Robert Zemeckis’ 1985 blockbuster Back to the Future introduced viewers to free-spirited characters like Doctor Emmett Brown and his skateboard-riding accomplice Marty McFly, launching one of the ’80s greatest franchises in the process. However, one element of the film that’s often lost on audiences is a crime whose culprit is hinted at within the movie’s first 60 seconds.
So, who exactly is this guilty party? None other than the affable yet careless “Doc” Brown, who, according to fans, eagle-eyed viewers, and even Back to the Future co-writer Bob Gale—likely committed insurance fraud before the film even begins in a devious plot aimed at keeping his inventive efforts afloat for the time being so the doctor might eventually conquer time.
Doc Brown Almost Certainly Burned Down His Own Mansion In Back To The Future
In the first minute of Back to the Future, viewers catch a glimpse of Doc Brown’s (Christopher Lloyd) current laboratory, which is filled to the brim with dozens of abnormal clocks, gadgets, and—of course—Chekhov’s plutonium. Also scattered across the walls are memorabilia and snapsH๏τs from Doc Brown’s life, including two framed newspaper clippings that set in motion the present conspiracy.
From the two snippets of the Hill Valley Telegraph, we can ascertain that in the years before 1985, Doc Brown—facing bankruptcy and career ruination—sold his family’s mansion and over 430 acres of land to real estate developers before the house mysteriously burned down in a likely scheme for the Doc to secure funds for his magnum opus—the time-traveling DeLorean.
Fun fact: the original concept for Back to the Future‘s time machine was a refrigerator.
Though the film leaves just enough room for interpretation of whether Doc Brown intentionally burned his house down or not, considering he was bold enough to steal plutonium from a group of Libyan terrorists, a simple insurance fraud scheme seems well within his wheelhouse of activity—especially when considering that he’ll do just about anything to achieve time travel.
Doc Brown’s Crimes Make His Happy Ending More Important
Resultantly, the Doc’s cunning insurance plot adds further strokes of color to the brilliant yet eccentric inventor, whose push for greatness becomes even more complex and compelling in light of his snowballing crimes. Moreover, Brown’s happy ending becomes all the more earned when one considers all that he put on the line in the pursuit of his greatest invention.
Thus, after risking money, freedom, and even his own life, Doc’s creation of time travel in Back to the Future was a triumph years in the making, beginning back in 1955 with his vision of the flux capacitor and concluding with his final voyage to the 19th century—not bad for a middle-aged scientist in carpet slippers.
