History Main / SleepingDummy

* The same scene is played for RuleOfFunny in ''Series/RedDwarf'' when the crew try to dress up a mannequin as Lister, who's waiting behind the door to clobber Legion. Unfortunately the mannequin is [[PaperThinDisguise extremely unconvincing]] (plus Legion [[OldestTrickInTheBook not only knows that trick]], he's seen the movie it's from).

* ''Series/BlakesSeven''. The crew of ''Scorpio'' discover a ProfessionalKiller is after them, so they teleport on board his spaceship to kill him first. The killer leaves a dummy in the pilot's seat and hides behind the door. Instead of blasting the dummy InTheBack from the safety of the doorway, [[IdiotBall for some inexplicable reason]] our anti-heroes have to run inside to confront him face-to-face, whereupon the killer steps out from behind the doorway to ambush them.

* ''Literature/TheFamousFive''.

* Suspected CIA agents in the Soviet Union would find themselves under [[IncrediblyObviousTail intensive overt surveillance]] by the KGB. To enable an agent to slip away and empty a DeadDrop or meet an asset, two agents would be in a car and as it turned a corner, one agent would jump out and a [[ShoePhone dummy on a spring contraption]] would pop up in the car seat. The trick relied on split-second timing and a KGB follow team made complacent by months of following the agents who'd make a point of never doing anything to shake them. Ironically the same trick was later used by a CIA agent who defected to the Soviet Union; he improvised a rig involving a blow-up sex doll.

* Suspected CIA agents in the Soviet Union would find themselves under [[IncrediblyObviousTail intensive overt surveillance]] by the KGB. To enable an agent to slip away and empty a dead drop or meet an asset, two agents would be in a car and as it turned a corner, one agent would jump out and a [[ShoePhone dummy on a spring contraption]] would pop up in the car seat. The trick relied on split-second timing and a KGB follow team made complacent by months of following the agents who'd make a point of never doing anything to shake them. Ironically the same trick was later used by a CIA agent who defected to the Soviet Union; he improvised a rig involving a blow-up sex doll.

* ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_R.N. Albert R.N.]]'', based on the RealLife case mentioned below, where a dummy was used to fool the guards on the parade head count in a WW2 prisoner of war camp.

''Literature/TheBible'' Features an instance of this when David tries yet another time to escape a murder attempt at the hands of Saul.His wife Michal warns him about Saul's plan. After David escapes through the window, she takes the house idol and dresses it up in clothes. She covers its head with goat hair and lies it in the bed. When Saul's messengers come, she tells them that he is sick. This doesn't deter Saul. He asks the messengers to bring David to him bed and all so he can kill him in it at which point the ruse is discovered.

* Mary Ann from ''TheBabysittersClub'' tries this at camp, using a cantaloupe as the head. It doesn't fool the counselors whatsoever, though she does impress the other counselors-in-training, which was was what she was trying to do in the first place.

* In one of the ''[[Creator/MercedesLackey Doubled Edge]]'' novels, Rhoslyn needs to go Underhill while seeming to stay in the mortal world. She arranges a couple pillows under her blanket ... and then casts an illusion of her sleeping mortal disguise on the pillows.

* On ''Series/MyNameIsEarl'', Ralph uses one of these to break out of {{Prison}}. He would have made one for Earl, but ended up eating the watermelon that would have comprised the Earl-dummy's head.
* In ''Series/TheGoodies'' Graeme uses one so Tim and Bill won't realise he's made off with their [[ItMakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext cream mine]] claim until it's too late.

* In ''Series/DoctorWho'', the Doctor and Jo pull this off to help them escape from imprisonment by The Master in ''Frontier in Space''. [[spoiler: The Master is only fooled for a little while, but long enough for The Doctor to royally muck up his plot]].

* Smurfette does this with a bunch of pillows in her bed in ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs'' episode "Squeaky" when she runs away from the village after the death of her pet mouse.

* ''Series/MrBean'' did this once so he was at the front of the line for the big New Year's sale.

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