# Cool movie trivia **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 10, 2019, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-movie-trivia/841594 "2019-10-10T14:44:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2019, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-movie-trivia/841594/21 "2019-10-10T22:30:09Z")
When the book _Rocket Boys_ was adapted to the movies, producers thought the title would turn off women, so they changed it _October Sky_ - which just happens to be a perfect anagram of the original title. ---
**Author:** ![Sefton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2019, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-movie-trivia/841594/22 "2019-10-10T22:33:16Z")
The movie _Elephant Man_ was produced by Mel Brooks, but he removed his name to keep from confusing people. Arnold Schwarzenegger auditioned to play _Flash Gordon_, but Sam J. Jones got it because the producer’s mother-in-law saw him on The Dating Game. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2019, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-movie-trivia/841594/23 "2019-10-10T22:44:25Z")
McLean Stevenson, who played Henry Blake in the television series M_A_S\*H, died on Feburary 15, 1996. Roger Bowen, who played Henry Blake in the film version of M_A_S\*H, died on February 16, 1996. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2019, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-movie-trivia/841594/24 "2019-10-10T23:07:55Z")
Rutger Hauer died in 2019, the same real year that his most iconic character, Roy Batty died in in _Blade Runner_ (set in a fictional 2019). ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2019, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-movie-trivia/841594/25 "2019-10-11T00:38:51Z")
1966: Roderick Thorp publishes [The Detective](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Detective_(novel)), a novel about a detective named Joe Leland. 1968: Twentieth Century Fox releases [The Detective](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Detective_(1968_film)), starring Frank Sinatra as Joe Leland. Sinatra’s contract gives him the right to star in any sequel that might be made in the future. 1979: Roderick Thorp publishes [Nothing Lasts Forever](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nothing_Lasts_Forever_(Thorp_novel)), about an aging Leland rescuing his daughter from terrorists in a skyscraper. Twentieth Century Fox wants to film the sequel, but is obligated to offer the role to Sinatra. Sinatra is too old to play an action hero, but it takes some time to persuade him to relinquish the rights. Eventually, they change the character’s name from “Joe Leland” to “John McLain”, cast Bruce Willis, and make [Die Hard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_Hard), released in 1988. George Raft turned down _High Sierra_ and _The Maltese Falcon_, which became two of Humphrey Bogart’s best movies. He turned down _Double Indemnity_, which became one of Fred MacMurray’s best movies. ---
**Author:** ![Personal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Personal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Personal)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2019, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-movie-trivia/841594/26 "2019-10-11T02:22:15Z")
According to _Of All the Gin Joints: Stumbling Through Hollywood_ (Bailey, 2014), Spencer Tracy was a closet binge drinker. He’d lock himself in a room at the St. George Hotel in Brooklyn for “weeks at a time, downing bottle after bottle of whiskey” in the bathtub naked, not even getting up to use the toilet. He was so prolific a drinker that Louis B. Mayer had the “Tracy Squad,” an ambulance driver, a doctor and four security guards dressed as paramedics whose only job was to pick up Tracy and other drunk film stars. And apparently, every bar and nightclub within 25 miles of the MGM lot had a private number to call the studio to call if Tracy walked in. ---
**Author:** ![eunoia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eunoia/32/97_2.png) [@eunoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eunoia)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2019, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-movie-trivia/841594/27 "2019-10-11T03:30:26Z")
In Davide Manuli’s La leggenda di Kaspar Hauser (2012) Vincent Gallo and Silvia Calderoni aren’t really DJing because neither needle is ever on a record, and Vitalic’s Poison Lips doesn’t exist on vinyl 45 anyway. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2019, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-movie-trivia/841594/28 "2019-10-11T09:08:02Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > George Raft turned down _High Sierra_ and _The Maltese Falcon_, which became two of Humphrey Bogart’s best movies. He turned down _Double Indemnity_, which became one of Fred MacMurray’s best movies. In _ **Some Like It Hot** _ (1959), George Raft asks a coin-flipping hood “Where did ya pick up that cheap trick?" Raft himself had done the same “trick” in \*\*\*Scarface \*\*\*(1932). The hood (who later popped out of the birthday cake and machine-gunned Raft and his crew) was played by Edward G Robinson, Jr. Billy Wilder wanted to cast Edward Sr as Little Bonaparte, but he refused to appear in the same picture as Raft, whom he intensely disliked. Nehemiah Persoff was cast instead (and gave Bonaparte a Mussolini-type persona). ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2019, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-movie-trivia/841594/29 "2019-10-11T11:39:43Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > The 1931 _Dracula_, which made Bela Lugosi famous, and the 1979 _Dracula_, which made Frank Langella famous, were both based on the stage play, adapted from Bram Stoker’s novel by Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston. Lugosi and Langella had both played the role on Broadway. The original stage play was written by Hamilton Deane, who ran the company that put the play on, and wanted to play Dracula himself (he didn’t – but he play Van Helsing). John L. Balderston had nothing to do with the original play, and, for all I know, probably never even met Hamilton Deane. Balderston was given the task of rewriting the play to Broadway standards, and he essentially redid the entire pay, retaining Deane adaptation of the plot and a few chunks of dialogue. Balderston later wrote the screenplay for the 1931 film (he’s the one who added all the Transylvania scenes. He’s also the one who came up with the line “I do not drink … wine.” – It’s not in the book or in Deane’s original play. ) He went on to write the final script for the original **Frankenstein** and both the screen story and the script for **The Mummy**. he also scripted **the Bride of Frankenstein** , and had an uncredited hand in other scripts. Like the later Curt Siodmak, he had a huge influence on the monster films that warped my childhood, but is pretty much forgotten. