MovieChat Forums > A Letter to Three Wives (1949) Discussion > The real ending is this...Spoiler.....

The real ending is this...Spoiler.....

posted 14 years ago by artistathome
7 replies | jump to latest

spoiler

For anyone who thinks they know the truth and it was Brad who ran away with Addie it was Porter who ran away with Addie.
I just rewatched the movie and YES it is confusing except for one thing. After Deborah runs out to go home, Porter says to Lora Mae, "Now you know the truth, you can take me for all I've got." Or words to that effect.

If he had been making it up to make Deborah feel better, he'd never have said that Lora Mae could divorce him and take his money. He'd have said I made it all up."
He certainly would not let Lora Mae think he ran off with Addie. His marriage was already rocky.

Also, on the DVD Special Features, the over voice commentary by the writer's son, says plain out that altho the ending is confusing, it was Porter who ran away with Addie. Joseph L. Manckiwietz who wrote the screenplay said he was surprised that anyone was confused.

So at least that problem is solved.

[–] XResidentXEvilX 14 years ago

Yeah...I don't see how anyone is confused by this. So what her husband wasn't coming home THAT NIGHT, she just assumed he ran away with Addie. Porter flat out admitted he ran away with her but changed his mind and it would explain why he came home late that night all 'tired' and wanting a drink. He clearly had feelings for his wife but he felt that she was only using him for his money so at the dinner he just flat out admitted it to see what she would do and clearly she liked Porter for the man he was rather than the wallet he carried.

[–] MikeAnsaraFan 14 years ago

I agree. Just watched this movie again (must be at least half a dozen times in all), and I believe Addie did try and run off with Porter.

All through the movie Porter stressed the fact how much class Addie had. He was attracted to her more than the other two husbands and kept her photo on his piano. He also felt that Laura Mae didnt love him.

When it's mentioned that "Deborah will find out anyway in the morning", its meant that she'll know it wasnt Brad when he returns.

[–] artistathome 13 years ago

I agree with all the posters on this thread. And also, had Porter been lying and George and Rita knew he was LYING to Deborah, they would NEVER have let her leave the dance alone.

Rita and George FOR SURE would have taken her home! They were very protective of her.

[–] scoup 9 years ago

Also, they would never have called him a nice guy because only a jerk would lie to Deb and give her false hope to get crushed in the morning.

[–] PillowRock 9 years ago

When it's mentioned that "Deborah will find out anyway in the morning", its meant that she'll know it wasn't Brad when he returns.

Just to be clear (because I agree with your overall point):

Nobody ever says that "Deborah will find out". That verb phrase means that there is something that she doesn't know and that she will learn in the morning. After Porter has told everyone that he was the one who had been leaving with Addie, this would mean that Brad had left Deborah.

What they *do* say is "Deborah would have found out". That means that what she had just learned is what she would have learned the next morning, and that there is now nothing else for her to learn in the morning. Since what she has learned at that point is that it was Porter, and NOT Brad, who had been about to leave Addie, that is the final truth.

Those two compound verb tenses mean completely different things.

[–] CoriSCapnSkip (1571) 5 years ago

Admittedly I didn't see the whole movie, but my mom has more than once, and we were both confused. Why would the note to Deborah be in Addie's writing? How would Addie know Brad was not coming home that night if she did NOT run off with him? Unless she was his secretary or had some other special reason to deliver a message from him other than to further torment Deborah, and even if that was her game, how would she even know that Brad would be either extremely late, or not coming home that night? (Assuming he didn't meet with foul play.) From seeing just the beginning and end of the movie and not all of the middle, I deduce the following.

George was only a friend and never a serious contender for Addie to run off with. Not only was he happy with his wife, but a homewrecker like Addie would never consider running off with a poor and altruistic schoolteacher. This leaves only Porter and Brad.

The theory that Porter really did try to run off with Addie, then thought better of it and confessed to his wife, is very valid. He would have had no reason to go on with a detailed confession after Deborah left the table had he been only lying to give Deborah a better night's sleep. This leaves at least four possibilities concerning Brad.

1. Like George and Porter, Brad had no idea about the letter Addie wrote to the wives. He innocently asked Addie to send Deborah a note saying he would not be home that night, she did, but Brad was home the next day.

2. Brad himself wrote a note to Deborah saying he would not be home, which Addie intercepted with a note of her own just to mess with Deborah, but Brad was home the next day.

3. Having failed in her attempt to run off with Porter, Addie ran off with Brad and Brad was not home the next day. (This is the theory that Ben Mankiewicz is 63% sure happened and I also believed at first but it would depend on Brad being sincerely interested and Addie stringing him along until the last instant when Porter bailed.)

4. Brad wouldn't run off with Addie who was so mad she bumped him off and hid the body to make it look as if he had run off with her and Brad was obviously not home ever.

It is absolutely maddening for the screenwriter NOT to let the audience know WHICH of these things happened. The thing to do is track down a copy of the book, and then book endings often differ from film endings.

[–] macfilm 9 years ago

You have it exactly.

What purpose would it serve Porter to exclaim on to Laura Mae that she had grounds to divorce if it turned out mot to be true in the morning?