# That movie character's name is wrong -- Change it! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 27, 2019, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-movie-characters-name-is-wrong-change-it/833103 "2019-04-27T00:31:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**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:** [April 28, 2019, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-movie-characters-name-is-wrong-change-it/833103/41 "2019-04-28T23:42:49Z")
I’d forgotten this one, which was one I wanted to bring up here – this is from the TV tropes site cited above: > [@](#): > > In the various film adaptations of The Island of Doctor Moreau, Edward Prendick has been named Edward Parker (Island of Lost Souls 1933), Andrew Braddock (The Island of Doctor Moreau 1977) and Edward Douglas (The Island of Doctor Moreau, 1996) I think that they thought “Prendick” sounded borderline obscene. In fairness, it’s weird name with odd stresses that doeen’t exactly roll off the tongue. ---
**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:** [April 28, 2019, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-movie-characters-name-is-wrong-change-it/833103/42 "2019-04-28T23:48:36Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Peter Jackson keeps making noises that he is going to film The Dam Busters remake. For some reason they are talking about changing one of the names. For those of you who don’t know, the black dog that is the mascot of the flying crew is named “Nigger”. I’m told that the lines giving his name are usually excised when the film is shown on TV these days. I notice that in some British works – films, novels, what have you – from before about 1960 you might have a pet named “Nig”. That shortened form usually doesn’t get cut these days, but only because people don’t realize that it’s short for “Nigger” And not just in Britain. The dog that was the mascot for the Hoover Dam constrtuction crew was evidently named “Nig” > **[Nig: The Hoover Dam Mascot](https://dogs-in-history.blogspot.com/2016/07/nig-hoover-dam-mascot.html)** > > Learn about Nig, the dog who worked alongside the men who built the Hoover Dam. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2019, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-movie-characters-name-is-wrong-change-it/833103/43 "2019-04-28T23:57:41Z")
Oh yeah, a certain Mel Brooks movie had Doctor Frah-ken-steen. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2019, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-movie-characters-name-is-wrong-change-it/833103/44 "2019-04-29T00:00:04Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > For those of you who don’t know, the black dog that is the mascot of the flying crew is named “Nigger”. I’m told that the lines giving his name are usually excised when the film is shown on TV these days. > > I notice that in some British works – films, novels, what have you – from before about 1960 you might have a pet named “Nig”. That shortened form usually doesn’t get cut these days, but only because people don’t realize that it’s short for “Nigger” > > And not just in Britain. The dog that was the mascot for the Hoover Dam constrtuction crew was evidently named “Nig” > > [Famous Dogs in History: Nig: The Hoover Dam Mascot](http://dogs-in-history.blogspot.com/2016/07/nig-hoover-dam-mascot.html) Not to spoil anything that happened in 1943 but the dog is significant to the story. It was the mascot of the squadron and was killed by a car right before the mission. The name of the dog was used as the code word to signify the dam was breached. It would be hard to say you told the whole story if you left out the dog. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2019, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-movie-characters-name-is-wrong-change-it/833103/45 "2019-04-29T00:08:31Z")
But would you lose anything in telling the story if the dog’s name were changed? ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2019, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-movie-characters-name-is-wrong-change-it/833103/46 "2019-04-29T01:52:11Z")
This is sort connected - in the 90s, there were revised versions released of several beloved children’s series by Enid Blyton. In [the Faraway Tree stories:](https://freerangekids.wordpress.com/2012/05/29/when-dick-and-fannie-became-rick-and-frannie-guest-post/) > [@](#): > > In this new version Jo had become Joe, Bessie had become Beth, and worst of all Fanny was now Frannie and cousin Dick had been turned into some kid called Rick. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2019, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-movie-characters-name-is-wrong-change-it/833103/47 "2019-04-29T02:53:31Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > But would you lose anything in telling the story if the dog’s name were changed? That’s most likely what is going to be done but since it’s a well known part of the story the subject always comes up when a remake is mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2019, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-movie-characters-name-is-wrong-change-it/833103/48 "2019-04-29T04:56:18Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Shouldn’t Indiana Jones at least have been named Oklahoma Jones, if not something like Montana, Wyoming, or Texas Jones? The Adventures of Brisco County Jr. played on this by having a guy named Utah Johnnie Montana (and the guy’s biographer saying slyly on the side, “He’s from Idaho”). ---
**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 29, 2019, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-movie-characters-name-is-wrong-change-it/833103/49 "2019-04-29T05:15:34Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Not to spoil anything that happened in 1943 but the dog is significant to the story. It was the mascot of the squadron and was killed by a car right before the mission. The name of the dog was used as the code word to signify the dam was breached. It would be hard to say you told the whole story if you left out the dog. How would the story be different if the dog were named “Blackie” or “Midnight” or for that matter “Rover”? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2019, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-movie-characters-name-is-wrong-change-it/833103/50 "2019-04-29T14:17:09Z")
Some name changes they _should_ have made: Robert Duvall played Capt. Spurgeon “Fish” Tanner in the sf adventure _Deep Impact_. In the running for stupidest character name ever, I’d say. Three Sikh characters in Conan Doyle’s 1890 Sherlock Holmes novel _The Sign of Four_ are named Mahomet Singh, Abdullah Khan and Dost Akbar. Khan and Akbar are not Sikh names - one critic joked it would be as if Holmes met those noted Irish criminals, Wojciech Kowalski and Hideki Fujiwara. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2019, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-movie-characters-name-is-wrong-change-it/833103/51 "2019-04-29T15:46:06Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Three Sikh characters in Conan Doyle’s 1890 Sherlock Holmes novel _The Sign of Four_ are named Mahomet Singh, Abdullah Khan and Dost Akbar. Khan and Akbar are not Sikh names - one critic joked it would be as if Holmes met those noted Irish criminals, Wojciech Kowalski and Hideki Fujiwara. No doubt for this very reason, the Jeremy Brett adaptation of _The Sign of Four_ changed the latter two characters’ names to Khatta Singh and Jagadish Singh. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2019, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-movie-characters-name-is-wrong-change-it/833103/52 "2019-04-29T16:17:55Z")
