# Different movies and TV programs with the same names **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 5, 2008, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-movies-and-tv-programs-with-the-same-names/451843 "2008-06-05T04:47:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-movies-and-tv-programs-with-the-same-names/451843/1 "2008-06-05T04:47:56Z")
I am not talking about remakes here, but completely different shows that had the same names but were not even related. The thing that brought it to mind was M. Night’s **The Happening**. Years ago, there was an Anthony Quinn movie with the same title. A “happening” in the '60s was a major party. And in this film, somehow a kidnapping of a mobster turned into such an event. As I remember, the \*Supreme’s \*hit “The Happening” was played at the end of the film, as near as I could tell, it really had nothing to do with the movie. Also in the early '80s, there was a television program called **ER** starring Elliot Gould. It was a comedy not unlike **Night Court** taking place in an Emergency Room. Other than the name and taking place in an emergency room, there was no similarity. Does anyone know of any others. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-movies-and-tv-programs-with-the-same-names/451843/2 "2008-06-05T06:00:35Z")
I distinctly remember two movies named \*Crash \* coming out recently (relatively speaking); one of them an Oscar-winning sobfest about racial prejudice in L.A., and the other a David Cronenberg film about car crash sexual fetishists. [QUOTE=TV time] Also in the early '80s, there was a television program called **ER** starring Elliot Gould. It was a comedy not unlike **Night Court** taking place in an Emergency Room. Other than the name and taking place in an emergency room, there was no similarity. . [/QUOTE] No similarity… except, of course, for the fact that [George Clooney was in both](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0086704/). ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-movies-and-tv-programs-with-the-same-names/451843/3 "2008-06-05T06:35:20Z")
It’s best not to confuse [Crash](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crash_%281996_film%29) with [Crash](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crash_%282004_film%29). They both have sex and car crashes, but they’re very different. OTOH, I’ve never actually seen [Crash](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crash_%281978_film%29), so I can’t comment on it. NB: none of these should be confused with the first episode of the BBCs excellent series Life on Mars, which was also called [Crash](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Crash_%28Life_on_Mars%29). ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-movies-and-tv-programs-with-the-same-names/451843/4 "2008-06-05T06:50:31Z")
**Saturday Night Live** was originally called **Saturday Night** , so as not to be confused with **Howard Cosell’s Saturday Night Live.** ---
**Author:** ![Two\_and\_a\_Half\_Inches\_of\_Fun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ea666f/32.png) [@Two\_and\_a\_Half\_Inches\_of\_Fun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_and_a_Half_Inches_of_Fun)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-movies-and-tv-programs-with-the-same-names/451843/5 "2008-06-05T07:10:50Z")
A 1995 film by Noah Baumbach and a piece of shit starring Will Ferrell. ---
**Author:** ![minlokwat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minlokwat/32/2844_2.png) [@minlokwat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minlokwat)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-movies-and-tv-programs-with-the-same-names/451843/6 "2008-06-05T10:15:01Z")
There were two films named **The Aviator**. The more recent Scorcese directed one with Leonardo DiCaprio which was fairly decent and one from the 80’s with Christopher Reeve which was not. ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-movies-and-tv-programs-with-the-same-names/451843/7 "2008-06-05T12:34:57Z")
[Carrie](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044486/), the 1952 adaptation of Theodore Dreiser’s novel _Sister Carrie_, and [Carrie](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074285/), the 1976 adaptation of the Stephen King novel. ---
**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:** [June 5, 2008, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-movies-and-tv-programs-with-the-same-names/451843/8 "2008-06-05T12:39:20Z")
[QUOTE=TV time] IAlso in the early '80s, there was a television program called **ER** starring Elliot Gould. It was a comedy not unlike **Night Court** taking place in an Emergency Room. Other than the name and taking place in an emergency room, there was no similarity. [/QUOTE] Nitpick: It was [E/R](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E/R) ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-movies-and-tv-programs-with-the-same-names/451843/9 "2008-06-05T16:30:14Z")
Don’t confuse [**The Guardian**](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0406816/) (2006 Kevin Costner movie about Coast Guard training) with [**The Guardian**](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099710/) (1990 William Friedkin movie about a druid nanny and her killer tree). ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-movies-and-tv-programs-with-the-same-names/451843/10 "2008-06-05T16:35:12Z")
