Ruby Sparks

 

SPOILER ALERT! The plot will be discussed.

 

In Stranger Than Fiction (analyzed on this blog) the main character really existed but was channeled by an author who controlled his actions. In The Words, (also discussed here) the author also had difficulty separating fact from fiction, so completely connected to his characters that he didn’t know how to become attached to others. We have a similar situation in Ruby Sparks (2012), but beyond that point, this film explores male and female relationships, the male tendency to objectify women, but even more so, how complicated human beings are.

 

The first image is of a young woman that is blurry as if not clearly defined who then comes closer and talks to the person looking at her, or in this case the audience since the camera is placed from the observer's viewpoint. It is a dream, and the dreamer is Calvin Weir-Fields (Paul Dano). He is a writer and the image suggests how writers’ stories start as vague ideas. The title of the film is written in the sky as if taken out of thin air, which is what happens to the title character. Calvin stares at the blank page in his typewriter, the daunting task of all writers. The phone rings and he lunges for it like a lifeline to give him a reason not to face his task.

 

He goes to the gym with his brother, Harry (Chris Messina), who questions him about whether Calvin is ever going out on a date again and have sex. Calvin says the only reason girls are interested in meeting him is because he wrote a book they liked, and are not interested in him as a person. In a way he is not real to them and “they’re interested in some idea of me.” He is only associated with a work of fiction, just like his characters. Ironically he will view Ruby the same way others see him. His brother is all about physically working out to be better looking to attract women. He leans toward being concerned about the physical aspects of a relationship. When Calvin says he had a dream about a woman, the first thing Harry asks is what did she look like. Calvin says it was nice because the woman “just talked” to him. Harry says his brother doesn’t “even get laid” in his dreams, which he finds “sad.” Here, Harry represents the perennially superficial male who never exited adolescence, the kind that thinks the sole purpose in life is to have sexual conquests.

 

Calvin visits his psychiatrist, Dr. Rosenthal (Elliott Gould), and they discuss his writer’s block. Calvin wants to blame his problem on something outside of himself, even on his dog, Scotty, for making him walk him so much. Calvin is in a state of arrested development, and wants to cling onto a toy puppy that Rosenthal has in his office especially for him. Calvin has been leading a solitary life and Rosenthal reminds him that getting Scotty was supposed to help him meet people, break away from his isolation and world of make-believe. Rosenthal gives him a writing assignment that consists of saying how someone can like Scotty despite any of his shortcomings. In this way, Calvin can write something without literary merit for his shrink, which will at least get him back into practicing his craft. Also, the task shows how he, Calvin, can be liked, just like Scotty, despite a lack of social graces. 

 

Calvin is at a sold-out literary event where he is to be interviewed by another writer, Langdon Tharp (Steve Coogan). Tharp notes in his introduction that amazingly Calvin’s book was at the top of the bestseller list when he was only nineteen years old, which shows Calvin has a sort of innate talent. But, huge success at an age where there is insufficient maturity to deal with fame can be overwhelming, and may have contributed to Calvin’s social withdrawal. Ten years have passed since his novel was published, and he has only written short stories since then. He still seems immature as he dresses in a teenager’s at-home clothes. The interview itself is not shown but Calvin’s response is. As he walks through the audience he is questioned about what is the true meaning of a color in his story, as if he is supposed to explain his work. One man asks if it’s “weird that you used to be so successful?” The implication is that Calvin is a has-been at the young age of twenty-nine, with a lifetime of failure ahead of him. He has to wash his face off in the men’s room as if to cleanse himself of this negative experience.

 

He tells his agent, Cyrus Modi (Aasif Mandvi), that he wasn’t prepared for this interview and would have dressed up for it. Cyrus reminds him he hasn’t checked his messages, so much has Calvin withdrawn from contact with others. Langdon, at the reception afterwards, attaches himself like a parasite to Calvin’s achievement, taking credit for guiding the young author toward success since, he says, raw talent isn’t enough to excel. Calvin has to endure the onslaught of a large gathering and the propositions from women who, as he told his brother, seek Calvin to get close to his fame, not him. Langdon tells a few members of the audience that if you produce a great work early, the readers “love you, then they throw you away.” Fans are like hungry followers who want to feed off of the famous person’s notoriety, and are not satisfied with one book, but want to know what he is currently working on in anticipation of what they can devour next. The drunk and burned out Langdon, claiming he didn’t do any cocaine, at least not that night, tells Calvin it’s tougher when you start out on top to rise to those heights again. He says J. D. Salinger had it right by just disappearing after his success. Calvin seems to be going that route, although at the same time he wants to write more. 

