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Comedy Movies/Movie with an Auction Scene

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Expert: - 5/2/2004


Question
I'm a teacher and want to teach my kids about live auctions.  Can you think of a scene from a movie in which there is a live auction?  I remember something about people not realizing they were bidding...I want to illustrate how an auction works in a very general sense.  The hitch is, it must be a movie that is available to rent on DVD from one of those big chains like Blockbuster, etc.   I will be very impressed if you can help me - and grateful, too.

Answer
Dear Mel:  A lot of films have scenes with auctions in them.  Some that I've seen include "North By Northwest" (1959, art auction); "The Magic Christian" (1967, art auction parody); "Octopussy" (1983, auction of a Fabrege Egg); and "Mouse Hunt" (1997, auction of a house & its contents). All of these should be available in VHS and/or DVD. In addition, the Internet Movie Data Base lists numerous films under the keyword "auction," including such possibles as "The Brady Bunch Movie" (1995), "Indochine" (1992), "Mickey Blue Eyes" (1999), "Lara Croft, Tomb Raider" (2001), and "House of Sand and Fog" (2003)all currently available on VHS/DVD. I assume that means that these films have auctions in them at some point.  There also are some earlier films with auction listed in their plot descriptions, such as "Mysty" (1961, a horse auction), as well as numerous foreign films.  However these might not be as easily available.

I hope this gives you a place to start.

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Barbara L. Baker

Expertise

I am a professor of communication at a midwest university, who has expertise on subjects related to film. I can answer general questions on U.S. film comedy (especially satires of the 1960s and 1970s) and comic theory. I also could answer questions related to specific comic genres, such as comedian comedies, screwball comedies, "stupid" comedies, and so forth. The more specific you can make your question, the better (e.g. main plot details, main characters, possible character names, possible actors, how you viewed the show, etc.). I also need to have a release date (or range of dates, or at least the year you viewed the film). Please do not just provide a set of links to someplace else (e.g. imdb discussion threads). I am less able to answer questions about comedies from other countries, made-for-TV movies, and recent comic films and actors (although I would do my best to find out). I cannot answer questions about specific TV shows or series, "Our Gang" episodes, anime/magna or about film collectables. I generally cannot provide movie recommendations, since what I find funny others may not. Nor will I answer obvious homework (although I will point you to resources to help answer the question, if asked). I also can't help you find movie stars, or where to buy movie memorabilia, or tell you how to break into the business.

Experience

Course work in comedy films along with teaching about comedy films for several years; I've also conducted research into comedy films.

Education/Credentials
Ph.D. in Communication, emphasis in film and rhetoric

Awards and Honors
A dissertation award from a national organization plus various paper awards

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My students

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