raywest

25th Jun 2021

The Fugitive (1993)

Question: Why is Dr Nichols helping Dr Richard Kimble? Why would he give him money? Why would Nichols give Kimble an opportunity at the hospital to investigate the drug, when he himself is in on the conspiracy?

Answer: Two answers. One, Nichols pretends to support Kimble and say he is innocent (knowing he really is) and otherwise avoids interfering to divert suspicion away from himself. He presumes Kimble will be captured before he figures everything out. Secondly, it's a plot device so the audience believes he is Kimble's ally and will be unaware until the end that Nichols was involved in the conspiracy.

raywest

Question: At the very beginning when the twins are talking to Scarlett it sounds to me like George Reeves says something about the "other 48 states" wanting war. Am I hearing that incorrectly? There were only 34 states when the war began.

William Lanigan

Answer: To answer your question, I looked for on-line versions of the "Gone with the Wind" screenplay. What you are hearing as "other 48 states" is actually "those fool Yankees." The full line is, "Y'know, those fool Yankees actually want a war?" Also, the line is actually said by Stuart Tarleton, played Fred Crane, not by George Reeves as his twin brother, Drew. In writing, it doesn't seem they would sound alike. When I watched the opening scene of "gwtw" on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymbmvQJcLDc&t=6s), I can see how the error was made. I might have misheard it, as well, if I didn't already know what the line was from my research. Mr. Crane's enunciation is rather muddled.

Michael Albert

George Reeve plays Brent Tarleton, not "Drew."

raywest

Answer: I watched this scene several times on HBOmax, both with and without the closed captions. The line, spoken by Brent Tarleton (George Reeves) is: "You know, those poor Yankees actually want a war." It does sound like he says another word just before saying "Yankees," but it's so muffled that it's unintelligible and the closed captions do not record it. It could be "poor fool Yankees," but that's a guess.

raywest

Answer: In the version I am watching it is definitely Reeves' character who say the line, right after he tells Scarlett "War. Isn't it exciting Scarlett?" Then comes what sounds like what I posted. Is it possible there are different versions?

William Lanigan

10th Jun 2021

Inside Man (2006)

Question: Why go through the extremely time-consuming work of digging through a concrete floor, when they could have just brought along a portable toilet with a hermetically sealed disposal system?

Answer: There is no reason for the hole, it's just wasted time and energy. They brought in enough materials to build a fake wall, bringing a little more would be easy. No need for a fancy portable toilet either, a bucket with a lid and some chemicals to neutralise the smell and destroy DNA would be enough, literally less weight than the tools to dig the hole. I think the hole was just there to be a red herring for the audience. Personally I thought he was hiding in the hole and it was covered up by something, but it turns out they built a fake wall for that, same result but it made the movie seem dumber than it needed to be.

Answer: We can only speculate, but a bulky portable toilet would be problematic - both carrying it into the bank and when exiting the building. It appears Dalton removed everything from the hiding space in a duffel bag and a backpack, leaving nothing incriminating behind. The escape plan was to simply blend in with other people while walking out. Eventually, the hiding space would be found. Using the hole as a toilet and refilling it with the excavated dirt could help eliminate DNA evidence traceable to him. He may have removed some waste in plastic bags. Unpleasant, but necessary.

raywest

Question: Is George's Oscar Wilde quotation, "We won't have to look for work, and it won't have to look for us," genuine? (Never trust a criminal, I know).

Louisa Radice

Answer: I did an Internet search for this quote, including checking best-quotations.com, and the only reference of it I can find is tied to the movie. I do not think this is an Oscar Wilde quote. If I find something, I'll update this, as it's possibly a line from one of his plays or novels that just doesn't happen to be online. Someone else might know.

raywest

10th Jun 2021

Wall-E (2008)

Question: The only animal surviving is a roach. It survives on wrapped food and shelter that Wall-e provides. There is little to no water in sight but if and when there is water it seems to be very toxic with sludge and acid rain. So how does the roach manage to live with no fresh water?

Answer: There's an old trope that if all humanity was destroyed in some cataclysmic event, only cockroaches could survive. It's meant as a joke, and this is just a play on that. It's unlikely anything could survive under those conditions.

raywest

10th Jun 2021

Friends (1994)

Show generally

Question: There are a few episodes where Phoebe is talking with her twin sister Ursula, and one of them will hand something to the other person, and you can tell a stand-in is not being used for one of them because Lisa Kudrow's face is visible for both characters. How do they achieve this effect?

