“Some people take, some people get took.”
Why it's great
A neat parallel turns a plain observation into something close to a proverb.
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Use it yourself
Some people build, some people just talk.
00:00 / 04:29
00:00 / 04:29
Baxter Saves Fran From a Gas Leak, Explained
The Apartment · 1960
Chapter 13 of 15 · 4'29"
Miss Olsen phones Mrs. Sheldrake to arrange a lunch about her husband, while Baxter rushes home and finds Fran has turned on the gas without lighting it. Once the danger is past, Fran says "Some people take, some people get took," and Baxter answers with the story of how he once tried to shoot himself and hit his knee instead.
Key moments
Start here, then watch the full scene- 1:22–2:34
Fran on People Who Take and Get Took
71s - 2:54–4:14
❝ Monologue · 12 lines Baxter Tells the Knee Story
80s
Baxter Saves Fran From a Gas Leak, explained
What happens
Miss Olsen calls Mrs. Sheldrake and invites her to lunch about her husband. Baxter hurries home, where Fran has turned on the gas to boil water and forgotten to light it. He finds her alive, they clear the air, and he tells her how he once tried to shoot himself over a woman and shot his knee instead.
What's really going on
The chapter sets two kinds of transaction side by side. Miss Olsen's call to Mrs. Sheldrake is an act of revenge disguised as a lunch invitation; on the other end of the film, Fran is lying in a stranger's apartment with the gas on, having quietly decided she has nothing left to lose. When Baxter finds her, he does not lecture her. He sits down and tells his own worst story: a suicide attempt over his best friend's wife that ended with a bullet in his knee and a fruitcake every Christmas. His older line — "Some people take, some people get took" — is the film's plainest statement of its theme, and Baxter's answer is to refuse it. The man who "can't say no" is, for once, being the one who gives, and the gift is a story bad enough to make Fran laugh.
Key lines & what they mean
- “Some people take, some people get took.”
- Fran's summary of the world: there are those who use others and those who are used, and she knows which one she is.
- “It's just that I'm the kind of guy who can't say no.”
- Baxter's excuse for lending the apartment: he is not scheming, he simply cannot refuse anyone who asks him.
- “I know how you feel, Miss Kubelik. You think it's the end of the world. But it's not.”
- Baxter's attempt at comfort: he does not dismiss her pain, he just refuses to agree that it is the end of everything.
- “But I got over the girl in three weeks.”
- The punchline of his disaster story: his heartbreak healed faster than his knee, which is his way of telling Fran that this too will pass.
Theme
- Friendship — Baxter offers his own humiliation to lift Fran's spirits, proving care can be an act rather than a feeling.
- Heartbreak — Two people hurt by love trade stories over a ruined dinner, and the telling is what starts to heal them.
What this chapter teaches
Teaching points
Review right after watchingMy level7/10
A1–C2 is the CEFR scale. Cards above the level you pick fade, and playback will not auto-pause on them.
Language points
Click a card to jump to its moment in the videoGolden lines
A great line in its own right — why and how to use it“It's just that I'm the kind of guy who can't say no.”
Why it's great
He turns a weakness into a self-deprecating identity, which says more than any excuse.
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Informal
Use it yourself
I'm the kind of guy who can't say no to a favor.
“I know how you feel, Miss Kubelik. You think it's the end of the world. But it's not.”
Why it's great
He agrees with her pain first, then quietly denies the verdict, which is what comfort sounds like.
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Use it yourself
You think this is the end of the world, but it's not.
“But I got over the girl in three weeks.”
Why it's great
The punchline is really the phrasal verb get over, used with deadpan timing.
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Informal
Use it yourself
You'll get over him faster than you think.
Monologue
One character carrying the scene — shadow the whole passage❝ Baxter's story of the knee
And I was mad about her. But I knew it was hopeless and I decided to end it all. - Do you know Cincinnati? - No, I don't. Anyway, I parked the car and I loaded that gun... You read in the papers that people shoot themselves. Believe me, it's not that easy. I mean, how do you do it? Here? Here? Here? - Know where I finally shot myself? - Where? - Here. - In the knee?! Yeah! I was sittin' there, tryin' to decide. A cop came up because I was illegally parked. I tried to hide the gun under the seat and it went off. - That's terrible! - It was a year till I could bend the knee. But I got over the girl in three weeks.
He turns a suicide attempt into comedy, and the deadpan delivery is what finally comforts her.
Up next · 14had it comingThe scene: Baxter's Dinner for Two Is InterruptedTakeaways
What you walk away with- Baxter turns his own disaster into comfort for Fran.
- The end of the world is what he insists this is not.
- A taker is the label Fran pins on Sheldrake.
- The fruitcake proves the story he swears is true.
People also search
Questions, then the linesWhat is Miss Olsen's phone call about?
She is inviting Mrs. Sheldrake to lunch to tell her about her husband's affairs. She says only that the matter concerns him and might be educational.
What happened with the gas in Baxter's apartment?
Fran turned on the stove to boil water and forgot to light it, filling the apartment with gas. Baxter and a neighbor notice the smell and get in before anything ignites.
Why does Baxter tell Fran about shooting his knee?
To make her feel less alone. He shares a humiliating story of heartbreak so bad it ended in a bullet in his knee, then points out that he got over the woman quickly.
Is Baxter's story about the gun true?
The film treats it as true. Fran suspects he is making it up to cheer her, and he answers by showing the fruitcake the woman sends him every Christmas.
What does "get took" mean?
It is slang for being taken advantage of. Fran says some people take and some people get took, meaning some use others and some are the ones used.