Question: How did Bond know which room Goldfinger had at the hotel?
Answer: He deduced that Goldfinger was using a partner to spy on his opponent's hand, and to check his theory he went to the room with the best line of sight. Alternatively, he went (off-screen) to the desk and used his charm, which was utterly irresistible in the Bond films of the '60s, to find out where Goldfinger was staying.
Question: I first saw the movie in a cinema when it was first released. I'm quite sure I saw a scene which was later edited out, perhaps to accommodate the ratio of television screens. Before the attack various soldiers stop to listen to a strange sound echoing over the hills - "like a train" someone says. After we hear the sound twice my memory is that the movie cut to a panoramic view of thousands of Zulu warriors running across the veld, banging their shields with their spears, on their way to Rorke's Drift. This is what was causing the "train" sound, a phenomenon that is not explained subsequently anywhere in the edited version of the film. The dramatic effect of the shot, panning across what looks like thousands of armed Zulus, was riveting and served to emphasise the impossible odds faced by the British. Am I the only one who recalls this scene?
Answer: Absolutely correct. This exact scene is in my DVD of Zulu. They may have changes when the TV version aired, but this definitely in the original.
Question: Was there any significance besides comedy to the very last scene of the movie where Dr. Strangelove stands and proclaims "Mein Fuhrer. I Can Walk." It was pretty funny as is, but I wondered if there was some sort of allusion or other intention to that line.
Answer: Peter Sellers improvised it. During that scene if you watch the actor playing the Russian character you can see him trying not to laugh at Seller's performance.
Question: Does anybody know how they did the scene where Mary Poppins is doing a duet with her mirror image?
Chosen answer: They recorded her singing in two separate parts and fixed them together. The editors did a good job on it! It may have been made a long time ago but even then the technology was quite advanced enough to carry out that scene.
Question: The Vikings led by Rolfe and the Moors led by Aly Mansuh are both seeking a gigantic bell, 'The Mother Of All Voices', twenty feet high, made of solid gold. Eventually the Vikings find it, and transport it on their ships back to Aly Mansuh's capital. How can they do this? One of the world's most famous bells is 'Big Ben' in the Houses of Parliament: a mere seven and a half feet high, this weighs thirteen tons! Not only is 'The Mother Of All Voices' considerably larger than 'Big Ben', it is also made of gold. Now, gold is heavier than lead, so how much will a gold bell over twenty feet high weigh? How can the Vikings transport this over the sea on their 'long ships'? And what do either the Vikings or the Moors plan to do when they have the bell? If they keep it to admire for its beauty and craftsmanship, then it will just be a financial liability to whoever owns it. Or if they melt it down for the gold they will destroy all the craftsmanship and artistic endeavour that went into making the bell.
Answer: Perhaps, when I submitted my question, I may have been pondering the internal logic of a film that makes a good adventure story, but is historically rather doubtful to say the least (I can say this as I have a degree in medieval history, and have worked as an archaeologist on Viking settlements). In all probability, if historical Vikings were seeking treasure or plunder, and found a bell made of gold, they would melt it down for its precious metal content, with no regard for its artistic significance.
Answer: It's unlikely Viking ships could transport such a heavy object, but movies, which frequently ignore historical and scientific reality, often use plot devices like this to tell the story. As far as the Vikings and Moors admiring the gold bell's craftsmanship, that may be the case, but they might also be like the Spanish conquerors who plundered Mexico and South America with little regard for the culture, and shipped finely-crafted gold objects back to Spain where they were melted and remade into coins, jewelry, and other art objects.
Question: For someone stranded on Mars for several months, Mantee's hair and sideburns seem remarkably well-groomed, even, and trimmed! (He could have cut his hair with his knife, but wouldn't it have looked more shaggy and uneven than it does)?
Answer: In the movie before he discovers his water supply and watches the survival video, he is shown grooming himself and shaving.
Question: I don't get the whole "you look just like him" conversation that John has with that woman in the corridor. Could someone please tell me what it's all about?
Chosen answer: John is just messing with her. She recognizes him as being one of the famous Beatles, but he tells her that he's "not" John Lennon, to which she responds that "you look just like him." He finally convinces her that he is not John Lennon, and she tells him, "Actually, you don't look like him at all," to which the now-insulted John puts on his hat and leaves.
Question: Higgins presumably knows about the ball's high standards of dress for men and women. Why then is he the only man there who is not wearing white gloves (which are routine for such occasions)?
Answer: It's a kid's show, not Game of Thrones.