# The longesgt time between a movie and it's sequel **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 7, 2004, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longesgt-time-between-a-movie-and-its-sequel/233024 "2004-03-07T22:12:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2004, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longesgt-time-between-a-movie-and-its-sequel/233024/1 "2004-03-07T22:12:44Z")
I watched Hannibal again last night. It was released in 2001. Silence of the Lambs was released in 1991. So there was 10 years between the two. 10 years is a long time. But I’m sure there are longer lapses. Does anyone know the longest? ---
**Author:** ![drewbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drewbert/32/15890_2.png) [@drewbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewbert)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2004, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longesgt-time-between-a-movie-and-its-sequel/233024/2 "2004-03-07T22:19:54Z")
I don’t know what the record is, but my first thought is The Odd Couple, 1968 and The Odd Couple II, 1998. ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2004, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longesgt-time-between-a-movie-and-its-sequel/233024/3 "2004-03-07T22:20:25Z")
_The Hustler_ was made in was made in 1961 and_The Color of Money_ was made in 1986, a span of 25 years. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_B.Goode](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/958977/32.png) [@Johnny\_B.Goode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_B.Goode)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2004, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longesgt-time-between-a-movie-and-its-sequel/233024/4 "2004-03-07T22:27:29Z")
Here you go: [http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/index.asp?id=50608](http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/index.asp?id=50608) I immediately thought of the Hustler/Color of Money too but I knew that was probably the wrong answer. Great movies though. ---
**Author:** ![Santos\_L\_Halper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/santos_l_halper/32/1_2.png) [@Santos\_L\_Halper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santos_L_Halper)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2004, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longesgt-time-between-a-movie-and-its-sequel/233024/5 "2004-03-07T22:33:21Z")
Don’t know if this counts, but the mini-series [Scarlett](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108915/) (1994) was a sequel to the 1939 film _Gone with the Wind_. That’s 55 years… ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2004, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longesgt-time-between-a-movie-and-its-sequel/233024/6 "2004-03-07T23:06:14Z")
I suspect this is cheating, but see [Dracula](http://imdb.com/title/tt0021814/) (1931) and [Dracula II](http://imdb.com/title/tt0336325/) (2003) giving 72 years. However, Dracula II is really a sequal to another Dracula film a few years before which is sort of a sequel to the normal story to start with. Though if you allowed THAT one, it would still be nearly 70 years. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longesgt-time-between-a-movie-and-its-sequel/233024/7 "2004-03-08T04:30:35Z")
_The Maltese Falcon_ (1941) was followed by _The Black Bird_ (1975), 34 years later. George Segal appears in the latter film as Sam Spade jr. Elisha Cook jr. played Wilmer in both films, and Lee Patrick reprised her role as Effie Perine, secretary. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longesgt-time-between-a-movie-and-its-sequel/233024/8 "2004-03-08T04:45:47Z")
I assume we’re discounting the rumors that COLD MOUNTAIN (2004) was a prequel to BIRTH OF A NATION (1916)… \< evil grin \> ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longesgt-time-between-a-movie-and-its-sequel/233024/9 "2004-03-08T05:00:35Z")
Well, you’ve got your sequels, and then you’ve got your sequels. It seems to me there is a very substantial difference between movies like “The Wizard of Oz” and “Return to Oz” which have nominally sequential stories, but really aren’t connected in any other way, and movies where you actualkly have some continuity in **the people making or starring in the movie.** If we identify a true sequel as being a movie where at least one lead character reappears and is played by the same actor, plus there is some continuity in the direction, writing or production of the film, “The Odd Couple II” is clearly the longest-awaited true sequel; it had the same two leads (Jack Lemmon and Watler Matthau) and were written by the same man (Neil Simon) so it’s clearly a true, according-to-Hoyle sequel. ---
