Abraham Polonsky Quotes (December 5, 1910 – October 26, 1999), an American novelist, screenwriter, and director, left an indelible mark on film noir with classics like Body and Soul (1947) and Force of Evil (1948). A committed Marxist and member of the American Communist Party, Polonsky’s career was disrupted by the Hollywood blacklist in the 1950s after refusing to cooperate with the House Un-American Activities Committee, yet he continued writing under pseudonyms and returned with Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969). His sharp wit, moral depth, and resilience shine through his work and words. These 15 quotes—sourced from his films, books, and interviews—center on his defiant line, “What are you gonna do? Kill me? Everybody dies,” alongside fresh insights on creativity, morality, and resistance, offering a bold perspective to fuel inspiration.
15 Abraham Polonsky Quotes
- “What are you gonna do? Kill me? Everybody dies.” (Body and Soul, 1947)
- “What do you mean ‘gangsters’? It’s business.” (Force of Evil, 1948)
- “Money has no moral opinions.” (BrainyQuote, n.d.)
- “A holiday is when you celebrate something that’s all finished up, that happened a long time ago and now there’s nothing left to celebrate but the dead.” (AZQuotes, n.d.)
- “I’ll give you my answer calmly and sensibly, my final answer. My final answer is finally no. The answer is no! Absolutely and finally no! No! No! No! N – O!” (BrainyQuote, n.d.)
- “A man could spend the rest of his life trying to remember what he shouldn’t have said.” (BrainyQuote, n.d.)
- “You must never throw away things that are worth good money.” (AZQuotes, n.d.)
- “If you don’t get killed, it’s a lucky day for anybody.” (BrainyQuote, n.d.)
- “Indians don’t last in prison. They weren’t born for it like the whites.” (Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here, 1969)
- “It’s perversion. Don’t you see what it is? It’s not natural. To go to great expense for something you want, that’s natural. To reach out to take it, that’s human, that’s natural. But to get your pleasure from not taking, from cheating yourself deliberately… that’s a black thing for a man to do.” (AZQuotes, n.d.)
- “I’ll kill you with my own hands rather than let you put the mark of Cain on my brother!” (QuoteFancy, n.d.)
- “First of all, directing is an idea that you have of a total flow of images that are going on, which are incidentally actors, words, and objects in space.” (Directing the Film, Ed. Sherman, 1976, p. 6)
- “It was a great pleasure to make a movie again. Nothing is better; perhaps revolution, but there you have to succeed and be right, dangers which never attach themselves to making movies, and dreaming.” (The New Biographical Dictionary of Film, David Thomson, 2003, p. 689)
- “I have no regrets. Fighting for lost causes is a perfectly proper activity for a human being. It’s one reason I’ve had such a helluva good life.” (Los Angeles Film Critics Association Interview, 1998)
- “‘What sort of day was it? A day like all days, filled with those events that alter and illuminate our time… and YOU WERE THERE.’” (You Are There, TV series tagline, 1953–57)
Abraham Polonsky’s quotes are a fiery mix of grit, wit, and a call to stand firm against greed and injustice, inspiring filmmakers, rebels, and dreamers to create with purpose and fight for what’s right. His words remind us to live boldly and authentically, urging us to resist conformity. Which one gets you pumped to tell your story or take a stand? Drop it in the comments and keep Polonsky’s legacy of defiance alive!
Emma Thompson
Hi, I'm Emma Thompson, founder of MyLittleDesire. I share relationship advice, love quotes, and thoughtful gift ideas to help you express your feelings and strengthen your bonds. Let's celebrate love together!
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