"Blow this..." in film scripts

[Peter A. McGraw]

This doesn't look to me like an instance of the same expression as "blow
this hot dog stand (etc.)."  With the prepositional phrase that follows
(and the context that Shangri-La was in the mountains), it seems clear that
this "blow" means "cause to explode"--like "blow this place to
smithereens."  I don't think people who say "Let's blow this hot dog stand"
mean they want to blow it up--just to leave it.

--On Thursday, July 10, 2003 4:57 PM -0400 Bapopik at AOL.COM wrote:

> 1. Riskin, Robert. "Lost Horizon (1937)"
> [Page 83 | Paragraph | Scene | Section | Table of Contents]
> (snapping at him) You've been lying to us ever since we got here!
> Apparently it's worked with some people. Perhaps it's because they lack
> the courage to do anything about it. But not me, Chang. You're up against
> the wrong man. I'll get out of here, if I have to blow this fantastic
> place into the valley! I'll get out--porters or no porters! And with this
> threat, he storms out of the room. CHANG You must prevail upon him not to
> attempt the journey. He could never get through that country



*****************************************************************
Peter A. McGraw       Linfield College        McMinnville, Oregon
******************* pmcgraw at linfield.edu ************************