...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!
Fake Aristocrat
- 246 statements
- 47 feature instances
- 53 referencing feature instances
| Fake Aristocrat | type |
FeatureClass | |
| Fake Aristocrat | label |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat | page |
FakeAristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat | comment |
A Fake Aristocrat is a character who passes themselves off as being higher ranking in the social order than they actually are. Whether it's a commoner pretending to be a Blue Blood, a member of the Minion caste of a Fantastic Caste System pretending to be part of the Leader caste, someone Born into Slavery pretending to be a free man, or a lowly Private pretending to be an Officer and a Gentleman, the Fake Aristocrat is pretending to be part of a "higher" group than they actually are. This is typically done because the higher ranking group has legal rights that the lower does not. Maybe their Love Interest is higher ranked than they are, so they need to fake their own rank in order to be together. Maybe it's part of The Con or The Infiltration, and their new rank is part of a cover identity. Or maybe it's just that being a commoner sucks, so when the opportunity arises to claim a higher status, they take it. Whatever their reasons for doing it, a Fake Aristocrat is generally not impersonating a specific person, but a generic member of a social class. Depending on circumstances, they might not even change their identity, they'll just call themselves "Sir Bob, Lord of Hightower Castle" instead of regular old "Bob". Usually the credentials proving their assumed rank will be Conveniently Unverifiable. A Master of Disguise often has a Fake Aristocrat role in their repertoire. Note that a Fake Aristocrat is only considered such when dealing with explicit social ranks — ones where there are thick, clear lines between ranks, and there are legal penalties for acting outside your assigned rank. For "soft" social ranks, see Mock Millionaire. For changing your social status by pretending to be a different gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, etc, see Pass Fail. Will very often overlap with The Outsider Befriends the Best, assuming they are successful in their efforts. Self-Proclaimed Knight and Princess for a Day are specific subtropes. The inverse is King Incognito, when someone pretends to be lower ranked than they are in order to avoid attention. See also Social Climber, for when someone is trying to actually raise their social rank instead of just pretending. |
|
| Fake Aristocrat | fetched |
2023-11-30T15:36:12Z | |
| Fake Aristocrat | parsed |
2023-11-30T15:36:12Z | |
| Fake Aristocrat | processingComment |
Dropped link to AntiHero: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| Fake Aristocrat | processingComment |
Dropped link to FourOneNineScam: Not an Item - FEATURE | |
| Fake Aristocrat | processingComment |
Dropped link to TheLiesOfLockeLamora: Not an Item - UNKNOWN | |
| Fake Aristocrat | processingUnknown |
TheLiesOfLockeLamora | |
| Fake Aristocrat | isPartOf |
DBTropes | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_12d445f3 | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_12d445f3 | comment |
This is one of the cons that Barbara Stanwyck and her fellow con artists pull in The Lady Eve. When Stanwyck's character finds one of her old friends and fellow con artists posing as "Sir Alfred McGlennan Keith" and ripping off the Idle Rich of Connecticut, she joins the scam as his fake niece, the Lady Eve Sidwich. | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_12d445f3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_12d445f3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Lady Eve | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_12d445f3 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_1647fc4e | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_1647fc4e | comment |
Lord Palethorn from MediEvil 2 is actually a working-class cockney named Reggie Palthrop, trying to portray himself as a member of the aristocracy. | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_1647fc4e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_1647fc4e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| MediEvil 2 (Video Game) | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_1647fc4e | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_17edc562 | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_17edc562 | comment |
David Niven also did this in Separate Tables, combining Fake Aristocrat with Phony Veteran. Major Pollock makes himself out to be a graduate of fancy prep schools as well as the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst, and he peppers his speech with high-class tics like saying "What what?" when looking for agreement. When he's exposed as a plebeian and a poser, he bitterly says that at least he doesn't have to say "what what?" anymore. | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_17edc562 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_17edc562 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Separate Tables | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_17edc562 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_1db412d3 | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_1db412d3 | comment |
Mistborn has a Fantastic Caste System with peasant "skaa" strictly separated from the nobility. Virtually all of the protagonists are skaa who present themselves as nobles for a variety of reasons: as part of various cons against nobles, because nobility it a prerequisite for any lifestyle above "grinding poverty", and because skaa with allomantic powers (like most of the protagonists) are summarily executed when they're discovered. | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_1db412d3 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_1db412d3 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Mistborn | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_1db412d3 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_21176d39 | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_21176d39 | comment |
In Love Me Tonight (1932), Maurice (Maurice Chevalier) is a tailor who is passed off as a baron by the Vicomte de Varèze, who owes him money. When another guest realizes that the "baron's" title is fake, the vicomte hints that he is actually royalty traveling under an assumed name. | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_21176d39 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_21176d39 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Love Me Tonight | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_21176d39 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_36ee2abe | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_36ee2abe | comment |
