MovieChat Forums > The Fortune Cookie (1966) Discussion > Pipes in rack upside down ...

Pipes in rack upside down ...


As Harry is waiting for his wifes arrival (with Boom Boom) , he wheels over to a cabinet that has a pipe rack on top. Watched this movie now a thousand times since '66 and this is the 1st time I noticed that the pipes are all inserted upside down in the pipe rack. Hardly can be considered a flaw in the movie but just can't believe I only now noticed this. I've been around pipe smokers - both sides of the family, for decades. I doubt the average non smoker would have noticed. No doubt the set decorator/assistant was a non smoker or pressed for time (faster and easier to insert stem down). As one can gather from this movie, just about everyone was smoking back then so people these days might not be at all familiar with pipes and their accessories, smokers habits etc., Pipe smoking was advertised just like cigarettes were etc., so movie makers/audiences would have been much more likely to notice this 'over sight' back at the time this movie was released.
BTW, there is a reason for hanging them the correct way (bowl down/stem up). In this position the stem can drain down into the bowl so the accumulated 'fluids' can evaporate and the pipe dry out - nothing worse than a 'wet' pipe.
The additional benefit was that the bowls, being the heaviest end of the pipe, provided weight at the base of the rack so as to help keep it upright/stable and less likely to tip over - not to mention the racks were made with cut outs to accommodate the shape of the bowl. More info then you needed, I know :-)
A 'goof' from a by-gone era !

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