MovieChat Forums > The Long Night (1947) Discussion > Was Charlene the villain?

Was Charlene the villain?

posted 13 years ago by Toobin
4 replies | jump to latest

Joe is continually getting depressed and dropping Jo Ann at the slightest imagined reverse. The final crisis is provoked by that worthless bangle that Jo Ann gave him and he treasured. And here it seems Charlene is the instigator of the whole tragedy. So what if Jo Ann fantasized that it was a true ancient Aztec relic or whatever? Charlene taunts Joe: "Ha ha, that's just a piece of cheap junk that Maximilian gives to every chick he scores with! Sorry to disappoint you, but your sweetie is just another slut!" Later, Maximilian notices the trinket and leers that it reminds him of when he used Jo Ann for his degenerate purposes! (All told in Production Code code.) That moves Joe to shoot him. Otherwise, Charlene is presumed decent and goodhearted, but as the woman scorned isn't she really the ultimate troublemaker?

[–] Local Hero 13 years ago

How odd that on such a slow board we both posted about the same details at the same time (even if TCM just broadcast the film)!

Anyway, no, I do NOT see Charlene as the villain. When Joe sees in Charlene's room that Jo Ann's precious brooch was actually a gift from Max, what spurs Joe's thoughts is the idea that Jo Ann must have lied to him "again" about her ties to Maximilian, and right during an intimate moment of truth! (so he feels)

No, I think Charlene is rather sympathetic. Yes, her laugh is very unpleasant, but it may be an exaggerated projection of Joe's own morbid thoughts at this moment (recall at the end when he's hearing voices and distorting reality). No, I think that Charlene has just shown us that she is not manipulative. She recognizes the true love between Joe and Jo Ann and she yields, waxing in a rather noble, philosophical, but world-weary vein about her own life of tough luck and missed chances. It's just when she thinks she's had her man taken by the sweet, innocent, youthful Jo Ann that she can no longer be herself, that she hears that it may be Jo Ann taking Joe for a ride, and at that moment it's her jaded weariness that prompts her to laugh at the apparent irony of it all. That's all. We're shown at the film's end that Charlene is actually very caring and understanding when it comes to Joe and Jo Ann-- she's sort of vicariously invested in them.

[–] Jason_Radley 11 years ago

Production code or not, I really don't think we're meant to believe that Max has yet had his evil way with Jo-Ann.

[–] brbroose 8 years ago

That's exactly what the brooch symbolizes: a notch on Vincent Price's belt.

[–] liscarkat (16522) 2 years ago

He gives them out to all the chicks he gets involved with. That doesn't mean he's had sex with all of them. He and Jo Ann never did it, in spite of his wishful thinking. Her head just about exploded when he kissed her. There's no way she got naked with him.