Okay, I can't believe no one has asked...why did Accordian Man kill the blind girl, esp. after his wonderful production of the title number?
Is it the director's point that life just has random acts of extreme ugliness?
I'm sure there's a deep meaning in there somewhere, but it's late and I can't chance upon it.
He's mentally ill.
High summer holds the earth
On this shining night
I think one of the great flaws of the film is the way Ross cut the musical number where "Accordian Man" is haunted by the blind girl's ghost and decides to commit suicide. It's in the original mini-series, and according to the extras, Ross filmed it.
shareThe friend of mine whom I first watched the film with suggested that the film's version of AM is a bit of a Lenny-ish character: not entirely aware of what he does, perhaps not conscious of his own physical strength, etc. From what I've seen of the miniseries, it seems that its version of AM is more the pathetic, lonely, sexually frustrated loner whom we seen in a good deal of fiction.
So where the murder in the miniseries is in keeping with the inner turbulence of its AM, in the film, it might as easily have been accidental.
I think that plot twist (the murder) is part of Potter's overall concept that Arthur the dreamer blunders his way through life, destroying the lives of everyone he touches. Remember in the diner, how Arthur calls the accordion man a "pansy" for kissing his hand? That slight on his manhood may have been the last straw for this (as you say) "sexually frustrated loner"--it may have driven him to thoughts of sexual conquest to "prove" himself. Note also how the accordion man echoes Arthur when he grabs the blind girl, initially to offer her food: "You can have it!" (Which is what Arthur said to him in the diner). I think that line of dialogue is meant to connect those two scenes in our mind: Arthur's sexual obsessiveness has infected the mentally unbalanced AM, who (in a way) acts in his stead.
Also, Arthur's meeting with the blind girl (when he called her "the most beautiful young woman I've ever seen") may have helped bring about her death by making her more trusting of strangers. Notice that when she stumbles against the accordion man in the alley she doesn't immediately get up and run away: she reaches out and touches his leg--perhaps remembering Arthur. These are more than just coincidences, I think. Arthur wanted to have sex with her but posed as a protector. In a sense, he set her up for the accordion man.
The miniseries hinted strongly that the AM was a sort of dark twin (or doppelganger) of Arthur himself. Remember the scene when Joan is out walking with a friend and they pass the accordion man--and Joan shudders and tells her friend that she just had the weirdest feeling that it was Arthur they passed? The (stuttering) accordion man seems to embody (more or less literally) all of Arthur's most frustrated, inarticulate, dangerous desires. It suggests that Arthur's dreams are not so innocent; there's a real selfishness and ruthlessness behind them.
I too wish that the movie version had included the scene of the AM in the flophouse, tortured by his guilt. That song ("Serenade in the Night") was one of the best in the whole miniseries. If Ross did film it and then cut it out, that's a serious loss.
Much as I love murder mysteries, I have to admit that this storyline was completely pointless.
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JimHutton (1934-79) & ElleryQueen
Absolutely pointless. This film was derived from a British production and there may have been a murder in that one. I'd love to see it, with Bob Hoskins starring.
There a small scene at the end of Woody Allen's depression movie, The Purple Rose of Cairo. A very unhappy Mia Farrow goes to the movies. Watches an Astaire/Rogers movie. As she watches, her face changes slowly from miserable to joyful as she watches them dance. It's beautiful and moving. I'd say watch Purple Rose of Cairo, a lovely film, and skip this one.