MovieChat Forums > Foul Play (1978) Discussion > Not really. A McDuffie... (SPOILERS)

Not really. A McDuffie... (SPOILERS)

posted 9 years ago by eyeonyouproductions
7 replies | jump to latest

Warning:Spoilers!!!

(I can't do text markup on my phone, so I can't use the special spoiler blocker feature)

Anyway, in the Trivia section, the film is called a McGuffin. It really isn't, though. A McGuffin is a device to try and outsmart the viewers, a false item that you think is important, but actually has nothing to do with the story.

The film, even though it isn't used to solve the case, is not this kind of device. The film IS an important part of the story, it's why the bad guys keep trying to kill her, which is why we have a movie in the first place.

A McGuffin would have it just be a pack of smokes, no film.

[–] eyeonyouproductions 9 years ago

"McDuffie"? Stupid fracking auto-correct...

[–] Jetfire1959 9 years ago

I'm afraid you're mistaken. The film is definitely a MacGuffin. It plays no part at all in the outcome of the movie. Ezmie the snake is the only member of the cast who knows what happened to it. It isn't even mentioned after the encounter in Gloria's apartment. Gloria's life is in danger because she knows too much and has drawn the attention of the SFPD. The film IS a MacGuffin.

If you were observing this nutty planet, would YOU want to make contact?

[–] eyeonyouproductions 9 years ago

But the film isn't a false piece of evidence, it's completely 100% related to the case. They're just able to solve the case without it.

And stupid phone autocorrecting "MacGuffin"... ;-)

[–] AutoexecBatman 9 years ago

A MacGuffin is something which everyone in the movie is looking for, and which is the ostensible cause of everything that happens in the film, but which could be anything, and which ultimately plays no role in the resolution of the film. In this case, the MacGuffin is the roll of microfilm.

We don't know what is on the film, we don't know how it relates to the case, all we know is that the bad guys want it, and even though it is very important at the beginning of the film, its importance gradually declines to the point where it becomes irrelevant by the end, and the microfilm is destroyed without anyone being aware that it was destroyed and without anyone viewing it to find out what is on it.

It is most definitely a MacGuffin.

[–] shonenbat 8 years ago

I have to agree that the film is a MacGuffin. Hitchcock said, "The main thing I’ve learned over the years is that the MacGuffin is nothing." The viewer doesn't care what is on the film or what eventually happens to the film. All that matters is that it's the thing that drives the action

[–] Druff 9 years ago

You have a poor understanding of what a MacGuffin actually is. A MacGuffin *IS* important to the plot and has everything to do with the story. It is the [Thing] that is motivating certain key characters and propelling the story forward in one way or another, at least up to a point.

What I imagine is confusing you is that is the fact that very often, the writer of a story gives little info about the MacGuffin itself. That doesn't make it unimportant. Also, there have been several cases where, in the end, the MacGuffin turns out to be a red herring in one way or another. Like some kind of precious valuable item that turns out to be worthless, or ends up being thrown into a volcano... so that in the end it's as if the whole story about tracking it down was a waste of time. But typically, in cases like that there were character arcs happening that were the real point of the story.

In any case, the film in the cigarette box is definitely a classic MacGuffin. You can keep saying otherwise until you're blue in the face, but that won't make you any less mistaken.

[–] Underdog_73 8 years ago

It sounds as though you're confusing a MacGuffin with a Red Herring. That said, I don't really know that the film can be considered a MacGuffin, but people will have their opinions and it's not a debate I feel like getting into.

As far as the spoiler mark up, you can do it on your phone. You just have to do it manually. Simply type [/spoiler] at the end of your text and [spoiler] at the beginning of your text. Brackets included. You can also do bold and italics the same way using [b] and [i] at the beginning and the same with a forward slash at the end.