MovieChat Forums > Tension (1949) Discussion > Some stupid things about this movie - sp...

Some stupid things about this movie - spoilers -


-How could she be stupid enough to date the cop investigating the murder?
That seemed pretty naive.

-It was smart that they thought of telling Claire that they changed the furniture in the apartment (at the end) BUT... how did they know for certain that she was going to drive out, get the gun and then come back to that apartment and plant the gun! And why, after seeing Mary outside of the apartment, would Claire still go into the apartment - when it would be obvious that she was doing something suspicious there!! That had to be the stupidest thing about this movie.

-And also, as someone else said - what exactly was her motive for killing her lover?

-And finally... If Warren got beaten up by Barney the first time, then why is it that when he went to his apartment to kill him, even after putting the pitchfork thing down, he was man enough to challenge him to a fight - AND BARNEY BACKED DOWN! That doesn't seem consistent at all.
haha

Otherwise - it wasn't a bad movie. I liked Warren.

reply

Claire dated the Detective because she thought she knew it all and let her ego and hormones get the best of her. He knew that was her Achilles heel and played her that way.

I'd have to watch the film again to be certain, but they may have tailed her, and saw her retrieve the gun. It wasn't strange for Mary to be outside of the apartment, since she lived in the complex. Claire was determined to get in there to plant the gun.

She killed her lover because he gave her hell for being out. He knew, as Warren had told him, that now she was cheating on him. That's why he backed down, as Warren had earlier, at the beach...they'd both been castrated by her cuckolding.

reply

What does cockold mean?

reply

Re: Some stupid things about this movie - spoilers -
by skip_22 6 hours ago (Thu Oct 14 2010 01:36:17)
Ignore this User | Report Abuse Reply

What does cockold mean?


Cuckold means a man whose wife is committing adultery.

reply

Barney backed down from the fight because he was feeling small and defeated: he knew Claire was out with some other guy. The last thing he wanted to do was rough it up with her previous dupe, the guy he stole her away from. They had a lot in common now.

Her motive for killing Barney is unclear, but I assume she came home, they quarreled over her infidelity and the fight escalated to the point where she picked up a gun and shot him.

I think Claire was dating Bonnabel partly because she thought she could manipulate him and learn things about the investigation that could help her. That made sense to me.

It was extremely stupid for Claire to plant the gun after Mary saw her go in. Implausibly stupid? I don't know: Claire is brazen and arrogant, for sure.


...Justin

reply

[deleted]

People don't always act logically. High stress was involved in all the situations mentioned, and I actually thought everyone's actions seemed quite plausible. Where their actions smart? No. But consider the characters' wisdom already--they are cheating on spouses, contemplating murder, covering up their wrongdoings, etc. People don't always act smart in such situations. (Just look up "dumb criminal" on YouTube, and you'll see all sorts of situations where people did stupid things.)

reply

It seems to me that Claire killed Barney in order to frame Warren for it.

reply

I think you have it exactly right. Claire is selfish and evil.

Clair doesn't really love Barney, she's just looking for a good time. And she knows that running off with Barney, or anyone, would let Warren divorce her for adultery and she would get nothing financially. This may have been her plan all along...framing Warren for a murder...and she just uses Barney as part of her plot.

So by killing Barney and framing Warren she will get all of Warren's assets and be free to "party on".

She'd probably just kill Warren to get everything, if she thought she could get away with it, but she would then be the prime suspect.

reply

Maybe I'm hopelessly dim, but can't seem to figure out what was the point of telling Claire the furniture's changed?



"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan

reply

OK, lots and lots of spoilers here, so be warned:


Well, the idea was to fool her into thinking that they had COMPLETELY emptied the apartment, and replaced EVERYTHING in it so that there could be no gun hidden anywhere.

So if there was a gun found in the apartment after only Clair had entered into it and left, she had to be the one who planted it there.

Clair realizes she has been 'caught out' in planting the gun when told this, as you can see from her expression. And if she had the gun, she must be the murderer.

Of course, they hadn't really changed anything. They just wanted to make her THINK she was caught so she would confess, which it is implied that she will do after she is taken away under arrest.

No "Miranda Rule" in those days.

reply

There are many implausible things in this film but the biggest is that "wannabe Clark Kent" Warren actually thinks he would have committed the perfect crime if he would have went ahead with the murder.

reply

"[H]ow did they know for certain that she was going to drive out, get the gun and then come back to that apartment and plant the gun![?]"

I guess they couldn't be certain, but the detective baited her into doing it by telling her if they found the gun in the apartment it would be the key piece of evidence they needed to prosecute him.



Nobody gets to be a cowboy forever.

reply

What about Warren listening to his 'soda jerk' and deciding to murder someone who beat him up? What about Claire hiding the gun in the apartment with the drapes wide open and Mary standing right outside the door - but not popping her head in the window to see what was doing? Despite all that (and I'm sure more), I agree. It's very watchable.

reply