Theme: Surprise Endings - The ending of each made-up film is an anagram of the last word of a well-known movie.
24A. Film about a soft-hearted creature?: TENDER IS THE THING. Thing/Night anagram. "Tender is the Night" is a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
32A. Film about a computer supervisor?: LORD OF THE FILES. Files/Flies anagram. I've never heard of the novel "Lord of the Flies". It's written by British novelist William Golding, Nobel Literature winner 1983.
51A. Film about Los Angeles losing its NFL team?: A FAREWELL TO RAMS. Rams/Arms anagram. "A Farewell to Arms" is a novel by Hemingway. The Rams moved from LA to St. Louis in 1995. I faintly remember this trivia.
69A. Film about Broadway beginners?: WEST SIDE TYROS. Tyros/Story anagram. The musical "West Side Story". Tyro means "beginner".
87A. Film about Santa enjoying his holiday cigar?: A CHRISTMAS CLARO. Claro/Carol anagram. "A Christmas Carol" is a novel by Dickens. Claro is a mild cigar.
105. Film about a home run derby?: DAY OF THE CLOUTS. Clouts/Locust anagram. "The Day of the Locust" is a novel by Nathanael West. Another unknown to me. Shouldn't there be a "The" in the theme answer then? Clout is a powerful hit/home run in baseball.
116. Film about gardening options?: PLACES IN THE EARTH. Earth/Heart anagram. Not familiar the movie "Places in the Heart" either. Looks like a strong cast.
Very "Surprising Endings" indeed.
Did you grok the theme immediately? I did not until I got A CHRISTMAS CLAROL. Bollixed quite a few fill, but was able to solve the puzzle with mild cheating.
Always a great feeling to finish a Robert H. Wolfe puzzle. I tend to have difficulty getting into his wavelength.
Across:
1. Make __: match the scorecard, in golf: A PAR. And TEE (9D. Elevator on the links?). Links = golf course.
5. Little hooters: OWLETS
11. Two pages: LEAF. Oh my, I thought LEAF is only one page.
15. Second Greek letter: BETA. Alpha, beta and gamma.
19. Dieter's word: LITE. And CALORIE (43A. Heat measure). I connect CALORIE with food consumption rather than the heat it food produces.
21. Being, in old Rome: ESSE
22. Indiana senator Bayh: EVAN. Gimme. Senator Bayh (pronounced like by) is a Democrat.
23. Gangsters' guns: GATS. Or RODS. "Gangsters' girls" is MOLLS.
27. Studio sign: ON AIR
29. Chem., for one: SCI. Hated chemistry while in school. Had a very menacing teacher.
30. Chicago-to-Louisville dir.: SSE
31. Name on an armored truck: BRINKS. Wow, I've never paid attention to the name on those armoured truck.
36. Small surgical knife: LANCET. New to me. Rooted in Lance. SCALPEL is "Small surgical knife" too.
37. Landlocked Afr. land: ETH (Ethiopia). Two other African landlocked countries are Lesotho and Swaziland.
49. Certain Prot.: EPIS (Episcopal). Saw this abbreviation somewhere before.
58. Continue after a setback, as one's life: GET ON WITH
61. Jack-in-the-pulpit family: ARUM. Nailed it today.
62. Clean a spill: MOP UP
63. Poker action: RAISE
64. Scary film staple: MONSTER
67. Flat-topped rise: MESA. Also a city in Arizona.
68. Picture-taking word ending: CAM. As in webcam/skycam.
74. Some NFL linemen: RTS (Right Tackles)
75. Publisher Chandler: OTIS. No idea. Wikipedia says this guy was the publisher of LA Times between 1960 and 1980.
77. Chews out: BERATES
78. __ Major: Great Dog constellation: CANIS. Latin for "dog".
80. 1/60 of a dram: MINIM. New word to me. Related to minimum I suppose.
