Reign of Terror (1949)
Richard Basehart: Maximilian Robespierre
Photos
Quotes
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Maximilian Robespierre : There's a man in Strasbourg who isn't afraid of anything. A man named Duval.
Fouché : Duval?
Maximilian Robespierre : You know him?
Fouché : No, but I know his record. Five hundred executions in a single month. That's almost as good as yours, Max.
Maximilian Robespierre : I've sent for Duval. He arrives at the Blue Goose Inn tonight. You go there and bring him to the bakery. I'll meet him there.
Fouché : How will I know him?
Maximilian Robespierre : As one snake to another, you'll smell each other out.
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Maximilian Robespierre : That's *my* chair you're sitting in, Fouche.
Fouché : I just wanted to see how it fits.
Maximilian Robespierre : Danton liked to sit in that chair, too.
Fouché : And to think that he had supper with us only last night. It's amazing how fast you lose friends these days.
Maximilian Robespierre : And you never know who's next on the list, Fouche.
Fouché : It must be quite a thrill, making out your death list every night.
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François Barras : I arrived just in time to see Danton on his way out. Exactly as you planned, wasn't it?
Maximilian Robespierre : Danton was my friend, not yours. Why should you feel badly about it?
François Barras : Because Danton was a good soldier. Without him, France would have been overrun by the armies of Europe.
Maximilian Robespierre : That was yesterday. Like all good soldiers, he outlived his usefulness.
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François Barras : This would make you dictator of France.
Maximilian Robespierre : Yes.
François Barras : We didn't storm the Bastille to make any man dictator.
Maximilian Robespierre : I'm not "any man".
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Maximilian Robespierre : I can't decide whether to promote you or denounce you.
Fouché : Where in all Paris would you find anybody as disloyal, unscrupulous, scheming, treacherous, cunning, or deceitful as I? Oh, you'd have to do some tall looking, Max.
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Maximilian Robespierre : I never shake hands. It's unsanitary.
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Maximilian Robespierre : Dead enemies make good friends.
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Maximilian Robespierre : Death! I demand death for the enemies of France! I denounce... Danton!
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Maximilian Robespierre : If you've come to plea for your husband's life, you're late.
Danton's wife : Maximilian, what has come over you? Danton is your friend - your very *good* friend! Together you saved France! Without Danton, where would you be today?
Maximilian Robespierre : I can't let personal feelings interfere. The people have found him guilty.
Danton's wife : "The people"? But *you* are the people. They do what *you* say!
Maximilian Robespierre : [brushes past her] Take out an appeal!
Danton's wife : [sobbing] Who can I appeal to? Only you! Look at me. Answer me! Stop playing God!
Maximilian Robespierre : [impassively] "God"? The Revolution abolished God. It's only the will of the people. And the people have spoken.
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Maximilian Robespierre : [to Fouché] Don't call me "Max"!
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Maximilian Robespierre : Get out of my chair.
Fouché : [gets up rather deliberately] Is that the way to talk to your Chief of Secret Police? I'm ashamed of you, Max.