Keith Wayne: Tom

Night of the Living Dead

Tom

Ben: How long have guys you been down there? I could have used some help up here!
Harry Cooper: That's the cellar. It's the safest place.
Ben: You mean you didn't hear the racket I was making up here?
Harry Cooper: How were we supposed to know what was going on? It could have been those things for all we knew!
Ben: That girl was screaming. Surely you know what a girl screaming sounds like? Those things don't make any noise. Anybody would know somebody needed help!
Tom: Look, it's kind of hard to know what's going on from down there.
Harry Cooper: We thought we could hear screams, but for all we knew, that meant those things were in the house after her.
Ben: And you wouldn't come up here and help?
Tom: Well, if there were more of us...
Harry Cooper: That racket sounded like the place was being ripped apart. How were we supposed to know what was going on?
Ben: Now wait a minute. You just got finished saying you couldn't hear from down there. Now you say it sounded like the place was being ripped apart. It would be nice if you get your story straight, man!
Harry Cooper: All right, now you tell me! I'm not gonna take that kind of a chance when we've got a safe place! We lock up into a safe place, and you're telling us that we gotta risk our lives just because somebody might need help, huh?
Ben: Yeah, something like that.

Harry Cooper: Look! You two can do whatever you like! I'm going back down to the cellar, and you'd better decide! 'Cause I'm gonna board up that door, and I'm not going to unlock it again no matter what happens!
Tom: Now wait a minute, Mr. Cooper.
Harry Cooper: NO, I'm not going to wait! I've made my decision, now you make yours!
Tom: Now WAIT a minute! Let's think about this! We can make it to the cellar if we have to! And if we do decide to stay down there, we'll need some things from up here! So let's at LEAST consider this a while!

Ben: [after seeing a message about rescue stations] Willard. Willard Medical Center. I saw a sign that said Willard.
Tom: It's a large town only about 17 miles from here.
Ben: You seem to know this area. Are you from around here?
Tom: Judy and I are both from around here. We were on our way up to a lake to go swimming. Judy had a small radio and we heard the first reports about all this going on. We knew about this old farmhouse so we walked here, came in and found the old lady upstairs dead. Then a short while later, this other couple, Mr. and Mrs. Cooper, came. We all went down to the basement and put a heavy iron bar across the door. The bar is pretty strong.
Harry Cooper: How can we possibly get away from here? We've got a sick child, two women... . one woman out of her head, and three men with this whole house surrounded by these things!

Tom: You always have a smile for me. How can you smile like that all the time? Come on, we've got to move.
Judy: Tom, are you sure about the phone?
Tom: The phone is dead out. All you get is a recorded message.
Judy: If I could only call my folks. They're going to be so worried about us.
Tom: Everything will be all right. As soon as we get to Willard, we'll call them. They might even be there.
Judy: I know. Tom? Are you sure we're doing the right thing here?
Tom: What, you mean about getting out of here?
Judy: Yeah.
Tom: Well, the television said that's the right thing to do. We've got to get to a rescue station.
Judy: I don't know about this.
Tom: Come on. You're starting to sound like Mr. Cooper.
Judy: But why do you have to go out there?
Tom: Look, I know how to handle the truck and the gas pump. Ben doesn't know anything about that stuff.
Judy: But we're safe in here.
Tom: For how long? We're safe now, yes. But there's going to be more and more of those things out there.
Judy: I know. I know all that.
Tom: Listen... remember when we had the big flood? Remember when we had to convince you that it was right to leave your house? Remember we had to go to Willard then? Well, this isn't a passing thing, honey. It's not like the wind passing through. We've got to do something and fast.