What did it mean? I watched a very bad print so did not hear Jane Wyatt's last dialogue very well.
Was she going to confess to shooting her husband in (possibly mistaken) self-defense? Was she going to let Lee J. Cobb take the rap for murder?
It seemed at the end she was trying to convey a message to him.
Maybe it was meant to keep us guessing.
That ending left me really wanting...Wyatt just said to her new beau that she had a lot of money and they were going away together somewhere...and then that she wanted to have her cigarette lit.
The communication between Cobb and Wyatt were really perplexing, she smiled at him long and hard but there was no SYMPATHY for his "obviously" taking the rap. But for what? Murder? He must have been some real chump to do that!
In a clear-cut picture like this, guessing at the end is really pointless, don't you think?
Enrique Sanchez
To me it seemed that Wyatt was demonstrating Cobb's earlier prediction that she'd eventually lose interest (in Cobb, this time) and move on. With all Cobb's meddling, and with the love triangle itself, there would've been a lot of circumstantial evidence that he was involved early on in what would have seemed like premeditated murder, and very little evidence exonerating him. Wyatt's money (and promise of other favors) had obviously bought the best legal counsel, who would most likely get her an acquittal, at the expense of Cobb, whose cop's salary certainly couldn't pay for that kind of help. The cigarette scene, ending with Cobb's wry smile of acceptance, was a silent dialogue between two former lovers (and current adversaries) acknowledging all this.
shareNicely put, aahronheim. I think you nailed it. And in addition, I really liked this little gem of a film, despite the naysayers.
shareLois Frazer's last dialog as she was speaking to her attorney: "I won't have anyone but you, John. When you get me out of this, let's go away, anywhere you like. I've got a lot of money, John. Light me a cigarette, will you, darling?" To which he answers "Of course, dear."
Recall that early in the film, Lois told Lt. Cullen that he was the only one for her. Evidently she used that line with several men.
No way is she planning to confess to the shooting. She is very manipulative. She is planning to pull whatever strings are necessary to get charges dismissed, a ruling of self defense or an acquittal. Her goal is to stick Lt. Cullen with the murder.
In the final scene, Lois' facial expressions were telling Lt. Cullen that he was right about her all along. He told her that she had already been through two marriages and he didn't know why he should be her third husband. She convinced him that she was innocently trying to start new each time she married. He didn't believe her but he was taken in by her charms.
Still, there are some confusing parts to the film. For example:
Why did Mr. Frazer deliberately damage the door lock on the balcony so he could return later without a key. I suppose it was so he could return and finish moving out without Mrs Frazer's knowledge.
Why did Mr. Frazer leave the gun hidden on a shelf instead of taking it with him?
How is it that Mr. Frazer happens to return to the house at the moment when Mrs. Frazer is holding the gun and she has Lt. Cullen in the house?
As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. - Proverbs 23:7
Well the problem with all that is that Wyatt was never particularly convincing as a femme fatale.
"facts are stupid things" Ronald Reagan
Oh, no--it's the "facts are stupid things" Reagan out-of-context misquoter again.
Anyway: The husband bought a new gun, burned the packaging and paperwork (except for the receipt he accidentally dropped, which clued her in that he was plotting something), then jimmied the lock so he could sneak back in later, kill her, get back to the airport for his flight, and it would look like she was killed by a burglar.
Wyatt was excellent in her role.