Paranoia has "clearance levels" that are theoretically merit-based rankings where greater skill is rewarded by more authority and higher quality of life, but in reality it's a Fantastic Caste System where the only merit that counts for anything is the ability to manipulate Friend Computer. It's not uncommon for citizens to be forced to forge higher clearance credentials in order to complete missions assigned to them by Friend Computer, given that failure of a mission is punishable by summary execution. Of course, so is faking a higher clearance, so it's a choice of what you want to be executed for more than anything else. It's that kind of game. | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_36ee2abe | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_36ee2abe | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Paranoia (Tabletop Game) | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_36ee2abe | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_37363f7f | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_37363f7f | comment |
In the TV miniseries Casanova with David Tennant and Peter O'Toole playing the role, Casanova mingles with the aristocracy to acquire wealth and to pursue the love of his life who grew up in poverty and needs to marry a wealthy man for security. At first he just attempts to blend with the aristocracy or to be of service to them. He then comes close to acquiring a title when he befriends a priest. Later in the miniseries though, he plays the trope straight by flat out lying about his identity and the titles he can supposedly lay claim to. | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_37363f7f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_37363f7f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Casanova | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_37363f7f | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_3736edbb | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_3736edbb | comment |
In Die Fledermaus, Falke invites his friend Eisenstein, Frank the prison governor (i.e. warden), and Eisenstein's wife Rosalinde to Prince Orlofsky's ball. He gives them each a disguise: Eisenstein pretends to be a French Marquis named Renard, Frank goes as Chevalier (French knight) Chagrin, and Rosalinde is a masked Hungarian countess. All this is a part of his plan to pay Eisenstein back for his humiliation a year ago, involving a bat costume. Neither Eisenstein nor Frank speak French and try to engage in conversation using the few French words they're familiar with. Rosalinde manages to get away with not speaking Hungarian by singing to the tune of "Czardas". | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_3736edbb | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_3736edbb | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Die Fledermaus (Theatre) | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_3736edbb | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_3aa53b32 | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_3aa53b32 | comment |
On Her Majesty's Secret Service: Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the nefarious leader of SPECTRE, proclaims himself Comte Balthazar de Bleuville by undergoing plastic surgery in an attempt to claim the title for himself. | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_3aa53b32 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_3aa53b32 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| On Her Majesty's Secret Service | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_3aa53b32 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_3b7e691d | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_3b7e691d | comment |
The third movie reveals that he's the son of the King of Thieves, but that's more like anti-royalty... | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_3b7e691d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_3b7e691d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Aladdin and the King of Thieves | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_3b7e691d | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_46823c49 | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_46823c49 | comment |
Moriarty the Patriot: William's reason for his Dead Person Impersonation of the William James Moriarty he killed is to access his status as the second son of an Earl instead of the pauper boy adopted into the family. | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_46823c49 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_46823c49 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Moriarty the Patriot (Manga) | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_46823c49 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_4afc2089 | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_4afc2089 | comment |
One of Daffy Duck's go-to aliases in The Looney Tunes Show is Count Leopold von Leichtenstein. It's a mighty transparent ruse, since Daffy shows no signs of culture or manners. This guise occurs in the episodes "Jailbird and Jailbunny," and "Reunion." | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_4afc2089 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_4afc2089 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Daffy Duck | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_4afc2089 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_4efed37e | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_4efed37e | comment |
In Robin Hood (1973), Little John masquerades at "Sir Reginald, Duke of Chutney" to get close to Prince John. | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_4efed37e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_4efed37e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Robin Hood (1973) | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_4efed37e | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_5983d79f | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_5983d79f | comment |
Volle is a spy from a rival kingdom whose cover story presents him as the illegitimate son of a long-dead and heirless lord whose estate has been conveniently vacant for some time. | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_5983d79f | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_5983d79f | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Volle | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_5983d79f | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_5ccf1a65 | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_5ccf1a65 | comment |
