# Forgotten movies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [January 2, 2024, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-movies/995476 "2024-01-02T02:08:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2024, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-movies/995476/241 "2024-01-08T14:26:00Z")
I’d read all the Dortmunder books as they were released and thought they were great. Also seen some of the movies based on them. Who’d think to measure the height of the trailer by taking a photo of a woman in striped stockings? ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2024, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-movies/995476/242 "2024-01-08T14:29:59Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > I haven’t seen Mysterious Island in about 40 years, and I don’t run into many people who remember seeing it. It was in pretty frequent rotation on TV when I was a kid in the 1970s. ---
**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 8, 2024, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-movies/995476/243 "2024-01-08T14:33:01Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > I haven’t seen Mysterious Island in about 40 years, and I don’t run into many people who remember seeing it. I don’t remember a single line of dialogue and I had forgotten about the giant bees until I saw the preview on YouTube. I remembered the crab though. Interesting. I’ve seen it quite a few times over that period – at university showings, conventions, cable TV (TNT used to show it a lot), then on DVD (I own a copy). To me it’s not a forgotten fiilm at all. To be honest, none of the Harryhausen movies are. Here’s a forgotten one – Merian C. Cooper’s version of H. Rider Haggard’s **She**. I had read about the film and seen stills from it while growing up, but the movie never seemed to show up. That’s because the film was believed to be lost in an RKO archive fire. Fortunately, silent film star Buster Keaton had an original print in his garage (!), and it was restored. Harryhausen in 2006 worked on colorizing it. Harryhausen had been a notable critic of colorization – he especially hated the job they did on **King Kong** , saying that the foliage was all the same shade of green – but he made an exception for this film. Probably because they were originally going to make it in color, but at the last minute the studio changed its mind. Harryhausen’s version shows how it could have looked back in 1935. It’s an impressive film. Also influential. I have no doubt that the look of the Evil Queen in Disney’s _Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs_ was stolen from this film. Harryhausen himself re-used the avalanche footage for his first solo film, _The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms_. And the audience chamber of She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed clearly influenced the audience chamber of the Gran Lunar in his _First Men in the Moon_. I’d hoped to show this version at next weekend’s Arisia SF con, but it got axed by the Powers That Be. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2024, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-movies/995476/244 "2024-01-08T14:50:53Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > but he made an exception for this film. Probably because they were originally going to make it in color, but at the last minute the studio changed its mind. Jack Arnold once said that he wouldn’t mind if they colorized _The Creature From the Black Lagoon_, provided they got the colors right. He said that the Gill-man’s costume was a delicate shade of mossy green, but advertisers and toymakers always made the colors too garish. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2024, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-movies/995476/245 "2024-01-09T03:56:32Z")
If IMDB is to be believed, it was a dud of a movie. > **[Rabbit Test (1978) ⭐ 3.1 | Comedy](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078133/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1)** > > 1h 24m | PG I saw it on YouTube and didn’t even make it 10 minutes in before deciding not to waste any more of my time. I mainly remember it because I was in junior high, and some of us dubbed an overweight male teacher, you guessed it, “Rabbit Test.” ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2024, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-movies/995476/246 "2024-01-09T04:36:47Z")
Agreed, it was garbage. Bad movie, dumb premise, poorly executed. But I’m basing that on seeing it once 4 decades ago. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2024, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-movies/995476/247 "2024-01-09T04:57:13Z")
I am a Harry Anderson fan from way back, but He did a tv movie with Ed Begley Jr. titled “Spies, Lies And Naked Thighs” that seemed designed to kill his career. They made his character extremely boring, and the timing for the “comedy” bits was miss(as opposed to hit and miss), ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2024, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-movies/995476/248 "2024-01-09T05:00:46Z")
The first movie I ever saw in a theater as a child was _C.H.O.M.P.S._ It has pretty much dropped out of sight. [C.H.O.M.P.S. - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C.H.O.M.P.S). ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2024, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-movies/995476/249 "2024-01-09T05:43:57Z")
I think that plenty of drive-in B pictures would fall into the “forgotten” category. Off the top of my head, I’m thinking of: _Chato’s Land_ _Duel at Diablo_ _They Came to Rob Las Vegas_ _Electra Glide in Blue_ _Fuzz_ _Two-Lane Blacktop_ _Vanishing Point_ _Frogs_ _The Cheyenne Social Club_ _The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox_ … and so on. Whether these are any good or not is subjective. Whether they could be classed as A-pictures is also. Some of them have big stars, some of them don’t. I certainly liked a few of them when I saw them at the drive-in, but few made it to the late-night TV movie, or to home media. For the most part, it seems to me that they have been forgotten. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2024, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-movies/995476/250 "2024-01-09T06:02:07Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I am a Harry Anderson fan from way back, but He did a tv movie with Ed Begley Jr. titled “Spies, Lies And Naked Thighs” that seemed designed to kill his career. They made his character extremely boring, and the timing for the “comedy” bits was miss(as opposed to hit and miss), There was a TV movie in 1980 called **Once Upon a Spy** , with Ted Danson, Christopher Lee, and Mary Louise Weller. Anybody else remember that one? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2024, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-movies/995476/251 "2024-01-09T06:06:31Z")
