- [after hearing an obvious impression of James Cagney.]
- Harland Dobbs: One thing bothers me: that voice. I've heard that voice before!
- Boots: We got you a television. If you're real good tomorrow, you can watch "Wonder Woman". What do you want for breakfast?
- Savannah: Chocolate milk, Coco Puffs, buttermilk, chocolate strawberries, peaches, Wheaties, chocolate bananas, pancakes, sausage, toast, oatmeal, apple, and bacon.
- [while Savannah is going on and on]
- Alvie: Tomorrow we're getting rid of this kid! Let's see if we can get her to go to sleep.
- Lt. Savage: [Talking to Harland Dobbs] Well Dobbs, you should feel very proud you still have a perfect record.
- Alvie: I bet you got lots of presents, don't you?
- Savannah: At Christmas I do. Then Mom and Dad always leave me and go off skiing some place. They always leave me. And that's why I ran away.
- Alvie: Yeah, I did, too, finally. But I never got nothing at Christmastime.
- Savannah: Never?
- Alvie: Well, yeah, once I did. Once I got a package of firecrackers, and you what I did?
- Savannah: What?
- Alvie: Well, early the next morning, I tiptoed in Uncle Luddy's room and I lit that whole package of firecrackers, and I tossed them suckers under the bed. It was like the devil with a pump gun were behind them. They jumped sky high, they ran into each other, and into the wall, down, down. I'll remember that my whole life. And Uncle Luddy chased me through the cornfield and out the woods, but he never caught me.
- Savannah: That's funny, Alvie.
- Alvie: Yeah. And that was on Saturday. And when I came out of the woods, them and all those kids were piling that old pickup truck, going into town. And I ran and ran as hard as I could, but all I caught was their dust. And they did that every Saturday. Always ran off and let me. I cried like a girl. I would have growed up then, I didn't know men weren't supposed to cry. They didn't come 'til next day, and Uncle Luddy took me out to the woodshed and whipped me so hard I could hardly stand up. That was when I finally ran off for good. I was about 10, 11 years old. I've been on my own ever since.
- Savannah: Poor Alvie.
- Alvie: Well, that's a long time ago. I don't think about that, ever, no more.
- Alvie: You listen to me! I've been waiting my whole damn life to get something big and finally score! I won't gonna lose this chance. We're not gonna blow this, no way! It's gonna work out. It's gotta work out! I am going to make it work out!