General questions about movies, TV and more

This page is for general questions - if you've got a question about a specific title, please check the title-specific questions page first. Members get e-mailed when any of their questions are answered.

My dad remembers a movie from when he was younger about an old man living in someone's house while they were gone (squatting, not housesitting). He also thinks the plot somehow involved salt and pepper shakers. The movie would be older, probably 1940s or 50s; he's pretty sure it was in black and white. The title or more plot information would be much appreciated.

Answer: How about "It Happend on 5th Ave" 1943 with Don Defor and Charles Ruggles?

Do you know the name of an old German film that has "007" in the title? Not sure what year but it was one of my mum's favourites as a child and she was born in 1952.

Answer: It might be the 1966 movie 'Eispraktor 007'.

Blibbetyblip

All I can remember is near the end the female lead is living in a little house and I think she has either one or two children in bed. She goes into the sitting room of the house and starts to sew. She is also pretending to be pregnant and there is a man who is after her and her children but when he comes to get her she stabs him with a pair of scissors. I'm not sure but I think she might also be a police officer or something to do with the law.

Answer: This movie is called Taking Lives, with Angelina Jolie and Ethan Hawke.

Joel Amos Gordon

I remember watching a movie (or was it a TV show?) at my aunt's house several years ago. I forgot the name, and I am just curious to find out what it was. All I remember was the end, which involved a car that went crazy with a mind of its own (I think it took place in a desert). I remember a schoolbus somewhere in the scene, also, as well as a woman who was trying to dodge the car. And the last thing I remember is the car driving off of a cliff, and blowing up. Does this ring a bell in anyone's mind?

Answer: The film that comes to mind is 'The Car' - 1977. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075809/. Features a demnoic car that ends up flying off a cliff and exploding at the end in a ball of hellfire. Hope this is the film you are thinking of.

I saw this cartoon some time ago and I cannot remember the name. It was about 2 girls who fell down a well into a magical land. While they were trying to find their way home they encountered various people/creatures who lived there and would ask for help. One girl always helped out while the other did nothing but complain. I remember one girl was named Maria and I seem to remember a necklace being involved somehow. Can anyone remember this? Thanks.

Answer: Once Upon a Time (1976).

There was a movie I saw in the nineties but I don't know if it was made in the nineties. I believe it was about a group of friendly monsters, including Frankenstein and Dracula, who move in with a family, or something. All I really remember is the ending where the monsters are getting sucked through a portal, and the family members are trying to hold on to them, but its no good. I also remember the song December 1963 (Oh what a night) played during the credits. Does anyone know what movie I am talking about? It's not "Monster Squad".

Answer: It's "Saturday The 14" (1981) starring Richard Benjamin and Paula Prentiss.

John Cyr

Where can a person submit suggestions for movies/tv shows to be released on DVD? Does such a data bank exist for those who decide which movies will or will not be released on DVD? Who decides what movies or tv shows from the past will or will not be made available to the public?

Answer: These should be directed at the production company. These companies decide what to release based on three main qualifying factors, usually in order of priority: 1) Will it sell? 2) Do we have the rights to sell it? 3) Is the print in decent condition and if not is it worth doing any work on it in lieu of factors 1 and 2? Many film and closed TV company programme libraries have changed ownership over the years, some with no clues as to who owns the material.

Neil Jones

I am looking for the name of a war movie in which the two countries fighting sent a lone soldier to fight instead of an entire army. It took place on an island and I don't believe they had weapons. During the movie the warring factions sent another soldier to help win the fight. This was against the rules and the original combatants killed their own man out of respect. The winner was supposed to transmit a code back to the countries declaring victory. It ended with both men dying on the beach and only the transmission being sent without the code so neither side knew which man won. I saw this on tv as a kid in 70's. I know one of the soldiers was American and I think the other was Japanese.

Answer: The movie is a 1970 TV movie of the week. It is called The Challenge. It starred Darrin McGavin as Gallery (he had a double barrelled machine gun) and Mako as his opponent. There is no official relase of this movie on DVD or tape. Independent copies may be found but are very rare. Been looking for it a long time myself.

I recently watched Hitchcock's "The Birds" again. It had been a long time since my last viewing, and I thought I remembered in one of the bird attack scenes - maybe when the school is attacked - a female character with dark hair gets overwhelmed by birds and has her eyeball pecked out. I remember seeing this, because it traumatized me as a kid. The scene didn't appear this time. Could it be that I'm imagining I saw such a scene, or is it from a different film? Please tell me I'm not crazy.

Answer: There is the scene where they find Annie, the school teacher, and her eyes had been pecked. You only see this image briefly and from the side. Perhaps that's what you're thinking of.

