10 Best Examples Of Movies With A ‘Chekhov’s Gun’

The Shawshank Redemption is full of items that seem insignificant when first mentioned, but then turn out to be part of Andy’s great escape plan. Red provides Andy with a Rita Hayworth poster, supposedly to help with loneliness, but in reality, to cover his escape hole. The rock hammer was intended to be used to combat boredom, and he demonstrates his considerable skill for rock carving with the figurines that he displays in his window, making this a believable story.

Red even cements the viewer’s lack of suspicion over the object by saying he remembered thinking it would ‘take a man six hundred years to tunnel through the wall with it’. Andy was careful enough to hide the rock hammer in his Bible, so no one would query it, especially how worn down it was compared to what he was apparently making. He knew the warden would approve of him having the Bible so would never question it.

All these seemingly innocuous items make the final twist so amazing as they are never alluded to as any more than Andy describes them when he asks for them. Even Red doesn’t make the connection until he finds out about Andy’s escape, making them great examples of a Chekhov’s gun.