# What is the most mainstream movie to not have any music? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 2, 2011, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-mainstream-movie-to-not-have-any-music/569946 "2011-02-02T22:03:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**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:** [February 3, 2011, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-mainstream-movie-to-not-have-any-music/569946/41 "2011-02-03T20:37:36Z")
No women: **[Give 'em Hell Harry](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073053/)** ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-mainstream-movie-to-not-have-any-music/569946/42 "2011-02-03T21:11:21Z")
> [@wheresgeorge04](#): > > I’m pretty certain that the key witness, the one with th glasses marks, is an old lady. > [@tavalla](#): > > Do the witnesses actually appear, though? > [@wheresgeorge04](#): > > If you’re referring to 12 Angry Men, she does - she gives a whole statement. Not that I don’t believe you but it’s very odd that such a role has no credit. Not even a credit as “uncredited”. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-mainstream-movie-to-not-have-any-music/569946/43 "2011-02-03T21:53:00Z")
> [@WreckingCrew](#): > > Lawrence of Arabia has no women in a speaking role, though I believe a nurse or two is seen wandering through. Wasn’t it a woman he was showing off to in the “the trick is not minding that it hurts” scene at the beginning, or is my memory failing me? ---
**Author:** ![SecretaryofEvil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@SecretaryofEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecretaryofEvil)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-mainstream-movie-to-not-have-any-music/569946/44 "2011-02-03T21:55:45Z")
> [@Superfluous\_Parentheses](#): > > Ok, then by that measure, all the conforming [Dogme 95](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogme) films count, with [Festen (the Celebration)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Celebration) as one of the more famous examples. > > It would also include pretty much all _musicals_… > [@Don\_Draper](#): > > Hitchcock’s **Rear Window** is also like that. While there is some music in the background, it comes from sources from within the confines of the courtyard, and there is no incidental music or soundtrack music playing over the drama. In One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s nest, all of the music is diegetic. Nurse Rachted intentionally keeps the music loud so the patients can’t think or communicate well. The soundtrack only kicks in when Chief escapes, to symbolize that he has broken free from her power. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-mainstream-movie-to-not-have-any-music/569946/45 "2011-02-03T22:02:01Z")
**The Blair Witch Project** is mainstream (despite pretensions to the contrary), isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-mainstream-movie-to-not-have-any-music/569946/46 "2011-02-03T22:07:03Z")
> [@wheresgeorge04](#): > > If you’re referring to 12 Angry Men, she does - she gives a whole statement. > > Joe Nope. That is, yes, we learn that she did give a statement during the trial, but her testimony is only revealed by the jurors themselves – just like the old man’s testimony and the detectives’. But they don’t appear in the film. The only non-juror we see is the baliff (or whichever court staffer) who locks 'em in there. Disclaimer: I’m talking about the Henry Fonda / Lee J. Cobbs film. ---
**Author:** ![Satchmo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/satchmo/32/4223_2.png) [@Satchmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satchmo)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-mainstream-movie-to-not-have-any-music/569946/47 "2011-02-03T22:55:02Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > I quote from IMDb Trivia for _The China Syndrome_: > > I feel perfectly qualified to quote that, because I wrote it. 🙂 I’m pretty sure all the music, (mostly Hank Williams), in “The Last Picture Show” was supposed to be coming form radios/televisions in the movie. (diegetic music) Hey! I learned something new, can I go home now? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-mainstream-movie-to-not-have-any-music/569946/48 "2011-02-03T23:16:13Z")
> [@Tom\_Scud](#): > > Wasn’t it a woman he was showing off to in the “the trick is not minding that it hurts” scene at the beginning, or is my memory failing me? I don’t think so. But there are also the Arab women “seen” (completely veiled in black) in the desert lamenting for their men. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-mainstream-movie-to-not-have-any-music/569946/49 "2011-02-03T23:20:52Z")
> [@choie](#): > > Nope. That is, yes, we learn that she did give a statement during the trial, but her testimony is only revealed by the jurors themselves – just like the old man’s testimony and the detectives’. But they don’t appear in the film. > > The only non-juror we see is the baliff (or whichever court staffer) who locks 'em in there. > > Disclaimer: I’m talking about the Henry Fonda / Lee J. Cobbs film. There are women in the opening of the original 12 Angry Men when the camera walks through the courthouse. My entry for no women: **The Enemy Below**. Not a skirt in sight. Close second: **12 O’Clock High**. There is only one woman, a WAC serving coffee. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-mainstream-movie-to-not-have-any-music/569946/50 "2011-02-03T23:31:34Z")
