CutshawKane? To a cinemaphile, an obvious dueling metaphor and to the casual observer an obscure but curious reference. One is a redeemed sinner trying to forget his past. The other is a questioning cynic hiding from his fears.

The name “CutshawKane” is based on the two lead characters from one of the our favorite films, "The Ninth Configuration", which was written and directed by William Peter Blatty.

The Ninth Configuration is the second novel in what Blatty considers his "trilogy of faith" that has been made into a film. The two other films are The Exorcist and Exorcist III which are based on the novels, The Exorcist and its 1983 follow up, Legion.

The Ninth Configuration written in 1978 was itself a reworking of the novel, Twinkle, Twinkle, "Killer" Kane!, first published in 1966. The film, The Ninth Configuration, also known as Twinkle,Twinkle,"Killer" Kane, was released in 1980. Despite being considered a cult film, it won the award for Best Screenplay at the 1981 Golden Globes. Scott Wilson was also nominated at the Globes in the Best Supporting Actor category for his role as Billy Cutshaw.

The plot revolves around a new commanding officer, Hudson Kane, who arrives at a remote gothic castle know a Center 18, where the US military is attemping to establish whether or not a group of apparently deranged servicemen and one astronaut, Billy Cutshaw are faking their insanity. Kane attempts to rehabiltate them by allowing them to live out their crazy fantasies. The experimenting role play therapy soon runs out of control. while combating his own long-supressed insanity, Kane is haunted by memories that he claims belong to his murderous brother "Killer" Kane. Is he really who he says he is and can he provide the one act of self-sacrifice that one of his patients demands as absolute proof of the existence of God?

Here are a few notable and interesting quotes from the film:

“Infinite goodness means creating a being that you know in advance is going to complain.”

(Captain Cutshaw stomps into Colonel Kane's office wearing scuba flippers)
Captain Cutshaw: Take me to the beach.
Colonel Kane: It's night, and it's raining.
Captain Cutshaw: I see you're determined to start an argument.

  "You're convinced that God is dead because there's evil in the world,
 Then why don't you think He's alive because of the goodness in the world?"

Captain Cutshaw: Can you prove there's a foot?
Colonel Kane: There are some arguments from reason.
Captain Cutshaw: Are those the things we use to justify dropping atomic bombs on Japan?

"In order for life to have appeared spontaneously on earth, there first had to be hundreds of millions of protein molecules of the ninth configuration. But given the size of the planet Earth, do you know how long it would have taken for just one of these protein molecules to appear entirely by chance? Roughly ten to the two hundred and forty-third power billions of years. And I find that far, far more fantastic than simply believing in God." "I just think about sickness, cancer in children, earthquakes, war, painful death. Death, just death. If these things are just part of our natural environment why do we think of them as evil? Why do they horrify us so?... unless we were meant for someplace else."

Captain Cutshaw: You're on your way out! I'm acting on orders so to inform you.
Colonel Kane: Who ordered you Cutshaw?
Captain Cutshaw: Unseen forces far too numerous to enumerate.

 " Maybe you're P.T Barnum. . . He put a panther and a lamb in a cage together and there was never any trouble. The public went lollypops! Look at that! A panther and a lamb, and they don't even argue!. . .but what the public never knew was that it was never the same lamb. That panther ate a lamb every single day at intermission and then they shot him for asking for mint sauce. . . Animals are innocent, why should they suffer?. . . Why should children suffer? "

Colonel Kane: Perhaps we're all fish out of water... I mean if fish could survive, actually survive out of water, they'd all go crazy. perhaps we're all meant for a much better place.
Captain Cutshaw: You're so dumb, you're adorable.