# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/41 "2010-12-30T11:42:03Z")
And in a neat little twist, _Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory_ is more about Charlie than it is about Willy Wonka, while _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_ (the movie, not the book) is more about Willy Wonka than it is about Charlie… ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/42 "2010-12-30T11:42:58Z")
**The Big Lebowski** isn’t the main character of that film- it’s Jeffrey “The Dude” Lebowski, who gets mistaken for the titular character (whence hilarity ensues, of course). James Bond is the main character in **Goldfinger** (as opposed to the villain after which the film is named), and the Zulu aren’t the main characters in either **Zulu** or **Zulu Dawn**. ---
**Author:** ![Manwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Manwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manwich)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/43 "2010-12-30T12:10:41Z")
The Great Gatsby ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 12:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/44 "2010-12-30T12:18:54Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > 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’. “What’s the name of the movie, Robin? Who among us did not shed a tear when his little red eye went out in the end, and he didn’t get to kill all those people? :(” (Oh, and it’s Barney Stintson, not Stimpson.) ---
**Author:** ![newcomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/e5b9ba/32.png) [@newcomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcomer)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/45 "2010-12-30T13:01:17Z")
Kill Bill? ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/46 "2010-12-30T13:21:07Z")
I’m surprised no one has mentioned the most obvious: Rebecca doesn’t appear in REBECCA, she’s long dead before the movie starts. She’s a “presence” of course, but there’s no actress even playing her. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/47 "2010-12-30T14:12:22Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Nor does James Dean appear in _ **When You Coming Back to the 5 and Dime, Jimmy Dean Jimmy Dean?** _ True, but the Jimmy Dean in the title isn’t James Dean the actor, but the child of one of the characters (who likewise does not appear), who was named after James Dean. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/48 "2010-12-30T14:20:39Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > I’m surprised no one has mentioned the most obvious: Rebecca doesn’t appear in REBECCA, she’s long dead before the movie starts. She’s a “presence” of course, but there’s no actress even playing her. See post #6 This oughta be a law, any time someone pops in to opine, “I’m surprised no one has mentioned…” it’s usually been mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/49 "2010-12-30T14:39:32Z")
Not a character, but Fargo only appears for a few minutes at the very beginning of \*\*Fargo. \*\* ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/50 "2010-12-30T16:30:43Z")
Howard’s End ---
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/51 "2010-12-30T17:03:32Z")
_Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael_ is about a girl named Dinky, played by Winona Rider. The movie _Heathers_ is about J.D. and Veronica. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/52 "2010-12-30T17:28:23Z")
In **Waking Ned Devine** , Ned appears only as a dead guy. Plot: someone in a small Irish town has won the lottery, but no one can find the winner. Finally, they do: Ned Devine, who immediately died of shock in front of his TV, holding his winning ticket. To collect, the whole town decides to fool the lottery officials by having someone pose as Ned, and they all can split the winnings. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/53 "2010-12-30T17:36:49Z")
In **Mon Oncle D’Amerique** , the American Uncle never appears. **Mrs. Brown** technically has no one named “Mrs. Brown” in it. ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/54 "2010-12-30T17:36:54Z")
Has anyone done a film version of **Waiting for Godot**? That would qualify. ---
**Author:** ![Suburban\_Plankton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suburban_plankton/32/219_2.png) [@Suburban\_Plankton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suburban_Plankton)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/55 "2010-12-30T17:51:45Z")
Jaws. Perhaps it wouldn’t have been that way if Spielberg hadn’t had so many problems with his mechanical shark… ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/56 "2010-12-30T18:18:58Z")
Tron really isn’t the main character of the original _Tron_, either, so the new movie didn’t make some big break with tradition. ---
**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, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/57 "2010-12-30T18:20:29Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > True, but the Jimmy Dean in the title isn’t James Dean the actor, but the child of one of the characters (who likewise does not appear), who was named after James Dean. The idea was that the female protagonists lived in a small Texas town NEAR where James Dean filmed \*\*\*Giant \*\*\*decades earlier. Their hometown is a remote, desolate spot where NOTHING interesting has happened since James Dean passed through all those years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Number](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/number/32/242_2.png) [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/58 "2010-12-30T18:41:08Z")
[QUOTE=RealityChuck] Liberty Valence isn’t the main character in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance [/QUOTE] > [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > He’s not the title character either, the man who shot him is. But even then it’s debatable whether the movie qualifies.Jimmy Stewart’s character is _known_ as the man who shot Liberty Valance, but it was actually John Wayne’s character who did it. > [@bouv](#): > > (Oh, and it’s Barney Stintson, not Stimpson.) Per [imdb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460649/) and [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barney_Stinson), it’s Stinson. > [@Swallowed My Cellphone](#): > > Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael is about a girl named Dinky, played by Winona Rider. See post #33. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/59 "2010-12-30T18:41:51Z")
**The Darwin Awards** **Wrath of Khan** **The Princess Bride** ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782/60 "2010-12-30T19:04:35Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Cookie is dead in **Cookie’s Fortune**. Not exactly. Cookie _dies_ in the movie, but there are scenes showing her alive. (She’s played by Patricia Neal.) IIRC the movie doesn’t really have a main character, it’s more an ensemble piece. > [@astorian](#): > > Movie star Roxy Carmichael never appears in _ **Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael.** _ Roxy Carmichael definitely is not the main character, but she does appear in the movie. There are brief scenes of her in her mansion throughout the movie, although I don’t think her face is ever shown. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-where-the-title-character-isnt-the-main-character/565782.md?page=4)