Legend of the Lost (1957)

John Wayne: Joe January

Photos 

Quotes 

• Dita : Poor Paul. He was so kind! How could it happen?

  Joe January : [Cynically]  It happens...

  Dita : But to him? He believed in God!

  Joe January : I can't recite any Psalms for ya', but I know about people who believe in God. Our friend didn't! He put his faith in his father. A man! A human being! That's an easy faith to lose. I know about that, too.

  Dita : But he was a good man. He tried to do good. He dreamed of goodness all his life.

  Joe January : I'm gettin' a little sick of this "Poor Paul," "Kind man," "Full of grace." What does it take to wake you up? He didn't believe in anything but being a big-shot with God as a front. I've seen these do-gooders before - usually doin' the most good for themSELVES! Believing in God is different than drooling over rubies and emeralds.

• Paul Bonnard : [Seeing Joe drinking whisky]  Excuse me, monsieur, but I'm opposed to that.

  Joe January : [Belligerently]  Opposed to what?

  Paul Bonnard : Taking liquor along.

  Joe January : Well, I'm not. We'll compromise. You live your way. I'll live mine!

  Paul Bonnard : For medicinal purposes perhaps it may be useful.

  Joe January : [Smiling]  Best desert remedy on the market!

• Joe January : [referring to the lost city]  I've been walkin' around thinkin'. It's a great town for thinkin' - no distractions.

• Paul Bonnard : One gets to imagine strange things in the desert.

  Joe January : Yeah, one meets them too!

• Dita : You never kissed me like that before.

  Joe January : I always meant to.

• Paul Bonnard : [In reference to his father, whose true character has been revealed]  He lied!

  Joe January : Come on, he's paid his bills.

  Paul Bonnard : An adulterer! A murderer!

  Joe January : It can happen to any man, Paul - good *or* bad. Woman throws a harpoon into ya', and ya' go where SHE pulls.

• Paul Bonnard : We are in, or near, the Tropic of Cancer.

  Joe January : We are on exactly 23 and a half degrees north of the equator. We are *on* the Tropic of Cancer! I know where we are. Where do you think we're going?

  Paul Bonnard : My father went from 23 and a half degrees north, by 5 degrees west, using dead reckoning, to approximately 5 degrees and 30 minutes west.

  Joe January : "Approximately"? "Dead reckoning"? A half a degree error can mean 30 or 40 miles!

• Joe January : What are we doin', out here in th' middle 'o' nowhere, lookin' fer nothin' in the wrong season!

• Joe January : [Referring to taking Dita on the expedition]  I like my chippies in a room!

• Joe January : [Looking down an underground cavern]  It's pretty foul down there - 2000 years of busy bats!

• Joe January : [Giving Dita a whisky bottle]  Here, dump that out and fill it with water. Shows you how serious the situation is.

• Paul Bonnard : I have spent ten years preparing for this trip. And I have studied the Sahara and its history. I know every word that's written about this dead sea of sand.

  Joe January : There's a lot to know about the desert.

  Paul Bonnard : You like the desert?

  Joe January : It's mine... It's all I own.

• Paul Bonnard : I think this will be the most important job of your life.

  Joe January : What is it?

  Paul Bonnard : I'm going in search of my father.

  Joe January : A reunion, eh?

  Paul Bonnard : He disappeared in the desert ten years ago.

  Joe January : Well, just where do you expect to catch up with him?

  Paul Bonnard : I don't expect to find him... alive.

• Paul Bonnard : [as they're bivouacked for the night at the first oasis along the way]  Do you know where we go after sighting Mount Tahat?

  Joe January : Well, there's nothing out there but a million years of dead sand.

  Paul Bonnard : Yeah, there is.

  Joe January : What?

  Paul Bonnard : I will tell you that when we get to Mount Tahat.

  Joe January : [incredulous, then drunkenly mocking him]  Holy Mother of the Pyramids! You're out here after treasure? Oh! King Solomon's Mines or the Golden Tomb of My Aunt Minnie! Out in the middle o' nowhere, lookin' for nothin' in the wrong season!

  Joe January : [turns to one of the pack mules]  Jeanette, you have a pal on this trip. A fellow jackass. It's ME! He-haw! He-haw! He-haw!

• Paul Bonnard : Shall I get firewood?

  Joe January : There isn't any. They burned up all the wood years ago.

  Joe January : [pointing over there]  Use those chips.

  Paul Bonnard : [confused]  "Chips"?

  Joe January : Camel... chips. Over there. See that stuff? Find the driest. It makes a good fire.

• Joe January : If you're through with your Fainting Bertha tricks, we can move on.

  Paul Bonnard : You MUST stop talking to her like that! You will respect her!

  Dita : Him? Respect a woman?

  Joe January : You're a couple of fakes, both of ya'. I'm sick of watching ya' moaning about your souls and pawing each other...

  Paul Bonnard : We are a little world by ourselves in the desert, Joe. Let's be a civilized world!

  Joe January : Well, a couple of men and a dame are a strain on *any* civilization.

• Joe January : [as they come upon a group of desert natives, gathered at a watering hole]  If you were scared when we saw those other Tuaregs, you oughta' be shaking now: those are Hoggars!

• Joe January : [Shortly after departing Timbuktu, Bonnard looks over as they ride past the bleached bones of a camel in the desert sand]  Dropped out of a salt caravan. Even camels can't make it sometimes.

  Paul Bonnard : I thought that happened farther out?

  Joe January : You missed a few lessons in your "home desert study," Mr. Bonnard. It can happen anywhere. I've seen dead animals - and men - a hundred yards from water. That wind blows, and the sand moves, and it's goodbye water hole.

  Paul Bonnard : The oasis of Asselar will not be covered.

  Joe January : [looks at him a bit bemused]  You can start your prayin' right now.

• Paul Bonnard : [after Bonnard took his pistol and shot Joe's whiskey bottle out of his hand]  I'm sorry, Joe. I had to do it. I heard you talk.

  Joe January : So you took a shot at me?

  Paul Bonnard : No, not at you. At the liquor that was making you talk like that.

  Paul Bonnard : [extends his hand]  Let's be friends, Joe. Let's start over.

  Joe January : [reluctant, then shakes Bonnard's hand]  All right. We'll start over. But you pull a gun on me again, and one of us will be a *dead* friend.