Stinking badges

Phrase popularized in literature and cinema

Mexican bandit leader "Gold Hat" (portrayed by Alfonso Bedoya) tries to convince Fred C. Dobbs (Humphrey Bogart) that he and his men are Federales.

"Stinkin' badges" is a paraphrase of a line of dialogue from the 1948 film The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.[1] That line was in turn derived from dialogue in the 1927 novel of the same name, which was the basis for the film.

In 2005, the full quote from the film was chosen as #36 on the American Film Institute list, AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes.[2] The shorter, better-known version of the quote was first[3] heard in the 1967 episode of the TV series The Monkees "It's a Nice Place to Visit". It was also included in the 1974 Mel Brooks film Blazing Saddles, and has since been included in many other films and television shows.

## History

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The original version of the line appeared in B. Traven's novel The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1927):

> "All right," Curtin shouted back. "If you are the police, where are your badges? Let's see them."

> "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, you god-damned cabrón and chinga tu madre! Come out there from that shit-hole of yours. I have to speak to you."

The line was popularized by John Huston's 1948 film adaptation of the novel, which was altered from its content in the novel to meet the Motion Picture Production Code regulations severely limiting profanity in film.[4] In one scene, a Mexican bandit leader named "Gold Hat"[5] (portrayed by Alfonso Bedoya) tries to convince Fred C. Dobbs (Humphrey Bogart)[6] that he and his company are Federales:

> Dobbs: "If you're the police, where are your badges?"
> Gold Hat: "Badges? We ain't got no badges. We don't need no badges. I don't have to show you any stinkin' badges!"

## Appearances in media

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### Film

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* In The Dirties, the characters Matt and Owen make a student film in which they play cops and constantly make pop culture references. In one scene, their teacher playing the police chief shouts, "That's it, give me your badges!", and Matt responds "Badges? Badges? We don't need no stinking badges!"[7]
* In Blazing Saddles, the character of Hedley Lamarr hires an army of thugs. After hiring some Mexican bandits, Lamarr gives them a badge and, in response, their leader throws it on the ground and says "Badges? We don't need no stinking badges!".

### Comics

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* In one issue of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Archie comics, the Malignoid drones Scul and Bean meet with the nihilistic industrian[check spelling] Null to discuss the contract between him and the Malignoid queen Maligna. When Null insists on consolidating the contract through his lawyers, either Scul or Bean yells out: "Lawyers?! We don't need no stinkin' lawyers!!"[8]
* In the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series from Image Comics, Donatello paraphrases a variation of that sentence ("Plans?! I don't need no stinking plans!") whilst using his cyborg systems to restore a stripped-down aircar.[9]

### Games

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* In the game Leisure Suit Larry 6: Shape Up or Slip Out! (1993), the main protagonist has the line of dialogue, "Badges? Ve don' need no steenkin' badges!" to Cavaricchi, the aerobics instructor.[10]

### Literature

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* The Luis Valdez play I Don't Have to Show You No Stinkin' Badges (1987) draws its title from this quote, and makes a specific reference to Sierra Madre.[11]
* In Eldest (2005), the second novel in Christopher Paolini's The Inheritance Cycle series, a cobbler named Loring eschews the use of barges as a means of human transportation, saying, "Barges? We don't want no stinking barges."[12]
* In William S. Burroughs' report on the 1968 Democratic Convention for Esquire magazine, Burroughs has a cop demand to see the permit of the candidate's entourage. The response is: "Permits? We don't have any permits. We don't have to show you any stinking permits. You are talking suh to the future President of America."[13]

## References

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1. ^ Erickson, Hal (2010). "Alfonso Bedoya Movies". Blockbuster. Archived from the original on March 15, 2012. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
2. ^ "AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes". USA Today. 2010. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
3. ^ "Article". This Day in Quotes. January 7, 2018.
4. ^ "Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The (1948)". classicfilmguide.com. 2010. Retrieved April 21, 2010.
5. ^ Erickson, Hal (2010). "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)". Blockbuster. Archived from the original on September 5, 2011. Retrieved April 21, 2010.
6. ^ "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre". Warner Bros. 2010\. Archived from the original on November 17, 2006. Retrieved April 21, 2010.
7. ^ Matt Johnson (2013), The Dirties, retrieved March 22, 2025
8. ^ "The Man Who Sold the World". Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures #19 (April 1991)
9. ^ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Vol.3 #10 (Juli 1997, Image Comics)
10. ^ "The Leisure Suit Larry 6 Script" (PDF).
11. ^ OLMO, FRANK del (February 20, 1986). "Needled by 'Stinking Badges'". Retrieved January 12, 2019 - via LA Times.
12. ^ Paolini, Christopher (2005). Eldest. Knopf Books for Young Readers. p. 413\. ISBN 037582670X.
13. ^ Ann Charters, ed. (2003). Penguin Portable Sixties Reader.

## External links

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* No Stinking Badges on YouTube