MovieChat Forums > Evil Under the Sun (1982) Discussion > Sylvia Miles to James Mason:'If you were...

Sylvia Miles to James Mason:'If you were a man, I would divorce you!'


The bitchiest line ever!

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Actually it's quiet reminiscent of the line in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" when Martha says, "I swear if you existed, I'd divorce you."
Who knows, maybe someone lifted it :)

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And James Mason originally was supposed to play George - along with Bette Davis as Martha! Edward Albee has implied that he would have preferred that casting to the Burtons.

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I was fairly convinced that Sylvia Miles might have been a man in this film. Yipes.

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Thank you! I was convinced she was actually Jim Varney, from Ernest Scared Stupid "fame"... (see http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101821/).

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From Billy Wilder's version of Agatha Christie's Witness for the Prosecution (1957), there's a female version of the line:


Sir Wilfrid: If you were a woman, Miss Plimsoll, I would strike you.




Billy Wilder Page, Play the Movie Smiley Game
www.screenwritingdialogue.com

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sylvia miles' embroidered hooded ensemble in one scene reminded me of an ageing lady gaga

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Sort of like the old vaudeville joke, "If you were my husband, I'd poison your food!" Response, "And if you were my wife, I'd eat it!" (or something of that nature.)

"Great theater makes you smile. Outstanding theater may make you weep."

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