[Ads-l] Quote Origin: I Never Forget a Face, But I=?UTF-8?Q?=E2=80=99ll_?=Make an Exception in Your Case

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Thanks for finding a valuable match Peter, and thanks for your astute
investigation, Ben.

There is a pertinent match in the Internet Archive within a 1962 book
titled "Hello, Hollywood" which reprints a piece that is reportedly
from the Dec. 30, 1935 issue of the Hollywood Reporter. I checked the
ProQuest database issues of Hollywood Reporter and could not find a
pertinent patch in any issue. The Dec. 30, 1935 only has 12 pages in
ProQuest. Apparently, the ProQuest scans are incomplete for some
issues. The Google snippet from Peter contains a different article
that says "Continued from Page 63". So the issue should be much longer
than 12 pages.

The article "Harpo, Chico, Groucho and Scenario" by George Oppenheimer
has a character named Lyons who uses the punchline under examination.
Lyons was probably based on Groucho (or a composite of the Marx
Brothers). Lyons delivered lines and performed actions which he
ascribed to Marx Brothers movies (although the attributions may be
inaccurate).

George Oppenheimer was a screenwriter and script doctor. He was one of
the three writers of the 1937 Marx Brothers film "A Day at the Races".
Screenwriters had difficulty dealing with Groucho.

Year: 1962 Copyright
Book: Hello, Hollywood: A Book About the Movies by the People Who Make Them
Editors: Allen Rivkin and Laura Kerr
Chapter: Harpo, Chico, Groucho and Scenario by George Oppenheimer
Note: Article reprinted from Hollywood Reporter, Dec. 30, 1935
Start Page 287, Quote Page 288 and 289,
Publisher: Doubleday & Company, New York
Database: Internet Archive

[Begin excerpt]
"It's funny. I'm sure I know you. I never forget a face."
"Neither do I," answered Lyons, "but I'm going to make an exception in
your case. Horsefeathers, second reel."
It was useless. The man was a maniac and then I looked again. There
was pain in Lyons' eyes ... real acute suffering.
[End excerpt]

Garson

On Fri, Jan 31, 2025 at 9:18 PM Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> On Fri, Jan 31, 2025 at 6:21 PM mr_peter_morris at outlook.com <
> mr_peter_morris at outlook.com> wrote:
>
> >
> > https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Hollywood_Reporter/CFVCuIBIiPoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22never+forget+a+face%22+%22an+exception%22&dq=%22never+forget+a+face%22+%22an+exception%22&printsec=frontcover
> >
> > ... I'm sure I know you . I never forget a face . " " Neither do I , "
> > answered Lyons , " but I'm going to make an exception in your
> > case . Horsefeathers , second reel .
> >
> > Hollywood Reporter, circa 1935 or 6, usual caveats
> >
> > Horsefeathers was a Marx Brothers movie, but checking a
> > transcript it doesn't seem to include the quote.
> >
>
> That quote appears to be in an article entitled "Harpo, Chico, Groucho and
> Scenario" by George Oppenheimer (begins on p. 61). However, Google Books
> evidently combined two items here. The first part is the Dec. 28, 1935
> issue of Hollywood Reporter (with "USSR Quits 'Inspired' Pix" as the
> headline on the front page), but that has a different periodical appended
> to it. I checked that issue of Hollywood Reporter on ProQuest and the
> Oppenheimer article isn't there (the issue only has 8 pages).
>
> Oppenheimer, by the way, has a screenwriting credit for the 1937 Marx
> Brothers movie "A Day at the Races."
>
>
>
> > =======================
> >
> > Here's another early cite, November 28 1936
> > Motion Picture Herald
> >
> >
> > https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Motion_Picture_Herald/LVbLJb9z-wcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22never+forget+a+face%22+%22make+an+exception%22&dq=%22never+forget+a+face%22+%22make+an+exception%22&printsec=frontcover
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ------ Original Message ------
> > From "ADSGarson O'Toole" <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> > To ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> > Date 29/01/2025 19:34:46
> > Subject Quote Origin: I Never Forget a Face, But I’ll Make an Exception
> > in Your Case
> >
> > >Here is a match for the quip in the subject line which appeared in the
> > >syndicated Hollywood gossip column of Sidney Skolsky:
> > >
> > >[ref] 1936 November 18, Daily News, Hollywood by Sidney Skolsky, Quote
> > >Page 62, Column 1, New York, New York. (ProQuest) [/ref]
> > >
> > >[Begin excerpt]
> > >Groucho Marx, on meeting a prominent actress, said: "I never forget a
> > >face--but I'm going to make an exception in your case."
> > >[End excerpt]
> > >
> > >This citation occurred a bit before the 1937 citation in "The New Yale
> > >Books of Quotations". Here is a link to the updated QI article:
> > >
> > >https://quoteinvestigator.com/2013/04/26/forget-a-face/
> > >
> > >Feedback welcome
> > >Garson
> >
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org