# Ruin Old Film Plot By Adding Cell Phones To Story **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 3, 2012, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-old-film-plot-by-adding-cell-phones-to-story/633558 "2012-09-03T17:37:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2012, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-old-film-plot-by-adding-cell-phones-to-story/633558/21 "2012-09-04T02:34:20Z")
In October 1994, three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland while shooting a documentary. A few days later, they were found by a search party after they called for help. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2012, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-old-film-plot-by-adding-cell-phones-to-story/633558/22 "2012-09-04T03:07:00Z")
Superman Who ever speaks to this guy has got the most important interview since God talked to Moses. (Clark’s cell phone goes off, playing the Superman theme) Hey wait! YOU’RE SUPERMAN! ---
**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:** [September 4, 2012, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-old-film-plot-by-adding-cell-phones-to-story/633558/23 "2012-09-04T03:17:14Z")
_Casablanca_: Victor and Ilsa get the letters of transit via smartphone through online broker [lettersoftransit.com](http://lettersoftransit.com). Rick consoles himself by Facebooking the sexy .jpgs of Ilsa he took in Paris. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2012, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-old-film-plot-by-adding-cell-phones-to-story/633558/24 "2012-09-04T03:31:27Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > The problem is of course that had those movies been made during the era of cell phones, they would have just included a scene to explain why the phone(s) was (were) dead, broken, lost or stolen, like they do in movies these days. **Night of the Living Dead** could easily play more or less the same way if set in 2012 as it did in 1968 (or 1990). Barbra & Johnny are driving out to rural PA to visit their father’s grave. They listed to their iPods instead of the radio and they’ve both turned their cellphones off to avoid nagging phone calls from their mother. They get attacked at the cemetary; Barbra drops her purse running back to the car. When she get’s to the farmhouse the landline doesn’t work cause a pole went down. Sure everyone else has cellphones, but they doesn’t work 'cause the farmhouse is in a deadzone (or the tower’s down). Only the last part would need any dialoge or a new scene to explain. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2012, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-old-film-plot-by-adding-cell-phones-to-story/633558/25 "2012-09-04T04:49:42Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Maybe, but would they have had them _on their persons_? Back in the day, folks called cell phones “car phones”, because they were too big and clunky to be practical outside of the car. Bruce Willis’ limo driver is on a car phone during the heist, missing action going on directly behind him because he’s having too much fun. ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2012, 8:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-old-film-plot-by-adding-cell-phones-to-story/633558/26 "2012-09-04T08:56:22Z")
Commando Sully sees Matrix in the Mall and calls El Presidente to tell him he’s not on the plane ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2012, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-old-film-plot-by-adding-cell-phones-to-story/633558/27 "2012-09-04T11:19:06Z")
_Quest for Fire_: “Hey, Og, could you loan us a pot full of embers? Thanks, dude…” ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2012, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-old-film-plot-by-adding-cell-phones-to-story/633558/28 "2012-09-04T11:36:22Z")
_Stagecoach_. “I’m callling ahead to confirm that the cavalry will be available when we arrive at Dry Fork. No? Okay, we’ll stay put until you call us back. Thanks.” ---
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2012, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-old-film-plot-by-adding-cell-phones-to-story/633558/29 "2012-09-04T11:50:43Z")
**The Seventh Seal** - Antonius Block downloads a strong chess-playing app and checkmates Death. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2012, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-old-film-plot-by-adding-cell-phones-to-story/633558/30 "2012-09-04T11:51:30Z")
Wasn’t this lampshaded in the first _Harold and Kumar_ movie? IIRC they get halfway down their hallway, realize that they’ve left their phones and decide it’s too far to walk back to get them. Hilarity ensues. ---
**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:** [September 4, 2012, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-old-film-plot-by-adding-cell-phones-to-story/633558/31 "2012-09-04T14:10:34Z")
> [@Alka\_Seltzer](#): > > **The Seventh Seal** - Antonius Block downloads a strong chess-playing app and checkmates Death. It’s not in the Thread intention, but the infamous Death issue of _National Lampoon_ had a one-page ad for the book _Bobby Fisher Teaches You How to Beat Death at Chess_. ---
**Author:** ![tapu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@tapu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapu)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2012, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-old-film-plot-by-adding-cell-phones-to-story/633558/32 "2012-09-04T15:23:19Z")
“The Man Who Knew Too Much” – Jimmy Stewart, Doris Day The pivotal moment is when Doris Day sings Qué Será Será really loudly from the theater stage, and kidnapped son Hank reunites with her by following her voice. It just wouldn’t have been the same if she’d called and said, _Hank, where are you? Get down to the theater right this minute!_ ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2012, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-old-film-plot-by-adding-cell-phones-to-story/633558/33 "2012-09-04T16:06:03Z")
Romeo and Juliet: dont worry fr lawrence says ill wake up in six hrs and then we can go. xoxox ---
