Conference hydra::dejavu

    Hi Lynne!!
    
    I saw the movie but I didn't notice the "ghost". Sounds pretty wild, I
    wonder too if it was a promotional gimmick or the "real thing". I'd
    like to rent it again and look for it. I also wonder why the boy showed
    up in a movie. Did he have any connections with the people involved? Or
    the area? Something to think about, anyway.
    
    Marian
    
    
    

    Hi lynne. I own the movie. I didn't notice it when I watched it. I'll
    have to go back and look again. My son has my copy, but I'll be seeing
    him tonight and will get it back. He mentioned the ghost also. But he
    says that it was a poster of a boy on the wall behind the glass. I
    don't know if this is true or just a story put out by the studio.
    
    Phil

    
    This rumor was written in ZENDIA::MOVIES.  I just went back to see if I
    could find it, but had no luck.  Looks like I will be watching the
    movie this weekend.
    
    Regards,
    
    Val

    re: -.1
    
    No rumor, there is really something there. The big question is what is
    it, and how did it get there?
    
    We watched it over the weekend, looking for the image of the young boy.
    When we saw it it shocked us. It seems so obvious...how could we have
    missed it the first time? (Maybe because we saw it on an airplane?)
    
    We played it slowly several times and saw:
    
    1. a strange figure, looks like a gun with the muzzle pointing at the
    floor, just as Dansen and his 'mother' approach the baby. This figure
    is a bit fuzzy, but something is there.
    
    2. When they leave that scene the 'gun' is not there
    
    3. buto the left of where the 'gun' was, in a doorway, is the boy, or a
    cutout of a boy, looking straight at the camera. It is there for
    several seconds while they walk by.
    
    So strange...why didn't someone see this when it was being edited? All
    sorts of speculation about why it appears. Also people say that it is a
    poster of Dansen. I really don't think so.
    
    Probably nothing to it, but it gave my kids the creeps for several
    days.
    
    Tim
    

    I saw the movie and I didn't see the "ghost". I really wasn't look-
    ing for it though. I did notice that during one of the scenes, Ted
    Danson walked over to look out a window and there was a cardboard
    figure of him beside the window. If you want to read more, add 
    the MOVIES note to your list and then at the prompt type
    
                       DIR/TITLE=BABY
    
    The ghost is mentioned in there, it just takes a little time to
    find.

    Lets put it this way, the movie gave me the creeps, whether is was real
    or not, that is a crummy trick to play to get publicity.  The woman who
    rented the apartment out said that the figure was her son. My husband
    watched it frame for frame we seen the "cardboard figure's" EYES move!!
    Like it was following them!! I heard about the gun and also a scene in
    the shower were Ted Danson and the baby are, there is a translucent
    figure of the child in the mist, my friend seen it!!  I majored in
    communications in college and to get that figure out of the scene would
    cause a major glitch in the film, meaning that the scene would have to
    be shot over again costing time and money. The editors said it was not
    there when the movie was filmed and of course they would not allow a
    young child on the set to get in the way.
    
    
    

If memory serves, in the movie note it is mentioned that the apartment was not
a rented apartment at all, but a set. That would take the wind out of the sails
the story about the woman who rented out the apartment!

Good discussion, as has been already pointed out, in the movie file.

I'll have to rent this and check it out.

Steve

    Yesterday I went to rent a movie, and this same subject popped up among
    an employee and about 6 "rentors".  The woman who worked there said she
    heard the boy had killed _himself_ with his father's shotgun (not that
    the mother did it).  She put in the tape, and we forwarded to "the
    scene". I can't believe I missed it the first time! This woman also
    said she thought a story about it all had been on 20/20...is this
    true?? I would really like to get some FACTS out of this!  I saw the
    gun (hazy), but the boy was OBVIOUS! Scary!  Does anyone know the story
    of the boy? Really!?!   
    
