# Shawshank question. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 23, 2015, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shawshank-question/732332 "2015-09-23T19:56:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shawshank-question/732332/21 "2015-09-24T17:18:50Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Minor point: In the novella, Andy escaped in 1975. Did the movie specifically say the '60s or was that just alluded to by the Raquel Welch poster (in the novella, it was Linda Ronstadt)? > > Also, in the novella, Warden Norton didn’t commit suicide or do time for his crimes. I haven’t read the story in so long, I don’t remember that. But, wasn’t the full name of the story _Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemtion_, so named because it was her poster he had on the wall? ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shawshank-question/732332/22 "2015-09-24T17:25:06Z")
The first poster in the book was of Rita Hayworth, back in the day. Andy replaced it periodically, for obvious reasons. It is my understanding they took her name out of the title partly for licensing reasons and partly because they were afraid no one would know who Rita Hayworth was, in much the same way much of America thinks Paul Newman is the guy who sells salad dressing. In 1972, I had that exact same Raquel Welch poster, much to my mother’s irritation. Linda Ronstadt, far as I know, hadn’t been invented yet. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shawshank-question/732332/23 "2015-09-24T17:28:44Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > I don’t believe this thread. They’d have his last known address, names of relatives. The country club will have his old time cards. Records, W-2s with his name on them! > > How can you be so obtuse? It’s the grain and drain train for you! (Very nice! 🆒 ) > [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > I haven’t read the story in so long, I don’t remember that. But, wasn’t the full name of the story _Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemtion_, so named because it was her poster he had on the wall? Rita Hayworth was the first poster Andy got from Red (in 1947? You might say she started the whole thing). There were several others thru the years, ending with Linda R… ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shawshank-question/732332/24 "2015-09-24T17:36:39Z")
> [@Enderw24](#): > > I don’t believe this thread. They’d have his last known address, names of relatives. The country club will have his old time cards. Records, W-2s with his name on them! > > How can you be so obtuse? Because in the book it’s made pretty clear that the cops and DA weren’t real interested in anything except shafting Andy. Andy’s a small, prissy, not very sociable banker. He’s not a likeable guy, he knew his wife was having an affair, and he went and got s\*\*\*faced drunk the night someone perforated his wife and her lover. It’s also implied the DA was looking to make an example of Andy to further his own political goals. And Andy had no alibi, and in the book, wasn’t a hundred percent sure he HADN’T done it. It’s only later in the novella that we hear the tale of Elmo Blatch, and Andy begins putting the pieces together… only to get slapped down by the prison authorities. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shawshank-question/732332/25 "2015-09-24T17:40:54Z")
**Master W-K** , you got whooshed. Direct quote from the book and (I believe) the movie. Well played, **Enderw24**! Now off to **The Hole** with you. ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shawshank-question/732332/26 "2015-09-24T17:42:31Z")
I miss my Raquel Welch poster. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shawshank-question/732332/27 "2015-09-24T17:50:03Z")
Wasn’t the iconic Farrah Fawcet poster the last one in the novel, placing the escape later? ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shawshank-question/732332/28 "2015-09-24T18:05:00Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > Wasn’t the iconic Farrah Fawcet poster the last one in the novel, placing the escape later? Nope, sorry, you all gave me a bee in my bonnet, so I had to go look it up. 1975 Andy escapes leaving behind Linda Ronstadt poster (halter top, tight fawn-colored slacks). Norton pulls it off the wall instead of chucking a rock at (and thru) it. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shawshank-question/732332/29 "2015-09-24T18:10:58Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Minor point: In the novella, Andy escaped in 1975. Did the movie specifically say the '60s or was that just alluded to by the Raquel Welch poster (in the novella, it was Linda Ronstadt)? > > Also, in the novella, Warden Norton didn’t commit suicide or do time for his crimes. Red says “In 1966, Andy Dufresne escaped from Shawshank Prison.” It’s also stated explicitly that Andy entered the prison in 1947 and was there for 19 years. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shawshank-question/732332/30 "2015-09-24T22:38:38Z")
> [@fachverwirrt](#): > > Red says “In 1966, Andy Dufresne escaped from Shawshank Prison.” > > It’s also stated explicitly that Andy entered the prison in 1947 and was there for 19 years. That’s the movie you’re talking about, yes? Get a load of this: I have the book in front of me and the line goes, “In 1975, Andy Dufresne escaped from Shawshank.” Must have been the easiest screenplay to write in cinema history. ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shawshank-question/732332/31 "2015-09-24T23:12:43Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > That’s the movie you’re talking about, yes? Yes. When does he go in in the book? ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shawshank-question/732332/32 "2015-09-24T23:19:59Z")