82. Kennel home: CAGE
83. Pretended to have written earlier, as a letter: BACKDATES
91. Fishing spot: PIER
92. Glaswegian gal: LASS. Alliteration.
93. Drip from a bad pipe: LEAK OUT. Verb phrase.
96. Tallahassee sch.: FSU (Florida State University). The Seminoles.
97. Listless: MOPEY
100. Salt Lake City Olympics year: MMII (2002)
102. Command to Spot: SIT. Could be SIC.
104. Artist friend of Max Ernst: MAN RAY. Not a familiar name to me. He was a surrealist photographer. Full name in clue = Full name in answer.
112. Maintain: ALLEGE
113. Hairy Addams cousin: ITT
114. Harry Potter's pal: RON. Easy guess. Have never read any Harry Potter series. You've probably guessed from Jazzbumpa's IRON/I RON wordplay that his real name is Ron.
115. Wreck completely: TOTAL
121. Harley or Honda: BIKE
122. Filmmaker Riefenstahl: LENI. Most famous for her "Triumph of the Will" for Hitler. I remember her name by associating her with Lenin.
123. Forest feature: TREE
125. Away from the wind: ALEE
126. LAX listings: ETDS. ETD = Estimated Time of Departure.
127. Things in locks: OARS. Wanted KEYS. Good clue.
128. Ad with a credit card bill, e.g.: INSERT
129. Ding, but not dong: DENT. Good clue too.
Down:
1. Star in Perseus: ALGOL (AL-gol). Unknown to me. Also called the Demon Star. Al is Arabic for "the". Gol is from Ghoul, evil demon. Related to Gorgon Medusa, who was killed by Perseus (PUR-see-uhs).
2. Grand, perhaps: PIANO. Ah, we just had "Upright, for one" the other day.
3. Rose oil: ATTAR
6. Take away forcibly: WREST
7. Something to do with a business associate?: LUNCH. Oh, I misinterpreted the clue, thinking of something "of a business associate".
8. Comic Izzard: EDDIE. No idea. He is a British comic, born in ADEN (38A: Port in Yemen).
10. Pol. letters until 1991: SSR (Soviet Socialist Republic)
11. Abate: LESSEN
12. Politico Kefauver: ESTES. Adlai Stevenson's 1956 running mate.
13. Light gray: ASH
14. Most frail: FEEBLEST
15. Losing: BEHIND. Ha ha, Tigers lost again! And Twins won. Poor Jazzbumpa.
16. Demonstrate: EVINCE. Know this word. Have never used it though.
17. Failed suddenly, in slang: TANKED
18. Emotional strife: ANGST. Too much ANGST in rap.
26. Window over a door: TRANSOM. Just learned the phrase "over the transom" the other day.
28. Campus recruiters, briefly: ROTC
33. Govt. loan insurer: FHA (Federal Housing Administration). I drew a blank.
34. Pleasant forecast: FAIR
35. Nice notion?: IDEE. Nice is the city in SE France.
41. Like music composed for a libretto: OPERATIC
42. Another name for biotin: VITAMIN H. Big stumper. Did not know the meaning of biotin. Have never heard of Vitamin H either. It's a water-soluble B-complex vitamin.
44. Chou En-__: LAI. China's first premier. LAI is literally "come" in Chinese.
45. Frequently, in verse: OFT
46. Cheering cry: RAH. Not OLE.
47. High-pitched: FLUTY. I checked, it's a real word.
48. Dramatist Rice: ELMER. No idea. Wikipedia says he received Pulitzer for Drama for his 1929 play "Street Scene".
50. "__ lied": SO I. Wrote down YOU, influenced by Congressman Joe Wilson.
52. Diminishes: WANES. Mine was FADES.
53. Formerly, formerly: ERST.
55. Pre-meal drink: APERITIF. Not for me.
56. Attractions not to be missed: MUST-SEES
57. Baden-Baden et al.: SPAS. Baden-Baden is a German spa town. Baden is German for "bathe". Totally unknown to me. Was it a gimme for you, Kazie?
