What in the heck is a McGuffin???

Answer 1

McGuffin is a object in a movie that has no other purpose then to keep the story movie. It's never explained what the object is in the world the film takes place in, just as long as the story revolves around it.

EXAMPLES: The Rabbit's Foot - Mission: Impssible III
The Breifcase - Pulp Fiction

Answer 2

A McGuffin is the driving plot point, something the characters are trying to find, it really doesn't matter what it is, it just drives the story along.

Think of the Malteze Falcon, a classic McGuffin, it could easily have been a blue zebra for all it mattered to the story. It was just something for Humphrey Bogart to chase after.

Answer 3

It's a plot device (usually an object of some sort) that motivates the characters and advances the story, but in the end isn't really all that important. The suitcase in "Pulp Fiction" and the title figure in "The Maltese Falcon" are two well-known examples of McGuffins.

Answer 4

jeffey and Cotton have provided the answer--one of them deserves the points--
here are some details---
The term was first used by classic suspense film-maker Alfred Hitchcock. He defined it as "the thing the spies are after". When he was asked to make his definition clearer, he used the following example:
"Someone asked, "What's a McGuffin?"---"A McGuffin is a device for shooting lions in the Scottish Highlands."---"But there are no lions in the Scottish Highlands." (long pause...) "Then that's no McGuffin."---
(Hitch's humor was a little weird...)
Examples of McGuffins in Hitch's movies include the statue containing microfilm in "North by Northwest", the secret carried in code in "The Lady Vanishes" and the curious sand in the wine bottle in "Notorious". A device to focus the plot, pure and simple.

Answer 5

It doesn't matter. It's not a real one.

Answer 6

He's the crime dawg...........