Answered questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

These are questions relating to specific titles. General questions for movies and TV shows are here. Members get e-mailed when any of their questions are answered.

Question: Who are the people praying for?

Answer: At the start, we specifically hear Mr. Gower, Mr. Martini, George's mother Ma Bailey, Bert, Ernie, George's wife Mary and his children Janie and Zuzu, amidst other voices all praying for George's welfare. Although it's not until later in the movie that we are shown the moments in time all these prayers start taking place. After George berates Uncle Billy and then loses his temper at home, Mary calls Uncle Billy on the telephone and she tells her children to pray for their father, that's when all those prayers for George begin.

Super Grover

Answer: George Bailey. They could tell he was unusually upset about something, and were worried.

Brian Katcher

Answer: He knew that if he impressed Ian, he and the Chipmunks would become rich and famous. When they froze, he looked like a lunatic who thought animals could talk, making him appear foolish in front of a man who already had little respect for him.

Brian Katcher

Question: Did George Patton really change the time which the mess hall was open and closed like he does in the movie?

Answer: Yes, Patton did change the mess hall times. Chester B. Hansen, who was General Omar Bradley's aide, kept a detailed personal wartime diary. In it he wrote about Patton, and regarding the mess hall Hansen described it this way, "When Fredendall was the corps commander, the II Corps people generally went to breakfast at about 9 o'clock in the morning. When Patton came, however, he changed all that, and in Fairlana they stopped serving breakfast at 6 o'clock in the morning. Therefore it was necessary for us to stumble out of bed at about 5, hurry down and grab a breakfast. It was quite cold at that time in the morning..." After the war, because of his detailed diary Hansen was the ghostwriter of Bradley's war memoir, A Soldier's Story, which was one of the resources for the movie's screenwriters.

Super Grover

Did Patton change the mess hall times in order to discipline his troops?

In short, yes, it was part of Patton's stern discipline and strictly enforced regulations, which he believed essential. Following the disastrous defeat at Kasserine Pass, when Eisenhower had Patton promoted and appointed the new commander of II Corps, it was because Patton was the perfect choice. Just as Scott215 mentioned Patton's helmet requirement and the wearing of shirt and tie, this was all part of one of Patton's top priorities - the dress code and the strict adherence to it, and the strengthening of morale and fighting spirit. Eisenhower himself had later written, "morale in II Corps was shaken and the troops had to be picked up quickly. For such a job Patton has no superior in the Army... General Patton's buoyant leadership and strict insistence upon discipline rapidly rejuvenated the II Corps and brought it up to fighting pitch...the troops...had a much higher appreciation of the value of training, discipline, and speed in action."

Super Grover

Answer: As the commanding Corps General, Patton did, indeed, have the authority to change not only the opening and closing times of the mess hall, but many other areas under his command, like the helmet requirement. He even required his officers to wear shirt and tie while in combat zones, so he did call the shots. His command, his rules.

Scott215

Question: When the Joneses crash land the plane they stole from the zeppelin and steal that guy's car, where are they? Turkey? Hatay?

Brian Katcher

Answer: It's never stated, but they must be somewhere close to, or in, Hatay, since in the next scene they are with Sallah and are going after the Nazis, who are already en route to the Holy Grail. Pretty lucky, considering Indy just booked them on "the first available flight out of Germany."

Question: The movie's called Critters yet they're referred to as Krites. Which name is correct and why the two names?

Rob245

Answer: "Krite" is the official name of the creatures, but "critters" is an apt explanation of what they are. The audience would have no idea what a "krite" is, because it's a made up word. So the title of the movie is "Critters" because they are disgusting little creatures. The fact that "krite" sounds similar to "critter" is wordplay on the part of the film-makers.

BaconIsMyBFF

Answer: This is just one of many plot holes in the film. Whether she was at the edge of space or actually beyond the atmosphere, she shouldn't have had enough oxygen to remain conscious.

Originally, he wasn't supposed to take her into space, but into the skies high above Metropolis.

Question: Do magnetically-sealed rooms serve any purpose other than repelling blasters?

Phaneron

Answer: Outside the convenience as a plot device, it could also be explained as a way of preventing inadvertent damage caused by compacting something explosive. Remember, it's not just the door that was magnetically sealed, but the entire compactor.

kayelbe

Answer: It could be a security measure to keep anyone/anything from opening the doors, or it could be a way of preventing anything from escaping the room (clearly live things get in there).

Answer: Like many high school kids, he chose popularity over her. He was getting lots of attention.

Question: Why doesn't Ralphie's father realise he's the one who unintentionally taught his son how to cuss, much less buy his lame excuse?

Rob245

Answer: Because it's a funny look at real life. It's common for parents to cuss around their children, then be shocked when the kids start using the language themselves.

Exactly right. My parents cussed quite a bit when I was a child, but the first time I ever swore in front of my mother, she thought I learned it from watching The Real World with my sister.

immortal eskimo

True. I'd forgotten I learned how to cuss from my folks.

Rob245

Answer: I think he did know. When he tells Ralphie to get in the car after saying the bad word, he kinda laughs to himself. It's only after Mom razzes him about taking too long to change the tire that he decides to share that Ralphie swore.

