Corrected entry: Throughout the series of the Hannibal Lecter films, his name remains the same. He is a wanted man. He would have been arrested and questioned at the very least between the end of 'Hannibal Rising' and the beginning of 'Red Dragon'. This would probably have convicted him. The 1950's police may have had limited technology but they would have his name at least on record. Even if the 1950's police thought Hannibal had been killed in the explosion in 'Hannibal Rising', they would have to assume he was still alive when they couldn't find his body (or body parts for that matter). I guess its a bit like the London serial killer 'Jack the Ripper' who was killing his victims a lot earlier than Hannibal was. They had hardly any technology, no evidence and no idea who he was, but I'm sure that if someone was calling himself 'Jack the Ripper' 20-30 years later, he would be 'brought in for questioning.
Corrected entry: I may need correcting here, but if the 1950's police (especially the war crimes inspector) believe that Hannibal Lecter has committed murders, Hannibal must be a wanted man, with his name and photo on a wanted persons list? At the start of Red Dragon when Hannibal is captured, Hannibal still uses the name Dr Hannibal Lecter. Surely his name would have been known to the authorities and he would have been captured (and most likely found guilty) years before red dragon.
Correction: First, there is the level of technology for the 50s. Wanted posters and what not had to be sent via mail. Police agencies could communicate by phone, but not being able to attach a face to a name would slow down arrests. Second, as far as the authorities were concerned, Hannibal died in the explosion on the boat. No reason to search, or send warnings, about a man you assume to be dead.
Corrected entry: Hannibal's final victim in the movie is supposed to be in Melville, Saskatchewan, and he is told it is near Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. These two cities are 356km apart, and about four hours drive away, longer in the 1950's. This is further distance apart than Paris to Marseilles, France, where most of the movie took place. Also, Melville is surrounded by farmland and fields, not the forest depicted in the movie. The Prairies near Melville are pretty much barren of trees.
Correction: I am from Melville - and it definitely did not look like this in the 1950s. Sorry. But prairie is correct. That means no trees as is depicted in the movie. Melville is too far south to have that many trees. Farmland is all you would see, and trees around acreages and farms. Also - Melville is near Saskatoon when you consider that they are in Europe when they are talking about it.
Correction: There are only two cities "near" Melville - Regina & Saskatoon. Roughly the same size, Regina is a little closer, but Saskatoon is a better known name - especially to someone from out of the country. The scene takes place IN Melville, not in the prairies near it. And there are woods around most small towns in this part of the country (the sign says "Hamlet of Melville", so it's very small!).
Correction: How would they track down his name? Get on the internet? Access the Interpol network? This all would have had to be done by hand, either over the phone or in person. But it would still entail a hand search of some old records. World War 2 ended in 1945 and it has taken over 40 years to track down and prosecute some of the Nazi prison guards just because the information is so hard to follow. And just how common is the name Hannibal Lecter? And he was presumed dead at the end of this movie. Police do not keep open files on dead suspects.
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