MovieChat Forums > The Poseidon Adventure (1972) Discussion > Did Scott commit suicide?

Did Scott commit suicide?

posted 14 years ago by ricky_may1
18 replies | jump to latest

I know in the novel he did but in the film its not quite clear i think he did but with good intent. ill explain:
he leapt onto the wheel and turned off the steam while denouncing God and then asked "You want another life? then take me!" pretty much the same as novel. then he turned around and couldve easily swung back over i believe but instead he intentionally let go of the wheel and fell into the pit. he did committ suicide but he saved the others in the process.

[–] scruffy58 14 years ago

I see it more as he offered himself up as a sacrifice. He questioned his faith right from his very first scene, so, in a way, it was if he were saying "If you really exist, prove it by taking me and letting the others live."

"Thus, we began our longest journey together."
Adult Scout, 'To Kill A Mockingbird'

[–] ricky_may1 14 years ago

exactly! just likethe character in the novel cause he pretty much did the exact same thing except the guy was a lot younger in the novel (29 i think) Hackman's character seems to be in his mid 30's i think (not that far apart then) also i think they spliced Martin and Muller together cause in the novel Hubie Muller is the one who falls in love with Nonnie (Martin has a wife already) and he acts more like Muller in the movie (suave dapper sophisticated)

[–] Emory_Kris_Aaron 14 years ago

Did he really commit suicide? I did not see that at all, but then I did not read the novel. As played by Gene Hackman the character seemed so vital and full of life. I saw it as he could not hang onto that wheel any longer, and let go. But it was worth it to him to save the others. They had been climbing and falling and swimming for hours with no food, and he just couldn't do it anymore. (I know, I take these things way too literal.) Just did not fit with Gene Hackman's wonderful life-affirming character that he'd kill himself after all that work to get them outta there...

[–] zaraath 11 years ago

They had been climbing and falling and swimming for hours with no food, and he just couldn't do it anymore.

There was always Belle. Just a nosh, then we'll keep going!

[–] PillowRock 14 years ago

He committed suicide in the same sense that a soldier throwing himself on a grenade in the middle of a group can be said to have committed suicide.

Where my view of the scene differs from yours is in your perception that he "could've easily swung back". It has been a while since I last saw it, but my impression was always that he didn't have any realistic shot at the return; that he was effectively dead the moment that he committed to the leap to the valve wheel. (Especially given the state of exhaustion by that point in the movie.)

[–] peacedovey2003 14 years ago

Reverand Scott was a Catholic Priest with a very strong will. John 15:13 states "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends". Scott saw that in order to save the others, this had to be done and he could do it. There would be no turning back for the person who did it and that to save the remaining survivors it had to be done. He cared about the group of people he was leading.

This was the first movie I ever saw Gene Hackman in and I really liked his portayal of the Priest. I did not care to watch the remake. I like the original too well to see how badly the remake got twisted to please cynical Hollywood.

[–] Eric-62-2 9 years ago

Reverand Scott was a Catholic Priest with a very strong will. John 15:13 states "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends". Scott saw that in order to save the others, this had to be done and he could do it. There would be no turning back for the person who did it and that to save the remaining survivors it had to be done. He cared about the group of people he was leading.

I like your interpretation that tries to see something more positive and faith-affirming ultimately in Scott's sacrifice, but one correction is that Scott is clearly not Catholic, he's more likely an Episcopalian because he's called "Reverend" not "Father" as a Catholic priest was (and doesn't wear a clerical collar).

[–] glennh69 9 years ago

Scott is clearly not Catholic, he's more likely an Episcopalian because he's called "Reverend" not "Father" as a Catholic priest was (and doesn't wear a clerical collar).

Clergy in the Episcopal Church USA are called "Priests" (rather than "Ministers"), wear a collar, and (more often than not) are referred to as "Father" or "Mother", although their official title is Reverend ____. Episcopal (Anglo-Catholic) congregations are similar to Roman Catholic in that some parishes practice a higher Church ("smells & bells") liturgy than others. However, in general, the Episcopal Church rarely adopted the "contemporary/ folk mass" in the 60s/70s, as the Roman church in the US did. Even today, it has retained many more of the traditional elements of the Eucharist than the Roman church has.

My take on Scott is that he was from a more low-church Protestant denomination: Methodist, Presbyterian, perhaps even Lutheran. I get the impression he was of the same denomination/colleague of the Arthur O'Connell character. O'Connell represented the previous generation of the church (staid, traditional, ritualistic), whereas Scott was the hip, "non-conformist" rebel---he even wore a turtleneck & long sideburns!

[–] x-ramubay 14 years ago

He read the script for BEYOND THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE (1979) and lost his will to survive.

[–] TheGuyWithTheFeet 14 years ago

He read the script for BEYOND THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE (1979) and lost his will to survive.

Good one.

[–] masterjedi-2 13 years ago

Even though it looks like he could have made it back with some help, there are some things to note. The wheel valve was extremely hot from the steam. He probably couldn't hold on any longer, due to the burning of his hands and exhaustion. And his will was spent. I don't think he denounced God, but I do think that he was angry with their situation and the lack of "help" that God could have provided throughout their journey. He was convinced that if somebody else was going to die, it was going to be him.

[–] Mr_Blonde3 13 years ago

He sacrificed himself. Technically, it was suicide, but he didn't off himself out of depression. He offed himself as a "sacrifice" to grant the other safe passage to the propeller room.

I love to love my Lisa.

[–] zaraath 11 years ago

He couldn't have swung back over. The only way he made it to the wheel was by having a surface to push off from with his feet.

[–] westal_sage 11 years ago

Right - he was doomed and wouldn't have been able to make it back over and didn't just let go. However, he knew that when he went to the wheel in the first place, so in that sense he did ultimately sacrifice himself for the others.

[–] richard.fuller1 9 years ago

My brother actually did feel this way; that Scott took the coward's way out, as he put it.

I saw it as Scott didn't want them to waste time trying to rescue him from the wheel, so he took himself out of the equation, so to speak.