The best final lines from movies

At the end of “Some Like It Hot,” our heroes, Jerry and Joe, have gotten away from the mob, but there is one more hang-up. Wealthy, but daffy, playboy Osgood is in love with Jerry’s female persona, “Daphne.” Jerry, as Daphne, tries to convince Osgood that he shouldn’t marry her, eventually just giving up and admitting he’s actually a man. Osgood’s reply? A non-plussed, “Well, nobody’s perfect.”

This is one of the earliest iconic final movie lines. At the end of quintessential film noir “The Maltese Falcon,” somebody asks Humphrey Bogart’s Sam Spade what this statue of a bird is? Spade, with world weariness, delivers this line.

You knew this line had to be on this list. It’s on any list like this. It’s another Bogart line, this one from “Casablanca.” The movie is full of truly iconic quotes, but this one is certainly near the top of that list, as we watch Louie and Rick walk into the distance, and an uncertain future.

This line, from Daniel Day-Lewis in the movie, "There Will Be Blood," needs context. In and of itself, it doesn’t feel like memorable words. However, Daniel Plainview nonchalantly yells it out to his manservant as he sits near Eli Sunday, having beaten him to death with a bowling pin. That’s what makes it chilling, and memorable.

“Gone With the Wind” was an iconic book, and it became one of the first gigantic movies. It’s still one of the highest-grossing films adjusted for inflation. A lot of people probably knew this line was coming before it was delivered by Scarlett O’Hara. That doesn’t make it any less impactful.

“Memento” is a mindbender of a movie, but it ends with a real gut punch. The protagonist of the film has severe amnesia and can’t make new memories. He’s used this, it turns out, to manipulate himself. So when he says, “Now, where was I?” it’s because he’s basically reset, and he doesn’t even know what he’s just done.

Marlon Brando was difficult on set while filming “Apocalypse Now.” That being said, Francis Ford Coppola accepted it for a reason. He was still a great actor, and his performance as Colonel Kurtz is fascinating. Brando also gets to deliver the final line, a simple ode to the, well, horrors of war.

“Sunset Boulevard” is one of those old noir films that has a script full of thoroughly written, and sometimes overwritten, lines. They don’t all work, but they knocked it out of the park with Gloria Swanson’s final speech. Her character, Norma Desmond, has lost her mind, and she doesn’t realize that she’s about to be arrested for murder. Instead, she thinks she’s shooting a film, hence this final line.

Is this the most iconic final line ever? You can make the case. It really manages to sum up the themes and emotions of the movie in one simple line. Corruption wins out, and sometimes you just can’t win. That’s the tragedy at the core of “Chinatown.”

You may not even know what movie this line comes from, but you’ve certainly heard it before. It’s made its way into pop culture and is deeply ingrained in the concept of aliens and visitors from other planets. The line in question, though, comes from “The Thing From Another World,” which was eventually remade as “The Thing.”

The last line of “Dr. Strangelove” is maybe not as iconic as the final montage, where mushroom clouds sprout up as the song “We’ll Meet Again” plays. However, it’s still a great last line. It’s a laugh line, but Peter Sellers makes it count.

Sure, this line from Doc Brown in “Back to the Future” is partially setting up a sequel. However, it still works as a line and a cool one at that. Of course, it helps that a car starts hovering and then takes off through time right after this. That’ll sell a line.

Many of these lines on this list were delivered by legendary actors. This one is delivered by a puppet. Granted, that puppet is E.T., and that movie is truly iconic, but that still makes this a rare one here. It’s also a heartstring-tugging line, making it different than a lot of the last lines.

From a heartbreakingly beautiful line to a completely goofy bit of nonsense. There is no hugging or learning in “Caddyshack.” A bunch of crazy stuff happens, and then Rodney Dangerfield yells this line in glee. Everybody clears, Kenny Loggins starts to play and then a gopher puppet starts dancing. Pure insanity, but a ton of fun.

We aren’t counting the post-credits scene here. We are declaring that “Iron Man,” the opening salvo that would build the Marvel Cinematic Universe, ends with this line. It’s a huge one, because in a world where superheroes usually have secret identities, Tony Stark decided he wouldn’t. That became business as usual in the world of Marvel, where most heroes are out in the open about it.

No, this line isn’t from “Beauty and the Beast.” It’s from “King Kong.” It first appeared in the initial version from the ‘30s and has appeared in the remakes as well. This line is as important to the world of “King Kong” as him climbing the Empire State Building.

Yeah, that’s right. We’ve got a line from “Home Alone” on a list of iconic final lines. Feel like this film doesn’t deserve that? Well if you grew up in the ‘90s, this line echoes through your head whenever you think of “Home Alone.” Or hear the name “Buzz.” It’s a funny little capper on a crazy movie about a child trying to brutally murder two would-be burglars.

It’s seems a little unfair to cut off this one line from Tommy Lee Jones’ speech at the end of “No Country for Old Men” from the rest of the monologue. Alas, if we didn’t, this entry would be incredibly long. The last line is the real gut punch, though. It’s brutal in its simplicity, made all the more impactful by the camera pulling in on Jones’ face before cutting to black.

“Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” got Tim Burton’s career off the ground, but the movie-within-the-movie at the end of the film gets Pee-wee’s career off the ground in the world of the movie. Does Pee-Wee earn his cockiness and pomposity when he delivers this line? No, but that’s part of what makes it so great. It’s the fact the line is being said by Pee-wee Herman of all people.

A real casual closing line, right? Well, not exactly. After all, it’s being spoken by Hannibal Lecter at the end of “The Silence of the Lambs.” When he says he’s having an old friend for dinner, we know he means he’s having an old friend FOR dinner, which is terrifying.