# Iconic Scenes From Otherwise Forgotten Films **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [January 7, 2021, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iconic-scenes-from-otherwise-forgotten-films/929948 "2021-01-07T18:51:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2021, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iconic-scenes-from-otherwise-forgotten-films/929948/1 "2021-01-07T18:51:31Z")
I’ll start with this one: John Cusack holding up the boom box and blasting “In Your Eyes” to win back his girl at the end of _Say Anything._ We all know that scene. We can picture it. It’s fully ingrained into the popular culture and has been parodied and homaged to death over the years. But what else do you remember about _Say Anything_? Anything? The rest of the movie is nowhere near as iconic as that one scene. So rather than just a list of iconic movie scenes, what are some other iconic scenes from decidedly _non_-iconic films? ---
**Author:** ![tingbudong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tingbudong/32/520_2.png) [@tingbudong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tingbudong)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2021, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iconic-scenes-from-otherwise-forgotten-films/929948/2 "2021-01-07T18:56:54Z")
“I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass…and I’m all out of bubblegum” - They Live (1988) Maybe not as much an iconic scene as an iconic line. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2021, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iconic-scenes-from-otherwise-forgotten-films/929948/3 "2021-01-07T19:02:52Z")
There’s plenty of iconic lines. I was thinking of Street Fighter, “The day that Bison came to your village was the most important day of your life. But for me, it was Thursday.” Also plenty of iconic songs came from forgettable movies. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2021, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iconic-scenes-from-otherwise-forgotten-films/929948/4 "2021-01-07T19:03:58Z")
> [@tingbudong](#): > > “I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass…and I’m all out of bubblegum” - They Live (1988) > > Maybe not as much an iconic scene as an iconic line. However, I think that is not a forgotten movie as the OP is requesting. ---
**Author:** ![tingbudong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tingbudong/32/520_2.png) [@tingbudong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tingbudong)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2021, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iconic-scenes-from-otherwise-forgotten-films/929948/5 "2021-01-07T19:06:02Z")
“Forgotten” is somewhat relative. I could say the same thing about _Say Anything._ ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2021, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iconic-scenes-from-otherwise-forgotten-films/929948/6 "2021-01-07T19:17:53Z")
For truly forgotten movies with iconic scenes I offer some really old school fare: Everyone can picture a cliffhanger, but the earliest one goes to the movie serial “The perils of Pauline” (1914) Some also reported that that series also made the first quaint iconic scene of “the damsel in distress tied on the train tracks by the villain”, but that honor goes to “the Keystone comedy _Barney Oldfield’s Race for a Life (1913)_ , and the scene was also enacted in Sennett’s _Teddy at the Throttle (1917)_ with Gloria Swanson” [https://www.filmsite.org/peri.html](https://www.filmsite.org/peri.html) ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2021, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iconic-scenes-from-otherwise-forgotten-films/929948/7 "2021-01-07T19:20:41Z")
If it hadn’t been for _Say Anything_ would kickboxing even be a sport? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2021, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iconic-scenes-from-otherwise-forgotten-films/929948/8 "2021-01-07T19:21:28Z")
> [@tingbudong](#): > > “Forgotten” is somewhat relative. I could say the same thing about _Say Anything._ Fair enough. I’m setting no hard-and-fast rules here. I do like the “They Live” example because I’ve heard that line but know nothing at all about the movie, so from my perspective, it fits. I just think we can all agree that something like “Indiana Jones running from the giant boulder” or “Luke blowing up the Death Star” are the kinds of things I’m _not_ looking for. ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2021, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iconic-scenes-from-otherwise-forgotten-films/929948/9 "2021-01-07T19:28:31Z")
I think most people know the “falling house” scene from Steamboat Bill Jr. but a lot of them wouldn’t know what movie it’s from. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2021, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iconic-scenes-from-otherwise-forgotten-films/929948/10 "2021-01-07T19:32:48Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > But what else do you remember about _Say Anything_ ? Anything? Everything. Love that movie. This scene is pretty iconic: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Pvuv2sn5fDQ/maxresdefault.jpg "Say Anything... (2/5) Movie CLIP - Career Plans (1989) HD") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pvuv2sn5fDQ&t=38) ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2021, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iconic-scenes-from-otherwise-forgotten-films/929948/11 "2021-01-07T19:36:38Z")
Jack Nicholson’s [“hold the chicken”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdIXrF34Bz0) speech in Five Easy Pieces. Jimmy Cagney [smashing a grapefruit in his costar’s face](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4R5wZs8cxI) in The Public Enemy Mae West saying [saying “Why don’t you come up sometime and see me”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbzTORe4iD8) in She Done Him Wrong (timestamp 0:59) Bette Davis [saying “What a Dump”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3zShjyaTr8) in Beyond the Forest ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2021, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iconic-scenes-from-otherwise-forgotten-films/929948/12 "2021-01-07T19:40:57Z")
