MovieChat Forums > The Lost Weekend Discussion > The three balls

The three balls

posted 17 years ago by repete66211
10 replies | jump to latest

Toward the end, as he is looking for a pawn broker, we see three balls (or some sort of metallic-looking spheres) hanging from some sort of frame at the top of a building. We then see three more balls hanging by the clock on the sidewalk. They didn't appear to be incidental to the film. It seemed to me they were important in the telling of the story. With nothing to go on, I took it to mean three balls are hung when it's especially hot outside, or I wonder if it has something to do with Yom Kippur (read = time for atonement).

[–] wrfarley 17 years ago

The three balls are the symbol of a pawn shop. I'm not sure the exact relevance of them, but you can still find them, mostly in the older establishments. Often a new pawn shop might simply paint the three balls on its sign.

[–] repete66211 17 years ago

Hey, that's a great piece of trivia. Thanks for the info. More on the history of the three balls and pawnbroking:

http://www.roaths.com/pawnbroking.htm

[–] wrfarley 17 years ago

repete66211,

Thanks for the link. I didn't know ANY of that.

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] BillyFisher 16 years ago

Heh. :D

- - - - - - - -
www.davidlrattigan.blogspot.com
www.dictionaryofhammer.com

[–] rwsmith29456 16 years ago

Ha Ha. Way back when we called pawn shops '3 ball joints'.

[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] muzilon 14 years ago

And in the days before political correctness, all the pawnbrokers in this film are either Jewish or Irish Catholics. ("We all have an agreement not to open either on Yom Kippur or St Patrick's Day!")

Is there some religious or cultural taboo against Protestants becoming pawnbrokers? :)

[–] repete66211 14 years ago

Jews dominated the industry because early on The Church saw usury as un-Christian. I don't know what Catholics have to do with it, but from what I understand the three balls symbol of pawn brokers is taken from an Italian family (i.e. Catholics).

[–] vpilutis 7 years ago

Talk about closing many cities more so NYC had the blue laws which made it illegal to open on SUNDAYS

So a Jew couldn't be open on Fridays (after sundown) and/or Saturdays so they would stay open on Sunday so they could have six days of business, mind you it wasn't always enforced.

Thanks goodness they stopped that nonsense in the 1970s except for stores in Paramus NJ

In many Orthodox neighborhoods if they know you're Jewish (even if you're not Orthodox) You better be closed on the sabbath or the will boycott your biz

To this day in most states one cannot buy beer before 12 noon or 1PM on Sundays

on location with SUPERMAN I,& OTHER STARS
http://www.vbphoto.biz/