In Roberta (1935), Polish countess Scharwenka (Ginger Rogers), the toast of Paris's nightclubs, is actually Lizzie Gatz from Indiana. As she explains, "You have to have a title to croon over here." | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_5ccf1a65 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_5ccf1a65 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Roberta | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_5ccf1a65 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_625e571 | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_625e571 | comment |
Law & Order: Criminal Intent: In "Chinoiserie", Goren Ames encounter a man masquerading as a British nobleman. Goren and Ames pick him as fake immediately as his accent keeps jumping around the British Isles. He turns out to be an actor who thinks he is in a piece of performance art. He is actually an unwitting dupe hired to help establish a false provenance for Chinese antiquities. | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_625e571 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_625e571 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Law & Order: Criminal Intent | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_625e571 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_6873fde2 | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_6873fde2 | comment |
In Doctrine of Labyrinths, protagonist Felix Harrowgate successfully passed himself off as foreign nobility for about five years at the court of Melusine. He possibly even hinted that he was exiled royalty, or at least did nothing to discourage the rumors. The story opens with him being publicly disgraced when it's revealed that he's actually a commoner and a former prostitute. | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_6873fde2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_6873fde2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Doctrine of Labyrinths | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_6873fde2 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_6ac55ec7 | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_6ac55ec7 | comment |
Dungeons & Dragons In the Al-Qadim (Arabian Adventures) campaign setting, all people in the land of Zakhara have Station, a measure of social rank/status. Normally, anyone who looks at another person realizes what their Station is automatically. However, it is possible for a character to appear to have a different Station by disguising themselves or using illusion magic. The vampire Baron Metus from Ravenloft is a particularly unusual example following the 5e Soft Reboot; he's a former peasant who feigns having an aristocratic title and always introduces himself as Baron Metus... because that's his actual name. As in, his first name is Baron. Also from Ravenloft is Saidra d'Honaire, Darklord of Dementlieu. In life she was a peasant girl whose father filled her head with stories about being ousted nobility, leading her to take up the nickname "Duchess" and boss around the other poor children. But on his deathbed, her father admitted that he was actually a palace servant kicked out for stealing silverware. A mortified Saidra ran away from home, only for a mysterious spirit to offer to clothe her in finery so she could attend a masquerade ball. There Saidra met and danced with a handsome noble's son, and she was consoling herself with a plan to marry into the upper class when the entire party fell victim to a plague. When Saidra's dying dance partner revealed that he was nothing but the son of a servant fired for stealing silverware, Saidra flew into a rage, killed her brother, and was claimed by the Mists. Now, as the wraith-like Darklord of Dementlieu, Saidra presents herself as a duchess and holds regular parties that everyone in the domain is desperate to attend, to the point of pretending to be aristocrats. Saidra takes particular pleasure in unmasking and destroying any frauds she finds at her grand masquerade balls, but exists in mortal terror that someone will discover that she herself is a pretender. |
|
| Fake Aristocrat / int_6ac55ec7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_6ac55ec7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Dungeons & Dragons (Tabletop Game) | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_6ac55ec7 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_6bef8832 | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_6bef8832 | comment |
Zigzagged in Astarion's case in Baldur's Gate III. His background in Charlatan implies that his haughty mannerisms and fancy clothes are his attempt at impersonating a nobleman; indeed, he claims to be a magistrate when first met. It turns out that he was a magistrate... two hundred years ago, before he became a vampire's slave. | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_6bef8832 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_6bef8832 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Baldur's Gate III (Video Game) | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_6bef8832 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_72262aee | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_72262aee | comment |
Avatar: The Last Airbender: In order to meet the Earth King of Ba Sing Se, Katara and Toph Beifong disguise themselves as members of high society. Too bad the very helpful man who seemed to buy their sob story and let them into the party is in fact the leader of the State Sec. | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_72262aee | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_72262aee | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Avatar: The Last Airbender | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_72262aee | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_746814ae | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_746814ae | comment |
In one episode of Arthur, Muffy brings a sapphire necklace that was given to her great-grandmother by Irina Katrina von Hapsenburg, the Archduchess of Moldavia. At the roadshow, Muffy finds out that not only is the necklace a fake, but the archduchess was actually a con artist impersonating nobility (and apparently a Creepy Crossdresser to boot). | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_746814ae | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_746814ae | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Arthur | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_746814ae | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_7f9e6468 | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_7f9e6468 | comment |
