Gentlemen, You May Include Me Out | Quote Investigator Gentlemen, You May Include Me Out Samuel Goldwyn? Herbert Fields? June Provines? Sheilah Graham? Alva Johnston? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Movie mogul Samuel Goldwyn was famous for his creative and idiosyncratic use of the English language. Hollywood legend asserts that Goldwyn participated in a complex, protracted, and tense corporate negotiation in the 1930s. But he was unhappy with the final deal, and he expressed disenchantment with these classic words: Gentlemen, you may include me out. Would you please explore this statement? Quote Investigator: When Samuel Goldwyn was profiled in LIFE magazine in 1959 he adamantly denied that he used the expression: “Include me out”. Instead, Goldwyn contended that he uttered the prosaic “Gentlemen, I’m withdrawing from the association.” Yet, the colorful remark has been ascribed to him since the 1930s. The earliest evidence located by QI did not link the phrase to Goldwyn. The words appeared in a newspaper serialization of a 1933 movie titled “Let’s Fall In Love”.

Herbert Fields crafted the story and the screenplay of the romantic musical though it was not clear who penned the serialization which was published in February 1934. 1 In the following passage, two characters on a movie set were conversing: Rose Forsell was a temperamental star, and Max was a film producer. Forsell believed that she had been insulted, and she was threatening to return to Sweden while Max was attempting to mollify her. The word “Sweden” was spelled “Sveden” to depict Forsell’s accent. Boldface has been added to excerpts: 2 Forsell was in a towering rage “Ah! So now he insults me! So now I go back home—to Sveden!” Max walked up to her. “Wait a minute, Forsell. Don’t mind what Ken says. I didn’t say it. Include me out of it.” Forsell ignored Max. “And what’s more, I take the first boat back and I don’t never come back.” She turned on her heel and started away. By 1935 the phrase had moved from the realm of fiction to non-fiction.

A popular “Chicago Tribune” columnist named June Provines recounted an incident with unnamed participants immersed in a business parley. The specified location was the “Hotel Sherman” which was probably a reference to the landmark Sherman House Hotel of Chicago: 3 It was a small business meeting at the Hotel Sherman. The men had met to sign an agreement, according to Henrietta Singer, who reports the incident. The proposition was written and read to them and all of them agreed except one. He walked away, ostensibly thinking it over. The rest looked at him inquiringly, awaiting his answer. After a long pause he gave it, “Include me out,” he said. Here are additional selected citations in chronological order. In 1936 the influential syndicated Hollywood gossip columnist Sheilah Graham attributed the expression to an unnamed “film executive”: 4 5 “Include me out of this,” said a prominent film executive, stamping out of a recent story conference. In April 1937 Sheilah Graham mentioned the expression again; this time she altered the phrasing slightly and attributed the words to “our pet producer”: 6 Our pet producer recently committed another word-tangle. “You can include me out,” he told his associates.

In May 1937 the mass-circulation periodical “The Saturday Evening Post” published as its cover story the first installment of a serialization of a biography titled “The Great Goldwyn” by Alva Johnston. According to Johnston the remark was spoken by Samuel Goldwyn when he quit an association of movie producers: 7 8 He can often put things more forcefully in his own medium of expression than they could possibly be said in the king’s English. An ordinary man, on deciding to quit the Hays organization, might have turned to his fellow producers and said, “Gentlemen, I prefer to stand aloof,” or “Gentlemen, I have decided to go my own way.” Sam said, “Gentlemen, include me out.” In 1944 the industrious quotation collector Bennett Cerf published the compilation “Try and Stop Me” which included the following instance ascribed to Goldwyn: 9 Mr.

Goldwyn’s most famous dicta undoubtedly are his “Gentlemen, kindly include me out,” and the matchless “In two words I tell you my opinion of that picture: im-possible.” In 1947 Louis Untermeyer published “A Treasury of Laughter” which included the following entertaining anecdote about Goldwyn that combined two comical remarks: 10 It took place at a long conference of directors, producers, and bigwigs. They were all trying to induce Goldwyn to join them in a project which he disliked. Finally he turned to them and said, “Gentlemen, the best I can give you is a definite maybe.” Then, a few minutes later, he said, “I’ve reconsidered my decision. Gentlemen, you may include me out.” In 1959 “LIFE” magazine published a profile of Samuel Goldwyn at 76. The reporter printed Goldwyn’s emphatic comment that he had never spoken the saying under investigation. Yet, the final sentence in the excerpt below suggested that Goldwyn was not angry and considered situation humorous: 11 “I wish I was smart enough to say some of the things they said I said,” he growls.

“None of them are true. They’re all made up by a bunch of comedians and pinned on me. Take that time years ago when I had the fight with the Producers’ Association. I got up and said, ‘Gentlemen, I’m withdrawing from the association.’ By the time I got back to the studio, it was all over town I’d said, ‘Include me out.’ It’s ridiculous. It’s a lie.” Mr. Goldwyn hid something, perhaps a smile, behind his napkin. In 1969 Norman Zierold published a volume about the men who controlled the major film studios during Hollywood’s golden era. Zierold’s “The Moguls” presented the following version of the Goldwyn anecdote: 12 Certainly the most famous of all Goldwynisms is the classic “You can include me out.” This was uttered before members of the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America, the so-called Hays Office, as they were discussing their labor troubles shortly before the notorious Bioff scandal shook Hollywood. Goldwyn disagreed with the prevailing viewpoint and gave his notice of withdrawal. Many tales about Goldwyn’s remarks were known to Hollywood luminaires, but they were often greeted with skepticism.

For example, the star David Niven included a chapter about Goldwyn in his memoir “Bring On the Empty Horses”. He included a set of Goldwynisms, but his tone suggested disbelief: 13 It was long a habit among the jealous and the snide in the Hollywood jungle to ridicule Goldwyn and try by the all too easy manufacture of Goldwynisms to diminish his stature. “Include me out,” “I’ll tell you in two words—im-possible,” “A verbal contract is not worth the paper it’s written on,” “We can always get more Indians off the reservoir,” and “We’ve all passed a lot of water since those days” have become part of the Goldwyn legend, but who can claim to have been present when these pearls of wisdom were dropped? In conclusion, QI suggests two plausible scenarios. In the first scenario, Samuel Goldwyn employed the phrase “include me out” at a meeting of motion picture producers in 1933 or earlier. The phrase was disseminated within Hollywood, and it was incorporated into the 1934 movie serialization. The expression was also given to gossip columnists who placed it in newspapers whence it became widely known.

Biographer Alva Johnston firmly attached the remark to Goldwyn in 1937. In the second scenario, the comical remark was constructed by a Hollywood quipster, and it was placed in the 1934 movie serialization. Publicists and/or humorists attributed the remark to Goldwyn and gave it to columnists who dutifully disseminated it. Initially, the remark was anonymous, but Alva Johnston overtly assigned the words to Goldwyn. Perhaps future researchers will be able to refine these scenarios or reveal something unexpected. Image Notes: Screenshot from a trailer for “The Hurricane”, a movie directed by John Ford and produced by Samuel Goldwyn. The trailer and image are in the public domain; obtained via Wikimedia Commons. Image with check mark next to “No” from geralt on Pixabay. (Great thanks to BBC Radio personality and top quotation expert Nigel Rees who insightfully discussed this phrase in the October 2014 issue of “The ‘Quote Unquote’ Newsletter”. QI was inspired to finally create an entry on this topic based on research performed previously.

