# Quality Movies In Which \*Nobody\* Dies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 3, 2004, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quality-movies-in-which-nobody-dies/243340 "2004-05-03T20:48:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![JoeSki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b487fb/32.png) [@JoeSki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoeSki)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2004, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quality-movies-in-which-nobody-dies/243340/61 "2004-05-04T11:11:23Z")
Actually forget The Game. I forgot all about the main character watching his dad die in the beggining, though the only thing you see is his dad falling off a building. I thought I was being clever too. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2004, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quality-movies-in-which-nobody-dies/243340/62 "2004-05-04T14:36:18Z")
[QUOTE=Maureen] Hook…rats. Well, Cpt. Hook gets swallowed by the crocodile at the end, but I doubt he’d be too upset about that. [QUOTE] Hook runs Rufalo (?), the lost boy in charge while Pan was gone, through with a sword and kills him. Dumbo 101 Dalmatians (the animated one) Mary Poppins (well the old banker dies off screen, but he does die laughing) The Passion ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2004, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quality-movies-in-which-nobody-dies/243340/63 "2004-05-04T14:57:48Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > I don’t recall any death in _Shakespeare in Love_. Not true - Alleyn (played by Ben Affleck) mentions Marlowe’s death/murder to Shakespeare: “Not the billing, Will, the **bill**.” Or something like that. However, it’s only mentioned - Marlowe’s death takes place off stage. Snicks ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2004, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quality-movies-in-which-nobody-dies/243340/64 "2004-05-04T15:00:10Z")
I should ask, as there seem to be a lot of suggestions for very good, but adult movies which might bore the kid to tears…How old is he? And, what are his interests? ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2004, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quality-movies-in-which-nobody-dies/243340/65 "2004-05-04T15:18:58Z")
At this juncture, I’d like to mention that nobody dies in [Shallow Hal](http://home.netcom.com/~rogermw/ShallowHal.html) – the greatest movie of this millennium. ---
**Author:** ![Rex\_Fenestrarum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rex_fenestrarum/32/7265_2.png) [@Rex\_Fenestrarum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rex_Fenestrarum)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2004, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quality-movies-in-which-nobody-dies/243340/66 "2004-05-04T15:47:21Z")
Yeah, how old is this kid? No one dies in _Glengarry Glen Ross_, but I can’t see it holding the attention of a 10 year-old, either. No one dies in _Best in Show_, but the humor is probably too “adult” for most kids. And by “adult”, I mean “best understood by those who are 16 or older” and not “fart jokes and boobies”. Plus, _Best in Show_ has some mentions of homosexuality and that slutty woman, which are probably OK for a 14 year-old, but maybe not for a 10 year-old, depending on the parents. Although _The Breakfast Club_ has been mentioned, I believe that most any 80s teen movie would work: _Sixteen Candles The Breakfast Club Pretty in Pink Some Kind of Wonderful Weird Science The Pickup Artist_ Although I believe that _Hiding Out_ has a death - isn’t that why John Cryer is “hiding out”? ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Death](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecccb3/32.png) [@Evil\_Death](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Death)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2004, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quality-movies-in-which-nobody-dies/243340/67 "2004-05-04T16:00:24Z")
> [@Rilchiam](#): > > But on that note, ha ha, I don’t believe anyone dies in **Sound of Music**. More’s the pity. Every time Julie Andrews opens her (von) trap, I start rooting for the Nazis. That said, if I can’t have High Fidelity I want Pleasantville. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2004, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quality-movies-in-which-nobody-dies/243340/68 "2004-05-04T16:31:11Z")
Lots of very good answers so far. One thing – to everyone looking for more details on Sheldon, let me clarify: When I originally posted “let’s pretend…”, I mean “Sheldon _does not_ exist”. There is no sheltered kid out there. I’m just looking for opinions on what the best movie death-free movie out there is. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2004, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quality-movies-in-which-nobody-dies/243340/69 "2004-05-04T16:37:22Z")
You _killed_ Sheldon? :eek: :eek: :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2004, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quality-movies-in-which-nobody-dies/243340/70 "2004-05-04T16:49:03Z")
Uh, _The Producers_ doesn’t qualify. Remember the big bomb they planted under the crowded theater? ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2004, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quality-movies-in-which-nobody-dies/243340/71 "2004-05-04T16:51:13Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > You _killed_ Sheldon? In a manner of speaking. But, it wasn’t caught on film, so it’s ok. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2004, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quality-movies-in-which-nobody-dies/243340/72 "2004-05-04T17:00:18Z")
> [@Scarlett67](#): > > Uh, _The Producers_ doesn’t qualify. Remember the big bomb they planted under the crowded theater? Does qualify. 😛 They planted the bomb late at night, after the theater was empty. _“Is this the slow fuse…or the fast fuse?”_ ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2004, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quality-movies-in-which-nobody-dies/243340/73 "2004-05-04T18:03:38Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by Walloon > … The Apartment … Kramer vs. Kramer, The Last Picture Show … . Sorry to nitpick but – in _The Apartment_, while there’s no death, Shirley McClaine’s character tries to commit suicide – in _Kramer vs. Kramer_, Dustin Hoffman’s character mentions a co-worker who just committed suicide – in _The Last Picture Show_, an important character–Sam the Lion–dies off-screen. ---
