I am looking for a film I saw about 20 years ago. I do not know the name of this film or any of the actors' names. There is a blond haired woman and a dark haired woman in this fim. The blond haired one seems to be a nice person who tries to reason all the time with the dark haired one who is not so nice. I remember the last scene where their house goes up in fire. The dark haired woman is trapped in it. The blond gets outside and with people around her looks up at the burning house. I think this film was made in the 60's. It is not "Rebecca."
raywest
7th Jan 2008
General questions
23rd Jan 2008
General questions
In American movies, I sometimes notice little flag shaped things on people's letterboxes, that can be moved up and down. In Australia, where I live, I've never noticed these, nor have I noticed them in countries I've visited (I haven't visited America). What is the purpose of these flag shaped things, and are they solely American?
Chosen answer: It's actually a very practical device, and they are mostly used in rural areas that have roadside letterboxes. The homeowner raises it when there is outgoing mail to be picked up. The postal carrier can put the flag in the "up" position when there's a delivery.
I've never heard of any mailman doing that. The signal flag is only for outgoing mail.
I think the question is about the "little flag" (usually yellow), not the standard red flag that the owner raises when s/he puts outgoing mail in the box and doesn't want the postal carrier to bypass the mailbox if there is no mail to be delivered to that address that day. Regarding the small yellow flag that is near the bottom of the door (whereas the red flag extends above the box to be more visible), the yellow flag pops up when the mail box's door is opened. The carrier doesn't have to "put the flag up" to indicate a delivery - it is automatic - again, the flag goes up when the door goes down (is opened). The yellow part usually faces toward the house so that the homeowner (or renter) can see from the window if any mail has been delivered. With mailboxes that do not have the little flag, people have to walk to the mailbox to see if there is any mail. The mailboxes with the little flags can be bought on-line but are becoming obsolete with "informed delivery" emails.
Answer: Outgoing mail to be picked up? The US doesn't have post boxes? How strange.
The US does have post boxes, but if someone decides to install a full service mailbox, it's more convenient. Generally using the post box can be a bit faster since the mail carrier who picks up the mail might not return in time for the mail to be processed that day.
11th Jan 2008
General questions
This is a western type movie from the 70s: a group of guys take apart a boat and drag it across deserts and mountains to get to a river or lake. When they do get there, they find that there is no water.
Answer: This sounds like the 1982 film, "Fitzcarraldo," directed by Werner Herzog and starring Klaus Kinski.
5th Sep 2007
Mary Poppins (1964)
Question: Why does Dick Van Dyke play Bert and Mr. Dawes Sr?
Chosen answer: Because he's a talented actor who can play a broad range of characters. It's not that unusual for an actor to play more than one part in a movie: Edie Murphy played practically his entire family in the two "Nutty Professor" films. There's also a tradition in versions of Peter Pan that the same actor plays the children's father and also Captain Hook.
14th Jun 2007
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)
Question: At the end of the movie where Jack is looking at the map for the Fountain of Youth, I'm pretty sure I saw in faint red writing "To Jerry." And then there is some other writing. Possibly a signature? Jerry is the producer's first name. Did anyone else see this? It is on the left side of the map.
Answer: I could see it, but it's simply too faint to read what it actually says, although it bears a slight resemblance to those words. It's not inconceivable that it says that, however, as movie makers sometimes include hidden messages and/or graphics into their films, such as George Lucas inserting icons of C3PO and R2D2 into "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark".
14th Dec 2007
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
Question: In the scene just before Sirius Black is killed he says "Good job, James." Is there someone else named James or is he mistakenly calling Harry by his father's name?
13th Dec 2007
General questions
The details I have on this are sketchy and may not be entirely accurate, but would appreciate any ideas anyone can offer about this movie. It is about a womanizing man who drowns and is sent back to live as a woman as a punishment for his past behavior (not a simple switch with some other woman) The woman could possibly be portrayed by Doris Day, but is someone of her era. Any ideas? Thanks.
