I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people and I expect the same from them.

See, that's a good line.

You're beautiful in your wrath.

And that's an awful line, particularly the way John Wayne delivered it.

Does God hate bad dialogue? Mental Floss suggests yes — enough for Him to arrange a few nuke tests to enforce His critical wrath.

Of course, it helps to have a production company dumb enough to shoot a movie downwind from a test site.

The first signs of trouble cropped up in 1963 when Powell died of lymphoma and Armendáriz killed himself after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. More cancer deaths followed: Moorehead in 1974, Hayward in 1975, and John Wayne in 1979. Although the Duke’s passing was popularly attributed to his years of smoking, People magazine later muckraked records showing that no fewer than 91 of the 220 people who worked on “The Conqueror” had contracted cancer—and more than half of those had died.

Screenwriters take note.

Last 5 posts by Ken

• Marc Stephens Threatens Me Some More - February 3rd, 2012
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• Only State Senator Ralph Shortey of Oklahoma Is Vigilant Against Fetus-Eaters - January 25th, 2012