**Author:** ![Syntropy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/65b543/32.png) [@Syntropy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Syntropy)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2004, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quality-movies-in-which-nobody-dies/243340/74 "2004-05-04T18:13:24Z")
> [@Hal Briston](#): > > There is no sheltered kid out there. I’m just looking for opinions on what the best movie death-free movie out there is. Oh, SUUUUUUURE!!! NOW you tell me. And I was trying to be kid-centric and everything. 😛 In that case: _An Ideal Husband_ _The Philadelphia Story_ Anything with Tracy & Hepburn _Some Like it Hot_ _Bull Durham_ _It Happened One Night_ _The Natural_ [ ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2004, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quality-movies-in-which-nobody-dies/243340/75 "2004-05-04T18:23:21Z")
> [@Maureen](#): > > _Some Like it Hot_[ Except the machine gun massacre of all those gangsters that sets the plot in motion. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2004, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quality-movies-in-which-nobody-dies/243340/76 "2004-05-04T19:28:35Z")
Star Trek IV (the one with the whales) Nobody dies. Some people are in dire situations but no deaths. ---
**Author:** ![cbawlmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cbawlmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbawlmer)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2004, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quality-movies-in-which-nobody-dies/243340/77 "2004-05-04T19:38:34Z")
_Chasing Amy_ - nobody dies and it’s a heck of a way to UNshelter a kid real fast. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2004, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quality-movies-in-which-nobody-dies/243340/78 "2004-05-04T20:30:13Z")
The correct answer to this question, like so many questions involving movies, is **The Iron Giant**. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2004, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quality-movies-in-which-nobody-dies/243340/79 "2004-05-04T20:45:13Z")
You would think this would be easy – just about any comedy, musical, animation…would qualify. But for completeness, here’s the AFI Top 100 (satisfying the “quality” portion of the criteria), and from the top of my head their suitability: 1. Citizen Kane No (Kane) 2. Casablanca No 3. The Godfather Definitely No 4. Gone With the Wind No 5. Lawrence of Arabia No 6. The Wizard of Oz No (the WWW) 7. The Graduate OK 8. On the Waterfront Not sure 9. Schindler’s List No 10. Singin’ In the Rain OK 11. It’s a Wonderful Life OK 12. Sunset Boulevard No 13. The Bridge on the River Kwai No 14. Some Like It Hot OK (except for St Valentine’s Day as noted above) 15. Star Wars No 16. All About Eve OK 17. The African Queen OK 18. Psycho No 19. Chinatown No 20. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest No 21. The Grapes Of Wrath Not sure 22. 2001: A Space Odyssey No 23. The Maltese Falcon No 24. Raging Bull Not sure 25. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial OK 26. Dr. Strangelove No 27. Bonnie and Clyde No 28. Apocalypse Now No 29. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington OK (I think) 30. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre No 31. Annie Hall OK 32. The Godfather Part II No 33. High Noon No 34. To Kill a Mockingbird No 35. It Happened One Night OK 36. Midnight Cowboy No 37. The Best Years of Our Lives Not sure 38. Double Indemnity No 39. Doctor Zhivago No 40. North By Northwest No 41. West Side Story No 42. Rear Window No 43. King Kong No 44. The Birth of a Nation No 45. A Streetcar Named Desire OK 46. A Clockwork Orange I don’t think anyone actually dies…. 47. Taxi Driver No 48. Jaws No 49. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs No 50. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid No 51. The Philadelphia Story OK 52. From Here to Eternity No 53. Amadeus No 54. All Quiet on the Western Front No 55. The Sound of Music OK 56. M_A_S\*H OK (since Painless doesn’t actually die) 57. The Third Man No 58. Fantasia OK 59. Rebel Without A Cause No 60. Raiders of the Lost Ark No 61. Vertigo No 62. Tootsie OK 63. Stagecoach No 64. Close Encounters of the Third Kind OK 65. The Silence of the Lambs good god, No 66. Network Not sure 67. The Manchurian Candidate no 68. An American In Paris OK 69. Shane No 70. The French Connection no 71. Forrest Gump No 72. Ben-Hur No 73. Wuthering Heights No 74. The Gold Rush OK 75. Dances With Wolves No 76. City Lights Not sure 77. American Graffiti OK, if you don’t count the “where are they now” at the end. 78. Rocky OK 79. The Deer Hunter No 80. The Wild Bunch No 81. Modern Times OK 82. Giant OK, I think 83. Platoon No 84. Fargo No 85. Duck Soup OK 86. Mutiny on the Bounty No 87. Frankenstein No 88. Easy Rider No 89. Patton No 90. The Jazz Singer OK 91. My Fair Lady OK 92. A Place in the Sun No 93. The Apartment OK 94. Goodfellas No 95. Pulp Fiction No 96. The Searchers No 97. Bringing Up Baby OK 98. Unforgiven No 99. Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner OK 100. Yankee Doodle Dandy OK ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2004, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quality-movies-in-which-nobody-dies/243340/80 "2004-05-04T21:49:51Z")
**jsc1953** , allow me to congratulate you on an ambitious effort. However (there’s always a however, isn’t there?), you have a few flawed passes. In _Yankee Doodle Dandy_, Cohan _pere_ dies onscreen. In _The African Queen_, the Rev. Samuel Sayer dies. The reason _Mr. Smith Goes to Washington_ is to replace a senator who died in office. In _Guess Who’s coming to Dinner_, Dr. Prentice happens to have lost his wife and son in a traffic accident (admittedly, some years in the past, but it _is_ used to hiighlight his character). OTOH, in _City Lights_, there’s no explicit statement that the Blind girl’s grandmother is not still living when The Little Tramp is released from jail. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quality-movies-in-which-nobody-dies/243340.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quality-movies-in-which-nobody-dies/243340.md?page=5)