Quentin Tarantino Revealed the 1940s Comedy That Shaped His Entire Career | David Letterman

Early Cinematic Influence

Quentin Tarantino tells David Letterman that he knew from childhood he wanted to work in movies. The first film that made him think, “This is the coolest movie ever,” was Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.

At five years old, he loved how the film combined Abbott and Costello’s comedy with genuinely scary monster scenes—including a character being thrown through a window. That mix of funny and frightening felt revolutionary to him.

Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley’s music was part of Tarantino’s home life growing up in Tennessee. Tarantino recalls writing Elvis as an imaginary mentor in his first script, True Romance. Val Kilmer played the character, but the filmmakers renamed him “the Mentor” to avoid possible trouble with Priscilla Presley.

Tarantino also agrees that Elvis could have been perfect as Bill in Kill Bill, especially given his interest in martial arts.

Tarantino praises Elvis’s early films, particularly King Creole, and laments that the success of Blue Hawaii pushed him toward formulaic movies. Letterman jokes about Elvis repeatedly playing characters named Nick, Dick, or Lonnie, while Tarantino mocks the forgettable beach-and-songs formula of films like Paradise, Hawaiian Style and Fun in Acapulco.

CSI Season Finale

Tarantino explains why he wrote and directed a two-hour CSI season finale: he was a devoted fan, especially of William Petersen’s Gil Grissom, whom he calls a modern-day Sherlock Holmes.

He wanted to tell a story—not just film forensic lab procedures—and says he developed the episode’s plot with the writers in about an hour. Unlike a previous, more conventional ER episode he directed, this one was his own story and script, so he felt his style would be more apparent. He confirms the finale is self-contained, with no cliffhanger.

Personalities

• David Letterman
• Quentin Tarantino