QUERY: the incompetent hero--multiple responses

From: Deron Overpeck <[email protected]>

Does Qui Gon in *Phantom Menace *count? Because he is the only character to
not realize something is wrong with Anakin Skywalker and then gets
dispatched by Darth Maul.
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From: Doc Britto <[email protected]>

> >  Not sure if they qualify as "heroes" exactly, but the great masters of
> >  incompetence humor were, of course, Laurel & Hardy.
>
Certainly should! I can recall at least one clear example where they expose
and thwart a swindler duo in order to help the damsel victim-to-be. I was
surprised no one mentioned them right away.

One of my favorites: Bob Hope -/My Favorite Brunette/ (1947) <
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039645/>

Goldie Hawn - wasn't there a movie  where she takes out some bad guy with
an umbrella and all sorts of other kooky means to fight? Not sure she fits
the description...

[email protected]
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From: James Ward <[email protected]>

For ineptitude that ultimately succeeds, how about Guy Hamilton's wonderful
Best of Enemies, with David Niven and Alberto Sordi which I saw while in
college in the '60s. In fact, maybe anything with Sordi.

And, speaking of war films, would Yossarian qualify?

James J. Ward
Professor of History
Director, Honors Program
Cedar Crest College
100 College Drive
Allentown, PA 18104-6196 USA
tel  610 437 4471 x 3402
fax 610 606 4614
[email protected]
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From: Robin Vose <[email protected]>

Early 80s tv show Greatest American Hero provides a case study:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081871/

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