59. Sydney's state: Abbr.: NSW (New South Wales). Definitely a gimme for Kazie.
60. Hall of Fame NFL coach Ewbank: WEEB. Nope. Strange name.
64. Tiny parasites: MITES. GNATS have 5 letters too.
66. Music with many subgenres: ROCK. Emo is a kind of ROCK.
68. Long time out: COMA. And NAP (79D. Short time out). Nice echo.
70. Religious factions: SECTS. Like Shia, Sunni.
71. Ore cars: TRAMS
72. Long tale: SAGA. Epic too.
73. Low: SAD
76. Round Table title: SIR. Don't let it be forgot/That once there was a spot/For one brief shining moment that was known/As Camelot.
81. Used-car datum: MILEAGE
83. Call to Bo-Peep: BAA. Nursery rhyme. "Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep..."
84. First rescue boat: ARK. Noah's ARK is the first ever rescue boat.
86. Actress Joanne: DRU. She's in "All the King's Men".
88. Accept, as a marriage proposal: SAY YES TO
89. Ad writer's award: CLIO. Muse of history.
90. Explorer Ericson: LEIF. The first European to land in North America. Same pronunciation as LIEF (willingly).
94. Trojans' sch.: USC (University of Southern California)
95. Incline: TILT
97. Croquet striker: MALLET. Mostly wooden-headed.
98. Off the boat: ON LAND
99. Summary: PRECIS (prey-SEE). Rooted in precise. APERCU is "Summary" too.
100. Dull finishes: MATTES
101. Tale involving Greek gods, e.g.: MYTH
103. "That's a shame": TOO BAD
105. Eatery traditionally modeled after a rail car: DINER
109. Of service: UTILE
110. Like a movie seat with a coat on it: TAKEN
111. Winter fall: SLEET
117. S&L offering: IRA (Individual Retirement Account)
119. Suffix with Caesar: EAN. Caesarean. C-Section.
120. He followed FDR: HST. "The buck stops here".
Answer grid.
C.C.
24A. Film about a soft-hearted creature?: TENDER IS THE THING. Thing/Night anagram. "Tender is the Night" is a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
32A. Film about a computer supervisor?: LORD OF THE FILES. Files/Flies anagram. I've never heard of the novel "Lord of the Flies". It's written by British novelist William Golding, Nobel Literature winner 1983.
51A. Film about Los Angeles losing its NFL team?: A FAREWELL TO RAMS. Rams/Arms anagram. "A Farewell to Arms" is a novel by Hemingway. The Rams moved from LA to St. Louis in 1995. I faintly remember this trivia.
69A. Film about Broadway beginners?: WEST SIDE TYROS. Tyros/Story anagram. The musical "West Side Story". Tyro means "beginner".
87A. Film about Santa enjoying his holiday cigar?: A CHRISTMAS CLARO. Claro/Carol anagram. "A Christmas Carol" is a novel by Dickens. Claro is a mild cigar.
105. Film about a home run derby?: DAY OF THE CLOUTS. Clouts/Locust anagram. "The Day of the Locust" is a novel by Nathanael West. Another unknown to me. Shouldn't there be a "The" in the theme answer then? Clout is a powerful hit/home run in baseball.
116. Film about gardening options?: PLACES IN THE EARTH. Earth/Heart anagram. Not familiar the movie "Places in the Heart" either. Looks like a strong cast.
Very "Surprising Endings" indeed.
Did you grok the theme immediately? I did not until I got A CHRISTMAS CLAROL. Bollixed quite a few fill, but was able to solve the puzzle with mild cheating.
Always a great feeling to finish a Robert H. Wolfe puzzle. I tend to have difficulty getting into his wavelength.
Across:
1. Make __: match the scorecard, in golf: A PAR. And TEE (9D. Elevator on the links?). Links = golf course.
5. Little hooters: OWLETS
11. Two pages: LEAF. Oh my, I thought LEAF is only one page.
15. Second Greek letter: BETA. Alpha, beta and gamma.
19. Dieter's word: LITE. And CALORIE (43A. Heat measure). I connect CALORIE with food consumption rather than the heat it food produces.
