Gillespie's Desk


Hi All,

It is obvious to anyone who reads the IMDb board on 'Salem's Lot' that I am a great fan of the movie, and I have seen it on numerous occasions since it was broadcast on TV.

Having said that it is still possible (even after all this time) to notice things for the first time.

On lately viewing the movie - yet again, two evenings ago - I noticed an item on Parkins Gillespie's desk at 1hr 16m into the movie, when he makes a call to the FBI to check up on the characters of Mears, Straker and Barlow (the three new arrivals in the town.)

Gillespie has a magic 8-ball on his desk that I never noticed before!

I just bet he didn’t think to ask the magic 8-ball the question: ‘Will there be a vampire infestation in the town?’

Even if - by some astronomical twist of fate - he HAD thought to ask the magic 8-ball about the chances of vampires invading the quiet little town of Salem's Lot, what do you think the 8-ball would have told him?

Please post with any and all thought you might have...

Cheers for now.

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I'm surprised a man like Gillespie translated Straker's "Court" Barlow into "Kurt" Barlow; Mason clearly says "Court".

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I think that's a Mason error.

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All things considered you have to take into account that James Mason was an English actor and as such speaking with an English accent.

Now about that magic 8-ball question...

What does anyone think the magic 8-ball might have said to Gillespie's question?

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All things considered you have to take into account that James Mason was an English actor and as such speaking with an English accent.

Now about that magic 8-ball question...

What does anyone think the magic 8-ball might have said to Gillespie's question?
At first, when you mentioned this, I thought it might have been part of a desk-set for a pen. But there is already a desk-set with a pen in place.

Maybe Gillespie was a pool (billiards) player and the eight-ball was a memento for him.

Just a guess.

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by elmadman_99 » Mon Jan 4 2016:

I just bet he didn’t think to ask the magic 8-ball the question: ‘Will there be a vampire infestation in the town?’

Even if - by some astronomical twist of fate - he HAD thought to ask the magic 8-ball about the chances of vampires invading the quiet little town of Salem's Lot, what do you think the 8-ball would have told him?

Hhhmmmm....

That's an interesting question (even if I do say so myself.)

My money is on the 8-ball giving Parkins one of two possible answers:

'Outlook is not good.'

Or alternatively:

'It is almost positively so.'

Having given the matter some thought, neither of those responses would have been confidence inspiring!

Think of some more and post with your thoughts.

Cheers for now.

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My money is on the 8-ball giving Parkins one of two possible answers:

'Outlook is not good.'

Or alternatively:

'It is almost positively so.'

Having given the matter some thought, neither of those responses would have been confidence inspiring!



What if the Magic 8-ball had said:

'Get out. Get out now.'

That sounds more likely (or at least more helpful, anyway!)

Ironically it was Cully and Bonnie who (by co-incidence) got out before things got really bad in the town.

Cheers for now.

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Please forgive my observation, my fine friend, but I think that you might be making too much of the eight-ball's presence. Is there any evidence of magical qualities to the piece (other than it being in a King-inspired story)?

Are you familiar with the principle known as 'Occam's razor'? You likely are, but for those who might not be, it states that in general the simplest answer is usually the correct one.

That is that it is simply an eight-ball, and nothing more.

I'll grant, of course that the thread is somewhat tongue-in-cheek.

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Please forgive my observation, my fine friend, but I think that you might be making too much of the eight-ball's presence. Is there any evidence of magical qualities to the piece (other than it being in a King-inspired story)?

Are you familiar with the principle known as 'Occam's razor'? You likely are, but for those who might not be, it states that in general the simplest answer is usually the correct one.

That is that it is simply an eight-ball, and nothing more.

I'll grant, of course that the thread is somewhat tongue-in-cheek.



Well said.

The only other time a magic 8 ball turns up in a Stephen King story (as far as I can remember) is in the 1985 collection of short-stories in the book 'Skeleton Crew.'

Specifically the story 'Word-Processor of the Gods' where the main character has a bullying and despotic older brother who purposely smashes up the antagonists magic 8 ball which is his favourite childhood toy.

The bullying brother then goes on to compound his felonies by later marrying a woman who should have been with the main character, until he is presented with an opportunity to change things as follows:

From Wikipedia the on-line encyclopaedia:

Word-Processor of the Gods

A middle-aged writer is disenchanted with his tyrannical wife, his disrespectful teenage son, and his life in general. His teenage nephew suddenly dies in a car accident caused by the writer's abusive brother, who was driving drunk, who dies as well along with the nephew's gentle, kind mother. Amongst the boy's effects, the writer finds a word processor, seemingly cobbled together from a dozen different sources, with the startup message stating "Happy birthday, Uncle Richard", revealing that it was intended as a birthday gift for the main character. At home, the writer discovers that the processor has the mysterious ability to affect reality, but the electronics in the patchwork machine are brittle and will not function for long.

While in the middle of testing the processor, Richard's son Seth returns home alongside his obnoxious band members. Overhearing his son badmouthing him, Richard deletes him, which retroactively erases his existence. His bandmates are gone, his room is empty and every trace of him ever living there is gone. When his wife returns home, he finds she is now even fatter than when she left, the result of never having any children. After she vocally abuses him, he deletes her as well.

With the processor now rapidly deteriorating, Richard impulsively rewrites reality, making the nephew his own son, and his mother his wife, moments before the processor irreparably breaks. He turns around, finding the nephew alive once again, and now calling him Dad.

What you have said about 'Occam's razor' is perfectly correct, the Magic 8 ball is probably exactly just that: A standard Magic 8 ball!


I'll grant, of course that the thread is somewhat tongue-in-cheek.


OK, once again I appreciate what you have said. So much time has gone by since the 1979 production, that every detail of the script, production design and actors involved has probably been discussed in details.

As a result, I am really just trying to add a little levity to the board and see if I can get a debate started.

Thanks for everything,

By all means do post with any thoughts...

Cheers.

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"Every one of them an old man who kept asking: 'What's he done?'"

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"Tell Cully not to leave his truck double parked."

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