- Bret Maverick: As my pappy used to say, uh, "a man does what he has to... if he can't get out of it."
- Modesty Blaine: Bret? Why, Bret Maverick.
- Bret Maverick: Modesty Blaine? You out on parole?
- Modesty Blaine: Now, don't be stuffy darlin'. I may have taken advantage of you once or twice. That doesn't mean I don't like ya.
- Mrs. Ambrose Tutwiller: Ah, this is Mrs. Maverick, I presume?
- Bret Maverick: I should say not. I couldn't afford to keep her in bail money.
- Quincy T. Smith: Keep your eyes open, Maverick.
- Bret Maverick: Oh, I've got a good eye for that sort of thing.
- Quincy T. Smith: Spotting trouble?
- Bret Maverick: Avoiding it.
- Quincy T. Smith: A coward dies a thousand deaths. The hero dies but one.
- Bret Maverick: I prefer the coward's way. The odds are much better.
- [first lines]
- Bret Maverick: [narrating] Toward the end of the summer, I had pretty well exhausted the possibilities of the poker tables at Kansas City... and they had exhausted me. They had exhausted me to the point where I was traveling to St. Louis with all my worldly possessions... in the shape of a thousand dollar bill pinned inside my coat.
- [last lines]
- Bart Maverick: We're going to split the money three ways, huh?
- Bret Maverick: Five ways.
- Bart Maverick: Five ways. Who are the other two? Friends of yours?
- Bret Maverick: No. You might call 'em shipmates. Welcome aboard, Brother Bart.
- Quincy T. Smith: You're a thief and a murderer.
- Gillespie MacKenzie: The first by inclination and the second by necessity.