# Describe a movie you saw and liked as a kid but can't remember its title **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 4, 2014, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/describe-a-movie-you-saw-and-liked-as-a-kid-but-cant-remember-its-title/677911 "2014-01-04T23:41:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2014, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/describe-a-movie-you-saw-and-liked-as-a-kid-but-cant-remember-its-title/677911/81 "2014-01-06T06:45:28Z")
> [@Dr. Zeus](#): > > I think I saw this movie on television around 2000. It probably came out some time before then. I only caught the beginning of it. What I definitely remember is there was a scene in which the housekeeper is dead on the kitchen floor, blood pooling around her. What I think I remember (I am not sure if this actually happened) is there was a new family who moved to the house. One of them came back to find the dead housekeeper. > > I tried searching for the movie, and the only one which had any semblance to what I remembered is What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice? (1969), which I have seen described as a dark comedy, and I remember the movie being described as one as well. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t sound quite right. [Phantoms](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119891/?ref_=nm_flmg_wr_7)? A teen-age girl moves to a small mountain town to live with her sister the doctor. My submission: The movie was probably made in the late '80s. I think I rented the video. A cab-driver agrees to take a woman to a different city. They stop to eat in a diner on the way. She won’t answer questions about herself; he deduces she is in trouble, and insists he should help her. She refuses, because he doesn’t know what he is getting into, and he will get her killed. He keeps following her, and sure enough, she gets killed, possibly because he led the Bad Guys to her. Possibly in a passenger train. What I remember most is that he never realized that, yes, he had indeed got her killed because he didn’t know what he was doing. ---
**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:** [January 6, 2014, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/describe-a-movie-you-saw-and-liked-as-a-kid-but-cant-remember-its-title/677911/82 "2014-01-06T13:20:44Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > I’ll give these a shot: > –a film that used to run all the time on the Discovery Channel in the late 80s, although it was from the early 70s. It was about a retarded teenager and how he lived his everyday life. It was a scripted movie, but many of the shots seemed out of a documentary. The only specific scene I remember was him trying to buy Carpenters and Jerry Reed albums at a record store. > –a movie where they pan up a hotel or apartment building as they call out draft numbers (obviously it was set around 1970). > –a clip from a spoof of forties B-movies where there was a “no necking” public announcement between the features. I believe that the last item is a real announcement that ran in theaters “We’re glad you were bitten by the Love Bug, but no Public Displays of Affection. 'Nuff Said?” or words to that effect. If I recall correctly, it’s included in the documentary **The Atomic Café**. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2014, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/describe-a-movie-you-saw-and-liked-as-a-kid-but-cant-remember-its-title/677911/83 "2014-01-06T13:39:22Z")
For me it’s a cartoon where two kids are in a blimp visiting various crazy worlds including one where it was a land of people with block heads. ---
**Author:** ![Attila\_the\_Nun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Attila\_the\_Nun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attila_the_Nun)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2014, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/describe-a-movie-you-saw-and-liked-as-a-kid-but-cant-remember-its-title/677911/84 "2014-01-06T15:36:03Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Could it have been _ **Curdled** _? > > [Curdled (film) - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curdled_(film)) I skimmed through it on Netflix and a scene in it looked very similar, I will watch the whole thing later. Although, it just doesn’t seem to be the same movie. > [@j666](#): > > [Phantoms](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119891/?ref_=nm_flmg_wr_7)? > > A teen-age girl moves to a small mountain town to live with her sister the doctor. I am reasonably sure it wasn’t Phantoms. I watched it several years ago, but I will watch it again to be sure. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2014, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/describe-a-movie-you-saw-and-liked-as-a-kid-but-cant-remember-its-title/677911/85 "2014-01-06T18:50:00Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > I googled ‘skinny fat japanese kid movie’ and, I shit you not, came back with “Skinny and Fatty” They synopses included the line "Quite popular in the United States due to repeated showings on The CBS Children’s Film Festival in the 1960s and 70s. " > So I’m guessing that’s it. So twelve minutes after asking the question I got an accurate answer - one of the reasons I like SDMB. I teach a beginning college-level computer class and try to get my students to understand what SD is all about, as well as asking some weird Google questions. This has to be one of the questions for next semester. Eventually this will be in the Google answers as well. ---