 

When he gets home, Calvin throws his novel to the floor like he unburdened himself of an oppressive object weighing him down to his past. He didn’t get home in time to walk Scotty, who urinated all over his bed, which seems to fit how lousy Calvin feels about his life at the moment. Sleeping on his couch, sort of like a visitor in his own place, he again dreams of his idealized woman, who is Ruby Sparks (Zoe Kazan, who is also the screenwriter, and granddaughter of famed director Elia Kazan). Her first name suggests a beautiful, precious jewel. It could refer to Dorothy’s slippers in The Wizard of Oz, which is a fantasy story, as is Ruby’s. Her last name might point to the electricity that will develop between them, or romantic fireworks going off. In any event, the name is exciting. 

 

Her features are well-defined now, as she becomes more real to Calvin, and she sits next to him near a tree. She is an artist, creative like him, and sketches Scotty. She never heard of F. Scott Fitzgerald, after whom he named his dog. He informs her that Fitzgerald was one of the great novelists. She says it’s “disrespectful” to name a dog after a great writer. She theorizes that he named his “dog after him to cut him down to size,” which shows that Calvin is envious of Fitzgerald’s literary standing. She advises she is okay to “kill your idols.” Her statement suggests that worshipping others is intimidating and makes one feel inferior and inhibits actualizing one’s talents. Even though the male dog Scotty “pees like a lady” and is afraid of others, she says she likes “him just the way he is,” which fits in with Rosenthal’s writing assignment. 

 

Calvin starts writing his story based on the dream he had. He tells Rosenthal how the psychiatrist’s suggestion was “genius” about not putting pressure on him by saying he wasn’t looking for a good piece out of him. It is wise advice for all writers who just need to get started on a work. Now, Calvin is inspired and says, “All I want to do is write.” But this “fiction” has a great deal of him in it, since the main character is a writer named Calvin. He says he almost didn’t show up for his session because he didn’t want to leave “her.” He even says, “it’s almost like I’m writing to spend time with her.” He is becoming infatuated with someone he created, as if she is separate from himself, like the way a person produces an offspring. He says he is falling in love with her but is upset because she is a product of his imagination and, therefore, not real. He has trepidations about getting involved with someone because he had a girlfriend named Lila, who he says, “treated me so badly,” by leaving him after his father passed away. He says Lila was a “heartless slut,” which points to some sexist attitudes that Calvin harbors. An actual woman hurt him, so maybe in his mind the virtual one will treat him better. The emphasis here is on Calvin and his needs as opposed to those of another.

 

He starts to make up a biography, a backstory, for Ruby, which is what writers are told to do when creating their characters. As he talks about her, his words turn into cinematic images, so she becomes more real for us, too. She is twenty-six years old, compatible with Calvin’s age. She is a bit notorious because she had an affair with one of her teachers. She always is on the side of the “underdog,” which means she would support Calvin if he has failures. His favorite aspect of her is that “She’s complicated.” So, he, like most writers, wants to produce a “rounded” as opposed to a “flat” character. She’s made mistakes with men. He says she’s looking for “something new,” which we can assume would be Calvin, both the real and fictitious writer.

 

Susie (Toni Trucks), Harry’s wife, is with their baby at Calvin’s place doing some cleaning when the two brothers return to the house. The first sign that there is something strange occurring is when Calvin is perplexed to find a woman’s razor in his medicine cabinet. Harry finds a bra on the couch and notes that Calvin has not been telling them that his brother has been having sex. There are panties in a drawer and Calvin makes up a story (which is what he does) and says his dog is dragging the underwear in from other houses' trash. 

