Ben Hecht

“Trying to determine what is going on in the world by reading newspapers is like trying to tell the time by watching the second hand of a clock.”

“Time is a circus, always packing up and moving away.”

“Love is the magician, the enchanter, that changes worthless things to joy, and makes right royal kings and queens of common clay.”

“A movie is a commercial product, but it's not a toaster. It's a product that has a soul.”

“Prejudice is a raft onto which the shipwrecked mind clambers and paddles to safety.”

“The movies are an eruption of trash that has lamed the American mind and retarded Americans from becoming a cultured people.”

“Of all the nonsense that twists the world, the concept of 'altruism' is the worst. No man has ever done anything for anyone else.”

“Hollywood is a goofy place. But I like it. It's the city of the second chance.”

“Much of the world's wisdom is still acquired by gossip.”

“To be a Jew is a destiny.”

“I have written a great deal of trivial nonsense. But it is not a total wash. I have also written some very good trivial nonsense.”

“A man who has been through bitter experiences and traveled far enjoys even his sufferings after a time.”

“Writing a good movie is not as easy as it looks. It's a hell of a lot harder.”

“The major asset of the movies is their ability to grip the unconscious.”