I cringe the last few mins of the flick. The entire movie is fantastic, but at the end when Libby tells Tess that they won't be allowed to be on the phone for a while and they both giggle and smile at the cop as they walk back to the house, leaving the police to converse.
Umm, SOMEONE JUST TRIED TO KILL YOU LIBBY! And now their lifeless body is in the back of your Dads car.
The last thing I would do is be smiling.
I agree 100%. Plus, then the end-title music swells, and it's all happy like 60s beach party music. Very weird choices.
shareYes sometimes William Castle had problems with the way his movies ended. It was the same with "House on Haunted Hill".
shareThey took a perfectly terrifying suspense movie and ruined the ending with the giggles and cheesy music. Hitchcock or Polanski would've done a much better job directing this.
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I have less of a problem with their giggling about not being allowed to use the phone for a long time and the music than I have with the denouemont itself and the girls just walking back into the house as if to say, "Well-- glad that's over now."
First, when Kit called Libby to tell her about hearing of the woman's body being found and the murderer's description as comparing to Steve Marek, whom Libby revealed she had then seen, had Kit already told her father 'the truth' about what all they had been up to that night? If not, how could her father possibly have returned there with the police in time to prevent a nasty deed? And if she had told him by then, there should have still been no reason for true alarm until Libby told Kit that Steve had come to her house. And certainly we've reason to believe Kit's home is miles from Libby's. It just couldn't be done-- perhaps the police could have been called, but not Mr. Austin showing up there with them in time. And why would he do that, anyway? I don't know of any police force that would allow a citizen to 'go in' with them to a danger area unless the immediate situation required it. In this case, there would have been other cops (and we see another one in the final pan scene) who approached and grabbed Tess to keep her from running right into a trap.
And then, after it's over and the girls do their giggling and walk back toward the house-- it wouldn't have been that simple. There was a police shooting, presumably killing-- though it's also interesting that no one checks on the criminal to see if he is alive or dead. Even if dealing with juveniles (Libby may or may not have qualified), there would be detailed reports in which the girls would have to tell everything, as probably something akin to a shooting board to determine if the officer fired his weapon within department policies. And unquestionably there are ambiguities to make it all less than cut-n-dry; the girls themselves initialized the contact with the murderer, telling him they saw what he did, and having lied previously that they were "just out back," where the same officer who did the shooting had previously found them. Imagine the questioning, both then and later, as they must admit they lied but insist they are not lying now.
Oh well, I guess that's enough for cheap thriller in which the entertainment value is meant to be dark, vapory shock value, instead of great acting or believable plot.
Oh well, if they'd done it YOUR way, the audience would have fallen asleep or headed for the exit-quickly.
shareWe have to remember this movie was done in the 60s - same time period as Leave it to Beaver and My Three Dads. They have to end the movie with something upbeat to reassure the audience that the girls are safe and will recover from this experience and life is just fine and dandy! Can't end the movie with the girls quivering in a corner and damaged. Movies weren't about realism then - it was about escapism. I'm okay with the movie's ending. I personally like happy endings. heh heh :)
shareA better ending would have been to tone down the happy care-free music and have their parents arrive immediately after the shooting. The daughters would then run into their parents arms and all would be normal again.
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I agree dakotasdad. Did anyone else but me notice at the end after the girls giggled and walked away that there were three men leaving the garage?! I guess the killer got up and walked away before they could yell, 'cut'!
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The go-go music bothered me at the end AND at the beginning. It was never the right tone for the type of suspense the movie wanted to build.
shareI agree dakotasdad. Did anyone else but me notice at the end after the girls giggled and walked away that there were three men leaving the garage?! I guess the killer got up and walked away before they could yell, 'cut'!
Oh, thanks for clearing that up. I remember seeing 3 men but didn't bother to rewind to see who the third man was. I just assummed it was the killer based on the wierd ending.
That really ruined it ..It was so stupid. Like oh man we almost got killed. Ha Ha Ha.
Let's go to the beach now and dance with Frankie and Annette
So, a thought crossed your mind? Must have been a long and lonely journeyshare
Jeez, I was more annoyed by an earlier scene than the ending. The little sister invites a strange man into the house, tells her big sister about him waiting downstairs, and big sis isn't the least bit bothered by this and in fact goes looking for him. I realize the film is 50 years old, but I was alive then, and I can't remember teenagers being THAT naive.
May I bone your kipper, Mademoiselle?
I agree Libby was naive. But remember Libby was more preoccupied with getting the registration back and obviously did not think Steve was a killer.
I was actually more annoyed over the fact Libby told the little sister to let the dog back in.