I'm still confused! My understanding is that Roy (Peggy's husband) is suspicious of Peggy and Tony having an affair. "Too many letters," he says. Isn't this why he returns to Peggy's surprise at the end? But then why would Roy have any interest in stalking and killing Kit, not Tony (his wife's lover)?
share(SPOILERS HEREIN)
Roy was never stalking or trying to kill Kit. It's only meant to look that way. If you think back, he's never seen actually menacing Kit. He's a scary-looking guy, and he's hanging around all the time...and he pops up at a couple of startling moments. But all his actions are consistent with what he says he is at the end: a husband who got suspicious of his wife and came back secretly to check up on her.
Other "red herrings" were thrown in as well...the housekeeper's wastrel son, the attractive (but strange) contractor working on the building next door, Tony's ambitious secretary, the old family friend with money problems...each comes in at one time or another for a lingering camera shot with an ambiguous look on his face, suggesting he knows more or could be involved in some way.
But it was all in service of protecting that surprise twist at the end...to keep the audience from guessing what's really going on too soon.
Thank you very much. You are a keen observer, and would be a great professional film critic! I've always enjoyed watching Midnight Lace, but was long confused about some details.
shareI'm also confused, but my confusion is with the characters' names.
Roy is Peggy's husband.
If, however, you look at the cast list, you'll find that the couple have two different surnames. The wife is Peggy Thompson, and the husband is Roy Ash.
This wouldn't be unusual in today's world, but in 1960 the wife always took the husband's surname.
Anyone have a clue?
I too found the Roy Ash element to be confusing, not helped by the very few words of explanation that he gave when wounded. And with his cadaverous appearance he seemed an unlikely husband for the glamorous Peggy.
shareYou've got a point here, very good. I never went that deeply into the matter.
Overall, Roy has a lot of contributions to make in this film. Without him, we'd all have suspected the culprit from the very start.
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