[dekeguy]

I really like movies that have references to other stories not necessarily connected to the storyline you are watching. My favorite is the sly allusion in the Russell Crowe flic 'Master and Commander' when the doctor tells Capt Aubry that he was sorry the young Midshipman lost his hand in the first battle scene as he knew the Captain and the boy's father were friends. The conversation tells you who the boy is and his connection to another famous but non-related story. It is said in passing and you either catch it or not. Its a sort of director/writer's in-joke. Did anybody catch it?

As to actual endings I like, there is an old film noir detective story from about 1939 or 1940 which is just a routine cop story, with no connection to any other stories, where two detectives work a case and finally track down the culpret. In the last scene the cops corner the bad guy in his apartment, kick in the door and tell him to drop his gun and come quietly. As one of the cops walks toward the bad guy he pulls out his revolver and fires at the cop, apparently missing him from a range of about two or three feet. He is subdued and led away while the second cop says to his partner, 'to miss you at that range either he had to be the world's worst shot or you are Superman'. First cop says, 'yeah, real lucky I guess!' As they walk toward the door the first cop looks at the camera, smiles, and readjusts his shirt to cover a bullet hole, ricochet tear and what looks like part of the big "S". End of flic, roll credits. I saw this when I was a kid and have never been able to find it again. Does anyone remember seeing it and/or remembering the name of the movie?