MovieChat Forums > The Howling (1981) Discussion > Loved the hamburger patty on the grill, ...

Loved the hamburger patty on the grill, ending credits

posted 15 years ago by jeffyoung1
16 replies | jump to latest

I like THE HOWLING as one of the better horror monster films produced in the past.

But one of my favorite scenes is the ending credits where an up-close scene shows a raw hamburger patty placed on a grill and cooking. Periodically a spatula enters the scene to turn the hamburger patty over. I always feel HUNGRY watching that hamburger patty frying on the griddle, especially as you watch it going from raw to semi-cooked while still showing pink meat inside.

Yes, it's completely incongruous, especially with the jazzy, 1970s made-for-television drama movies music in the background. But I think that's what made the scene so memorable, as opposed to the typical black screen with white lettering. The film's director had a sense of black humor in showing meat cooking on the grill. If his intent was to shock and titillate, it succeeded. If his intent was to make us viewers hungry, he succeeded. The ending credits scene of the cooking hamburger is so full of obvious symbolism.

[–] 15 years ago

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[–] tepista 14 years ago

Rare or not, he flipped it too early! :)

[–] 14 years ago

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[–] Ice-Exile 13 years ago

Agreed. It definitely was a curve ball to see a cooking hamburger, but a pleasant diversion anyways, and with the music playing over it, it was great. It kind of increased the humor or camp value that seems to be lacking from alot of horror movies today---as if it's tongue in cheek, and not really hinting that this remaining werewolf will truly wreak havoc on the rest of the world--maybe just California.
Excellent ending credits, and way better than some out-takes or bloopers. I think this sequence enhances the movie, even.

[–] billy51482 13 years ago

Joe Dante rules!

[–] holljjk 12 years ago

I love the credits too, and i always laughed at them. That short order cook aparently had never cooked a hamburger in his entire life. at one point he leaves a half inch layer of the burger on the grill while flipping it. He also did not understand the meaning of the word rare, because he cooked the burger WAY too long.

I'm not saying I don't trust you and I'm not saying I do, but I don't:)

[–] fiatlux-1 11 years ago

He also did not understand the meaning of the word rare, because he cooked the burger WAY too long.

Thank you!! I'm glad someone else commented on this too. That burger was WELL-DONE not even remotely rare!
Not to mention the cook turned it into mush.

"I'd say this cloud is Cumulo Nimbus."
"Didn't he discover America?"
"Penfold, shush."

[–] StarrySkyWaltz 12 years ago

Mmmm, the burger looked delicious

[–] Minus_The_Beer 12 years ago

Oddly enough, this little bit was a highlight of the movie for me, even if the cook couldn't cook a burger for sh!t.

[–] SeanJoyce 12 years ago

Great end credits; my gripe is with the minute or two that precede it.

The film should have concluded right when Karen's transformation started. Had it cut to the image of the simmering burger after she stood up and revealed her yellow eyes, it would have been a perfect ending.

"...if that was off, I'd be whoopin' your ass up and down this street." ~ an irate Tarantino

[–] CrazyRalph_13 11 years ago

Yeah it's a cool ending.

You're doomed! You're all doomed!

[–] Doc110894 10 years ago

Fun end credit sequence.