# Films where you get the whole plot in the title **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 20, 2016, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-where-you-get-the-whole-plot-in-the-title/755240 "2016-05-20T17:07:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Satchmo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/satchmo/32/4223_2.png) [@Satchmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satchmo)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2016, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-where-you-get-the-whole-plot-in-the-title/755240/1 "2016-05-20T17:07:02Z")
There’s another thread talking about titles where you get no real idea what the movie is about. This goes in the opposite direction. I’m mostly thinking of films but will accept books and plays and TV, etc. I have two examples in mind, “Snakes on a plane” and “Hobo with a shotgun”. Not great films, but I think a lot of people, especially when finding out Samuel L. Jackson is starring, could start writing Snakes on a plane themselves. 😉 So, any other suggestions? Satch ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2016, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-where-you-get-the-whole-plot-in-the-title/755240/2 "2016-05-20T17:14:37Z")
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2016, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-where-you-get-the-whole-plot-in-the-title/755240/3 "2016-05-20T17:19:19Z")
Well, “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” pretty much sums up the plot. You certainly know that things aren’t gonna turn out too well for most everyone involved. Also, slightly off the OP, but anytime you get a “II” slapped onto a summer blockbuster, you pretty much know the plot going in. Specifically, Jurassic Park II, III, and IV. It’s gonna be ringing some changes on “dinosaurs get loose and eat people”. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2016, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-where-you-get-the-whole-plot-in-the-title/755240/4 "2016-05-20T17:33:07Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain I disagree with this one. If anything, I think this title is more intriguing than revealing. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2016, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-where-you-get-the-whole-plot-in-the-title/755240/5 "2016-05-20T17:39:20Z")
WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION: there’s going to be a big trial – in criminal court, not in civil court – and the whole thing will surely come down to a key witness for the defense. No, wait; it’ll be a witness that the _other_ side puts on the stand to get sworn in and offer testimony against the accused, right? What the hell was I thinking? ---
**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:** [May 20, 2016, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-where-you-get-the-whole-plot-in-the-title/755240/6 "2016-05-20T17:48:21Z")
\*The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade \* > [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds While the experiment appears in the movie, and is a metaphor for what goes on in the family, the title itself doesn’t really give you any idea of the plot. ---
**Author:** ![Satchmo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/satchmo/32/4223_2.png) [@Satchmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satchmo)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2016, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-where-you-get-the-whole-plot-in-the-title/755240/7 "2016-05-20T18:00:32Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford > > The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain > > The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds Many good ones already, including Assassination above, but I have to agree with the others, Effect of Gamma Rays … doesn’t tell the average Satchmo in the street anything about the plot. I’m inclined to say the same about The Englishman … but I’ve never seen it. There’s a class of Titles that fit here, only because they are about famous events/disasters. Any film called “Titanic” or “The Hindenberg” lets most people know at least the plot of the last act. 😃 ---
**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:** [May 20, 2016, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-where-you-get-the-whole-plot-in-the-title/755240/8 "2016-05-20T18:12:58Z")
Of course, it can be subjective. _Burke and Wills_ was completely meaningless to US audiences, but Australian audiences knew what it was about as soon as they saw the name, and would be amused by Americans talking about the shock at the end. ---
**Author:** ![phantom\_lamb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@phantom\_lamb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phantom_lamb)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2016, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-where-you-get-the-whole-plot-in-the-title/755240/9 "2016-05-20T18:13:55Z")
Kill Bill. ---
**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:** [May 20, 2016, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-where-you-get-the-whole-plot-in-the-title/755240/10 "2016-05-20T18:13:56Z")
> [@Satchmo](#): > > Any film called “Titanic” or “The Hindenberg” lets most people know at least the plot of the last act. 😃 Likewise: _The Alamo_ _Gettysburg_ _Pearl Harbor_ _Sink the Bismark!_ ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2016, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-where-you-get-the-whole-plot-in-the-title/755240/11 "2016-05-20T18:16:19Z")
Snakes on a plane. ---
**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:** [May 20, 2016, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-where-you-get-the-whole-plot-in-the-title/755240/12 "2016-05-20T18:28:13Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > Snakes on a plane. It seems you read only the thread title and not the OP.😉 ---
**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:** [May 20, 2016, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-where-you-get-the-whole-plot-in-the-title/755240/13 "2016-05-20T18:35:15Z")
Abbot and Costello Meet … The Three Stooges … Finish out the titles to those movies and you get all the significant information you need. ---
**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:** [May 20, 2016, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-where-you-get-the-whole-plot-in-the-title/755240/14 "2016-05-20T18:37:27Z")
_Mars Attacks!_ _Attack of the Killer Tomatoes!_ _Shark Attack!_ _Attack of the 50-foot Woman_ _Attack of the Giant Leeches_ _Attack of the Crab Monsters_ ---
**Author:** ![Goofus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7feea3/32.png) [@Goofus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Goofus)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2016, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-where-you-get-the-whole-plot-in-the-title/755240/15 "2016-05-20T18:37:33Z")
Being John Malkovich ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2016, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-where-you-get-the-whole-plot-in-the-title/755240/16 "2016-05-20T18:40:37Z")
_Someone Is Killing The Great Chefs Of Europe_ ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2016, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-where-you-get-the-whole-plot-in-the-title/755240/17 "2016-05-20T18:54:28Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds This title tells me that it should be a lot like Day of the Triffids meets Spiderman. Am I close? ---
**Author:** ![Corner\_Case](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/corner_case/32/234_2.png) [@Corner\_Case](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corner_Case)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2016, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-where-you-get-the-whole-plot-in-the-title/755240/18 "2016-05-20T18:54:51Z")
_War and Peace_ 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2016, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-where-you-get-the-whole-plot-in-the-title/755240/19 "2016-05-20T18:59:44Z")
Big Booty Cum Sluts, Volume XII. ---
**Author:** ![Satchmo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/satchmo/32/4223_2.png) [@Satchmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satchmo)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2016, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-where-you-get-the-whole-plot-in-the-title/755240/20 "2016-05-20T19:01:47Z")
_Apollo 13_ fits the criteria pretty well, for Americans of a certain age, while _The Right Stuff_ doesn’t give much information. All the _Godzilla vs. King Kong_ type movies probably qualify, especially if you’ve seen any of them before. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/films-where-you-get-the-whole-plot-in-the-title/755240.md?page=2)