Thanks to Sam Young who noted that David Niven had mentioned the saying attributed to Goldwyn.) Update History: On October 1, 2015 the 1975 citation was added. Notes: Website: IMDB – Internet Movie Database, Movie title: Let’s Fall in Love (1933), Website description: Searchable database of more than 100 million data items about movies and TV, (Accessed imdb.com on October 12, 2014) link ↩ 1934 February 19, Tyrone Daily Herald, Film: Let’s Fall In Love with Edmund Lowe, Ann Southern, and Miriam Jordan, Serialization by arrangement with Columbia Pictures, Quote Page 5, Column 2, Tyrone, Pennsylvania (NewspaperArchive) ↩ 1935 March 27, Chicago Tribune, Front Views and Profiles by June Provines, Quote Page 13, Column 4, Chicago, Illinois.

(ProQuest) ↩ 1936 April 22, The Hartford Courant, Studio Bids $75,000 For Broadway Hit: RKO Couldn’t See ‘On Your Toes’ ‘When Originally Offered It for $10,000 by Sheilah Graham, Quote Page 8, Column 1, Hartford, Connecticut. (ProQuest) ↩ 1936 May 2, The Winnipeg Evening Tribune (The Winnipeg Tribune), In Hollywood Today by Sheilah Graham, Quote Page 6, Column 6, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. (Newspapers_com) ↩ 1937 April 27, The Hartford Courant, Hepburn May Bury Hatchet With Press: Star Ponders Ending Long Period of Dislike With Party for Members of Fourth Estate by Sheilah Graham, Quote Page 9, Column 1, Hartford, Connecticut. (ProQuest) ↩ 1937 May 8, Saturday Evening Post, Volume 209, Number 45, The Great Goldwyn by Alva Johnston, Start Page 5, Quote Page 6, Column 1, The Curtis Publishing Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

(Academic Search Premier EBSCO) ↩ 1937, The Great Goldwyn by Alva Johnston, Quote Page 16, Random House, New York. (Verified on paper in 1978 Arno Press, New York Times reprint edition) ↩ 1944, Try and Stop Me by Bennett Cerf, Quote Page 45, Simon & Schuster, New York. (Verified on paper) ↩ 1946, A Treasury of Laughter, Selected and Edited by Louis Untermeyer, Section: Joe Miller’s Grandchildren, Page 253, Simon and Schuster, New York. (Verified on paper) ↩ 1959 February 16, LIFE, The One-Man Gang Is in Action Again: At 76 Sam Goldwyn conquers crisis after crisis to produce ‘Porgy and Bess’ by Loudon Wainwright (LIFE, Staff writer), Start Page 103, Quote Page 116, Published by Time Inc., Chicago, Illinois.

(Google Books Full View) link ↩ 1969, The Moguls by Norman Zierold, Quote Page 120, Coward-McCann, Inc., New York. (Verified on paper) ↩ 1975, Bring On the Empty Horses by David Niven, Chapter 7: Goldwyn, Quote Page 139, G. P. Putnam’s Sons, New York. (Verified with scans) ↩ Include me out. ― Samuel Goldwyn Source/Notes: Attributed to Goldwyn by Alva Johnston in The Great Goldwyn (1937).

Actually, according to the book "They Never Said It : A Book of Fake Quotes, Misquotes, and Misleading Attribution" the original quote is: "His [Joseph Schenck's] verbal contract is worth more than the paper it's written on" Samuel Goldwyn - Biography - IMDb Samuel Goldwyn Jump to: Overview (4) | Mini Bio (1) | Spouse (2) | Trivia (15) | Personal Quotes (70) Overview (4) Samuel Goldfish Mini Bio (1) Famed for his relentless ambition, bad temper and genius for publicity, Samuel Goldwyn became Hollywood's leading "independent" producer -- largely because none of his partners could tolerate him for long. Born Shmuel (or Schmuel) Gelbfisz, probably in 1879, in the Jewish section of Warsaw, he was the eldest of six children of a struggling used-furniture dealer. In 1895 he made his way to England, where relatives Anglicized his name to Samuel Goldfish. There he begged (or stole) enough money for a ticket in steerage across the Atlantic. He reached the US, probably via Canada, in 1898.

He gravitated to Gloversville, New York, in the Adirondack foothills, which was then the capital of the US leather glove industry; he became one of the country's most successful glove salesmen. After moving his base of operations to Manhattan and marrying the sister of Jesse L. Lasky , who was then a theatrical producer, Goldfish convinced Lasky and Cecil B. DeMille to go into film production. The new company's first film, The Squaw Man (1914), was one of the first features made in Hollywood; the company later became the nucleus of what would later become Paramount Pictures. As his marriage fell apart, Goldfish dissolved his partnership with Lasky. His next enterprise was the Goldwyn Co., founded in 1916 and named for himself and his partners, brothers Edgar Selwyn and Archibald Selwyn --Goldfish liked the name so much he took it for his own. The Goldwyn Co.'s stars included Mabel Normand , Madge Kennedy and Will Rogers , but its most famous legacy was its "Leo the Lion" trademark, which was adopted by its successor company, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM).

Goldwyn himself was ousted from his own company before the merger, which was why his name became part of MGM even though he himself had nothing to do with the company. After his firing Goldwyn would have nothing to do with partners and went into independent production on his own, and for 35 years was the boss and sole proprietor of his own production company, a mini-studio specializing in expensive "quality" films, distributed initially by United Artists and later by RKO. His contract actors at various times included Vilma Bánky , Ronald Colman , Eddie Cantor , Gary Cooper , David Niven and Danny Kaye . In some cases, Goldwyn collected substantial fees for "lending" his stars to other producers. Touted by publicists for his "Goldwyn touch" and loathed by many of his hirelings for his habit of ordering films recast, rewritten and recut, Goldwyn is best remembered for his films that teamed director William Wyler and cinematographer Gregg Toland . - IMDb Mini Biography By: David S.

Smith Spouse (2) ( 8 May 1910 - 23 September 1915) (divorced) (1 child) Trivia (15) When Goldwyn emigrated to the US, an Immigration Service clerk changed his last name from "Gelbfisz" to what he thought was its English translation, "Goldfish". Sam changed it to Goldwyn when he went into partnership with producer Edgar Selwyn , combining the first syllable of "Goldfish" with the last syllable of "Selwyn". He originally wanted to do the opposite, until someone pointed out that it would result in his new name being "Selfish". Father of Samuel Goldwyn Jr. and Ruth Capps . Grandfather of Tony Goldwyn and John Goldwyn . 2002: Portrayed on Broadway in "Alan King as Mr. Goldwyn" by actor/comedian/producer Alan King . Play focuses on Goldwyn in early 1950s when he is making Hans Christian Andersen (1952).

His sayings, sometimes known as "Goldwynisms," were famous for their unintentional wit, which was partially as a result of his somewhat limited understanding of the English language that surfaced when he tried to comment on certain situations. There are many examples of this, such as "Include me out" or "a verbal contract isn't worth the paper it's written on.". At one time Goldwyn was scheduled to appear as the "Mystery Guest" on the TV game show What's My Line? (1950), in which panelists are blindfolded and have to guess who the Mystery Guest is. The show's rules required that panelists who found out the Mystery Guest's identity before he or she appeared on the show had to disqualify themselves. A few days before his scheduled appearance, Goldwyn ran into panelist Dorothy Kilgallen in a restaurant and said, "Guess what, Dorothy? I'm going to be on your show Sunday night!" She told him that since she now knew he would be the Mystery Guest, she'd have to disqualify herself. A few days later Goldwyn ran into Bennett Cerf , also a panelist on the show, and said, "Guess what, Bennett?

