I Accuse My Parents

(Jimmy’s dad walks into the room)
Crow: Suddenly the Thin Man arrives!

The Thin Man is a classic comedy/mystery made in 1934, with William Powell and Myrna Loy, based on a Nick and Nora Charles mystery of the same name by Dashiell Hammett. It was such a hit that five more followed, all of them good. The man in I Accuse My Parents looks a little like William Powell—in that he has a thin mustache and always has a glass of liquor in his hand—but Nick Charles was not actually the Thin Man; the Thin Man was the suspect in the first film.


(two hoodlums rush into a car with a painting)
Tom and Crow: Ze Bogard, ze Bogard!

This is a reference to the Marx Brother’s Animal Crackers. The Marx Bros. stay at Margaret Dumont’s house, where there’s a priceless painting by Bogard. The painting is stolen, I think, by Chico and Harpo and everyone staying at the house whispers, “the Bogarde” when its imposter is unveiled.


(an old man in overalls and a straw hat waits tables)
Crow: Ever been bit by a dead bee?

The line Crow gave is a bit incorrect—it’s spoken by Walter Brennan in To Have and Have Not (one of my favorite movies). Brennan actually says, “Was you ever bit by a dead bee?” Of course, only an asshole like me would be so precise. To Have and Have Not was the legendary first teaming of Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart. Brennan plays Eddie and this is how the whole “dead bee” conversation goes: Brennan: “Say, was you ever bit by a dead bee?” Bacall: “Were you?” Brennan: “You know you got to be careful of dead bees because if you step on them they can sting you just as much as live ones can, especially if they was really mad when they got killed. I bet I’ve been bit a hundred times that way.” Bacall: “Well, why don’t you bite them back?” Brennan: “I would, but I haven’t got a stinger!” Bogart and Bacall got married about two years after they made this.


(Jimmy is in line at the bank)
Crow: Uh oh, he’s going to give his newspaper to Mr. Potter!

This is a reference to the scene in It’s a Wonderful Life, where Uncle Billy (the poor dope) accidentally puts the $8,000 from the Bailey Building & Loan inside of Mr. Potter’s newspaper. This subsequently causes George to go crazy and contemplate suicide, but Clarence (his guardian angel) stops him and shows him what his town would be like if he Was Never Born At All. A lot of people got angry over the fact that Mr. Potter kept the 8,000 dollars! He kept it! Well, I don’t see why they should be surprised. Mr. Potter would be the last person to give money back, and especially not to the Baileys. And anyway, if he gave the money back, we wouldn’t have the great final scene of the film. There’s a great skit from “Saturday Night Live” where everyone from It’s a Wonderful Life realizes that Potter kept the money, and they go to his house to beat the living shit out of him.


(Jimmy walks into a nightclub and is greeted by the maitre de)
Crow: Ah, Monsieur Rick!

This is a reference to Casablanca, starring Humphrey Bogart as Rick. He’s the owner of Rick’s Café Americain, a little nightclub that everyone goes to (“Everyone comes to Rick’s.”) For a lot more on Casablanca, go to the Overdrawn at the Memory Bank section.


Doughy Deli Guy: You can have whatever you want…
All (singing): At Alice’s Restaurant!

Alice’s Restaurant was a 1969 musical in the same vein as Hair—kind of a social commentary, although I enjoyed the latter much more. It’s based on Woody Guthrie’s record, and I caught it the other day on AMC. Nothing much can or should be said about this movie. It’s not that great, in my opinion.