty good to me. Wilson: Looks like hell. It's all we got.

## Cast

* Austin Stoker as Ethan Bishop
* Darwin Joston as Napoleon Wilson
* Laurie Zimmer as Leigh
* Martin West as Lawson
* Tony Burton as Wells
* Charles Cyphers as Starker
* Nancy Kyes as Julie (as Nancy Loomis)
* Peter Bruni as Ice Cream Man
* John J. Fox as Warden
* Marc Ross as Patrolman Tramer
* Alan Koss as Patrolman Baxter
* Henry Brandon as Chaney
* Kim Richards as Kathy

## External links

* Assault on Precinct 13 quotes at the Internet Movie Database
* Assault on Precinct 13 at Rotten Tomatoes