terryl@tekcrl.UUCP (09/18/85)
I went to see Gremlins again last week, and couldn't help noticing
three obvious classic movie references.
The first is Polly Holliday's character, Mrs Deegle(sp?), the town's
rich lady/real nasty person. This reference I caught the first time around.
To me, she's just an updated version of Margaret Hamilton's "Wizard of Oz"
Miss Gulch/Wicked Witch of the West. Even the scene near the end when she
gets catapulted up the stairs and out an upper story window had me thinking
of the Wicked Witch flying on her broom.
The other two references were a little more concrete, but you had to
watch very closely to catch them, and I can't remember if I did catch them
the first time I saw "Gremlins". It happens about half way through the movie
when Hoyt Axton is calling home from an inventor's convention to say he'd be
a little late in getting home. His conversation is not important, but what
was happening in the background was. The first was a robot that looked very
much like Robbie(Robby?) The Robot from "Forbidden Planet". In fact, this
robot was quoting a line that went something like this: "Will sixty gallons
be sufficient? I don't use the stuff myself due to rust..." or something
similar. This is almost an exact quote from Robbie when he and the cook on
the spaceship were discussing if Robbie could make the cook some alcohol in
"Forbidden Planet". The second reference here was much subtler. In the far
background, the time machine from H.G. Well's "The Time Machine" can be
clearly seen. The disk on the machine starts spinning, then the scene cuts
to a very tight close-up of Hoyt Axton's face, then it pans back, but slightly
to the right so the time machine isn't visible. But there is smoke rising
off of the floor, and people are crawling around on the floor obviously
looking for something. The inference here is that the machine really was a
time machine, that it really works, and someone just did some time travelling.
Well, these are all that I noticed. Did anyone else notice them, and
were there any other classic movie references that I missed??? I have to
say it made the movie that much enjoyable to watch the second time around.tml@druhi.UUCP (Tim Larison) (09/19/85)
> In the far background, the time machine from H.G. Well's > "The Time Machine" can be > clearly seen. The disk on the machine starts spinning, then the scene cuts > to a very tight close-up of Hoyt Axton's face, then it pans back, but slightly > to the right so the time machine isn't visible. But there is smoke rising > off of the floor, and people are crawling around on the floor obviously > looking for something. The inference here is that the machine really was a > time machine, that it really works, and someone just did some time travelling. > > Well, these are all that I noticed. Did anyone else notice them, and > were there any other classic movie references that I missed??? I have to > say it made the movie that much enjoyable to watch the second time around. Yes, I noticed the time machine in Gremlins. In fact the occupant of the time machine is a rather well known director - Steven Spielberg. I also remember in Gremlins the title on the movie marquee; it was "A Boy's Life" or something like that. This was the original title of another well known movie - E.T. Tim Larison ihnp4!drutx!druhi!tml
leeper@mtgzz.UUCP (m.r.leeper) (09/21/85)
I suppose there was also a film reference in that your updating of Elvira Gulch has on her stairs a portrait apparently of her dead husband. The picture is actually of Edward Arnold who played rich, unscrupulous characters in films like MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON. E.T.'s ship had a triffid sample, I am told. Mark Leeper ...ihnp4!mtgzz!leeper
ughenry@sunybcs.UUCP (Henry Neeman) (10/07/85)
> > In the far background, the time machine from H.G. Well's > > "The Time Machine" can be clearly seen. > Yes, I noticed the time machine in Gremlins. In fact the occupant of > the time machine is a rather well known director - Steven Spielberg. > I also remember in Gremlins the title on the movie marquee; it was > "A Boy's Life" or something like that. This was the original title > of another well known movie - E.T. > Tim Larison ihnp4!drutx!druhi!tml First, Spielberg was not in the time machine; he was wheeling around in a little car. As for the marquee, it read (as I recall): NOW PLAYING A BOY'S LIFE and WATCH THE SKIES which were the orginal titles for "E.T." and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." Other movie references that I can remember offhand were Frank Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life" with Jimmy Stewart (Billy's mother was watching it on tv) and the racing movie with Clark Gable -- the title escapes me -- which was used as a tie-in to Gizmo's car chase to save Billy from Stripe. -- Henry J. Neeman (ughenry@buffalo) "Excuse me? Pardon me? Excuse me? Kh-kh-kh-kh!" - D. R.