Movie Quote of the Day (‘Animal House,’ With the Clarence Darrow of Delta House)

(At the Student Court involving Delta House, Dean Wormer has made abundantly clear that the disciplinary proceedings will be stacked against the fraternity. The defense could only be taken on by an attorney for the damned, like Clarence Darrow—that, or…)

Otter (played by Tim Matheson) (leaping to his feet): “Point of parliamentary procedure!”

Hoover (played by James Widdoes) (whispering to Otter): “Don't screw around, they're serious this time!

Otter (to Hoover): “Take it easy, I'm pre-law.”

Boon (played by Peter Riegert) (to Otter): “I thought you were pre-med.”

Otter (to Boon): “What's the difference?”

[Addressing the room]

Otter: “Ladies and gentlemen, I'll be brief. The issue here is not whether we broke a few rules, or took a few liberties with our female party guests - we did.”

[Winks at Dean Wormer—whose wife he has just seduced.]

Otter: “But you can't hold a whole fraternity responsible for the behavior of a few, sick twisted individuals. For if you do, then shouldn't we blame the whole fraternity system? And if the whole fraternity system is guilty, then isn't this an indictment of our educational institutions in general? I put it to you, Greg - isn't this an indictment of our entire American society? Well, you can do whatever you want to us, but we're not going to sit here and listen to you badmouth the United States of America. Gentlemen!”

[Leads the Deltas out of the hearing, all humming the Star-Spangled Banner]— Animal House (1978), screenplay by Harold Ramis, Douglas Kenney, and Chris Miller, directed by John Landis