 

Harry’s input into the story Calvin has been writing is that women read love stories and they would not like a tale about “quirky, messy women whose problems make them endearing” because they “are not real.” Harry says women are different “up close,” (as opposed to in a book), and says even Susie can be “mean” for no reason. Harry reminds Calvin that writers are supposed to write what they know, and Calvin hasn’t had enough experience with women to know them. Calvin has retreated from reality and wants to live in his world of idealized fiction. 

 

But Calvin persists in his story even though his brother says he has written about a “girl” not a “person.” Which means Calvin is producing a fantasy version of a woman not grounded in the real world. Nevertheless, Calvin continues his story about Ruby, which we see dramatized. She says she dated a guy who told her she had a good sense of humor because she laughed at his jokes. That attitude points to how men’s lives revolve around their ego and want women to affirm the man’s perception of self-worth. He says that she was searching in the wrong place and Calvin is the man she has been really looking for, which allows him to stress his value. In his story Ruby dives into the swimming pool and he follows. Their unrestricted movements suggest that his invention has allowed him, at least internally, to become liberated from his self-imposed emotional quarantine. She says she is messy, and he says he loves her “mess,” but that chaos is still under his control since he is the master in charge of the fictitious scenario. It is like he is performing a controlled experiment.

 

However, what follows is a cliched idealized version of a love story when he says that as soon as he saw her he thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world, the emphasis on physical attributes being the default position of most men. She says when she first saw him she thought, “I’m going to love him forever and ever and ever.” Her words sound like what women want in old-fashioned fairy tales, and also show the male desire for adoration from the female interest in a story. 

 Calvin is supposed to meet Cyrus to show him what he has written so far, but he is late because he fell asleep at the desk typing. He has to walk Scotty first, but then he hears a female voice saying she’ll take care of the dog. The fantasy part of the movie, suggested by the feminine items appearing, now becomes full blown. We get a Twilight Zone feel as Ruby now actually exists in the kitchen saying she missed him in bed the prior night but hopes his working on the story was productive. Calvin, of course, is mind-slammed by what is happening. He starts to think he’s not an inspired writer, but is just “batshit” crazy not being able to separate himself from his creations. When she touches him and he feels it he realizes that he is experiencing more than an auditory and visual hallucination, He runs off in fear trying to convince himself, “It’s not real. It’s not real.” He hopes he was dreaming, but she is still there. 

 

Calvin calls his psychiatrist, leaving a message saying he is having an emergency (I’ll say!). Ruby is making him breakfast and when he asks if the underwear he found is hers, she asks who else’s, and then becomes jealous, wondering if he is “seeing anyone else.” His response of, “I’m not seeing anyone other than you,” is funny because not only is he not involved with another woman, he isn’t even “seeing” a real woman, only a fictitious one. He hides under his desk and whispers in a call to Harry that he needs help because he fears he is losing his mind. His world contrasts with that of Harry, who is in a business meeting, far removed from the far-flung events happening in Calvin’s house of magic. Harry says call a friend and meet with that person away from his hallucination. Calvin has become so isolated from others that he calls someone from high school who barely knows who he is. He finds the number of the woman, Mabel (Alia Shawkat), who offered it to him at the literary event, which shows how desperate he is to make a connection to someone in the real world.

 

Calvin tries to sneak out of the house but Ruby confronts him. She pleads to go with him, and his dream girl now feels suffocating in her attention to him. The cautionary advice of, “be careful what you wish for because it may come true,” comes to mind here, because one may not fully understand the ramifications of that wish. Ruby goes with him, but he tells her to window-shop until he returns with his meeting with a “friend.” The woman, like others Calvin mentioned, doesn’t relate to him other than seeing how she could have influenced his starting to write again after the literary event. She is a literary groupie, feeling like a celebrity herself if she sleeps with one. In a sense Calvin’s wanting to create a person makes sense because the people he meets in real life are not genuine in dealing with someone when fame is involved.

 

The shocker is that when Ruby comes by, Mabel sees her, too, and converses with the young woman. At first Calvin thinks Harry is playing a practical joke on him, but he quickly realizes he has actually conjured up a way to have someone from his imagination cross over into the real world. This fact blurs the difference between what is real and what is an illusion. Her anger at him going on a “date” makes her angry, which is believable. When he grasps how amazing it is that she is really there, they kiss and what follows is the “honeymoon” part of what Harry said is the temporary early stage of a real relationship. In this way, the movie is dealing with what actual couples experience, but through an exaggerated construct. They have fun together, going to a zombie film festival (a fantasy movie, which fits what we are seeing). They then go to other places, such as an arcade and a dance club, all places that get Calvin out among people for a change. But these locations are all escapist venues, where people go to escape reality. In a way, Calvin has exchanged one imaginary world for another.

