Best mystery movie questions of 1971

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Dirty Harry picture

Question: Is Callahan holding the binoculars upside down when he is peering down on the apartments looking for Scorpio? He is on the rooftop with the Jesus Saves Sign. They look upside down to me. (00:38:39)

Answer: Yes the binoculars are upside down.

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Answer: It's never explained why but, judging from the numerous license plates from other vehicles attached to his truck, the truck driver is a serial killer and was just targeting people at random and decided to make David his next target.

Trucks used to have to be registered in multiple states if they were going to operate in them. It was very common to see semi trucks with a half dozen or so license plates on them, each from a different state.

Answer: According to director Steven Spielberg, the trucker was a serial killer, and each of the license plates were trophies from previous victims.

Answer: David pulled ahead of the truck not once but twice. He got to the gas station first, and got served before the trucker. For any normal person this would not be cause to try to murder someone, however the truck driver is an unhinged psychopath who doesn't need much reason to go into an obsessive rage. Add to that the fact that David is driving a much smaller car, and the fact that they're out in the middle of nowhere with nary a cop around, and the truck driver probably saw David as easy prey.

Answer: "It was very common to see semi trucks with a half dozen or so license plates on them, each from a different state." And that's how the psycho trucker got away with it. He could have those 'trophy' plates on the front of the truck in plain sight, and to anyone who saw it, the truck would look like just another big rig with multiple license plates. Nothing out of the ordinary or suspicious about it.

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The Andromeda Strain picture

Question: If the Andromeda "Incident" at Piedmont and the facility were top secret, ever wonder what they did with the old man who knew of both? (I'm excluding the baby, since he can't talk or remember).

Answer: The government would have concocted an official story about what happened in Piedmont - attributing it to some natural disaster. The old man had dementia, was alcoholic, and suffered a severe emotional trauma, so it's doubtful many would give much credence to anything he had to say. He was also confined to a small area of the Wildfire complex and was given minimal information about what it was or where he was at. In his confused mental state at the time, he probably would have remembered little about what actually happened.

raywest

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The Abominable Dr. Phibes picture

Question: One of the doctors Phibes blames for his wife's death during an operation is Dr. Hargreaves, whose head is crushed inside a frog mask during a costume ball. But earlier, while introducing himself to Phibes, Dr. Hargreaves says he is a psychiatrist ("headshrinker"). Why would a psychiatrist be present during an operation to save someone's life?

Answer: A psychiatrist is still an M.D., and still went to medical school. Perhaps this one had some knowledge of the case, or was simply on hand to provide assistance.

wizard_of_gore

Answer: To treat anticipated shock.

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