In Doors to the Unknown, Taylor Hebert and Co accidentally become this during their stay on Eberron, mostly due to initial misunderstandings regarding cape names. | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_7f9e6468 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_7f9e6468 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Doors to the Unknown (Fanfic) | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_7f9e6468 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_8125b468 | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_8125b468 | comment |
The (as yet) one-shot Batman villain Façade gains access to his victims by pretending to be a member of Gotham City's upper crust. His costume out of character is a tieless lounging suit topped off by a reflective featureless mask. | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_8125b468 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_8125b468 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Batman (Franchise) | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_8125b468 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_8913811c | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_8913811c | comment |
Cat Shit One has a Japanese soldier make a photocopy of medals and rank insignias and put them on his uniform. Unfortunately for him, his superior catches him right away. | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_8913811c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_8913811c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Cat Shit One (Manga) | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_8913811c | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_89e1ec58 | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_89e1ec58 | comment |
In case 2 of Tyrion Cuthbert: Attorney of the Arcane, Miriam assumes Celeste is a noble due to her being able to defend against an Arcane Construct along with assuming Tyrion is her servant. Since Miriam is classist, Tyrion prompts Celeste to play along for information which leads to her pretending to be part of House Steelwind. Neither Aria nor Miriam are amused about it in court the following day. | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_89e1ec58 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_89e1ec58 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Tyrion Cuthbert: Attorney of the Arcane (Visual Novel) | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_89e1ec58 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_8d814070 | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_8d814070 | comment |
In order to get Walter "Radar" O'Reilly into an Officers' Club near the 4077th M*A*S*H unit, Captain Pierce appended his captain's bars to the corporal's uniform. When questioned about this, Pierce explained that the Army was field testing a new intermediate rank: Corporal Captain.note This serves as a Genius Bonus bit of Shown Their Work with regards to rank, as this is how the real-life ranks of 'lieutenant colonel' and others came about: They started as 'lieutenant to the colonel' and eventually shrank to just the rank itself. | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_8d814070 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_8d814070 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| M*A*S*H | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_8d814070 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_909ca4b1 | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_909ca4b1 | comment |
ReBoot has Princess Bula, a hulking Action Girl that can smash through walls and snap necks one-handed. When asked if she's a real princess, Captain Capacitor said no, but saying otherwise was bad for your health. | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_909ca4b1 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_909ca4b1 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| ReBoot | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_909ca4b1 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_91395986 | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_91395986 | comment |
In The Woman in White, this turns out to be Sir Percival's guilty secret: He's been fraudulently claiming an aristocratic title and estate based on a forged marriage certificate. | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_91395986 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_91395986 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Woman in White | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_91395986 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_9b7e31d | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_9b7e31d | comment |
An episode of Thunderbirds has Parker pretend to be an English Lord and get everyone in the hotel to play Bingo with him. This was part of a scheme where in the event a fire broke out (thanks to a dish falling off a building and lodging itself on a mountain in a position where it would project the sun's rays at the town where the hotel was) everyone would be awake to fight the fire. | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_9b7e31d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_9b7e31d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Thunderbirds | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_9b7e31d | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_9d47a2a2 | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_9d47a2a2 | comment |
In A Song of Ice and Fire, the mercenary captain Vargo Hoat proclaims himself the Lord of Harrenhal without any good reason (mostly because the King in the North who could make his claim real or denounce him as a fake is preoccupied with more pressing matters at the moment). Even before he received control over Harrenhal Castle he insisted on being called "Lord Hoat" despite ruling exactly squat. | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_9d47a2a2 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_9d47a2a2 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| A Song of Ice and Fire | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_9d47a2a2 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_9db31bab | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_9db31bab | comment |