21. Being, in old Rome: ESSE
22. Indiana senator Bayh: EVAN. Gimme. Senator Bayh (pronounced like by) is a Democrat.
23. Gangsters' guns: GATS. Or RODS. "Gangsters' girls" is MOLLS.
27. Studio sign: ON AIR
29. Chem., for one: SCI. Hated chemistry while in school. Had a very menacing teacher.
30. Chicago-to-Louisville dir.: SSE
31. Name on an armored truck: BRINKS. Wow, I've never paid attention to the name on those armoured truck.
36. Small surgical knife: LANCET. New to me. Rooted in Lance. SCALPEL is "Small surgical knife" too.
37. Landlocked Afr. land: ETH (Ethiopia). Two other African landlocked countries are Lesotho and Swaziland.
49. Certain Prot.: EPIS (Episcopal). Saw this abbreviation somewhere before.
58. Continue after a setback, as one's life: GET ON WITH
61. Jack-in-the-pulpit family: ARUM. Nailed it today.
62. Clean a spill: MOP UP
63. Poker action: RAISE
64. Scary film staple: MONSTER
67. Flat-topped rise: MESA. Also a city in Arizona.
68. Picture-taking word ending: CAM. As in webcam/skycam.
74. Some NFL linemen: RTS (Right Tackles)
75. Publisher Chandler: OTIS. No idea. Wikipedia says this guy was the publisher of LA Times between 1960 and 1980.
77. Chews out: BERATES
78. __ Major: Great Dog constellation: CANIS. Latin for "dog".
80. 1/60 of a dram: MINIM. New word to me. Related to minimum I suppose.
82. Kennel home: CAGE
83. Pretended to have written earlier, as a letter: BACKDATES
91. Fishing spot: PIER
92. Glaswegian gal: LASS. Alliteration.
93. Drip from a bad pipe: LEAK OUT. Verb phrase.
96. Tallahassee sch.: FSU (Florida State University). The Seminoles.
97. Listless: MOPEY
100. Salt Lake City Olympics year: MMII (2002)
102. Command to Spot: SIT. Could be SIC.
104. Artist friend of Max Ernst: MAN RAY. Not a familiar name to me. He was a surrealist photographer. Full name in clue = Full name in answer.
112. Maintain: ALLEGE
113. Hairy Addams cousin: ITT
114. Harry Potter's pal: RON. Easy guess. Have never read any Harry Potter series. You've probably guessed from Jazzbumpa's IRON/I RON wordplay that his real name is Ron.
115. Wreck completely: TOTAL
121. Harley or Honda: BIKE
122. Filmmaker Riefenstahl: LENI. Most famous for her "Triumph of the Will" for Hitler. I remember her name by associating her with Lenin.
123. Forest feature: TREE
125. Away from the wind: ALEE
126. LAX listings: ETDS. ETD = Estimated Time of Departure.
127. Things in locks: OARS. Wanted KEYS. Good clue.
128. Ad with a credit card bill, e.g.: INSERT
129. Ding, but not dong: DENT. Good clue too.
Down:
1. Star in Perseus: ALGOL (AL-gol). Unknown to me. Also called the Demon Star. Al is Arabic for "the". Gol is from Ghoul, evil demon. Related to Gorgon Medusa, who was killed by Perseus (PUR-see-uhs).
2. Grand, perhaps: PIANO. Ah, we just had "Upright, for one" the other day.
3. Rose oil: ATTAR
6. Take away forcibly: WREST
7. Something to do with a business associate?: LUNCH. Oh, I misinterpreted the clue, thinking of something "of a business associate".
