MovieChat Forums > The Big Steal (1949) Discussion > Poor chicken :(

Poor chicken :(

posted 13 years ago by Viper8276
12 replies | jump to latest

During the car chase scene with all the hairpin turns, right after the guy runs off the road kind of, you can clearly see a chicken get PLOWED over by the first car!

The way it was cut, they kept the camera right on the aftermath of all the feathers and rolling carcass for a good bit after the car went by almost as if it was intentional for everyone to see clearly.

It made me laugh quite a bit and I actually had to watch it again frame by frame to make sure my eyes didn't deceive me! It was definitely a REAL chicken! Maybe it was put in for comedic effect? No way anyone could miss it...

So much for the "No Animals were Harmed" bit by the American Humane Association! Haha I guess they didn't care about one little chicken back then, if they even do nowadays.

I thought it was quite hilarious! :D

[–] krispy_123 13 years ago

Haha I noticed this, too, and went back pausing and viewing frame by frame the same as you. You can hear the chicken ... er, cry out as it's hit. It gets dragged a few meteres as well.

...the guy in the $600 banana suit - COME ON!

[–] zxcv-9 12 years ago

It wasn't that bad a hit.

The chicken still looked perfectly edible to me.

[–] Jealous_Skunk 12 years ago

People don't really care, about animal rights, back then! It practically started, somewhere, in the early 1970s, maybe late 1960s, during the hippie craze! Anyway, are you sure that it wasn't a rubber chicken and feathers? Fake carcasses and added Foley ( Sound! ) of screeching chickens? A tad cruel, even for that decade....

[–] veganvirago-2 11 years ago

Wow, what disgusting people you are. Have a notice sent to me when you all die, so I can laugh at your graves. I already decided not to watch this movie, after the parrot cruelty in the beginning, and looked on imdb to see if anyone else mentioned that. As soon as I saw this about the chicken, I was really glad I deleted this from my DVR. I just wish I could delete people who think animal cruelty is funny from the human race, as easily. And no, I don’t eat animals.

[–] wrlord2001 11 years ago

Oh get over yourself, ya giant wussy.

[–] PoppyTransfusion 10 years ago

Why should s/he get over themselves?

A bird sings and the mountain's silence deepens.

[–] captmark97 10 years ago

Compare and contrast with the scene in a poor Mexican village in Robert Altman's film The Long Goodbye where two curs snarl and snap at each other when they interrupt their copulation. I think in either case the images of animal violence are meant to contrast with the rich, well-dressed Americanos who are so alien to the environment south of the border. Of course there are dogs and chickens in el norte too. But there is a sense of being in a different world that arises from not speaking the local tongue. And in a different world anything can and does and will and must happen.
Of course after becoming acclimatized to the foreign culture for a while it loses its sense of otherness. But the two images tend to ratchet up the suspense, I think.

[–] cervantes-4 9 years ago

Actually this accidental death was mentioned in several rural papers at the time. One even headlined 'Hollywood Lays an Egg Layer'.

'Well, you gonna believe, me or your own eyes?'
- a Marx Brother

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] jadedbaby 9 years ago

Chickens are incredibly smart, as smart as cats and dogs and some primates. Chickens are possibly the most abused animals on the planet. The vast majority of chickens killed for food spend their lives in total confinement—from the moment they hatch until the day they are killed. By the way, total confinement means absolute confinement. They are crammed together, unable to move a muscle other than to eat. This is incredibly cruel. It's worth the price of more expensive eggs to abate this cruelty. By the way free range chickens and eggs from free range chickens are healthier for you.

[–] zxcv-9 9 years ago

That chicken was free range until it got flattened by the car.

[–] jadedbaby 9 years ago

heh :)