"Blues Brothers" nitpick

[BrainGlutton]

What's this about a tax lien on a Catholic orphanage? Aren't Church properties tax-exempt?

[E-Sabbath]

What's this about a tax lien on a Catholic orphanage? Aren't Church properties tax-exempt?
Actually, that was the only accurate part of the entire movie. There was a proposal to do so at the time in Chicago. It did not pass.

[silenus]

You're concerned about a plot hole? In "Blues Brothers?" The same movie that has Elwood Blues jump the Blues Mobile over a freeway gap while executing a 1 1/2 gainer in the tuck position, only to land without trashing the suspension, among other things? The movie with the car chase through a shopping mall? That "Blues Brothers?"














Yeah, that always bugged me too.

[Ferret Herder]

The movie with the car chase through a shopping mall?
That was a real (though abandoned) mall (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dixie_Square_Mall), at least.

[ElvisL1ves]

What's this about a tax lien on a Catholic orphanage? Aren't Church properties tax-exempt?Maybe they ran the orphanage on a for-profit basis. No exemption for those. Maybe the nuns rented the orphans out to sweatshops?

[Troy McClure SF]

The one thibng that bugged me the most about BB (one of my absolute all-time favorites) is in Elwood's apartment, Elwood said he falsified his renewal to 1060 W. Addison, Jake says "That's Wrigley Field."

I always though that the 1060 W Addison reveal should have been when the Nazis showed up. Jake kinda spoils the joke by telling us so quickly.

[Intravenus De Milo]

I always though that the 1060 W Addison reveal should have been when the Nazis showed up. Jake kinda spoils the joke by telling us so quickly.
Yeah, that would have been great, I agree, except that the parole officer and cops also blow the gag when they come to the sleazy boarding house to bust Elwood (right before the building undergoes, ah, urban renewal). John Candy's character says how much he liked the "Wrigley Field bit".

It does add a certain "those Nazis are so dumb LOL" angle to the gag, though :D

[Khampelf]

Curtis (Cab Calloway) does address that issue in passing, oh wait, not that issue. He says the church has no interest in keeping the place, not that it's exempt because it's church property.

Yeah, the nazi's are pretty dumb. Paint a mean eagle stautette, though...

[Cluricaun]

Churches are exempt from paying income taxes, but not property taxes.........

[Gatopescado]

No, no, no!

The wrong part of that movie is when "The Good Ole Boys" show up at Bob Country Bunker, obviously late and after closing and still think they need to rush in and do a gig.

What were they thinking? Huh? STEIN?

[Boyo Jim]

That was a real (though abandoned) mall (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dixie_Square_Mall), at least.

Yup, Harvey is my home shithol.... er, town.

[Princhester]

The wrong part of that movie is when "The Good Ole Boys" show up at Bob Country Bunker, obviously late and after closing and still think they need to rush in and do a gig.

What were they thinking? Huh? STEIN?

That's the part that always bothers me. I mean, for car chases I already have my bullshit meter turned off. Somehow this sort of human detail annoys me more. Go figure.

[Oslo Ostragoth]

Actually, that was the only accurate part of the entire movie. There was a proposal to do so at the time in Chicago. It did not pass.Yet another shining moment for the Chicago City Council?

[cochrane]

Here's a video (http://youtube.com/watch?v=_aCtsv6aytw) of a kid who apparently thought he was Elwood. The police say this was definitely a planned stunt, and not an accident.

[Princhester]

Here's a video (http://youtube.com/watch?v=_aCtsv6aytw) of a kid who apparently thought he was Elwood. The police say this was definitely a planned stunt, and not an accident.

See, when you're doing this stunt it's very important to choose a single level mall, as Elwood could tell you. Not a two level mall with openings you can fall through. That kid was doing it wrong.

[BrainGlutton]

Churches are exempt from paying income taxes, but not property taxes.........

Eh? They're property-tax-exempt in every state of the Union, AFAIK.

[TheLoadedDog]

Hehe.

What about the Illinois Nazis (I hate Illinois Nazis) falling off the end of the freeway at about 5000 feet above sea level?

The malls ain't nuthin'.

[BrainGlutton]

Yet another shining moment for the Chicago City Council?

Would they even have the authority to tax church property in Chicago? I believe the tax exemption is a matter of state law (in every state).

[Johnny Angel]

What about the Illinois Nazis (I hate Illinois Nazis) falling off the end of the freeway at about 5000 feet above sea level?

That has my vote for the silliest thing that happens in the film. Sure, the wild coincidence that The Good Ol' Boys just happen to be extremely late the night that Jake decides to scam them is kind of a weird burp in the plot, but compared to the fact that after the phone booth is blown sky high, they fall and as they are writhing on the ground after it crashes they begin reaching for the payphone change now scattered on the ground is crazier to me. Okay, they just see the world differently. A record company executive just happens to show up at the end of the concert and obviate the need to collect the gate money because he's got all the cash the brothers need on him. Highly unlikely. But, Ackroyd built deus ex machina into the story itself, which if it isn't clear by the time they make it to Daley Plaza is absolutely clear when the Bluesmobile which had been held together by the will of God finally falls all to pieces.