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2019, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-movie-trivia/841594/30 "2019-10-11T11:50:18Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > He was also the test proctor in “Spies Like Us”, also with Dan Aykroyd. A film that featured Bob Hope’s last film appearance, a brief cameo. It wasn’t his last work in the industry, but it was the last time he appeared in a movie. His last actual work was a starring role with Don Ameche in his first-ever made-for-TV movie titled “A Masterpiece of Murder,” and some voice work for _The Simpsons_. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2019, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-movie-trivia/841594/31 "2019-10-11T14:06:09Z")
Ed O’Neill was not in “Deliverance.” In the scene where Rosemary is using the phone, director William Castle is one of impatient bystanders waiting to use the phone. However. . . It really looks like the back of Ralph Bellamy’s head before the bystander walks offscreen, the reappears as Castle. Rosemary tells a young woman that she looks a lot like the actress Victoria Vetri. The actress was played by Angela Dorian. Her real name: Victoria Vetri. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2019, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-movie-trivia/841594/32 "2019-10-11T14:12:55Z")
Morgan Freeman agreed to audition of the role of Ellis Boyd “Red” Redding:. the Shawshank Redemption character who was a middle-aged red haired Irishmen in the Stephen King novella. In addition to Frank Oz, The Blues Brothers also had a cameo by Steven Spielberg, playing the sandwich eating cashier who accepts the municipal tax payment from Jake & Elwood. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2019, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-movie-trivia/841594/33 "2019-10-11T14:16:06Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > Ed O’Neill was not in “Deliverance.” Did someone say he was? Or is that just an example of the most trivial trivia? ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2019, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-movie-trivia/841594/34 "2019-10-11T14:17:54Z")
The woman who delivers the classic line, “I’ll have what she’s having,” in _When Harry Met Sally…_ was director Rob Reiner’s mother, Estelle. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2019, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-movie-trivia/841594/35 "2019-10-11T14:29:26Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > Ed O’Neill was not in “Deliverance.” > > In the scene where Rosemary is using the phone, director William Castle is one of impatient bystanders waiting to use the phone. However. . . It really looks like the back of Ralph Bellamy’s head before the bystander walks offscreen, the reappears as Castle. > > Rosemary tells a young woman that she looks a lot like the actress Victoria Vetri. The actress was played by Angela Dorian. Her real name: Victoria Vetri. William Castle did not direct Rosemarys Baby. Roman Polanski did. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2019, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-movie-trivia/841594/36 "2019-10-11T14:34:09Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > William Castle did not direct Rosemarys Baby. Roman Polanski did. You are correct. Castle was the producer of Rosemary’s Baby. He also directed other films, making **Earl** ’s statement true in some sense. Not sure what\*\* Earl \*\*intended there ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2019, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-movie-trivia/841594/37 "2019-10-11T14:38:42Z")
Another Rosemary’s Baby bit: Tony Perkins, who was a friend of Mia Farrow’s, visited the set unannounced one day. Before she could see him, Polanski had him call her, playing the role of Donald Baumgart, who Rosemary calls. Mia’s puzzlement is real. She knows she knows the voice, but can’t place it. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2019, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-movie-trivia/841594/38 "2019-10-11T14:43:12Z")
I’m not sure if this counts, (and I’m not sure how little known it is, either) but: If you ever find yourself called upon to define the rather obscure English word “Screever” (meaning = pavement artist), your best citation is [Disney, Walt: Mary Poppins (1964)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fHppd_KtP4) \*Today I’m a screever, and as you can see A screever’s an artist of 'ighest degree \* Enjoy. j PS - yes, I know there are other meanings ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2019, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-movie-trivia/841594/39 "2019-10-11T15:34:41Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Did someone say he was? Or is that just an example of the most trivial trivia? It was in Leonard Maltin’s paperback movie guide for quite a few years. > [@TriPolar](#): > > . . . Not sure what\*\* Earl \*\*intended there Eh. . . just that the back of the head looks like Bellamy, who played Dr. Saperstein in the movie, less so than Castle. Some horror movie experts claim it actually is Bellamy. Maybe so. Plausible, possibly to show that Rosemary’s mind is playing tricks on her? ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [October 11, 2019, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-movie-trivia/841594/40 "2019-10-11T16:01:02Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > In the “In A Pickle” episode of _The Magic School Bus_, Miss Frizzle’s prison uniform number was 24601. Can you explain why that might be a notable fact? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-movie-trivia/841594.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cool-movie-trivia/841594.md?page=3)