MovieChat Forums > Nora Prentiss (1947) Discussion > Vamp, Tramp, and Siren - SPOILER ALERT

Vamp, Tramp, and Siren - SPOILER ALERT


It seems a lot of people see Nora as an innocent bystander in the story. I happen to see her in a different light. I believe people are responsible for their own actions but there are people who, for whatever reason, are a bad influence on others. It's as if they contaminate everyone with whom they come into contact. Nora Prentiss is one of those people. She is truly a vamp, a tramp, and a siren (like the sirens of legend who sing their song to lure men's ships into the rocks; leading to their eventual destruction and demise).

I believe her encounter with the doctor was hardly by chance; it was perfectly coordinated and orchestrated by Nora herself. Before meeting him, she did her homework. She learned everything there was to know about him right down to what would entice him to take an interest in her.

At first she may have been working with Phil. Singers at nightclubs like his seldom just sing. They're usually responsible for luring in customer who will be able to spend a lot of money. It may have been even more sinister than that. They may have set these people up so they could be blackmailed later.

When Richard treats her with kindness and respect she has a momentarily lapse and introduces him to Phil by another name. Instead of the doctor he's expecting, Phil thinks Thompson is just any other mark. Nora decides she might be able to move up in the world by landing a respectable doctor.

She puts on the charm. She plays into his weaknesses and does the good old push and pull routine to entrap him. Once the fish is on the hook, she turns up the pressure by playing the weak, helpless, crying woman who has fallen for him and is now in need of save. She pushes him away only to make him want her more. He has to play the hero and rescue the damsel in distress.

Everything is going great. He lavishes gifts on her, spends time with her, neglects everything else in his life. He can't see straight then suddenly he flips the switch, goes overboard, and ruins everything. She starts to lose interest when the lifestyle she craves is slipping away. Now he's become out of control and she's stuck in a web of her own creation. By the end of it she has driven him mad and has destroyed the man and everything around him. In her company he has fallen to her level. He must accept his fate.

Nora ends up having to settle for Dinardo; the man she never wanted. He has nothing she wants but she's come to realize she is who she is. She's not cut out for anything good. Naturally, Richard is not without blame. As I said we're all responsible for our own actions. However, like most men, he’s putty in her hands. He's easily tempted by a wanton woman and willingly succumbs to her charms.


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

reply

Interesting analysis.

reply

Thanks!


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

reply

That's a nice fabrication, and it might have been a better movie if she was the character you depict, but none of what you say is confirmed by anything I saw in the movie. Nora is one of the most unusual femme fatales I've seen in a movie because I believed that her intentions were good and that she was just a weary hard-boiled woman who only wanted a good relationship with a man. She was never shown to be opportunistic or bad in any way to the doctor. She didn't encourage him to stage the accident to fake his identity or do anything a typical femme fatale would do to bring about his ruin, and we never saw her working with anybody else to con him. We never see her doing anything intentionally to lure him or destroy him other than point out his boring life and let him fall for her when she knew he was married, but even that was shown to be an innocent flirtation at the start and it certainly doesn't put her in the vamp/tramp category. His infatuation and later jealousy were what ruined him. She tried more than once to make him leave her. He followed her when she was leaving town, without her encouragement. Her tears during the last scene in the jail prove that her intentions were still good to the end. We don't know if she settled for Dinardo, only that he was still pursuing her.

reply

[deleted]

Satantangoandcash says > That's a nice fabrication, and it might have been a better movie if she was the character you depict, but none of what you say is confirmed by anything I saw in the movie.
I can accept that that is how you saw her and the movie but clearly there's more than one way to look at it.

She was never shown to be opportunistic or bad in any way to the doctor. She didn't encourage him to stage the accident to fake his identity or do anything a typical femme fatale would do to bring about his ruin, and we never saw her working with anybody else to con him.
Sometimes one person's very essence, just being around them, breathing the same air, is enough to lead to another person's complete demise. A person like Nora may not be a danger to herself or even to most people but to others they're poison. That's the very definition of femme fatale. They don't have to wish you harm; they may offer their love but either way the result is always the same, disaster.

We never see her doing anything intentionally to lure him or destroy him other than point out his boring life and let him fall for her when she knew he was married, but even that was shown to be an innocent flirtation at the start and it certainly doesn't put her in the vamp/tramp category.
Everything she did was with intention. Even if we ignore my view of her and go with yours, everything you've mention is enough to merit her entry into the vamp/tramp category. She knew he was married but pursued a relationship with him. That alone says a lot about her. She didn't care if she was participating in him hurting his wife and family. She knew their lives would turn upside down.

She didn't consider how it would affect the doctor either; as long as she was happy it didn't matter. There is no such thing as an 'innocent flirtation' when it comes to tampering with another person's life. If it cannot be respected for any other reason, marriage is a contract and should be considered as such. If his vows could be easily broken then where does it end? For him it didn't. He was willing to disregard his oath as a doctor, his partnership, his other obligations and his own value as a human being.

His infatuation and later jealousy were what ruined him.
Are you serious? If so, I have a nice bridge and plenty of swamp land to sell you; dirt cheap! The doctor didn't really change all that much in my opinion. His life with her wasn't very different than it had been before. All he did was change directions from positive to negative, thanks to her. You call it infatuation and jealousy but it can be considered commitment and loyalty.

She tried more than once to make him leave her. He followed her when she was leaving town, without her encouragement.
Tough cookies. Like I said, he hadn't changed. He signed up for better or worse. She wanted to take him away from his wife so he transferred that 'privilege' to her. She enjoyed all the 'good times' that were bad for other people so it was only right that she get to experience the bad times too.

Her tears during the last scene in the jail prove that her intentions were still good to the end. We don't know if she settled for Dinardo, only that he was still pursuing her.
Those tears were for her own loss; the life she could have had with him before he messed it up. She doesn't regret or even acknowledge her part in it. His downfall only mattered to her because she failed. As you said, she was already trying to shake him loose and would have loved to be rid of him.

She was hoping to be rid of Dinardo but, romantically or not, she's sticking with him. If he had any sense, he'd stay away from her. Getting involved with her would lead to his ruin too.


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

reply

Are you serious? If so, I have a nice bridge and plenty of swamp land to sell you; dirt cheap!



You can keep selling your worthless junk to other suckers, but I'm not buying what you're selling.



reply