[Cervaise]

That was a real (though abandoned) mall (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dixie_Square_Mall), at least.Wow. Endlessly fascinating.

[Troy McClure SF]

See, when you're doing this stunt it's very important to choose a single level mall, as Elwood could tell you.
You could almost say they needed a mall with... lotsa space?

Come on, do I have to do everything around here? ;)

Yeah, that would have been great, I agree, except that the parole officer and cops also blow the gag when they come to the sleazy boarding house to bust Elwood (right before the building undergoes, ah, urban renewal). John Candy's character says how much he liked the "Wrigley Field bit".

I think it still works. Candy's line works as an inside joke Chicagoans and those in the know, but it just extends the setup for everyone else, and the Nazis still get the punchline.

[detop]

<snip> A record company executive just happens to show up at the end of the concert and obviate the need to collect the gate money because he's got all the cash the brothers need on him. Highly unlikely. But, Ackroyd built deus ex machina into the story itself, which if it isn't clear by the time they make it to Daley Plaza is absolutely clear when the Bluesmobile which had been held together by the will of God finally falls all to pieces.

Duh !! They're on a mission from God after all :p

[Johnny Angel]

Duh !! They're on a mission from God after all
Exactly. God delayed the Good Ol' Boys, he arranged for the former head bouncer to show up with a load of bread, he caused countless police cars to pile up with no actual loss of life. Deus ex machina was the actual premise of the whole movie, and they were quite upfront about it.

[Annie-Xmas]

Exactly. God delayed the Good Ol' Boys, he arranged for the former head bouncer to show up with a load of bread, he caused countless police cars to pile up with no actual loss of life. Deus ex machina was the actual premise of the whole movie, and they were quite upfront about it.

And God held the Bluesmobile together through the mission until the taxes were paid.

[Spoons]

You could almost say they needed a mall with... lotsa space?

Come on, do I have to do everything around here?Naw. F'rinstance, I'll point out that the new Oldsmobiles are in. ;)

Some years back, when I was in Chicago and found myself in Daley Plaza, I headed over to the site where the Bluesmobile fell apart, and was surprised to find how small the statues that look down upon the brothers and their car were. The movie made them seem so much bigger.

[Johnny Angel]

Mind you, the electric light show God provided in Blues Brothers 2000 blew my own threshold for how far they could go with that gimmick. I'm prepared to believe that God's hand, though invisible, commited outrageous interventions for a relatively small goal in the original film -- theirs was a God who loved car chases. But the sky show in the clouds during the performance of Ghost Riders in the Sky seemed showy and to no purpose.

I point this out just to show that even a gimmick that gives a movie a massive amount of license only works if there are at least some constraints beyond which you lose the audience. I apologize to those for whom Blues Brothers 2000 never happened.

[Pashnish Ewing]

I apologize to those for whom Blues Brothers 2000 never happened.Apology accepted.

[E-Sabbath]

Damn fine soundtrack, though.

[Intravenus De Milo]

You could almost say they needed a mall with... lotsa space?

"Will there be anything else?"
"Yes, do you have Miss Piggy?"

For the longest time, I thought that guy was a young Bill Murray. I guess not.

[Shot Clock]

That's the part that always bothers me......Somehow this sort of human detail annoys me more. Go figure.

Well, what are you going to do about it, Whitey? :p

[Annie-Xmas]

"Will there be anything else?"
"Yes, do you have Miss Piggy?"



The prison guy giving Jake back his things at the beginning of the movie was Frank Oz. One of his few roles without his hand up a felt ass.

[muldoonthief]

The prison guy giving Jake back his things at the beginning of the movie was Frank Oz. One of his few roles without his hand up a felt ass.

"One Timex digital watch, broken."

"One prophylactic, unused."

"One, soiled."

[a35362]

Yes! He sounds like Fozzie Bear...really, really pissed.

[Humble Servant]

What's this about a tax lien on a Catholic orphanage? Aren't Church properties tax-exempt?I'm not sure what it says about me that I am about to give an historically detailed answer to this question on a message board in the context of The Blues Brothers, but hey--it's not every day that one gets the opportunity to discuss tax exemption laws with actual, you know, volunteers.

Each entity that wants to avoid paying taxes has to find and obtain an exemption for each tax--federal, state and local and income, property and sales. It is possible to be tax-exempt for federal income tax purposes but not local property tax purposes. To get these various exemptions, the entity has to meet various requirements. "Church properties" are not conveniently "owned" by a single entity or treated in the same way--each property needs its own exemption analysis.

Historically, before the bureaucrats got their acts organized and developed forms and policies, there were orphanages and Cook County more or less informally didn't make them pay property taxes. Also historically, there were bunches of Catholic entities pursuing various more or less do-gooder type missions (or non-entities since not all of them bothered to formally create corporations).

