The Reverend Dr. Roberts Quotes in White Cargo (1942)

Wilbur Ashley: I'm just calm now and peaceful like.

The Doctor: Like morphine beginning to take effect.

The Reverend Dr. Roberts: Or the peace of the heart, after prayer.

Mr. Langford: [after the going away party for Wilbur Ashley] Say, do you fellas drink this much every night?

The Doctor: Unfortunately, no.

The Reverend Dr. Roberts: Far too much alcohol is consumed by the men of this coast. Even you, doctor, must admit that.

The Doctor: Well, it's more healthful to be sober, although perhaps not *quite* so pleasant.

Mr. Langford: [Witzel has just sentenced a native man to one year in prison for stealing a rifle] You mean they're going to imprison him a whole year, for practically nothing?

The Reverend Dr. Roberts: The Resident has the power of life or death.

Mr. Langford: But... but, just for taking a rifle?

The Doctor: Yes, but didn't you understand? He shot it off... and, at Witzel!

Mr. Langford: Poor devil, looks scared to death. What's he saying?

The Reverend Dr. Roberts: Apparently, he's stolen something. A rifle. My rifle!

Mr. Harry Witzel: Recognize him? One of your converts, isn't he?

The Reverend Dr. Roberts: Yes.

Mr. Harry Witzel: Yeah, well I never knew it to fail! That's what you get for pampering him. Giving him fair wages, instead of the whip. Stamping out famine and leprosy, swapping medical centers for witch doctors, bibles for voodoos. Well, maybe a dose of my medicine will be more effective than yours. Send him back to Sierra Leone, one year. Court's adjourned.

Skipper of the Congo Queen: Who do you think we see last trip back in Sierra Leone?

Ted - First Mate of the Congo Queen: You know, that short, little Cleopatra.

Wilbur Ashley: Tondelayo.

The Doctor: Tondelayo.

Mr. Harry Witzel: Tondelayo.

Mr. Langford: Well, ha-ha-ha, who is this Tondelayo?

Ted - First Mate of the Congo Queen: Oh, quite an eyeful if you should ask me.

Skipper of the Congo Queen: Up to her tricks again at the convent. You should see the traders, what got religion just to get around there to take a squint at that half-bred.

The Reverend Dr. Roberts: Its the hardest fight we have. As soon as we teach a few women to cook and sew and speak a few dozen words of our language, some white tries to turn her into his own advantage.

Skipper of the Congo Queen: Why shouldn't he?

The Reverend Dr. Roberts: Because the end is always in the beginning. Its always the whites that become the more degraded.

The Reverend Dr. Roberts: Now, isn't it ridiculous to blame her for every white man who loses his balance?