Phaneron

Chosen answer: The effect can be achieved in various ways. Split screen and image overlapping is one method. CGI can simulate body movements making it appear the characters are physically interacting, or a face can be superimposed over a body double. Lisa Kudrow's older sister, Helena, who looks almost exactly like her, was often used as her twin body double, mostly filmed from the back or the side and in scenes where one stood or walked in front of the other.

raywest

10th Jun 2021

Hogan's Heroes (1965)

Answer: It's a solitary cell. Steve McQueen, star of 'The Great Escape' is known as the 'Cooler King'.

Answer: It's a slang term for an isolated jail cell. In wartime, POWs who attempted to escape or otherwise thwart their captors might be punished with solitary confinement, often in a cramped, poorly ventilated, windowless space.

raywest

10th Jun 2021

WarGames (1983)

Question: How is it possible that David, as a fugitive, was able to get on a plane to Oregon without getting caught?

Answer: At that point, David's school friend, Jennifer, had met up with him. She could purchase their plane tickets under her name. Air travel security then was less stringent than in the post-9/11 era though it was after the D.B. Cooper hijacking when tighter rules had been implemented. Being a movie, facts and reality are often skewed to serve the storyline though it begs the question of how a minor, even in this era, could buy tickets without proper I.D. for David and where did she get that much money.

raywest

7th Jun 2021

Annie (1982)

Question: Did the actress Eileen Quinn actually climb the B&O bridge and hang off there?

Answer: Due to strict child safety laws, a minor would never be allowed to climb and hang off from a bridge. A stunt double did the climbing. Close-up shots would be filmed on a sound stage with specially built props, and a safety harness, or other equipment used to make it appear as if Annie was "hanging" from the bridge.

raywest

Question: Why was Kyle Reese removed from the theatrical version of this movie? Why is he only present in the extended version?

Answer: Movies typically film more scenes than are used in the final theatrical version. During the editing process, certain scenes may no longer result in a tight story, lose the continuity, slows the pace, or otherwise muddles the plot. The film's length might also run too long limiting how many times a movie can be shown in a theater per day and affecting ticket sales. Restoring the cut scenes in the DVD version serves several purposes. The director can re-edit the film in the way they originally envisioned. Deleted scenes are often added as a separate bonus feature to help market the DVD. Both help increase DVD sales. The Kyle scene may not have fitted the story line and/or it made the running time too long.

raywest

Question: If Henry time travels and his clothes are always gone... why doesn't this happen to his daughter Alba?.. Or if Alba can time travel wouldn't they worry if she did as a baby and be helpless when she reappears?

Answer: If the fetus could travel then there would be no age limitations on time travel.

Answer: Alba's clothes DO disappear. The first time we meet the slightly older Alba she is playing outside with her younger self. Henry notes that she is barefoot and wearing a too big, old T-shirt - maybe a shirt young Alba found for her.

Answer: It was never explained why Alba's clothes did not disappear. It's one of a number of inconsistencies that occur in the movie's time-travel plot. Most likely it had to do with the legal and ethical issues of child nudity in a film, which could potentially violate child pornography laws or allow unscrupulous third parties to exploit the images for pornographic purposes. Also, Alba may not have been physically able to time travel until she had grown older. Of course her parents would worry if she did, but they would have no control over it.

raywest

Question: Assuming people knew, how did Marston avoid trouble for living with two wives?

Rob245

Answer: Though it may be considered immoral and socially unacceptable, particularly during the film's 1940s time frame, it is not illegal to live with multiple people in a sexual relationship. It is only illegal to be married to more than one person at the same time. Marston was not a bigamist. He was legally married to his wife, Elizabeth. They engaged in a consensual polyamorous (not polygamous) relationship with Olive, who was not married to Marston.

raywest

2nd Jun 2021

Enough (2002)

Question: Why did Mitch want Slim (and Gracie) to remain a part of his life if he has no qualms about neglecting and cheating on her with countless other women. Why does he have such standards?

Movielover1996

Answer: Mitch wants to be in control. He will not tolerate Slim leaving him - he wants to be the one who leaves, if and when he chooses. I think that is also why he threatened to plant drugs and portray Slim as a drug user, so he can have full custody of Gracie. He would want to control where Gracie lives, and whether Slim could be with her.

