LaBoeuf: As I understand it, Chaney... or Chelmsford, as he called himshelf in Texas... shot the senator's dog. When the senator remonstrated, Chelmsford shot him as well. You could argue that the shooting of the dog was merely an instance of malum p...
Rooster Cogburn: [after missing a shot on a bottle he threw up in the air] The chinaman is running them cheap shells on me again. LaBoeuf: I thought you were going to say the sun was in your eyes. That is to say, your EYE.
Mattie Ross: You must pay for everything in this world, one way and another. There is nothing free except the grace of God.
Lucky Ned Pepper: What is your intention Rooster? You think one on four is a dogfall? Rooster Cogburn: I mean to kill you in one minute, Ned. Or see you hanged in Fort Smith at Judge Parker's convenience. Which will you have? Lucky Ned Pepper: I call...
[first lines] 40-Year-Old Mattie: People do not give it credence that a young girl could leave home and go off in the wintertime to avenge her father's blood. But it did happen. I was just 14 years of age when a coward by the name of Tom Chaney shot ...
LaBoeuf: You give out very little sugar with your pronouncements. While I sat there watchin' I gave some thought to stealin' a kiss... though you are very young, and sick... and unattractive to boot. But now I have a mind to give you five or six good...
LaBoeuf: I've just come from Yell County. Mattie Ross: We have no rodeo clowns in Yell County. LaBoeuf: A saucy line will not get you far with me.
Cross-examining Lawyer: So, you say that when Amos Wharton raised his axe, you backed away from him. Rooster Cogburn: That's right. Cross-examining Lawyer: In what direction were you going? Rooster Cogburn: I always go backwards when I'm backing up.
[last lines] 40-Year-Old Mattie: I had the body removed to our plot and I have visited it over the years. No doubt people talk about that. They say, "Well, she hardly knew the man. Isn't she a cranky old maid?" It is true, I have not married. I never...
[first title card] Title card: The wicked flee when none pursueth. Proverbs 28:1
Rooster Cogburn: You are not LaBoeuf.
Rooster Cogburn: [outside the cabin] Who is in there? Emmett Quincy: [from inside the cabin] A Methodist and a son of a bitch!
Mattie Ross: I guess I have a $10 horse. Tell Col. Stonehill I said 'Thank you'. Stableboy: No ma'am. He said he don't never want to hear your name again!
Rooster Cogburn: You go for a man hard enough and fast enough, he don't have time to think about how many's with him; he thinks about himself, and how he might get clear of that wrath that's about to set down on him
Mattie Ross: Do you need a good lawyer? Lucky Ned Pepper: I need a good judge...
Undertaker: If you would like to sleep in a coffin, it would be all right.
Mattie Ross: [LaBoeuf is whipping her] Are you going to let him do this, Marshal? Rooster Cogburn: [watches for a moment] No, I don't believe I will. Put your switch away, LaBoeuf. LaBoeuf: I aim to finish what I started! Rooster Cogburn: It'll be th...
Cross-examining Lawyer: Mister Cogburn, in your four years as US Marshal, how many men have you shot? Rooster Cogburn: Shot? Or killed? Cross-examining Lawyer: Let us restrict it to killed so we may have a manageable figure!
