MovieChat Forums > Five Came Back (1939) Discussion > Chester's + Lucille's characters

Chester's + Lucille's characters


I am only 20 mins into the movie & just can't understand why the pilot hates Peggy so much!? Maybe I will 'get it' after some more watching ?

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Okay got it. BC of his wife dying & he living. But also it seems everyone hates her...but I think that'll change. I still don't know why. No one even knows her (she's not some famous gal and she doesn't dress like a tramp)!

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The script is pretty oblique on this, but I think that the Peggy character was supposed to be an immoral woman of some kind -a prostitute or courtesan. That's why both the pilot and the gangster treated her with contempt at first. Has to be seen in 1930s context.

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When the boy learns his father has been killed, Lucy offers to comfort him, telling Allen Jenkins, "He needs a woman", and he replies, "He needs a lady," to which Lucy winces and backs away. I think the implication in that little exchange is that Lucy is a prostitute or woman known for sleeping around, which is why everyone is so touchy with and judgmental of her. That's as explicit as they could say it back then, but 1939 audiences would have picked up on it.

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Just saw the film for the first time. I was wondering who it was who sent her the flowers with the note that said "thanks a million for doing this". Did anyone figure that out?

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I had this same question. Also, how does everyone know about her personal character, and why is she traveling? These things weren't made quite clear enough for me, or else I missed something.

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