MovieChat Forums > Conflict (1945) Discussion > Handwriting (spoiler alert)

Handwriting (spoiler alert)

posted 11 years ago by maestro7PL
4 replies | jump to latest

Just watched this fine noir on TCM tonight. Everything was tied up at the end except for one thing. If the wife was truly dead, who duplicated her exact handwriting in the letter Mason received? It was revealed that the sister was not part of the entrapment, so we know it wasn't hers (it was stated that family members could write similarly). The handwriting expert could have been "in" on it, but he can only analyze handwriting--not necessarily duplicate it exactly. Any ideas?

[–] darkavenger77 11 years ago

Just watched this fine noir on TCM tonight.

Me too, although I recall having seen it before. My guess would be as you surmised- the expert was likely in on it since they had so many others involved. While I have no expertise in that area, perhaps his experience would allow him to copy it sufficiently. Additionally, he only had to be close- since he was the one authenticating it.

Wow! I found something & I'm going to post it here despite 10 other threads doing so.

[–] whiskeyTango-06 11 years ago

right... "they" had hours/days/weeks to perform the forgery -- easily done by anyone who had access to the original handwriting (e.g., tracing).

it's nowhere near having to do it in front of witnesses... in real-time.

[–] DracTarashV 11 years ago

To Bogart's character, the handwriting in the letter was unmistakably his wife's -- but not to the expert (who was obviously in on it).

Hey there, Johnny Boy, I hope you fry!

[–] kenny-164 10 years ago

After getting to the ending, the way the handwriting expert brought in the bit about how siblings can have very similar handwriting made sense. At the time I had to wonder why he was going off on that sort of tangent, and ftr I have never heard that sibling business before. But he was scripted to say that to make Mason think the writing may have come from his wife's sister, suspecting her as somehow behind the strange goings on.

It all made sense at the end, and yes the expert was in on it.