    

    I finally got the tape back from my son. Available to loan out to
    anyone interested. Send mail to CGVAX2::CONNELL. I saw the section
    talked about. All I can say is, it's not a poster of Ted Dansen, that
    comes later on. It's definitely outside the window and it's definitely
    a young boy. He looks real. I didn't see the rifle. I can't tell if the
    eyes move. That might be the camera angles. If I had a big screen TV I
    moght get a better look. There is no doubt in my mind that it was a
    person, ghost or not. If the scene was filmed in an actual building,
    then what is a boy doing outside on a penthouse ledge. It looks like he
    has his hands in his pockets and isn't holdoing on to anything. If it's
    on a set, then he could be on the other side of the set wall.
    Backstage? If so, then why wasn't this caught in the rushes or when the
    scene was edited? Strange.
    
    Phil

    Cant be a promotional gimick for new movie coming up "Three Men and a
    little Lady" cause my friend just watched her movie that she bought TWO
    YEARS AGO from a video club!!
    
    
    OOOOOOOoooooooo!!!!

    
    This has also been discussed in PEAR::SOAPBOX.
    
    I don't remember which note, but a DIR/TITLE="ghost" will turn 
    it up....
    
    guy

    The note in SOAPBOX is 255.
    
    
    have fun ;-)
    
    
    

    Three Men and a Baby was on television this past Sunday and on the
    commercials for the news they said they were going to talk about it. 
    This peaked my interest so I stayed up to watch the news.  Arch
    Campbell, an entertainment newsman, said that the scene was NOT filmed
    in an apartment, but was actually filmed on a soundstage.  The figure
    was a cutout used to setup the cameras.  The cameras focus on this
    figure so that they can get a clear picture of everything in the scene. 
    It was mistakenly left in by a careless crewperson.
    
    They did not say anything about a gun.

    REF .13
    
    
    Yes,that sounds like a logical answer,since I spent several years
    working in Television,and,can attest to the fact that the cameras are
    set-up in that way. I wish they would just show the cut-out,and,settle
    this once and for all! Right,they lost it! :^) .
    
    Peace
    Michael
    

    I agree, it looks like a cut-out.  If you notice later on in the
    movie, Ted Danson is standing next to a cut-out of himself.  Possibly 
    the reason for this cut-out is because in the movie he plays an actor.  
    Maybe his cut-out was used for a film he was promoting or something.    
    
    Its funny, Friday evening my husband and I had visited some friends and
    shortly after we arrived, their daughter had come in with her friend. 
    They were all excited because they had the 3 Men video in their hands.  
    They requested we all gather in the living room to watch the scene 
    where the boy appears.  They were both freaked out, believed that it was 
    real etc.  The mother was skeptical and the daughter asked her if she
    believes in ghosts.  The mother replied yes but said she didn't believe
    ghosts appeared in that way.  To prove her point she brought out an old
    photo album and showed us an old black and white photo.  In the photo
    were kids and adults gathered in a kitchen.  In the background was a
    face of a man.  Apparently, the photo lab that developed the film 
    noticed it right away and were questioning what it was.  They probably 
    thought it was a film developing error.  They eventually sent the photo 
    out to be examined more thoroughly.  They concluded that it wasn't a 
    shadow, reflection or a film developing error.
     
    I am an open-minded person and believe 'anything' is possible.  From
    what I saw, it definitely looked like a face of a man.  He looked like he 
    was posing with the crowd.  It looked like he was smiling as though he was 
    enjoying the family gathering.  I don't know the history of the house
    or who lived there etc.  It wasn't my friends house but a house she 
    visited when she was younger.  
    
    Donna

    
    In reviewing the video tape today on a VCR that enables you to see the
    scene frame by frame, it does appear to be a cut out cardboard fiqure.
    
    It is definately an older boy (13-15 years) in a top hat and tails. 
    It also looks like a younger version of Ted Danson.  
    
    An object that looks like a gun does appear in one of the frames.  But
    in comparison to the lamp and table next to it has to be at least 3 to 
    4 feet long.  A young child could not handle a gun that size, let 
    alone turn it around and shoot himself.  My feeling is that this is
    the same cardboard cut out, at a different angle.  Through the curtains
    you can see the outline of the same fiqure.
    
