12 Things You Probably — Actually, Definitely — Missed In "Back To The Future"

No matter how many times you've seen this movie there still may be something new you didn't know.

1. Twin Pines/Lone Pine Mall

Universal Pictures

At the start of the movie, Marty ends up at Twin Pines Mall. When he goes back to 1955, he runs over one of two pine trees in Old Man Peabody's yard. When he gets back to the new 1985, the mall has now become Lone Pine Mall.

2. The Atomic Kid

Universal Pictures

The Atomic Kid was a movie playing at the theater back in 1955. This was a real movie about a uranium prospector that stumbles upon a nuclear test site. This is significant because an early draft of the movie had Marty getting back to 1985 by harnessing the energy from an atomic bomb testing site.

3. The Hanging Man (h/t this Reddit thread)

Reddit / Via reddit.com

In the first minute of the movie, we get a spoiler for how the movie will end. On one of the clocks is a man hanging. This is an actor named Harry Lloyd from the 1923 movie, Safety Last. This perfectly foreshadows Doc hanging off the clock tower at the end of the film.

4. The "Edward Van Halen" Cassette

Universal Pictures

When Marty attempts to wake up George, he pops an "Edward Van Halen" cassette into his Walkman. You may wonder why this wasn't a Van Halen cassette. This is because Van Halen wouldn't give the rights to any of their music — but Eddie would, and created an original crazy guitar riff just for the movie.

5. The Original Marty McFly?

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Michael J. Fox was not the first choice to play Marty. That honor went to Eric Stoltz, who filmed a majority of the movie before being fired. But he still may be in the movie. In the scene of Biff's collar being grabbed, one of the shots of Marty diving in the Delorean is reported to actually be Stoltz.

6. A nod to Stanley Kubrick?

Universal Pictures, Warner Bros

When Marty plugs into the amp in Doc's garage, we see a dial that says "CRM 114." This is definitely a reference to Dr. Strangelove's C.R.M. 114 Discriminator.

7. Ma! The Meatloaf!

Universal Pictures

Marty gets to eat meatloaf on back-to-back nights. It's what his family is eating at the start of the movie in 1985, and what he has for dinner with Lorraine and her family the next night in 1955!

8. The Honeymooners Screw-Up

Universal Pictures

While at Lorraine's house, Marty and the family watch a brand new, live episode of The Honeymooners. The problem is, the episode they're watching first aired on December 31st, 1955; and not on November 5th, 1955.

9. Phonebook Typo

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While he's in Lou's Cafe, Marty is trying to look up Doc Brown in the phonebook. He finds him, but also finds a typo that you have to be quick to catch. Emmett Brown is the correct spelling of the Doc's name, but the phone book has him listed as "Emmet" Brown — with only one "T."

10. Used Cars

Universal Pictures

One of the first movies that Back to the Future creators Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale made was called Used Cars. We see a tribute to it while Marty is skateboarding as he quickly passes a "Used Cars" sign. Also, Deborah Harmon who plays the newscaster at the start of Back to the Future was also in Used Cars.

11. We're Not in Kansas Anymore

Universal Pictures

The very first thing Marty sees when he goes back to 1955 is a scarecrow which he runs over. This reference to The Wizard of Oz was to let us know that Marty, like Dorothy, is now in a strange new land.

12. And The Broken Clock Tower Ledge (h/t this Reddit thread)

Reddit / Via reddit.com

This one is simple, and hopefully you caught it. When we see the original Clock Tower in 1985, the ledge under it is intact. When Doc is trying to get Marty home, he breaks off a piece of the ledge. When Marty returns to the new 1985, we can see that that the broken ledge is now visible.

Are there any other things I may have missed from the movie? Let me know in the comments!