# The greatest entrance in cinema history ... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 28, 2008, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-entrance-in-cinema-history/447186 "2008-04-28T04:04:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-entrance-in-cinema-history/447186/1 "2008-04-28T04:04:00Z")
… is [Frank-N-Furter’s arrival by elevator](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0l6Y_8BJA4g) in Rocky Horror. Already thrown off balance by the Timewarp, we’re suddenly confronted by a creature so glorious and bizarre that it’s all we can do not to join Janet in fainting dead away. “How do you do? I see you’ve met my … faithful … handyman!” What are some other great entrances? Can anyone top Frank? ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-entrance-in-cinema-history/447186/2 "2008-04-28T04:12:59Z")
Harry Lime…[The Third Man](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_SQyCJega8). Zithertastic! ---
**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 28, 2008, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-entrance-in-cinema-history/447186/3 "2008-04-28T04:17:34Z")
[QUOTE=fiddlesticks] Harry Lime…[The Third Man](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_SQyCJega8). Zithertastic! [/QUOTE] That’s the second. [Here’s](http://youtube.com/watch?v=bYlq3d8nDnk) the first. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-entrance-in-cinema-history/447186/4 "2008-04-28T04:24:08Z")
[QUOTE=lissener] That’s the second. [Here’s](http://youtube.com/watch?v=bYlq3d8nDnk) the first. [/QUOTE] Winner! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-entrance-in-cinema-history/447186/5 "2008-04-28T04:30:46Z")
Darth Vader. Repeated viewings have dulled the impact, but remember the first time you saw him? The rebels are nervously defending the corridor, the door blows and then these white skull-faced robot-looking badarses pour through the still burning breach and waste them all. Damn, these guys don’t mess about. But through the smoke comes striding - this seven foot black-clad masked and booted samurai gargoyle _thing_: he starts booming out orders and breaking necks, and you think, OK, now _he’s_ bad. ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-entrance-in-cinema-history/447186/6 "2008-04-28T04:33:35Z")
[QUOTE=lissener] That’s the second. [Here’s](http://youtube.com/watch?v=bYlq3d8nDnk) the first. [/QUOTE] I love when she does that shit with her hair! ---
**Author:** ![DataZak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ea666f/32.png) [@DataZak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataZak)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-entrance-in-cinema-history/447186/7 "2008-04-28T04:45:24Z")
David Bowie’s entrance as Nikola Tesla in _The Prestige_. Btw, I didn’t know Bowie was in the movie and didn’t know who was playing Tesla until I saw the credits so when he first appeared, my first thought was, “_Either Tom Skerritt gained weight or Ricky Gervais lost some_”. ---
**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 28, 2008, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-entrance-in-cinema-history/447186/8 "2008-04-28T04:53:29Z")
[QUOTE=fiddlesticks] Winner! 😃 [/QUOTE] Did you watch the whole scene? That’s gotta be one of my alltime favorite scenes in the history of movies. One of the best scripts ever written. In addition the the sparklingest dialogue _evar_, notice how after initiating his initial introduction, the husband is not seen again, even as his voice kind of emcees the little exchange. There’s no one in the world but Johnny and Gilda, and their mutual passion and hatred. I think I may need to watch that movie again tonight. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_and\_a\_Half\_Inches\_of\_Fun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ea666f/32.png) [@Two\_and\_a\_Half\_Inches\_of\_Fun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_and_a_Half_Inches_of_Fun)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-entrance-in-cinema-history/447186/9 "2008-04-28T04:56:54Z")
[QUOTE=Scissorjack] Darth Vader. Repeated viewings have dulled the impact, but remember the first time you saw him? The rebels are nervously defending the corridor, the door blows and then these white skull-faced robot-looking badarses pour through the still burning breach and waste them all. Damn, these guys don’t mess about. But through the smoke comes striding - this seven foot black-clad masked and booted samurai gargoyle _thing_: he starts booming out orders and breaking necks, and you think, OK, now _he’s_ bad. [/QUOTE] Agreed. ---
**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 28, 2008, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-entrance-in-cinema-history/447186/10 "2008-04-28T05:06:02Z")
[QUOTE=DataZak] David Bowie’s entrance as Nikola Tesla in _The Prestige_. Btw, I didn’t know Bowie was in the movie and didn’t know who was playing Tesla until I saw the credits so when he first appeared, my first thought was, “_Either Tom Skerritt gained weight or Ricky Gervais lost some_”. [/QUOTE] Tom Skerritt came into my vidstore tonight. He is _oooooooooold_. He looks about 95. What’s up with that? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-entrance-in-cinema-history/447186/11 "2008-04-28T05:19:45Z")
If you’re looking for the most \*iconic \* entrance, you can’t do much better than [this](http://youtube.com/watch?v=d5UTRbOdfUs). ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-entrance-in-cinema-history/447186/12 "2008-04-28T05:24:16Z")
What, no love for Capt. Jack Sparrow in the first PotC movie? Or does it not count if the poster can’t find a link? ---
**Author:** ![Interrobang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/interrobang/32/17463_2.png) [@Interrobang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interrobang)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-entrance-in-cinema-history/447186/13 "2008-04-28T05:24:50Z")
Tempting as Rita Hayworth is, I’m going to nominate [Grace Kelly’s entrance in _Rear Window_](http://youtube.com/watch?v=xhynlS1-o_c). Le sigh. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-entrance-in-cinema-history/447186/14 "2008-04-28T05:35:34Z")
[QUOTE=USCDiver] I love when she does that shit with her hair! [/QUOTE] Boy, howdie. I’ve wondered how many takes that shot was. Surely it wasn’t one or two. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-entrance-in-cinema-history/447186/15 "2008-04-28T12:41:08Z")
Everyone pales compared to the creature from [Alien](http://www.boreme.com/boreme/funny-2007/alien-emerges-p1.php). ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-entrance-in-cinema-history/447186/16 "2008-04-28T12:50:35Z")
Glinda, the good witch? Who else gets to cruise in on a bubble? ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-entrance-in-cinema-history/447186/17 "2008-04-28T13:04:51Z")
I don’t know if the OP counst honkin’ big ships as “characters,” but [_this_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z33-qOXOWS4&feature=related) sure as hell made an impression. ---
**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:** [April 28, 2008, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-entrance-in-cinema-history/447186/18 "2008-04-28T13:11:27Z")
What, no love for Elizabeth Taylor in **Cleopatra**? (At work, YouTube blocked.) ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-entrance-in-cinema-history/447186/19 "2008-04-28T13:21:47Z")
It would be nice, when suggesting an entrance, if the actual entrance were named in the post instead of just a blind youtube link. Rather difficult to participate when most of the posts are nothing but “look at this one!” ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2008, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-entrance-in-cinema-history/447186/20 "2008-04-28T13:27:06Z")
Not really an _entrance_… But those first shots of Strider, smoking in the shadowed corner of The Prancing Pony, were quite striking. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-greatest-entrance-in-cinema-history/447186.md?page=2)