Questions about specific movies, TV shows and more

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Answer: By the third film, the original "Baron Frankenstein," played by Frederick Kerr is supposed to have died. Therefore, his son Henry had inherited the title of "Baron Frankenstein," and as part of Germanic aristocratic inheritance this automatically places a "von" between the Christian name and Surname of the holder. This in turn has happened when Henry died and Wolf took up the Baronetcy.

David Mercier

Question: Does anyone know if the film has ever been released in colour and if it has was it ever as successful as the black and white version?

Answer: There is a DVD with colour and black and white.

Answer: There have been three colorized versions of the film. Determining whether the colorized version or the original black and white film is more successful is difficult. The original B&W film, released in theaters in 1946, flopped at the box office and the studio lost money. It was only after it started being shown on TV (in B&W) decades later that it became popular. The first colorized version came out in the early 1980s and was released on VHS. Most sales would have been the colorized version, so in that respect, it could be considered more successful. The B&W version is available on DVD.

raywest

Answer: There are two colourised versions. See for more information.

jle

Question: Can anyone tell me what film the policemen are watching when they are in Thelma's husband's apartment and he wants to switch to the sports-game?

Answer: It's the 1941 film "Penny Serenade".

Sierra1

Question: When the two Jedi and Jar Jar are travelling through the planets core, Obi Wan asks Jar Jar why he was banished. Jar Jar says it was because he is clumsy but I can never understand what he says after that. What does he say?

Answer: "Mesa cause-ed mabee one or duey lettal bitty axadentes...yud-say boom da gasser, un crash Der Bosses heyblibber...den banished." Jar Jar was under Boss Nass' employment and was working in Nass' kitchen during a party. He accidentally caused the gas oven to explode, which destroyed the bubble wall (what keeps the water out) of Nass' house, causing it to flood. He tried to save the Boss' Heyblibber (a luxury version of the Bongo) but ended up crashing it which caused the outraged Nass to banish him.

Question: At the end of the movie, Frodo mentions something about the journey lasting 13 months. He then says his chest wound occurred four years ago to the day. If this is the case, why did he and the others wait 3 years to leave Middle Earth on the ship?

Answer: In the book it takes three years because the Hobbits are repairing the Shire (wrecked by Saruman in the book). In the movie it may have taken three years because the elves and Gandalf may have been attending to buisness in their lands (leaving for them would be a big event as Galadriel and Celeborn are the oldest elves still living in Middle Earth.)

Question: At the end of film, when the hobbits and Gandalf go to the Grey Havens, Elrond, Galadriel, and Celeborn are also there. Behind them is another person who disappears after the others board the ship (I assume he boarded also). He looks to me like one of the elves who received the three rings, shown in the prologue of the first film. Could this perhaps be Cirdan or Gil-galad?

Answer: It would be Cirdan the Shipwright. Gil-Galad was killed in the Last Alliance.

cullothiel

Question: How long exactly did the whole journey take up until Aragorn became king? In both the movie and the book?

Answer: In the movies, the journey alone lasted 13 months, until the Ring was destroyed. In FotR, it was only a short amount of time between Gandalf leaving after Bilbo's party for Minas Tirith to look up the scrolls of Isildur and coming back to Frodo to warn him. Once the Ring was destroyed, it was not that long until Aragorn was crowned either. Now in the book, it's very different. Bilbo's feast was the year 3001 and in this year Gandalf and Aragorn start searching for news on Gollum. Between 3004-3008, Gandalf sees Frodo in intervals. During 3009-3017, Gandalf and Aragorn hunt for Gollum, who at some point during this time was captured by Sauron. In 3017, Gollum is released and captured by Aragorn and taken to Thranduil in Mirkwood, Legolas' father. Also during this year, Gandalf reads the scroll of Isildur. In April 3018, Frodo leaves the Shire. March 25 3019, the Ring is destroyed. May 1 3019, Aragorn is crowned King Elessar. In September 3021, Bilbo, Frodo and the Keepers of the Rings leave the Grey Havens.

Super Grover

Question: The scene when the Ku Klux Klan are assembling is very similar to the scene in "The Wizard of Oz", when the scarecrow, the tin man and the cowardly lion sneak into the witch's castle. The marching music, the disguises and the way they enter the procession are almost identical. Was this intentional?

R W Hlavac

Chosen answer: Yes, it was.

jle

Question: Since I am deathly afriad of spiders, I closed my eyes for this scene. Can someone tell me how the spider is killed? Also, can someone briefly explain how Gollum and Sam play into the whole scene?

shortdanzr

Chosen answer: Gollum framed Sam with the Lembas crumbs, so Sam stays down below. Gollum leads Frodo into the cave then disappears. He then watches as Frodo is caught in Shelob's web and taunts Frodo loudly. He then sees Frodo fighting and cutting the web, while Shelob moves closer. Frodo runs out of the cave and is attacked by Gollum. Frodo fights him and Gollum falls down the side of the cliff. Frodo is surprised by Shelob who appears on the rocks over him. Shelob then stabs Frodo with her venom and starts wrapping his body in the web material. Sam suddenly appears, having seen the 'missing' Lembas down below and coming up to help Frodo. Sam goes after Shelob. Sam fights with her and stabs her and she then crawls back into her lair. It's not made clear if Shelob dies, but she is badly wounded.

