MovieChat Forums > Homicidal (1961) Discussion > did Emily have the hots for Karl?

did Emily have the hots for Karl?

posted 17 years ago by classics_guy
4 replies | jump to latest

so 'Warren' was actually born a girl and made to play a boy, Warren!
or did she/he have a sex change in denmark??
in either case it was a she playing a he playing a she!

I notice as Emily, when "she" is with Karl she seemed to 'like' Karl
taking Mariam's place on the picnic, he turns her down.
and at the flower shop, in a rage Emily destroys anything to do with Marriage
and the fact Karl and Miriam are "engaged" makes Emily jealous, she destroys
all the little man and wife figures and the wreath saying HAPPY WEDDING.

I wonder if even though Warren was born a girl but made to play aboy, if he didn't have 'female' feelings that confused him?? such as an attraction to Karl and jealous of Miriam (another reason to want Mariam dead, besides the money!) anyone agree?

[–] HarlowMGM 17 years ago

I agree. The root of Emily/Warren's behaviour is probably the enforced repression of her sexuality and identity. Karl clearly stirs her male-attraction which is unable to act on or acknowledge as long as "Warren" exists. Part of her hostility toward Miriam is undoubtably jealousy over her sister being able to be herself although Miriam is oblivious to this until the very end.

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] lavenderspirit2005 10 years ago

I agree. The root of Emily/Warren's behaviour is probably the enforced repression of her sexuality and identity. Karl clearly stirs her male-attraction which is unable to act on or acknowledge as long as "Warren" exists. Part of her hostility toward Miriam is undoubtably jealousy over her sister being able to be herself although Miriam is oblivious to this until the very end.

That's exactly how I saw it.

The way I interpreted his/her character is that all of her life, she had been forced into a gender she didn't want to be a part of. It was completely different from a transgender guy coming to his OWN conclusions on identity. Warren/Emily had a male identity forced on him/her for years on end, robbing him/her of important years of development, choice, and a happy childhood.

So I thought it was interesting when 'Emily' came along...not only was she the 'fall-woman' for all of these crimes, it was also an opportunity to indulge in her fantasies of femininity. Not only did she invent this alter-ego, she went ultra femme. It was a desperately wanted outlet of femininity for her beyond the confines of her imposed male identity.

Beyond the camp, there's some VERY interesting psychological themes to this little film.

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[–] hhawkins-74227 9 years ago

Yes, Emily totally had the hots for Karl. It clearly made her miserable that she was actually Warren and could never have what she clearly (sort of) wanted. I say sort of because Emily showed great disgust for sex -- she almost snapped when the bell boy made some suggestive comment about getting it annulled immediately, and she did snap when the justice of the peace tried to kiss her. No doubt being forced to live as a boy all her life made her very confused about sex.