MovieChat Forums > Waterloo Bridge (1940) Discussion > Can someone explain this to me

Can someone explain this to me

posted 18 years ago by yardleys40
17 replies | jump to latest

Sorry, but i want to check I got this - after myra kills herself and they show roy, is he meant to be a lot older? However he has the charm so are we to assume that he came to the bridge looking for myra, sees he dead with a croud around her then notices the charm etc. or are we meant to assume that he never found out what happened to her and was walking along the bridge and then saw the charm etc. ???????

and also what are everyone's opinions on why myra felt she couldn't tell Roy about her prostitution and why she thought he would never forgive her if she did which lead her to commit suicide? do you think she planned to do this or whether it was on impulse when she saw the car? was prostitution really such an unforgiveable thing in those days (not that i support it now!)that even with a love so strong she thought Roy would not be able to bear it? i was never sure from his expression whether he could or not.

phew sorry about that but i'd really like to know what everyone thinks - it would help me work out how to interpret the film - which i looooooove by the way!

oh and did anyone think that maybe myra didn't die but was just wounded?

[–] fiona-75 18 years ago

After Myra kills herself which was during the first world war , we are looking at Roy on the bridge many years later during the second world war.So he is older and he has kept that little charm as a momento of Myra. He knows what happened to her , he is thinking back.

I was devastated when I first saw this film as a little girl. I didn't know or understand what Myra had done. I have seen it many times since then, and while I don't think Roy would have been unkind to Myra he would not have married her after finding out about her prostitution. They lived in very different times and her behaviour would have been totally unacceptable.

Im glad you love this film it's a real tear jerker though isn't it?

[–] thatsnumberwang 16 years ago

After Myra kills herself which was during the first world war , we are looking at Roy on the bridge many years later during the second world war.

This was definitely NOT set during the First World War. The style of dress, the bomb shelters, etc. all indicate WWII. Possibly Roy was just a man with a career in the millitary, and so would reasonably be wearing a uniform further in the future. Additionally, the film was released in 1940, so I'm sure the creators had no idea how long the war would run as those were pretty dark times for England.

http://saucybetty.blogspot.com

[–] freemanlaura 16 years ago

This has been covered in other posts, but I feel I must respond to saucybetty's "definitely NOT in WWI" comment.
I too was confused because of the fashions, but really and truly, the play and previous filmed version (1931) were set during WWI. My opinion is that the studio made a specific decision to dress Vivien Leigh in contemporary fashions to capitalize on her movie star status. Many movies in the 30s, 40s and 50s were not true to the periods they were depicting, although usually they got the costumes right for period films while using contemporary hairstyles. Look at VL in GWTW -- her hair was all wrong for the Civil War, while Melanie's was much more suitable to the time! The audiences went to the movies to escape and wanted to look at beautiful things/people. It wasn't till the 60's that realism became a goal of film. If the studio had been concerned with realism, they would have ensured Robert Taylor sounded at least British if not Scottish! That is another thing that makes us think "WWII" from our perspective in 2008 -- he seems American and everyone knows how many American-British romances went on in WWII.
Look at the background scenes in WB -- most of the extras are in 19-teens styles, and I would venture to guess that Robert Taylor's military wardrobe was WWI-inspired, although I don't know that for a fact.

[–] Enrique-8 15 years ago

Fiona:

Since we are all nitpicking, I thought I'd join the club. :)

The word is not "momento"....that means MOMENT...I am sure you mean, "memento"...which comes from MEMORY, and means KEEPSAKE.

:) Don't be too upset with me! ;)

Enrique Sanchez

[–] simba-18 15 years ago

In that one scene where she says she was born in 1895 proved to me that the story took place during WWI. She was obviously a young girl, so she was about the right age in WWI to be of that age.

[–] Clemencedane 10 years ago

How could he have "kept" the luck charm when he had given it back to her the night before she left him in Scotland? When she is in the accident on the bridge, her charm falls onto the road. 20-odd years later he is walking on that same bridge and suddenly he has the charm. Where/when did he get it?

[–] dandymandy 18 years ago

Roy's uncle was a member of some special forces in the military, and when he was talking to Myra, he mentioned that he knew she would never dishonor Roy or the merry fusiliers or whatever they were called. In those days, prostitution was an unforgivable act, and if anyone ever found out, Myra would be disowned and dishonored, and she knew that neither Roy nor his family would forgive or accept her. Those were tough times.

[–] yardleys40 18 years ago

oh i know it breaks my heart right from the music of the opening credits! Thanks for both of your replies!!
I didnt realise that the film was in flashback - i assume everyone else did. did this make u assume that myra and roy wouldn't get together? im glad i didnt know it was in flashback or it might have ruined it for me

He said machnery will take the place of every profession.
O my dear that's somethng u need nevr worry about!!

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] wowcharlie3 17 years ago

He and Myra could have moved to America. Especially if Roy's family found it to be absolutely unforgiveable , witness Lady Margaret's " MYRA!!??" after she tells her. She is in utter shock. They could have moved to New York or Colorado. Surely there would be gossip, but who cares.

[–] backofthevan 16 years ago

Back in those days it was just not acceptable in "polite society". People were very aware of social standing and being proper and keeping up appearances. Minds were closed. Running away would mean Roy would be dishonouring himself and his family and he most likely wouldn't do it. What other people thought of you was extremely important. Much nonsense might have gone on behind closed doors, but one certainly never spoke of it or even acknowledged it. Many people lived lives they didn't want and did things they didn't want to do just because it was expected of them.

I guess many people still live that way, unfortunately. It's so alien to me that I think that kind of living was long in the past but maybe not. I think things have changed greatly in general, though, and people are more open-minded and more accepting of other people.

[–] DaniraMoon 15 years ago

I don't think she has afraid of what he would think as much.She was already disgusted with herself, she couldn't forgive herself, she didn't feel worthy of his love.
When she thought he was dead, nothing mattered to her so she went in a self destruction mode, & then he appears & it's too late for her to go back to who she was when they were together, she's not the same, she hates who she is, so she killed herself.
Even if he didn't care she knew it would never be the same for her.

[–] Bklyn4ever 15 years ago

I agree illusionDr; she is the one who cannot forgive herself. She would always feel out of place in his family or guilty for making him leave his family and his honor behind.

The film is not just about prostitution, but the sort of "grilling" one goes through in trying to marry into a very upper-crusty family. They have ways of making you feel like dirt, even if you have never been a prostitute. I could really relate to this movie because I had a similar experience when I had a relationship years ago with a fellow from a Mayflower/Boston Brahmin-type family. They could make me feel like a street urchin with just a withering glance. Finally I gave up and moved to another state, and my ex-bf had to undergo therapy to get over his family's controlling behavior. I don't know if he ever succeeded.

So the war and the prostitution themes just intensify what is really a battle of social classes. Those lines were not crossable and in good measure because we internalize the stigma of being an "underling" in class identity.

[–] 15 years ago

[deleted]

[–] wowcharlie3 15 years ago

It's so sad when she's on the bridge and the bag lady tells her Kitty told her she was getting married,. Myra shakes her head slowly, so sadly...

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

or canada

[–] dlevy1201 10 years ago

It is very important to use SPOILER ALERTS when divulging such details like a main character committing suicide.

This is how it would look:

SPOILER ALERT!
after myra kills herself