Stinking badges

"Badges? We don't need no stinkin' badges!" is a well-known, widely quoted (and often misquoted) line from cinematic history.^[1] In 2005, it was chosen as #36 on the American Film Institute list, AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes.^[2] It comes from a line of dialogue from a novel, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1927) and first appeared in film 21 years later in a movie of the same name, in both cases in a longer form than the one that eventually became popular. The line, in its more popular and abridged form, was parodied in an episode of The Monkees TV show, called "It's a Nice Place to Visit" (1967), in the Mel Brooks film Blazing Saddles (1974), and in many movies after that.

History

The original version of the line appeared in B. Traven's novel The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1927):

"All right," Curtin shouted back. "If you are the police, where are your badges? Let's see them."

"Badges, to god-damned hell with badges! We have no badges. In fact, we don't need badges. I don't have to show you any stinking badges, you god-damned cabrón and chinga tu madre!"

The line was popularized by John Huston's 1948 film adaptation of the novel, which was bowdlerized to meet Hays Code regulations severely limiting profanity in film.^[3] In one scene, a Mexican bandit leader named "Gold Hat"^[4] (portrayed by Alfonso Bedoya) tries to convince Fred C. Dobbs (Humphrey Bogart)^[2] that he and his company are Federales:

Dobbs: "If you're the police, then where are your badges?"

Gold Hat: "Badges? We ain't got no badges. We don't need no badges. I don't have to show you any stinkin' badges!"

In popular culture

The phrase has often been quoted, paraphrased, and parodied in a variety of media.

Film

• In Mel Brooks' Western Blazing Saddles (1974), the line was delivered as "Badges? We don't need no stinking badges."

• In Charles Swenson's animated film Down and Dirty Duck (1974), a stereotypical Mexican mouse character, wearing a sombrero and a bandolier, probably in a parody of Speedy Gonzales, speaks the line as "I don't want your stinkin' badges!"

• In the film The Ninth Configuration (1980), when the asylum patients were quoting lines from movies, one quotes "Badges, we don't need no stinking badges".

• In the movie Gotcha! (1985), the character Manolo says: "Don't show me your badges, we don't know nothing about no stinking badges".

• The movie Troop Beverly Hills (1989) contains the line: "We don't need no stinkin' patches."

• In the "Weird Al" Yankovic film UHF (1989), when Raul (Trinidad Silva) is asked to take a consignment of badgers, he says "Badgers? We don't need no stinking badgers!"

• In the film Bubble Boy (2001), when Jimmy offers Danny Trejo's character Slim patches for his motorcycle's flat tire he responds, "Patches? I could use some stinking patches."

• In the film Zombie Strippers (2008), when Paco (Joey Medina) is told to obtain some wild animals to dispose of the bodies, he says, "Badgers? Badgers? We don't need no stinking badgers."

Games

• The trading card game Magic: the Gathering (1993) makes reference to a card that was to be included in the joke Unhinged set called, “We don't need no stinkin' Merfolk!”
• The game FTL: Faster Than Light (2012) includes an achievement called, “I don’t need no stinkin’ upgrades!”
• In the adventure game Escape from Monkey Island (2000), the main protagonist Guybrush Threepwood is given a dialogue option, when asked for ID by the bartender, "ID? I don't need no stinkin' ID!"
• In the first-person shooter Duke Nukem Forever (2011), the main protagonist says "Keycard? I don't need no fucking keycards!" when he faces a door which requires a keycard to be opened.

Literature

• In the Stephen King novel It (1986), character Richie Tozier repeatedly says, in a poor imitation of a Mexican accent, "Batches? We don't need no steeking batches."

• The Luis Valdez play I Don't Have to Show You No Stinkin' Badges (1987) draws its title from this quote, and makes a specific reference to Sierra Madre.

