No, I'm not gonna' deride your idea, but here's my take on it: I think the intent of the filmmakers was to show that Frank, in spite of all his rationalizations to the contrary, had in fact collaborated with the Nazis, and as such he got his just reward in the end. Joe was spared being killed in the end because he had already been "killed" by Frank, during the war. That is to say, the effect of Frank's collaboration with the Nazis pretty much messed up Joe for life. (Of course, I guess they could have killed him off at the end, to put him out of his misery. Call it "mercy killing.")
Anyway, this is a really troubling and thought-provoking film. It made me think of another collaboration-themed film called "The Rack," starring Paul Newman, from 1956.
"I've always tried to teach you two things. First: Never let them see you bleed. Second: Always have an escape plan." - Q
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SteveH2002
12 years ago
Just finished watching this for the first time in many years - own it on disk. It's really a wonderful movie.
What strikes me as most remarkable this time through is that the movie pulls a switch and gives us not one but two broken men. In a movie like this (imo) the film will usually decides who gets redeemed and who gets repaired. The Robert Ryan character, in the beginning at least, seemed broken beyond repair.
In the end the Heflin character is redeemed (steps in front of the bullet meant for Ryan) and indicates the Ryan character will be repaired - "I'll tell his wife about Heflin's murder".
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