I did a really dumb thing the other day and told Dorothy that I'm going to be on your show Sunday night!" Cerf also was forced to disqualify himself, resulting in the only double disqualification in the show's history. In 1917 he merged his production company with All-Star Feature Films Corp., owned by brothers Edgar Selwyn and Archibald Selwyn , creating the Goldwyn Pictures Corp. The symbol of the new company was a reclining lion, surrounded by a banner made from a strip of celluloid film with the words "Ars Gratia Artis" ("Art for Art's Sake") at the top, which was designed by Howard Dietz . The trademark adorned the front gate of the studio's Culver City, California, production facilities, which ranked with the finest in Hollywood (the inspiration for the original "Leo the Lion" likely were the stone lions at the New York Public Library on 44th St., which was across from the All-Star Feature Corp.'s offices). Goldfish liked the name of the new studio so much that he renamed himself Samuel Goldwyn. He was forced out of the company in 1922.

It was merged with Loew's Inc.'s Metro Pictures in 1924 through a stock swap, creating Metro-Goldwyn, which subsequently merged with Louis B. Mayer Productions, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was born--even though Goldwyn himself had nothing to do with the company that bore his name (he tried legal action to prevent the new company from using it, but lost). Goldwyn, who had also been ousted from an earlier company he had owned, did not get along well with partners and remained an independent producer for the rest of his career. Was forced out of Famous Players-Lasky on September 14, 1916, and incorporated Goldwyn Pictures with brothers Edgar Selwyn and Archibald Selwyn two months later on November 19, 1916. At that point in his career he needed the highly respected Selwyns, who were successful Broadway producers and owned a library of filmable plays. The Selwyns went into business with him because he had Mabel Normand , the biggest star in the movies, under contract.

He had signed her to a personal contract on September 16, 1916, two days after resigning from Famous Players-Lasky. The contract was set to kick in after her contract with Mack Sennett expired in 1917. Normand had been voted the top movie comedienne in a July 1916 "Motion Pictures Magazine" readers' poll, and going into business with him gave the Selwyns access to her; without her, he would probably not have been able to convince the Selwyns to go into business with him. By partnering with him, they gained access to some of the finest production facilities in Hollywood and one of the top female stars. In the 1930s and 1940s the Hollywood studio system was dominated by a handful of men who ran their domains largely by themselves, and with an iron hand: Louis B. Mayer (MGM), Adolph Zukor (Paramount), Harry Cohn (Columbia), Carl Laemmle (Universal), Jack L. Warner (Warner Bros.), Herbert J. Yates (Republic), Darryl F.

Zanuck (Warners in the 1930s and 20th Century-Fox in the 1940s) and Goldwyn and David O. Selznick as independent producers. By 1959 all of these men--with the exception of Warner--had either died, retired or been forced out of their own companies. Formed Goldwyn Distributing Corp., 1917. Formed Goldwyn Pictures Corp., 1917. Formed Goldwyn Producing Corp., 1916. Goldwyn's wife Frances Howard would often travel to New York City scouting Broadway productions, looking for talent in both the production's acting areas and the creative teams involved in the production'a staging. On trip to see "Lady in The Dark" she discovered Danny Kaye , and upon returning to Hollywood insisted to her Husband that he put Kaye under contract. After Kaye arrived in Hollywood, several screen tests were made to determine the best possible path for his future in the film business. The major problem with his physical look was his natural brown hair.

Frances, upon seeing these test screenings, dictated to her husband that "they had to change his hair color!" and said to change him to a redhead. Goldwyn's press agent, however, always insisted that Kaye's strawberry-red hair was his natural color, for publicity reckoning. For a period of time in the 1940s to late 1950s, the Hughes Tool Co. ventured into the film and media industry, about bought RKO Pictures and its associated companies, the RKO Theater chain and the RKO Radio network. In 1948 Howard Hughes gained control of RKO, which was struggling to stay alive, by acquiring 25% of the outstanding stock from Floyd Odlum 's Atlas Corporation. Universal Pictures acquired the American distribution rights in 1951 of the 1948 J. Arthur Rank -Archers feature film The Red Shoes (1948), released in a small London art house movie theater in September of 1948.

Hughes was so impressed with director Michael Powell 's dance film, starring Sadler Well's Ballet principal dancers Moira Shearer , Léonide Massine and Robert Helpmann that he wanted his own ensemble corps de ballet company. So he decided to buy one in an effort to expand the creative base of his newly acquired studio.

He had been impressed with the success of "Les Ballets de Paris de Roland Petit." An outstanding classical dancer as a youth, Roland Petit swiftly decided on a career as a rebel against the traditionalism of the Paris Opera Ballet, and before the age of 25 had created three of his most iconic ballets, "Le Jeune Homme et La Mort" (world premiere on 6/26/46, Les Ballets des Champs-Elysee, Theatre des Champs-Elysee, Paris); the Jean Cocteau ballet "Les Demoiselles de La Nuit" (world premiere Theatre Marigry, Paris 5/21/48, Les Ballet de Paris de Roland Petit, featuring Margot Fonteyn ; and "Carmen" (world premiere in London, Prince's Theatre, on 2/21/49, with the sultry young Zizi Jeanmaire as the lethal female destroying a hapless male. These ballets caused a sensation worldwide and Petit and Jeanmaire swiftly became the most exciting names in French dance, closely associating with Jean Cocteau, Édith Piaf , Yves Montand and the new intellectuals of Left Bank Paris.

Hughes contracted Petit and his Parisian-based "Ballet de Paris de Roland Petit" for film assignments, including all personal appearances in North America. Petit and his core dance company's flight from Paris to Los Angeles was on Hughes-owned Trans World Airlines (Hughes acquired control of TWA in 1939, and after World War II led the expansion of the airline to serve Europe, the Middle East and Asia, making TWA a second unofficial flag carrier of the US after Pan Am). The dance troupe, housed in a Culver City hotel, were assigned a sound stage for intense preparatory workouts and dance rehearsals. After six months of isolation in Culver City, the troupe's enthusiasm for their new North American venture had dwindled, because after all of their their intense serious practicing, rehearsing, exercising and with no stage or film scheduled assignments, the core of dancers became extremely mutinous. They packed their luggage and arrived at the TWA air terminal in L.A. with their round-trip tickets in hand, checking in for their return flight to Paris. Unfortunately, they did not know that their boss Howard Hughes owned TWA.

The TWA passenger agents alerted Hughes that a horde of French dancers were at the TWA air terminal, demanding a return flight to Paris. RKO's studio security officers descended upon the air terminal with a fleet of buses to round them up, confiscating all of the ticket bills the ticketing agents had collected. Upon returning to their hotel, the troupe was assured that they would be put to work on a Hollywood musical film. Samuel Goldwyn , whose production company was located at RKO's studio at 1041 North Formosa Avenue in Hollywood, was in pre-production to star Danny Kaye in an original musical film based on the life of Hans Christian Anderson , with a story by Myles Connolly , a screenplay by Moss Hart and Ben Hecht and lyrics and original music composed by Frank Loesser . Goldwyn had initially offered the film's ballerina role to Moira Shearer, but since he was he was quartered on RKO property, Hughes told him to use Roland Petit, Jeanmaire and Petit's Ballet de Paris dance troupe. Petit insisted that his French stage production scenic and costume designer Antoni Clave be flown to Hollywood as his film design collaborator.

