Category: Trivia

“I Love Lucy” Trivia

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Blake Hawkins at CBR.com came up with what he calls I Love Lucy: 7 Shocking Facts About the Classic Sitcom.  While I wouldn’t call them shocking, Hawkins did come up with interesting trivia for one of America’s most beloved and groundbreaking sitcoms.  Before you click over, here are my favorites from Hawkins’ list and some additional thoughts…

I Love Lucy Made Reruns Possible.  (This fact alone should make I Love Lucy famous.  Despite the additional cost using 35mm film allowed the episodes to be replayed making re-runs possible! – Craig)

Fred And Ethel Couldn’t Stand Each Other Offscreen.  (I learned this years ago and was shocked.  You’d never know this from just watching the show.  I guess that’s why they call it acting. – Craig)

William Frawley Skipped Two Episodes For His Yankees.  (This is new to me.  It’s funny sometimes the things actors put into their contracts.  It payed off for Frawley though. – Craig)

Desi-Lu Productions (Lucy and Desi’s company) were responsible for I Love Lucy, The Lucy Show, The Untouchables, Mission: Impossible and Star Trek!

My favorite I Love Lucy episode involves Lucy getting stuck on an upper story ledge in the rain dressed as tv’s Superman for Little Ricky’s birthday.  George Reeves guest stars.

The Crazy (and Sad) Lives of Silent Movie Stars!

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Adrian Sharp at Listverse came up with 10 Crazy Stories about Silent Film Stars.  It’s a good read that includes video to back up the chosen tales.  Before you click over…

I’m a silent movie fan.  When I watch a silent film, I look up information about the people who created it.  I’ve often been surprised at the lives they lead and how many ended with tragic or even mysterious deaths.  Sharp brings us the stories of ten silent film stars.  Here are my three favorite from his picks and my thoughts on each…

Stunt Pilot Ormer Locklear.  This is the one star I wasn’t aware of.  When you click over check out the video of Locklear’s stunts – wing walking, hanging by a knee, doing flips, climbing above and below the wings of a plane flying hundreds, if not thousands, of feet in the air… and WITHOUT A PARACHUTE.  Fearless or crazy – you decide.  Sadly, Locklear died performing an airplane stunt for a film.

Jean Harlow in “Kill and Be Killed”.  Jean Harlow was discovered by Howard Hughes who cast her in Hell’s Angels, Harlow would go on to work with Chaplin, Gable, Cagney to name just of a few of her leading men.  Fay Wray said that Harlow was the original choice for King Kong.  She was a close friend of gangster Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel.  She married MGM executive Paul Bern, who two months into their marriage was found dead from a gunshot wound to the head.  His death was ruled a suicide, but some believe Bern was murdered due to some unusual circumstances and the fact that the police were called AFTER Louis B, Mayer had a chance to get to the crime scene.  Harlow died at the young age of 26 under what some consider mysterious circumstances as well.

Thelma Todd’s Impossible Suicide.  Todd ruled the silver screen making over 100 shorts and feature films, appearing with Buster Keaton, The Marx Brothers and Laurel & Hardy.  Todd was found dead inside her car that was in the garage of her lover’s ex-wife.  There were conflicting reports of injuries to her body, she left no suicide note and had appeared to be in good spirits in the time preceding her death.  Although her death was considered a murder by many, it was ruled a suicide by a grand jury.

Although not on Sharp’s list, the story of Louise Brooks is another sad tale of a silent era star.  Brooks quickly rose from being an uncredited extra to getting contract offers from both MGM and Paramount.  At the start of her career she worked with top directors and stars and by the end she left Hollywood and worked as a high priced call girl.  

“Ocean’s Eleven” Trivia!

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Jon O’Brien at Mental Floss came up with 20 Fun Facts About Ocean’s Eleven.  Before you click over, here are three of my favorites and my thoughts on each…

OCEAN’S ELEVEN NEARLY STARRED THE WILSON BROTHERS. (I don’t think Ocean’s Eleven starring the Wilson brothers would have had the same impact. – Craig)

THERE ARE CAMEOS FROM TWO OF THE ORIGINAL MOVIE’S CAST MEMBERS.  (Henry Silva and Angie Dickinson were in the original and had cameos in the remake.  It’s always a good idea to find cameos for stars from the original film as a sign of respect for the film that came first. – Craig)

EVERY ACTOR TOOK A SIGNIFICANT PAY CUT TO APPEAR IN THE MOVIE.  (Interesting that a Vegas movie involved actors who took “significant” pay cuts and gambled on back-end profits — which paid off! – Craig)

The All-Time Best Movie Fight Scenes!

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Andrew Gestalt at Listverse posted his choices for the 10 Best Fight Scenes in Movies.  Choosing the best movie fight scenes is an interesting task. Gestalt’s choices are hard to argue against.  With that said here are my thoughts on some of them…

Rocky vs Apollo (from Rocky):  Gestalt placed Rocky’s first fight against Apollo in the #2 spot.  He choose it for emotional reasons (Rocky loses the fight but achieved his goal) as much as the fight itself being awesome.  There’s no doubt that a fight scene from the Rocky series deserves to be listed as an All-Time Best Movie Fight, but is THAT the fight you would have chosen?