ChiChi

I remember a sitcom from a few years ago- it was about two grandfathers who live in Martha's Vineyard. One owns a book shop and most of the scenes play there. One is quite reserved, and the other is quite a ladies man. Any one know what this is?

Answer: Sounds like "George & Leo" with Bob Newhart & Judd Hirsch. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118323/.

Volanges

Anyone remember a series of psychological thriller/horrors on Friday nights (I think) on ITV early 80's? Very scary, I think they were called American Thrillers or something like that. They were parodied in a memorable French & Saunders sketch where Celia Imrie was screaming on the telephone ("Have you got the credit card? I thought it was in the suitcase!"). It wasn't Armchair Thriller, which was on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Help.

Answer: There was a series called "Thriller" in the late 70s that aired on British Televion. Details can be found on Wikipedia "Thriller (UK TV Series)"

OneHappyHusky

I am trying to find out the name of a period piece movie, about a couple who have no jobs but several children. In the end, the couple both get jobs. As they return home joyfully to tell the children, they find them all dead, the oldest one having killed the younger ones and himself, and something like "too many mouths to feed" written on the wall.

Answer: The movie is Jude with Kate Winslet.

The film I am looking for is about a Asian man who is in the Asian mafia and gets banned to America in order to save his life. He proceeds to start running an underground killing spree. I believe the name of the movie was his name but i am not sure. This film has plenty of good killing scenes and I would love to see it again. Does anyone have a suggested title?

Answer: This sounds like 'Brother' (2000): a Yakuza man must leave Japan and goes to live with his younger brother in the US, then initiates several gang wars. He is referred to repeatedly as 'brother'.

Who knows the movie in which the character played by Michael Douglas says the terrific line 'I find myself knee deep in bohemian cache'? I thought it was 'The Game' but it isn't. It's driving me nuts.

Answer: It's "A Perfect Murder".

Myridon

I remember watching a film on Sky movies that I can't remember the title of. It was about a boy and a dog who got lost/stranded on an island. They try to survive and make traps. Then a helicopter comes and takes the boy and forgets the dog. That's all I can remember.

Answer: Far from Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog.

Can anyone identify this movie? Probably made in the late 40s, a romantic comedy. A woman tries to elude a wealthy bachelor so she boards a train for a vacation in the mountains. He finds out and diverts her train car to Palm Beach (?) (a warm place). The scene I remember is her striding across the lobby of the train station. She is wearing a plaid wool jacket/winter clothes and the bystanders are staring at her. It is not Palm Beach Story. Thanks.

Answer: That sounds like "My Life with Caroline" with Ronald Coleman. IMDB summary: "Caroline and Anthony Mason have been married for five years. Due to his successful business, Anthony spends a lot of time away from Caroline. Even though Caroline loves Anthony, she is 'in love' with another man every two or three years. It is at these times that Anthony arrives to save the marriage." The part about the plaid jacket sounds familiar. She was about to run away with a man, but her husband (Coleman) diverts her somehow. She's a lot younger than he is.

In sci fi movies it seems (mostly) there is one scene with a rotating fan or fans. Usually they are backlit and slightly foggy, but they usually serve no purpose. Sometimes a duct fan, sometimes a stand-up room fan. One film had 20 of the things in a 'wall of fans'. Does anybody know the significance of throwing a meaningless fan into a movie?

Answer: The only use I can think of is that it makes a cool, creepy lighting effect, often when shot through a foggy environment. If the scene is set in a warehouse or other such facility, the fan being there may be justfied.

I am trying to search for a kids movie I saw when I was young, it would have been in the 80's. The plot was about a young girl with a talking doll, she went through her mirror to find some bright orange berries to bring back for her grandmother who was sick. When she came back through the mirror after stealing the berries from an evil witch, she tripped and dropped them and once they hit the ground, they disappeared. Does anyone remember this movie?

Answer: It's called TheHugga Bunch: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0173915/.

I am searching for a movie I saw in grade school several years ago. The only thing I can remember about it was from the perspective of insects, played by humans of course. I remember a spider and a dragonfly, which gets caught in his/her web. The only other thing I can remember is a cigarette butt being thrown into the grass causing the insects to flee. Does anyone have any idea about the name and possibly if it is still available to purchase?

Answer: Is it "Honey I Shrunk the Kids"?

There was a movie I used to watch on the Disney Channel around the late 1980s to 1990s that was about a little girl in a yellow dress, and I think reddish hair, who would have adventures outside. Most of the time the little girl was animated and in the end she would be in live action again.

Answer: I think you are thinking of the show "Madeline".

Vin15Nets

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.