> [@fachverwirrt](#): > > Yes. > > When does he go in in the book? 1. 😕 It would not surprise me to discover F. Darabont had an ulterior motive for changing the time-frame slightly. He’s good at that. ---
**Author:** ![Master\_Wang-Ka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/master_wang-ka/32/3325_2.png) [@Master\_Wang-Ka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Master_Wang-Ka)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2015, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shawshank-question/732332/33 "2015-09-24T23:29:22Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > 1. 😕 It would not surprise me to discover F. Darabont had an ulterior motive for changing the time-frame slightly. He’s good at that. Seems like it’d be easier to do haircuts, vehicles, and props from the later time frame… ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2015, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shawshank-question/732332/34 "2015-09-25T00:40:41Z")
Yeah, even if he got cleared of the murder and skated on the prison break, he still stole the money and theft is illegal even if you steal from a crook. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2015, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shawshank-question/732332/35 "2015-09-25T01:03:51Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > Yeah, even if he got cleared of the murder and skated on the prison break, he still stole the money and theft is illegal even if you steal from a crook. I don’t remember the movie details, but Andy didn’t steal any money, he had a friend on the outside who invested his money for him and just sat back and watched the dividends pile up while Andy was in stir. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2015, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shawshank-question/732332/36 "2015-09-25T01:34:10Z")
Nope, all the Warden’s money was deposited under the name of an unreal person who Andy created. Then, after the escape, he went to the bank and got it. “The signature was a spot-on match.” ---
**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 25, 2015, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shawshank-question/732332/37 "2015-09-25T12:24:20Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > Nope, all the Warden’s money was deposited under the name of an unreal person who Andy created. Then, after the escape, he went to the bank and got it. “The signature was a spot-on match.” Banks. “Mr. Stevens visited nearly a dozen banks in the Portland area that morning. All told he blew town with better than $370,000 of Warden Norton’s money.” ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2015, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shawshank-question/732332/38 "2015-09-25T12:38:17Z")
You know, if Andy had been a good husband it could have been him next to his wife the night Elmo visited… Also, the warden didn’t kill himself until he realized he was going to go down for corruption and murder. And The Kurgen not only killed Tommy, but he beat the fat guy to death in 1947-48 and permanently maimed Boggs later. So even if he could blame Tommy on the Wardens orders or even say the Warden killed Tommy outright, he sill had charges to deal with. ---
**Author:** ![bucketybuck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@bucketybuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bucketybuck)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2015, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shawshank-question/732332/39 "2015-09-25T12:49:23Z")
> [@Master\_Wang-Ka](#): > > This is what sets Andy’s path for the rest of the movie: he knows he’s not guilty, and he also knows that he will die in prison, doing tax returns and arranging trust funds and such, if he does not escape. Just on this, was Andy due to stay in jail for life even if he hadn’t been involved in the wardens schemes? What I mean is, I know the judge said “life” but was he expecting to be in jail for 30 or 40 years and then released? I assume the warden would have found some way to keep denying him parole or to extend his sentence past that, or was he in for his natural life no matter what happened? Or what I mean is, do you trust your wife? ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2015, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shawshank-question/732332/40 "2015-09-25T12:50:43Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > Yeah, even if he got cleared of the murder and skated on the prison break, he still stole the money and theft is illegal even if you steal from a crook. > [@E-DUB](#): > > Nope, all the Warden’s money was deposited under the name of an unreal person who Andy created. Then, after the escape, he went to the bank and got it. “The signature was a spot-on match.” In the film, at least (I’ve read the book, but can’t remember if it’s in there), Andy notes with amusement that on the outside he was straight as an arrow; it took going to prison to make him into a criminal. 😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shawshank-question/732332.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shawshank-question/732332.md?page=3)