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12 hours ago, Human without the bean said:

Did you see the memo WordWolf?

 

Raf was correct WordWolf.  The movie in question was a Vietnam war era picture called Casualties of War.  He got it even though I kind of skewded it up.  

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oh,. ok.

 

My turn then.

 

If you look at the poster for this early/mid-80s comedy, you would be forgiven for thinking one of the supporting actors was in fact the lead actor. Nope. He just had his breakout role shortly before this movie came out, and the marketing team (rightly) wanted to capitalize on it.

Jim Carrey tried out for the lead. Producers felt he was too talented to be in an ensemble. He became famous later as part of the In Living Color ensemble, which has... nothing to do with this movie.

The woman who sang the theme song (not the title song: there was no title song) had major success with two other movie soundtrack songs. This one... didn't do so hot. 

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48 Hours WAS Eddie Murphy's breakout film, and he was a main star. So no.

This comedy (goofier than 48 hours) starred a large ensemble case,  but he main actor was and remains a relative unknown. Relative. Like a D-lister. You might have heard of him only because he shares a name with a famous acting family, of which he is not a member.

But if you look at the poster, you would think the main actor was someone else entirely.

The woman who sang the theme song has a cameo as herself.

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On 9/19/2019 at 6:19 AM, Raf said:

48 Hours WAS Eddie Murphy's breakout film, and he was a main star. So no.

This comedy (goofier than 48 hours) starred a large ensemble case,  but he main actor was and remains a relative unknown. Relative. Like a D-lister. You might have heard of him only because he shares a name with a famous acting family, of which he is not a member.

But if you look at the poster, you would think the main actor was someone else entirely.

The woman who sang the theme song has a cameo as herself.

And see George, 48 hours was a comedy this one is goofier than it was.

Aren't you a journalist Raf?  `starred a large ensemble case,  but he main actor'.   Its nice to see someone else making grammar mistakes.   I'm always having to edit something for something I did or didn't do.  So this helps keep me grounded.

Anyway, I need more clues.

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On 9/19/2019 at 10:19 AM, Raf said:

48 Hours WAS Eddie Murphy's breakout film, and he was a main star. So no.

This comedy (goofier than 48 hours) starred a large ensemble case,  but he main actor was and remains a relative unknown. Relative. Like a D-lister. You might have heard of him only because he shares a name with a famous acting family, of which he is not a member.

But if you look at the poster, you would think the main actor was someone else entirely.

The woman who sang the theme song has a cameo as herself.

The woman was Irene Cara, the advertised "star" was Mr T,  and the movie was "DC Cab."    

I remember Gary  Busey was in it.  I forget if Bill Maher was in it. Who was the star, again?

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Ok,  next movie.

This movie lost its original opening- about 3 minutes of material, and the footage was never recovered.  The story begins in one of the three countries the US and its allies were fighting against in World War II, which meant its opening, with references to that country, were excised by the studio.   The opening caption had read the name of the city, and said it was where people sang all day, and did something else at night relevant to this movie's title.  The movie itself began with a song that was passed along, person to person, and ended at a restaurant, stopping at the Maitre'D, who goes up to an actress and begins the first dialogue of the movie.   (On an unrelated note, one of its actors changed his billing in movies after this, so his name was somewhat less ethnic, also due to World War II.)

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This black-and-white movie lost its original opening- about 3 minutes of material, and the footage was never recovered.  The story begins in one of the three countries the US and its allies were fighting against in World War II, which meant its opening, with references to that country, were excised by the studio.   The opening caption had read the name of the city, and said it was where people sang all day, and did something else in the evening relevant to this movie's title.  The movie itself began with a song that was passed along, person to person, and ended at a restaurant, stopping at the Maitre'D, who goes up to an actress and begins the first dialogue of the movie.   (On an unrelated note, one of its actors changed his billing in movies after this, so his name was somewhat less ethnic, also due to World War II.)   This movie references both Pagliacci and Il Trovatore.

 

A supposed exchange in another language, or possibly just gibberish, was actually plain English reversed and included in the movie BACKWARDS.  It's approximately what you'd think the characters said.  "Did you hear what he said? He said you're frauds and imposters, and you absolutely don't belong here at all!"  "He said that about us?  Why..." "That's ridiculous, that's an insult!"   Later: "...I wouldn't stand for a thing like this!" "He says he didn't mean it and he wants to know if you'll stay here." 