Similarly, there’s Harold Lloyd dangling from the clock face over the city streets. It’s an iconic image that’s been endlessly parodied, but how many people know what movie it’s from (_Safety Last!_), or anything about the plot of that movie (guy lies to his girlfriend about how successful he is, and has to impersonate the boss when she comes to visit him)? ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2021, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iconic-scenes-from-otherwise-forgotten-films/929948/13 "2021-01-07T19:45:43Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > Jack Nicholson’s [“hold the chicken”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdIXrF34Bz0) speech in Five Easy Pieces. I came to post this. My wife said “Hey, Five Easy Pieces is on TV tonight.”, and I said “I have _got_ to see that. I’ve watched _ONE scene_ from that a dozen times, but I have _zero_ idea why the characters are in that diner, or where they’re going, or if Jack’s an asshole… or a normal guy who’s out of patience.” ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2021, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iconic-scenes-from-otherwise-forgotten-films/929948/14 "2021-01-07T19:47:39Z")
I agree. _Say Anything . . ._ is _far_ from a forgotten film. There’s the “Be a man” scene, the “She gave me a pen” scene and a whole bunch more, beyond holding up a boombox. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2021, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iconic-scenes-from-otherwise-forgotten-films/929948/15 "2021-01-07T19:55:30Z")
Bela Lugosi in _The Human Monster_ : > You are blind, Lou, and you cannot speak. But you can hear . . . and that will never do! Lots of horror buffs have read about that movie, and can quote that line in Lugosi’s accent, but very few have actually seen the film. Cher, slapping Nicholas Cage in the face: > Snap out of it! _Moonstruck_ was a big hit in its day. It won three Oscars, and made Nicholas Cage famous. But today, among my friends, it doesn’t come up in conversation very often. ---
**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 7, 2021, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iconic-scenes-from-otherwise-forgotten-films/929948/16 "2021-01-07T20:05:30Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > John Cusack holding up the boom box and blasting “In Your Eyes” to win back his girl at the end of _Say Anything._ It wasn’t at the end, and wasn’t what won her back. It was a gesture mid-movie that she didn’t even leave her bed to glance at. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2021, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iconic-scenes-from-otherwise-forgotten-films/929948/17 "2021-01-07T20:20:44Z")
There was a similar thread a few months ago. > [@What properties would you say are referenced too often based on their ACTUAL popularity?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-properties-would-you-say-are-referenced-too-often-based-on-their-actual-popularity/925817): > > What are some films/tv/stories etc. you constantly see referred to as if “everyone” knows that thing, when in reality you think very few people are familiar with it? Probably not explaining very well, maybe some examples will work. I see a LOT of memes, GIFs, etc., that all make reference to The Room, a movie I guess someone named Tommy Wiseau (?) was in, and it’s a really bad film, and he, I suppose… makes big faces and overemotes in the movie? I haven’t actually seen it and I imagine 95% o… ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2021, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iconic-scenes-from-otherwise-forgotten-films/929948/18 "2021-01-07T20:38:11Z")
Just a few off (or near) the top of my head: _Kongo_ (1932) - Walter Huston and Lupe Velez perform “voodoo” to enthrall African tribesmen [![](https://www.notrecinema.com/images/filmsi/kongo_566074_18441.jpg) ](https://www.notrecinema.com/images/filmsi/kongo_566074_18441.jpg) _Deluge_ (1933) - The destruction of NY [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/_x5qe5CJae0/maxresdefault.jpg "NY City destruction by flood predicted in 1933 film the DELUGE") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_x5qe5CJae0) _The Black Cat_ (1934) - Satanic ritual with overturned double cross [![](https://alphaomega9997.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/black-cat-1934.jpg) ](https://alphaomega9997.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/black-cat-1934.jpg) _Yog, Monster from Space_ (1970) - Yog attacks! [![](https://badmoviesforbadpeople.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/vlcsnap-2015-05-19-19h52m14s59.png) ](https://badmoviesforbadpeople.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/vlcsnap-2015-05-19-19h52m14s59.png) ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2021, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iconic-scenes-from-otherwise-forgotten-films/929948/19 "2021-01-07T21:28:18Z")
Al Pacino’s “out of order” outburst in **…And Justice for All.** ---
**Author:** ![TiberiusNeroClaudius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f04885/32.png) [@TiberiusNeroClaudius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TiberiusNeroClaudius)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2021, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iconic-scenes-from-otherwise-forgotten-films/929948/20 "2021-01-07T22:06:10Z")
Cary Grant never said “Judy, Judy, Judy” but the genesis of it may come from the 1939 film “Only Angels have Wings” where he says things like “Hello Judy” and “Come on Judy” to Rita Hayworth The most prominent use of Abbott and Costello’s “Who’s on First” routine is the 1945 film “The Naughty Nineties”. “Thanks for the memory”, the song associated with Bob Hope is from the 1938 film “The Big Broadcast of 1938”. James Cagney never said “You dirty rat”; the 1932 film “Taxi” has him tell his brother’s killer who is hiding in a closest “Come out and take it, you dirty yellow-bellied rat, or I’ll give it to you through the door”. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iconic-scenes-from-otherwise-forgotten-films/929948.md?page=2)