How stupid are these townsfolk? - The Long, Hot Summer (1958) Discussion

[–] curlew-2 10 years ago

Well, to answer your question, the people in that town were so stupid they thought "Alibi" hung out in a cave with forty thieves. But let's try to follow their logic for a moment.

A. No barns burned before Ben Quick arrived.

B. Ben Quick arrives and a barn burns. QED.

B(2). Besides . . . ain't had a lynchin' in the town in quite some time and, seein' as how LSU didn't make it into the playoffs this year, what else these people going to do for entertainment?

"I'm not reckless . . . I'm skillful!"

reply

[–] lmh-10 10 years ago

It is possible he didn't need to be present to start the fire. Something as simple as a smudge pot rigged to tip over would do the trick.

But mostly they are just pissed off at the Stranger, Ben Quick.

reply

[–] Wuchak (8068) 6 years ago

RE: "Ben has obviously been working at the general store when the fire starts. Unless he can teleport himself he has an alibi."

It's such an obvious plot hole! What idiot wrote this part in the script?

reply

[–] MissMargoChanning (6630) 6 years ago

Please read the post above you....

reply

[–] Wuchak (8068) 6 years ago

I read it, but thanks. It just wasn't credible that these Southerners would jump the gun on lynching someone -- KILLING him -- without any actual evidence. It's bad, lazy scripting, which can be observed in the rest of the movie:

Would this new drifter really be able to switch from being a sharecropper to a horse seller to a store clerk so successfully in the matter of a few days? At the end would one character so readily warm up to another who idiotically just tried to murder him and slay several innocent creatures? After two hours of tension and bickering, even murder plots, would everyone just smile & hug and that's the end?

Then there's the contrived "treasure in the front yard" element. Why sure!

reply

[–] MissMargoChanning (6630) 6 years ago

I guess I do have to agree. They all did jump the gun, so to speak.

"After two hours of tension and bickering, even murder plots, would everyone just smile & hug and that's the end?"

This is the thing that grinds my gears. How can Jody and his wife be all smiles and laughter and running around kissing when Jody and his father know the truth about what really transpired? It just seems too soon to start acting all happy after what has happened.

I can see Quick staying after a good long talk with Clara.

The ending did seem rushed and ridiculously happy. I like the story, but whoever wrote the script seemed to have trouble deciding on whether this should be a comedy or a drama.
there were so many uncomfortable scenes, like when Jody and his father were talking after Quick moves in. He wants to know if his father has ever felt any love for him. He walks upstairs with Clara on his heals. Clara loves her brother. I felt toched by what she said to him.
There are many scenes like that throughout this movie, but then you have these silly giddy scenes that make me wince!

The towns people coming after Quick are the least of it. I can see why they assumed that he may be behind the fire.

reply

[–] Wuchak (8068) 6 years ago

It's one of those movies where I guess you have to take the good with the bad.

FYI: This was the film where Newman and Woodward met. They married the same year the film was released and stayed together until Paul's death in 2008 (50 years!).

reply

[–] MissMargoChanning (6630) 6 years ago

They are my favorite couple. You can tell that they were falling in love.

I watched this today and then I followed it with Cat on a Hot Tin Roof....
Much like this one too.

Great double feature!

reply

[–] Wuchak (8068) 6 years ago

If you haven't already, be sure to check out "Rachel, Rachel" (1968) with Woodward in the title role. It was Newman's first stab at directing and it's the best cinematic depiction of the inward struggle of flesh and spirit -- id and superego -- I've ever seen. This struggle explains why it's called "Rachel, Rachel." Rachel is experiencing the undercurrent conflict between spiritual and carnal impulses. She's stuck between goody-goody Rachel and libertine Rachel and is therefore in living limbo.

reply

[–] MissMargoChanning (6630) 6 years ago

My son loves that one. I still have not seen it.

reply

[–] MissMargoChanning (6630) 6 years ago

The one I remember is, The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds. Have you seen that?
He directed that too. Their daughter was in it as well. I wish I could find it. I haven't seen it in years.

reply

[–] Wuchak (8068) 6 years ago

No. I haven't seen "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" either. I'll put 'em on my watchlist, thanks.

reply

[–] MissMargoChanning (6630) 6 years ago

I hope you enjoy them. Cat On a Hot Tin Roof is much like The Long Hot Summer.

reply