The ending. - The Lost Weekend Discussion

[–] randomlitetonight 16 years ago

I agree...the dark and sombre mood of the rest of the film lead me to think Don would take his own life as Helen turned away from him in the final scene. To say I was disappointed would be over stating things somewhat, but I feel there was an element of the director pulling his final punch. Excellent film otherwise.

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[–] 16 years ago

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[–] funywhiteguy 16 years ago

i think the time period had some influence, because tragic endings weren't as popular, i mean from that decade there are only a handful that didn't have a happy ending, or rather had an unconventional ending, shadow of a doubt was a little bleak, and the bicycle thief ending was a shocker. but most of the other ones would have done a similar ending. in my opinion

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[–] LouisRenault 16 years ago

The book ends on the darkest note - he knows that tomorrow will be the same, and tomorrow and tomorrow...

But another thread here convincingly makes the case that while the movie ending appears happy, to suit the requirements of the time, the real message is that the next bender is only a matter of time.

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[–] DrunkOnAbsinthe 16 years ago

Yep, nailed it. My interpretation too.

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[–] unshaken1 11 years ago

How does it end in the book?

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[–] ufodoubleg 14 years ago

Tragic endings were very common in the 40's and prevalent in film noirs in response to funywhiteguy.

OOOoooOOO THAT'S A BINGO!

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[–] 14 years ago

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[–] Pervy_Grin 9 years ago

Yeah, just see Double Indemnity, another Billy Wilder classic, for a tragic ending. Would have been even more so if they had used the gas chamber ending as Wilder wanted.

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[–] vicky_lc2001-1 10 years ago

This time period is biased as well. Today it's unpopular to have a hopeful or happy ending, everything has to be bleak, depressing and tragic. There it's no light at the end of the tunnel and there is no hope for anyone. I don't know how that type of mentality helps anyone TBH.

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[–] JellyFish19 16 years ago

Yeah, it seemed out of placed, but then again I'm a sucker for happy/hopeful endings...

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[–] mercury4 15 years ago

I think he was going to straighten out. At least that's how I took it in the end. You see him drop the cigarette into the drink and that meant he was through with it. It took that weekend to cure him. He tells Helen that he's dead, that he died that weekend, but she tells him the Don that drinks is dead. She convinced him not to kill Don the writer. In the end Don finally decides he will write and he found just the thing to write. He now knows the ending and he can get started and finally finish. I don't think the movie ended ambiguously at all. It was obviously a happy ending.

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[–] cmashieldscapting 13 years ago

Here is my take on the ending: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037884/board/thread/72816282?d=191011305&p=2#191011305

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[–] spirit_30 15 years ago

I totally agree ... he was into the bottle big time ... I figure after a while he went back to drinking. A drunk like that needs help ... I could see him on the road to a difficult recovery, perhaps the writing the book was the start? ... but certainly not the cure ...

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[–] netshopper-2 14 years ago

I thought his killing himself would have made sense. The production code probably dictated this ending.

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[–] 14 years ago

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[–] angeles_st_ides 14 years ago

I don't agree that they had to have a happy ending, plenty of them didn't, but there were certain things that were and were not allowed.

One code was that "crime couldn't pay". If someone committed a crime they had to get punished for it.

In "The Letter" Bette Davis' character is murdered. In the book, she is forced to live forever with a man she does not love, who knows she doesn't love him and who will always hate and have contempt for her for it.

I think that is a MUCH more horrible ending than merely having her murdered at the end, but the Hayes code dictated that crime must be "paid for" in the traditional sense.

I believe suicide is something that was not allowed by the code.

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[–] brendanchenowith 14 years ago

Do film industry mavens think American audiences are so stupid, they'll be gullible and easily influenced by...whatever?

First we had the Hays Code, then there was a lapse in the 50s and 60s - probably the best thing to happen to the industry - THEN along comes the MPAA to put Americans back in their place. "You can't watch this sordid filth without a heavy warning because...we say so. Anything you see on the screen is going to warp your minds, turn you all into lushes, mass murderers, druggies, suicide cases. We can't have that." My God, I think I heard the voice of Margaret Hamilton when I wrote that section. Scary.

I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked.

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[–] vicky_lc2001-1 10 years ago

But audiences are gullible, just look at society and every generation. Look at how they have changed and reacted to the times based on what the media dictated them to do and feel. The masses are influenced by their media, they act out what they see in film and allow society and the media to tell them how to think. If the media told you that red is unpopular and only losers wear it, you would detest and shun. the color red. Be honest, viewers and people indeed are gullible. There are no exception to the rule.

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[–] nu_riot 13 years ago

What about that bottle he just stole? Isn't he going to get arrested for that?

...was my question at the end.

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[–] georgestrum 13 years ago

Alchoholics are never really cured. They are indeed helped by programs such as Alchoholics Anonymous. They are trained to abstain from alchohol, but never really cured.

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[–] biomechanoid-3 12 years ago

The ending made it a better film. Wouldn't have liked it if it were a depressing shock film instead of a one with an epiphany, as it is. I rather like film celebrating man's willpower more than a case of throwing a "how helpless a man is in x situation" message.

Literally a good film / bad film thing with the ending. Haven't there been enough of films about miserable wrecks made when someone could make something about extraordinary people conquering harsh situations instead.

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[–] carthur27 12 years ago

"Alchoholics are never really cured."

If by cured you mean the ability to drink moderately -- no more than 3 ounces of hard liquor or its equivalent -- a few times monthly and stop, then there are lots of alcoholics who've been cured according to a massive survey of alcoholics by the Veterans Administration. It takes at least a few years of abstinence for an alcoholic before they can even attempt to do this and at least half of the alcoholics will never reach such a level of control.

However, if your definition of cured is for the former alcoholic to be able to drink heavily but avoid alcoholism, then you're right and alcoholism indeed can't ever be cured.

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[–] CasaK 12 years ago

It's not a happy ending, it's an open ending. I liked it very much, especially how everything came back together at the end.

It was like he said it in the first bar scene: "the circle is the perfect geometric figure, no end, no beginning."

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[–] danzeisen 12 years ago

Right on assessment! It is an open ending, and the ending is up to him.

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[–] Errington_92 12 years ago

I doubt it was an open ending. Judging from the last lines when Don was descriptive in his thoughts from the opening scene, he made it sound as if such feelings were behind him and the future looked bright. Personally a more down beat ending would have been fitting considering the constant dark tone contained in The Lost Weekend.

"I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not".

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[–] ObservationBlogger 12 years ago

It sure did. I found the movie 'Days of Wine and Roses' which was about the same subject matter but much more engrossing and the ending was more realistic.

I also did like the actor in this. I am not sure he is so critically acclaimed. I didn't like him in Dial M for Murder either.

My 120 favorite movies http://www.imdb.com/list/Uvw_F2_GMx8/
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[–] first-things-first 11 years ago

Having watched the movie this morning, I don't find the ending optimistic. His battle was outside his window. He was dealing everyday. Now he aware of his disease and treats it with the respect it requires if he is to win everyday. Some alcoholics do win every day.

Re-watching today, without managed care, Don might fail. Also I'm not sure he would keep a bottle in his room as I thought before. Confident that he could not drink. What I missed last time was how important it was for Don that his brother see him as a successful writer. Instead of Don measuring success from not drinking.

If we can save humanity, we become the caretakers of the world

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