RKO costume designer Mary Wills joined the art department; Barbara Karinska was brought from New York City to supervise and construct all of the film's ballet and principle's costumes. Art director ' Richard Day collaborated with Clavé on all the film's stage and ballet sets. Petit insisted on hiring Danish danseur noble Erik Bruhn , one of the greatest premier male dancers of the 20thcentury, noted for his outstanding classical technique and immense stage presence. He epitomized the ethereally handsome prince and cavalier on the international ballet stage. The film's director, Charles Vidor somehow had to cope with Petit's creative driving force, stimulus and momentum--he contributed to every scene and camera setup, and many credited him as the impetus for the film's visual magic. Personal Quotes (70) Pictures are for entertainment, messages should be delivered by Western Union. A verbal contract isn't worth the paper it's written on. In two words: im-possible. My wife's hands are very beautiful. I'm going to have a bust made of them. Include me out.

Samuel Goldwyn - Wikiquote Samuel Goldwyn Jump to: navigation , search Film studio executive Samuel Goldwyn Samuel Goldwyn (born Szmuel Gelbfisz (c. July 1879 – January 31 , 1974 ), also known as Samuel Goldfish, was an American film producer . He was most well known for being the founding contributor and executive of several motion picture studios in Hollywood . This People article is a stub . You can help Wikiquote by expanding it . Contents I don't think anybody should write his autobiography until after he's dead. Quoted in Arthur Marx , Goldwyn: The Man Behind the Myth (1976), prologue Unnamed director: [The script is] too caustic. Goldwyn: To hell with the cost. If it's a good picture, we'll make it. Misattributed[ edit ] A verbal contract isn't worth the paper it's written on. A misreporting of an actual quote praising the trustworthiness of a colleague: "His verbal contract is worth more than the paper it's written on". The identity of the colleague is variously reported as Joseph M. Schenk in Paul F.

Boller, John George, They Never Said It (1990), p. 42, or as Joseph L. Mankiewicz in Carol Easton, The Search for Sam Goldwyn (1976). Goldwyn himself was reportedly aware of - and pleased by - the misattribution. Our comedies are not to be laughed at. Reported in Paul F. Boller, John George, They Never Said It (1990), p. 38-39. I can answer you in two words: im-possible! Reported in Paul F. Boller, John George, They Never Said It (1990), p. 40. Gentlemen, include me out. (or just "Include me out.") Reported in Paul F. Boller, John George, They Never Said It (1990), p. 40. We have that Indian scene. We can get the Indians from the reservoir. Alternately reported as "We can get all the Indians we need at the reservoir", in Paul F. Boller, John George, They Never Said It (1990), p. 40. The next time I send a damn fool for something, I go myself.

Reported in Paul F. Boller, John George, They Never Said It (1990), p. 41-42. I read part of it all the way through. Reported in Paul F. Boller, John George, They Never Said It (1990), p. 42. Anyone who would go to a psychiatrist ought to have his head examined! Reported in Paul F. Boller, John George, They Never Said It (1990), p. 42. If you have a message, call western union. The popular attribution to Goldwyn is false according to his biographer in A. Scott Berg, Goldwyn: A Biography (1998). The earliest known print attribution is to Moss Hart in Van Wert (Ohio) Times Bulletin (26 August 1954) as cited in Fred Shapiro, The Yale Book of Quotations (2006). Also attributed to Humphrey Bogart in Stephen Humphrey Bogart, Bogart: In Search of My Father (1995), and to Ernest Hemingway in James R. Mellow, Hemingway: A Life Without Consequences (1992).

Include me out of this grammatical atrocity Include me out of this grammatical atrocity Mind Your Language on the correct use of ‘Including’ Email Just as, in writing, many people use an exclamation mark to indicate that they have made a joke, so there is much to be said for dressing up in special clothes before making a humorous speech. The best man at a wedding does that, and so, once upon a time, did the MPs chosen to propose and second ‘an humble address’ to the monarch after the King’s or Queen’s Speech at the opening of Parliament. They wore court dress with ruffles and stockings. I’m not sure when this stopped. Someone will tell me. But it was in force when Frank Markham (who began as a Labour MP and ended as a knight of the shire sitting in the Conservative interest) seconded the motion in 1938. One of his ideas for a joke was to comment on American English.

‘I see,’ he told the House, ‘that in a recent American grammar that great phrase Sez you is now lifted to the dignity of “a doubtful affirmative”, while another phrase, Include me out, is defined as an “unqualified negative”.’ Perhaps soon, he suggested, they would label the Aye Lobby the Sez You Lobby and the other the Include Me Out Lobby. Ho, ho. The phrase include me out is associated with the film producer Sam Goldwyn. But a common use of including gives me daily pain, however I’m dressed. Including should (by the laws of English) be followed by a noun or a noun phrase, for example: ‘true bugs, including aphids and scale insects’. What gives me pain is the use of including before a prepositional phrase (‘Look everywhere, including under the bed’) or an adverbial phrase (‘kinds of yeast, including for making bread’). I am not saying such uses are immoral. I’m just saying they aren’t English. It’s like moving a rook diagonally in chess.

Whether or not education ministers can distinguish parts of speech when ambushed on the radio, it is handy to have the terminology available to explain what is wrong grammatically with a construction that sounds wrong. Sounding wrong is a result of one’s inbuilt grammatical compass pointing out a deviation in one’s native tongue. To discover errors in a language learnt later requires explicit grammatical principles. Subscribe to The Spectator today for a quality of argument not found in any other publication. Get more Spectator for less – just £12 for 12 issues . For years I have been known for saying 'include me out'; but today I am giving it up for ever. ― Samuel Goldwyn Source/Notes: Attributed to Goldwyn by Alva Johnston in The Great Goldwyn (1937).

Actually, according to the book "They Never Said It : A Book of Fake Quotes, Misquotes, and Misleading Attribution" the original quote is: "His [Joseph Schenck's] verbal contract is worth more than the paper it's written on" The Annotated Pratchett File v9.0 - Moving Pictures APF Chapter 3: Discworld Annotations Moving Pictures Annotations | Information | Quotes This one has uncountable references to classic Hollywood movies and anecdotes. - Terry actually meant for Gaspode to die at the end of the book, but his editors/beta-readers made him reconsider. - People have noticed that the two femmes fatale of this novel are called Ginger and Ruby, both names signifying a red colour. Terry Pratchett says that he did not intend this as a reference to Gone with the Wind's Scarlett. Instead, Ruby got her name because like all trolls she needed a mineral name. Ginger got her name because Terry wanted to use the Fred Astaire quote (see a few annotations further down) about her partner, and so Ginger was an obvious choice for the leading lady's name. - [p. 7] "This is space.

It's sometimes called the final frontier." See the annotation for p. 221 of The Colour of Magic . - [p. 12] "'Looking,' it said [...] 'f'r a word. Tip of my tongue.'" The word is 'Eureka'. See the annotation for p. 101 of Small Gods. - [p. 14] "'I thought they were trying to cure the philosopher's stones, or somethin',' said the Archchancellor." That should be: trying to find the Philosopher's Stone: the quest of all alchemists is to discover a substance that will turn all base metals into gold. - [p. 15] Archchancellor Ridcully's wizard name is 'Ridcully the Brown'. In Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings there's a (relatively) minor wizard called 'Radagast the Brown', who was also very well in tune with nature, and definitely of the "roams-the-high-forest-with-every-beast-his-brother" type. Talked to the birds, too. - [p.