• In Eldest (2005), the second novel in Christopher Paolini's The Inheritance Cycle series, a cobbler named Loring eschews the use of barges as a means of human transportation, saying, "Barges? We don't want no stinking barges."^[5]

• In William S. Burrough's report on the 1968 Democratic Convention for Esquire Magazine, Burrough's has a cop demand to see the permit of the candidate's entourage. The response is: "Permits? We don't have any permits. We don't have to show you any stinking permits. You are talking suh to the future President of America."^[6]

• Welkin Weasels: Heastward Ho! is about a world populated by talking animals, including the line "We don't need no stinkin' badgers!"

Music

• The song "Badges" (1984) by The Minutemen quoted the line as: "We have no badges... we don't need no badges... we don't need no stinking badges".

• The song "Medicine Show" (1985) by Big Audio Dynamite sampled the quote by Alfonso Bedoya from the film The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. The song prominently featured quotes sampled from other westerns as well, including several by or making reference to the Eli Wallach character Tuco from the film The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. This association — as well as the similarity of voice and accent employed by both actors in their repective bandito roles — reinforces the common misperception that Wallach delivered the famous line.

• Julian Cope's semi-eponymous song "Julian H Cope" from his album Jehovahkill (1992) featured the line: "Badges? Badges? We don't need no stinkin' badges! So sissified, civilised, I want to be a savage".

• At the beginning of the song "Big Fat Money" off the album Balance by Van Halen, someone (probably Bruce Fairbairn) asked, "Al, you want a click on this one?" to which Alex Van Halen replied, "I don't need no stinkin' click!"

Television

• In the TV show The Monkees episode 33 "It's a Nice Place to Visit" (1967), Micky Dolenz misquoted the line as "Badges? We don't need no stinking badges".

• In the episode of WKRP In Cincinnati "Filthy Pictures" (1980), Johnny Fever is telling a story "I said show me some badges, and the guys says, Badges! uh, we don't need no stinking badges"

• In a 1983 episode of TV series Wizards and Warriors, the character Marko (played by Walter Olkewicz) delivers a spoof of the line as "Badgers? We don't need no stinkin' badgers".

• In Sledge Hammer! Season 2, episode 11, "Sledge in Toyland" (December 3, 1987), Sledge and his partner arrive at the office of the murdered toy tycoon and the security guard sticks a visitor's badge on his chest. Sledge throws it on the counter saying: "Heeeey, I don't need no sticking badges."^[7]

• In a 2008 episode of Ben 10: Alien Force, when Kevin is lamenting the loss of his plumber's badge, Ben says, "Badges? We don't need no stinking badges."

• In a 2014 episode of Transformers: Rescue Bots, Kade Burns says, “Badgers? We don't need no stinking badgers.”

• In a season 3 episode,Starscream Ghost The Transformers TV series, when asked to show passes Starscream replies, "passes I don't need to show you stinking passes

• In an episode of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TV series, Raphael says, "Badges? We don't need no stinkin' badges! And in a 1987 episode Michelangelo says, "Chill bro—we don't need no stinking surface world."

• In the Salute Your Shorts episode "The Treasure of Sarah Madre" (1991), the gang is digging for buried treasure, and Z.Z. finds a junior park ranger's badge, about which Michael states, "Badges? We don't need no stinking badges!"

• In The Red Green Show episode "Job Security" (1992), the quote is used by Douglas in response to Noel's refusal to turn in his badge as head of security and statement to Douglas: "You'll never get my badge!"

• In the Friends Season 8 episode "The One with the Baby Shower" (2002), the quote is mentioned as one of Joey's training questions for the show Bamboozled.

• In an episode of The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, "A Beautiful Mine" (2003), Sheen says, "Uh, Libby, I don't think they need no stinkin badges."

• In the 1998 3rd Rock from the Sun episode "Stuck with Dick", Harry says "Bagels? Bagels? We don't need no stinkin' bagels!".

References

External links

• http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0258470/quotes?item=qt0298119
• http://www.rudebadmood.com/badges/allindex.shtml