Friday, March 21, 2025

"Card Carrying Red Shoes"

Last week, I watched "Card Carrying Red Shoes" and found what I think is a reference to Alfred Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), specifically in this conversation between Ivan and the Druvanian ambassador:
Ivan:  Now that we know the microfilm is safe, when do we dispose of boy?
Ambassador:  It will be at the very end of Natasha's solo.  You will take a gigantic leap into the air.  Just as your feet touch the ground, there will be a cymbal crash, and when that cymbal crashes, we will shoot him.
Ivan:  How did you ever think of such an intricate plan?
Ambassador:  I saw it in a movie.
The movie the ambassador refers to seems to be The Man Who Knew Too Much; a key element of the movie's plot is an assassination attempt on a prime minister during a performance at the Royal Albert Hall where the gunshot is meant to be disguised by a cymbal crash.