This is a subject that's been debated by me and my best friend. She thinks Con was only interested in having Susan in his bed, and wasn't really in love with her, mostly because of his lack of correspondence with her. He seemed to truly love her when he was with her, and he did try to get in touch with her ONCE, but does that mean he really cared? Or was he just a cad?
shareI was named for the character Conn White in this movie.
shareI was named for the character Conn White in this movie.
shareI don't think that Con was a con man, at least not intentionally. Sometimes, strong feelings can erupt when two people are together-feelings that are valid, but that nevertheless fall short of representing true love. Susan Slade was inexperienced at that point in her life, and what she felt may not have been true love, either. I wouldn't blame either of them, really. These characters existed at a time when issues of morality were much more rigid than they are today. I hadn't seen the film in about 45 years, and am glad that it's available again after such a long time.
shareI would say he really loved Susan. If not his father wouldn't have had her telephone number to call her after Con died. He would not have even mentioned her to his family.
shareI have a friend who was named Parrish after another of Donahue's movies with Connie Stevens. Was your name Conrad or Conner or was it just Conn? Did you see the movie later to see who you were named after?
shareMy mother wanted to name me Conn, but my father said there had to be more there than just "Conn", so she named me Connelly (read my username backwards), knowing full well that everyone would call me Conn anyway. The name originates with "Conn of a 100 Battles" one of the ancient high kings of Ireland.
Nothing the god of biomechanics wouldn't let you in heaven for.
the answer in my opinion is that he loved her he told his parents about her...remember the father said it on the phone when he delivered the terrible news about Conn....
shareI think he loved her the best he knew how. But like Susan's mother told her, true love is when someone puts the other person ahead of their own needs and desires. They were both immature in their love for each other. Doesn't mean it wasn't real. Just not matured. The love Susan and Hoyt had for each other was on a much more mature level and more likely to last. I have loved and seen this movie many times since I was a teenager in the 60's. Yes, it is dated. Our moral standards today are much more relaxed. But the true meaning of the story remains. The sacrifice the parents made for their daughter. And the meaning of true mature love. These things can never become out dated.
sharewell said! The bond between Susan and her parents is the real love story here. Despite the father keeping his health problems a secret, their loyalty and sacrifice never fails to touch me deeply. There aren't too many movies--then or now--that explore such devotion.
shareI think the film makes it look like Conn mainly wanted to conquer Susan, because she was a virgin, and he yearned to conquer "virgin peaks," (mountains). In the book version, he definitely loved her more, and did write to her, 4 letters, but Susan was impatient for him to get his father's blessing for their marriage. I think the way it was dealt with in the film was a useful cautionary tale for girls, not to be so trusting with their bodies and their love, because there are consequences. What if he had not died, just his parents refusing his and Susan's marriage? She would have been stuck, offered money as compensation, maybe to give her baby to them.
If the film had been truer to the book, regarding Conn, there would not be this ambiguity--but it is the ambiguity that makes the film so interesting.
I haven't read the book, but am watching it now for the millionth time. Con struck me as a spoiled and immature rich boy. Would he have actually married Susan? I doubt it. Or, if he did, it would be a very shallow marriage with Con's need to conquer those 'virgin peaks' his priority.
Susan and her baby are far better off with reliable (and hunky) Troy.
Thanks for your post. I enjoyed it. Btw, did you know cult movie director John Waters considers SUSAN SLADE to be his favorite movie of all time?
-AnaElisa
"All life's riddles are answered in the movies."
I think he would have married her. Even though he was rich he didnt even work. He knew the corbetts and they basically ran in the same circles. A marriage producing an heir to the aluminum corp would have been important. I think his parents would have approved.
but we'll never know. I loved this movie and Parrish so much. I was only 12 and romanticized the heck out of it.
Yes, I was about that age, too. Now they seem so cheesy, but so much fun to watch. I also love ROME ADVENTURE. Suzanne Pleshette was so classy and Angie Dickinson sorta slutty. Great fun!
-AnaElisa
"All life's riddles are answered in the movies."
Suzanne Pleshette was pretty amazing as a actress. Multi-dimensional! I wanted to read the original book, but it looks to be out of print, too. Te original book was actually titled the same as the book that was banned at the ladies' college her character taught at.
Thanks, dear, if that compliment was directed at my post. I read, yes, that John Waters loved this film. I can believe it. His own films, though funny, have heart to them.
When I first saw it, I was in grade school, and my mom was enthralled with the beautiful house. She always wanted a house that was decorated, but none of the rest of us did. I liked the alterations made to the film by Delmar Daves, in that it is glamourous. The book had a more small-town feel to it (not set in Pebble Beach, Monterey Peninsula, but in the fictional town of Amberton, California (there is a town and university by that name in Texas).
I think, yes, the film Conn is quite spoiled and would make a questionable husband. Wells comes off better in the book version, but still is too hide bound, like his parents, and unsure about Susan after the big reveal. Hoyt is the dreamboat, like in the film.
I think this film was chosen as a star vehicle because fans wanted to see Troy and Connie together again in a film; in Parrish, he didn't marry her, though she had the best chemistry with him (than the other two actresses playing his girlfriends). In that film, Connie's character has a baby by another man; in this one, Hoyt doesn't care about her having a baby with another man, and will marry her. It is fan wish-fulfillment.
I have a copy of the first edition paperback of the original novel, "The Sin Of Susan Slade" by Doris Hume. In the book, Conn is a college student and he is killed in a hunting accident. Also, in the novel Susan's parents are younger than the actors who portrayed them in the film. I agree with the previous poster that Conn's attitude was questionable at best.
I think Conn was sincere about his love for Susan. Unfortunately, once they were apart, his attention shifted to more immediate concerns; like climbing. He may not have stopped caring for her but he failed to show it.
They're both very young so he probably didn't even realize the importance of reassuring her. Susan, on the other hand, had little else going on in her life so all she did was focus on Conn and their relationship. Later, she worried about her pregnancy and the consequences that went with it.
Her mother did a great job laying everything out for her but at that point she was in too deep. She was tied to Conn in a way her mother could not understand. One would think, since they were encouraging their daughter to date, her mother might have had that talk with her before she had already fallen so hard for a guy.
Did you miss the part of the movie when Conn's father called Susan to tell her of Conn's death, and he said the reason he called her is because Conn had written a note to his parents telling them of his love for Susan? That seems pretty clear, so I'm guessing you missed that part. Keep in mind he was on his way to Alaska to climb Mt. McKinley (where he died). All the suspense about him was simply generated in the script. His absence was due only to that climbing trip. He had notified his parents about her, which is pretty definitive, and he didn't just notify them, he told them he loved Susan.
Come see a fat old man sometime!
~ Rooster Cogburn