Of Mice and Men (1992)

John Malkovich: Lennie Small

Photos 

Quotes 

• George : Guys like us that work on ranches are the loneliest guys in the world. They ain't got no family and they don't belong no place. They got nothin' to look ahead to...

  Lennie : But not us George. Tell about us.

  George : ...well, we ain't like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us. If them other guys gets in jail they can rot for all anybody cares.

  Lennie : But not us, George, because I... see, I got you to look after me, but you got me to look after you.

• Lennie : You said I was your cousin!

  George : That was a lie. If I was a relative of yours, I'd shoot myself.

• [last lines] 

  George : [talking about their dream]  We're gonna get a little place.

  Lennie : Okay, yeah, we're gonna get a little place and we're gonna...

  George : We're gonna...

  Lennie : ...have...

  George : [Lennie mouths what he says]  We're gonna have a cow, and some pigs, and we're gonna have, maybe, maybe, a chicken. Down in the flat, we'll have a little field of...

  Lennie : Field of alfalfa for the rabbits.

  George : ...for the rabbits.

  Lennie : And I get to tend the rabbits.

  [George shoots Lennie in the head, Lennie dies; George looks at Lennie sadly, sighs and walks to Lennie, leans down to him; scene cuts to George sitting on train at night again; scene cuts to George remembering his and Lennie's final happy memory as they both toss a bag of flour onto a horse wagon, both look at each other, and walk away happily] 

• George : Go to sleep, Lennie.

  Lennie : George?

  George : Go to sleep, Lennie!

  Lennie : I am sleepin', George.

• [Lennie is talking with Crooks, the Stable Buck] 

  Lennie : The rabbits we're gonna get and I, I get to tend 'em.

• [first lines] 

  [George sits on a train on a dark night looking depressed, scene cuts to girl with red dress running through field whimpering as George and Lennie escape from her] 

  George : [to Lennie]  Come on.

  [woman continues running in fright as George and Lennie continue running away from her as sergeants on horses with dogs track George and Lennie] 

  Lennie : George, they're gone. They're gone.

  George : [angrily]  Come on! Keep moving!

  [both keep running as sergeants continue following them] 

• Lennie : [sobbing as he holds his favorite puppy, now dead]  Why did you get killed? You ain't so little as the mice!

  [he shakes the puppy in anguish as he continues crying] 

  Lennie : George is never gonna let me tend the rabbits if he finds out you got killed!

• Crooks : [sees Lennie come in]  You ain't got no right to come into my room - ain't nobody got a right to be in here, but me.

  Lennie : I - I - I seen your light.

  Crooks : Yeah, well, I got a right to have a light. Now I ain't wanted in those bunkhouses and you ain't wanted in my room.

  Lennie : Why ain't you wanted?

  Crooks : Because I'm black! And they say I stink. Well, I tell you - all of y'all stink to me!

• Curley's Wife : Nobody can't blame a person for looking. See y'around.

  [She exits the bunkhouse] 

  Lennie : She's pretty.

  George : Lennie! Listen to me, God damn it! Don't you even look at her! I don't care what she says or what she does, she's a rat trap if I ever seen one.

  Lennie : But I wasn't doing nothing.

  George : No, but when she was shoving her legs around you weren't looking the other way neither. Keep away from her!

  Lennie : I don't like this place.

• Lennie : You damn right, George! You *god* damn right!

• George : [sees the bus passing by]  Hey! HEY! HEY!

  [the bus ignores him] 

  George : [yells]  SONOFABITCH!

  Lennie : What'd you say, George?

  George : I said son of a bitch. That bus driver lied to us. Just too damn lazy to stop at the ranch gate.

  [kicks dust] 

  George : [yells again]  SONOFABITCH!

  Lennie : SONOFABITCH!

  [George laughs] 

  Lennie : Jesus Christ, George, I said it too.

  George : Yeah, I heard you.

  Lennie : George, we - we wasn't supposed to say that.

  George : Yeah, why not?

  Lennie : Aunt Clara don't like it

  George : Yeah, well, she's dead.

