Tom Hanks credited as playing...
Paul Edgecomb
- Paul Edgecomb: On the day of my judgment, when I stand before God, and He asks me why did I kill one of his true miracles, what am I gonna say? That it was my job? My job?
- John Coffey: You tell God the Father it was a kindness you done. I know you hurtin' and worryin', I can feel it on you, but you oughta quit on it now. Because I want it over and done. I do. I'm tired, boss. Tired of bein' on the road, lonely as a sparrow in the rain. Tired of not ever having me a buddy to be with, or tell me where we's coming from or going to, or why. Mostly I'm tired of people being ugly to each other. I'm tired of all the pain I feel and hear in the world everyday. There's too much of it. It's like pieces of glass in my head all the time. Can you understand?
- Paul Edgecomb: Yes, John. I think I can.
- Paul Edgecomb: I just can't see God putting a gift like that in the hands of a man who would kill a child.
- Arlen Bitterbuck: Do you believe that if a man repents enough for what he done wrong, than he'll get to go back to the time that was happiest for him and live there forever? Could that be what heaven's like?
- Paul Edgecomb: I just about believe that very thing.
- Arlen Bitterbuck: I had a young wife when I was eighteen. We spent the summer in the mountains, made love every night. After we would talk sometimes till the sun came up, and she'd lay there, bare breasted in the fire light... that was my best time.
- John Coffey: You know, I fell asleep this afternoon and had me a dream. I dreamed about Del's mouse.
- Paul Edgecomb: Did you, John?
- John Coffey: I dreamed he got down to that place Boss Howell talked about, that Mouseville place. I dreamed there was kids, and how they laughed at his tricks! My! I dreamed those two little blonde-headed girls were there. They 'us laughing, too. I put my arms around 'em and sat 'em on my knees, and there 'us no blood comin' outta their hair and they 'us fine. We all watch Mr. Jingles roll that spool, and how we did laugh. Fit to bust, we was.
- John Coffey: Poor old Del.
- Paul Edgecomb: Yeah. Poor old Del. John, you okay...?
- John Coffey: I could feel it from here.
- Paul Edgecomb: What do you mean? You could hear it. Is that what you mean? You could hear it.
- John Coffey: He out of it now, though. He the lucky one. No matter how it happened, Del the lucky one.
- Paul Edgecomb: Where's Mr. Jingles?
- John Coffey: He run away under that door. Don't think he'll be back. He felt it too, through me. Didn't mean to hurt him none. All that hurt just spill out. Awful tired now, boss. Dog-tired.
- Paul Edgecomb: Me too, John. Me too.
- Paul Edgecomb: John, do you know where we're taking you?
- John Coffey: Help a lady?
- Brutus "Brutal" Howell: That's right. But how do you know?
- John Coffey: Don't know. To tell the truth, Boss, I don't know much'o anything.
- Melinda Moores: I dreamed of you. I dreamed you were wandering in the dark. And so was I. And we found each other. We found each other in the dark.
- [takes off her necklace and hands it to John]
- Paul Edgecomb: Take it, John. It's a present.
- Melinda Moores: It's St. Christopher. I want you to have it, Mr. Coffey. And wear it. He'll keep you safe. Please... Wear it for me.
- John Coffey: [leans forward so she can hang it around his neck] Thank you, ma'am.
- Melinda Moores: Thank you, John.
- Burt Hammersmith: Let me tell you something. And you listen close too, because it might be something you need to know.
- Paul Edgecomb: I'm listening.
- Burt Hammersmith: We had us a dog. Just a sweet mongrel, You know the kind. Well, in many ways, a good mongrel dog is like a negro. You get to know it. Often, you get to love it. It is of no particular use, but you keep it around because you *think* it loves you. If you're lucky, Mr. Edgecomb, you'll never have to find out any different. My wife and I were not so lucky. Caleb, come here for a second. Come here. Please, son.
- [he turns his son's face to Paul to reveal Caleb is missing an eye]
- Burt Hammersmith: He still has the one good eye. I suppose he's lucky not to be completely blind. We get down on our knees and thank God for that much at least, right Caleb? Okay, go on in now.
- [turns back to Paul]
- Burt Hammersmith: That dog attacked my boy for no reason. Just got it in his mind one day. Same with John Coffey. He was sorry afterwards. Of that, I have no doubt. But those little girls stayed raped and murdered. Maybe he'd never done it before. My dog never bit before, but I didn't concern myself with that. I went out there with my rifle, grabbed his collar and blew his brains out. Is Coffey guilty? Yes he is. Don't you doubt it, and don't you turn your back on him. You may get away with it once or even a hundred times. But in the end, you'll get bit.
