影片中，中校为查理辩护的那一段演讲太厉害了！查理怎么也不肯出卖那几个人，哪怕自己的前途都受到了影响，看电影的时候真是恨不得敲醒查理，凭什么为了那些鼠辈赔了自己人生。可是，就像中校说的，他不是法官，不评判查理的沉默是对是错，但是查理的行为可谓正直，他绝不靠出卖别人来为自己赢得前程！
听记如下：
But not a snitch!
No, I don’t think I will.
This is such a crock of shit!
Mr. Simms doesn’t want it.
He doesn’t need to be labeled , still worthy of being a Baird man. What the hell is that?
What is your motto here? Boys, inform on your classmates, save your hide, anything short of that, we’re gonna burn you at the stake?
Well, Gentlemen , when the shit hits the fan, some guys run, and some guys stay. Here’s Charlie, facing the fire, and there’s George hiding in big daddy’s pocket. And what you doing? And You goanna reward George and destroy Charlie.
No, I am just getting warmed up. I don’t know who went to this place, T,X,W, whoever. Their spirit is dead if they ever had one. It’s gone. You are building a rat ship here, a vessel for seagoing snitches, and if you think you are preparing these minnows for manhood, you better think again, because I say you are killing the very spirit this institution proclaims it instills.
What a shame! What kind of a show are you guys putting on here today? I mean, the only class in this act is sitting next to me, and I am here to tell you this boy’s soul is intact, it’s non-negotiable, you know how I know, someone here, and I am not gonna say who, offered to buy it, only Charlie here wasn’t selling.
I ‘ll show you out of order! You don’t know what out of order is, Mr. Trask. I’d show you ,but I am too old, I’m too tired, I’m too fucking blind! If I were the man I was 5 years ago, I’d take a flame thrower to this place! Out of order?
Who the hell do you think you are talking to? I have been around, you know？ There was a time I could see, and I have seen boys like these, younger than these, their arms torn out, their legs ripped off, but there’s nothing like the sight of an amputated spirit. There’s no prosthetic for that. You think you are merely sending this splendid foot solider back home to Oregen with his tail between his legs, but I say you are executing his soul! And why? Because he’s not a Baird man! Baird Men, you hurt this boy, you’re gonna be Baird bums,
And Harry, Jimmy, and Trent, wherever you are out there, fuck you, too!
I am not finished. As I came in here, I heard those words: cradle of leadership, well when the bough breaks, the cradle will fall, and it has fallen here, it has fallen. Makers of men, creators of leaders, be careful what kind of leaders you are producing here. I don’t know if Charlie’s silence here today is right or wrong, I am not a judge or jury, but I can tell you this: he won’t sell anybody out to buy his future! And that my friend is called integrity, that’s called courage. Now, that’s the stuff leaders should be made of.
Now I have come to crossroads in my life, I always knew what the right path was. Without exception, I knew, but I never took it. You know why, it was too damn hard! Now here’s Charlie, he has come to the crossroads, he has chosen a path, it’s the right path, it’s a path made of principle that leads to character. Let him continue on his journey! You hold this boy’s future in your hands, committee. It’s a valuable future, believe me, don’t destroy it, protect it! Embrace it. It’s gonna make you proud one day, I promise you.