18] "And then a voice said: 'That's all, folks.'" Anybody out there who has never seen Porky Pig use this phrase to end one of those classic Looney Tunes animated cartoons? - [p. 19] "They often didn't notice them, or thought they were walruses." Sometimes people send me annotations that are so beautifully outrageous that I simply have to include them. For instance, the walruses may be connected to the boiling mercury mentioned earlier in the text, via the chain: boiling mercury -> mad hatters -> Lewis Carroll -> walrus. Isn't it a beauty? - [p. 28] "'[...] what is the name of the outer-dimensional monster whose distinctive cry is "Yerwhatyerwhatyerwhat"'?" I had been getting some conflicting stories concerning this annotation, so I hope that this time I have managed to get it right. Apparently "Yer what?" is a common London phrase, used when you didn't catch what someone said, or you want them to repeat it because you can't believe it.

The longer form is more typically associated with soccer fans, as part of a chant, usually made in response to an opposing supporter army's war cries in an attempt to imply a certain lack of volume (and hence numbers) to the other side's support: Yerwhat (pause) Yerwhatyerwhatyerwhat. - [p. 28] "'Yob Soddoth,' said Ponder promptly." Yob Soddoth should be pronounced: "Yob sod off". 'Sod off' is a British form of 'bugger off', and 'yob' is an old term now almost entirely synonymous to the phrase "English football supporter" (apparently Mark Twain once said: "they are not fit to be called boys, they should be called yobs"). The word probably derives from 'back-chat' -- a 19th century London thieves' argot in which words were turned round in order to confuse police eavesdroppers. Not so far removed from Polari, in fact (see the Words From The Master section in Chapter 5). At the same time it is also a pun on H. P.

Lovecraft's 'Yog-Sothoth', one of the chief supernatural nasties in the Cthulhu mythos (see especially the novelette The Dunwich Horror and the novel The Lurker at the Threshold). Finally, Ponder and Victor are studying the Necrotelicomnicom in this scene. See the annotation for p. 111 of Equal Rites for more information on the Lovecraft connection there. - [p. 28] "Tshup Aklathep, Infernal Star Toad with A Million Young" Another one of Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos nasties is 'Shub-Niggurath', The Goat with a Thousand Young. ('The Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young' is the full, but less common, title). - [p.

29] Victor Tugelbend's university career, with his uncle's will and all that, shows parallels to similar situations described in Roger Zelazny's (highly recommended) science fiction novel Doorways in the Sand, and in Richard Gordon's 'Doctor' series of medical comedy books/movies (Doctor in the House, Doctor in Love, Doctor at Sea, etc.) I had noticed the Zelazny parallel when I first read Moving Pictures , but thought the reference was too unlikely and too obscure to warrant inclusion. Since then two other people have pointed it out to me... Terry later remarked, in response to someone mentioning the Doctor in the House movie on the net: "I remember that film -- the student in question was played by Kenneth More. All he had to do, though, was fail -- the people who drew up the will involving Victor thought they were cleverer than that. Maybe they'd seen the film..." - [p. 34] Movie producer Thomas Silverfish is directly modelled on movie mogul Samuel Goldwyn, whose real name was Samuel Gelbfisch, and who spent a short time as Samuel Goldfish before changing his name a second time to Goldwyn.

Goldwyn was responsible for a whole sequence of malapropisms known collectively as Goldwynisms, some of which are so well known now as to have passed into the common parlance. A number of Goldwyn quips are repeated (in one form or another) by Silverfish throughout the book ("you'll never work in this town again", "include me out", "a verbal contract isn't worth the paper it's printed on", etc.). - [p. 41] "No-one would have believed, in the final years of the Century of the Fruitbat, that Discworld affairs were being watched keenly and impatiently by intelligences greater than Man's, or at least much nastier; that their affairs were being scrutinised and studied as a man with a three-day appetite might study the All-You-Can-Gobble-For-A-Dollar menu outside Harga's House of Ribs..." This paragraph is a word-by-word parody of H. G.

Wells' War of the Worlds, which begins with: "No one would have believed in the last years of the nineteenth century that this world was being watched keenly and closely by intelligences greater than man's and yet as mortal as his own; that as men busied themselves about their various concerns they were scrutinised and studied, perhaps almost as narrowly as a man with a microscope might scrutinise the transient creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water." - [p. 47] "'Can't sing. Can't dance. Can handle a sword a little.'" Refers to the quip: "Can't act. Can't sing. Can dance a little.", made about Fred Astaire, reputedly by a studio-executive at RKO after Astaire's first screen test. When somebody once asked Astaire's producer about the story, however, he was told that it was complete and obvious nonsense, since Fred Astaire already was a established major Broadway star at the time. - [p.

48] "'This is Gaffer Bird,' beamed Silverfish." 'Gaffer' not only means 'old man', but a gaffer is also the head electrician in a film production unit, charged principally with taking care of the lighting. Gaffer's tape is a less sticky form of duct tape, used universally in the theatre, concert and movie worlds to keep people from stumbling over cables. If you enjoy annoying people, go over to the Kate Bush newsgroup rec.music.gaffa, and ask there if her song 'Suspended in Gaffa' refers to Gaffer's tape or not. - [p. 61] "'Or Rock. Rock's a nice name.'" Presumably in reference to late actor Rock Hudson, with 'Flint' punning on Errol Flynn. - [p. 62] "[...] Victor fights the dreaded Balgrog". In Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings you can find a very nasty monster called a Balrog. - [p.

67] Ginger's real name is Theda Withel, which might be a very oblique reference to Theda Bara, famous movie star of the 1910s, a kind of Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, avant la lettre ('Theda Bara' is an anagram of 'Arab Death'!). Her portrayal of evil women in movies like When a Woman Sins and The She Devil caused the current meaning of the word 'vamp' to be added to the English language. Just as Dibbler later describes Ginger to Bezam Planter as "the daughter of a Klatchian pirate and his wild, headstrong captive", so does a studio biography describe Theda Bara as born in the Sahara to a French artiste and his Egyptian concubine. But in fact, Theda's father was a Cincinnati tailor. - [p. 69] The resograph built by Riktor the Tinkerer.

Terry says: "The reality meter in Moving Pictures is loosely based on a Han dynasty (2nd Century AD) seismograph; a pendulum inside the vase moves and causes one of eight dragons to spit a ball in the direction of the tremor." Also, the name 'Riktor' refers to our 'Richter', of the earthquake scale fame. - [p. 71] "And perhaps even a few elves, the most elusive of Discworld races." Some people were wondering if this doesn't contradict the information we get about Elves later, in Lords and Ladies , such as that they can only enter our World during Circle Time -- besides, Elves would hardly be the type of beings to become actors, one should think. The answer can be found in Lords and Ladies as well, however, on p. 229/165: Ridcully: "Elves? Everyone knows elves don't exist any more. Not proper elves. I mean, there's a few folk who say they're elves --" Granny Weatherwax: "Oh, yeah. Elvish ancestry. Elves and humans breed all right, as if that's anything to be proud of.

But you just get a race o' skinny types with pointy ears and a tendency to giggle and burn easily in sunshine. I ain't talking about them. There's no harm in them. I'm talking about real wild elves, what we ain't seen here for --" - [p. 73] "'We just call it the 'Hiho' song. That's all it was. Hihohiho. Hihohiho.'" The best-known song in Walt Disney's 1937 full length animation movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is sung by the seven dwarfs and starts: Heigh-ho, Heigh-ho It's off to work we go - [p. 76] "They were the only witnesses to the manic figure which splashed down the dripping street, pirouetted through the puddles, [...]" As Nobby's subsequent comment ("Singing in the rain like that.") already indicates, Holy Wood magic is making Dibbler reenact one of the ost famous movie scenes of all time: Gene Kelly dancing and singing through the deserted city streets in Singin' in the Rain.