8. Comic Izzard: EDDIE. No idea. He is a British comic, born in ADEN (38A: Port in Yemen).
10. Pol. letters until 1991: SSR (Soviet Socialist Republic)
11. Abate: LESSEN
12. Politico Kefauver: ESTES. Adlai Stevenson's 1956 running mate.
13. Light gray: ASH
14. Most frail: FEEBLEST
15. Losing: BEHIND. Ha ha, Tigers lost again! And Twins won. Poor Jazzbumpa.
16. Demonstrate: EVINCE. Know this word. Have never used it though.
17. Failed suddenly, in slang: TANKED
18. Emotional strife: ANGST. Too much ANGST in rap.
26. Window over a door: TRANSOM. Just learned the phrase "over the transom" the other day.
28. Campus recruiters, briefly: ROTC
33. Govt. loan insurer: FHA (Federal Housing Administration). I drew a blank.
34. Pleasant forecast: FAIR
35. Nice notion?: IDEE. Nice is the city in SE France.
41. Like music composed for a libretto: OPERATIC
42. Another name for biotin: VITAMIN H. Big stumper. Did not know the meaning of biotin. Have never heard of Vitamin H either. It's a water-soluble B-complex vitamin.
44. Chou En-__: LAI. China's first premier. LAI is literally "come" in Chinese.
45. Frequently, in verse: OFT
46. Cheering cry: RAH. Not OLE.
47. High-pitched: FLUTY. I checked, it's a real word.
48. Dramatist Rice: ELMER. No idea. Wikipedia says he received Pulitzer for Drama for his 1929 play "Street Scene".
50. "__ lied": SO I. Wrote down YOU, influenced by Congressman Joe Wilson.
52. Diminishes: WANES. Mine was FADES.
53. Formerly, formerly: ERST.
55. Pre-meal drink: APERITIF. Not for me.
56. Attractions not to be missed: MUST-SEES
57. Baden-Baden et al.: SPAS. Baden-Baden is a German spa town. Baden is German for "bathe". Totally unknown to me. Was it a gimme for you, Kazie?
59. Sydney's state: Abbr.: NSW (New South Wales). Definitely a gimme for Kazie.
60. Hall of Fame NFL coach Ewbank: WEEB. Nope. Strange name.
64. Tiny parasites: MITES. GNATS have 5 letters too.
66. Music with many subgenres: ROCK. Emo is a kind of ROCK.
68. Long time out: COMA. And NAP (79D. Short time out). Nice echo.
70. Religious factions: SECTS. Like Shia, Sunni.
71. Ore cars: TRAMS
72. Long tale: SAGA. Epic too.
73. Low: SAD
76. Round Table title: SIR. Don't let it be forgot/That once there was a spot/For one brief shining moment that was known/As Camelot.
81. Used-car datum: MILEAGE
83. Call to Bo-Peep: BAA. Nursery rhyme. "Little Bo-Peep has lost her sheep..."
84. First rescue boat: ARK. Noah's ARK is the first ever rescue boat.
86. Actress Joanne: DRU. She's in "All the King's Men".
88. Accept, as a marriage proposal: SAY YES TO
89. Ad writer's award: CLIO. Muse of history.
90. Explorer Ericson: LEIF. The first European to land in North America. Same pronunciation as LIEF (willingly).
94. Trojans' sch.: USC (University of Southern California)
95. Incline: TILT
97. Croquet striker: MALLET. Mostly wooden-headed.
98. Off the boat: ON LAND
99. Summary: PRECIS (prey-SEE). Rooted in precise. APERCU is "Summary" too.
100. Dull finishes: MATTES
101. Tale involving Greek gods, e.g.: MYTH
103. "That's a shame": TOO BAD
105. Eatery traditionally modeled after a rail car: DINER
109. Of service: UTILE
110. Like a movie seat with a coat on it: TAKEN
111. Winter fall: SLEET
117. S&L offering: IRA (Individual Retirement Account)
119. Suffix with Caesar: EAN. Caesarean. C-Section.
120. He followed FDR: HST. "The buck stops here".
Answer grid.
C.C.
