Verbal Backspace / Live-Action Films

Verbal Backspaces in Live-Action Films.

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• In Are You Being Served?, Captain Peacock has to backtrack after making a comment when seeing Conchita's knickers:
  Captain Peacock: Yes, uh, I'm rather looking forward to seeing the pantyhoses, er, the-the pentyhouses.
• Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery:
  • Dr Evil tries his hand at parenting:
    Dr. Evil: Son, wouldn't you like to see what daddy does for a living?
    Scott Evil: Blow me.
    Dr. Evil: What?
    Scott Evil: Show me.
  • Austin adjusts to being a Fish out of Temporal Water:
    Basil: The Cold War's over.
    Austin: Well, finally those capitalist pigs will pay for their crimes, eh comrades?
    Basil: Austin, we won.
    Austin: (with feigned enthusiasm) Oh, groovy. Smashing. Yay capitalism. (chuckles nervously)
• Back to the Future Part III:
  Buford: Let's finish it, right now!
  Mook #1: Uh, not now, Buford. Marshal's got our guns.
  Buford: Like I said, we'll finish this tomorrow!
  Mook #2: Tomorrow we're robbing the Pine City stage.
  Buford: What about Monday? We doing anything Monday?
  Mook #1: No, you can kill him on Monday.
  Buford: I'll be back this way on Monday!
• In Botched, Dimitry tries to chat up Anna and, on being told she works for the media company in the building, he says "Oh, a secretary?", only for Anna to tell him she is a junior vice-president. He immediately continues "I meant do you have a secretary?" and she icily tells him "Two".
• Carry On Matron: Dr Prodd, an obstetrician, is seeing a female patient with the surname of Smethurst.
  Dr Prodd: Name, please?
  Miss Smethurst: "Smethurst".
  Dr Prodd: Oh, yes, I have some good news for you, Mrs. Smethurst.
  Miss Smethurst: Miss Smethurst.
  Dr Prodd: Oh. (Beat) In that case, I have some bad news for you, Miss Smethurst.^note  The film was made in 1972, when having children out of wedlock was still seen as highly immoral by many Britons.
• In Dad's Army (1971), when Lance Corporal Jones sees the planes at the beginning of the air raid:
  Lance Corporal Jones: There go our brave boys. Well done, lads. Give 'em Hell! Ha-ha-hah, ohh.
  Mrs. Hall: They're not ours. They're Nazis.
  Lance Corporal Jones: Rotten swines!
• The Death of Stalin:
  Georgy Malenkov: I think I misspoke when I said "No problem." What I mean was, "No, problem."
• Doctor in Trouble: When Wendover explains the football pools to Dawn, he begins to talk about her breasts before catching himself and getting back on topic.
• From Fierce Creatures, Rollo loses it and gives his zoo's employees a scathing critique of their new corporate owner:
  Rollo: I think the whole Octopus philosophy is poison. The only aim of any and every McCain business is to downsize and halve the quality, to make enough money to acquire another business to downsize and halve the quality, to make enough money to acquire another business to downsize, etc., etc., without ever running a single one of them really well. And if anyone ever raises the question of quality, they're immediately attacked as an elitist, because at Octopus it's considered morally offensive to talk about anything but money. All so that Mr. Rod McCain can feel a little more powerful every day. That's why, instead of running this wonderful zoo properly, we've got to spoil it in order to finance his next mindless acquisition.
  [notices Willa, McCain's employee, standing behind him]
  Rollo: (without flinching) On the other hand, he is a remarkable man—
• The Great Escape:
  Von Luger: Perhaps while you are with us you will have a chance to learn some [manners]. Ten days isolation, Hilts.
  Hilts: Captain Hilts.
  Von Luger: ... Twenty days.
• Half Baked:
  Mary Jane: My father was a drug dealer.
  Thorogood: That must've been the shit!
  Mary Jane: It ruined his life!
  Thorogood: That must've been shitty.
• History of the World Part I:
  Moses: The Lord Jehovah has given unto you these fifteen...
  [one of the three tablets falls and breaks]
  Moses: ... Ten. Ten Commandments.
• In Hot Fuzz, Danny and Nick are discussing Nicolas' role model.
  Nicholas: It all started with my Uncle Derek. He was a Sergeant in the Met. He bought me a police pedal car when I was five. I rode around in it every second I was awake - arresting kids twice my size for littering and spitting. I got beaten up a lot when I was young, but it didn't stop me. I wanted to be like Uncle Derek.
  Danny: He sounds like a good bloke.
  Nicholas: Actually, he was arrested for selling drugs to students.
  Danny: [in the exact same tone] What a cunt.
• Hot Rod as Rod gets over himself to compliment Denise but then loses his nerve and tries to back out of it, and it backfires.
  Rod: You look pretty.
  Denise: What?
  Rod: Uh, I said you look shitty.
• In the Loop zig-zags this: Malcolm remembers that the person he's talking to hates hearing swear words:
  Malcolm: You are a real boring fuck. Sorry, I know that you disapprove of swearing, so I'll sort that out: you are a boring F-star-star-cunt!
