MovieChat Forums > Street Scene (1931) Discussion > WHAT?

WHAT?

posted 13 years ago by nycruise-1
10 replies | jump to latest

In the closing shot, the children playing in the street are chanting "The Farmer In The Dell."

But with with one exception: instead of the verb "takes" (as in "the Farmer takes the wife," "the wife takes the child," etc), the children say "KILLS" (as in "the Farmer KILLS the wife," "the wife KILLS the child," etc)).

Now - I've heard of poetic license before, but changing the line of a classic children's song for dramatic ironic effect???

"Don't call me 'honey', mac."
"Don't call me 'mac'... HONEY!"

[–] nscom-1 13 years ago

No, they didn't. You didn't hear it correctly.

[–] marym52 13 years ago

Throughout the movie, the children sing "The farmer 'chose' the wife", etc. instead of the more usual "takes".

[–] shadycady 13 years ago

You weren't the only one. My daughter also thought the same thing.

The Divine Genealogy Goddess

[–] gribfritz2 10 years ago

Throughout? I don't remember hearing the kids sing until the end. Scarcely remember even seeing them until the end. If they're saying "chose" they're certainly mispronouncing it. It sounds more like "choose."

[–] Swashbuckled 10 years ago

The movie begins with the same children singing the same song. Sure sounds like "kills" to me.

[–] flaiky 11 years ago

changing the line of a classic children's song for dramatic ironic effect???

What's wrong with that? I thought it was pretty creepy and effective. It's not unbelievable that a group of kids would start singing that after what had happened anyway.

That is a masterpiece of understatement.

[–] motown_mike 11 years ago

Exactly. Not unlike "Lizzie Borden took an axe..."

[–] DracTarashV 11 years ago

I clearly heard "the farmer KILLS the wife," too. However, I didn't find it creepy.

Hey there, Johnny Boy, I hope you fry!

[–] d.doherty 11 years ago

It wasn't "poetic license" on Vidor's part. Kids often do things like that - change words of nursey rymes to make them sexual or violent, re-enact crimes, etc.

I thought it made for an unbearably poignant end - As the kids thoughlessly mock her mother's murder, the daughter leaves the hot, awful neighborhood for the last time, a place she longed to leave, but never under such tragic circumstances.

"Do you indulge in any form of worship?"

[–] Techto (1388) 7 months ago

I also hear it as “kills”.

The scenes reminded me of a similar scene of school-age children singing a jump rope song in the movie “Marnie” starring Sean Connery and Tippi hedren. It began something like

Mother, mother, I am ill.
Send for the doctor over the hill.
In came the doctor.
In came the nurse,
In came the lady with the alligator purse.