Why did the Raths need the judge to send the childsupport every month? He didn't want correspondance with Maria so why couldn't he just drop some money in the mail himself without a letter - why did he need the judge to do it? Although that did make me wonder why he wouldn't inquire about his son and want correspondance as far as the boy was concerned at least.
"Are you going to your grave with unlived lives in your veins?" ~ The Good Girl
Mr Rath needed to keep his shrew of a wife happy.
shareI think it had more to do with the constrictive social mores of the 1950's.
Imagine the people in Tom's small-town Connecticut bank see a regular stream of his checks to some unknown woman who is cashing them in Italy. Small towns are filled with busy-bodies with wagging tongues. They start asking questions, and then begin answering those questions themselves with rank speculation, etc., and before you know it, Tom and Betsy have a scandal worthy of a sequel film directed by Douglas Sirk & written by Grace Metalious.
Exactly. That's why we had to deal with the subplot of the man trying to take over the estate. They didn't need to go to the bank to find out how much was in the guy's account. Small town people know everything.
The people you idolize wouldn't like you.
Also, you must remember that the Raths wanted to set a Trust Fund for the boy under certain conditions (that they have money available). That would take some assistance from the judge.
shareFirst, he would not want to have a legal trail between them, that could be followed later.
Second, sending money overseas in those days was not easy, you could not just send a check. It's not easy now either.
He used the Judge to take care of the legalities, why not? In the mid-70s I bought a hat through the mail from London to Detroit, it took six weeks, a number of court papers, a certified check, and a customs stamp. The hat only cost about $35 — go figure.
Although I love the Cobb scenes, my question was always on a macro level...since when does a JUDGE get involved with all this stuff? Wouldn't one be consulting a lawyer?
I was not aware that in the 50s in a small town you could just walk in and ask a judge for help!
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My impression was that he was a retired judge, who was practicing law and was called "judge" out of respect. Or he could have been a judge who also practiced law. In any case, the Raths needed someone reliable and discreet to handle their problems, and Judge Bernstein was recommended to them.
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Fowler's knots? Did you say ... fowler's knots?
Exactly.
share