    
    Everyone that I know that saw it with me, feels that this was a error
    by the cameraman as mentioned in earlier notes, and should have been 
    removed by the editor at the time of editing.
    
    It is a great gimic for the new movie that is coming out soon, "Three 
    Men and a Little Lady".
    

    Iheard about this after the movie was on TV a few weeks ago - in the 
    version I heard, (actually two versions) the boy comitted suicide with
    the shot gun, or was shot by his father. I thought the the image of the
    boy looked 3 dimensional when first on camera, but as the camera moved
    left to follow dansen and Mom, the boy appeared two dimensional. I saw
    the gun before also. 
    
    this spooked me when I first saw it, but the cutout theory seems to
    fit. but why couldn't you see the cutout when the camera moved right
    and you saw the gun first?
    
    the timing seems right for this type of rumor (sequel coming out)
    
    edh.
    

    
    
    
    
    From the Movies notefile:
             
            <<< ZENDIA::DISK_NOTES$LIBRARY:[000000]MOVIES.NOTE;1 >>>
                             -< You be the critic >-

================================================================================
Note 2800.72         Ghost/figure in 'Three Men and a Baby'             72 of 75
QUARK::LIONEL "Free advice is worth every cent"      28 lines  14-NOV-1990 11:02
                           -< The laser reveals all >-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    	OKay, now I love a ghost story as much as the next person --
    particularly around this time of year -- but the thing behind the
    curtain really isn't a spirit. It's a cardboard cut-out of Ted
    Danson -- without arms -- dressed in a top hot, white shirt and 
    tie, and a black tuxedo.
    	If you want a good look at this prop, fast forward to the scene
    toward the end of the movie where Mary's mother has come to the
    apartment to pick her child. Pay particular attention to the scene
    in Ted Danson's bedroom, where he asks ( I forget the actress's name )
    if he's really Mary's father. At the very end of the scene, you get a
    really good look at this cardboard cut-out of Danson. If I remember
    correctly, it's right by the door leading into the bedroom in this
    scene.
    	Okay, now that you've taken a good look at the cardboard cut-out,
    back up your tape to the scene with Celeste Holm. Hit freeze frame 
    when you come to the moment where the ghostly silouette appears behind
    the curtain. Now -- instead of sitting up close to your TV screen 
    ( Where images tend to break down and blur ) -- get as far away from 
    your TV set as possible, THEN look at the little boy. Look familiar ?
    	Sorry to burst everyone's supernatural bubble, but -- if you
    compare the ghost to Ted Danson's cardboard cut-out -- it's obvious
    what we're dealing with here.
    	AS THE CAMERA FOLLOWS DANSON AND HOLM ACROSS THE ROOM, YOU CAN SEE
    A SHOTGUN IN THE WINDOW -- That's not a shot gun, folks. That's the
    left lapel of Ted Danson's tuxedo framed by the white curtains as well
    as his white tuxedo shirt.
    	AS THE CAMERA FOLLOWS DANSON, HOLM AND MARY BACK ACROSS THE ROOM,
    YOU CAN SEE THE GHOSTLY IMAGE OF A LITTLE BOY BEHIND THE CURTAINS --
    Again wrong, folks. It's not a little boy in a white shirt wearing 
    suspenders, it's just the Ted Danson cardboard cut-out seen from a 
    different angle now. Again, look at the image from as far away from 
    the television as possible. Now do you see ? The jut of Danson's chin ?
    The tuft of brown hair sticking out from under the top hat ?
    	Now, let's expose me for the real cynic that I am : Do you folks
    suppose that it's mere coincidence that this " There's-a-ghost-in-your
    "Three-Men-and-a-Baby"-tape " brouhaha gets all this attention a mere
    month before the film's sequel -- " Three Men and a Little Lady " --
    debuts in theaters nationwide ? I mean, we all scurry out to video
    stores to grab copies of a film we've already seen so that we can see
    if we spot a ghost and -- son of a gun ! -- the sequel to this movie
    *just happens* to be coming out in November. Oh, come on now.
    	You can be that somewhere there's a very savvy PR person laughing
    himself sick over that piece on " 20/20. " After all, the best
    publicity is free publicity -- and what better way is there to hype a
    sequel than to get people all charged up about the original film again.
    Chances are -- most of us weenies who rented " Three Men and a Baby "
    this weekend to see the ghost ended up watching the whole film again.
    We laughed, cried and smiled in all the right places again -- which 
    means we're primed and ready from when the sequel hits theaters next
    month.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

