# Movies that made a big pop culture splash but are now disporportionately forgotten **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 16, 2014, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755 "2014-11-16T08:07:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**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:** [November 23, 2014, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/241 "2014-11-23T19:42:17Z")
Wrong movie; it was _Jaws: The Revenge_ that paid for Michael Caine’s house. ---
**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:** [November 23, 2014, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/242 "2014-11-23T20:24:30Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Wrong movie; it was _Jaws: The Revenge_ that paid for Michael Caine’s house. Note the copy-and-pasted question that prefaced my response. ---
**Author:** ![No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_umlaut_for_U)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2014, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/243 "2014-11-23T22:12:27Z")
I’d like to nominate _The Sting_. Everyone saw it in the theater. I daresay that it–and _The Great Gatsby_–started off the trend of nostalgia during the Watergate era. It was clever, and ambiguous. Ragtime music had a brief resurgence. Even the Saturday Evening Post went back to its early Rockwellian roots. When was the last time you heard someone refer to this Redford/Newman gem? ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2014, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/244 "2014-11-23T23:17:33Z")
> [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](#): > > I’d like to nominate _The Sting_. Everyone saw it in the theater. I daresay that it–and _The Great Gatsby_–started off the trend of nostalgia during the Watergate era. It was clever, and ambiguous. Ragtime music had a brief resurgence. Even the Saturday Evening Post went back to its early Rockwellian roots. > > When was the last time you heard someone refer to this Redford/Newman gem? “The Entertainer” is still the go to background music for a scam in progress scene and the nose swipe is still the go to scammers’ secret signal, istm. Though it’s usually in a more comedic type of movie/show. Not really sure if people all know it’s from The Sting. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/245 "2014-11-24T01:22:41Z")
The nose swipe did not start with The Sting. Recall if you will these lines: And laying his finger aside of his nose And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/246 "2014-11-24T01:33:17Z")
> [@Spoke](#): > > The nose swipe did not start with The Sting. Recall if you will these lines: > > And laying his finger aside of his nose > And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose Santa was running the old False Good Samaritan scam, eh? His whole deal never smelled right. ---
**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:** [November 24, 2014, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/247 "2014-11-24T02:19:28Z")
> [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](#): > > I’d like to nominate _The Sting_. Everyone saw it in the theater. I daresay that it–and _The Great Gatsby_–started off the trend of nostalgia during the Watergate era. It was clever, and ambiguous. Ragtime music had a brief resurgence. Even the Saturday Evening Post went back to its early Rockwellian roots. > > When was the last time you heard someone refer to this Redford/Newman gem? I find it hard to think that _The Sting_ is “forgotten”. It still shows up on cable. I watch it frequiently, myself. ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/248 "2014-11-24T03:43:20Z")
> [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](#): > > I’d like to nominate _The Sting_. Everyone saw it in the theater. I daresay that it–and _The Great Gatsby_–started off the trend of nostalgia during the Watergate era. It was clever, and ambiguous. Ragtime music had a brief resurgence. Even the Saturday Evening Post went back to its early Rockwellian roots. > > When was the last time you heard someone refer to this Redford/Newman gem? In a [2000 Simpsons episode](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Money_Caper), and the example sort of makes your point: > [@Grandpa Simpson](#): > > This scam was in _The Sting Part 2,_ so NOBODY knows about it! ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/249 "2014-11-24T04:02:19Z")
> [@Disgruntled\_Penguin](#): > > What’s the second best shark movie ever? I ‘Orca’ or ‘The Deep’? Neither of which is a shark movie of course ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/250 "2014-11-24T04:18:44Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > ‘Orca’ or ‘The Deep’? > > Neither of which is a shark movie of course Deep Blue Sea? ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/251 "2014-11-24T04:43:07Z")
It’s been mentioned in passing but I nominate _The Graduate_. At the time it was considered a great movie that captured the times but it’s largely relegated to the dustbin. Great sound track, though. ---