Side anecdote: I used to work for a testing company. One of our clients, a certain state that’s high in the middle and round on both ends, had a reading part of their English assessment that was a short story about a piece of trash that wound up in front of a corner grocery store, and detailed the thoughts of people nearby. One of them was Mr. Lee, the Asian owner of the corner store. Some do-gooders thought that “Mr. Lee” would offend the Asian-descended test takers, so they wanted us to ask permission from the author to change the name to “Mr. Smith.” He said hell no. As far as I know, there were no complaints. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2019, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-movie-characters-name-is-wrong-change-it/833103/53 "2019-04-29T18:38:49Z")
> [@Rysto](#): > > Anime localizations used to be infamous for replacing Japanese names with English ones. Perhaps the weirdest case I’ve seen was when _Cardcaptor Sakura_ was brought to North America as _Cardcaptors_. The title character kept her Japanese first name, and two Chinese kept their names as well, but the rest of the cast (including Sakura’s family) were given English names. In _Sailor Moon_ they changed the main characters name from Usagi to Serena. Serena may not sound like an English name, but it is a pun like the original Japanese name. My personal favorite is in the original _Astro Boy_ cartoon where they change the name of the mad scientist’s son from Tobio Tenma to Astrid Boynton.:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2019, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-movie-characters-name-is-wrong-change-it/833103/54 "2019-04-29T19:20:48Z")
Name change in the title only - **George III** (_The Madness of George III_) became **King George** (_The Madness of King George_). Apparently there were [two reasons](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Madness_of_King_George#Title_change) - both related to American audiences. Partly “_to clarify George III’s royalty_”; but happily the version of myth (that Americans wouldn’t go to see The Madness of George III because they hadn’t seen I and II) also seems to be partly true. And BTW: > [@Loach](#): > > Not to spoil anything that happened in 1943 but the dog is significant to the story. It was the mascot of the squadron and was killed by a car right before the mission. The name of the dog was used as the code word to signify the dam was breached. It would be hard to say you told the whole story if you left out the dog. It’s been a long time but yes, that’s how I remember it too. But seeing it written down - why on earth did they need a code word? What exactly were they trying to keep secret from the Germans - a colossal wall of water whistling down a valley? j ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2019, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-movie-characters-name-is-wrong-change-it/833103/55 "2019-04-29T20:07:50Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > It’s been a long time but yes, that’s how I remember it too. But seeing it written down - why on earth did they need a code word? What exactly were they trying to keep secret from the Germans - a colossal wall of water whistling down a valley? > > j That the planes that did it were flying from the dam back to England. It’d be rather simple to figure out their course and intercept. A code word keeps the Germans from knowing if it was related to the destroyed dam. It’s also a good general rule not to make anything identifiable when you radio. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2019, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-movie-characters-name-is-wrong-change-it/833103/56 "2019-04-29T20:29:07Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > That the planes that did it were flying from the dam back to England. It’d be rather simple to figure out their course and intercept. A code word keeps the Germans from knowing if it was related to the destroyed dam. But that’s kinda my point - the Germans knew where their own dams were; and presumably knew more or less instantly that they had been bombed by planes, which would now be on their way home. They must also have known when it happened. So yes, it would be simple to figure out their course and intercept, irrespective of radio messages home, coded or otherwise. (In 1943 was there anywhere other than the UK that the planes might have been flying back to?) j ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2019, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-movie-characters-name-is-wrong-change-it/833103/57 "2019-04-30T00:29:41Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > Name change in the title only - **George III** (_The Madness of George III_) became **King George** (_The Madness of King George_). > > Apparently there were [two reasons](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Madness_of_King_George#Title_change) - both related to American audiences. Partly “_to clarify George III’s royalty_”; but happily the version of myth (that Americans wouldn’t go to see The Madness of George III because they hadn’t seen I and II) also seems to be partly true. I skipped Malcolm X because I hadn’t seen Malcolm I - IX. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2019, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-movie-characters-name-is-wrong-change-it/833103/58 "2019-04-30T01:07:05Z")
When Raymond Chandler and Billy Wilder adapted James M. Cain’s _Double Indemnity_ for the screen, they renamed the two main characters: Walter Huff became Walter Neff, and Phyllis Nirdlinger became Phyllis Dietrichson. Done purely for aesthetic reasons, and I don’t think you can blame them. Speaking of Chandler, in his novel _The Big Sleep_, Marlowe flirts with but doesn’t actually become involved with his client’s daughter, Vivian Regan, a married woman whose husband Rusty is believed to have run off with another woman. The actual fate of Rusty Regan (spoiler: murdered) is the key mystery of the book, but when it came time to adapt the book into the film, the morality of a woman messing around while technically still married to another man wouldn’t get past the censors of the day. (Not to mention that, in the book, Vivian is an accessory to her own husband’s murder and gets away with it.) So Vivian Regan became Vivian Rutledge, divorcee, with no relationship to Rusty Regan. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-movie-characters-name-is-wrong-change-it/833103.md?page=2)