I finally got around to renting this film on laserdisc and looked very carefully
at the scene where the "ghost boy" appears.  Laserdiscs have about 60% more
resolution than VHS tape, so I was figuring that things would be easier to
see, and they were indeed.

The "rifle" shape appears at about 9:58 into the second side, with the
"ghost" figure at about 10:22 into the second side.  In both cases it is
VERY clear that this is a smaller-than-life-size cardboard "stand-up" cutout of
Ted Danson in a tuxedo.  The cutout's shape is angular at the shoulders
and goes straight down from there.

In the scene where the "rifle" appears, the cutout is shifted to the right
of the window, mostly obscured by the curtain, though you can see the
shape through the curtain.  The parts of the dark jacket that are not
covered by the curtain reveal the rifle shape.

Later, where the "ghost" appears, the cutout has moved to the center of the
window, with the curtain flanking it on both sides.  You can still see the
V-line of the tuxedo jacket and the angular shape of the shoulder.  The
face is Ted Danson's and he is wearing a top hat.

I agree that it is a startling apparition, and that when viewed on VHS
tape that your imagination can fill in all sorts of details, but at least
in this person's opinion, it's just a curiosity caused by a misplaced
prop.  I am sure that the makers of the film are delighted with all the
free publicity, though!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    I reviewed this movie last night to see for myself and at first
    I wasn't sure what I was seeing but nearer the end of the movie
    when Ted Danson is talking to the baby's mother in the bedroom
    he walks over to the window and standing by the window is a
    close to life size cardboard cutout of Ted Danson and I am sure
    this is what was in the window in the scene with his mother.
    
The suicide story touches the heart but watch closely as Jack and his mother
enter the room.  Look for the window in which the apparition mysteriously
appears and you will see no sill or anything for that matter from mid window
to the ground.  The top half of the window is back lit to simulate sunlight
on the blinds where as the bottom half is just black. I believe the child was 
standing behind the wall and was cued to step over into the window after the
camera passed by it on the way in. Then as the camera zooms back out, viola! 
The purpose of removing the sill and wall below the window is to eliminate any 
difficulty of the "Stand In" was to crawl in the window.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The "rifle" shape appears at about 9:58 into the second side, with the
"ghost" figure at about 10:22 into the second side.  In both cases it is
VERY clear that this is a smaller-than-life-size cardboard "stand-up" cutout of
Ted Danson in a tuxedo.  The cutout's shape is angular at the shoulders
and goes straight down from there.

In the scene where the "rifle" appears, the cutout is shifted to the right
of the window, mostly obscured by the curtain, though you can see the
shape through the curtain.  The parts of the dark jacket that are not
covered by the curtain reveal the rifle shape.

Later, where the "ghost" appears, the cutout has moved to the center of the
window, with the curtain flanking it on both sides.  You can still see the
V-line of the tuxedo jacket and the angular shape of the shoulder.  The
face is Ted Danson's and he is wearing a top hat.

I agree that it is a startling apparition, and that when viewed on VHS
tape that your imagination can fill in all sorts of details, but at least
in this person's opinion, it's just a curiosity caused by a misplaced
prop.  I am sure that the makers of the film are delighted with all the
free publicity, though!

    I seen an interview with Ted Danson and one of the questions was about
    the "ghost"...he said the movie was filmed on a sound stage :-( and the
    "kid" was a leftover prop :-(....It was fun while it lasted ;->

    For everyone who said that the ghost was a publicity scheme to
    publicize "Three Men And a Little Lady", the movie is set in a totally
    different apartment.  So if you were suggesting that people would see
    the movie to see if they could catch a glimpse of the ghost, those
    people will be disappointed.