Answer: A variety of reasons. For one, he'd probably want to keep his daughter close. Other reasons: abuse is about power and control. He controls Slim while she maintains the house, tends to his needs, raises his child, while allowing him to casually cheat with other women whenever he wanted and without any commitment. Their relationship also becomes a sick game to him in which he challenges Slim to try to end their relationship.

raywest

Question: How did Antiope know Diana cheated? Why allow her to compete in this contest if she wasn't allowed to train, at first, in the previous movie?

Rob245

Answer: The competitors had to light up the cloth banner beacons using their bows and arrows. Diana finished the course but missed one blue beacon by taking the cave shortcut, so the general grabs her and disqualifies her.

Answer: In the first movie, Diana was much younger and unready to start combat training. In the second movie, the flashback scene takes place some years after that, and Diana has since grown and been in training. During the competition, there were observers along the entire course to ensure that everyone followed the rules, attended to any mishaps, etc. If anyone cheated or failed to complete the required tasks, it would immediately be reported to Antiope.

raywest

25th May 2018

The Office (2005)

The Cover-Up - S6-E23

Question: In the beginning, when Jim and Pam are supposedly communicating through Morse Code, do they actually saying anything? What about the end with Pam and Dwight? What is said? Or is it just random clicks, taps, and blinks to seem like Morse Code for the audience?

Bishop73

Answer: This is what a person on Reddit wrote regarding Jim and Pam: I know Morse code well, and most of it was gibberish, especially Jim's clicks. Pam's second transmission was almost intelligible as SE HE IT (3 clicks 1 click, 4 clicks, 1 click, 2 clicks and long click). "

raywest

Answer: I only know the part about the detonator, the rest might be random but Jim said "There is a detonator in this office."

Is that what is actually clicked out? Seems way too long for what how short the scene is. Or are you just guessing that's what was implied because of Dwight's reaction.

Bishop73

Answer: I tried to solve it, seemed like random clicking to me.

10th Jun 2014

Sabotage (1936)

Question: Who played the actress who tried to return the song bird?

Answer: The person returning the songbird was Mrs. Jones played by Clare Greet.

Bishop73

Incorrect. Mrs. Jones is the Verlocs' cook.

And the cook was the one returning the bird.

Bishop73

Answer: The actress is Sylvia Sidney.

raywest

Sylvia Sidney plays Mrs. Verloc. The Poster is asking about the actress who appeared in one scene in the bird shop.

Thanks for clarifying.

raywest

24th May 2021

Tusk (2014)

Question: How did Wallace manage to survive in the walrus suit? Like how does he poop and pee? Wouldn't he get sick from eating only raw fish? So many questions.

Answer: He couldn't possibly function or survive living that way. The movie's entire premise was utterly ridiculous.

raywest

4th Nov 2014

Downton Abbey (2010)

Episode #1.4 - S1-E4

Question: Why does Daisy "take a turn" in Lady Mary's room? She never saw them take Pamook's body from Mary's room. She only saw them putting him back in his room, which is said to be "miles" away.

Answer: Word gets around. The staff are gossips amongst themselves, but those loyal to the family know who to keep secrets from and who they can trust to share in the knowledge.

Phixius

Answer: Lady Mary was one of the three women Daisy saw carrying Pamuk's body. Daisy realised he could not have died in Cora's (Lady Grantham) room, as she sleeps with husband Robert, nor would Cora and Mary ever help carry Pamuk from Anna's bedroom in the upstairs servants' quarters. Lady Sylvia and Lady Edith were completely unaware of what happened and Edith later quizzed Daisy for information. That left Mary, who everyone noticed was particularly distraught. Daisy could have overheard Thomas later telling O'Brien that he had shown Pamuk where Mary's bedroom was located (though he never saw Pamuk go inside).

raywest

24th May 2021

The Omen (1976)

Question: How much did 5 or 6 year old Harvey Stevens understand about this story and his role in it while the film was being made?

Answer: A child that age would have very little understanding about the plot or his role and would be told little about it. He would simply respond to directions and cues.

raywest

24th May 2021

Blade Runner (1982)

Answer: Mostly it was personality clashes between Ford, Young, and also director Ridley Scott. Ford is not particularly congenial or talkative, and tended to be put off by Young's more hyper, off-beat personality. Young claims Scott wanted to date her, but she refused, and said he then treated her badly. Ford and Scott also had conflicts.

raywest

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