MovieChat Forums > Electra Glide in Blue (1973) Discussion > 2 Questions re the end and Frank's kille...

2 Questions re the end and Frank's killer - (obvious spoilers!)

posted 14 years ago by danielscissorhands
12 replies | jump to latest

Why did the two hippie guys kill John Wintergreen when he was driving back with the van driver/art dealer's license?
They didn't kill him to begin with. So what made them suddenly decide to kill him?
Were they just nervous that he was coming back and maybe they had drugs or something?

Also...

Could that art dealer hippie who drove the van - Hawk Wolinksy in the credits - have been the one who killed Frank? Afterall, he was in the area at the beginning when the cops stopped him.

[–] mickeeteeze 14 years ago

Interesting question, especially the second one.

I always figured they had drugs, and weren't going to get busted. The fact that he was coming back may have made them believe he was surely going to do a big search.

Of course, if your guess about Franks real killer is correct, that would answer your first question. But, again, I always figured that for the sake of the story, character, etc, that 'Little John" got it right.

The film was so loose, however, it does itself leave open to all of your ideas.

[–] danielscissorhands 14 years ago

Thanks, Mickeeteeze.

I guess you are right that if my guess about Frank's real killer is correct then that would answer my first question. So.... maybe that means I AM right. Hmmm.

This film really does leave itself open to interpretation - perhaps a bit too much.

[–] simonsayz-1 14 years ago

That theory sounds quite far-fetched. Not only is it clearly said that the hermit killed his friend, he kind-of-sort-of-admits it when Wintergreen meets him on the porch of the asylum (though seeing how he's crazy and barely comprehensible, there are doubts to be had). The movie never really puts that in doubt, though, or indicates another killer. And here's another thing: Do you really think the hippie would grill himself a steak and eat it after having killed a guy? Sounds more like the crazy hermit to me who doesn't mind having dinner close to his buddy's corpse (who, as we find out, had been dead quite a bit before dinner time...).

[–] baheidstu-351-733122 11 years ago

Willy, the old hermit, was the one who killed Frank but was not the one who made the pork chops and set up the shotgun, that was Zipper. Willy shot and killed Frank with a .22 out of jealousy over his friendship with the hippies. Zipper came along later and found the crime scene, took the $5000 and came up with the shotgun suicide idea because he knew that if there was a homicide investigation, questions would be asked about the $5000. It's just his unfortunate luck that Wintergreen was so persistent in thinking it was a murder even though the coroner was going to write it off as a suicide.

[–] mail-2775 14 years ago

They didn't suddenly decide to kill him, that was their contingency plan from the minute he put the red light on them. They were dangerous drug smugglers associated with biker gangs, and highly prone to commit murder if it would facilitate their business.

Remember, when Johnny stopped them and got the driver out, the other guy was bundled up in a jacket (inside a car, in the desert), sitting sideways in the seat, hunched over, with his hands down and out of sight. He was ready to blow officer Johnny away the instant that he said to get out of the car or tried to enter himself.

This was a part of the tension of the movie that (I thought) ran throughout it, Johnny was not long for this Earth, he was in a dangerous profession that he didn't even care about, so his death was all for nothing.

[–] mcnarie 14 years ago

This is the same van seen driving on the highway at the beginning of the film. It's pulled over a few minutes later by Zipper and Wintergreen- Zipper harasses the hippie head shop supplier and plants drugs on him.

Frank is clearly killed by Willie- the dirty hands with dirty long-johns that handles the shotgun, manipulates Frank's body, cooks the steaks, and eats one after he blasts him- all Willie.

The hippie is driving the bus at the end, but something terrible is going on- the van is beat to hell now, is nearly empty so he's not carrying posters, etc, and several windows are broken. It's clear that the hippie is uncomfortable with everything going on, so maybe the guy that blasts Wintergreen isn't even welcome in the van.

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] diegogue 14 years ago

I thought exactly the same

[–] PussyCrusher_Principal 13 years ago

Plus he (Wintergreen) was shooting at an Easy Rider poster at the shooting range.

"How do you feel?"
"Like the Kling-Klang King of the Rim-Ram Room!"

[–] JJC-3 12 years ago

Wintergreen is killed by "Killer" as played by Terry Kath.

Ironic that Kath would die from an accidental gunshot to the head by his own hand in Jan of 1978.

[–] ftgplus4 11 years ago

It's also ironic (IMO) that the actor playing Wintergreen's killer at the end is the same guy who sings the somber ending-credits song right afterwards!

[–] balducci2 8 years ago

If you ever even see this message, you probably won't believe me without watching the film again carefully ... but the van is ALREADY beat to hell with several broken windows the first time it is stopped.