MovieChat Forums > Night Must Fall (1937) Discussion > What was Olivia's intent in this film -

What was Olivia's intent in this film -

posted 10 years ago by nutritionist
3 replies | jump to latest

I was very disappointed by this film. It made no sense. The movie plot showed her very suspicious of Danny, she prided herself in being able to see through him and knew he was a con artist, and then for no reason she covers up evidence of a murder by lying to the police about the hatbox. This makes no sense. If there was nothing in it, he would be cleared. if something was in it, then they would clearly know that he was a murderer and he would be caught. Why did the police show up at the end?? I think the only implication that she would be in trouble was when Danny said at the end, that people would get their money's worth at the trial, and she looked scared. But the police captain himself saw she LIED to him preventing him from searching the hatbox.

The fact that Olivia left the house when she suspected him of murder, shows she is culpable of accessory to murder. It's just so strange and makes no sense. It seems the idea was that Olivia was in love with Danny and this protect him, until the very end when his con artist veneer started to crack and he wasnt his charming liar self, and she suddenly stopped loving him. But this was not portrayed well, because she never seemed stupid enough to like him at all, and gave no hint of liking him- she saw he was a psychopath right away. Very bad writing.

[–] mdonln 9 years ago

I am so sorry to hear you're disappointed in this movie and think it's poorly written. I have a completely different opinion but, based on the things you're saying and the questions you're asking, I can see exactly why you feel the way you do.

Sometimes people understand a movie and dislike it but if you don't really get it, the best thing to do is watch it again. Reading about it may help but, in my opinion, it's so much nicer to discover it on your own. That's my suggestion, if you haven't already, watch the movie again; more than once if necessary. But, if you disagree and still want answers you'll find more than enough info on these boards. I just posted some comments earlier myself. You may find those helpful.

[–] don-lockwood 8 years ago

While I don't feel as strongly about it as you did, I came here to post the exact same things as you. This film is an eerie triumph of good direction and interesting casting over a flimsy script. Rosalind Russell, though always eminently watchable, is either miscast here or just doesn't know how to play the role completely as it was presumably written. Roz always had a very smart screen presence, so it's difficult to understand why she would help conceal the contents of the hatbox, which is something of a McGuffin given how much they tease us with it but never open it. It's harder still to believe the sexual subtext, because Montgomery and Russell have no real chemistry. And as you said, she seems to be too smart and obviously suspicious of him to act so irrationally.

I really found this to be an eerie, atmospheric watch. It helped that, for me, night had truly fallen just before the last act. But I agree with you and several comments on this board. Russell's character is weakly written and inconveniently disposed of when the plot requires it. If anything, I was hoping for a twist or for some acknowledgment from her that she was pleased with the end result (i.e. was she her aunt's sole heir?).

I also thought that while Montgomery was one of a kind in the role, his big moments were slightly over-the-top. Also, while individual scenes were well paced and edited, the overall lack of plot made it feel draggy in spots, especially in the end--we get it, Montgomery wants to show off.

6/10.

[–] HarlowMGM 8 years ago

I just made similar comments on another thread but I don't think Rosalind was doing anything but playing the part as written, the problem is that her shock that he was the actual murderer or that he would kill the old lady just didn't jibe with what we'd seen previously and I wonder if the ending for this film was changed and in the original play she kind of set the murderer up to bump up the old gal so she could inherit her fortune (the movie makes it clear she and her aunt do not have a good relationship). I love Robert Montgomery as an actor but I do think he was miscast here with some uneven acting moments although he was credibly sinister in some scenes.