# "Snakes on a Plane" was not the first **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 1, 2006, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snakes-on-a-plane-was-not-the-first/350863 "2006-04-01T18:08:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![priapus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@priapus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/priapus)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2006, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snakes-on-a-plane-was-not-the-first/350863/21 "2006-04-01T21:20:01Z")
Prick,up your ears ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2006, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snakes-on-a-plane-was-not-the-first/350863/22 "2006-04-01T21:20:35Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > Does a prick go up anyone’s ears in the movie “Prick Up Your Ears”? No. The content of the movie is not described by the title, whether the title is said out loud or not. It’s a clever title, certainly, and was a clever title back when Kenneth Halliwell thought it up. But it’s not descriptive of the movie in such manner as matches what the OP is looking for. “Snakes on a Plane” is about snakes on a plane. “Prick Up Your Ears” is not about pricks, ears, or their proximity to one another. When you say it out loud, “ears” sounds a lot like “rears.” I’m guessing a porno? Which opens up a whole new arena of accurate movie titles. _Cum Guzzling Sluts_ pretty much sums up the movie, doesn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2006, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snakes-on-a-plane-was-not-the-first/350863/23 "2006-04-01T21:40:05Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > When you say it out loud, “ears” sounds a lot like “rears.” I’m guessing a porno? “Prick Up Your Ears” is a biopic of gay British playwright [Joe Orton](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Orton). The title was originally proposed by his lover, Kenneth Halliwell, as the title of a movie script Orton was writing for the Beatles (Orton decided that the title was too good to waste on the Beatles and titled the script _Up Against it_; it was rejected by the Beatles). Orton was going to use it as the title of a farce about the goings-on backstage at a coronation, but was murdered by Halliwell before he could write it. Orton biographer John Lahr used the title for the biography, which was adapted into the screenplay. It’s a good movie despite the presence of Wallace Shawn, and the biography is a good read and Orton’s plays are outstanding (not so much the novels). A number of his works have been filmed, mostly for TV from the looks of IMDB, and if there hasn’t been already there needs to be a DVD release. > [@Miller](#): > > Which opens up a whole new arena of accurate movie titles. Cum Guzzling Sluts pretty much sums up the movie, doesn’t it? Another unmined vein is the earliest silents, which often had very literally descriptive titles (“Mabel at the Beach” and so forth). ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2006, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snakes-on-a-plane-was-not-the-first/350863/24 "2006-04-01T22:16:06Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > When you say it out loud, “ears” sounds a lot like “rears.” I’m guessing a porno? I always read it as a play on “Prick up your arse.” The homophony is weak, but it’s an anagram. But no, it doesn’t really describe the film, like “Jealous, dysfunctional relationship” would. > [@Otto](#): > > It’s a good movie despite the presence of Wallace Shawn… Sir! ---
**Author:** ![DaveRaver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daveraver/32/1078_2.png) [@DaveRaver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaveRaver)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2006, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snakes-on-a-plane-was-not-the-first/350863/25 "2006-04-01T22:26:49Z")
Debbie Does Dallas. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2006, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snakes-on-a-plane-was-not-the-first/350863/26 "2006-04-01T22:37:56Z")
> [@DaveRaver](#): > > Debbie Does Dallas. Except she never got to Dallas. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2006, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snakes-on-a-plane-was-not-the-first/350863/27 "2006-04-01T22:38:44Z")
> [@DaveRaver](#): > > Debbie Does Dallas. Except she doesn’t do Dallas in the movie (just about everything else, though). ---
**Author:** ![Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f0a364/32.png) [@Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rube_E.Tewesday)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2006, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snakes-on-a-plane-was-not-the-first/350863/28 "2006-04-01T22:39:13Z")
_Alien vs. Predator_ must have been easy to pitch. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2006, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snakes-on-a-plane-was-not-the-first/350863/29 "2006-04-01T22:41:11Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Exactly. I’m asking for something more like **Movie, Movie** , which is two movies in one, or **Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle** which is about Harold and Kumar going to White Castle, or even Samuel Beckett’s **Film** , which is one. Gulliver’s Travels Sullivan’s Travels Around the World in Eighty Days 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2006, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snakes-on-a-plane-was-not-the-first/350863/30 "2006-04-01T22:45:05Z")
