MovieChat Forums > Marathon Man (1976) Discussion > something I dont understand ... (spoiler...

something I dont understand ... (spoilers)

posted 16 years ago by skekurc
9 replies | jump to latest

At the end when the three men come to the house that Dustin and the girl are at,
does anyone know why William Devane's character shoots the other two men to defend Dustin?

I thought that he was letting Dustin go, "i'll give you Szell for your brother", which makes sense.... but after Dustin has gone, he then appears to go after Dustin again ... and killing the girl on the way ... which is why Dustin then shoots him.

Does anyone else find it confusing that he may go after Dustin just after he let him go?

[–] jwalsh67 16 years ago

skekurc, I also found this scene a bit confusing. The two men with Will Devane were closely associated with Szell and very loyal to him, whereas Will Devane was not. Devane knew that both of these men wanted Thomas Levy dead and would stop at nothing to kill him. That is why he was trying to calm them down in the house ("we're all gunna relax and take it easy") and eventually shot them when they made an attempt to shoot Levy. Doc's death angered Devane (who was his close friend and work associate) to a point where he was torn between sticking to his job or abandoning Szell altogether. Like yourself, I was confused when he gave Levy Szell's location but then tried to kill him when he left--my guess is he was still torn and thinking "do I do my job, or let this maniac go and kill Szell?" If he was planning to kill Levy all along, then it made no sense that he would give him Szell's actual location (he would have made something up instead). For this reason, I'm willing to wager that Devane's waffling was meant to illustrate his viciously dueling interests.

He who conquers himself is mightier than he who conquers a city.

[–] sheilag-4 16 years ago

Hi,
I thought this was the most confusing scene in the film especially the motives of the Will Devane character. I thought he must have colluded in Doc's murder yet others on this board say he was Doc's lover. Surely he wants Levy dead to keep the division's shady dealings with Szell from entering the public domain, so why did he help him? In another thread someone says Will Devane was after the diamonds but I dont agree - I think his strongest motive was doing his job for his country and anyone was expendable to this end. Revealing Szell's location to Levy makes no sense whatsoever, it is simply a plot mechanism.
Sorry for giving more questions than answers!

[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] ringfire211 16 years ago

I thought this part was very clear. He was basically "playing" Babe, trying to gain his trust at the last moment.

Remember after the dentist scene, Janeway sneaks up and "supposedly" kills Szell's 2 henchmen (Richard Bright & Marc Lawrence), then takes Babe out on a wild ride explaining everything about Szell and how he is still in hiding in Uruguay. After Babe tells Janeway that Szell is in fact here in NYC, Janeway asks Babe to tell him EVERYTHING THAT HIS BROTHER TOLD HIM. This was all a ruse set up by Szell and Janeway to trick Babe into confiding in Janeway (who just "rescued" him). Just in case the dentist torture didn't work, they used Janeway to pretend to be the good guy so that Babe would spill the beans to him. Obviously this did not work - Babe knew nothing. So Janeway drove him back to "the dentist"... and lo and behold... the 2 henchmen are alive and well again.

I believe that at the end (at the ranch house) Janeway attempts a similar ruse to trick Babe into believing again that he's the "good guy". After all, he just shot and killed the 2 henchmen (this time for real!). Basically, Janeway was cornered - there was no way out. He had to make a play. So he shoots the henchmen and shouts out to Babe Szell's location. Babe immediately bolts for the door (which was what Janeway was hoping for). Now with Babe out of the house, the only loose end is Elsa so he shoots her. Now, it's just Janeway vs. Babe. All he has to do now is run outside and kill Babe - it's one on one. Of course, Babe was smarter and got the drop on Janeway. Babe only pretended to run after Szell - he was just outside the window.

Simple as that. And quick thinking on Janeway's part to come up with that clever ruse at the last moment during the stand-off in the house.

Connery, Moore, and Brosnan! Accept NO substitutes!

[–] 16 years ago

[deleted]

[–] fostonrep 12 years ago

This is so freakin confusing...but I agree with you...One helluva movie,..

[–] Bobby_vs_Satan 12 years ago

Hoffman wasn't waiting for him at the window. He just happened to be there when Elsa called out to him to look out. That's also the reason Janeway shot her, because she called out to him to warn him. He may have intended to kill her eventually but she forced his hand.

[–] palfab79 10 years ago

Watching Marathon Man years ago, what I didn't understand was why she couldn't at least bother grabbing a gun... Still, this would've been somewhat of an action movie's heroin feat, and less "realistic".

[–] corinnacarpenter 12 years ago

I must say I thoroughly enjoyed watching William Devane walking ever so slowly into the room before he 'stabbed' Karl. I can watch that part over and over and over again. I loved it when the camera lowered below his belt as he popped the blade out of the handle.

Mmmmm...He is sexy.

Established 1976