MovieChat Forums > The Hanging Tree (1959) Discussion > What actually happened to Frail's wife a...

What actually happened to Frail's wife and brother?

posted 13 years ago by debijon
4 replies | jump to latest

TCM's synopsis of the movie indicates that Frail discovered his wife and brother dead (supposedly a murder-suicide, this was never made clear), then burned the house and took off. However, I figured that Frail might have killed them upon learning of their affair (since he was so willing to kill Frenchy if he ever so much as caught him hanging around Elizabeth's cabin again, and not concerned at all about saying so in front of witnesses). The murder-suicide angle is probably the correct one though, otherwise Frail would have had to atone for the crime of murder at the film's end, right?

[–] ksf-2 11 years ago

*** minor SPOILERS
... i missed that part of the film, but i dont think the Hays film code was still being enforced at this time. (so i wouldnt base my decision on what the production code would dictate.)

this from wikipedia.org:

[Hollywood worked within the confines of the Production Code until the late 1950s and the movies were faced with very serious competitive threats. The first threat came from a new technology, television, which did not require Americans to leave their house to watch moving pictures. Hollywood needed to offer the public something it could not get on television, which itself was under an even more restrictive censorship code]

film synopsis also from wikipedia.org:

[She finds out and asks Frail why he couldn't respond to her affection. He reveals that his wife had an affair with his own brother. He found them together, both dead, an apparent murder-suicide. In a rage, he burned down their house with their bodies in it. He tells Elizabeth he is "not allowed to forget."]

so, to summarize...we don't have enough info to know for sure. has anyone read the novel by Dorothy Johnson? it may provide more info

[–] mdonln 8 years ago

Here's the scenario I imagined:

Frail's wife committed suicide because she had betrayed her husband with his brother. The guilt became too much to bear.

Frail did seem devoted to his patients, which means he probably spent a lot of time attending to them. He was away from home so often his wife and brother grew close then succumbed to their impulses.

Frail worked hard and was a busy man. To unwind, he spent his free time playing cards and gambling; though he may have picked up that habit after the tragedy. In either case, he was completely unaware of what was going on at home; until one day he arrived to find both his wife and brother dead and a note from his wife.

Having found the wife's note prior to Frail's arrival, his brother joined her in death by committing suicide by her side. He may have left a note himself; explaining his undying love for her and apologizing to his brother for what they had done.

Frail, in a rage, having simultaneous feelings of betrayal and guilt, burned his home to the ground. He turned his back on that part of his life and hit the road trying to forget. He vowed never to allow anyone to get close enough to hurt him that way again. He was in a struggle with himself; a kind and caring person who tried to do right and help his fellow human being but when anyone got too close, he pushed them away; preferring to go it alone.

In the ashes of the old house, two bodies were found; charred beyond recognition. Knowing who lived in the house, it was determined the deceased were Mrs. Frail and her brother-in-law. The doctor could not be found in death and in life. When he was again spotted alive in different areas, it was assumed, by those who did not know him, that he had murdered his family; the motives for the killings were also assumed.

Woman, man! That's the way it should be Tarzan. [Tarzan and his mate]

[–] gerrythree 10 years ago

The dialog below indicates Frail's wife committed suicide. What happened to his brother is not said. Frail's burning down the house in Illinois, destroying the evidence, seems suspicious.
---
1157
01:29:06,240 --> 01:29:09,675
THEN IT'S TRUE-- THE STORY
THEY TELL ABOUT YOU

1158
01:29:09,743 --> 01:29:12,445
AND THE WOMAN
WHO KILLED HERSELF.

1159
01:29:14,248 --> 01:29:15,982
YES, IT'S TRUE.

1160
01:29:19,253 --> 01:29:21,187
THE WOMAN WAS MY WIFE,

1161
01:29:21,255 --> 01:29:23,756
AND THE MAN WAS MY BROTHER.

1162
01:29:24,758 --> 01:29:27,260
AND I HAVE NO RIGHT
TO FORGET.

[–] gerrythree 10 years ago

More dialog from earlier in the movie, that describes the house fire.
---
345
00:26:59,917 --> 00:27:02,285
THERE'S A STORY
ABOUT THE DOC...

346
00:27:02,353 --> 00:27:06,423
OR ANYWAY ABOUT A MAN NAMED
TEMPLE WHO WAS A DOCTOR.

347
00:27:06,491 --> 00:27:10,927
LIVED IN A TOWN
WHERE THE OHIO RUNS
INTO THE MISSISSIPPI.

348
00:27:10,995 --> 00:27:13,930
SEEMS THIS DOCTOR LIVED
IN A FINE, GRAND HOUSE

349
00:27:13,998 --> 00:27:17,434
ON THE POINT THAT OVERLOOKED
THE JOINING OF THE WATERS.

350
00:27:17,502 --> 00:27:20,103
AND SOMETHING HAPPENED
TO THE HOUSE ONE NIGHT.

351
00:27:20,171 --> 00:27:23,440
THEY SAY A MAN AND A WOMAN
WERE KILLED...

352
00:27:23,508 --> 00:27:27,444
AND THE DOCTOR
PUT THE TORCH TO THE HOUSE

353
00:27:27,512 --> 00:27:29,513
AND BURNED IT TO THE GROUND.

354
00:27:29,580 --> 00:27:31,948
YOU CAN STILL SEE
THE BURNED CHIMNEYS

355
00:27:32,016 --> 00:27:35,519
STICKING UP ABOVE THE WILLOWS
WHERE THE RIVERS MEET.