What's your favorite Macguffin?
 

I was watching a bit of Casablanca last night, and was hit by the Macguffin, which is the "Letters of Transit" - an important item in the plot that doesn't otherwise make much sense. In Casablanca those letters, which never existed anywhere, are the device that allows Ilsa Lund and Victor Laslow to pass borders when he's wanted by the Nazis. The One Ring in LOTR, Private Ryan himself in Saving Private Ryan are other well known examples.

So, what are your favorite Macguffins?

The briefcase, of course (you know which one I mean).

Re: What's your favorite Macguffin?
 

I'm partial to the sausage, egg, and cheese MacGuffin, myself.

Re: What's your favorite Macguffin?
 

Ronin (1998) has a good one.

Re: What's your favorite Macguffin?
 

One of the most famous ones is Rosebud in Citizen Kane. The enigma of Kane's end is..."what IS Rosebud"?

The briefcase in dumb and dumber?

Re: What's your favorite Macguffin?
 

whats the hell is Macguffin? =/ :confused:

It's the name for an object that the whole plot of some movies is centered around. The ring in the Lord of the Rings movies or the Holy Grail in Monty Python and the Holy Grail are some examples.

My favorite is the secret egg salad recipe from What's Up, Tiger Lily? because it's so silly.

ohh okay even tho im still confused but its all good:D

The one that belong to Mary Sampsonite. Yes.

The Maltese Falcon

Re: What's your favorite Macguffin?
 

A Macguffin is frequently used by script writers to justify the rest of the plot, even though the thing in itself is very unlikely or downright arbitrary. You will probably not find the Holy Grail in your life, but if you can imagine it being found, then you can write all sorts of plot lines about the discovery and consequences. The term has been around for a long time, can't recall the exact history, but writers use them all the time. The Maltese Falcon, Holy Grail, Arc of the Covenant, climbing Mt Everest, Private Ryan, the Treasure of the Sierra Madre...all Macguffins.

Re: What's your favorite Macguffin?
 

The hidden treasure (or the palm trees in the shape of a "W" that the treasure is allegedly buried beneath).

For added fun: name the film.

Heh, heh. It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) was the greatest collection of comedian actors in a movie that I've ever seen. It was also very funny. Putting Spencer Tracy in there was a little thick, but enjoyable nonetheless.

I'm a traditionalist. I like the uranium ore in the wine bottles in Hitchcock's Notorious (1946). Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains... how can one beat that???..:cool:

I think the rug was ok after all. I had to read a bit on the subject.

And to top it off - in a couple-seconds-long cameo - Jerry Lewis appears randomly to run over Spencer Tracy's hat with his car! :D

Re: What's your favorite Macguffin?
 

I will go full Guy Ritchie here with, the two shotguns in Lock Stock & Two smoking Barrels and the jewels in Snatch.