In The Twelve Chairs, Ostap Bender starts a fake movement for restoration of Tsarism in Russia as a scam to gather some money. Naturally, it involves him presenting himself as a nobleman and a former White Guard officer (he manages to give off this impression without ever making a verbal claim to status, he's that good an actor). | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_9db31bab | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_9db31bab | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Twelve Chairs | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_9db31bab | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_a59e9998 | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_a59e9998 | comment |
In While the Clock Chimes, Tatti pretends to be the princess after stealing the latter’s invisibility cap. She adorns herself with lilies-of-the-valley (the smell of the princess’s perfume) to avoid detection, but she’s still bad at mimicking the necessary manners and gets found out rather quickly. | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_a59e9998 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_a59e9998 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| While The Clock Chimes | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_a59e9998 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_a85286d9 | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_a85286d9 | comment |
Trouble in Paradise (1932): At their first meeting, future Outlaw Couple Lily and Gaston introduce themselves to each other as "Countess" and "Baron," respectively. Neither one fools the other, as they each recognize a fellow crook. | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_a85286d9 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_a85286d9 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Trouble in Paradise | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_a85286d9 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_a9cb14fc | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_a9cb14fc | comment |
The vampire Baron Metus from Ravenloft is a particularly unusual example following the 5e Soft Reboot; he's a former peasant who feigns having an aristocratic title and always introduces himself as Baron Metus... because that's his actual name. As in, his first name is Baron. | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_a9cb14fc | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_a9cb14fc | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Ravenloft (Tabletop Game) | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_a9cb14fc | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_a9d1c67c | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_a9d1c67c | comment |
Buster & Chauncey's Silent Night: The two thieves who plan to steal the treasures of the Three Wise Men pose as the Duke of Roche and his niece Lady Gretchen/ | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_a9d1c67c | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_a9d1c67c | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Buster And Chaunceys Silent Night | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_a9d1c67c | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_b2bf1826 | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_b2bf1826 | comment |
On the Touched by an Angel episode "For All the Tea in China," Lady Penelope Berrington (Angela Lansbury) confesses to her grandson that she's not British nobility at all. She's actually an orphan with a stolen name who built up the tea business telling stories of growing up in England and losing money in the War. Because the records were such a mess after the War, no one was really able to figure out the truth before. This leads to a great moment where her long-time butler asks if "your Ladyship" wants some tea. | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_b2bf1826 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_b2bf1826 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Touched by an Angel | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_b2bf1826 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_b96564e6 | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_b96564e6 | comment |
In the first episode of Fawlty Towers, the con-man who persuades the snobbish Basil Fawlty he is a member of the nobility, and charms him into a personal loan, leaving a briefcase full of "valuable jewels" as surety for repayment. Basil is conned and fawning... until the case is opened and shown to contain only bricks. | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_b96564e6 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_b96564e6 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Fawlty Towers | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_b96564e6 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_be0c33a5 | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_be0c33a5 | comment |
Ghost of Tsushima: One side-quest involves tracking down a farmer who's been impersonating a Samurai to pick up women. When you confront him, he responds to your accusations by angrily challenging you to a Duel to the Death... and then immediately surrenders in terror when you actually take him up on that challenge. Its left up to you to decide how to deal with him; he's ostensibly committing a serious crime punishable by death, but in practice he's just a harmless doofus and nobody objects to letting him off with a warning. | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_be0c33a5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_be0c33a5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Ghost of Tsushima (Video Game) | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_be0c33a5 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_beaf5287 | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_beaf5287 | comment |
In British military comedy-drama Soldier Soldier, the battalion rogue, fusilier Dave Tucker (Robson Greene), is persuaded by some of the unit's junior officers to put on the mess dress of a lieutenant and bluff his way into a rival unit's officers' mess. Tucker carries off the deception, much to the delight of the officers concerned, but while sneaking back into barracks, he is clocked by the Regimental Sergeant-Major, who is outraged to see a private soldier wearing officers' uniform he has no right to. Tucker ends up in the cells, but is only mildly reprimanded by the Colonel, who appreciates his junior officers are the ones at fault. They get a right royal bollocking later. | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_beaf5287 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_beaf5287 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Soldier Soldier | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_beaf5287 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_cede3f7 | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_cede3f7 | comment |
