# Movies With Nameless Lead Characters **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 1, 2004, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-nameless-lead-characters/262612 "2004-09-01T18:49:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Ichbin\_Dubist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/51bf81/32.png) [@Ichbin\_Dubist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ichbin_Dubist)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2004, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-nameless-lead-characters/262612/61 "2004-09-02T12:35:46Z")
If you look at [Tommy Chong’s](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001045/) page on the IMDb, he seems to have rarely played a character with a name. It puzzles me that there aren’t more movies made from Dashiell Hammett’s great Continental Op stories (you could sort of count _Yojimbo_ and _Last Man Standing_, I guess). The Op’s name is never given. ---
**Author:** ![Millit\_the\_Frail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/51bf81/32.png) [@Millit\_the\_Frail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Millit_the_Frail)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2004, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-nameless-lead-characters/262612/62 "2004-09-02T19:24:08Z")
Sometime in the late 80s (1987 exactly, from imdb), Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello did one last beach movie. It was called “Back to the Beach” and featured them as parents of two kids–one was Lori Loughlin and one was a bratty biker punk teenage boy. Anyway, Frankie is never called by name during the movie and is listed in the credits as “Annette’s Husband.” However, imdb has him as Frankie. In the movie, people call him “The Big Kahuna” a fair amount, and Annette is called by her real name. Weird little movie. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2004, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-nameless-lead-characters/262612/63 "2004-09-02T20:00:40Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > D-FENS from Falling Down. I think they mention his name talking to his mother, but I believe he is listed in the credits as D-FENS. True, he is listed in the credits as D-FENS, but his name is Bill and he is referred to as Bill several times. ---
**Author:** ![paulberserker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@paulberserker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paulberserker)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2004, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-nameless-lead-characters/262612/64 "2004-09-02T20:37:11Z")
Just to add on seeing this thread, the first thing that came to me was Fight Club, where someone earlier mentions him credited as ‘the Narrator’, which is correct. The amount of times in respectable film magazines (Empire being one) and reviews and people talking about him where Ed Nortons referred to as ‘Jack’ piss me off, simply because of the parts when he’s reading from the old magazines in the house on Paper St - “I am Jack’s complete lack of surprise” etc. Lazy. Didn’t people actually watch the film? I suppose he is Tyler Durden as well though. His name, was Robert Poulson. Just a nitpick there. Yo. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2004, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-nameless-lead-characters/262612/65 "2004-09-02T21:34:04Z")
How about the two creations of Dr. Frankenstein - the monster and his bride - from “Frankenstein” and “the Bride of Frankenstein” ? Then there’s the film “Eraserhead” : the “protagonist” (for want of a better description) is known as Henry X, his reluctant wife is Mary, but nobody else has a name. IMO, The best credit at the end of the film is “the Beautiful Woman Who Lives Across The Hall From Henry.” ---
**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:** [September 2, 2004, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-nameless-lead-characters/262612/66 "2004-09-02T22:02:55Z")
I think the ultimate example of nameless characters would be in Milos Forman’s **Ragtime** , based on E.L. Doctorow’s book of the same name - which also didn’t give names to most of its main characters. It’s actually rather disconcerting to watch, although not as annoying to read (it’s a good book, but I got tired of having a pivotal character constantly beeing referred to as “Mother’s Younger Brother”; in the film, he’s just Brad Douriff). ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2004, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-nameless-lead-characters/262612/67 "2004-09-02T22:30:38Z")
> [@audit1](#): > > The Beast in Disney’s _Beauty and the east_ does not have a name. Beauty is Belle During the little fairy tale sequence at the beginning, before he’s transformed into The Beast, he’s called “Prince Eric” (I _think_ it was Eric). But yeah, by the time he meets Belle he’s either forgotten his name or it’s become totally irrelevant. ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2004, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-nameless-lead-characters/262612/68 "2004-09-02T23:00:44Z")
In _Kismet_, the lead character is properly called “The Poet”. Early in the plot he is mistaken for one Hadj the Beggar (sp?), and plays along with this for his advantage. But his actual name is never used. Come to think of it, the Wazir and the Caliph, who are also major characters, are likewise left nameless by the script. ---
**Author:** ![TheRealJohnPeat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@TheRealJohnPeat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheRealJohnPeat)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2004, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-nameless-lead-characters/262612/69 "2004-09-02T23:26:25Z")
Withnail’s sidekick in the seminal ‘quote-flick’ has no name anywhere in the film or credits AFAIK - although his name comes up in the making-of referenced from the script I think. The main character in the FAN-FING-TASTIC “Hero” (Jet Li) is called “Nameless” tho - which is quite cool 🙂 **ALERT: YOU CANNOT MISS THIS FILM - IT’S SIMPLY STUNNING** JP ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2004, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-nameless-lead-characters/262612/70 "2004-09-03T01:45:41Z")
Kevin Costner’s character in the Postman is variously called “Shakespeare” & “the Postman,” but his real name, is, of course, _your_ real name, because he’s you, slacker boy, after the war. At least, that’s what I thought when I saw it. I think the character was supposed to be born the same year I was, & the generational references fit perfectly. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2004, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-nameless-lead-characters/262612/71 "2004-09-03T13:15:51Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > During the little fairy tale sequence at the beginning, before he’s transformed into The Beast, he’s called “Prince Eric” (I _think_ it was Eric). > > But yeah, by the time he meets Belle he’s either forgotten his name or it’s become totally irrelevant. No, that’s the character he played in The Little Mermaid. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2004, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-nameless-lead-characters/262612/72 "2004-09-03T19:56:01Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Resident Evil, two characters have no name: > > Milla Jovovich is never referred to by any name and she can’t remember her name and even after she remembers her name it’s never mentioned. I was wondering if I was the only one who missed that. Perhaps all the Lewis Carrol references led to her being named Alice? ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2004, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-nameless-lead-characters/262612/73 "2004-09-03T21:21:00Z")
> [@HPL](#): > > Perhaps all the Lewis Carrol references led to her being named Alice? Yup. The IMDB has the whole list of Lewis Carrol references, pretty interesting actually. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2004, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-nameless-lead-characters/262612/74 "2004-09-03T23:34:10Z")
The American in _Hell In The Pacific_ (The Jaspanese character has a name) The truck driver in _Duel_ The various "M"s in the James Bond movies. Also “Q”#2. (Q#1 is named Major Boothroyd) And “Jaws” while we’re at it. Toshiro Mifune’s chatracter in _Seven Samurai_ is using a stolen name, we never learn his real one. Ditto Edward Fox in _Day Of The Jackal_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-with-nameless-lead-characters/262612.md?page=3)