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This black-and-white movie lost its original opening- about 3 minutes of material, and the footage was never recovered.  The story begins in one of the three countries the US and its allies were fighting against in World War II, which meant its opening, with references to that country, were excised by the studio.   The opening caption had read the name of the city, and said it was where people sang all day, and did something else in the evening relevant to this movie's title.  The movie itself began with a song that was passed along, person to person, and ended at a restaurant, stopping at the Maitre'D, who goes up to an actress and begins the first dialogue of the movie.   (On an unrelated note, one of its actors changed his billing in movies after this, so his name was somewhat less ethnic, also due to World War II.)   This movie references both Pagliacci and Il Trovatore.

 

A supposed exchange in another language, or possibly just gibberish, was actually plain English reversed and included in the movie BACKWARDS.  It's approximately what you'd think the characters said.  "Did you hear what he said? He said you're frauds and imposters, and you absolutely don't belong here at all!"  "He said that about us?  Why..." "That's ridiculous, that's an insult!"   Later: "...I wouldn't stand for a thing like this!" "He says he didn't mean it and he wants to know if you'll stay here." 

 

Musical  numbers-  "Alone", "Santa Lucia", "All I Do Is Dream of You", "Cosi-Cosa",  "Take Me Out To The Ballgame",  "the Anvil Chorus", "Stride La Vampa", "Di Quella Pira", Miserere" ( those last 4 courtesy of "Il Trovatore"), and "Stridono lassù" (from "Pagliacci")

 

One of the principal cast later said that 2 of his movies were superior to all the others he did, and he referred to this as the first of the two, along with the movie he did immediately following this one.    With a stronger plot structure and more refined characters, the audiences certainly showed up to watch it more often in theaters, so the 2 movies were probably their biggest successes.   A few diehard fans have criticized this movie for exactly the same reason the public liked it-  it lacked a trademark anarchy of earlier movies.

 

One scene from this movie has been reused in a few different television shows down the years, including one cartoon.   A later movie, completely unrelated, had a character use a fake passport with the name "Rodolfo Lassparri"- the name of one of the "villains" of this movie (the other "villain" would be Hermann Gottlieb, unless you also count Henderson, the plainclothes man/detective.)

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This black-and-white movie lost its original opening- about 3 minutes of material, and the footage was never recovered.  The story begins in one of the three countries the US and its allies were fighting against in World War II, which meant its opening, with references to that country, were excised by the studio.   The opening caption had read the name of the city, and said it was where people sang all day, and did something else in the evening relevant to this movie's title.  The movie itself began with a song that was passed along, person to person, and ended at a restaurant, stopping at the Maitre'D, who goes up to an actress and begins the first dialogue of the movie.   (On an unrelated note, one of its actors changed his billing in movies after this, so his name was somewhat less ethnic, also due to World War II.)   This movie references both Pagliacci and Il Trovatore.

 

A supposed exchange in another language, or possibly just gibberish, was actually plain English reversed and included in the movie BACKWARDS.  It's approximately what you'd think the characters said.  "Did you hear what he said? He said you're frauds and imposters, and you absolutely don't belong here at all!"  "He said that about us?  Why..." "That's ridiculous, that's an insult!"   Later: "...I wouldn't stand for a thing like this!" "He says he didn't mean it and he wants to know if you'll stay here." 

 

Musical  numbers-  "Alone", "Santa Lucia", "All I Do Is Dream of You", "Cosi-Cosa",  "Take Me Out To The Ballgame",  "the Anvil Chorus", "Stride La Vampa", "Di Quella Pira", Miserere" ( those last 4 courtesy of "Il Trovatore"), and "Stridono lassù" (from "Pagliacci")

 

One of the principal cast later said that 2 of his movies were superior to all the others he did, and he referred to this as the first of the two, along with the movie he did immediately following this one.    With a stronger plot structure and more refined characters, the audiences certainly showed up to watch it more often in theaters, so the 2 movies were probably their biggest successes.   A few diehard fans have criticized this movie for exactly the same reason the public liked it-  it lacked a trademark anarchy of earlier movies.

 

One scene from this movie has been reused in a few different television shows down the years, including one cartoon.   A later movie, completely unrelated, had a character use a fake passport with the name "Rodolfo Lassparri"- the name of one of the "villains" of this movie (the other "villain" would be Hermann Gottlieb, unless you also count Henderson, the plainclothes man/detective.)

This movie begins in Italy, and ends in NYC. It has 3 locations- those 2 and one other.

 

Probably the most famous scene includes: two maids,  a manicurist, 2  engineers, a woman looking for her Aunt Minnie, and a cleaning woman. 

 

Kitty Carlisle later said, of her role here, that her younger relatives thought of her as somehow cool because of her role in this movie.  [No, the phrasing was not another clue.]She and Alan Jones did their own singing.