Answer: It's the 1964 film, "Goodbye, Charlie," starring Debbie Reynolds and Tony Curtis. When womanizer Charlie is shot at by a jealous husband, he falls out a ship porthole and drowns. He somehow returns to the living world as a woman (Reynolds). Curtis plays his friend who, after being convinced that it really is Charlie in a woman's body, helps his old buddy.
10th Nov 2007
Gone with the Wind (1939)
Question: When Scarlett visits Rhett in jail to get the $300 for taxes, can anyone speculate as to her plan? Why does she pretend to be rich when she's actually dirt poor? Why would that make her request for money more convincing? Did she plan to ask for a loan, and needed to make it appear as if she would be able to repay it in a reasonable amount of time? I read the book, but this wasn't made clear there either. Can anyone help me?
Answer: If she looked rich she could trick him into thinking she wasn't marrying him for his money.
Answer: Scarlett tries fooling Rhett that she is in love him, somehow thinking that will persuade him to give her the money. She believes if Rhett is in love with her, she can manipulate him, which is what she did with her previous two husbands and various suitors. If she appears desperate and powerless, then Rhett will have the upper hand. He sees through her scheme, however.
Answer: In the book Scarlett's motivation for dressing up to see Rhett is so that she can go to him 'looking like a queen granting favors." She believes that her way of getting the money is by acting carefree and not desperate as if she looks desperate Rhett will guess it's money she's after (only) and any warmness towards him will look like a ruse to get his money. She is playing on his attraction towards her. Remember the last time she saw him she slapped him and said she hoped a canon ball would land "slap on him." So now she has to appear to be over her venom and her pride will not let her look desperate, also. She's not after marriage to him. If she looks sweet and helpless and gorgeous she figures she'll get the money out of him! (He does say he's tired of looking at women in mourning so she is partly right with her instincts).
12th Oct 2007
Friends (1994)
Question: On the start around series 3 Chandler jumps into Joey's arms. It's about a stalker Joey has got. What is the name of the episode?
Chosen answer: This was, "The One After the Superbowl," a two-part episode. Brooke Shields guest starred as Erika Ford, a crazed fan of Joey's character on "Days of our Lives." She stalked him, believing Joey really was the doctor he played on the show.
12th Sep 2007
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
Question: This might be subjective, but why does the Enterprise take so much damage, especially interior damage, long before the shields actually collapse?
Chosen answer: There's a limit as to how much the shields can protect the ship. Depending on the force of the explosions, the ship still suffers some damage from any weapon blasts. Also, the shield only holds for so long and gradually loses it protectiveness with successive attacks, causing increasing damage to the ship.
Answer: The depiction of the shields in this movie is actually interesting because it seems they deliberately tried to show how the ship could plausibly take damage while the shields are up. Here the shields seem to be "on" the hull (or perhaps emanate from the hull itself) and their function seems specific to preventing hull breaches. In TNG and onwards the shields appear as a kind of energy bubble wrapped around the ship, and accordingly they seem to absorb much more impact.
10th Sep 2007
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
Question: Is it just me or do both of the Patil twins appear to be wearing Griffindor uniforms? one of them (Padma) should be wearing Ravenclaw colours.
19th Aug 2007
The Great Escape (1963)
Question: In the scenes in which the POWs use the bags inside their trousers to distribute tunnel dirt over the compound, how do they put the pins back into the bags? It seems like a pain in the butt to have to take the bags out, just to put them back in, just to take them back out, etc.
Chosen answer: The movie is based on a true story and depicts actual events. After dispersing the dirt, the POWs simply removed the bags from their pants, reinserted the pins, and put the filled bags back inside their trousers again. Of course it was a pain, but what other options did they have? Little or none. Carrying out a secret operation in a POW camp with few resources, they worked with what they had, and made what they had work.
16th Aug 2007
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
Question: Hagrid was expelled from Hogwart's because he was believed to have opened the Chamber of Secrets. He was stripped of his wand at the same time. Why then, after he is proved innocent of opening the Chamber, is he not given another wand?