Super Grover

Question: Does anyone know why there is so much green in this movie? The doors, the painted walls, the furniture, clothes, cars, the school uniforms, lamps, why are they all green? There has to be a reason.

troy fox

Chosen answer: It is the director's favourite colour.

gandolfs dad

Question: In the beginning of the film Galadriel says that Bilbo's finding of the ring was something that "the ring did not intend." Later in the film Gandalf tells Frodo that Bilbo was meant to find the ring. I have not read the books, but both statements can't be true. So what's the real story with Bilbo and the ring?

Nick N.

Chosen answer: One does not contradict the other. The ring didn't intend to be found by Bilbo, but Bilbo WAS meant to find it, by forces other than the ring. Gandalf explains this by telling Frodo that not only evil forces are at work in the world.

Zaphod Beeblebrox

Question: What does Gimli say, after Legolas so spectacularly defeated the Mumak and slid down its trunk? The cheering in the theatre tends to drown out the dialogue...

Ioreth

Chosen answer: He says "That still only counts as one" (As they are keeping score).

Zaphod Beeblebrox

Answer: Obviously it is because the actors are from different places. But you can explain it away by saying that the hobbits are from different families. From Bilbo's speech at his party it is clear that the Hobbits are split into a small number of large extended families - the Bagginses (Frodo, obviously), Tooks (Pippen), Brandybucks (Merry) etc. The families differ in obvious ways - the Tooks are large, the Bagginses are eccentric, the Proudfoots have large feet. Perhaps accent is another family trait?

jle

Question: At the end, where is it that Frodo, Gandalf, Bilbo, Elrond, Galadriel and Celeborn are sailing to, and why are they all going there?

Answer: They are sailing to the Undying Lands. Elrond, Galadriel, and Celborn are leaving because the time of the elves has enden and for them to stay in Middle Earth would be pointless. Bilbo leaves because he was offered and accepted Arwen's place. Frodo because there is nothing left for him in Middle Earth and I believe that Gandalf leaves because he has fully filled his promise to help Frodo destroy the ring. An additional part of Frodo's reason for leaving Middle Earth is because his wound (from the Nazgul) will no longer pain him in Valinor, the Undying Lands. Bilbo and Frodo also earned the privilege as Ringbearers. In fact, Tolkien says that because he bore the Ring for even a short while, Sam Gamgee also was later permitted to journey to the West.

bessytheevilcow

Chosen answer: Presumably to Teddy.

Sereenie

Question: So how is Neo able to control (or just disable) the machines in the real world? I mean, what's this "source" talk about?

redbaron2000

Chosen answer: By picking the left door when meeting the Architect, he has been forever connected with the "Source," the machine main-frame. As such, he can tap into it at will to disable any machines in the real world.

Chosen answer: When the two Orcs were fighting in the tower where Frodo was being kept, the larger one shoved the smaller one down the stairwell to a lower level. He then yelled down that the smaller Orc tried to kill him, so they should kill the smaller Orc. From that brawl an Orc was pushed out a window down to yet, another lower level. This spurred another brawl below...a chain reaction, in other words. Also, there were two companies of orcs in the tower so there was a natural rivalry already present - much like when the orcs and uruk-hai that captured Merry and Pippin fought amongst themselves. Finally, the power of the ring had an effect.

Question: Can anyone tell me about the strange flag (sort of a blue lozenge in a white field) the Surprise flies in her disguise as a whaler?

Ioreth

Chosen answer: The flag is a signal flag, and is probably meant to signal that the ship is a whaler or engaged in fishing operations. Such flags were part of an international code, which, with some modification, is still in use today. (The flag is similar to the modern-day "Foxtrot".)

Question: The "eye doctor" tells John not to take the bandages off until the 12 hours is up or else he'll go blind. If this is so, how come he didn't go blind after removing the bandages early?

Josh Appelbaum

Chosen answer: He did go blind but only in one eye. That is why he loses his depth perception for a bit (when emptying out the bag of eyeballs he misses by a lot). He only lets them scan one eye so his other one is good. This makes sense with the foreshadowing earlier in the movie: when buying drugs from the eyeless guy in the alley area at night, he says some quote about a one eyed man.

Question: Is that Sean Penn in the surf shop, reprising his Spicoli role? (It's a very brief cameo - blink and you'll miss it).

Answer: There is no record that I could find that indicates that he was in that movie.

Josh Appelbaum

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