# Yet another 'name this Simpsons reference' thread (noir thing) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 28, 2006, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-name-this-simpsons-reference-thread-noir-thing/346423 "2006-02-28T05:56:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2006, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-name-this-simpsons-reference-thread-noir-thing/346423/1 "2006-02-28T05:56:10Z")
A.K.A. “Treehouse of Missed References, Pt. MCLXI” What movie does this parody? There’s a kind of film noir-ish scene the Simpsons has done on a number of occasions. (Futurama did it once, too.) It has a character, apparently drunk, walking alone, against a black background, frantically searching for some place of refuge. Signs flash by him on either side, floating out of nowhere. The whole thing is kind of nightmarish, and there’s usually a lonely or alarming saxophone playing in the background. The Simpsons has done it at least twice - once during Sunday’s episode, while Homer searches for blue pants but finds only places like “The Blue Pants Cafe we do not sell blue pants” and "Rainbow of Pants any color but blue, and once during the episode “HOMR,” where smarter Homer searches for a place to fit in [finding only “The Dum Dum Club,” “Lunkheadz - A Place for Drooling,” and “Disney Store”]. Futurama had a sober Bender roaming the streets in a similar manner, but walking past booze-less establishments (cuz he needs alcohol, get it?. Anybody know what’s going on here? Is this a specific scene from a specific film, or are they just spoofing a convention? ---
**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 28, 2006, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-name-this-simpsons-reference-thread-noir-thing/346423/2 "2006-02-28T06:07:59Z")
Spoofing a convention. Austin Powers did it, too. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2006, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-name-this-simpsons-reference-thread-noir-thing/346423/3 "2006-02-28T06:35:51Z")
I see. That’s not surprising, but is there some kind of origin? It’s a rather distinctive sequence. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2006, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-name-this-simpsons-reference-thread-noir-thing/346423/4 "2006-02-28T06:38:30Z")
I’m a dope - seems like I solved my own mystery. [GotFuturama.com](http://GotFuturama.com) says: > [@](#): > > Bender, going through withdrawal, is assaulted on all sides by neon images of “Boring Lecture Tonight” and “Church Revival.” (See Freeze Frame Fun for a complete list.) This is a reference to the movie “Lost Weekend” from 1945. Of course, Ray Milland was tempted by neon signs of “Beer” and “Bar” and “Tavern” while trying to stay sober. “Of course.” 'Cuz we all saw that one on the opening weekend. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Othersider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/cab0a1/32.png) [@Othersider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Othersider)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2006, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-name-this-simpsons-reference-thread-noir-thing/346423/5 "2006-02-28T07:23:39Z")
Nice to know. Some of the _Simpsons_ references are fairly cryptic, and some are easily recognizeable as something you can’t quite put your finger on, just like the one you pointed out here. Another one that was like that for me was in [Brother From the Same Planet](http://www.snpp.com/episodes/9F12.html), wherein Homer confronts Bart and asks where he’s been. Bart nonchalantly answers that he’s been playing with Milhouse, and Homer reveals he knows better, and then launches into a mix of accusation and guilt. The whole scene just reeked of some familiar movie plot, which I could never figure out. Then, for Christmas this last year, my girlfriend bought me [The Simpsons: A Complete Guide to Our Favorite Family](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060952520/ref=pd_sim_b_2/002-6019439-9002454?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=283155), in which I discovered it was a reference to _Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?_, which I haven’t seen but am going to have to now, if for no other reason than just to see the familiar scene. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Amok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f17d59/32.png) [@Amok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amok)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2006, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-name-this-simpsons-reference-thread-noir-thing/346423/6 "2006-02-28T15:09:26Z")
I think they’ve referenced _Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?_ on at least one other occassion as well. I seem to remember them having an older couple named George and Martha (the names of the two primary characters in that movie) arguing about something, but I’m coming up blank on the specific scene or episode. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2006, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-name-this-simpsons-reference-thread-noir-thing/346423/7 "2006-02-28T15:53:33Z")
There is a similar scene in [The Band Wagon (1953)](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045537/) and even that is a take off on Film Noir from what I understand. You would have to look for some old 1930’s Crime/detective films for the origin. Jim ---
**Author:** ![Fromage\_A\_Trois](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e57/32.png) [@Fromage\_A\_Trois](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fromage_A_Trois)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2006, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-name-this-simpsons-reference-thread-noir-thing/346423/8 "2006-02-28T16:16:02Z")
There was a similar scene in one of the **Naked Gun** films, too, although I can’t remember which. I seem to recall Drebbin keeps walking till he finds himself in the middle of the countryside. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2006, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-name-this-simpsons-reference-thread-noir-thing/346423/9 "2006-02-28T16:56:18Z")
Fromage a Trois: > [@](#): > > There was a similar scene in one of the Naked Gun films, too, although I can’t remember which. I seem to recall Drebbin keeps walking till he finds himself in the middle of the countryside. It was in the first one. Johnny Dangerously has a similar scene. But I think that was more an “absent-mindedness” joke than a reference to the “temptation” scene that the OP is referring to. ---
**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:** [February 28, 2006, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-name-this-simpsons-reference-thread-noir-thing/346423/10 "2006-02-28T17:38:29Z")
A friend of mine once told he’d finally got around to seeing _Citizen Kane_ and suddenly ten years of Simpsons jokes were made clear. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2006, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-name-this-simpsons-reference-thread-noir-thing/346423/11 "2006-02-28T18:01:38Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > A friend of mine once told he’d finally got around to seeing _Citizen Kane_ and suddenly ten years of Simpsons jokes were made clear. I have a friend like that, he just saw both Citizen Cane and discovered the Twilight Zone in the last few years. He said the Simpsons is making more sense to him now. Jim ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2006, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/yet-another-name-this-simpsons-reference-thread-noir-thing/346423/12 "2006-02-28T18:10:08Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > A friend of mine once told he’d finally got around to seeing _Citizen Kane_ and suddenly ten years of Simpsons jokes were made clear. He must have been surprised to learn there was no cane! 😉