2nd Aug 2007
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
Question: Why can Harry only see the thestrals in his fifth year? He saw his parents die when he was a baby - I know there is an explanation I just can't remember it.
Answer: Harry never saw his father die. James Potter was in another part of the house when Voldemort murdered him. It's also unknown if Harry actually witnessed his mother's death. He was in his crib, and his view may have been obstructed. He only remembers seeing a green flash and hearing Lily scream. Also, because he was an infant, he could not interpret what he actually was viewing. One has to be consciously aware when seeing death. However, Harry should have been able to see the thestrals by his second year, after he witnessed Professor Quirrell's death in Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone, although he only witnessed his death in the film. In the book, he passed out before Quirrell died.
Answer: In reality, he should have been able to see them at the end of the fourth movie but off screen when they were catching the train home.
22nd Jul 2007
General questions
Can anyone help me find the title of this movie? The only thing I remember was that a man was torturing a woman, but she somehow managed to get a gun. She then proceeded to humiliate him by forcing him to eat a dead rat out of a trap and drink sludge off the floor.
14th Jun 2007
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)
Question: How exactly was Will resurrected? Did that take place when the ship was able to rise back to the surface? And was the Flying Dutchman still a cursed ship at the end even though Will was resurrected and Bootstrap was back to normal human form. It seemed like it to me because one second Will is on the beach with Elizabeth and the next the ship is already on the horizon.
Answer: Whoever stabs Davy Jones' heart becomes immortal themselves, but that person's heart has to be removed and placed in the Dead Man's Chest. Will does "die" before his heart is removed and placed in the chest. Sometime between then and when the "Dutchman" resurfaces, he is resurrected. It's not exactly a curse, Calypso assigned Davy Jones the task of ferrying souls to the next world. However, Jones abandoned his duty and that transformed him and his crew into monsters. When Jones dies, the crew's humanity is restored. Will is now the Flying Dutchman's captain, and he must assume this duty. He can spend one day on land before he leaves, and one day every 10 years after that.
14th Jun 2007
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)
Question: Because Will was a good captain on the Flying Dutchman and honoured his destiny, was he allowed to return to land for good after the one decade, unlike Davey Jones, therefore freeing his father and crew? Also, could Elizabeth board the Dutchman whenever she wanted to see Will?
Answer: There is much confusion over this. According to some sources, the film writers claim that Will is freed and can return home after he honors his duty for ten years and if his true love (Elizabeth) remains faithful. It is unlikely that Elizabeth can board the Flying Dutchman during this time as it will be in the netherworld, a place she cannot go. (However it's always possible in a future Pirates film they have a brief reunion.) When Davy Jones abandoned his duty, he transformed into a monster and returned to the living world where he wrecked havoc.
Answer: He was cursed to sail the Flying Dutchman for all eternity, but to go on dry land for one day every ten years.
14th Jun 2007
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)
Question: How exactly did the dog escape from Pelagosto island?
Answer: It's unknown, although Captain Teague, Jack's father, makes a sly reference about "sea turtles," an obvious reference to Gibb's claim that Jack escaped the island he was marooned on by lashing two sea turtles together. Will uses this same "tall tale" to explain how he escaped from Davy Jones.
14th Jun 2007
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)
Question: How did Jack Sparrow know they had to sail upside down to return to our world?
Answer: He deciphered a clue on Sao Feng's navigational chart. He realized that "sundown" did not mean "sunset". Rather it meant that what was up had to be down to upturn back into the living world. They had to capsize the ship at sunset to return at sunrise amid the "green flash" that signals when a soul returns to earth.
14th Jun 2007
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)
Question: Why did the lady Calipso blow up into crabs?
Answer: There's no definitive explanation, although Calypso seems to have a particular fondness for the crustaceans, as can be seen after she sends the crabs to retrieve the Black Pearl when they're in Davy Jones' Locker. She is seen affectionately holding one that has scurried back to her. When she's released from her human prison, her spirit disperses into crabs and returns to the sea.
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Answer: This sounds like one of the many move versions of the novel, "Jane Eyre."
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