MovieChat Forums > Nightmare Alley (1947) Discussion > Well acted, but with an obvious plot hol...

Well acted, but with an obvious plot hole. SPOILERS

posted 11 years ago by doug7347
4 replies | jump to latest

Would Stan really give $150,000 (an enormous fortune in 1947) to Lilith for her "safekeeping"? I never bought that plot line for a minute.

In this film carnival folk are presented as having a certain nobility of character. They'll flim-flam, lie and deceive the rest of us, but when it comes to their spouse they are loving, caring, and forgiving. If all Stan has left at the end is a job as a geek and Molly, he's still a winner.

[–] PussyCrusher_Principal 9 years ago

IDK if being the geek makes him a "winner" lol, but it is looking up for Stan at the end, I feel he will become inspired through love to rise again, not falling for the things he fell for bore, basically to try to be legit.

But from what I understand, that ending was tacked on, and the book has a much darker ending for the Great Kenton. I gotta read it now.

[–] PussyCrusher_Principal 9 years ago

Sorry, Stanton the Great, not Kenton.

I can't get enough of this film - I don't have FXM anymore, but the break room in work has it, and I've caught parts of it a couple of times there...it never gets old!

[–] liscarkat (19418) 6 years ago

Stan Kenton, the great innovator of progressive jazz.

[–] KutWrite (1334) 6 years ago

Sure seemed tacked-on to me.

I even thought he'd clobber Molly with that staff he had.

I'd have ended it, though, with a close-up of his crazy face after he delivered the line "I was born for it."