“We don’t need no stinking badges!” is one of the few famous lines that is both a famous quote and a misquote. It’s also the source of many variations about stinkin’ things we don’t need.
The evolution of this line began in 1927, with the publication of the book The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, a tale of greed and betrayal written by the mysterious Polish anarchist author B. Traven (c. 1890-1969).
The main characters are three American prospectors searching for gold in the Sierra Madre mountains.
In a scene later made famous by the movie version, the prospectors run into Mexican bandits, whose leader claims that they are group of local “mounted police.”
One of the prospectors says skeptically: “If you are the police, where are your badges?”
The bandit leader replies: “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.”
As famously delivered by “Gold Hat” (actor Alfonso Bedoya), the movie version’s lines were:
“Badges? We ain’t got no badges! We don’t need no badges! I don’t have to show you any stinking badges!”
Huston’s film, starring his father Walter Huston, Humphrey Bogart and Tim Holt, was released 62 years ago today, on January 7, 1948.
It is one of the greatest and most popular movies ever made. So, it’s no surprise that Gold Hat’s famous “no badges” quote spawned some humorous parodies.
What is unusual is that one of the parody versions became even better known than the lines in Huston’s movie or B. Traven’s book.
The most renowned variation of the “no badges” line — the misquote that became a famous quote — is the one you probably know best: “Badges? We don't need no stinking badges!”
The first notable use of this variation was in the Sixties TV series, The Monkees.
Monkees drummer Micky Dolenz says the lines in the episode “It’s A Nice Place To Visit,” first aired on September 11, 1967.
In 1974, Brooks included the same quote in the script for his gonzo 1974 comedy movie Blazing Saddles.
The character Hedley Lamarr, played by Harvey Korman, has a badge handed to one of his men, who is Mexican, and tells him: “Be ready to attack Rock Ridge at noon tomorrow. Here’s your badge.”
The Mexican replies: “Badges? We don't need no stinking badges!”
From there, humorous uses of “We don’t need no stinking badges” (or stinkin’ or steenking badges) multiplied and continued.
In fact, nowadays, it’s common for people to say “we don’t need no stinking [whatever]” as a joking comment about almost anything.
Click this link to check out some recent examples from news stories and blogs — unless, of course, you don’t need no stinking examples.
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Further reading and viewing…
