MovieChat Forums > The Edge of the World (1938) Discussion > Frustratingly distracted at the end - he...

Frustratingly distracted at the end - help needed please

posted 10 years ago by svenrufus
4 replies | jump to latest

I was watching this the other night and my daughter came in just at the end - The islanders had just been debating whether they could take the dogs with them as they left the island. With my daughter in the room yabbering away like only a 7 year old can, I got really distracted from the last part of the film so am not sure what lead to the last scene.

So, if you can, what happened at the end - specifically, why was he climbing down to get the egg, was there any significance to the dog (and the other bloke) following him?

Not sure if this will be back on the telly, and if it is I might well not pick it up, so would be really great, if you know this film, if you could just put my mind at ease. Ta.

[–] indrasnet 10 years ago

I just finished watching the film this evening; so, even with it fresh in my mind, others may have different or more knowledgeable interpretations than I do. Here's my simplistic take on your questions:

1. It seems to me that, since he was leaving the island , Peter Manson (John Laurie) wanted to retrieve the egg as an organic keepsake/memento of the life he had loved and that would soon be lost to him, probably forever.

2. The "other bloke", played by the formidable Finlay Currie, noticed that Peter was missing and was trying to locate him, I suspect, because the boat was close to leaving the island and he wanted to make sure Peter didn't miss the boat.

3. All the dogs on the island were going to be left behind (drowned) because the islanders couldn't afford to take any domestic animals with them that would not be productive and necessary. Peter told a young boy to tie up his dog for him and make sure that he was included in the "disposal" of the other dogs. But the dog broke loose and ran off after Peter. I think the dog's behavior at the edge of the cliff alerted Finlay Currie to the location of his friend; but he was too late to save Peter (or perhaps he couldn't have saved him anyway and could only become a witness to Peter's fate).

I hope this gives you some idea of the ending. I would be happy to hear from others on their interpretations.

Human beings were invented by water as a device for transporting itself from one place to another.

[–] svenrufus 10 years ago

Wow, I honestly thought it might be years (if ever) before I got a reply to this, so to get an answer within hours is fantastic, thanks a lot

What you said matches the impression I was able to glean from the little I got to see at the end. I sort of assumed it was a keepsake he was after, but it seemed like such a lot of effort I wondered if it was loaded with more significance.

Re the dogs - I didn't see anything happen to them. Was that shown, or just referred to?

Thanks again for your answer, so promptly.

[–] indrasnet 10 years ago

I usually check out IMDb soon after I've seen a movie I especially enjoyed...hence the rapid response. The actual fate of the dogs was not shown, but merely discussed.

As another poster remarked soon after I did, Peter did mention the fact that a collector of rare eggs had offered him five pounds for the egg; but my impression was that obtaining the egg for profit was secondary to Peter's real (as opposed to his stated) purpose. In the audio commentary (disc from Netflix), I seem to remember that Michael Powell's wife mentioned the subtext behind Peter's actions. In any case, the ending was very moving however you slice it.

Human beings were invented by water as a device for transporting itself from one place to another.

[–] Steve Crook 10 years ago

1. It seems to me that, since he was leaving the island , Peter Manson (John Laurie) wanted to retrieve the egg as an organic keepsake/memento of the life he had loved and that would soon be lost to him, probably forever.

Peter Manson also knew that the eggs were valuable to egg collectors and that getting an egg then would give them some cash to help them get set up on the mainland. The islanders had often sold them in the past.

Michael Powell wrote a book on the film, about how they came to make a film like that when films made on location were quite unusual as well as a lot of information about the story of the film, the cast and crew and the islanders who lived there (and who continue to do so)

200,000 Feet on Foula
It has also been released as "200,000 Feet - The Edge of the World" and "Edge of the World": The Making of a Film".
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0571153062/papas-21 or http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0571153062/papas-20

As well as being a great film-maker Michael Powell was also a very good writer as can be seen in this and the other books he wrote, like his autobiographies.

The people of Hirta, where the film was set and whose evacuation inspired the story, used to catch sea-birds to supplement their diet

Steve