[QUOTE=Max Torque] Don’t confuse [**The Guardian**](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0406816/) (2006 Kevin Costner movie about Coast Guard training) with [**The Guardian**](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099710/) (1990 William Friedkin movie about a druid nanny and her killer tree). [/QUOTE] And don’t confuse either with [The Guardian](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0285370/), a surprisingly realistic lawyer drama starring Simon Baker as a disgraced attorney who, after a drug conviction, has to do a lot of pro-bono work as part of his plea agreement. ---
**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:** [June 5, 2008, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-movies-and-tv-programs-with-the-same-names/451843/11 "2008-06-05T16:57:32Z")
Bob Sagets “The Aristrocrats” and Disney’s “The Aristrocats” are the prime example. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-movies-and-tv-programs-with-the-same-names/451843/12 "2008-06-05T17:40:28Z")
[Monkey Business](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0022158/) (the Marx Brothers) [Monkey Business](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044916/) (Cary Grant). Both are comedies, but they are much different. **Go West** was used as a title by two comedy giants – [Buster Keaton](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0015863/) and the [Marx Brothers](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0032536/) – and was also a [2005 drama](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0426470/) about the breakup of Yugoslavia. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-movies-and-tv-programs-with-the-same-names/451843/13 "2008-06-05T19:24:01Z")
There was _Mr Nice Guy_, starring Jackie Chan. It was unrelated to an earlier movie, _Mr Nice Guy_, starring Jan Smithers. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-movies-and-tv-programs-with-the-same-names/451843/14 "2008-06-05T19:37:47Z")
_Heaven Can Wait_, the 1943 Don Ameche movie, and\* Heaven Can Wait\*, the 1978 Warren Beatty film that was a remake of 1941’s _Here Comes Mr. Jordan_. ---
**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:** [June 5, 2008, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-movies-and-tv-programs-with-the-same-names/451843/15 "2008-06-05T20:06:15Z")
There are plenty of examples of movie titles that are common phrases or expressions being used over and over IMDB lists three movies called **Come and Get It** Two different **Some Like it Hot** Eight different **Dog Days** (besides **Dog Day Afternoon** ) Three different **Walking on Air** …and so on. Just go to iMDB and plug in a phrase and see how many titles show up. By the way, the movie **Here Comes Mr. Jordan** (later remade, as **Sigmagirl** notes, as **Heaven Can Wait** , was based on a play called … **Heaven Can Wait**. ---
**Author:** ![Neidhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Neidhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neidhart)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-movies-and-tv-programs-with-the-same-names/451843/16 "2008-06-05T20:15:05Z")
Before today’s _Lost_, there was a short-lived [reality series](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0292816/) of the same name. Premiered just before 9/11, and The Amazing Race ate its lunch. ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-movies-and-tv-programs-with-the-same-names/451843/17 "2008-06-05T20:33:26Z")
**Mr. & Mrs. Smith** A 1941 Hitchcock movie (not typical of him) about a couple who finds out that their marriage isn’t legal and must decide whether or not to make it legal. Also a 2005 movie featuring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie where Mr. & Mrs. Smith are both secret agents and don’t know it. Fun, if violent, and not super plausible. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-movies-and-tv-programs-with-the-same-names/451843/18 "2008-06-05T21:30:55Z")
[QUOTE=Krokodil] **Saturday Night Live** was originally called **Saturday Night** , so as not to be confused with **Howard Cosell’s Saturday Night Live.** [/QUOTE] It should be noted that after Cosell’s disastrous attempt at a variety show was cancelled, ABC graciously told NBC they could go ahead and officially call their program “Saturday Night Live.” ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-movies-and-tv-programs-with-the-same-names/451843/19 "2008-06-05T22:09:20Z")
_The Good Shepherd_ - a 2004 film staring Christian Slater as a priest who has to investigate an alleged case of abuse and murder in the Catholic church. _The Good Shepherd_ - a 2006 snooze fest that was something to do with spying and stuff like that, I don’t know for sure as I found it hard to pay attention for any length of time. Matt Damon was in it being wooden and Angelina Jolie was in it being shrill and annoying. _Resists the obvious jokes_ ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2008, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-movies-and-tv-programs-with-the-same-names/451843/20 "2008-06-05T22:17:35Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] By the way, the movie **Here Comes Mr. Jordan** (later remade, as **Sigmagirl** notes, as **Heaven Can Wait** , was based on a play called … **Heaven Can Wait**. [/QUOTE] It was remade more recently as [Down to Earth](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0231775/) , a Chris Rock vehicle. It rivals [Les Liaisons Dangerouses](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053002/) and [The Front Page](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021890/) as the movie remade under the most different titles. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/different-movies-and-tv-programs-with-the-same-names/451843.md?page=2)