# Movie titles I don't understand **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 17, 2006, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-titles-i-dont-understand/357074 "2006-05-17T04:21:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![some\_white\_dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b487fb/32.png) [@some\_white\_dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/some_white_dude)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-titles-i-dont-understand/357074/1 "2006-05-17T04:21:56Z")
I’ve been on a bit of a Hitchcock binge lately. Two of the movies I’ve rented are _Rear Window_ and _North by Northwest_, the latter of which I’d now have to consider one of my favorite movies of all time. Anyway, I don’t understand the titles of either. _Rear Window_ seems to _kind of_ pertain to the plot of the movie, what with all of the peeping tommery. I don’t understand why it’s called _Rear Window_, though. Can anyone explain? _North by Northwest_ is the same. Is it because North by Northwest is the general direction Cary Grant’s character travels throughout the movie (from NYC to Mt. Rushmore)? Is there some deeper meaning that I’m missing? Got any other movie titles that you don’t understand? Side question: Ever notice the similarity between _Snakes on a Plane_ and _Strangers on a Train_? I can see why Hitchcock stopped being so blunt. _Cary Grant Gets Chased Halfway Across the Country Because He’s Mistaken for Someone Else_ doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. ---
**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 17, 2006, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-titles-i-dont-understand/357074/2 "2006-05-17T04:28:12Z")
> [@Team of Scientists](#): > > Anyway, I don’t understand the titles of either. _Rear Window_ seems to _kind of_ pertain to the plot of the movie, what with all of the peeping tommery. I don’t understand why it’s called _Rear Window_, though. Can anyone explain? Because Jimmy Stewart is watching his neighbors through the REAR WINDOW of his apartment. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-titles-i-dont-understand/357074/3 "2006-05-17T04:29:00Z")
For North by Northwest, here is an explanation from [http://www.filmsite.org/nort.html](http://www.filmsite.org/nort.html) > [@](#): > > The title of the film is an anomaly and a clue to the absurd, confused plot in which no one is what he/she appears to be - there is no sharply delineated N by NW on a compass - it is an improbable direction. Apparently, it refers in part to the directionless, surrealistic search of the befuddled hero/common man around the country for a fictional character. [In Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet (Act II, Scene II), Hamlet is quoted as saying: “I am but mad north-north-west: when the wind is southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw.”] The archetypal hero only finds a resolution to his disorientation and troubles by traveling from New York to Chicago by train and then flying north by Northwest (Airlines) to South Dakota and Mount Rushmore, a northwesterly trajectory. The allusion to traveling ‘North’ by Northwest (airlines) seems to be the most probable explanation for the film’s title. [At various stages of the script, the original working titles were Breathless, In a Northwesterly Direction, and The Man on Lincoln’s Nose.] For Rear Window, Jimmy Stewart observed all the events out of his rear window, looking out onto the courtyard and the other apartments. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-titles-i-dont-understand/357074/4 "2006-05-17T04:29:38Z")
> [@Team of Scientists](#): > > Anyway, I don’t understand the titles of either. _Rear Window_ seems to _kind of_ pertain to the plot of the movie, what with all of the peeping tommery. I don’t understand why it’s called _Rear Window_, though. Can anyone explain? Because it hinges around things he sees through the **rear** window of his apartment, which faces the street/courtyard/alley/whatever. The **front** of his apartment is where his front door is, facing the hallway. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-titles-i-dont-understand/357074/5 "2006-05-17T04:47:37Z")
> [@Team of Scientists](#): > > Got any other movie titles that you don’t understand? OH yeah. I give you [No Highway in the Sky](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043859/). [USA title for the movie _No Highway_, based on the book of the same name.] I think it’s a very nice turn of phrase, but I have no idea how they arrived at it or decided it made sense. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-titles-i-dont-understand/357074/6 "2006-05-17T05:14:19Z")
One that I never actually saw: _Two if by Sea_ I remember when it was released the reviews in the papers all started out by questioning the weird title. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-titles-i-dont-understand/357074/7 "2006-05-17T05:46:36Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > One that I never actually saw: _Two if by Sea_ > > I remember when it was released the reviews in the papers all started out by questioning the weird title. It’s from the famous incident preceeding the Battle of Lexington and Concord, where Paul Revere told Captain Pulling to hang a number of lanterns in the church window to signal how the British were arriving - one if by land, two if by sea. It’s an almost universally known story in the US, but I don’t suppose it’s well-known in Australia. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-titles-i-dont-understand/357074/8 "2006-05-17T05:53:47Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > One that I never actually saw: _Two if by Sea_ > > I remember when it was released the reviews in the papers all started out by questioning the weird title. That’s because they’re Australian. 😛 It refers to a line in a poem by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow\*, _[Paul Revere’s Ride](http://poetry.eserver.org/paul-revere.html)_. Revere was one of the riders who spread warning of a coming attack by the British during the American Revolution. Presumably a spotter was to signal him with light from a church tower - one lantern if they approached by land, two lanterns if they approached by sea. It’s rather well known to Americans, but I imagine essentially unknown elsewhere. * * * Besides writing poetry, the inspiration for an addition to a little ditty. When someone unwittingly makes a rhyme while speaking, a listener might say “You’re a poet but didn’t know it!” Part two is “But your feet show it, because they’re long fellows!” ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-titles-i-dont-understand/357074/9 "2006-05-17T05:55:15Z")