Once the bureaucracy got up and running, these organizations would eventually be asked to file the proper paperwork for property tax exemption and would then be scrutinized for eligibility. (Again, historically, there was leeway (an assumtion of acceptability--but not one mandated by law) for Catholic charities that were listed in the Catholic Directory, a handy list since many organizations were not formally in existence as corporations (think Knights of Columbus St. Rita's chapter, or an orphanage run by an order of nuns headquartered in Sienna, Italy that believes service is more important than paperwork).)

There is no requirement that the County property tax board grant a tax exemption if infromation and evidence of chartitable purpose is not provided, and any exemption granted is not permanent but may be reviewed annually (or on a rolling 3-4 year or similar basis depending on County rules). Indeed, given increasing pressure to generate tax revenues, Cook County has from time to time taken interesting aggressive action in this regard--I remember a dust-up over whether the Bishop's lovely large Lincoln Park property should be subdivided in such a way so that the "empty" land (garden or park) surrounding the residence could be taxed--it was not being "used" for religious or charitable purposes, after all. Also recently various Illinois Counties have started demanding property taxes from tax-exempt hospitals given that they do not seem to provide a satisfactory amount of free care to patients.

In any event, an orphanage should be an acceptable tax-exempt use of property for Cook County tax exemption purposes, but it would not be unheard of for the exemption filing paperwork to have fallen through the cracks (or for the order of nuns with no legal expertise to have relied on the Bishop's admin staff to handle it for them).

Dislaimers, etc., this is all from memory with no fresh confirmation. But, yeah, the premise is unlikely. OTOH, the movie (Aretha!) is still cool and it is still Chicago. My question is whether it is officially a musical.

[outlierrn]

I'm not sure what it says about me that I am about to give an historically detailed answer to this question on a message board in the context of The Blues Brothers, but hey--it's not every day that one gets the opportunity to discuss tax exemption laws with actual, you know, volunteers.

Each entity that wants to avoid paying taxes has to find and obtain an exemption for each tax--federal, state and local and income, property and sales. It is possible to be tax-exempt for federal income tax purposes but not local property tax purposes. To get these various exemptions, the entity has to meet various requirements. "Church properties" are not conveniently "owned" by a single entity or treated in the same way--each property needs its own exemption analysis.

Historically, before the bureaucrats got their acts organized and developed forms and policies, there were orphanages and Cook County more or less informally didn't make them pay property taxes. Also historically, there were bunches of Catholic entities pursuing various more or less do-gooder type missions (or non-entities since not all of them bothered to formally create corporations).

Once the bureaucracy got up and running, these organizations would eventually be asked to file the proper paperwork for property tax exemption and would then be scrutinized for eligibility. (Again, historically, there was leeway (an assumtion of acceptability--but not one mandated by law) for Catholic charities that were listed in the Catholic Directory, a handy list since many organizations were not formally in existence as corporations (think Knights of Columbus St. Rita's chapter, or an orphanage run by an order of nuns headquartered in Sienna, Italy that believes service is more important than paperwork).)

There is no requirement that the County property tax board grant a tax exemption if infromation and evidence of chartitable purpose is not provided, and any exemption granted is not permanent but may be reviewed annually (or on a rolling 3-4 year or similar basis depending on County rules). Indeed, given increasing pressure to generate tax revenues, Cook County has from time to time taken interesting aggressive action in this regard--I remember a dust-up over whether the Bishop's lovely large Lincoln Park property should be subdivided in such a way so that the "empty" land (garden or park) surrounding the residence could be taxed--it was not being "used" for religious or charitable purposes, after all. Also recently various Illinois Counties have started demanding property taxes from tax-exempt hospitals given that they do not seem to provide a satisfactory amount of free care to patients.

In any event, an orphanage should be an acceptable tax-exempt use of property for Cook County tax exemption purposes, but it would not be unheard of for the exemption filing paperwork to have fallen through the cracks (or for the order of nuns with no legal expertise to have relied on the Bishop's admin staff to handle it for them).

Dislaimers, etc., this is all from memory with no fresh confirmation. But, yeah, the premise is unlikely. OTOH, the movie (Aretha!) is still cool and it is still Chicago. My question is whether it is officially a musical.



Of course it's a musical, they have both Kinds of music!

[Gatopescado]

That's the part that always bothers me. I mean, for car chases I already have my bullshit meter turned off. Somehow this sort of human detail annoys me more. Go figure.

We both think alike.

We both are in serious trouble.

Are you my "Southern Hemisphere Doppleganger Nutcase"? If so, send me all the Sleepy Jackson and Clouds material you have. I'll send what ever you want back.

[Princhester]

Are you my "Southern Hemisphere Doppleganger Nutcase"? If so, send me all the Sleepy Jackson and Clouds material you have. I'll send what ever you want back.

Given that I have no idea what your second sentence means, I'm guessing not ;)