The 'DUMdi-dum-dum, dumdi-dumdi-DUM-DUM' rhythm also fits the song exactly. - [p. 80] The Boke Of The Film Traditional (if somewhat archaic by now) subtitle for movie novelisations. The related phrase "The Book of the Series" is still alive and well, mostly in the context of documentaries. - [p. 80] "This is the Chroncal of the Keeprs of the ParaMountain [...]" Another fleeting reference to the movie company Paramount. - [p. 84] "'And my daughter Calliope plays the organ really nice, [...]'" Calliope is not only the name of the Muse of Epic Poetry, but a calliope is also a large, organ-like musical instrument consisting of whistles operated by steam. There exists a very funny Donald Duck story, called 'Land of the Totem Poles' (written by the one and only Carl Barks), in which Donald somehow manages to become a travelling calliope salesman. Highly recommended. - [p. 86] "The sharp runes spelled out The Blue Lias.

It was a troll bar." 'Lias' is a blue limestone rock found in the south-west of England. - [p. 87] "'Cos he was her troll and he done her wrong.'" Ruby's song 'Amber and Jasper' is the Discworld version of the folk song 'Frankie and Johnny': Frankie and Johnny were lovers, Oh, Lordie how they could love! They swore to be true to each other, Just as true as the stars above, He was her man, but he done her wrong. - [p. 93] Ruby's song: "Vunce again I am fallink in luf / Vy iss it I now am a blue colour? / Vot is the action I should take this time / I can't help it. Hiya, big boy." In the 1930 movie Blue Angel Marlene Dietrich plays Lola-Lola, the cabaret entertainer who ruins the life of the stuffy professor who falls in love with her. In the movie, Marlene performs a song called 'Falling in Love': Falling in love again Why am I so blue? What am I to do? I can't help it.

Marlene Dietrich sang this with her characteristic German accent, hence the "fallink" and "vy" in the parody. The line "Hiya, big boy" is typically associated with Mae West, though I have not been able to find out if it was ever used in any specific movie. - [p. 95] "[...] Victor couldn't understand a word." The duck's incomprehensibility brings to mind the animated incarnation of Donald Duck. In fact, all of the Holy Wood animals have begun to act a bit like famous cartoon animals; for instance the cat and the mouse acting out a Tom & Jerry scene (although the speech impediment of the cat is more reminiscent of Sylvester). - [p. 95] "'What's up, Duck?' said the rabbit." One of Bugs Bunny's catch phrases: "What's up, doc?". (There is in fact a cartoon where Bugs actually says "What's up, duck?" to Daffy Duck...) - [p. 123] "'Rev Counter for Use in Ecclesiastical Areas'" 'Rev' is short for both 'Reverend' and for 'revolutions'.

On the one hand it stands to reason that in Ecclesiastical areas you'll find lots of clergymen, which you may want to count. On the other hand the Biblical book of Ecclesiastes contains the words used by The Byrds in their song 'Turn! Turn! Turn!', so perhaps Riktor's counter was indeed intended to count actual revolutions after all. - [p. 124] "'Go, Sow, Thank You Doe.'" The usual slang for a one-night stand or a quickie at the local brothel is: "Wham, Bam, thank you, Ma'am." - [p. 126] "'A rock on the head may be quite sentimental, [...], but diamonds are a girl's best friend.'" In the 1949 movie Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Marilyn Monroe sings: A kiss on the hand may be quite continental But diamonds are a girl's best friend - [p. 129] "'What's it called?' 'Laddie,' said the handler." Laddie is the Discworld counterpart to our world's famous movie collie, Lassie.

In the movie Son of Lassie the protagonist was in fact called Laddie, but was played by Pal, the dog who had previously played Lassie in the original movie Lassie Come Home. Interestingly enough, Pal had a real-life son who was called Laddie, but this Laddie was only used for stunt and distance shots since he wasn't as pretty as his brother, who eventually got to play Lassie in the CBS TV show, and who was the only dog ever in the role to actually be called Lassie, or rather, Lassie Jr. Lassie was always played by a male dog, mainly because a bitch tends to go into heat, during which time she becomes unphotogenic because of severe shedding. It also gets bothersome to have to deal with the constant disruptions on the set caused by various male dogs in the area wanting to, um, propose to her. Finally, two odd little coincidences. First, the Lassie dogs often had small dogs as companions. Second, Pal/Lassie's trainer was a man by the name of Rudd Weatherwax... - [p. 132] Film studio names. Untied Alchemists is United Artists.

Fir Wood Studios is Pinewood Studios. Microlithic Pictures is Paramount (tiny rock vs. big mountain), and Century Of The Fruitbat is Twentieth Century Fox. Terry says: "I've already gone electronically hoarse explaining that Floating Bladder Productions was just picked out of the air [...]" - [p. 132] "'[...] we're doing one about going to see a wizard. Something about following a yellow sick toad,' [...]" That's a yellow brick road, and the reference is of course to The Wizard of Oz. Terry's pun also reminded a correspondent of an old joke about an Oz frog with a bright yellow penis who hops up to a man and says: "I'm looking for the wizard to help me with my 'problem'." The man answers: "No problem, just follow this road until you get to the emerald city." The frog thanks him and hops off along the road. Shortly afterwards, Dorothy and Toto come along and she also asks the man where she can find the wizard, and then he says: "Just follow the yellow prick toad". Well, I thought it was funny. - [p.

137] "It was about a young ape who is abandoned in the big city and grows up being able to speak the language of humans." The Librarian's script is of course a reversal of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan story. Since Tarzan is supposed to be one of those five or so cultural icons that are so truly universal that everybody in the world is familiar with them, I expect this may well turn out to be the APF's Most Unnecessary Annotation of all... - [p. 143] "'It sounded like 'I want to be a lawn', I thought?'" Ginger echoes movie star Greta Garbo's famous quote: "I want to be alone". Garbo later claimed, by the way, that what she had actually said at the time was "I want to be let alone", which is of course not quite the same thing at all... - [p. 145] The Necrotelicomnicom. On the Discworld the Necrotelicomnicom (see also the entry for p.

111 of Equal Rites ) was written by the Klatchian necromancer Achmed the Mad (although he preferred to be called Achmed the I Just Get These Headaches). In real life, horror author H. P. Lovecraft assures us that the Necronomicon was written by the mad Arab Abdul al-Hazred. - [p. 148] "'It's fifteen hundred miles to Ankh-Morpork,' he said. 'We've got three hundred and sixty elephants, fifty carts of forage, the monsoon's about to break and we're wearing... we're wearing... sort of things, like glass, only dark... dark glass things on our eyes...'" Paraphrases a well-known quote from the Blues Brothers movie, fifteen minutes before the end, just as the famous chase scene is about to begin and Jake and Elwood are sitting in their car: Elwood: "It's a hundred and six miles to Chicago, we've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses" Jake: "Hit it." - [p.

164] "'In a word -- im-possible!' 'That's two words,' said Dibbler." Another Goldwynism: "I can tell you in two words: im-possible." - [p. 171] "'If you cut me, do I not bleed?'" said Rock. Paraphrased from Shylock's famous monologue in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice , act 3, scene 1 : "If you prick us, do we not bleed?" - [p. 184] "'Just one picture had all that effect?'" Dibbler and Gaffer don't put a name to it, but they are discussing the theory of subliminal messages here. It's one of those theories that somehow manages to sound so 'right' you just want it to be true. Studies have been done, however, but none has ever shown tricks like subliminal advertising to actually have any measurable effect on an audience. - [p. 186] "'It always starts off with this mountain --'" Ginger's dream describes the characteristic 'logo' scenes of all the major movie companies.