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On 9/25/2019 at 3:41 AM, WordWolf said:

This black-and-white movie lost its original opening- about 3 minutes of material, and the footage was never recovered.  The story begins in one of the three countries the US and its allies were fighting against in World War II, which meant its opening, with references to that country, were excised by the studio.   The opening caption had read the name of the city, and said it was where people sang all day, and did something else in the evening relevant to this movie's title.  The movie itself began with a song that was passed along, person to person, and ended at a restaurant, stopping at the Maitre'D, who goes up to an actress and begins the first dialogue of the movie.   (On an unrelated note, one of its actors changed his billing in movies after this, so his name was somewhat less ethnic, also due to World War II.)   This movie references both Pagliacci and Il Trovatore.

 

A supposed exchange in another language, or possibly just gibberish, was actually plain English reversed and included in the movie BACKWARDS.  It's approximately what you'd think the characters said.  "Did you hear what he said? He said you're frauds and imposters, and you absolutely don't belong here at all!"  "He said that about us?  Why..." "That's ridiculous, that's an insult!"   Later: "...I wouldn't stand for a thing like this!" "He says he didn't mean it and he wants to know if you'll stay here." 

 

Musical  numbers-  "Alone", "Santa Lucia", "All I Do Is Dream of You", "Cosi-Cosa",  "Take Me Out To The Ballgame",  "the Anvil Chorus", "Stride La Vampa", "Di Quella Pira", Miserere" ( those last 4 courtesy of "Il Trovatore"), and "Stridono lassù" (from "Pagliacci")

 

One of the principal cast later said that 2 of his movies were superior to all the others he did, and he referred to this as the first of the two, along with the movie he did immediately following this one.    With a stronger plot structure and more refined characters, the audiences certainly showed up to watch it more often in theaters, so the 2 movies were probably their biggest successes.   A few diehard fans have criticized this movie for exactly the same reason the public liked it-  it lacked a trademark anarchy of earlier movies.

 

One scene from this movie has been reused in a few different television shows down the years, including one cartoon.   A later movie, completely unrelated, had a character use a fake passport with the name "Rodolfo Lassparri"- the name of one of the "villains" of this movie (the other "villain" would be Hermann Gottlieb, unless you also count Henderson, the plainclothes man/detective.)

This movie begins in Italy, and ends in NYC. It has 3 locations- those 2 and one other.

 

Probably the most famous scene includes: two maids,  a manicurist, 2  engineers, a woman looking for her Aunt Minnie, and a cleaning woman. 

 

Kitty Carlisle later said, of her role here, that her younger relatives thought of her as somehow cool because of her role in this movie.  [No, the phrasing was not another clue.]She and Alan Jones did their own singing.

The Marx Brothers movie preceding this was "Duck Soup." A funny movie, and a madcap romp.  Quintessential Marx Brothers.  Yet, at the time, a commercial flop because it was TOO madcap for the audiences.  So, Zeppo jumped ship and stopped making movies.  Irving Thalberg told Chico why it flopped- no story structure, no direction, no reasons to root for the MBs.   He argued (and proved to be right)  that the audiences needed a story structure, and a reason to root for them, and some clearly-defined good guys (played by Alan Jones and Kitty Carlisle)  and bad guys (Lasparri horse-whips Harpo in his first scene in the movie.)   So, "A Night at the Opera" and "A Day At the Races" were big commercial hits, after which Thalberg couldn't do that voodoo that he do so well because he died during the filming of ADatR. 

The movie takes place in Milan, on a steamship, and in NYC including an opera house.  (We know it was Milan only because we saw Groucho's hotel bill for "Hotel Milano" for an instant just before the famous stateroom scene- with 2 maids, a manicurist, etc  all crowding into a tiny stateroom the size of a walk-in closet.   The stateroom scene has been used by a number of people in homages to the scene.   Interestingly, when Harpo, Chico and Alan travel in disguise, only Henderson figures out something's not right.  "I'm Henderson- plainclothes man."  (Groucho) "You look more like an OLD clothes man."

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The actor playing "Redneck #2" is credited as "Dickie Greenleaf". Redneck #2 is actually played by Matt Damon in heavy prosthetic makeup; Dickie Greenleaf is the name of Jude Law's character in The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), whom Damon's character (Tom Ripley) murders and impersonates.

When the main character complains about another character's powers, he says that it must have been the idea of an artist "who can't even draw feet." The characters' co-creator Rob Liefeld is widely mocked and criticized for avoiding drawing characters' feet and hands. (He also reportedly loved that joke.)

To promote the movie, 20th Century Fox re-created Blu-Ray covers for 16 popular 20th Century Fox movies, with the main character appearing as the lead character. These include; The Terminator (1984), Predator (1987) and Fight Club (1999). These were for sale through Walmart.

George

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