 

Calvin meets with his brother and tells him Ruby is real, and that the “situation is crazy,” but he is not. Harry insists that his brother should see Dr. Rosenthal because it is “impossible” that he is having sex with a make-believe character. (Of course we know Harry is right, but we suspend our disbelief and imagine that the “impossible” can be real since that is what watching a movie entails. We believe the fictitious is real). Calvin takes doubting Harry to his house but tells him Ruby doesn’t know she emerged out of his writing and wants his brother to keep that aspect a secret. Ruby is there and confirms that she is a painter from Dayton, just like in Calvin’s story. She is cooking dinner, and Calvin says she is a terrific cook (another aspect that men traditionally want in their women). 

 

Harry runs through all of the logical explanations, including that maybe the girl is an actress Calvin hired, or is she an opportunist who was able to read Calvin’s manuscript. Calvin says he didn’t hire anyone, and Harry is the only one who read his work. Calvin’s explanation is that love is magical, and just as Susie is Harry’s “dream girl,” that is who Ruby is for him, only she literally came out of a dream. 

 

Harry finds out that Calvin hasn’t written any more of the story. He suggests an experiment, which is to write more about Ruby, and if Calvin’s claims are true, then writing something more will change Ruby. He types that she speaks fluent French, and immediately Ruby begins talking in the foreign language. Calvin took care of her backstory by saying her parents died when she was young and she traveled around a great deal so there is nothing to tie her to a specific past. After dinner, Harry wants to tell everyone what his brother has done. But Calvin, like most writers, is protective of his creation. He doesn’t want Harry to tell anyone because he wants to keep his “girlfriend” to himself and not subject her to being looked upon as a “freak.” Harry is funny when he says if Calvin marries Ruby wouldn’t it be “like incest” or “mindcest.” Calvin says he loves her and not to ruin things for him, which refers to his disastrous past romantic life due to his inability to have a meaningful relationship with real women. Harry, acting like the typical immature male, says Calvin can “tweak” Ruby, making her breasts larger and her legs longer, and having her perform oral sex anytime Calvin wanted. Harry also says he wished he could remove his wife’s annoying habits so easily. But, these are all the elements that make people individuals. He says, about Calvin’s ability to make Ruby do whatever he wishes, “for men everywhere, tell me you’re not gonna let that go to waste.” Harry’s take is to objectify a woman to the point that she will have no freedom of choice or uniqueness. At this point Calvin vows not to write anything about Ruby again so that he will not be manipulating her any further.

 

Months have passed and when Calvin’s mother calls he puts off her meeting Ruby again. She wants Calvin and Ruby to come to a birthday party for his brother. It is ironic when his mom, Gertrude (Annette Bening), says she started to believe Ruby “doesn’t exist.” Certainly, as we know, not in the usual sense. But even this prefabricated human starts to exhibit traits of personal preference. She would like to meet the rest of Calvin’s family. She wants to earn some of her own money working at a coffee shop, even though Calvin has promised to play the old-fashioned male role of providing for her while she works on her art. On this night, because she isn’t feeling fulfilled as an individual, she says she is tired and doesn’t want to have sex. 

 

So, he decides at this time that it’s okay to see the family at Big Sur, giving into Ruby’s wish instead of his own. (In the background on their ride it is funny that the song “The Game of Love” plays which reflects this very different form of romantic participation involving the couple. But also it is sung in French, referring back to how Calvin gave Ruby her bilingual abilities). Calvin’s mother greets them at the large estate where she lives with her husband, Mort (Antonio Banderas). Mort has had an impact on Gertrude’s diving into New Age ideas about growing all medicinal plants, and they have an indoor-outdoor style of living which is quite different, with no doors on the rooms. Calvin tells Ruby that his mother used to wear polo shirts and cook meat when she was with his father. He feels that she has been brainwashed by Mort. Is Calvin's mother a version of Ruby because she has been formed by the wants of the man in her life? Or, is Gertrude really happy and Calvin is just feeling guilty about how he has the power to control Ruby?

