The Palm Beach Story Quotes
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Source: The Palm Beach Story
Speaker: John D. Hackensacker III
Chivalry is not only dead, it's decomposed.
Context
This line is spoken by John D. Hackensacker III (played by Rudy Vallee) in the film The Palm Beach Story, directed by Preston Sturges (1942).
Before Kickstarter, inventors had a much harder time raising money. In The Palm Beach Story, Gerry Jeffers divorces her husband, Tom, and then sets out to find a multi-millionaire to marry so she can get some much-needed cash to help Tom advance his career. She finds a man who enjoys spending money, John D. Hackensacker III—a cross between John D. Rockefeller and Thurston Howell III from Gilligan's Island. He considers buying stuff for women to be equivalent to chivalry, a dying art. (Yeah, that's not offensive or anything...)
Where you've heard it
No, this quote doesn't have anything to do with gentlemanly zombies. You've heard this if someone is lamenting the fact that men no longer hold open doors, offer women their coats, or pay the bill on dinner dates.
Pretentious Factor
If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.
You'd think someone named John D. Hackensacker III would only say pretentious things. Can money buy chivalry? It can certainly make you out of touch.