- Paul Edgecomb: What did you just do to me?
- John Coffey: I helped it. Didn't I help it? I just took it back, is all. Awful tired now, boss. Dog tired.
- Hal: Percy... Something to say?
- Percy Wetmore: I didn't know the sponge was supposed to be wet.
- Hal: How many years you spend pissing on a toilet seat before someone told you to put it up?
- Paul Edgecomb: Percy fucked up, Hal, pure and simple.
- Hal: Is that your official position?
- Paul Edgecomb: Don't you think it should be?
- Hal: [after Del's execution] WHAT IN THE BLUE FUCK WAS THAT? There's puke all over the floor up there. And that smell! I had Van Hayes open both doors but that smell's not going out for five damn years that's what I'm bettin'. And that asshole, Wharton, is singing about it. You can hear him up there!
- Paul Edgecomb: Can he carry a tune?
- Hal: Okay, boys, what in the hell happened?
- Paul Edgecomb: An execution. A successful one.
- Hal: How in the name of Christ can you call that a success?
- Paul Edgecomb: Eduard Delacroix is dead.
- [to Percy]
- Paul Edgecomb: Isn't he?
- William 'Wild Bill' Wharton: [Eduard has just been executed, and Paul comes up to the Mile to find Wild Bill sitting on his bed, ripping out chunks of his pillow and throwing the feathers around, singing loudly] Barbecue, me and you! Stinky pinky, pew, pew! Or dilly, Jilly, Hilly or Bob! It was a french-fried Cajun named Delacroix!
- Paul Edgecomb: [Paul roughly hits his baton against Wild Bill's bars] You are about ten seconds away from spending the rest of your life in the padded room!
- [Wild Bill, who never takes an order or refuses to give out mayhem, stops immediately]
- Paul Edgecomb: [Paul grabs Percy to face Del as he's being electrocuted] You watch, you son of a bitch!
- Paul Edgecomb: What do you want me to do, John? You want me to let you run out of here, see how far you can get?
- John Coffey: Why would you do such a foolish thing?
- Paul Edgecomb: On the day of my judgment, when I stand before God, and He asks me why did I kill one of his true miracles, what am I gonna say? That it was my job? My job?
- John Coffey: [whispers] Boss? Needs ta see ya down here...
- Paul Edgecomb: [rolling around the floor in pain from his urinary tract infection] This is not a good time... John Coffey.
- [moans]
- Paul Edgecomb: Not a good time at all.
- John Coffey: But I needs ta see ya, Boss. I needs ta talk t'ya.
- [Paul reluctantly gets up and stammers towards John]
- John Coffey: Closer...
- Paul Edgecomb: I'm alone here right now, John. Figure this is close enough.
- John Coffey: Boss, please. I got to whisper in your ear.
- Eduard Delacroix: [as Paul moves up closer] Boss? You know you not s'pose to do that...
- Paul Edgecomb: Mind your business, Del!
- [Paul moves up closer in front of John's cell]
- Paul Edgecomb: [exhaustively] What do you want, John Coffey?
- John Coffey: [Coffey stares at Paul] Just to help.
- [John suddenly reaches out of the prison bars, grabs Paul and aggressively holds him up close. Thinking he is being attacked, Del starts screaming for the other guards as Paul instinctively tries to reach for his revolver]
- Paul Edgecomb: [struggling in Coffey's grasp] What... are... you... doing?
- Paul Edgecomb: [whispers] Goddamn, the sponge is dry!
- Brutus "Brutal" Howell: Well, don't you stop it! Don't you do it. It's too late for that.
- Paul Edgecomb: I've done some things in my life I'm not proud of, but this is the first time I've ever felt in real danger of hell.
- John Coffey: I'm smellin' me some cornbread.
- Paul Edgecomb: It's from my missus. She wanted to thank you.
- John Coffey: Thank me for what?
- Paul Edgecomb: Well, you know...
- [whispering]
- Paul Edgecomb: For a helping me.
- John Coffey: Helping you with what?
- Paul Edgecomb: You know.
- [Paul points to his groin]
- John Coffey: [John smiles] Ohh. Was your missus pleased?
- Paul Edgecomb: [Paul nods] Several times.