In the original book of The Eagle Has Landed, Harvey Preston of the British Free Corps is a petty con artist who, when captured by the Germans, was posing as an officer of aristocratic extraction. He was loosely based on the real-life traitor Douglas Berneville Claye (see below under Real Life). | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_cede3f7 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_cede3f7 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Eagle Has Landed | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_cede3f7 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_d4f9ccf | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_d4f9ccf | comment |
In Aladdin, Aladdin acts as "Prince Ali" in order to woo Princess Jasmine. Of course, given that his "pretending" involved wishing that Genie would make him a prince, his new rank may not actually be "fake." (The movie never really explains which happened.) It doesn't affect Aladdin's behavior at all, though, so the trope plays out the same, with a Street Urchin commoner doing his best to act princely. The third movie reveals that he's the son of the King of Thieves, but that's more like anti-royalty... |
|
| Fake Aristocrat / int_d4f9ccf | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_d4f9ccf | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Aladdin | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_d4f9ccf | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_d62bbf7a | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_d62bbf7a | comment |
The first member of the Auditore family from Assassin's Creed II was this. Originally a poor, lower-class fisherman, he had been given the necessary information to access Marco Polo's bank accounts to aid in his work as an Assassin, but upon being shipwrecked and returning to discover all other members of the Assassin brotherhood had been killed, he drew upon Polo's funds to establish the Auditore family name as a fictional family of Venetian bankers, and ingratiated himself into Florentine nobility in order to aid in tracking down the Templars that had killed his family and Assassin brothers. | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_d62bbf7a | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_d62bbf7a | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Assassin's Creed II (Video Game) | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_d62bbf7a | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_dde91ea5 | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_dde91ea5 | comment |
The driving plot of A Knight's Tale is the main character, English commoner William Thatcher, taking on the identity of German knight (and noble) Ulrich Von Lichtenstein after the real Ulrich's death. While Self-Proclaimed Knight does come into play toward the end, much of the movie focuses on his attempts to fit into noble society outside of the tournaments he's competing in, making it this trope as well. | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_dde91ea5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_dde91ea5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| A Knight's Tale | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_dde91ea5 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_e0af40c5 | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_e0af40c5 | comment |
Reigning Passions: In her route, Xenia recruits the heroine to pose as a long-lost princess of Spring. It's a convenient cover story, since Spring is the largest house and discoveries of this sort are not uncommon with them. Indeed, most of the important people don't even bother showing up to the welcoming ceremony. | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_e0af40c5 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_e0af40c5 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Reigning Passions (Visual Novel) | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_e0af40c5 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_e5c6748d | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_e5c6748d | comment |
In The Three Stooges short "Crash Goes The Hash", the Stooges are hired by a newspaper to get a picture of the visiting Prince Shaam. It transpires that the "prince" is actually a fraud looking to rob his hostess, and the Stooges' usual antics get him exposed and arrested. | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_e5c6748d | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_e5c6748d | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Three Stooges | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_e5c6748d | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_edaa765e | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_edaa765e | comment |
In Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Indiana tries to gain entry to the German castle where his father is being held by pretending to be Lord Clarence MacDonald. The castle's butler doesn't buy it. | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_edaa765e | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_edaa765e | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_edaa765e | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_f7d8fd70 | type |
Fake Aristocrat | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_f7d8fd70 | comment |
The Goon Show founder Peter Sellers first realised he had a gift for impressions when, as a lowly Leading Aircraftsman in the Royal Air Force, he was dared to impersonate an Air Vice-Marshal — effectively a private soldier dressed as a general. In a borrowed uniform and made up to look thirty years older, Sellers carried off the deception so flawlessly that a real AVM bought him a drink in an RAF Officers' Mess. | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_f7d8fd70 | featureApplicability |
1.0 | |
| Fake Aristocrat / int_f7d8fd70 | featureConfidence |
1.0 | |
| The Goon Show (Radio) | hasFeature |
Fake Aristocrat / int_f7d8fd70 |
The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.
Copyright of DBTropes.org wrapper 2009-2013 DFKI Knowledge Management. Imprint. - Thanks to Bakken&Baeck for hosting. Contact.
Copyright of data TVTropes.org contributors under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.
Copyright of data TVTropes.org contributors under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.