Does that title have anything to do with the movie? ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-titles-i-dont-understand/357074/10 "2006-05-17T06:04:00Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Does that title have anything to do with the movie? No, not really. ---
**Author:** ![some\_white\_dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b487fb/32.png) [@some\_white\_dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/some_white_dude)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-titles-i-dont-understand/357074/11 "2006-05-17T06:10:22Z")
> [@](#): > > Because Jimmy Stewart is watching his neighbors through the REAR WINDOW of his apartment. > [@](#): > > For Rear Window, Jimmy Stewart observed all the events out of his rear window, looking out onto the courtyard and the other apartments. > [@](#): > > Because it hinges around things he sees through the rear window of his apartment, which faces the street/courtyard/alley/whatever. The front of his apartment is where his front door is, facing the hallway. Well, jeez. Make a guy feel like an idiot. I guess I just don’t think of apartments having fronts/rears. :o ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-titles-i-dont-understand/357074/12 "2006-05-17T06:25:42Z")
> [@Team of Scientists](#): > > I guess I just don’t think of apartments having fronts/rears. Neither do most folks. In a house, you typically have a front door and a rear door, a front yard and a back yard. In an apartment, you usually have **the** door, and no yard. While some apartments do have rear/back doors, the great majority don’t, and people don’t usually talk about front and rear. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-titles-i-dont-understand/357074/13 "2006-05-17T06:31:23Z")
Mamet’s brilliant at confusing titles. The best is _Oleanna_. I have never been able to even hazard a guess as to what it refers to. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-titles-i-dont-understand/357074/14 "2006-05-17T06:41:03Z")
Spoiler alert, **lissener**. 😉 The title of _Oleanna_ - you inspired me to do some googling, since I watched this play once and also didn’t have a clue about the name - appears to be a reference to a Scandinavian folk song and/or story. According to the Tennessee Repertory Theatre Company, > [@](#): > > The play’s title - “Oleanna” refers to a folk story about how a man (named Ole) and his wife (Anna) bought acres of swampland thensold it as farmland to those who were willing to invest their lives’ savings. Once the money had been collected, the pair vanished and thebuyers were left with worthless property. This became known as the “Oleanna swindle.” How does that relate to the play? Beats me. [One online reviewer](http://www.sover.net/~ozus/oleanna.htm) suggests that the worthless land is academia, which probably makes as much sense as any other explanation. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-titles-i-dont-understand/357074/15 "2006-05-17T06:49:36Z")
I saw _The 400 Blows_ as part of a cinema class in college, where the title was explained, but I always wonder what the uninitiated think of the title. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-titles-i-dont-understand/357074/16 "2006-05-17T07:05:47Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Spoiler alert, **lissener**. 😉 > > The title of _Oleanna_ - you inspired me to do some googling, since I watched this play once and also didn’t have a clue about the name - appears to be a reference to a Scandinavian folk song and/or story. According to the Tennessee Repertory Theatre Company, > > How does that relate to the play? Beats me. [One online reviewer](http://www.sover.net/~ozus/oleanna.htm) suggests that the worthless land is academia, which probably makes as much sense as any other explanation. I’m sure it’s no accident that subplot that happens entirely on the phone is the purchase of a house that ultimately falls through. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-titles-i-dont-understand/357074/17 "2006-05-17T07:21:29Z")
> [@Team of Scientists](#): > > Side question: Ever notice the similarity between _Snakes on a Plane_ and _Strangers on a Train_? I can see why Hitchcock stopped being so blunt. _Cary Grant Gets Chased Halfway Across the Country Because He’s Mistaken for Someone Else_ doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. _Strangers on a Train_ was the title of the Patricia Highsmith novel on which the film was based. Other Hitchcock titles that came directly from the source material include _Rebecca_, _Psycho_, _The Birds_, _Rope_, etc. _North by Northwest_ was written directly for the screen. ---
**Author:** ![HubZilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-titles-i-dont-understand/357074/18 "2006-05-17T07:39:03Z")
How about “Attack of the Clones”. After all, the clones helped the good guys, not attacked them. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-titles-i-dont-understand/357074/19 "2006-05-17T08:14:18Z")
> [@HubZilla](#): > > How about “Attack of the Clones”. After all, the clones helped the good guys, not attacked them. I’m still trying to figure out WTF a “phantom menace” is. Man, those movies blew chunks. ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2006, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-titles-i-dont-understand/357074/20 "2006-05-17T08:54:55Z")
**Vanilla Sky**. This is a double puzzle, because (a) I don’t know what the term ‘vanilla sky’ means, and (b) I don’t know why they decided on that for the title of the movie. As regards the term, I posted a question about it some time ago here on the Boards, asking what it means and where it comes from, but alas! even the brilliance of the Teeming Millions couldn’t shed much light. It also crops up in a song called ‘Crush’ by Jennifer Paige. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-titles-i-dont-understand/357074.md?page=2)