I just thought this would be an interesting category, albeit an odd one originating with the likes of me.
Rear Window
L. B. Jeffries: Disorderly conduct (looking in people’s windows); assault (flashing his flash attachment at Raymond Burr)
Grace Kelly’s character: Burglary, trespassing
It’s a Wonderful Life
George Bailey: Drunk Driving; Assaulting a police officer; Harassing someone over the telephone; Assaulting a woman (when he stepped on Mary’s robe and it came off)
Bert the cop: Firing a firearm toward bystanders
**
Mighty Joe Young**
Jill Young: Failure to post warning signs on her property; entering the United States unaccompanied by an adult before the age of 21; tampering with a lock
Max O’Hara: Abducting an underage girl across a national border; tampering with a police vehicle; failure to assist officers when called on
Gregg Johnson: Assault and battery (he punched the truck driver); vehicle theft
Batman’s entire operation is criminal: Assault and battery, resisting arrest, wearing a mask in public to conceal his identity from law enforcement, failure to heed a traffic device, child endangerment. By repeating most of these in every sequel, he’s opening himself up to charges under RICO statutes. And the nipples in the Joel Schumacher films have to violate some decency statute.
Tony Stark is worse. He’s operating a heavily armed aircraft while intoxicated.
Casablanca is full of such crimes: Rick runs an illegal gambling operation, bribes the chief of police, and murders the chief Gestapo agent – that being a crime rather than an act of war, since Casablanca is controlled by Vichy France. He gets away with it, because said chief of police lets him get away with it.
Pretty much every action movie involves the heroes engaging in wanton acts of destruction and murder, although the latter is often waved away as “self-defense”.
Not to mention the sheer amounts of property damage that gets done. Especially in superhero movies. I know you’re saving everyone, Superman, but you REALLY didn’t need to use that skyscraper as a cudgel.
Aside from all the other misdeeds in that movie, doesn’t Ferris Bueller’s Day Off basically have one of the first scenes involve Grand Theft Auto of all things?
Wargames had a kid hack into a military mainframe, granted he didn’t know that last part.
A lot of movies (especially “high schoolers/college kids foil evil corrupt grown up’s plans” types) involve some sort of breaking and entering and theft at some point, even if it is for the greater good.
Might want to watch the ending again. They point the finger of blame at Fred MacMurray’s character. As noxious as Queeg is, none of his orders or actions are really out of line for a ship that’s basically on extended training maneuvers. The ball bearings were disconcerting, but when ball bearings are outlawed, only outlaws will have them.
In the novel (the movie waters down this point) Queeg is the false villain–the true villains are the mutineers, though we’re meant to be sympathetic to them, which sounds strange, I know.
Well there’s Oskar Schindler, in “Schindler’s List”.
His list of crimes is pretty extensive :- bribery, corrupting officials, sabotage (in his “armaments factory”), lying to officials, permitting illegal religious observances.
Of course his “crimes” are exactly what make him the film’s hero.
Numerous cops shows and movies are full of violations of civil rights. There’s barely a single episode of Pacific Blue,* Walker: Texas Ranger*, Martial Law, or The Big Easy where the police don’t intimidate suspects with threats of violence. Apparently the ACLU doesn’t exist in these shows.
V for Vendetta -
V: terrorism, kidnapping, torture, conspiracy, use of weapons of mass destruction, multiple and mass murder, murdering top government officials to conceal his identity, destruction of evidence (same reason), breaking and entering, broadcast regulations violations (broadcasting his messages on government equipment), brainwashing, forcing a man into one of his costumes to serve as a decoy and be killed by police, hacking government computers, sedition, concealing his identity from law enforcement.
Evey, post-torture and Stockholm Syndrome: blackmail, sedition, concealing her identity from law enforcement, use of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism.
Do the less-than-legal actions of the heroes keep you from enjoying the movie? I ask this with empathy, and sincerely hope you didn’t want Jimmy Stewart to merely threaten Raymond Burr by holding up a flashbulb in Rear Window…
The Lost World. The villains are meant to be evil, corporate InGen but Nick Van Owen and Sarah Harding free the captured dinosaurs who destroy all the equipment, which strands everyone on the island. Also, Nick rescues the baby rex which gets the trailers pushed over the edge of a cliff and then he takes Roland’s bullets. That in turn means Roland can only tranquilize the Rex and that gives Ludlow the idea to bring an adult Rex to San Diego. Damn you, Nick.
ETA: John Hammond’s also pretty sleazy even though he’s gone all conservationist. Sending Sarah off to the island was a manipulative bid to get Ian on the island.