**Author:** ![DrMemory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@DrMemory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrMemory)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longesgt-time-between-a-movie-and-its-sequel/233024/10 "2004-03-08T13:39:54Z")
Chinatown (1974) and The Two Jakes (1990). Supposedly, there is a third installment, which will probly never be made. I’m still waiting for the sequel to Easy Rider. It would be nice to see while all the main people are still alive… ---
**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:** [March 8, 2004, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longesgt-time-between-a-movie-and-its-sequel/233024/11 "2004-03-08T13:54:12Z")
It’s not the leader, but consider **The Guns of Navarone** and **Force 10 from Navarone**. Both were based on Alistair McClean novels that were, in fact, original and sequel, so I think they’re in the running much more than “manufactured” sequels, like **The Black Bird** is to **The Maltese Falcon**. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longesgt-time-between-a-movie-and-its-sequel/233024/12 "2004-03-08T15:50:42Z")
How about **2001** (1968), and **2010** (1984)? ---
**Author:** ![fusoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@fusoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fusoya)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longesgt-time-between-a-movie-and-its-sequel/233024/13 "2004-03-08T17:43:40Z")
Fantasia (1940) and Fantasia 2000 (2000). 60 years. If that rumored Snow White II project ever gets going, that’ll probably break the record…and I’m sure we all hope it won’t. ---
**Author:** ![Wumpus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8c91f0/32.png) [@Wumpus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wumpus)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longesgt-time-between-a-movie-and-its-sequel/233024/14 "2004-03-08T18:23:43Z")
Disney’s crappy direct-to-video Peter Pan 2: Return To Neverland (2002) followed their version of Peter Pan (1953) by 49 years. Here’s another, more obscure pairing: The Freshmen (1925) and The Sin of Harold Diddlebock (1947), both starring Harold Lloyd. Counting The Black Bird as a sequel to The Maltese Falcon is a bit wonky, as The Black Bird is an all-out spoof. It’s a little like counting Young Frankenstein (1974) as a sequel to Frankenstein (1931). I agree with RickJay: for it to really count as a sequel there has to be some continuity among the stars and/or creators. So Chinatown/Two Jakes, Hustler/Color of Money, Silence of the Lambs/Hannibal and Odd Couple/Odd Couple II would all count, but (say) Gone With The Wind and Scarlett wouldn’t. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longesgt-time-between-a-movie-and-its-sequel/233024/15 "2004-03-08T22:16:14Z")
Not a record breaker, but in the same league: **Psycho** (1961) and **Psycho II** (1983). ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longesgt-time-between-a-movie-and-its-sequel/233024/16 "2004-03-08T22:53:32Z")
Reverting to a very loose definition of sequel, I present [Das Kabinett des Doktor Caligari (1920)](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0010323/) and [Dr. Caligari (1989)](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097228/). Not a record breaker, but if we consider prequels as a subset of sequels, “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace” deserves an honorable mention. Well, a mention, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Moo\_the\_Magic\_Cow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ebca7d/32.png) [@Moo\_the\_Magic\_Cow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moo_the_Magic_Cow)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2004, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longesgt-time-between-a-movie-and-its-sequel/233024/17 "2004-03-08T22:54:11Z")
How about all those crappy recently released Disney sequels? Cinderella 1950 Cinderella 2: 2002 ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longesgt-time-between-a-movie-and-its-sequel/233024/18 "2004-03-09T00:12:35Z")
Also not a record-breaker, but the discussion isn’t complete without a mention of _Carrie 2: The Rage._ (Where’s the “yuck” smiley?) ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longesgt-time-between-a-movie-and-its-sequel/233024/19 "2004-03-09T03:21:08Z")
> [@DrMemory](#): > > I’m still waiting for the sequel to Easy Rider. It would be nice to see while all the main people are still alive… It would have to be a prequel, seeing as how Capt. America, Billy and George Hanson were all killed. ---
**Author:** ![DrMemory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/977dab/32.png) [@DrMemory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrMemory)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2004, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longesgt-time-between-a-movie-and-its-sequel/233024/20 "2004-03-09T12:28:30Z")
> [@Dooku](#): > > It would have to be a prequel, seeing as how Capt. America, Billy and George Hanson were all killed. Actually, Dooku, the story line I heard bantered about, had to do with Capt. America and Billy in Heaven(?) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-longesgt-time-between-a-movie-and-its-sequel/233024.md?page=2)