Answer: Exactly as she said - in the 50s it was near-universal for husbands to work and be the sole breadwinner/handle finances, while their wives stayed home and managed the house, including cooking.

Jon Sandys

The Royal Train - S6-E3

Question: A set of complicated events mean that Captain Mainwaring and some other members of the platoon have to drive a railway engine. After they leave the railway station it turns out that the railway engine has no brake wheel and cannot stop. The ARP warden, the mayor of Walmington, the vicar and verger take the brake wheel, jump on a handcar and chase after the engine. Catching up with the engine, they throw the brake wheel to Captain Mainwaring. The engine then reverses, so they must pedal the handcar even faster to avoid being run over. Could four men (all obviously in late middle age, and past peak fitness) pedal a handcar to outrun a railway engine at full steam? When the engine reverses, why do they pedal the handcar to stop being run over? Why don't they jump off the handcar, then pull the handcar off the track? (Also it takes the engine less than a minute to reverse. In reality, it would take several minutes to change a moving railway locomotive from forward to reverse).

Rob Halliday

Answer: The show is a comedy, this was played for comedic effect and to show that in times of extreme fear, in this case about to be crushed by a steam train, the men had an adrenaline surge strong enough to pedal fast enough.

Question: It's known that the newspaper Janet holds over her head is the Cleveland Plain Dealer, but why that paper, especially considering the movie was filmed in England?

Answer: The setting of Richard O'Brien's original Rocky Horror story was in and around the fictional town of Denton, Ohio. For the movie, the geographic location was more vague; O'Brien claimed many years later that the "Cleveland Plain Dealer" was used merely for recognition purposes so as to appeal to American audiences. But, actually, set designer Brian Thompson chose the "Cleveland Plain Dealer" as a tip-of-the-hat to the story's original setting in Ohio. Also, when we briefly see the Criminologist's map of Brad and Janet's fateful journey, it's a map of southeast Ohio.

Charles Austin Miller

Question: Any particular reason why they chose not to have the Krites grow huge in the sequels?

Answer: Maybe it's because they didn't have the budget where they could afford to do such an idea.

Rob245

Question: When Cateleya is in the prison scene, where does she get her black cat suit from?

Answer: Her dress.

Question: Woo said that Hank and Hope violated the accords as well, because of their tech. But they haven't done superhero stuff after the accords were signed, so how is it a violation?

THE GAMER NEXT DOOR

Answer: They provided Ant-Man with superhero tech without signing on to the Accords. So when Scott participated in the airport battle, Hank and Hope became guilty by association.

Phaneron

Question: Spoiler: The project behind The Tethered (and the rabbits) was said to have been abandoned for generations and the subjects left directionless. How, then, did that still have water, power, etc.?

Erik M.

Answer: The project was abandoned, but they obviously kept the tethered ones alive. This may have been out of some sense of compassion, or because there was a possibility they would be useful in the future.

Question: This may seem simplistic, but what happened to the police who were meant to arrive in 14 minutes?

Answer: They were delayed or killed. When the family was given the 14 minute estimate it was before anyone, including the police, realised the extent of the problem.

Answer: If the police arrive in 14 minutes, they would be dead and killed by their doppelgängers - Red, Abraham, ombre, and Pluto.

Free Hat - S6-E9

Question: What is the name of the song that the band plays at the beginning of the announcement of Hat McCullough's release from prison? It's a pretty common song used in films and television, but I've never heard its name. I tried to use the Shazam app on my phone to identify it, but no luck.

Phaneron

Chosen answer: "Stars and Stripes Forever" by John Philip Sousa.

Bishop73

Question: Why didn't Bail Organa have R2-D2's memory wiped?

Answer: R2-D2 isn't known for being a loud mouth like C-3P0 is. 3P0 is very likely to spit out valuable information or information about the Skywalker twins being born because that's just how he is. There isn't that danger with R2. Also R2 is an astromech mechanic. Most wouldn't think of him holding information like a protocol droid would.

Quantom X

Answer: R2-D2 is better capable of not revealing any secret information.

Rassdyt

Answer: This is because only C3PO knows the identity of Leia and Luke, since he was around Anakin and Padme whilst pregnant, and thus most likely knows it's a twin and the identity of the father, whilst R2D2 doesn't.

lionhead

C-3PO could have easily told R2-D2 about Luke and Leia while thinking that he wouldn't say anything. I wouldn't say that R2-D2 was a blabbermouth but he did accidentally tell Luke about the private message for Obi-Wan in ANH.

Question: At the end of the movie, Will Smith (the older one) has a present for his son/brother/younger self; his official documents he apparently did not have. Passport, driving license and birth certificate; he congratulates him on his name choice. And he gives those to him as Junior is walking out of the college campus, which he obviously is already frequenting and where he made many friends. I know the US system allows undocumented students, but can you even enroll without the most basic ID? In particular since he is in Georgia, which reportedly is one of the strictest states about it.

Sammo

Answer: I worked at a university for over 30 years. A person cannot enroll in an accredited university or college without proper identification, educational history, transcripts, test scores, financial information, etc.

raywest

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.