confused


i saw this movie on tv last night but im a little confused. what are the guidelines on the bank note? what would the point in having one of them be?

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The bank note is some kind of proof that you're a millionaire so you can buy things without actually purchasing them till a later date. This is what I assume.

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no the note is for tradeing in side The Bank Of England and never leve's the bank and there is only 3 of them

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There are considerably more £1,000,000 notes now.

All standard (£5,10,20,50 - 100 in Scotland) bank notes issued by banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland are required to be backed pound for pound by Bank of England notes. Due to the large number of notes issued by these banks it would be cumbersome and wasteful to hold Bank of England notes in the standard denominations. Special one million pound notes are used for this purpose. These are used only internally within the Bank and are never seen in circulation. Think of them as accounting devices for making the counting of money easier.

The movie's plot is based on the false premise that you would be allowed to take a Bank of England note outside of the building. Still, it's a good wheeze all the same.

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The whole point of the case is simple. In fact, it is a normal banknote like a $10 bill (just very, extremely, rare) and it is not in circulation because NOBODY could give you your change after buying something (in this case: even ANYthing).
And what would you do if someone bought your car and could only pay with a $200.000.000-bill? (Just assuming bills like that could exist in US currency) :-)
At least gaping in awe at a banknote you will never see again in your whole live.....

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Hi,

Before I seek out this film. Is this the one where Gregory Peck has a tailor make him a suit out of brown paper? Please let me know either way. I have been looking for this specific movie for AGES!

Thanx, Willie

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This film came up on British digital TV on a wet Monday afternoon (January 15), so I watched it (again). Shortly after Peck discovers that he can get goods on credit by flourishing the note he goes to an upper-class tailors, who at first try to fob him off with a garish, ready-made suit. They they discover he's (apparently) a millionaire and insist on measuring him for a full wardrobe (though he declines a cycling suit). The head tailor is seen calling out adjustments to an assistant, then tearing a makeshift suit off Peck (each sleeve detaches from the coat, for example.) I assume this was a tailoring technique of a hundred years ago, with an approximation of a suit being put on the customer, to arrive at a perfect fit for the final product. I don't know if brown paper was involved.

Marlburian

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I got the impression it was a demonstration suit. The alterations wouldn't be done to that suit itself, because tearing it to pieces could damage the fabric and leave the finished garment far too tasteless for a millionaire. They probably went to the excess of sending each individual piece to a separate tailor in the back room. Who then copied the style of each component to the new measurements and assembled them to form the custom suit as quickly as possible.

That's what I love about the story. As soon as he has the bank note, people are jumping over themselves just to have the privilege of saying they had dealings with him. Judging by his popularity in the wealthy circles it's no wonder. A dozen poseurs sprinting for the tailors as soon as they learned where the millionaire had got his, would be an underestimation.

In any case, I agree, there wasn't any brown paper involved.

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Not that long ago - Sears used to have a department where you could order tailored suits (up to the 1960s, as i recall - i went with my Dad at least once when he was ordering a suit), and they had pre-made sleeves, armless jackets and so on that they tried on you to make sure it fit right.

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It is called basting.

"A basting stitch is essentially a straight stitch, sewn with long stitches and unfinished ends. The basting stitch is used for temporarily holding sandwiched pieces of fabric in place. The stitch is removed after the piece is finished."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tack_%28sewing%29

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OK thirteen years on but I'll reply. Basting is not a 'tailoring technique of 100 years ago' it is how hand made suits have been made for centuries and still are made by the best tailors. However, the tearing off of basted components during the fitting is rather theatrical and is not, I believe, done by most tailors (I've never had it done to me and have had several suits cut bespoke).

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