The video game being played by Betty and her friends is Rambo III (1989) (VG) for the Sega Genesis, however some scenes show her playing "Rambo" for the Nintendo Entertainment System.
Before "The Misbehavers" turn to the "porno" channel, they are watching the short film Bedhead (1991), also written and directed by Robert Rodriguez.
Just before Ted rings Betty, a package of Red Apple cigarettes is visible near the switchboard. This fictitious brand of cigarettes features in other Quentin Tarantino films.
In the fourth episode, the car on the cover of the magazine that Quentin Tarantino shows to Tim Roth is the same one that John Travolta uses in Pulp Fiction (1994).
The cartoon the "Misbehavers" are watching is the same cartoon Ritchie was watching in From Dusk Till Dawn (1996), also directed by Robert Rodriguez.
The film was originally to be titled "Five Rooms," with Richard Linklater contributing a segment; however, he withdrew before production began.
Quentin Tarantino's "A Band Apart" Production logo at the beginning of the film shows Tim Roth's "Mr. Orange" unzipping (shedding) his character from Reservoir Dogs (1992) and becoming the bell hop character for Four Rooms.
Salma Hayek plays the dancing woman on the TV screen in "The Misbehavors" directed by Robert Rodriguez. She has appeared in numerous films by the director.
In the fourth room the "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (1955) episode they call "The Man from Rio (or Reno)" is actually called "Man From the South" (ep. #5.15) 1/3/1960.
The fourth room, Quentin Tarantino's "Man From Hollywood" is based on a short story by Roald Dahl called "Man from the south"; in which the man who does the bets is actually insane.
Director Trademark: [Quentin Tarantino] [long take] When Ted first enters the Penthouse suite (when Angela says "The Bellboy's here"), the camera goes all around the suite to introduce Ted (and we, the audience) to Chester, Angela, Leo and Norman. It also continues through Chester's praise of Cristal and Jerry Lewis, his temper tantrum, and his self-congratulations about the success of his movie, ending with Norman lighting Angela's cigarette. All in a single take. This also is a reference to Alfred Hichcock's Rope (1948), which had been shot entirely in one sequence without any (visible) editing.
In the final segment, "The Man From Hollywood", which last 21 minutes, the word "fuck" or a variant of it is said 193 times.
Director Trademark: [Quentin Tarantino] [bare feet] Angela is barefoot throughout the fourth installment.
Director Trademark: [Quentin Tarantino] [GM motor vehicle] Reference to a 1964 Chevelle Malibu convertible, previously seen in Pulp Fiction (1994).
The role of Ted was originally written with Steve Buscemi in mind.
The "one minute" Chester asks Ted to sit on the stool and listen to his proposal actually lasts one minute and twenty eight seconds of screen time.
The reason Bruce Willis is not credited is because he violated SAG rules for acting in this film for no money. He appeared for fun and as a favor to Quentin Tarantino, and acting for free violated SAG rules. SAG agreed not to sue Willis if his name was not included in the credits.
Margaret:
You got fucked by an oven full of witches?
Ted the Bellhop:
Problem? I haven't got a problem. I've got fucking problems. Plural.
[How his first day is going]
Ted the Bellhop:
Well, most recently, there's room 309, there's this scary Mexican gangster dude poking his finger in my chest. There's his hooligan kids snapping their fingers at me. There's a putrid, rotting corpse of a dead whore stuck in the springs of the bed. There's rooms blazing afire. There's a big fat needle from God knows where, stuck in my leg, infecting me with God knows what. And finally there's me, walking out the door, right fucking now. Buenas noches.
Ted the Bellhop:
I'm in a situation I can't begin to explain
Angela:
Unfortunately, you don't have the balls to back up the actions of your huge cock.
Eva:
Goddess Diana, fail you I will. / I was to bring you fresh sperm from my Bill. / I had him erect and his semen would follow. / Alas, I was hot. So hot that I swallowed.
Angela:
How can I stop talking about something that's so HUGE?
Angela:
I could go on and on about his cock, his bone, his knob, his bishop, wang, thang, rod, hot rod, hump mobile, oscar, dong, dagger, banana, cucumber, salami, sausage, kielbassa, schlong, dink, tool, big ben, Mr. Happy, Peter Pecker, pee-pee, wee-wee, wiener, pisser, pistol, piston joint, hose, horn, middle leg, third leg, meat, stick, joystick, dipstick, one-eyed wonder, junior, little head, little guy, rumple foreskin, tootsie roll, love muscle, skin flute, roto-rooter, snake, hammer, rammer, spammer, bazooka, rubber, chubby, sticky, stubby, schmeck, schmuck, schvantze, ying-yang, yang...