Sly probably would go with Rocky’s battle against Drago.  I’ve always loved Rocky’s return fight against Clubber.  The Rocky / Apollo rematch would be hard to argue against.  

Lee vs Han (from Enter the Dragon):  is another excellent choice, but it is not the Enter the Dragon fight that I would have picked.  I would have gone with Lee’s fight with the guards.  As Han himself said, “The battle with the guards was magnificent.”  Who can argue with that?

John Wick vs Too Many To Name (John Wick 1 -3):  Agreed… but which fight from the Wick franchise is the best?  I love ’em all.

#1 vs Shack (Emperor of the North): Lee Marvin vs Ernest Borgnine.  This fight didn’t make Gestalt’s list but should have.

Indiana Jones vs German Soldier (Raiders of the Lost Ark): Tell me a more memorable fight scene.  I’ll wait.  ; )

The All-Time Best Noir Films Ranked!

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Fiona Underhill at /Film came up with her list of The 14 Best Noir Movies Ranked.  Underhill’s choices are excellent examples of the genre.

We both placed Double Indemnity in our top two (#1 for Underhill and #2 for me).  Coming in first for me was The Postman Always Rings Twice (#7 for Underhill).  My third spot went to The Big Sleep which surprisingly Underhill listed at 14th on her list.

One movie that didn’t make Underhill’s list and would have easily made mine was The Big Heat. (And now that I think about it, I would have also found a spot for Body Heat.)

The All-Time Best Action Stars!

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Liam Gaughan, at /Film, came up with his list of The 18 Best Action Movie Actors Ranked.  His list is a pretty good one, but I do question his rankings.  Harrison Ford at #1?  Arnold in the 8th spot and Sly in the 10th?  No Dwayne Johnson?  No Vin Diesel?

Well, lists are there to get us thinking and talking.  Liam has his reasons for his choices. Only 1 of my top 3 made his top three.  So before you click over, here are my top three…

  1. Sylvester Stallone
  2. Arnold Schwarzenegger
  3. Tom Cruise

Is your list closer to Gaughan’s, mine or totally different?

Ranking All 9 “Rocky” Movies

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Scott Mendleson, at Forbes, posted Every ‘Rocky’ Movie Ranked From Worst To Best.  Before you click over, I decided to revisit my rankings and compare Mendelson’s with mine.  So without further adieu, here we go…

Mendelson


Zablo
9. Rocky V (1990) 9. Rocky V (1990)
8. Rocky IV: Rocky Vs. Drago (2021) 8. Rocky IV (1985)
7. Rocky IV (1985) 7. Creed II (2018)
6. Rocky III (1982) 6. Rocky II (1978)
5. Creed II (2018) 5. Creed (2015)
4. Rocky II (1978) 4. Rocky IV: Rocky Vs. Drago (2021)
3. Rocky Balboa (2006) 3. Rocky Balboa (2006)
2. Creed (2015) 2. Rocky III (1982)
1. Rocky (1976) 1. Rocky (1976)

“Bram Stoker’s Dracula” – Surprising Trivia You May Not Know!

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Matthew Jackson, at Mental Floss, presents 20 Surprising Facts About Bram Stoker’s Dracula.  Before you click over, here are three of my favorites…

JOHNNY DEPP AND CHRISTIAN SLATER WERE ALMOST JONATHAN HARKER.  (Although there are critics of Keanu Reeves as Jonathan Harker, I’m not one.  I could see Johnny Depp in the role but I don’t think Christian Slater would have been right for it. – Craig)

VIRTUALLY EVERY VISUAL EFFECT WAS DONE IN-CAMERA. Coppola wanted Bram Stoker’s Dracula to be full of classical cinema trickery, and not lean so heavily on the modern digital visual effects of the 1990s.  (I think the film is better for this decision. – Craig)

THE FILM SAVED THE COPPOLA FAMILY’S HOME.  (You’d think that the creative force behind The Godfather and The Godfather II would be set for life, but Coppola has always taken creative risks and used his own money. – Craig)

Wes Craven’s “Scream” Trivia You May Not Know!

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Rob Hunter at Film School Rejects shared 31 Things We Learned from Wes Craven’s ‘Scream’ Commentary.  Before you click over, here are three of my favorites and thoughts on each…

Sidney types her distress call out to the online 911 system, and she enters 34 Elm Street as her address — but it was cut for time. (That’s too bad it was cut.  Fans would have loved it! – Craig)

Joseph Whipp plays the sheriff here, and he plays a cop in A Nightmare on Elm Street too. “So the backstory there that I put in is that he was so upset by the events in Nightmare on Elm Street that he moved to a small town in Northern California.”  (That’s funny and probably goes unnoticed by 99% of the viewers. – Craig)

Craven is pleased by his addition to the end credits acknowledgements ending a list of thanks with “No thanks whatsoever to The Santa Rosa City School District Governing Board.”  (Read Hunter’s item #10 and you’ll know why! – Craig)

The All-Time Best Neo-Noir Films

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Liam Gaughan, at /Film, came up with his list of The 12 Best Neo-Noir Films Ranked.  It is a solid list.  Before you click over, here are my top three in alphabetical order.  All are well written, well cast and well directed.  If I were to pick four films, I’d have included Se7en since it meets the same criteria.  ; )

  • LA Confidential
  • No Country for Old Men
  • The Usual Suspects

Kurt Russell Presents “Breakdown” Trivia (and Thoughts on Great Acting)!

