MovieChat Forums > Limelight (1952) Discussion > Can anyone explain this scene?

Can anyone explain this scene?


After Thereza finds she is able to walk again, she says she will get a job in the chorus. Six months later, we see a bunch of people milling about during the performance. A woman, who I took to be Thereza, flirts with one man, who is unresponsive, but succeeds in picking up another. But then we see that Thereza was in the chorus that was performing at that time. I went back to look at the woman in that scene, and she does seem to have a slightly different look from Claire Bloom, though I admit to not being good with faces. But then I have to wonder what the purpose of the scene was, and why they picked an actress who looked a lot like Bloom. Because prostitution was mentioned earlier regarding Thereza's sister, I wondered about that connection. Does anyone know the purpose of that scene?

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That's a very interesting idea, but personally, I don't think the lady in question is Thereza's sister. Thereza says in the film that her sister moved to South America and that she hasn't heard from her since. It's implied that Thereza's sister loved her very much (after all, she turned to prostitution to support Thereza), so I believe that if she ever returned to England she would try and contact Terry. Especially if she was watching a dance performance and knew that her sister was a professional dancer - I think Terry's sister would be looking out for Terry in the performance in the hope of catching a glimpse of her. That's just my opinion, though... :-)

I think this scene was put in there simply for comedy effect. The lady was just an amusing gold-digger, looking for her next victim. When one man rebuffs her, she loses her elegance and pulls a face at him, before moving on to another man and apparently getting some success. It's just there to make us laugh, especially since the film is very serious for a Chaplin movie.

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I think you are right. Most people probably did not think the woman was Thereza, and so it is only my confusion with faces that made me think there was a deeper, hidden meaning.

As an example of how bad I am with faces, in That Obscure Object of Desire (1977), Conchita is played by two different actresses taking turns in different scenes, and I didn’t even realize it until I read about it in a review.

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I also thought it was her in make-up, but on closer inspection this theory fell apart...

http://i1108.photobucket.com/albums/h411/eroock/Limelight.jpg~original

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Last movie watched: The Wages of Fear (5/10)

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it was not thereza

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I thought the sister thing was a made up story.

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