Charley Ford Quotes in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)

Charley Ford: You think it's all made up don't ya? You think it's all yarns and newspaper stories.

Robert Ford: He's just a human being.

Jesse James: You ever consider suicide?

Charley Ford: Can't say that I have. There was always something else I wanted to do. Or my predicaments changed or I saw my hardships from a different slant; you know all what can happen. It never seemed respectable.

Jesse James: I'll tell you one thing that's certain; you won't fight dying once you've peeked over to the other side; you'll no more want to go back to your body than you'd want to spoon up your own puke.

Charley Ford: [long pause] Since we're looking to rob banks, I was wondering if I could go as far as to recommend we add another feller to the gang and sort of see if we couldn't come out of our next job alive. Bob wanted to know could he ride with us next time we took on a savings bank or a-

[Jesse fires his gun into a frozen lake]

Charley Ford: A savings bank or-

[Jesse fires again]

Charley Ford: A railroad.

[Jesse fires once more]

Charley Ford: Bob isn't much more than a boy to most appearances, but there's about two tons of sand in him and he'll stand with his shooter when that's what's called for. And he's smart too-he's about as intricate as they come.

Jesse James: You're forgetting that I've already met the kid.

Charley Ford: He surely thinks highly of you.

Jesse James: All American thinks highly of me.

Charley Ford: Still. It's not like you've got two million names you can snatch out of a sock whenever you need a third man.

Jesse James: I can see you're trying to wear me down on this.

Charley Ford: [smiles] That was my main intention.

Robert Ford: They gave me ten days.

Charley Ford: For what?

Robert Ford: Arresting him.

Charley Ford: You and me, huh?

Robert Ford: It's going to happen one way or another. It's going to happen, Charley, and it might as well be us who get rich on it.

Charley Ford: Bob, he's our friend.

Robert Ford: He murdered Ed Miller. He's going to murder Liddil and Cummins if the chance ever comes. Seems to me Jesse's riding from man to man, saying goodbye to the gang. Your friendship could put you under the pansies.

Charley Ford: I'll grind it fine in my mind, Bob. I can't go any further than that, right now.

Robert Ford: You'll come around.

Charley Ford: You think it's all made up, don't you? You think it's all yarns and newspaper stories.

Robert Ford: He's just a human being.

Jesse James: Did I ever mention that scalawag George Shepherd? George was one of Quantrill's lieutenants and he gave me a story like Bob's, is why I thought of him, giving me everything we had in common and so on, just so he could join the gang. How could I know he had a grudge against me and was lying to get on my good side? I said 'Come aboard, George. Glad to have ya,'. George thought he was smart. 'Cept he wasn't. He rode into camp one morning and about twenty guns opened up on him.

[laughs]

Jesse James: But he only had one eye- and you need two eyes to get Jesse.

Robert Ford: You oughn't think of me like you do George Shepherd.

Jesse James: You brought him to mind.

Robert Ford: It's not very flattering.

Jesse James: [ignoring him] Sure is good eating, Martha.

Martha Bolton: Well, I'm so glad you enjoyed it.

Robert Ford: How come George had a grudge against you?

Jesse James: Hmm?

Robert Ford: I said "How come George had a grudge against you?"

Jesse James: Oh. George asked me to protect this nephew of his during the war and it so happens the kid had five thousand dollars on him. The kid winds up killed, and all the money swiped from him, and when George was in prison someone whispers to him it was Jesse James slit the boy's throat.

Charley Ford: Just mean gossip, was it?

Jesse James: Bob's the expert; let's put it to him.

[Bob stands up abruptly, pouting]

Jesse James: Oh dear, I've made him cranky.

Robert Ford: I'm not cranky. I've been through this before, is all. Once people get around to making fun of me, they just don't ever let up.

Jesse James: Give me some more conversations, Bob.

Charley Ford: I got one. This one's about as crackerjack.

Jesse James: Let Bob tell it.

Robert Ford: I don't even know what you're talking about.

Charley Ford: About how much you and Jesse have in common.

Jesse James: Go on, Bob.

Charley Ford: Tell a story.

Robert Ford: Nope. Nope.

Charley Ford: Entertain Jesse. He's here.

Robert Ford: Well, if you'll pardon my saying so, I guess it is interesting, the many ways you and I overlap and whatnot. You begin with our Daddies. Your daddy was a pastor of the New Hope Baptist Church; my daddy was a pastor of a church at Excelsior Springs. Um. You're the youngest of the three James boys; I'm the youngest of the five Ford boys. Between Charley and me, is another brother, Wilbur here, with six letters in his name; between Frank and you was a brother, Robert, also with six letters. Robert is my Christian name. You have blue eyes; I have blue eyes. You're five feet eight inches tall. I'm five feet eight inches tall. Oh me, I must've had a list as long as your nightshirt when I was twelve, but I've lost some curiosities over the years.

Jesse James: [stares at Bob for a long time, smiles] Ain't he something?

Charley Ford: Hey, Dick, you ever diddled a squaw?

Dick Liddil: Shh...

Charley Ford: Come on, you can tell me. I've always wanted to lay down with a redskin.

Dick Liddil: Well, Charley, there's a feeling that comes over you gettin' inside a woman whose hands have scalped a congregation.

Wood Hite: There's a thunderous sound that comes from their cooch on account of the fact that they birth a child standing upright like a wild animal.

Charley Ford: What's it sound like?

Wood Hite: Whatever a thunderous cooch sounds like, Charley. I don't know.

Dick Liddil: No, they got a noisy quim on account of the fact that they use their cunnies as a saddlebag to carry tundries across the planes.

Charley Ford: Come on, what'd it really feel like? It feel good? Come on. Fess up, now.

Dick Liddil: I like you, Charley.

Wood Hite: I like you too, Charley.

Jesse James: Well, Charley, did you hurt your leg?

Charley Ford: Yeah, I slipped... I slipped off the roof and I smacked down into a snow bank, like a ton of stupidness. One second I'm screamin', "Woah Nelly!", Next second, poof, I'm neck-deep in snow!

Jesse James: Well, whatever possessed you to climb a roof in December?

Charley Ford: There was a k - a kite. What am I saying? There was a cat, a cat! It was on the roof and I went after him. It was a tomcat yowling and what all, and I slipped.

Jesse James: I thought maybe your club foot was gaining on you!