“What hump?”
The scene: Dr. Frankenstein, who was played by Gene Wilder, arrives at the Transylvania Station where he meets Igor for the first time. Frankenstein says “I don’t mean to embarrass you, but I’m a rather brilliant surgeon. Perhaps I could help you with that hump.”
Marty Feldman, who played Igor in the movie, very obviously has a hump that Dr. Frankenstein offers to fix. His straight-faced response referring to not having any hump on him led to one of the best satirical (and unscripted) lines in the film. The movie had a strong cast and is still revered as one of the best comedies ever made, (even after all these years).
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
"What, exactly, is the function of a rubber duck?"
The scene: Harry Potter and Arthur Weasley meet for the first time. Weasley asks Harry all about the mysteries of muggles. “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” is the second film to come out of the decade-long “Harry Potter" franchise.
Mark Williams performs the role of Arthur Weasley amazingly because he completely immersed himself into the character. For this reason, he was able to come up with the best one-liners (that only a Weasley would say) on the spot. He leans over to Harry with an expressionless face, seriously asking about the rubber duck’s function.
A Clockwork Orange
"I'm siiiiinging in the rain..." The scene: Alex and the rest of the crew break into a couple’s home and attack them. During the attack, Alex is singing and performing while kicking to the beat for emphasis. Another film by Kubrick, this film is filled with improvised lines and actions.
They could not seem to get this scene right, so they just told the cast to improvise. One of the characters performed the song “Singing in the Rain” while using one of the victims as a percussion instrument, hoping to bring some comedy to the scene. Thankfully, it worked! And it made for a very unforgettable scene filled with darkness and madness at the same time.
Taxi Driver
"You talkin' to me?" The scene: The main character, Travis Bickle, who is played by the critically acclaimed actor Robert De Niro, is talking to himself in the mirror. “Taxi Driver” came out in 1976 and to this day gets praised for being one of the best movies ever made.
This line is one of the most iconic lines in cinematic history, and it is all thanks to Robert De Niro. To this day, people utter this phrase in all different types of scenarios. The director’s instructions for this scene were loose and minimal, so they let De Niro take the reigns on this one, and he definitely succeeded!
Knocked Up
“If any of us get laid tonight, it’s because of Eric Bana and ‘Munich.’”
The scene: The characters are chatting and mingling at the bar. “Knocked Up” came out in the late aughts and features some of Hollywood’s most prominent stars like Seth Rogan, Katherine Heigl, Paul Rudd, and Leslie Mann.
This film was written with the knowledge that most of the lines would be improvised anyway. Harold Ramis said, “the script is what we have if we can’t think of anything better.” And this comedy gem definitely didn’t need the script too much. In fact, most of this movie comes from the actors improvising.