Norman:
I'm gonna tell ya what the fuck I'm talking about! I drive a motherfucking Hyundai that my sister sold me, ya hear what I'm saying? A little white motherfucking Hyundai Civic!
Sarah:
There's a dead body in my bed and it smells like shit and it looks even worse. And if you don't get your ass up here now, my Daddy's gonna lay you down next to her. I swear to fucking God!
[Room 309 is buzzing, Ted answers]
Sarah:
Ted!
Ted the Bellhop:
What do you want now, for Christ sakes? Who died?
Sarah:
I don't know, but she's in my bed.
Ted the Bellhop:
What?
Sarah:
There's a dead body in my bed.
Ted the Bellhop:
Nonsense! That's just your brother sound asleep.
Sarah:
No! There's a woman's dead body *inside* the bed in the mattress.
Ted the Bellhop:
You saw the body?
Sarah:
Yes!
Ted the Bellhop:
Impossible! You've got the ointment on your eyes. You can't see shit! Now go to sleep!
[hangs up, but the room is still buzzing, answers again]
Ted the Bellhop:
Go to sleep!
Sarah:
I washed it off.
Ted the Bellhop:
The mentholatum?
Sarah:
Yeah. Didn't you ever think to do that? Get your ass up here and call the police, because there's a dead body in my bed, and it smells like shit, and it looks even worse. And if you don't help us, my dad is going to lay you down right next to her, I swear to fucking God!
[hangs up, dial tone]
Ted the Bellhop:
I am coming up there right this minute! And if there isn't a dead body in that room by the time I get up there, I'm going to make one! You ...
[hangs up]
Ted the Bellhop:
Little bitch.
Man:
All right. You want five hundred bucks?
Ted the Bellhop:
Sure.
Man:
[thinks for a bit] How about three?
Ted the Bellhop:
Three hundred dollars?
Man:
Yeah.
Ted the Bellhop:
Three's fine.
Man:
Good. My children are staying here tonight watching TV. I want you to check up on them every thirty minutes.
Ted the Bellhop:
Check up on them?
Man:
Yeah, make sure they're all right. Make sure they're fed. Make sure they go to bed. You know, these things.
Ted the Bellhop:
Sir, I can send out for a baby-sitting service.
Man:
No. I don't trust baby-sitters. My children are safer alone than with some fucked-up pedophile baby-sitter I don't know from the man in the fucking moon.
Wife:
What about him? What makes you think you can trust him?
Man:
[grabs Ted's face] Tell me that's not a face you can trust.
Ted the Bellhop:
I'd love to help you with your problem, sir, but unfortunately I'm here alone tonight.
Man:
Hmm.
[lets go of Ted's face and pulls out some money]
Man:
One hundred, two hundred, three hundred. Here you are.
Ted the Bellhop:
I thought you said five hundred.
Man:
No, I said three hundred.
Ted the Bellhop:
No, sir. I distinctly heard you say five hundred.
Man:
Are you calling me a liar?
Ted the Bellhop:
No, sir. What I'm saying is that you accidentally forgot that the first thing you said ...
Man:
But what I last said was three hundred, and what you say last is what counts.
Ted the Bellhop:
Well, then, if you say five hundred one last time, we have a deal.
Man:
You fucking with me, pendejo?
Ted the Bellhop:
No, sir, but I'm by myself, and looking after your kids is a pain in the ass I don't need.
Man:
[whispering] Are you calling my kids a pain in the ass?
Ted the Bellhop:
Why, no, sir, not the kids. It's the situation that is a pain in the ass.
Man:
No, you were right the first time. They're a pain in the ass. All right. You win, tough guy. Five hundred.
Athena:
[giving Ted a list of things they need] We need sea salt, a little bit of sea salt. Or kosher salt, if you have no sea salt. A bottle of spring water - French, not that Italian shit.
Kiva:
Um, yes, and could I have some French fries?
Elspeth:
Shut up, Kiva.
Athena:
Some ginger and some raw meat. Liver, if you have it.
Kiva:
I want fries, you stupid jerks with your dumb fucking ritual.
