OK...I am not understanding why Stanton felt he had to marry Molly. She wasn't pregnant, she wasn't pressuring him, and it was clear that he really didn't want to do it. Did he do it just to "save face" in front of Zeena and Bruno and/or to spare embarrasment to Molly?
shareIt was indeed to "save face" - from getting his own ripped off, that is - if he didn't agree to marry Molly, Bruno would have killed him.
shareI'm kinda slow.At first I thought they they were making him marry Lilith to keep him away from Zena.I thought he would have been happy to marry Zena.I guess you then realize how really selfish he is.Then it does hit him he has the code and a pretty assistant so he really hit the jackpot.For awhile.
shareyeah it took me a while to understand it, i had to rewatch the scene and then picked up the implication that molly and stanton had sex and the others just realised, and this been the 40's premarital sex was not the thing for a nice girl to do, so he had to make an honest woman of her to show he was not just taking advantage.
sharealthough i didn't see any age reference and it's clear that they had sex, perhaps molly was underage. that would explain the rush for the parson.
shareI think it is a combination of all the things mentioned here but i think what Stanton was really after was the code. Marrying Molly assured that he had someone to do his new act with and take it to "the big time."
He probably could have done the same with Zeena but after getting busted with Molly, that pretty much ended any chance of that happening so he discovered "plan B."
The real reason (at least according to the DVD film noir historian commentary) was a matter of carny ethics. Stanton and Molly had an affair betraying Zeena and Bruno respectively, so getting married was their only redemption (according to 1940s carny ethics).
As far as marrying her because he was after the code, first of all he originally got the code from Zeena and wanted to work with her. It was only an afterthought that it might work out with Molly taking her place. Remember he was reconciled to the idea AFTER they were already married.
Play the game existence 'til the end...of the beginning...
Good points Aberstein. I think you understood those parts better than I did and are correct about them. To be honest, i didn't even catch on to the fact that Stanton and Molly made love because it was so vague and off camera except the kissing. It was implied by Bruno and Zeena in the tent but i didn't catch that the first time i saw the movie. It confused me because I was thinking "Huh, why do they HAVE to get married?" Things were certainly different in the 40's than they are today.
share<He probably could have done the same with Zeena but after getting busted with Molly, that pretty much ended any chance of that happening>
He also became creeped out by Zeena's grim tarot card predictions, so I guess that put out some of the fire between them too.
Yes, the fact that they made love is subtle, but something I read in a book about film noir pointed it out. After the scene where Stan and Molly are kissing, it shows Molly waiting for Stan. The author noticed that when Stan shows up, it appears that he is finishing up putting his clothes on. That's about all they could show back then, just a hint!
shareChalk it up to 1940s Hollywood Production Code ethics, though the script passes it off as Carny ethics. In the book, Stan and Molly never get married and just live and sleep together. Likewise, in the book, Stan convinces Molly not only to pretend to be the ghost of Griddle's dead girlfriend (who died of a botched abortion), but to have sex with Grindle. But Molly panics when Grindle enters her and that's how the ruse is blown.
share