 

Calvin, not able to have his creation, Ruby, for himself, is again withdrawn, literally physically, from his family members, since he sits alone in a tree house structure reading Langdon’s new book. He remains immersed in fiction while the others dive into the pool. He wants Ruby to come up to be with him, above the realm of real people. Mort is entertaining at dinner and they all laugh and enjoy themselves except for the loner Calvin, who does not wish to validate Mort’s ways, and appears not to want to join in with others outside his own world.

 

Back home, Ruby has the opposite disposition than that of Calvin, because she sings about love while she cooks. The withdrawn Calvin feels annoyed and asks her to be quiet because he is reading, escaping again into fiction. She becomes sad and says that despite Mort and Gertrude trying to engage him in the joy experienced by the others, he just read by himself most of the weekend. She comments that he has no friends, and his statement that he only needs her prompts her to say that it puts a great deal of pressure on her to try to make him happy. Her observation shows he doesn't have the maturity to be generous in a relationship. She admits to being sad, suggests that maybe she should start taking art classes, and spend one night a week at her own apartment. It’s as if he gave birth to a child who is growing into her own person.

 

Ruby is thrilled by her art class and says she thinks she will learn a great deal from it. His selfishness is evident because he can’t share in her happiness and says his night away from her was terrible, and this “experiment” of hers isn’t working for him. She is the one now feeling emotionally smothered, and says there must be “space” in a relationship, “otherwise, it’s like we’re the same person.” The film suggests that is what would happen not only between people in a romantic situation, but also in any relationship. In this case, Calvin wanted someone to fit his specifications, so in a sense, he did wish for a woman who was like him. 

 

Ruby expands her independence by calling Calvin one evening and saying she went to a bar with others after her class. This fact spoils Calvin’s plans to cook dinner for them. She says that it might be a late night, so now she is expanding the number of days she will not sleep at his place. There are shots of Calvin alone in bed or with his dog. His disappointment is obvious as his territorial control over Ruby is eroding. 

 To counter that loss of power, he goes back on his promise not to write about Ruby anymore. He types that she is miserable without him, and he immediately gets a call from her where she pleads that she wants to come home. They are in bed and now she is so dependent on him she will not even let him get up to go to the bathroom. They eat cereal out of the same bowl and read the newspaper together while she holds his hand. But even though they are practically attached at the hip, she says, while sobbing, “I miss you right now.” She feels compelled to go with him even to answer the phone. He is now getting a dose of his own possessiveness. The movie seems to be commenting on how men don’t know how to be with women, since they want female adoration but also want space. Calvin can’t find the right state of mind to temper his selfishness with emotional generosity. They watch a film and there is a line uttered by Humphrey Bogart where he says, “No man walks alone by choice.” But before Ruby, Calvin seemed to have chosen that way of living, while contradictorily yearning for companionship. 

 

To counter her unhappiness due to his inability to cater to her all of the time, he writes that she will now be full of joy. So, then she is overly cheerful and loud as she constantly bubbles over about every single moment, no matter its significance, and is unrealistically optimistic no matter what happens. Calvin talks with Harry about his inability to strike a good balance. Calvin wants him to be what makes her happy without him making her happy. Isn’t that what most of us want, to find fulfillment by contributing to another’s joy by virtue of who we are, not by what we exact? Harry confesses that Susie once left him but came back. The precariousness of relationships is stressed as he says he can lose her at “any moment.” If that is true about our connections to others, the movie suggests that we have to not take for granted those we love.

 

Calvin tries to make Ruby her own person, typing that she can be sad or happy, however she felt like being. But, that is not enough. She sits around just watching TV and arguing about not wanting to go out. She complains about abruptly shifting from being psychologically up to being down, as if she is bipolar, because his defining her in his writing has been too narrow. The film implies that it is extremely difficult to have a character in a story approximate the intricacies of the personality of a real person. A writer may play God, creating characters for the author’s own purposes, but he or she can’t reproduce what an independent human being is truly like. Ruby complains that she does not have “an internal compass” to direct her because Calvin doesn’t have the ability to create one in her. She says maybe she needs to talk to someone like he did. When he mentions Dr. Rosenthal, she says maybe he should go see him. But, he says they were talking about her. Her warning about becoming the same person is coming true. She is now like he is, being urged by someone else that she has to get out and be social.

