The line -- "Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown." -- is uttered by Lawrence Walsh (Joe Mantell), the partner of Jack Nicholson's sardonic private eye Jack Gittes, after Jake's love interest Evelyn ...

Even if you have never seen "Chinatown" you are probably familiar with the celebrated final line "Forget it Jake, it's Chinatown." But did you know that the line almost didn't make it to the screen?

The New York Times: "It’s ‘Chinatown,’ Jake. On Second Thought, Don’t Forget It." — "The film 'Chinatown' was meticulously designed to capture a precise moment in Los Angeles’s history.