MovieChat Forums > 21 Days (1940) Discussion > I'm disturbed by the ending - Spoiler Al...

I'm disturbed by the ending - Spoiler Alert


Larry may not be guilty of murdering Wanda's husband but I don't think he's a completely innocent man either. Clearly it is his fault an innocent bystander was arrested and is standing trial. He is guilty, as is Wanda, of a number of crimes, like failing to call police, disposing of a body, covering up what happened, destroying evidence, etc., that stemmed from their actions following her husband's death.

Knowing an innocent man is sitting in jail awaiting trial, he and Wanda decide to enjoy their three weeks before Larry turns himself in. Then they await the outcome of the trial by spending a fun-filled day at an amusement park.

The poor guy, already down on his luck, has to endure the time sitting behind bars and on trial. We know his past so we know this is not something he's used to. He may say he wants to suffer but that doesn't make it okay. The strain of going through all that, especially being found guilty, heading to prison, and most likely to the gallows is probably what led to his eventual premature death.

Surely, in some way Larry and Wanda are guilty of that too. Had they not dumped the body, the guy wouldn't have been able to steal from a corpse which was a torment for him. It caused him to lose his self-respect. Yes, he did it but from desperation much like Wanda marrying her husband. That torment is why he kept saying he was guilty. Also, when Larry disposed of the body he failed to dispose of the gloves; the gloves worn during the strangulation. Those gloves, in part, helped convict the guy.

Larry's and Wanda's behavior seemed callous, uncaring, and selfish. The impact his actions would have on his brother's life and career was of no concern to him at all. He drags him in; not at the point he could really help but after making things worse. He, then, refuses to do what his brother tells him. Why did he go to him and get him mixed up in it in the first place? There's no remorse for the guy who dies as a convicted murderer. The fact he's taken someone's life, even though he was a horrible person, means nothing to Larry. They might as well go dance on both dead men's graves.


Woman, man! That's the way it should be Tarzan. [Tarzan and his mate]

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I also found the ending to be less than satisfying. The story points out how a desperate person can create so much trouble for himself by making bad decisions, covering up and lying.

The fight was a simple case of self defense with Wanda as a witness. The victim was a conman who pulled a knife on Larry and he had to defend himself. You would think a brilliant lawyer like Keith would have provided better advice to his brother in need.

Things are bad enough when one person is desperate but add in a girlfriend desperate to avoid a bigamist husband and a brother who would do anything to advance his legal career, and it is not likely that this drama will end well. I fully expected Keith to commit suicide when he thought his legal career would be over. The film was short and there was a lot of opportunity to expand the story line before the two lovebirds lived happily ever after.


As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. - Proverbs 23:7

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The homeless guy didn’t hang but he still did time, I didn’t find that satisfying at all, the ending was weak, I wished someone like Hitchcock had directed it, he'd of had the brother kill Larry at the end to save his own career!

Imagine him hunting down Larry and pushing him into oncoming traffic as Larry walks to the Police Station, or have him throw Larry down the stairs in a fit of rage...

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