The mountain is from Paramount ("there are stars around it"), and after that we get Columbia ("a woman holding a torch over her head"), 20th Century Fox ("a lot of lights"), and MGM ("this roar, like a lion or tiger"). - [p. 191] "'And Howondaland Smith, Balgrog Hunter, practic'ly eats the dark for his tea,' said Gaspode." Smith's name is derived from Indiana Jones, and for the explanation about 'Balgrog' see the annotation for p. 62. 'Howondaland' also brings to mind Gondwanaland, an older name for what is now simply known as Gondwana, the southern supercontinent consisting of all the landmasses in the southern hemisphere mashed together, before continental drift tore them apart and the current continents were formed. - [p. 204] "'You find nice place to indulge in bit of 'What is the health of your parent?' [...]'" "How's your father" is a British euphemism for "sexual intercourse", made popular by the Carry On series of films. - [p.

235] "Twopence more and up goes the donkey!" Terry explains: "[...] In Moving Pictures and Reaper Man a lot of use is indeed made of, god help me, Victorian street sayings that were the equivalent of 'sez you'. "Tuppence more and up goes the donkey", a favourite saying of Windle Poons, comes from the parties of strolling acrobats who'd carry their props on a donkey. They'd make a human pyramid and collectors would go around with the hat declaring that "tuppence more and up goes the donkey" as well. But the donkey never got elevated because, of course, the collectors always needed "tuppence more"." "It belongs in the same general category of promise as 'Free Beer Tomorrow'." - [p. 249] The climactic scene of the novel is not only a King Kong reversal spoof. Terry says the 50 ft. woman also refers to the protagonist from the 1958 movie Attack of the 50 Ft.

Woman (recently and redundantly remade with Daryl Hannah in the title role -- if there's one movie that did not need to be remade it was this one, trust me). - [p. 254] "'If it bleeds, we can kill it!'" This line is from the 1987 movie Predator, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. 'It' in this case was a green-blooded, invisible alien hunter. - [p. 255] "YOU BELONG DEAD, he said." This is based on Boris Karloff's final words in the 1935 movie Bride of Frankenstein: "We belong dead". - [p. 255] "'Careful,' said the Dean. 'That is not dead which can eternal lie.'" This is from a famous H. P. Lovecraft quote (which was also used by metal groups Iron Maiden (on the Live After Death album cover) and Metallica (in the song 'The Thing That Should Not Be')): That is not dead which can eternal lie And with strange aeons even death may die It is supposed to be a quote from Abdul al-Hazred's Necronomicon (see the annotation for p.

145), and Lovecraft uses the verse in several stories, particularly in The Call of Cthulhu and The Nameless City. In reality, I'm told the quote originated with the Victorian decadent poet Algernon Charles Swinburne, but I have no definite reference on this. - [p. 256] "''Twas beauty killed the beast,' said the Dean, who liked to say things like that." Last line of King Kong, said under similar circumstances. - [p. 259] "[...] everyone has this way of remembering even things that happened to their ancestors, I mean, it's like there's this great big pool of memory and we're linked up to it [...]" This is Carl Jung's theory of the collective unconscious. - [p. 261] "'A fine mess you got me into.'" Laurel and Hardy. See the annotation for p. 73 of The Colour of Magic . - [p. 266] Detritus hitting the gong in the underground theatre refers to the Rank Organisation's man-with-the-gong trademark, which Rank used at the start of each film just as Columbia used the Torch Lady and MGM the roaring lion. - [p.

270] "'Play it again, Sham,' said Holy Wood." The most famous line never uttered in Casablanca: "Play it again, Sam." It should perhaps be pointed out that Sham Harga is a character we already met in Mort . Terry did not just create him in order to be able to make this pun. - [p. 271] "'And that includes you, Dozy!'" One of the dwarfs in Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was called Sleepy, another was called Dopey. - [p. 274] "'Cheer up,' she said. 'Tomorrow is another day.'" The final line of Gone with the Wind. - [p. 276] "'Uselessium, more like,' murmured Silverfish." The paragraph where this quote occurs of course describes how Silverfish discovers the Discworld equivalent of Uranium. In this light, it may be interesting to recall that before he became a full-time writer Terry Pratchett worked as press officer for nuclear power stations.

- As far as the giant statue is concerned (and the running gag about it reminding everyone of their uncle Oswald or Osric etc.): the nickname 'Oscar' for the Academy Awards statuette apparently originated with the Academy Librarian (oook!), who remarked that the statue looked like her uncle Oscar. The nickname first appeared in print in a 1934 column by Hollywood columnist Sidney Skolsky, and quickly became a household word. The APF is maintained by Leo Breebaart and Mike Kew , who always welcome corrections, questions or new annotations. Include me out Include me out By Michael M. Bates It's numbing. The adulation, the elation, the mirth, the idolatry, the reveling in every possible facet of Obamaness. And that's just the response of the mainstream media. There was too much riveting coverage to fully absorb. You were no doubt stunned to learn, about every three minutes, that this year's inauguration was historic. Stop the presses. Unhappily, some stories didn't receive as much attention as that revelation.

One was Jill Biden confiding to Oprah Winfrey's national audience that "Joe had the choice to be secretary of state or vice president." Plugs quickly hollered "Shhh!" to his charming missus, but obviously she has as much trouble keeping her mouth shut as her husband. "OK," she continued, "he did." She then pointed out that if Joe were secretary of state, he'd probably be away from home most of the time. That's true, and was probably a consideration taken into account by Bill Clinton when he urged his own charming spouse to take the state slot. Before the day was out, a Joe Biden spokeswoman issued a statement that essentially called Jill Biden a liar. It ended: "To be clear, President-elect Obama offered Vice President-elect Biden one job only ï¿½ to be his running mate. And the Vice President-elect was thrilled to accept the offer." Wouldn't you love to hear the spirited discussion that avowal engendered in the Biden household? And what must Jill's disclosure have done to Hillary's self-esteem? It's bad enough ranking second in the boudoir and second in the primaries without learning you also ran second to Joe Biden in the secretary of state derby.

Another story deserving of fuller press treatment is the saga of Obama's designated treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner. Audited for tax years 2003 and 2004, he had to pay more than $16,000 in taxes and interest. That's because he, as an employee of the International Monetary Fund, should have paid self-employment taxes. Obamatons contend that this is a problematic part of the tax code, despite the fact the IMF provides written guidance as well as an additional allowance to pay those taxes, and Geithner just made an honest mistake. OK, let's say we buy that assertion. It doesn't explain why Geithner, learning of his error in 2006, didn't correct his tax returns for the two earlier years that he worked at the IMF. It wasn't until he came under consideration for treasury secretary that he amended his returns and coughed up an additional $25,000 in tax payments. Moreover, Mr. Geithner used his child's overnight camping expenses to calculate dependent-care deductions. That's not permitted and his accountant told him so. Once again he chose not to amend his filings.

He probably doesn't deserve to go to Guantanamo, if it's still opened, for his erroneous tax reporting. At the same time, it doesn't seem to me that such a person should run a federal department devoting most of its budget to operating the Internal Revenue Service. Yet another development not getting adequate attention occurred at the "We Are One" concert given for Obama on Sunday. The usual celebrity airheads were in attendance, eager to flash their liberal credentials and possibly curry the favor of the president-elect. Someone who hasn't been welcomed by other chief executives also performed: Pete Seeger. Seeger was a member of the Communist Party for years and the Red newspaper People's Weekly World hasn't forgotten. It reported: "How deep the change has already become was evident after Obama's speech, when peace and social justice acheter viagra movement icon Pete Seeger took the stage. . .