**Author:** ![Tess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@Tess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tess)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2014, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/describe-a-movie-you-saw-and-liked-as-a-kid-but-cant-remember-its-title/677911/86 "2014-01-06T22:31:54Z")
Sometime around the late-1980s I watched a movie set it World War II (it was color, maybe filmed mid-1970s?). I have no clue who starred in it but from what I recall of the plot, a small number of GIs parachute behind German lines to kill a high-ranking Nazi. They end up teaming up with a traveling circus whose members offer to use their scheduled performance for German soldiers (which the target will attend) as a distraction to smuggle a bomb into a theater. The bits I remember: 1. One of the GIs’ parachutes gets tangled in a tree, he’s too high to just drop and no one can reach him to pull him to a branch. The circus strongman/giant appears, holds out his arms and tells the GI to go ahead and drop, he’ll catch him. 2. When they’re setting up at the theater, a guard insists on inspecting the box the bomb’s hidden in. One of the acrobats tries to insist he’ll ruin the “surprise” at the end of the show. He opens it and the strongman’s young son, dressed like a Harlequin, pops out and does a little tumbling act. 3. The ringmaster announces the troupe has prepared a special finale. While he’s going through his spiel the other performers begin coming on stage and performing on a trampoline behind him. One by one, they jump out of view and crew members in the catwalk pull them up. The ringmaster trails off when he notices all his performers have failed to come down and announces they must have all jumped to “the Land of [Imaginary Place]” and he’ll have to go get them before they can continue. The audience laughs and settles back to wait, while the circus crew and the GIs all run like hell out the back door before the bomb goes off. I’ve tried searching for movies set in WWII involving circuses but nothing seems to fit. ---
**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:** [January 6, 2014, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/describe-a-movie-you-saw-and-liked-as-a-kid-but-cant-remember-its-title/677911/87 "2014-01-06T23:17:23Z")
> [@Tess](#): > > Sometime around the late-1980s I watched a movie set it World War II (it was color, maybe filmed mid-1970s?). > I have no clue who starred in it but from what I recall of the plot, a small number of GIs parachute behind German lines to kill a high-ranking Nazi. They end up teaming up with a traveling circus whose members offer to use their scheduled performance for German soldiers (which the target will attend) as a distraction to smuggle a bomb into a theater. > The bits I remember: > > 1. One of the GIs’ parachutes gets tangled in a tree, he’s too high to just drop and no one can reach him to pull him to a branch. The circus strongman/giant appears, holds out his arms and tells the GI to go ahead and drop, he’ll catch him. > > 2. When they’re setting up at the theater, a guard insists on inspecting the box the bomb’s hidden in. One of the acrobats tries to insist he’ll ruin the “surprise” at the end of the show. He opens it and the strongman’s young son, dressed like a Harlequin, pops out and does a little tumbling act. > > 3. The ringmaster announces the troupe has prepared a special finale. While he’s going through his spiel the other performers begin coming on stage and performing on a trampoline behind him. One by one, they jump out of view and crew members in the catwalk pull them up. The ringmaster trails off when he notices all his performers have failed to come down and announces they must have all jumped to “the Land of [Imaginary Place]” and he’ll have to go get them before they can continue. The audience laughs and settles back to wait, while the circus crew and the GIs all run like hell out the back door before the bomb goes off. > > I’ve tried searching for movies set in WWII involving circuses but nothing seems to fit. WAG: It sounds like an episode of the horrible _ **Dirty Dozen** _ TV series produced by … HBO? … and starring Ben Bova, who replaced Telly Savalas, who replaced Lee Marvin as the leader of the DD in those horrible made-for-TV sequels of the original movie, filmed in Yugoslavia. ---
**Author:** ![Bellhorn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@Bellhorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bellhorn)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2014, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/describe-a-movie-you-saw-and-liked-as-a-kid-but-cant-remember-its-title/677911/88 "2014-01-06T23:24:45Z")
50+ years ago, they used to show double features, and I remember going into the theater and seeing the last 5 minutes of the movie preceding the feature attraction (Swiss Family Robinson, – I think) So all I saw was this scene where this older woman, playing either a mom or grandma accidentally shot her son/grandson with a rifle. The young man (teen?) was mute I guess, but right after he was shot, he actually spoke some dying words, “Ya shot me, ma!” or something like that. The shooting took place in a cabin, and was either in 1960 Appalachia or it was from a period western. For years I wondered if it was Spencer’s Mountain, which was Earl Hamner’s first pass at the Waltons, but I don’t think it was. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2014, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/describe-a-movie-you-saw-and-liked-as-a-kid-but-cant-remember-its-title/677911/89 "2014-01-06T23:37:26Z")
