# Movies where the title character isn't the main character **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 30, 2010, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782 "2010-12-30T02:19:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/21 "2010-12-30T03:31:18Z")
**Who Framed Roger Rabbit.** The subject of the sentence is “Who,” so “Who” is obviously the title character. Roger Rabbit, despite being _in_ the title, is the object of the sentence. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/22 "2010-12-30T03:39:35Z")
_The Wizard of Oz._ ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/23 "2010-12-30T04:12:05Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > **Who Framed Roger Rabbit.** The subject of the sentence is “Who,” so “Who” is obviously the title character. Roger Rabbit, despite being _in_ the title, is the object of the sentence. Roger Rabbit isn’t the main character anyway. Eddie Valiant is. Also in the world of cartoons, Nemo is a supporting character in\*\* Finding Nemo\*\* - Nemo has a fair amount of screen time but the main character is Marlin. JFK doesn’t appear a lot in **JFK** , a movie that takes place almost entirely after JFK’s death. Mary is not the main character of **There’s Something About Mary**. Ben Stiller’s character is. And while we are discussing Ben Stiller, he is the main character of all the Focker films but each title names someone else - his to-be- in-laws, his parents, and his kids. The Mummy is not the main chanracter of **The Mummy** ; Rick O’Donnell is. The character named in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is Aragorn, but the main character is really Frodo. Or Sam. Itès not Aragorn, I don`t think. ---
**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:** [December 30, 2010, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/24 "2010-12-30T04:22:56Z")
> [@Ronald\_C.Semone](#): > > **The Trouble with Harry** Likewise **Weekend at Bernie’s**. In **Bringing Up Baby** , Baby didn’t have a speaking part. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/25 "2010-12-30T04:25:34Z")
**The Manchurian Candidate** is neither Raymond Shaw or Bennett Marco. It’s Shaw’s stepfather. ---
**Author:** ![multimediac17](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/839c29/32.png) [@multimediac17](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/multimediac17)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/26 "2010-12-30T04:29:59Z")
**The Rocky Horror Picture Show** ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/27 "2010-12-30T04:30:18Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Liberty Valence isn’t the main character in **The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance** He’s not the title character either, the man who shot him is. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/28 "2010-12-30T04:34:43Z")
In **Bobby Z** , Bobby is only a minor character. The main character is Tim. Neither I nor Andy Warhol is the main character of **I Shot Andy Warhol**. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/29 "2010-12-30T04:35:44Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > I wasn’t in **That Thing You Do** , and neither were any of you… For that matter, my brother isn’t in **O Brother, Where Art Thou?** ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/30 "2010-12-30T04:36:14Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Likewise **Weekend at Bernie’s**. > > In **Bringing Up Baby** , Baby didn’t have a speaking part. Baby falls short of being the lead, but a speaking part is not strictly necessary - a strong case can be made for **King Kong** being a main character. **Mighty Joe Young** probably isn’t the star. Going the other way, **Frankenstein** might not be the main character of the 1931 version, especially given how strongly the Monster is associated with his name. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/31 "2010-12-30T04:49:11Z")
In **Searching for Bobby Fischer** they never find him. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/32 "2010-12-30T04:57:10Z")
**Forgetting Sarah Marshall** **Along Came Polly** ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/33 "2010-12-30T04:57:21Z")
In Sylvester Stallone’s unpopular (but surprisingly funny) comedy _ **Oscar** _, the title character doesn’t appear until the wedding scene at the very end of the movie. Movie star Roxy Carmichael never appears in _ **Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael.** _ Nor does James Dean appear in _ **When You Coming Back to the 5 and Dime, Jimmy Dean Jimmy Dean?** _ Virginia Woolf never appears in _ **Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?** _ ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/34 "2010-12-30T05:28:49Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Movie star Roxy Carmichael never appears in _ **Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael.** _ Nor does James Dean appear in _ **When You Coming Back to the 5 and Dime, Jimmy Dean Jimmy Dean?** _ Obviously you weren’t paying close attention to the brand of breakfast sausages served at the diner. ---
**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:** [December 30, 2010, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/35 "2010-12-30T05:52:10Z")
Other title characters who don’t get more than a few minutes of screen time: **The Hound of the Baskervilles** **Moby Dick** ---
**Author:** ![GilaB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@GilaB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GilaB)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/36 "2010-12-30T06:08:27Z")
The main character in **Rachel Getting Married** is Rachel’s sister. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/37 "2010-12-30T10:13:43Z")
Barney Stimpson is convinced the star of Terminator is the titular android, and the star of Die Hard is the villain, the on who literally ‘dies hard’. ---
**Author:** ![JessMagic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c0e974/32.png) [@JessMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JessMagic)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/38 "2010-12-30T10:40:49Z")
**Being John Malkovich** , in which John Malkovich plays (is?) himself, but the main character is played by John Cusack. ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/39 "2010-12-30T11:05:11Z")
> [@JessMagic](#): > > **Being John Malkovich** , in which John Malkovich plays (is?) himself, but the main character is played by John Cusack. Nitpick alert - in that film John Gavin Malkovich plays the character John Horatio Malkovich. On topic, Pan appears nowhere in Pan’s Labyrinth, and even the faun from the original title doesn’t appear that often. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/40 "2010-12-30T11:31:29Z")
> [@Ronald\_C.Semone](#): > > Any remakes of Shakespeare’s **Julius Caesar**. Or, for that matter, Henry IV - the main characters are Prince Hal and Falstaff. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782.md?page=3)