Tears welled up in this reporter's eyes watching Seeger, who was blacklisted for his political views, perform for an inaugural event." Another former Communist, Ronald Radosh, who ï¿½ unlike Seeger ï¿½ realizes the genuine evil of that philosophy, has written "that Seeger's only consistency was to the current Communist Party line; that in fact, Seeger was antiwar during the period of the Nazi-Soviet Pact; pro-war after the Soviet Union was the ally of the United States; and anti-war during the years of the Cold War and Vietnam." Seeger defended Stalin, described Ho Chi Minh as having "a wonderful sense of humor," and is now cheering on Obama. And vice versa. That's newsworthy. The "We Are One" theme comes at a remarkable time. After eight years of liberals bashing President Bush and other Republicans, it's expected that magically all Americans will suddenly, joyously unify as one big happy family under Obama. That ain't gonna happen. Some Republicans are wishing Obama success. Louisiana Gov.

Bobby Jindal is one, saying that "We need to get behind our new president and our new Congress," and "support them." Support them in driving this country into the ground? If Obama delivers on his campaign promises, it'll be an unmitigated disaster. Good luck for him means bad luck for the United States. Other conservatives may wish the new president success. That's their prerogative. As movie producer Samuel Goldwyn said, include me out. This Mike Bates column appeared in the January 22, 2009 Reporter Newspapers. © Michael M. Bates The views expressed by RenewAmerica columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of RenewAmerica or its affiliates. Enter Mr. Goldwyn - The New Yorker Enter Mr. Goldwyn Lillian Ross Alan King, the legendary standup comedian and actor, was in his second-floor dressing room the other morning at upper Broadway's cozy Promenade Theatre, where he was about to start rehearsing a new play, “Mr.

Goldwyn,” in which he takes on the title role of the legendary movie producer known for his stubborn independence as well as for his malapropisms (“Keep a stiff upper chin,” “Include me out,” “A verbal contract isn't worth the paper it's written on,” etc.). “I made this place!” King said as he stretched his arms out commandingly toward his accommodations. “I was my own decorator. Look. Posters from my movies, including 'Night and the City' that I made with Bob De Niro. My family photos—my wife, my children, my grandchildren.” He patted a nearby clothes rack, hung with elegant, beautifully pressed clothing on hangers spaced uniformly, with mathematical precision. “My Sam Goldwyn suits and stuff,” King said. “The way that man dressed! Only in the best! With nothing in the pockets. No wallet, no keys. He didn't want to ruin the line of the suit. Everything perfect, the Sam Goldwyn way. Of all those great movie moguls, Goldwyn—the only one of them who owned his own studio till the day he died—cared the most about how he looked,” King said.

“He was firm, barrel-chested, with a rigid jaw, strong.” King assumed perfect posture, his face chiselled, looking firm, barrel-chested, with a rigid jaw, and strong. He was called to the rehearsal and headed for a door leading into the theatre. “When they said they wanted me to play Sam Goldwyn, I knew I wouldn't be doing an impression. I will do Goldwyn the way I see Goldwyn. The way I know Goldwyn. I've been at this for sixty years. As Billy Wilder said, 'You don't become Sam Goldwyn just by saying “Include me out.” ' I gotta give Sam Goldwyn a soul.” He stood briefly at the back of the theatre, regarding the set, a replication of Goldwyn's office: floor-to-ceiling mahogany bookshelves; floor-to-ceiling windows; a huge desk with a red leather top, a telephone, and an intercom. “As Goldwyn, I gotta get outside myself,” King said. “This isn't Lear. I get to strut. I never met Goldwyn, but I saw him once, in 1956. I was with Judy Garland in London, where we did the Palladium together for sixteen weeks.

One day we were walking on Bond Street, and we saw Goldwyn, dressed, as usual, to the nines. We watched him go into a little shop and come out carrying a package. So I went in and asked what he had bought. It was Zizanie cologne. I bought some. If it was good enough for Sam Goldwyn, it was my sweet smell of success. I've used it ever since—it's in my dressing room right now.” King waved genially to his director, Gene Saks, and to the play's authors, Marsha Lebby and John Lollos, waiting in the otherwise deserted orchestra seats. “Goldwyn was one of the great moguls,” King said. “All of them camefrom Eastern Europe, within a five-hundred-mile radius of each other. Men of great egos! Very opinionated! “I gotta find the humanity in this man!” he said, strutting toward the stage. “All I have to do is think of my own father. Goldwyn came from Poland. My father came from Poland. Goldwyn worked in Gloversville, making leather gloves. My father made leather handbags. Goldwyn fractured the English language. So did my father.

My father said, 'You don't have to follow anybody—you can be your own somebody.' Goldwyn embodies that. This play takes place in 1952, the year television was coming in, and people in the movie industry were frightened. But Sam Goldwyn felt nothing would ever replace movies! He felt everybody needed movies!” “Mr. Goldwyn” is a two-character play, with Goldwyn intermittently addressing the audience and also his secretary, Helen, played by Lauren Klein. In the play, Goldwyn is producing the movie “Hans Christian Andersen,” starring Danny Kaye. Onstage, King, as Goldwyn, said forcefully: “Everybody seems to think I'm crazy making this picture. I was at a cocktail party two weeks ago. Some kid with a crewcut comes up to me and he says to me, like he knows me, 'Hello, Sam!' What right does this guy get to call me Sam? My children call me Mr. Goldwyn. He says to me, 'Sam, I hear you're making “Hans Christian Andersen.” That's a family picture, isn't it, Sam?' I say, 'Yes, it's a family picture.' He says, 'I certainly admire your courage, Sam.

Our testing indicates that there is no audience for family pictures. Today people are staying home and watching television. Today's movie audiences want sex.' “ King, as Goldwyn, barrelled his chest and said to the audience, “Sex you should have at home. For pleasure, you go to the movies!” “Good, Alan, very good,” Saks said, laughing. They then worked on a scene of Goldwyn waiting in his office for a telephone call about how the New York opening of “Hans Christian Andersen” has gone. Over the intercom, Goldwyn tells his secretary that he won't leave until the call comes in. Helen's voice on the intercom: “You can't be late for the Eisenhowers.” Goldwyn, yelling at the intercom: “Why can't I be late for the Eisenhowers? You know how many war bonds I bought for that man? Besides, he's not the President yet.” King was shouting at the intercom as Helen entered. He quickly turned to the door. “It's a little too fast, Alan,” Gene Saks said. “Maybe do a take?

Do you know how to do a take?” “Do I know how to do a take?” King said deferentially, dropping out of character, abandoning his Goldwyn soul. “Gene, you want me to do shtick?' “Try it,” Saks said, with a respectful smile. “Shtick? A small shtick?” King asked, hesitantly. He did a single take while repeating the last line. Saks and the playwrights laughed. “I can do a double,” King said. “But not a triple. Only Berle can do a triple.” He did a double, from the intercom to the secretary at the door, taking his time as he said the line: “Besides, he's not the President yet.” Everybody laughed louder. “Good, Alan. Very good,” Saks said. “Shtick works.” Lillian Ross joined the staff of The New Yorker in 1945, during the Second World War, and worked with Harold Ross, the magazine’s founder and first editor.

Question: Which film producer reputedly said, "Include me, out"?
Answer: SAMUEL GOLDWYN