**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 4, 2012, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-old-film-plot-by-adding-cell-phones-to-story/633558/34 "2012-09-04T16:18:40Z")
Star Wars: Luke: Hey, Ben! Got some droids here, say they’re yours. Ben: I don’t remember owning any droids. Luke: Okay, never mind then. ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2012, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-old-film-plot-by-adding-cell-phones-to-story/633558/35 "2012-09-04T16:26:19Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Maybe, but would they have had them _on their persons_? Back in the day, folks called cell phones “car phones”, because they were too big and clunky to be practical outside of the car. There is just such a car phone in _Die Hard_, in the limo that Argyle’s driving. They show him using it in several scenes, and clearly mean it to be an unusual thing that Argyle’s using for its novelty value while everything is happening in the building above him. The contemporaneous (1988) movie _Miracle Mile_ has a single character with a mobile phone; when she pulls it out in the 24-hour diner, it’s a device to show that she’s a _very, very_ important person with access to people and information that a common person could never have, and the other diner patrons are appropriately impressed. > [@Jenaroph](#): > > In October 1994, three student filmmakers disappeared in the woods near Burkittsville, Maryland while shooting a documentary. > > A few days later, they were found by a search party after they called for help. Well, it would have been useful if it hadn’t been dropped in the river along with the map… 😃 My contribution: _Run Lola Run_ Sequence one: the robbery probably wouldn’t have occurred; she’d have been able to tell him she was coming, and they could run away. Sequence two: probably much the same as the original. Sequence three: she’d never have gone to the casino, since she’d know he recovered the money. Or, more likely, for all sequences, she’d stop running every few seconds to text Manni, and he’d get busted by Ronnie. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2012, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-old-film-plot-by-adding-cell-phones-to-story/633558/36 "2012-09-04T16:41:46Z")
> [@j666](#): > > Am I really the only person in the world who finds dead batteries and no service quite common? And only notice it when it’s really important. Yeah. If the above plots happened in real life I don’t think a cellphone would be the deus ex machina it’s being made out to be. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2012, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-old-film-plot-by-adding-cell-phones-to-story/633558/37 "2012-09-04T16:59:21Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Maybe, but would they have had them _on their persons_? Back in the day, folks called cell phones “car phones”, because they were too big and clunky to be practical outside of the car. Here’s a 1988 [commercial](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iE0OH5FmiU) for “portable” cell phones. Not something you’d slip in your pocket. ---
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2012, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-old-film-plot-by-adding-cell-phones-to-story/633558/38 "2012-09-04T17:11:41Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > It’s not in the Thread intention, but the infamous Death issue of _National Lampoon_ had a one-page ad for the book _Bobby Fisher Teaches You How to Beat Death at Chess_. I think I’ve spotted a [flaw](http://www.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,,2243089,00.html) in his marketing strategy. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2012, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-old-film-plot-by-adding-cell-phones-to-story/633558/39 "2012-09-04T17:15:29Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Maybe, but would they have had them _on their persons_? Back in the day, folks called cell phones “car phones”, because they were too big and clunky to be practical outside of the car. This was my thought. Most cell phones of the mid-to-late 80s would have been brick phones, which one did not carry about as casually as today. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2012, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-old-film-plot-by-adding-cell-phones-to-story/633558/40 "2012-09-04T17:28:20Z")
_Spartacus_. Having to distinguish among all those guys standing in front of him, the Roman commander would have just called Spartacus’ cell. Then it’s a simple matter to arrest the man whose tunic is chirping, “deedle deedle deedle.” _The Ten Commandments_. “Aaron, I’m on my way back down the mountain. The Lord faxed me some commandments. How are things in camp? What? You’re building a _what_ now?” _Star Trek V_. “What does God need with a cell phone?” _Pulp Fiction_. “Five long years, he wore this phone up his a–. Then when he died of dysentery, he gave me the phone. I hid this uncomfortable piece of metal up my a-- for two years. Then, after seven years, I was sent home to my family. And now, little man, I give the phone to you.” > [@Student\_Driver](#): > > The contemporaneous (1988) movie _Miracle Mile_ has a single character with a mobile phone; when she pulls it out in the 24-hour diner, it’s a device to show that she’s a _very, very_ important person with access to people and information that a common person could never have, and the other diner patrons are appropriately impressed. IIRC, in _Six Degrees of Separation_ (1993), there’s a long shot of a businessman character conversing on his cell phone as he walks through the airport. When he walks through the metal detector, he hands the phone to the security guard without hanging up, then takes it back on the other side and resumes the conversation. At the time, it was meant to seem nearly as impressive as the second Terminator dissolving through the barred hospital door. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-old-film-plot-by-adding-cell-phones-to-story/633558.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ruin-old-film-plot-by-adding-cell-phones-to-story/633558.md?page=3)