- Winslow Wong: May I reach for my pocket?
- Philip Marlowe: It would give me great pleasure to see you do something foolish.
- Thug: [blocking Marlowe and gesturing toward the parking lot] Car.
- Philip Marlowe: [condescendingly] Beep, beep.
- [Marlowe tries to walk away, but is blocked by two more thugs]
- Thug: Car.
- Philip Marlowe: For a guy with a limited vocabulary, you do make your point.
- Philip Marlowe: You know where I can find Mavis?
- Dolores Gonzáles: Mavis?
- Philip Marlowe: She's not over at her place.
- Dolores Gonzáles: Why should I turn you over to her?
- Philip Marlowe: Because underneath the pasties is a size 40 heart.
- [Dolores rolls her eyes]
- Philip Marlowe: I thought you liked Mavis.
- Dolores Gonzáles: I do like her, but why should she get all of the goodies?
- Philip Marlowe: [sarcastically explaining how he found a clue that Lt. French missed] I'm a trained detective.
- Lt. Christy French: That's your exit line, Marlowe. Follow it out.
- Philip Marlowe: [after a goon has just ripped up his jacket] Does your mother know what you do for a living?
- Dolores Gonzáles: [responding, mid-striptease, to Philip Marlowe's question] The streets are paved with forgotten husbands!
- Mavis Wald: [pulling a gun on Marlowe] Turn around.
- Philip Marlowe: If that were a .45, I wouldn't argue. But a .32, I can get in a couple of words.
- [Mavis raises the gun higher]
- Philip Marlowe: I've said them all... But don't forget you're a lady.
- Lt. Christy French: Were you here when he got it?
- Philip Marlowe: No.
- Lt. Christy French: Who was?
- Philip Marlowe: He was.
- Philip Marlowe: You're so good, Miss Wald. You're so good you could act your way out of a safety deposit box.
- Philip Marlowe: You take this back to your... Leader, Mr. Wong. Tell him you met the last of a dying dynasty - King of the Fools: unassailably virtuous, invariably broke.
- Philip Marlowe: [upon tasting the champagne that Steelgrave has sent him] That's impertinent. You might say baroque.
- Mavis Wald: I don't want you working for me.
- Philip Marlowe: [Holds up a potentially compromising photo taken by a private investigator that shows her embracing a gangster] I go to ridiculous extremes to attract clients. Even collect rare photos.
- Dolores Gonzáles: Rough day at the office?
- Philip Marlowe: About the same. Average day in a detective's life. I've been... stabbed, snubbed, and generally snookered. I ache all over, my office qualifies for Urban Renewal, the cops envy my successes. They're tryin' to take my license away. I'd - I'd say that's an average day.
- Dolores Gonzáles: I'm Dolores... with an 'O.' Dolores Gonzáles.
- Philip Marlowe: Isn't that Spanish for pain?
- Julie: [referring to Steelgrave, at the restaurant where she and Marlowe are dining] Friends in high places. Who is he? Looks rich.
- Philip Marlowe: Oh, he is. Even his tax bracket is unlisted.
- Mr. Crowell: You know, one of these day, Marlowe, I'm going to make a mistake that a man in my spot dreads above all other mistakes. I'm going to find myself doing business with somebody I should trust, and I'm going to be just too damn smart to trust 'em.
- Mr. Crowell: [after dictating a letter hiring Marlowe] I'm just going to have to trust you, Marlowe. I hate making mistakes.
- [first lines]
- Philip Marlowe: How do I get in to see the manager?
- [the man he's talking to points him in the right direction]
- Philip Marlowe: Thank you.
- Philip Marlowe: And for whom am I doing all this nothing?
- Winslow Wong: Winslow Wong, that is I
- Philip Marlowe: I like a man who uses good grammar. You Impress me, Mr Wong. Whom sent you.
- [last lines]
- Police Department Operator: Hello? Hello?
- [long pause]
- Police Department Operator: Hello?