• Curley's Wife : [approaches Lennie with sympathy]  I know how you got them bruises on your face, and how Curley got his hand busted.

  Lennie : He got his hand cut in the machine...

  Curley's Wife : [sadly]  Oh, yeah, all right. If you say so.

  [she walks away from him] 

  Curley's Wife : [tearfully in anger]  Someday, I'm going into town, and no one's ever gonna see me again - not Curley, not his old man, NOT A DAMN ONE OF YOU BINDLE STIFFS!

  [she runs off crying] 

• George : [noticing Lennie carrying something]  Lennie. I told you not to bring that pup in here.

  Lennie : I ain't go no pup.

  [Lennie quickly flattens his overalls and laughs, Whitt and George laugh at Lennie's joke as well] 

• Curley's Wife : [as Lennie strokes Curley's wife hair]  Don't muss it up. Look out now, you'll muss it up. Don't muss it up. Let go.

  [Lennie laughs as he begins to stroke harder] 

  Curley's Wife : I said, let go. You let go! LET GO!

  [Lennie panics and begins to grab Curley's wife to keep her quiet, Curley's wife screams violently] 

  Lennie : Shh! Shh! Hey! Don't do none of that, please! Don't you go yelling! Shh! Don't--don't you go yelling!

  [Lennie continues to restrain Curley's wife until she frees her mouth and bites Lennie's hand and screams even louder] 

  Lennie : [jerks her hard, furiously]  DON'T YELL! Don't do that! George is gonna be mad if you yell!

  [Lennie places Curley's wife on a pile of hay, she is not moving] 

  Lennie : Don't wanna hurt you, but you're gonna get me in a lot of trouble.

  [Lennie notices her not moving] 

  Lennie : [moves her now lifeless body around]  You done a bad thing!

  [Lennie somehow realizes that Curley's wife is dead for he had broken her neck] 

  Lennie : [petrified with fear]  I... I done a bad thing. I done a--a really bad thing.

  [Lennie gets spooked by the sound of flapping wings from a pigeon, he slowly gets up runs out of the barn as the men continue their horseshoe tournament] 

• Curley : [notices Lennie laughing]  What the hell you laughin' about? HUH? YOU! C'mon, you big bastard, get up. No big son-of-a-bitch is gonna laugh at me. Get up!

  [Curley suddenly punches Lennie in the face sending Lennie down on the floor] 

  Curley : [to Carlson]  I'll show you who's yella!

  [continues hurting Lennie] 

  Curley : Get up! Get up and fight!

  [Curley continues hurting Lennie as a few men present in the bunk egg Lennie on to fight back] 

  Lennie : [covers his bloody face, cries]  George! MAKE HIM STOP!

  Lennie : Get him, Lennie!

  [Lennie cries still as Curley continues punching him more] 

  George : [yells]  GET HIM, LENNIE! GET HIM!

  [Curley sends another punch only for Lennie to grab his fist, Curley goes afraid as Lennie angrily seethes as his face goes twisted and pushes Curley back and slams him down on a table and begins to squeeze Curley's hand very hard] 

  Curley : [writhes and screams violently]  OW! GET HIM OFF OF ME! GET HIM OFF OF ME!

  George : [tries to stop Lennie]  Lennie! Slim, help me!

  [Slim rushes in as he and George try to pull Lennie away] 

  Curley : [screams still]  LET GO!

  [Lennie begins to squeeze Curley's hand which begins to bleed profusely with the sound of his hand crunching, Curley begins to go weak as he groans] 

  George : Lennie, let go! Lennie! Let go of his hand! Let go!

  [George finally pulls Lennie away leaving Curley's hand and arm entirely bloodied and damaged] 

  Lennie : You told me to, George, you told me to!

  George : I know, I know. Take it easy, calm down.

  Slim : [about Curley]  We gotta get him to a doctor. Carlson, get the wagon hitched up. We'll take him into Soledad and get him fixed up.

  Lennie : [crying]  I didn't wanna hurt him, I didn't wanna hurt him!

  George : I know, I know.

  Slim : It ain't your fault, Lennie; this punk had it coming to him.