Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967)

Elizabeth Taylor: Leonora Penderton

Photos 

Quotes 

• Maj. Weldon Penderton : I'm sorry, Leonora. It's just all this clutter is...

  Leonora : What's the matter with clutter? I like it.

  Maj. Weldon Penderton : I'd rather live without it. Bare floors. Plain white walls. No window curtains. Nothing but essentials.

  Leonora : If that's the way you feel about it, why don't you resign your commission and start all over again as an enlisted man?

  Maj. Weldon Penderton : Of course you're laughing at it, but there's much to be said for the life of men among men... with no... luxuries, no ornamentation. Utter simplicity. It's rough and it's coarse, perhaps, but it's also clean - it's clean as a rifle. There's no speck of dust inside or out... and it's immaculate in its hard young fitness... its chivalry. They're seldom out of one another's sight. They eat, and they train, and they shower, and they play jokes... and go to the brothel together. They sleep side by side. The barracks room offers many a lesson in courtesy and how not to give offense. They guard the next man's privacy as though it was their own. And the friendships, my lord. There are friendships formed that are stronger than... stronger than the fear of death. And - they're never lonely. They're never lonely. And sometimes I envy them... well, good night.

• [about Lt. Colonel Langdon's wife] 

  Leonora : Cutting off her nipples with a pair of garden shears. You call that normal? My God! Garden shears!

  Lt. Col. Morris Langdon : No, but she's not, you know - Doctor says she's neurotic.

• Leonora : Have you ever been collared and dragged out into the street and thrashed by a naked woman?

• Maj. Weldon Penderton : You look like a slattern goin' around the house this way. The Langdons are coming to dinner, I suppose you're gonna sit down at the table like that.

  Leonora : Sure. Why not, prissy?

  Maj. Weldon Penderton : You disgust me.

  [Leonora turns around, stares at Weldon, stands up, unbuttons her her shirt, undoes her bra, throws her bra at his face, takes her pants off, walks out of the room and up the stairs, naked] 

• Leonora : So, Firebird's alright, is he?

  [lashes Weldon across the face with her horse whip, while he remains stonefaced, in front of his fellow officers] 

  Leonora : You lousy bastard! Beating my horse! My Firebird!

• Lt. Col. Morris Langdon : She hasn't tried to do it again.

  Leonora : How could she? What she did is something a lady can only do once now, isn't it?

• Leonora : So these two little queers went into this bar and this great big bald barman was looking at them for a long time. Finally he said, "Are you two sisters?" And they said, "Hell no! We're not even Catholic."

• Leonora : Do you think she has any idea about us?

  Lt. Col. Morris Langdon : No, no.

  Leonora : Well, I hope not. I like Alison.

• Leonora : Will somebody, please, tell me why Captain Weincheck is unpopular?

  Alison Langdon : Is it because he plays the violin, reads Proust?

  Leonora : Oh, do you remember that tea he gave? Classical records and cat hairs. And before God, tea. Only tea!

  Alison Langdon : Captain Weincheck is a gentleman.

• Maj. Weldon Penderton : Private, the whole idea was in the big oak tree. Instructions were to clear the ground just to the oak tree. The way the branches swept down made a background shutting off the rest of the woodland was the whole point. Now its all ruined.

  Pvt. L.G. Williams : What would the major like me to do?

  Leonora : What the Major would like is you to pick up the branches and nail them back on again.

• Leonora : Firebird likes him.

  Maj. Weldon Penderton : Firebird's a horse.

  Leonora : Firebird is a stallion.

• [repeated line] 

  Leonora : Not too big, not too small.

• Leonora : Weldon, that's Private Williams, isn't it?

  Maj. Weldon Penderton : It certainly is.

  Leonora : Bareback to bare-ass.

  [laughs] 

  Maj. Weldon Penderton : It's outrageous. You go on ahead, I'll attend to him.

  Leonora : Oh, what, spoil his fun?

• Leonora : This uncle of mine had this, uh, cabin up in the mountains and my brothers and I used to go up there all the time to hunt. About six of us would go out in the afternoon with our dogs. Oh, really more the evening. My God, it would be cold. A little colored boy, you know, would be coming running behind with a big jug of liquor on his back. Sometimes we'd be out in the mountains all night long huntin' raccoon. Oh, I just can't tell you what it was like.

• Leonora : Why don't you give them to Weincheck, all these records? He'd be happy to have 'em.

  Lt. Col. Morris Langdon : Oh, I think I'll keep 'em over in my room. I might wanna play 'em sometime.

  Leonora : Oh, now, Morris, you know you *hate* classical records. Don't talk like that. It's - well, it's morbid!

• Leonora : Come on! Oh, no! Get up! Get up! Get up! Oh, no! I don't believe it.