Seabiscuit (2003)

Jeff Bridges: Charles Howard

Photos 

Quotes 

• George Woolf : Wanta know what I think?

  Charles Howard : Of course.

  George Woolf : I think it's better to break a man's leg than his heart.

• Charles Howard : The horse is too small, the jockey too big, the trainer too old, and I'm too dumb to know the difference.

• Charles Howard : You could be crippled for the rest of your life.

  Red Pollard : I *was* crippled for the rest of my life. I got better. He made me better. Hell, you made me better.

• [Red is not eating his food at the dinner table] 

  Charles Howard : Go ahead, eat.

  Red Pollard : I'm not that hungry.

  Charles Howard : Sure, you're not.

  Red Pollard : It's just a lot of food.

  Charles Howard : I'd rather have you strong than thin.

• Charles Howard : [speaking to the newsmen after the win at Santa Anita]  Well, I just think this horse has a lot of heart. He may have been down, but he wasn't out. He may have lost a few, but he didn't let it get to him. I think I learned a lick or two from this little guy. Oh, and by the way, he doesn't know he's little. He thinks he's the biggest horse out there.

• [displaying Seabiscuit's jockey silks] 

  Marcela Howard : You don't think the "H" is too big?

  Charles Howard : You seen the size of our jockey?

• Charles Howard : [about the horse]  Will he get better?

  Tom Smith : Already is. A little.

  Charles Howard : Will he race?

  Tom Smith : No. Not that one.

  Charles Howard : So why are you fixing him?

  Tom Smith : 'Cause I can. Every horse is good for something.

• Charles Howard : It isn't just the leg. He could fall off. He could get trampled. He could...

  Marcela Howard : He could die?

  [She picks a little ball game out of his pocket] 

  Marcela Howard : You know I play with this all the time, too. No matter how hard I try, I can't get that damn ball to stay in the hole. Just let him ride. Just let him do it.

• [Howard is selling a new Buick at his dealership, explaining the advantages of a car over a horse] 

  Charles Howard : To tell you the truth, I wouldn't spend more than five dollars on the best horse in America.

• Charles Howard : Son, what are you so mad at?

• Red Pollard : This isn't just any race. This is the Santa Anita. I had that race. I was there.

  Charles Howard : I know.

• [in a restaurant, reacting to Riddle's refusal] 

  Charles Howard : Shit!

  Marcela Howard : Charles!

  Charles Howard : [quietly]  Shit!

  Marcela Howard : Yeah, I know what you mean.

• Charles Howard : [Some months after the tragic death of their young son, Charles Howard sees his wife, Annie cleaning a bit of blood on the porch with a mop]  Why don't you come inside?

  Annie Howard : I want to clean this up, first.

  Charles Howard : Let Sam clean it up.

  Annie Howard : [firmly and distraught]  I don't want *Sam* to clean this, *I* want to!

  Charles Howard : [reaching over to comfort her]  Honey...

  [Annie angrily pushes Charles away, yelling in protest. Scene shifts to Annie Howard leaving the ranch by taxicab, with Charles sadly watching from a upstairs window]