Are there any women in Das Boot? ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-mainstream-movie-to-not-have-any-music/569946/51 "2011-02-03T23:38:58Z")
> [@Mach Tuck](#): > > There are women in the opening of the original 12 Angry Men when the camera walks through the courthouse. > > My entry for no women: **The Enemy Below**. Not a skirt in sight. > > Close second: **12 O’Clock High**. There is only one woman, a WAC serving coffee. I take back 12 O’Clock High - there is a nurse or two also. ---
**Author:** ![MovieCriticNextDoor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85e7bf/32.png) [@MovieCriticNextDoor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieCriticNextDoor)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-mainstream-movie-to-not-have-any-music/569946/52 "2011-02-03T23:39:19Z")
> [@Gangster\_Octopus](#): > > Are there any women in Das Boot? It’s been a while since I’ve seen it, so I don’t remember her specifically, but the imdb lists a character named Monique, played by Rita Cadillac. _Stalag 17_ is almost entirely female-free – they show some female Russian prisoners in a couple of scenes, though I don’t believe any of them have any dialog, since they’re mostly shown at a distance. ---
**Author:** ![Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/278dde/32.png) [@Runs\_With\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Runs_With_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-mainstream-movie-to-not-have-any-music/569946/53 "2011-02-04T02:31:23Z")
_Reservoir Dogs_ has no speaking parts for women. There is one woman…the one who shoots Mr. Orange. She’s barely in it. _The Hunt for Red October_ must come close. I only found one woman in the credits and I don’t remember her: Louise Borras … Sally Ryan ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-mainstream-movie-to-not-have-any-music/569946/54 "2011-02-04T02:51:55Z")
> [@Runs\_With\_Scissors](#): > > _Reservoir Dogs_ has no speaking parts for women. There is one woman…the one who shoots Mr. Orange. She’s barely in it. > > _The Hunt for Red October_ must come close. I only found one woman in the credits and I don’t remember her: > > Louise Borras … Sally Ryan And his wife, played by Gates McFadden. Now I think of it, submarine movies seem to be the most likely to be without women. Makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2011, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-mainstream-movie-to-not-have-any-music/569946/55 "2011-02-04T03:55:32Z")
I’m not at home so not currently in a position to check. But I feel like Dogville might not have had any background music. Did it? It was purposely minimalistic so it would fit. ---
**Author:** ![auRa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c4cdca/32.png) [@auRa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auRa)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2011, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-mainstream-movie-to-not-have-any-music/569946/56 "2011-02-05T14:08:43Z")
_I Am Legend_ has no background music or mood music at all. I think there was a movie playing in the movie at some point, but apart from that, the only sounds you hear come from the characters in it. It was a surprisingly effective way to set the mood. ---
**Author:** ![Yumblie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/76d3ee/32.png) [@Yumblie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yumblie)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2011, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-mainstream-movie-to-not-have-any-music/569946/57 "2011-02-06T17:10:53Z")
I always found it interesting how the score to _Back to the Future_ doesn’t kick in until the unveiling of the time machine. Up until that point, Marty’s life is normal, and thus his life is scored by 80s pop music. Once the Delorean makes its appearance, the movie becomes whimsical and fantastical enough to warrant an orchestral score. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2011, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-mainstream-movie-to-not-have-any-music/569946/58 "2011-02-06T17:41:49Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Also, John Carpenter’s _The Thing_. Nitpick: No female characters, but Adrienne Barbeau (Carpenter’s then-wife) did the voice of the chess computer. The only place that women are seen is on the taped game show playing on the lounge TV. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2011, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-mainstream-movie-to-not-have-any-music/569946/59 "2011-02-06T23:51:22Z")
> [@Mach Tuck](#): > > And his wife, played by Gates McFadden. And the flight attendant he lectures on turbulence. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2011, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-mainstream-movie-to-not-have-any-music/569946/60 "2011-02-08T00:03:18Z")
_Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid_ has very little music, just “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head” and the music during the montage sequence depicting the trip to Bolivia. I love the sounds of the horses’ hooves as Butch and the Kid are being chased. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-most-mainstream-movie-to-not-have-any-music/569946.md?page=2)