@RCH2288 said:

this always bothered me. Michael steals the mask and rope in the morning because we see him wearing it all day as he's stalking Laurie. It isn't until after school the cops notice the alarm has been blaring

The alarm is ringing and Brackett tells the girls that a mask, knives and rope are missing. I don't think it's necessary to assume that the alarm must have been ringing all day because we know that Michael had a mask earlier in the morning.

He may have stole the mask without raising the alarm. The went back late in the afternoon (just after closing) to nab the knives etc and set the alarm off then. Perhaps even deliberately.

Or the elderly store owner raised the alarm themself when they realised that they had been broken into and robbed at some point during the day.

@Tector_lives said:

@RCH2288 said:

this always bothered me. Michael steals the mask and rope in the morning because we see him wearing it all day as he's stalking Laurie. It isn't until after school the cops notice the alarm has been blaring

The alarm is ringing and Brackett tells the girls that a mask, knives and rope are missing. I don't think it's necessary to assume that the alarm must have been ringing all day because we know that Michael had a mask earlier in the morning.

He may have stole the mask without raising the alarm. The went back late in the afternoon (just after closing) to nab the knives etc and set the alarm off then. Perhaps even deliberately.

Or the elderly store owner raised the alarm themself when they realised that they had been broken into and robbed at some point during the day.

then why show that scene at all? It is meant to show the viewer a robbery had taken place and the items stolen were used later by Myers. Its just bad editing. The movie was made on a shoe string budget. I still love the movie, its just that ive seen it a hundred times and notice all the little things like that. Like Palm trees in the background of some shots yet they are supposed to be in Illinois (I know it was filmed in CA) or like John Carpenters cigarette smoke wafting in the middle of a take.

@RCH2288 said:

then why show that scene at all? It is meant to show the viewer a robbery had taken place and the items stolen were used later by Myers. Its just bad editing. The movie was made on a shoe string budget. I still love the movie, its just that ive seen it a hundred times and notice all the little things like that. Like Palm trees in the background of some shots yet they are supposed to be in Illinois (I know it was filmed in CA) or like John Carpenters cigarette smoke wafting in the middle of a take.

It's only meant to show that a robbery took place and that our fiend has likely acquired a rope and knives. It tantalises the audience with the authority figure and likely potential hero preoccupied with the villain's possible handiwork, and the likely victims, and the villain all in the once scene.

That's the purpose of the scene. To goose the audience and introduce Loomis to Brackett. Not to tell you when and how so that you can put it together forty years later and have it still stand up like the forensic record of a real event that happened. Plus the alarm provides the "He shouts too!" gag.

It's not an editing problem. At worst it's underwritten as an exposition scene, because it isn't one. And does not try to define the actual direct cause of the alarm, allowing the audience who has watched it many times to reasonably infer that Michael must have broken in a few moments ago, but which doesn't explain having the mask earlier. Or that the alarm has, incredibly, been ringing all day. Those aren't the only two conceivable scenarios although they are the most likely to be inferred. But like I said. The scene isn't intended to ask the audience to conceive or understand the how and when of the break in. That's just the product of watching it hundreds of times.

I don't know what the smoke and the palm trees have got to do with it. They are noticeable too after dozens of viewings.

Would be a shame if tMDB started off mired in the same three questions and issues that got "noticed" ad nauseam on IMDb.

The multiple viewer of any classic film will inevitably notice things that, if they were important to understanding or getting the movie at the time would have been written out a little more. But the lack of exposition gives people opportunity to question the integrity of the entire story if the narrative in the movie doesn't account for any seeming discrepancy between that narratie and what they reckon likely happened.

I'll just go with the idea that the person behind the hardware store robbery was not Michael. I think one purpose of the scene is to show us the sheriff and that it's Annie's dad.

My problem with this scene is that they were smoking pot with the windows up and the sheriff didn't even bat an eye at smelling the pot...and he would have smelled it.

@NorthernLad said:

I'll just go with the idea that the person behind the hardware store robbery was not Michael. I think one purpose of the scene is to show us the sheriff and that it's Annie's dad.

My problem with this scene is that they were smoking pot with the windows up and the sheriff didn't even bat an eye at smelling the pot...and he would have smelled it.

I think another purpose of the scene is to show Loomis meeting Brackett as well as for Myers to see that Loomis is in Haddonfield searching for him. Plus it gives the audience a tense moment when Myers drives right by Loomis and he doesn't turn around to spot him.

As far as the pot goes, I agree that there's no way in hell that he doesn't smell the pot. I always assumed that he didn't want to make a big deal about it because I'm sure there were other officers present and he didn't want to have to bust his daughter and that he planned on giving her a not so nice talk about it the next time they met, which unfortunately didn't happpen.

@The Shape25

I agree about the pot situation. Like many parents, he probably felt it was best to ignore that issue right then.

@NorthernLad said:

@The Shape25

I agree about the pot situation. Like many parents, he probably felt it was best to ignore that issue right then.

I would say in most cases if that were to happen in real life Annie probably would have just drove by and waved without stopping. Carpenter probably would have been better off not having them smoke pot if he knew he wanted them to stop so he could set up the news about the robbery.

So the sheriff's daughter and pride and joy gets a pass on the weed smell from the car and he doesn't arrest her there and then in front of his colleagues and the townsfolk gathered round watching him deal with this store break in.

I can't believe this is causing so much anxiety and doubt. Again.

Here's my gripe about the whole pot thing. Why did Annie even stop and role down the window in the first place? They simply would have gotten away with a simple drive by beep the horn and wave to dad without arousing any suspicions because he was clearly busy at the crime scene. Also he clearly asked "Aren't you going to be late?" in reference to their babysitting commitments. He probably would have thought nothing about it if they simply kept driving by.

@AgentSparky - I agree. I know if that had been me smoking pot in that car and I saw my dad working in town...I probably would have just waved and kept right on going.

@NorthernLad said:

@AgentSparky - I agree. I know if that had been me smoking pot in that car and I saw my dad working in town...I probably would have just waved and kept right on going.

Who knows, maybe Sheriff Brackett was supplying Annie with all the pot that he confiscated from other people. Lol.

@AgentSparky said:

Here's my gripe about the whole pot thing. Why did Annie even stop and role down the window in the first place? They simply would have gotten away with a simple drive by beep the horn and wave to dad without arousing any suspicions because he was clearly busy at the crime scene. Also he clearly asked "Aren't you going to be late?" in reference to their babysitting commitments. He probably would have thought nothing about it if they simply kept driving by.

Because it's her dad and she knows how he operates. Annie's pretty confident. Shouting at the Shape's car and chasing the Shape behind the bushes.

Brackett is a pipe-smoker. He might not have the best sense of smell. She might have him wrapped round her finger.

If you ask yourself the question, what would I do if my dad was the Sheriff? , then we'd almost unanimously say that we wouldn't drive up to him at the kerb with weed smoke still and the car and let him stick his head in the window. But I don't think any of us have a Sheriff for a dad or have ever smoked weed in the car while on the way to a babysitting gig either.

Pretty much all movies can be destroyed by imposing what you reckon you would do if you were in the movie and not the character involved.

Who knows, maybe Sheriff Brackett was supplying Annie with all the pot that he confiscated from other people.

Ha! This is true. You never know what seedy secrets Haddonfield was keeping under wraps.

They did have a cult who helped Michael