I remember it vividly. Ted’s hairpiece deserved an Emmy. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2024, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-movies/995476/252 "2024-01-09T06:36:38Z")
“Electra Glide In Blue” is actually pretty good, although largely forgotten. IIRC, it also starred Robert Blake. ---
**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:** [January 9, 2024, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-movies/995476/253 "2024-01-09T12:29:42Z")
Anyone remember **Ishtar** , the 1987 comedy with Dustin Hoffman and Warren Beatty? I still recall how severely Siskel & Ebert trashed it. Ebert gave it half a star and called it “a truly dreadful film, a lifeless, massive, lumbering exercise in failed comedy.” I looked it up on Rotten Tomatoes and was surprised to see it with 40% rating with plenty of solid reviews from several respected critics. mmm ---
**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 9, 2024, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-movies/995476/254 "2024-01-09T12:37:19Z")
There has ben a re-evaluation of thast movie. Apparently they’ve decided the overboard condemnation of it when it first came out was unwarranted. I can’t say I’ve never seen it. I know that it was by Elaine May, whose work has been realy good (although I think she’s virtually forgotten today). The only other thing I remember is that it’s the only movie that had posters that took up two sequential poster spaces [![](https://kirkhamamovieaday.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/111cc-ishtar2bcomplete.jpg) ](https://kirkhamamovieaday.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/111cc-ishtar2bcomplete.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2024, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-movies/995476/255 "2024-01-09T14:50:11Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > For the most part, it seems to me that they have been forgotten. Neither _Vanishing Point_ nor _Two Lane Blacktop_ are forgotten. They are what is known as “cult classics”. VP was even (poorly) remade with Viggo Mortensen, a remake which has been rightfully forgotten. A well made gearhead movie never goes out of style. See also _Dirty Mary Crazy Larry_. As for the others, I can’t dissent. I always sort of wanted to see _Electra Glide_ but it never seems to turn up and I don’t want to buy it. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2024, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-movies/995476/256 "2024-01-09T14:53:07Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I know that it was by Elaine May, whose work has been realy good (although I think she’s virtually forgotten today) She was an amazingly gifted writer and improvisational performer. Arguably better in those roles than her partner Mike Nichols who turned out to be one on the most renowned film directors of that generation. By comparison, May had only middling success as a director. I guess to be remembered, you should probably do your best work last. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2024, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-movies/995476/257 "2024-01-09T16:19:10Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > There was a TV movie in 1980 called **Once Upon a Spy** , with Ted Danson, Christopher Lee, and Mary Louise Weller. Anybody else remember that one? I thought of that movie, but couldn’t remember the title, when I thought of another TV movie, **The Girl, The Gold Watch, and Everything**. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2024, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-movies/995476/258 "2024-01-09T16:22:07Z")
I remember liking that one, but I can barely remember it. I’m thinking Pam Dawber (Mork & Mindy) & Robert Hayes (Airplane!) starred? ---
**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 9, 2024, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-movies/995476/259 "2024-01-09T16:33:50Z")
> [@sciurophobic](#): > > I thought of that movie, but couldn’t remember the title, when I thought of another TV movie, **The Girl, The Gold Watch, and Everything**. I’ve seen that. It’s based on a 1962 book by John D. MacDonald, which I’ve read. It’s based on the old trope of a Magic Watch that stops time for evryone, except the user. It was used in an episode of The Twilight Zone, for instance “A Kind of Stopwatch”, that actually aired after the MacDonald book was published. [A Kind of a Stopwatch - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Kind_of_a_Stopwatch#:~:text=%22A%20Kind%20of%20a%20Stopwatch,stopwatch%20which%20can%20stop%20time). There was an Outer Limits episode with a couple of Martians (played by Barry Morse and a pre-All in the Family Carroll O’Connor) who use a similasr device (“Controlled Experiment”) to analyze a murder. It aired in 1964. ["The Outer Limits" Controlled Experiment (TV Episode 1964) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0667808/) I don’t know who came up with the idea – I doubt if it was MacDonald. There is, of course, a TV Tropes page on it: > **[Time Stands Still - TV Tropes](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TimeStandsStill)** > > Time freezes (or seems to) for everyone and everything in the entire universe, except for the main cast of the story. The characters find themselves in an eerie, calm, silent world where the people and objects around them have become motionless … ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2024, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-movies/995476/260 "2024-01-09T16:40:20Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I don’t know who came up with the idea – I doubt if it was MacDonald. There is, of course, a TV Tropes page on it: There was also a segment of a Simpsons Tree House Of Horror episode where Bart and Milhouse had such a clock (IIRC, they ordered the clock from a comic advertisement). ETA: silly me, now I see that even the preview for the TV Tropes entry is a still from that episode. ETA2: I just begun reading the TV Tropes entry, but isn’t the brothers Grimm’s “Sleeping Beauty” the first literary example for the trope? It didn’t involve a clock or other device, but a curse that let anything be frozen in time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-movies/995476.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/forgotten-movies/995476.md?page=14)