MovieChat Forums > The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946) Discussion > excellent, except for... (spoilers ahead...

excellent, except for... (spoilers ahead)

posted 11 years ago by MsELLERYqueen2
5 replies | jump to latest

Excellent movie, except for two plot holes. (spoilers ahead)

1. The story that Martha and Walter told the cops was that a man came through the door and killed Martha's aunt. It was pouring outside. Didn't the cops notice that there were no muddy/wet footprints on the carpet?

2. Walter was a witness to the murder, so he'd be an accomplice. Martha was so scared of him saying something, but he couldn't speak up about the murder even if he wanted to. Why was she so scared of him?

Other than that, great movie and a great musical score!

~~
Jim Hutton: talented gorgeous hot hunk; adorable as ElleryQueen; SEXIEST ACTOR EVER

[–] gribfritz2 11 years ago

1. Walter's father was suspicious of the story from the start but went along with it. It's quite possible he made his own muddy footprints to help cover it up. But, yeah, it's pretty weak.

2. Martha was not scared of Walter until the end. She's always been able to wrap Walter around her finger, so no need to be scared of him. Until the end. When it's obvious he has reached his breaking point. At this point he has become unpredictable.

[–] MsELLERYqueen2 11 years ago

Well, she was scared enough of him to marry him and to go along with anything that he and his father expected of her. As long as she was a teen, she might not have had a choice. Once she was an adult, she should have known that Walter wouldn't be able to say anything.

~~
Jim Hutton: talented gorgeous hot hunk; adorable as ElleryQueen; SEXIEST ACTOR EVER

[–] jackboot 11 years ago

Ever look at a bushel of live crabs? They are so interlocked with their claws holding on to each other, it's like they're bonded to each other in their crabby fashion.

I'm sure Walter's father saw exactly what he wanted to see when listening to Martha's story, that it was flimsy but would stand up with corroborating testimony from his complicit and compliant son, Walter, and a perfect opportunity for him to have a death-grip on her like the crabs, thus ensuring comfort for life and the resources to fund the opportunity for Walter make something of himself. And she got rid of her aunt without any legal consequences. I think she paid a bit of a high price and got a life sentence with Walter for whom she never cared.

Interesting story. I really liked it - - well told with good actors on all sides.

[–] MsELLERYqueen2 11 years ago

Of course, except that Walter knew perfectly well that he would never be able to talk. As kids, Walter's dad could control them both. As an adult, and a lawyer, Walter knew that if he said anything, then Martha could squeal on him.

The two of them had no choice but to keep quiet.

~~
Jim Hutton: talented gorgeous hot hunk; adorable as ElleryQueen; SEXIEST ACTOR EVER

[–] liscarkat (16476) 3 years ago

At the time Martha killed her aunt, the story told to Walter's father and the cops was that a large man had killed her. Then the guy who got railroaded and hanged years later was described as being small. It seems as though the police record of the initial interview, describing the killer as large, should have save him.