Aluminum

Spy Movies and the Aluminum Briefcase
Michalis 'BIG Mike' Kotzakolios

The cold war is behind us and, while the world has breathed a sigh of relief, the spy movie genre essentially died out. Sure, there is the occasional spy film that pops up here and there, but the sheer volume of spy movies in the 1960’s and 1970’s, launched with the success of the James Bond series, was so incredible, there was literally spy movies opening every week. Not every spy movie was even that successful. That wasn’t even an issue though. Dean Martin’s Matt Helm series never really made a dime and spawned several films!

Of course, spy movies had their plot devices. Many had their own props and visual toys. When it comes to that, the aluminum briefcase has been such a notable prop in spy movies over the years, you would think that the briefcase would get a featured supporting actor credit. Now, how could something as innocuous as the aluminum briefcase become such a popular prop popping up in film after film?

The metallic shine of the aluminum briefcase was a large part of it. It looked like it was bulletproof. In fact, it looked like it was bomb proof. In some films, it was! So, the appearance of the aluminum briefcase immediately got across the fact that whatever was inside that aluminum briefcase just HAD to be important. Secret military defense plans. Microfilm. All the spy movie clichés all rolled into one; you name it! Whatever was inside that briefcase needed to be protected by the aluminum because the briefcase could not be one that could easily be torn open!

So, the presence of the aluminum briefcase was effective as a visual cinematic device and, as such, has earned a place in popular culture. That is why it still pops up in the movies for just that purpose even today. It just never gets stale.

BIG Mike is a well known author, developer and Adsense expert as well as the owner of Niche Maniacs - a unique Adsense Marketing System designed to build long-term passive income streams from Adsense, Amazon, YPN, Chitika and other PPC services.