THE LINE: “What can I tell you, kid? You’re right. When you’re right, you’re right, and you’re right.”
THE FILM: The most famous line in Chinatown—“Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown.”—is actually said to Nicholson rather than by him, but the 1974 private-detective movie has plenty of runners-up. Nicholson plays said detective, hired to investigate an affair (or so he thinks), and was nominated for an Oscar for the part.