MovieChat Forums > The Lion (1962) Discussion > Why did Trevor Howard?... WARNING SPOILE...

Why did Trevor Howard?... WARNING SPOILERS!!!!

posted 17 years ago by Altho73
8 replies | jump to latest

I saw this movie back in the 1970's and I've been hoping to see it again and I keep looking to see if it comes up in the TV schedules but it never does.

Anyhow I remember that the film ends with Trevor Howard shooting the lion and the girl goes back to the US with daddy Bill Holden, but ol' Trevor persuades the mother to go with them as well.

So two questions -
1. Why did ol' Trevor shoot the lion?
2. Why did he persuade his wife to go back to her first husband?

Any answers?

[–] Billa1971 17 years ago

Hi,

1. because the girl turns the lion against a man (and he kills him), so ol' Trevor has to shoot him

2. He let's the wife go back as long as he finds out that she's still in love with the first husband

[–] dallasal 17 years ago

How could he let her go just like that?

[–] Billa1971 17 years ago

I believe Howard's character is just too proud to fight for a woman who doesn't want him anymore (and from some hints we have in the first half of the movie, we can see they havent't been going along fine for quite a wile....). furthermore all the characters are a little bit "cartboard"....so we can also say that he gives up for the sake of the happy ending....
sometimes I think about this movie as "the revenge of Francis Macomber"...:-)))

[–] dacaria-1 17 years ago

It's coming on again on 4/22 at 11:30am ET on the Fox Movie Channel.

[–] tcrizzo-1 12 years ago

I don't think he persuaded her, he just accepted the inevitable. He also cared a lot for Tina and knew, deep down, it would be better for her.

[–] beetiesmom 12 years ago

I agree! And really, would any man really want a woman around the old compound who didn't love him, and he KNEW she didn't love him, and also knew she was mooning after her first husband and her now-departed child?? Nope---the aptly-name Bullit decided it was better to lose himself in the bush and continue his favorite activity....shooting innocent animals, God love him.

[–] EllisFowler 11 years ago

We're told his shooting days are over; his job is to protect the animals in the preserve. However, it bothered me to no end that he felt he had to shoot King and to tell you the truth, I have a hard time watching The Lion because of it. I'd rather the creepy poaching native had "accidentally" caught the bullet meant for King (which, unfortunately, would've rocked the status quo).

[–] baran_erik 8 years ago

1) The lion was in a frenzy after being attacked and fighting the native, and, after he'd tasted human flesh, all bets were off.
2) Because he knew she didn't love him and did love Hayward.

Life is pain. Anyone who says differently is selling something.