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Rob Hunter, at Film School Rejects, presents 26 Things We Learned from Kurt Russell’s ‘Breakdown’ Commentary.  Before you click over, here are three of my favorites and thoughts on each…

Russell says J.T. Walsh might just be his favorite American actor. He also recalls how both he and Mostow (CO-Writer & Director) had independently decided on who should play the trucker and were pleased to discover they were both thinking of Walsh. “He’s flawless. Nothing fake, nothing phony.”  (JT Walsh isn’t an actor most folks think of when talking the best actors.  I love it when big name celebrities recognize and promote lesser known actors. – Craig)

Russell had hesitated on signing on to the film as he had just finished a movie and wanted to be home every night, so De Laurentiis worked some extra magic to make it happen. “You were picked up every morning, taken to a private airstrip, flown by jet then there’d be a helicopter waiting to fly you to the makeup trailer,” says Mostow, “we’d finish somewhere around 4:30 in the afternoon and we’d hear the helicopter coming back.”  (That is amazing that they wanted Russell so bad that they worked this out to get him! – Craig)

“When you’re an actor, you act,” says Russell after Mostow asks if he ever doubted the character or his portrayal. He references Dakota Fanning in Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds, saying “She screams as much as she talks in that movie, but she’s got fifteen different screams.” His point is that “you’re playing the same beat, but you can’t play it the same way.”  (Again, Russell recognizing a fellow actor, this time a child, and praising their acting abilities.  Gotta love Kurt Russell.)

The All-Time Best Cowboy Movie Stars!

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Liam Gaughan, at /Film, came up with his list of The Twenty Best Western Movie Actors and it is a good one.  As I thought about my choices the top two were easy.  The tough part was deciding which order for the top two and who would get the third spot.  After some deliberation here are my top three…

#3.  Kurt Russell comes in at the third spot based on two strong lead performances in Tombstone and Bone Tomahawk.  It’s a shame Russell hasn’t made more westerns because the genre suits him.

#2.  Clint Eastwood was my choice for the number two spot and I really considered putting him in at #1.  Eastwood’s westerns always score well with fan and critics.  The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, Josey Wales and Unforgiven are considered classics.  I wouldn’t argue too hard against Eastwood in the number one spot, but this time out I gave it to…

#1.  John Wayne.  My first place spot goes to the man that most folks think of first when they think of cowboy movie stars.  Wayne’s career spanned 50 years and he made so many popular westerns: Stagecoach, Angel and the Badman, Fort Apache, Red River, Hondo, The Searchers, Rio Bravo, True Grit, The Cowboys and The Shootist are some of my favorites.  

James Gunn Shares “Suicide Squad” Trivia That May Surprise You!

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Rob Hunter, at Film School Rejects, posted a fun piece called 43 Things We Learned from ‘The Suicide Squad’ Commentary with James Gunn.

9. (Joel) Kinnaman was challenged as he’s not typically associated with comedies, but he quickly showed a talent and an affinity for earning laughs. (For All Mankind is where I first really noticed what a fine actor Kinnaman is.  I highly recommend the series as well. – Craig)

14. Gunn says John Cena is “probably the most gifted improvisational actor I’ve ever worked with in my life.” (I found this a bit surprising, but was happy to hear it. Cena seems like a nice guy off screen. – Craig)

26. Elba doesn’t actually smoke, and he has asthma, so the scene where Bloodsport smokes in the back of the van left his eyes watering. “I had to take a tear out of his eye with visual effects because I liked the shot.” (Elba doing what it takes for his art!  – Craig)

The All-Time Most Influential Horror Movies

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Kevin Delsignore at CBR.com came up with his list of The All-Time Most Influential Horror Movies.  (Sadly, although it was an interesting list, it is no longer available.)  I decided to play along and using Delsignore’s films, came up with my top two.  Interestingly enough, my #1 pick didn’t make his list.

#3.  Jaws:  While some may argue that Jaws isn’t really a horror film, it made Delsignore’s list, so for our purposes here it is.  Jaws not only spawned 3 sequels but also inspired countless other shark, octopus, orca, alligator, piranha… well, you get the idea, movies.

#2.  Halloween:  John Carpenter’s Halloween spawned 11 sequels with a 12th on the way.  It also opened the door for low-budget unstoppable serial killer movies where the victims were usually teenage kids (Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream, etc.)..

#1  Night of the Living Dead:  My choice for the top spot is Night of the Living Dead and surprisingly it didn’t even make Delsignore’s list!  Not only did George Romero re-invent the “rules” for zombies, but he kickstarted a genre that has expanded from movies to tv to comics to video games and more.  What’s just as crazy is that the zombie craze is still going strong over 50 years later!