The warden at the end - SPOILERS!! - The Shawshank Redemption (1994) Discussion

[–] PaladinNJ (21509) 2 years ago

The warden kept two sets of books. The public books, which had the false name on it, Randall Stevens, and the private books, which contained the information the Warden needed to keep track of everything for himself. They probably also had the information the Warden needed to establish himself as Stevens. Andy probably turned over the private books, maybe even the false I.D. with the Warden's picture on it.

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[–] strntz (12223) 2 years ago

Hedy's right. If he sent in the bank info, they would find out the accounts were emptied and they would have gotten a good description of Randall Stevens, who would match Andy's description exactly.

That's a big gamble that Andy could make it to Mexico. Ideally, his best plan would have been to get the warden into trouble but not direct the spotlight on himself.

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[–] blindfolded (1618) 2 years ago

Stevens doesn't have a description. Andy only used Stevens name when he withdrew, I doubt he's living under that name in Mexico. The only people who saw Andy were the bank tellers. And it's not like there are cameras. So what do they tell them? Stevens was a tall middle age white guy.🤷‍♂️

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[–] strntz (12223) 2 years ago

Stevens didn't have a description until Andy showed up to withdraw a HUGE amount of money from *several* local banks. Presumably, they would have had a picture of Andy that the witnesses would have identified. He's no longer a tall middle age white guy, he's now got a face and a name.

Further, while Andy wouldn't have used the name Stevens again, the IRS and FBI would certainly be interested now in Andy after he was fingered for withdrawing the money. Even if Mexico was a non-extradition nation (I honestly don't know), identifying Andy as Stevens would complicate his life.

The smart play would have been for Andy to escape per his plan, withdraw the money, and disappear. The warden certainly wouldn't have said anything. Andy ruining the warden's life made Andy's life more difficult, even in Mexico.

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[–] blindfolded (1618) 2 years ago

They show the bank confirming ID by matching his SS card and license etc and it was sufficient. This was 1975. Banks don't line you up against the wall like it's the DMV and snap a photo. They'll only have witness descriptions, no photo.

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[–] strntz (12223) 2 years ago

I was referring to a picture of Andy from the prison file that the bank employees would identify.

That of course presupposes that the state of Maine would have had enough sense to connect Andy's escape (a banker) with anonymous info sent to the newspaper and the fact that *someone* who wasn't the warden withdrew the money.

Big risk that the state wouldn't put two and two together.

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[–] blindfolded (1618) 2 years ago

EVEN if they figure out its Andy, they have no idea to think Mexico.

The trail is completely dry after the banks. How many resources do you suppose the FBI would throwing into a multi-country manhunt for Andy?

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[–] strntz (12223) 2 years ago

Could be Mexico or Canada or elsewhere, but we all know that many people who have fled to foreign countries often get caught years later. Andy wants to own a small resort and fishing boat, it's possible a guest may recognize him for the extra notoriety his hijacking Randall Steven's name would bring.

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[–] blindfolded (1618) 2 years ago

The risk of randomly getting recognized is there no matter which way you slice it when one breaks out of a prison. Doesn't change anything.

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[–] strntz (12223) 2 years ago

I think the notoriety is higher when the crime is more interesting.

If Andy was just an escaped con, his story would die quickly I believe. But someone who not only escapes but is implicit in a money laundering scheme, manages to hijack the scheme, then makes off with hundreds of thousands of dollars of a dead warden would put him in the class of someone like D.B. Cooper.

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[–] blindfolded (1618) 2 years ago

I think the vast majority of the people in the world wouldn't have recognized DB Cooper standing next to them eating a taco on a beach in Mexico.

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[–] strntz (12223) 2 years ago

I don't think there's a picture of Cooper anywhere?

But Andy Dufresne would have a pic on file. I could see TV news magazines doing stories on him to this day.

Now that I think about it, his story would make a fine movie..

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[–] blindfolded (1618) 2 years ago

Sure. But the risk does seem very minimal, especially in 1975. I mean, what's the alternative?

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[–] strntz (12223) 2 years ago

I think Andy could have escaped, cleaned out the warden's money, then slipped quietly away.

The warden would have gone on his way, probably pulling the same stuff, but he would have lost 10 plus years of stolen money.