> [@pancakes3](#): > > For me it’s a cartoon where two kids are in a blimp visiting various crazy worlds including one where it was a land of people with block heads. Are you thinking of [this](http://youtu.be/ak3z2Pm7Iwg)? ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/describe-a-movie-you-saw-and-liked-as-a-kid-but-cant-remember-its-title/677911/90 "2014-01-07T00:00:06Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > WAG: It sounds like an episode of the horrible _ **Dirty Dozen** _ TV series produced by … HBO? … You could be right … [The Dirtiest Show on Earth](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0805830/) On a mission to assassinate high-ranking Nazi officers, the Dozen join a circus ---
**Author:** ![Achren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/898d66/32.png) [@Achren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achren)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/describe-a-movie-you-saw-and-liked-as-a-kid-but-cant-remember-its-title/677911/91 "2014-01-07T00:01:37Z")
This would’a been on non-cable tv in the late 80s/early 90s. I can’t remember if it was a movie, a made-for-tv movie, or a tv show. It starts of with a switched-at-birth plot, but while they were bring born, one of the kids was making the lights flicker. He goes home with the wrong parents, and grows up (I don’t remember the middle) and, I guess comes into his x-men type power? I remember him finding out somehow that his parents weren’t his birth parents and when he goes off to look for his birth parents he knows he can do things. At the end he finds a woman who had been healed by his mom. ---
**Author:** ![Tess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@Tess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tess)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/describe-a-movie-you-saw-and-liked-as-a-kid-but-cant-remember-its-title/677911/92 "2014-01-07T01:32:56Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > WAG: It sounds like an episode of the horrible _ **Dirty Dozen** _ TV series produced by … HBO? … and starring Ben Bova, who replaced Telly Savalas, who replaced Lee Marvin as the leader of the DD in those horrible made-for-TV sequels of the original movie, filmed in Yugoslavia. Hmm. Could be. When typing up the description I realized this probably would have been the first serious movie I sat all the way through. It’s more likely I just watched an hour-long program than a feature-length movie. :smack: I remember it was aired on a Sunday afternoon-maybe they dumped some episodes as filler. ---
**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:** [January 7, 2014, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/describe-a-movie-you-saw-and-liked-as-a-kid-but-cant-remember-its-title/677911/93 "2014-01-07T01:46:33Z")
> [@Tess](#): > > Hmm. Could be. When typing up the description I realized this probably would have been the first serious movie I sat all the way through. It’s more likely I just watched an hour-long program than a feature-length movie. :smack: > > I remember it was aired on a Sunday afternoon-maybe they dumped some episodes as filler. Looking at the IMDB entry, I see the actor’s name was Ben Murphy. D’oh! :rolleyes: It also looks like the film is a full hour long, so it may have been aired as a 90-minute show with commercials included. I only watched about 20 minutes of one episode before I got up and changed the channel. The line “Man, you were awesome up there on that horse!” left a permanent bad taste in my mouth. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/describe-a-movie-you-saw-and-liked-as-a-kid-but-cant-remember-its-title/677911/94 "2014-01-07T02:29:58Z")
My wisp of a memory is of a film that I think was made for TV. This would have been early to mid 70’s and I don’t recall much. I don’t think my parents would have let me watch it so I may have been spying while I was supposed to be in bed. It was in color and took place in contemporary times. I remember a big house (don’t all movies have big houses?) and wood floors in particular. The wood floor thing may have been a dance studio type room though, because I also have a vision of a young woman in a leotard, dancing or exercising. She had long dark hair that she wore in a pony tail. She may have been haunted by music (or it could have just been the sound track) and it seems like she would hear her name being said over and over by a woman’s voice. Oddly enough, I don’t recall what the name was, considering how the scene haunted me so. I almost want to say it was Jacqueline, but part of me is thinking Pamela. Whaaaaa? The part that made the scariest impression on me, and which I may have totally misinterpreted, was her looking at marble / plaster statues when her name was being said and \*I \*took it to mean someone had been entombed in the statues. There also may have been an older, Bette Davis type evil matriarch. All of these elements are pretty cliché and could possibly be muddled memories of several different films, but I don’t think so. I’m almost positive it’s not _Let’s Scare Jessica to Death_ based on that film’s synopsis, but I’ve not seen it so if anyone has please tell me if that is the film so I can watch it and get this memory shrapnel out of my head. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/describe-a-movie-you-saw-and-liked-as-a-kid-but-cant-remember-its-title/677911/95 "2014-01-07T02:59:18Z")
> [@Dr. Zeus](#): > > I am reasonably sure it wasn’t Phantoms. I watched it several years ago, but I will watch it again to be sure. I remember the scene you describe from the book, and a similar but different scene from the movie. The movie looked nothing like the “poster” on IMDB. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/describe-a-movie-you-saw-and-liked-as-a-kid-but-cant-remember-its-title/677911/96 "2014-01-07T03:07:56Z")