Athena:
[kicks her] Shut up, you little shit!
Elspeth:
Hey, don't talk to her that way.
[Leo is timing Chester for the 60 seconds he has to explain to Ted about the whole situation]
Leo:
Begin.
Chester:
Okay, Ted, pay attention here. I'm going to make two piles on the bar. One pile which is yours. And another pile which *could* be yours. And what you have to realize is we're gonna do this thing one way... or the other. Whether it's *you* who holds the axe or a Mexican maid or some bum we yank off the street.
Norman:
[about the money on the bar] You could buy a whole lot of soup with that pile.
Chester:
Shh! I'm the closer here. All right, I'm a little me - um, I've lost count. How much is on the bar here?
Group:
Six hundred.
Chester:
Okay, Ted, do you know how long it takes the average American to count to 600?
Ted the Bellhop:
[Thinks for a bit]
Angela:
It's a rhetorical question, Ted.
Ted the Bellhop:
No, sir.
Chester:
About one minute less than it takes to count to 700. Now Ted, a person's life is filled with a zillion little experiences. Some which are insignificant, have no meaning, and, you know, you forget them. Others which you remember for the rest of your natural life. Now, since what we're proposing here is so unusual, so outside the norm, this is a good bet that is going to be one of those incidents that sticks. So, since you're gonna be stuck remembering this for the rest of your life, you have to decide what that memory will be. So, Ted, are you going to remember for the next 40 years, give or take a decade, that you *refused* a $1000 for one second's worth of work? Or that you *made* $1000 for one second's worth of work?
Leo:
Time!
Chester:
So, Ted, what's it gonna be?
Ted the Bellhop:
Okay.
Angela:
Everybody starts out as strangers, Ted. It's where we end up that counts.
Chester:
Like my old grand daddy used to say, "The less a man makes declarative statements, the less apt he is to look foolish in retrospect."
Ted the Bellhop:
Police! It's an emergency! Police get someone over here right fucking now. There is a dead fuckin' whore!
Chester:
This is Cristal! Everything else is just piss!
Chester:
Ted, what do you think of that tasty beverage?
Ted the Bellhop:
It's quite good sir.
Chester:
No, no, no! It's *Fucking* good. Now let's do that again. Ted, what do you think of that tasty beverage?
Ted the Bellhop:
It's *Fucking* good sir!
[Leo is on the phone with his wife]
Leo:
Yes, it's my job. Yes, it's my fucking job, you know that. He wanted to stay out late. I can't fucking - I went to the Monkey Bar, all right? Don't yell at me - I'm not yelling. I'm not yelling. You're the one that's fucking yelling! Fuck! Don't hang up on me! Ellen, please don't hang up on me. Please don't hang up on me. Goddamn it, I swear to fucking God, if you hang up on me, that fuckin' call better be genuine, 'cause I'm gonna get a fuckin' divorce!
Norman:
Yo, Leo?
Leo:
[shouts] Fuck!
Chester:
Another fucking "Honeymooners" going on in there.
[Leo tosses throws down his cellphone and begins throwing things around in a violent tantrum]
Leo:
Fuckin' shit, man! Man, what the fuck is wrong with this fuckin' bitch, man? I'm gonna take the fuckin' car, I'm gonna drive up to fuckin' Mulholland, I am gonna fuckin' drag her fuckin' ass and throw it down Benedict fuckin' Canyon, man!
Norman:
You still married, man?
Leo:
Yeah. I don't fuckin' know any more, I swear to Christ, Norman. I fuckin' swear to God. What the fuck is wrong? I treat this fuckin' bitch like a queen, you know that, man!
Chester:
I know that.
Leo:
So I had a little fuckin' too much to drink. It's fuckin' New Year's Eve. New Year's Eve. I can't fuckin' drive home. Okay, Ellen, I'm sorry, I'm fuckin' sorry about that. What am I gonna do? Get in a fuckin' car and go run over six or seven fuckin' kids? That'd be really fuckin' nice! Man, what the fuck is the matter with this bitch? FUCK!
[Leo suddenly notices all of the items sitting at the bar]
Leo:
What the fuck is all this?
Ted the Bellhop:
Block of wood, bucket of ice and a hatchet, sir.
Leo:
Get the fuck outta here. Chester, talk to me. Norman?
Chester:
We now return you to "The Man From Rio" already in progress.
