I think Peter got what he deserved.
He left a good loving wife for a frivilous little tramp and then wonders why his life is ruined.
And instead of leaving the little b*tch, he kills himself.
No sympathy here.
How did he kill himself anyway? I can't remember them mentioning.
After Stanley accidentally hits the woman and her girl, I had to wonder if maybe Stanley was vicious enough to kill Peter or deliberately drive him into suicide so she could get her hands on his policy and be rid of him simulataneous.
We're never told how Peter killed himself.
Asa just received the news via telephone and then relayed it to Roy and Craig.
Roy then left for Baltimore to bring Stanley home.
Nah, Stanley didn't kill Peter. He killed himself because she was a mega bitch to him, and he'd dug himself into a hole. Staying with her was a nightmare, he couldn't leave her and go back to Roy obviously, and he couldn't leave them both.
He left Roy for Stanley because he and his wife were 'never alone,' and Stanley was obviously sleeping with him. LOL, so in typical man style he thought his being sexually attracted to her meant he was in love with her. He also didn't know what she was really like until he started living with her. And he saw the hedonism and selfishness he hadn't previously had the opportunity to notice.
I still feel sorry for him though.
Thou met'st with things dying, I with things new born.
Yep....I am in total agreement with you on this one!
Now....given how beautiful Olivia De'Havilland's character is in this movie,
what in the world did Peter see in Stanley?
Was he already "laying the pipe" with Stanley behind his wife's back?
She was arrogant, dishonest, self-absorbed, spoiled, and NO WHERE as pretty,
mature or sensitive as his wife!
So my feeling, since Stanley had no redeeming qualities to speak of within
the context of the character, she must have been giving up the "candy"
so to speak. What other attraction could there have been?! Just MHO!
"OOO...I'M GON' TELL MAMA!"
HillieBoliday; Believe that is why the film disappointed at the box-office. Neither Men nor Women believed it. As a Man, who would you want too wake up next to, Olivia DeHavilland or Bette Davis. WOW, that is a tough choice and it is NOT the latter. Women are not going to identify with a manipulative 'bitch' who betrays her Sister and pushes her Husband to suicide. Also is insensitive to the death of a Child, frames a innocent and is only concerned with her own well being.
I liked the film though. Never miss it when it is on and rate it IMDB********Stars<8>.
I always thought Bette Davis murdered the Dennis Morgan character. SHE claims it's suicide, I bet she did him in!
shareOh yeah, she definitely killed him. I thought that was obvious.
sharegeneralusgrant: Don't buy the murder angle, Stanley was a coward and that would have been too much of a direct approach for her. In addition that type of murder is almost always solved very quickly and the picture would be over.
Morgan's character was weak and could not face how he screwed up his life. Suicide was the logical conclusion to solve his problems.
I felt that Peter killed himself because he realized that he gave up a good life and now was in "hell". A bitch who spends all of his money and probably isn't doing her marital duties anymore.
It also seemed to me the suicide helped with the movie code of the time that people that do bad things get punished in the end (he cheated and left his wife)
I often think about the code when it comes to certain storyline details, but wasn't thinking about it with this film. I bet you're right!
And Stanley ends up dead as her pay back for killing the little girl. Justice is done.
shareThe sisters are given masculine names --Roy and Stanley-- how strange -- and the father "Asa" which seems feminine or extremely old fashioned. Are there some historic persons with these names or did the parents want sons? Just wondering why.
shareAsa is a Biblical name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asa_of_Judah
I've read elsewhere that at this time, it was actually fairly common for Southern daughters to be given masculine names. But I can't find that info right now and won't swear to it...!
The book is available on Kindle, and maybe that gives more of an explanation. However, Asa is definitely a masculine name.
Woman with a man's name: Micheal Learned ("The Waltons").