Maverick (TV Series)

Relic of Fort Tejon (1957)

James Garner: Bret Maverick

Photos 

Quotes 

• Brimmer : I'm tapped out, Maverick. I'd like to make you a business proposition. I'll give you the chance to buy a full-blooded Arabian mount for two hundred dollars.

  Bret Maverick : Imported Arabian?

  Brimmer : Absolutely.

  Bret Maverick : If he's all you say he is, it ought to be a bargain.

  Brimmer : It's a she. And I'll stand behind every word.

• [Brimmer is furious when he is bluffed into throwing in his hand] 

  Bret Maverick : Easy, Brimmer. If you're gonna play poker, you'll have to develop a sense of humor. That's the whole trick, my friend. Keep smiling.

• Bret Maverick : And, uh, I better take a look at that Arabian of mine.

  Brimmer : Hmm, that's right. She's your Arabian now, isn't she?

  [Maverick scoops up some blocks of sugar] 

  Brimmer : What's that for?

  Bret Maverick : Oh, first impressions are always important, with both animals and humans.

• [Brimmer pats the neck of his camel] 

  Brimmer : There she is. She's like I said, full-blooded Arabian mount.

  Bret Maverick : Mm-hm

  Brimmer : Imported... Course, uh, she ain't very pretty, but she's, uh, kind of a relic. You know, I think she's probably one of the last the Army brought over.

  Bret Maverick : Never mind the history lesson. The fact is, you took me. You might just as well have stolen two hundred dollars out of my pocket.

  Brimmer : Mr. Maverick...

  Bret Maverick : Yes, I know. Keep smiling.

• Bret Maverick : According to Mr. Hoyle's book of rules, a player is entitled to a cut at any time during the game.

  Carl Jimson : Hoyle don't make the rules here, friend, I do. How many, please?

  Bret Maverick : I'm sorry, I misunderstood. I thought you were playing a poker game. You can make up rules for any game you like, but don't call it poker, it's misleading.

• [Maverick has let it be known that he'll be gunning for Jimson when he's recovered from his gunshot wound] 

  Howard Harris : Well, it certainly doesn't seem like good strategy to me to announce your intention.

  Bret Maverick : Well, it is, the way I figure Mr. Jimson. You see, I'm pretty certain that under that... manly chest of his beats a heart of pure yellow. I want him to know I'm coming. And think about it for a long time.

• Drake : Fine. Now you start for your gun.

  Bret Maverick : Oh, that won't be necessary. You see, I've got a derringer in this hat. And it's pointed straight for your heart... A little trick I learned from your friend Jimson... Don't try it...

  Drake : That's a pretty tired bluff, Maverick.

  Bret Maverick : Call it, friend.

• [first lines] 

  Bret Maverick : [narrating]  This is the town of Clayville. Looks like an ordinary little town, doesn't it? But to me, it can never be ordinary. Because it was here that I first met Fatima.

• [last lines] 

  Bret Maverick : [narrating]  I rode out of Silver Springs that afternoon. I was glad to be going. But I felt a sense of sadness and regret that I'd never see Fatima again.

• Bret Maverick : I'll say it once more, and slow.

• Bret Maverick : Trying to sell a camel was like trying to sell a herd of sheep to a cattleman.

• Bret Maverick : The one way for a card player to be sure of winning is to get into a crooked game and play honest... if he knows what to look for. And there's nothing I like better than to trip up a card shark.

• Brimmer : Games over. I'd kinda like to know what you beat me with.

  Bret Maverick : Sometimes it's better not to know.