Leo:
Oh, my fucking dick is hard already. Tell me, Norman, you're gonna do this shit.
Norman:
[laughs] I am gonna do it.
Leo:
Oh, you are my fucking hero.
Chester:
Let me explain what we're talking about here.
Ted the Bellhop:
No, sir, you don't have to explain anything to me. Whatever constitutes a good time as far as you guys are concerned, well, that's your business.
Chester:
Well, no, it's your business, too, Ted, because we want you to take part.
Ted the Bellhop:
Take part in what, sir?
Leo:
Chester, your way of breaking the news to him gently is scaring the fuck outta him.
Chester:
You think so?
Angela:
Just spit it out.
Chester:
Okay, you might be right. Okay, here we go, here we go, okay. Thing is, Ted, first off, there's nothing homosexual about what we want you to do. I mean, I was thinking you might be thinking we want you to do some like, weird sex thing, like suck us off, pee on us, shit like that, you know. Nothing! Nothing could be further from the truth!
Ted the Bellhop:
Later, in another room, some crazy fucking maniac sticks a gun in my face and forces me to play out some psychosexual drama with his wife.
Margaret:
He made you have psycho sex with his wife?
Ted the Bellhop:
No, he didn't make me fuck his wife, he thought I'd fucked his wife! He held me at gunpoint with a loaded gun!
Margaret:
What kinda gun was it?
Ted the Bellhop:
I don't know, I'm not a gun guy. It was big.
Margaret:
Was it like Dirty Harry's gun?
Ted the Bellhop:
Yeah, sorta like that. Yeah.
Margaret:
Did it have a real long barrel or a short barrel?
Ted the Bellhop:
What difference does it make?
Margaret:
Well, for one thing it's the difference between a .44 Magnum and a Magnum .357.
Ted the Bellhop:
Who the fuck cares whether it was a .44 or a .392? It was a big fucking gun, it was loaded, and it was pointed right at my fucking head.
[after seeing that the room is on fire; Ted has a needle in his hand while holding the leg of a dead woman; Sara has a bottle of champagne in her hand, and Juancho is smoking]
Man:
Did they misbehave?
Ted the Bellhop:
I'm coming up and if there isn't a dead body by the time I get there, I'll make one myself. You!
Kiva:
You're not my mother.
Elspeth:
Yes I am.
Kiva:
Then why are we sleeping together?
Crew or equipment visible: When Ted is talking on the telephone to Margaret, someone is clearly seen walking behind Ted. This couldn't be another bellhop or hotel staff, as Ted is the only person working that night.
Crew or equipment visible: When Betty is talking to Ted on the phone, you can see the camera as she turns around and starts walking to the left again.
Continuity: When Ted leaves the room with the married couple, his hair is visibly shorter than when he was in the room.
Continuity: When Betty is playing video games with her friends, she is playing Rambo 3 on a Sega Genesis. However, some scenes show the game she is playing as Rambo for the Nintendo Entertainment System, while she is still using a Sega Genesis controller.
Crew or equipment visible: After the Jerry Lewis speech, the cameraman's shadow is visible on the back wall.
Plot holes: The hotel's vintage telephone switchboard adds an element of comic chaos, but it is not consistently used. Ted answers calls to the front desk by pushing cables into jacks, but Sarah (the little girl in "The Misbehavers") is able to dial another room directly. Also, when the partying guys call and don't know what room they are in, Ted should be able to get the room number right off the switchboard.
Continuity: The position of the injection piston in "The Misbehavers" changes its position when the girl pulls it out of the picture
Continuity: In the second room "the wrong man" When Ted is hanging out the window yelling for help they show a shot of the hotel from a far and then point to where Ted is but when Ted turns over to talk to the man above him there's a red hotel sign right next to him that was not there on the long shot
Continuity: In "The Wrong Man", Sigfried's bow tie changes from a clip-on to a real bow tie.
Spin off
Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams (2002)
Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over (2003)
References
Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936)
"The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin" (1954)
"Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (1955)
"Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Man from the South (#5.15)" (1960)
- The characters imitate the episode
The Bellboy (1960)
Dirty Harry (1971)
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Referenced in
From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
Sweet Nothing (1996)
Hollywood Goes to Hell (2000) (TV)
Head Over Heels (2001)
Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams (2002)
Features
Rambo III (1989) (VG)
Bedhead (1991)
Spoofed in
Four Sex Rooms (2000) (V)
- Porn parody