**Author:** ![Disgruntled\_Penguin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@Disgruntled\_Penguin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Disgruntled_Penguin)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/252 "2014-11-24T11:12:03Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > ‘Orca’ or ‘The Deep’? > > Neither of which is a shark movie of course My answer would have been Orca as well but as you say that wasn’t a shark movie. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/253 "2014-11-24T13:35:43Z")
> [@Deeg](#): > > It’s been mentioned in passing but I nominate _The Graduate_. At the time it was considered a great movie that captured the times but it’s largely relegated to the dustbin. Great sound track, though. I don’t think this one qualifies at all. When Mike Nichols died this week, this was the film he was still most known for. And look at how often it’s been [referenced](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061722/trivia?tab=mc&ref_=tt_trv_cnn) and mentioned–it’s just never stopped. I didn’t see the movie till I was about 19 or 20, but growing up in the 90s I saw the memorable scenes referenced in tons of places (Boy Meets World, Seinfeld, Simpsons, Daria, Wayne’s World). And the plot itself is still relevant–think of all the films about post-college 20somethings unsure what to do with their lives: Tiny Furniture, Girls, Frances Ha. This one would probably be my go to example for an older film that has never left the public consciousness. ---
**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:** [November 24, 2014, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/254 "2014-11-24T14:10:05Z")
> [@Flywheel](#): > > In a [2000 Simpsons episode](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Money_Caper), and the example sort of makes your point: That doesn’t make the point of _The Sting_ being forgotten – it makes the point that _The Sting II_ is forgotten. Justifiably, too. Even though it, too, was written by David S. Ward, who wrote the original, it misuses the characters and is inconsistent with the first film. It also lacks all period feel and appeal. > **[The Sting II](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sting_II)** > > The Sting II is a 1983 American comedy film and a sequel to The Sting, again written by David S. Ward. It was directed by Jeremy Paul Kagan and stars Jackie Gleason, Mac Davis, Teri Garr, Karl Malden and Oliver Reed. > In 1940, the Great Depression is over and World War II had just begun. Fargo Gondorff is released from prison and reassembles his cronies for another con, out to avenge the murder of his lifelong pal and fellow con artist Kid Colors. Gondorff's young protege Jake Hooker attempts to ... Jackie Gleason is “Fargo” Gondorff??? ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/255 "2014-11-24T20:00:31Z")
What about the Austin Powers movies? They were huge at the time, but today they seem a bit tired/goofy. ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/256 "2014-11-25T01:45:41Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > I’ve always wondered how much of that was real and how much of it was people/clickbait articles attempting to get ahead of the curve and just pretend to really be into Avatar assuming it would be the next big thing. I’ve wondered the same thing. I’ve never met a single person that was a serious-enough Avatar fan to buy a t-shirt, letalone dress up, learn a language, etc. I think the Avatar-is-the-next-big-fandom thing was a media presupposition / intentional marketing push, but never actually materialized when the movie turned out to be a by-the-numbers blockbuster at best and absolute garbage at worst and the “3D revolution” has been a general fizzle. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/257 "2014-11-25T02:35:19Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > What about the Austin Powers movies? They were huge at the time, but today they seem a bit tired/goofy. Funny thing about those; I was just talking about them the other day with some friends. (I’m 41, they are all younger.) Consensus was the the first film would probably be considered an all-time classic 100 years from now, at least as a shining example of the era, and the sequels would probably be thought of as embarrassments on the level of the _Caddyshack_, _The Mask_, and _Dumb and Dumber_ sequels. ---
**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:** [November 25, 2014, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/258 "2014-11-25T03:33:04Z")
Somebody’s going to point out that this has already been mentioned, but I’ve looked through the thread twice and haven’t seen it. **Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner** It was the archetypical Very Important Film. Stanley Kramer, Spencer Tracy, Katherine Hepburn, Sidney Poitier. Cutting edge topic. And it fell victim to everything that plagues a Very Important Film. Cardboard characters. Speechifying. Not just a product of its time, a product of a _moment_ of its time. What it’s mainly remembered for now is being Spencer Tracy’s final film (he died only a few weeks after completing it.) ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/259 "2014-11-25T03:41:55Z")
> [@OneCentStamp](#): > > Funny thing about those; I was just talking about them the other day with some friends. (I’m 41, they are all younger.) Consensus was the the first film would probably be considered an all-time classic 100 years from now, at least as a shining example of the era, and the sequels would probably be thought of as embarrassments on the level of the _Caddyshack_, _The Mask_, and _Dumb and Dumber_ sequels. That sounds off. The third was a clunker, but the first sequel is one of the best comedy sequels\* out there. Not quite as good as the original, but it works pretty well and is memorable in its own right. \*Yes, this is a low bar. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755/260 "2014-11-25T13:33:05Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Somebody’s going to point out that this has already been mentioned, but I’ve looked through the thread twice and haven’t seen it. > > **Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner** Good one. Was not bound to stay all that fresh… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-that-made-a-big-pop-culture-splash-but-are-now-disporportionately-forgotten/704755.md?page=14)