The Aliases


There is a running joke throughout the film of The Killer's use of aliases. When he checks in at airports, the ticketing officials all greet him. All of the names he uses are characters from US sitcoms like Felix Unger, Lou Grant, Sam Malone and Archibald Bunker. It is remarkable that a country that is so literate about popular culture , no one comments on this. " Your name is Felix Unger? Just like the guy in The Odd Couple! Wow!". No one says it.

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I am from the UK so they did not hit me as much but I knew something was going on there, Lou Grant rang a bell, and I definitely got that when I saw Sam Malone... Also Richie Cunningham in Happy Days was another,.that made me chuckle.

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it took me awhile to catch on tp this.

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The names (first and last) are never said all at once. It is Mr. Bunker. So, as you hear it, it doesn’t register but they show on the screen Bunker, Archibald. The same with - thank you, Mr. Madison. And then you see Oscar Madison. Thank you Mr. Cunningham. Right down the line. At first, you are just thinking that as an assassin, this guy has a million storage units, lots of passports, more than enough money hidden everywhere - that you aren’t really thinking of the names but that he had so many aliases - it takes a minute before you realize the names because he does go to, I think, 6 cities. And I actually didn’t get Reuben Kincaid because I’ve never seen The Partridge Family.

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I guarantee this generation of uneducated troglodytes would not know any of these iconic characters. Only people over the age of 60 would get it.

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Don't forget George Jefferson

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Not every country he went to was American. I'm not sure people in France would know who Archie Bunker is.

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As a non American, I have no idea who any of those were. Except George Jefferson

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I'm not American, but we are exposed to such American culture like sitcoms that some names stick like Lou Grant, Sam Malone and Richie Cunningham.

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