I agree it's a better story the way Andy did it. Watching Norton ventilating is skull and Hadley being cuffed and hauled away makes great theater.

If it was my call, I'd have Andy act just the way he did.

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[–] Mattc164 (618) a year ago

This was not 1975 it was the 60s.
It was 75 in the book but if you’re going to refer to the book then this whole thread falls through the floor because the warden in the book wasn’t corrupt and had nothing to do with the Randall Stevens alias. He didn’t even commit suicide. He, “retired a broken man.”

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[–] strntz (12223) 2 years ago

Agree. I've often thought about what Andy could have sent the newspaper that would have triggered that lights and sirens swoop in.

At best, I think Andy could have triggered an investigation by sending in the books and highly detailed descriptions of the goings on at Shawshank, but if he gave them the bank accounts info, he ran the risk of being caught withdrawing the money. Same with Hadley. What evidence did they have to arrest him before an investigation was launched?

I think eventually Norton and Hadley would have been nabbed, but not in the dramatic scene we see.

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[–] blindfolded (1618) 2 years ago

He withdrew everything before he alerted anyone. No risk.

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[–] strntz (12223) 2 years ago

Right, but I was referring to the bus ride across country.

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[–] blindfolded (1618) 2 years ago

He didn't take a bus across the country. He drove himself.

With the top down.

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[–] strntz (12223) 2 years ago

Oops. Right.

Still, it would take several days presumably.

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[–] blindfolded (1618) 2 years ago

Yeah but the only person that has even the slightest clue which direction he's even heading is Red.

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[–] strntz (12223) 2 years ago

Nah, Red would crack!!!! A couple packs of Lucky's and he'd sing!

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[–] blindfolded (1618) 2 years ago

🤣

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[–] WarrenPeace (2267) 2 years ago

[deleted]

[–] WarrenPeace (2267) 2 years ago

"At best, I think Andy could have triggered an investigation by sending in the books and highly detailed descriptions of the goings on at Shawshank, but if he gave them the bank accounts info, he ran the risk of being caught withdrawing the money. Same with Hadley. What evidence did they have to arrest him before an investigation was launched?"

Yeah, and I don't see how any DA would be going after Warden and Head Guard over what were just words from an escaped felon where those could have been made up.
They will have to connect the two by talking to Stevens/Andy and he is gone and if they even figure it is him, he is an escaped con with a grudge so they would just discount what he wrote in with.
They will need Andy as a sworn witnesses and they are not going to get him.

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[–] strntz (12223) 2 years ago

I guess the other guards might flip on Hadley if the investigation got deep - maybe a deal if they testified against Hadley.

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[–] WarrenPeace (2267) 2 years ago

https://moviechat.org/tt0111161/The-Shawshank-Redemption/642866930f46d23541088156/In-real-life-the-Warden-and-Hadley-would-not-get-arrested

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[–] PaladinNJ (21509) a year ago

Just watching this again and realized how Andy could have gotten away with it.

Andy said the Warden was on his way to being a millionaire. At the end, Red said "He blew town with close to $370,000 of the Warden's money." Andy probably left other accounts untouched so that there was enough money intact to implicate the Warden.

Possibly Andy was trickier than that. (I'm just speculating here) Maybe he kept the accounts he emptied out of the ledgers he gave to the press. Therefore, he may have gotten away without implicating himself and the Warden is left having to explain the accounts he left behind.

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[–] [deleted] a year ago

It doesn't matter that the accounts are emptied. The bank knew they existed and how much was in them so Andy could have taken it all if he wanted. On top of the accounting work there's also paper work that would have the warden's finger prints on them. We see the man handling the deposits barehanded. That alone would lead to corruption charges. How does a con make hundreds of thousands of dollars in prison? Someone is going to do audit and Andy's paperwork surely tells them where to look that would connect the warden to the scam.

And something people are overlooking is the abuse and murder of prisoners. That would get Hadley to potentially turn evidence against the warden as well.

Could the warden have gotten off free? A slim chance and even if he did what would his life have been after that? Suicide doesn't look to bad to someone who just lost most of their future and was likely to lose the rest in short order in the late years of their life.

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[–] PaladinNJ (21509) a year ago

If he went to prison he wouldn't last a week.

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