Famous Boy Scouts

[Zahnada]

... of the fictional/ media variety.

 

In the Issues and Politics section, there was a debate on the portrayal of scouts in movies. The discussion then turned to the opening of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade with Indy as a scout (riding horses and jumping from trains while evading the bad guys).

 

So what are the other great representations or references of scouts in movies, books, television, etc?

 

Hendley (the Scrounger) from The Great Escape was a boy scout.

James Kirk apparently wasn't a Boy Scout.

The vice president in "Dave" is referenced as "the Boy Scout"

 

Are there any more you can think of? If nothing else, we might get a list of good movies to watch over the Holidays. (by the way, I recommend Indiana Jones/ Great Escape/ and Star Trek II for anyone who hasn't seen them).

[Fuzzy Bear]

Follow Me Boys- best Scout movie ever.

 

Have you ever seen the Last Boy Scout? I bet it is a blow 'em up and has little to do with Scouting as we know it. FB

[Eamonn]

While I am not sure If it was ever pointed out.I feel sure that Macgyver must have been a Scout.

Not to get off the topic but.... I just managed to get a tape of the original "Italian Job" I tried sometime back to get it from Amazon. They wanted $80.00 for a used tape. I picked up a new copy for $11.00. Needless to say I loved it. Her Who Must Be Obeyed wasn't that keen.

Eamonn

[dsteele]

The movies the Last Boy Scout is a good one. It does have a tertiary relationship to the BSA. Bruce Willis's character was a scout as a youth and he does a good job portraying our values -- in spite of blowing everyone up and swearing a lot.

 

Author Clive Cussler's main character, Dirk Pitt is an Eagle Scout as is Clive.

 

Stephen King uses a Boy Scout as a character in his book, IT.

 

There are other Boy Scout characters in the world of fiction, but I can't think of them at the moment.

 

DS

[Campfire Fairy]

In Spy Game with Robert Redford and Brad Pitt, Pitt's character was a boy scout.

 

During the Vietnam war, Redford, a covert operative for the CIA, recruited Pitt's character to be the sniper for some mission to kill some South Korean [i think] head honcho. Redford interview's Pitt's character, and one of his questions is, "Where did you learn to shoot?" Pitt answers "The boy scouts, sir," and at first, Redford thinks he's kidding [he's not, though:)] Pitt, along with a Vietnamese soldier fighting with the Americans, agree to take on the mission, but are seen by an enemy helicopter. Blah blah blah, action, gunfire, shooting from and at the helicopter, and in the midst of it all, Pitt's Vietnamese buddy is shot in the leg, and somehow the chopper is shot down, and they take cover in some bush or something until Redford comes along, looking for the two men in his own chopper. He circles around a couple times, is ready to leave, then spots them below, several hundred feet away, with a pink sunset behind them slightly obscured by a pillar of black smoke from the downed helicopter, with Pitt supporting his wounded fellow soldier. Redford's closing remark in the scene is, "Hell of an ad for the Boy Scouts."

 

I probably didn't do the scene justice in my description, but I thought it was a good movie, so if you're bored one day, I suggest watching it Pitt's character is portrayed as admirable and moral, I think. He's later recruited by Redford to be his undercover CIA partner and Pitt's conscience and personal values/ethics cause rifts between the two.

 

Alas, a witty, inspiring movie critic I am not...