the ending

I am not sure where you started missing. But the end goes like this.

*SPOILERS AHEAD* (don't read if you haven't seen the film yet)

Alva and Owen lived happily together in New Orleans. They were deeply in love with each other. Every day Alva would pick Owen up from his office and walk home together. Everything went fine until one rainy day. The couple walked home together as usual. When they opened the door of their little apartment, they found Hazel, Alva's mama, sitting inside, waiting for them. Alva begged Mama not to say anything about her marriage to JJ in the kitchen but Mama refused to compromise, seemingly still mad at her daughter and JJ's betrayal. She took revenge by telling Owen the truth. Owen was shocked (the movie, however, did not reveal whether he was angry or not). Guilt-driven and embarassed, Alva stormed out of the room and ran down the stairs. And she disappeared at the end of the street while it was still raining outside.

The viewers are then brought back to the railtrack, where Willie and Tom were sitting. Willie revealed that Alva soon died in lung infection. Mama left the village with some guy and the Starr House was abandoned. Willie, the long-neglected child, was left behind with Alva's jewelrys and clothings. She told Tom that she would keep on walking the railroad tracks, and live like her beautiful sister did. She even dreamed of dying in lung infections in the future like her idolized sister did. Owen's fate was unknown, as Willie never mentioned him at the end. And at the end of the movie, the kids said goodbye to each other, with Tom going back home and Willie continued walking her railroad track with her ragged doll, singing her sister's favorite song--"Wish Me a Rainbow".


I suggest you watch it again. It always reruns on AMC. Just go on and check the schedule. It's a nice movie in my opinion, especially the remarkable performances of Natalie Wood and Kate Reid.


Hydie Cheung