- Always, in my work, I ask myself the dramatic question, "Why?" Why does a character behave as he or she does?
- [In 1989, on modern movies] The salaries have gone crazy. And have you seen the credits on recent pictures? They last five minutes! The "gofer", the guy who brings you coffee, is credited. It's as if you buy a car, and everybody who worked on the car should get their name in there! And the bosses now know nothing about stories; they are lawyers. It's not the story they make--it's the deal they make.
- [About modern actors] The glamor is gone, and the situation has changed for the young people. In the '30s and '40s the young people had little to say; they were taken under contract, usually at $75 to $150 per week, with options. If they made two or three great pictures, perhaps these options changed. However, they did receive professional advice. They were groomed, told what clothes to wear, what parties to attend. But today, they are not taken under contract; they make one picture, and if the picture is good, they're a "star". They go around sloppy, in jeans and so forth--yet they are "stars". So the glamor is gone.
- [on Jungle Woman (1944)] It was an atrocious script, and a silly idea anyway. But, again, I was under contract. If I had refused it, I would have been suspended without pay, and I wouldn't have gotten ANYTHING good anymore. You had to play ball with the front office.
- [on Lon Chaney Jr.] I liked him personally, but I couldn't help him emotionally; he wanted to be bigger than his father.
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