[The Trip to Bountiful](http://imdb.com/title/tt0090203/?fr=c2l0ZT1kZnx0dD0xfGZiPXV8cG49MHxrdz0xfHE9dHJpcCB0byBib3VudGZ1bHxmdD0xfG14PTIwfGxtPTUwMHxjbz0xfGh0bWw9MXxubT0x;fc=1;ft=10;fm=1) _Driving Miss Daisy_ _A Long Day’s Journey Into Night_ _Barber Shop_ [The Assassination of Trotsky](http://imdb.com/title/tt0068226/?fr=c2l0ZT1kZnx0dD0xfGZiPXV8cG49MHxrdz0xfHE9ZGVhdGggb2YgdHJvdHNreXxmdD0xfG14PTIwfGxtPTUwMHxjbz0xfGh0bWw9MXxubT0x;fc=2;ft=21;fm=1) ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2006, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snakes-on-a-plane-was-not-the-first/350863/31 "2006-04-02T02:03:22Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > Does a prick go up anyone’s ears in the movie “Prick Up Your Ears”? No. The content of the movie is not described by the title, whether the title is said out loud or not. It’s a clever title, certainly, and was a clever title back when Kenneth Halliwell thought it up. But it’s not descriptive of the movie in such manner as matches what the OP is looking for. “Snakes on a Plane” is about snakes on a plane. “Prick Up Your Ears” is not about pricks, ears, or their proximity to one another. [ol] [li]Get sense of humor.[/li][li]It’s way more apt than most of the lame contributions to this lame thread; it’s certainly more syntactically apt than almost all of them.[/li][li]It’s “prick up your rears,” which states pretty clearly Orton’s life’s principles. So as a biopic, it’s a pretty apt title.[/li][li]Stalk someone else. We should all be so lucky as to have someone whose energies are dedicated to pointing out when we make a post that isn’t as wildly funny as we thought it was, or to ask if we’ve read the thread, or to generally make it clear that somebody out there somewhere is perennially ready to pounce and try to make us wish we had just kept our mouth shut. It’s good to have a life’s mission, Otto. It might also be good to get a hobby.[/li][/ol] ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Corcoran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Captain\_Corcoran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Corcoran)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2006, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snakes-on-a-plane-was-not-the-first/350863/32 "2006-04-02T02:07:04Z")
Young Doctors in Love Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2006, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snakes-on-a-plane-was-not-the-first/350863/33 "2006-04-02T02:25:10Z")
I think the point that can be taken away from this thread (sorry for being impolite and calling it lame) is that movies have always had pretty straightforward titles. _Written on the Wind_ and _Reflections in a Golden Eye_ are, if not the exception, certainly not the norm; \*Night Nurse, Bunny Lake Is Missing, \*and _Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia_ are not unique in their literalness. And a less, again, impolite side note to Otto: as I read down this thread, I came across many contributions that were nearly non sequiturs in their inaptness to the OP, but I didn’t attempt to hijack the thread by calling out someone who was simply enjoying themself with their participation by trying to make them feel like an idiot. Neither did you, until you came across the “lissener” tag. Give a rest, dude. I don’t know what your beef with me is, but it’s childish to keep dragging it from thread to thread like a chewed-up old sock. Ignore me if I piss you off; I mostly ignore you. If each of us argued with every contribution to one of these silly little game threads that we didn’t agree with, CS would be a very contentious place indeed. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2006, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snakes-on-a-plane-was-not-the-first/350863/34 "2006-04-02T02:53:04Z")
SF movies titles can go to either extreme. E.g., “Crack in the Earth” involved a crack in the Earth. “Day the Earth Stood Still” had nothing to do with the Earth standing still. “Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace: Special Edition” has a lot of colons. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2006, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snakes-on-a-plane-was-not-the-first/350863/35 "2006-04-02T03:01:59Z")
**lissener** , [you are cordially invited](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=7256515). ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2006, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snakes-on-a-plane-was-not-the-first/350863/36 "2006-04-02T03:14:46Z")
It was a fucking joke, for chrissakes. “Get a sense of humor” doesn’t mean it \*WAS \*funny, it means it was _SUPPOSED TO BE_ funny. I should have replied with a “whoosh” and left it at that. Thanks for pointing out that there were no literaly pricks up any literal rears; that was the JOKE part. Is being less funny than I think I am really worthy of an argumentative hijack in a CS thread, let alone a pitting? ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2006, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snakes-on-a-plane-was-not-the-first/350863/37 "2006-04-02T03:15:54Z")
**The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada.** ---
**Author:** ![DxZero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DxZero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DxZero)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2006, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snakes-on-a-plane-was-not-the-first/350863/38 "2006-04-02T03:17:11Z")
[The Man with the Smallest Penis in Existence and the Electron Microscope Technician Who Loved Him](http://imdb.com/title/tt0374020/) ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2006, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snakes-on-a-plane-was-not-the-first/350863/39 "2006-04-02T03:21:40Z")
Killer Klowns from Outer Space Mars Attack! Interview with the Vampire Probably any of the _Harry Potter_ movies. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2006, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snakes-on-a-plane-was-not-the-first/350863/40 "2006-04-02T03:43:22Z")
**Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.** **Memoirs of a Geisha** [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snakes-on-a-plane-was-not-the-first/350863.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/snakes-on-a-plane-was-not-the-first/350863.md?page=3)