• Marvel Cinematic Universe:
  • The Avengers
    Bruce Banner: I don't think we should be focusing on Loki. That guy's brain is a bag full of cats. You can smell crazy on him.
    Thor: Have care how you speak. Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard and he is my brother.
    Black Widow: He killed eighty people in two days.
    Thor: ...He's adopted.
  • Deadpool & Wolverine:
    Wade: Don't just stand there, you ape. Give me a hand up.
    Wolverine: [snikt!]
    Wade: Nope! I'm actually okay, thank you very MU—
  • Guardians of the Galaxy:
    Peter Quill: I look around at us, and you know what I see? Losers! [Beat, confused glances] I mean, like—folks who have lost stuff. And we have, man, all of us...
  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2:
    Peter: This is weird; we've got a Sovereign fleet approaching from the rear.
    Gamora: Why would they do that?
    Drax: Probably because Rocket stole some of their batteries.
    Rocket: DUDE!
    Drax: Right. He didn't steal some of those. I have no idea why they're after us; what a mystery this is.
• Mean Girls. On the DVD Commentary the creators note that the principal has a pattern of trying to sound authoritative and then immediately backing off from whatever he said.
  Principal: I will keep you all night if I have to.
  Teacher: We can't keep them past 4:00.
  Principal: I will keep you 'til 4:00.
• Men in Black II: Jay is trying to save Laura from the alien henchman Jarra.
  Jay: (to Laura) Be with you in one minute...
  Jarra: (reveals duplicates of himself) Over our dead, titanium bodies!
  Jay: Two minutes.
  (the Jarra duplicates rush towards him)
  Jay: Why don't we play this one by ear?
• Monty Python and the Holy Grail likes this trope. It occurs when Lancelot begins swearing vengeance for Concorde's death, and when the Lord of Swamp Castle begins to eulogize the father of Princess Lucky.
• Muppets from Space:
  Kermit: He's one of us. And no matter what happens, no matter what obstacles we face, we never forget one of our own.
  ...
  Fozzie Bear: Hey! We left Bunsen and Beaker back at the gas station.
  Kermit: Okay.... Well, uh, from this point on, no matter what happens, we never forget one of our own.
• The Naked Gun: During the baseball game, all of the other umpires are heatedly disputing Drebin's flagrantly incorrect call.. until he pulls his service revolver, provoking an instant chorus of "Yup, you're the boss, good call!" comments.
  • And in Naked Gun 33 1/3:
    Rocko Dillon: [firing gun over audience's heads] Freeze, and nobody gets hurt!
    [grip falls from the rafters]
    Rocko Dillon: Well, from now on!
• Ian from Please Turn Over does so when he has to cover up how he feels about Janet's chances of passing her Driving Test:
  Janet: Won't Edward be surprised when I pass the test first time?
  Ian: He won't be the only one.
  Janet: Hmm?
  Ian: Jo, Gladys, lovely surprise for everybody.
• The Princess Bride:
  Westley: Give us the gate key.
  Yellin: I have no gate key.
  Inigo: Fezzik, tear his arms off.
  Yellin: Oh, you mean this gate key.
• Rat Race - said to a female biker.
  Randy: I really like your dyke ... BIKE!
• RoboCop 3:
  RoboCop: (walks up to a pimp yelling at one of his hookers) I must commandeer your vehicle for police use.
  Pimp: (turns around and pulls out a knife) What is your problem, sucker?! (sees who's asking and drops the knife) I mean, officer? (hands Robo the keys)
• Stroker Ace:
  Mr. Seegle: Hi, Stroker! We all mighty proud o' you back home!
  Stroker: Oh, thanks.
  PANG! (cue Stroker being turned upside-down in a fair attraction)
  Mr. Seegle: At least we was....
• In The Suicide Squad, Blackguard freaks out about being seated next to Weasel out of fear he's a werewolf, and Flag has to reassure him:
  Flag: Hey, hey, he’s not a werewolf, okay! He’s a weasel. He’s harmless. I mean, he’s not harmless, he's killed 27 children, but, you know, we got him to…
• The Three Musketeers (1973):
  Cardinal Richelieu: Do you know your accuser? Who brought you here?
  M. Bonacieux: [pointing at Rochefort] That! That is the man!
  Cardinal Richelieu: Take him away!
  M. Bonacieux: That is not the man! It was another man altogether!
• From Underworld: Evolution
  Marcus: Viktor fashioned two keys. What do you know of them?
  Tanis: Keys? I don't know of any keys.
  [Marcus spears Tanis in the shoulders and pulls him across the table]
  Tanis: Oh... yes. Yes, those keys.
• In Watch Your Stern, when Blissworth is talking about the new acoustic torpedo:
  Blissworth: The acoustic torpedo Mark I, commonly known as the "Chief Petty O"- Oh, the "Creeper".
• Happens to Willy Wonka in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, twice. "We have so much time and so little to do — Wait. Strike that. Reverse it." (Becomes Ret-Canon in the source novel's sequel Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator and is also incorporated into the 2013 stage musical version of Factory.)

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