I just found mine, thanks to **Spoon’s** link. It was _Scream, Pretty Peggy_ and I can’t believe how many of the details that I thought I was hallucinating are actually correct, including the Bette Davis like matriarch that was indeed Bette Davis:p I can’t wait to check out the list and see what other memories I can stir up. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/describe-a-movie-you-saw-and-liked-as-a-kid-but-cant-remember-its-title/677911/97 "2014-01-07T04:07:20Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > My wisp of a memory is of a film that I think was made for TV. This would have been early to mid 70’s and I don’t recall much. I don’t think my parents would have let me watch it so I may have been spying while I was supposed to be in bed. > > It was in color and took place in contemporary times. I remember a big house (don’t all movies have big houses?) and wood floors in particular. The wood floor thing may have been a dance studio type room though, because I also have a vision of a young woman in a leotard, dancing or exercising. She had long dark hair that she wore in a pony tail. She may have been haunted by music (or it could have just been the sound track) and it seems like she would hear her name being said over and over by a woman’s voice. Oddly enough, I don’t recall what the name was, considering how the scene haunted me so. I almost want to say it was Jacqueline, but part of me is thinking Pamela. Whaaaaa? > > The part that made the scariest impression on me, and which I may have totally misinterpreted, was her looking at marble / plaster statues when her name was being said and \*I \*took it to mean someone had been entombed in the statues. There also may have been an older, Bette Davis type evil matriarch. > > All of these elements are pretty cliché and could possibly be muddled memories of several different films, but I don’t think so. I’m almost positive it’s not _Let’s Scare Jessica to Death_ based on that film’s synopsis, but I’ve not seen it so if anyone has please tell me if that is the film so I can watch it and get this memory shrapnel out of my head. Well…Let’s Scare Jessica to Death does have her name whispered a lot. Pamela Franklin is in “Satan’s School for Girl’s”…I’m just throwing stuff at the wall. Your synopsis does sound familiar. edit: nvm. I see your post above. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/describe-a-movie-you-saw-and-liked-as-a-kid-but-cant-remember-its-title/677911/98 "2014-01-07T04:18:07Z")
> [@Wallet](#): > > This might be hopeless, but here goes: > > Seen in the 1960’s, on a b&w TV in New York City. > It had the feel of a live action show, but definitely for kids > It was a retelling of Jack and the Beanstalk, but then things get fuzzy - the hero finds his dad, long thought dead, up in the giant’s lair with amnesia. > Upon seeing his son, the dad suddenly remembers that he’s supposed to be a dentist (!) There was also a lot of running around with a real live goose under their arms, and the giant chasing them. > > Strange, but I’ve been thinking about this movie for ages! > Thanks, > Wallet This? [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0445991/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0445991/) ---
**Author:** ![Wallet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e99b99/32.png) [@Wallet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallet)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 9:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/describe-a-movie-you-saw-and-liked-as-a-kid-but-cant-remember-its-title/677911/99 "2014-01-07T09:01:29Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > This? > > [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0445991/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0445991/) Wow, that must be it! It doesn’t mention Jack’s dad being a dentist, but at [http://www.mtishows.com/show\_detail.asp?showid=000022m](http://www.mtishows.com/show_detail.asp?showid=000022m) it does mention the Giant strapping Jack into a chair and forcing him to take a truth serum (this seems so familiar, although a strange twist for a children’s show). It actually won an Emmy in 1966. I wish there was a way to see the actual show, but from the description this must be it. Thanks so much for finding this! ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2014, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/describe-a-movie-you-saw-and-liked-as-a-kid-but-cant-remember-its-title/677911/100 "2014-01-07T11:21:33Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > Good to know that there’s two of us at least who remember this movie. (And I guess I was wrong on **Happy** ’s film, but I’m glad he got the correct answer.) > > As an aside, an old friend was a private pilot. I flew many times with him in his Cessna 172. He’d insist that I follow him during his pre-flight checkout: fuel in wing tanks, trim tabs set, flaps responding, rudder working, and so on. He’d also have a look at the engine–but that was one thing I didn’t want to go near. Because it was next to the propellor, and I’d seen _Family Flight_. I have a very vague memory of seeing what I assume is this movie when I was a kid. I didn’t remember the title and the only part I really remember is the father being injured by the propeller. I also remember a scene where they kill and cook a snake to eat, but I’m not 100% sure that’s from this movie. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/describe-a-movie-you-saw-and-liked-as-a-kid-but-cant-remember-its-title/677911.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/describe-a-movie-you-saw-and-liked-as-a-kid-but-cant-remember-its-title/677911.md?page=6)