 At Langford’s party, documentary filmmakers pitch doing a film based on Calvin’s book, and they boast about making it look completely real. But even a documentary, through content selection, edits, and the fact of intruding on a situation alters the reality of what is being filmed. Calvin runs into his ex-girlfriend, Lila (Deborah Ann Woll) who he vilified earlier. She says she finished her novel and Langford is helping to get it published. When he says he is with a painter now, she says that is less threatening. Did he not get along with Lila because he could not handle a companion he did not feel superior to? Even now, she says he can’t be happy or supportive of any success she has. When they were together, she says that he reluctantly helped her with her writing career. She says he had “an image of who I was. And anything that I did that contradicted it, you just ignored.” So, the way he is acting with Ruby is nothing new for him. He blames her for leaving him right after his father died, but she accuses him of not letting her in emotionally, and that the only one he wanted “to be in a relationship with was you.” We again have Calvin’s narcissism noted.

 

Langdon meets Ruby and asks what she does, and her response is “nothing,” because she is not a complete person, generated from the mind of someone who doesn’t understand what that constitutes. He starts to come onto her. He invites her into his pool and she starts to get in with just her underwear on. Calvin gets territorial and whisks her out of there and when they get home demands an explanation for her actions. He becomes abusive as he grabs her arm, hurting her. He only cares about how she embarrassed him because his agent, Cyrus, and Lila were at the party, and not that he dragged her to Langford's place and left her alone. She argues that he has rules that she doesn’t know about until she breaks them. He tells her his rules, which are based on sexism and jealousy. She is angry and says that she is not his child (even though he birthed her and thinks he can discipline her like one) and he can’t control her to fit his whims. But he threatens that he can make her do whatever he wants.

 

She tells him she is leaving and they will talk later. But when she tries to go it’s as if she runs into an invisible barrier and can’t leave. He hands her what he has just written and the pages of the book he has already worked on. She is upset that he is invading her privacy by writing about her. He says no, he isn’t writing about her, “I wrote you.” He admits that he invented her. She thinks he is mentally ill until he makes her speak French, snap her fingers, sing, act like a barking dog, and call him over and over again “a genius.” The film has turned into a horror story where someone becomes an omnipotent being who unmercilessly wields his power to humiliate a subject. The fact that here it is a man completely defiling a woman makes the story an indictment against gender abuse. If that theme isn’t clear, we then have Calvin pounding out his words as if beating upon Ruby, who collapses to the floor. 

 

When he stops typing, he approaches her but she runs off in fear. He finally realizes what a monster he has been and types that she will be released from the past when she leaves the house, would no longer be “Calvin’s creation,” and that now “she was free.” He leaves the manuscript for her to read and leaves a note that tells her to read the last page. He says that he loves her, but most writers love their characters, no matter how badly they treat them. When he awakes Ruby is gone.

 

Calvin plays golf with Harry and says nothing helps getting over his broken heart. He says he can’t write, but Harry says Calvin should tell his story. Calvin says people will think he’s crazy, but Harry says, rightfully, they will “think it’s fiction.” Which is what it is because that’s what novels are and, you know, we’re watching a movie that is made up. He does write a book entitled Girlfriend, and in it he apologizes to Ruby. He has left out all identifying information about her to keep her free of him. He confesses that he couldn’t see “her” (to whom he dedicates the book) when she was there, but sees her everywhere now that she’s not around. His words echo those of Joni Mitchell’s song which reminds us that we don’t appreciate what we have until it’s gone. At a book reading, Calvin says that “falling in love is an act of magic,” and “so is writing” to explain why he has written his tale. He quotes a comment about J. D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye that says how writing brings human beings to life “out of ink, paper and the imagination.” Calvin, again referencing Salinger, says the woman he wrote about passed through him, inspiring him, and he was lucky enough to “catch her.”

 

Calvin is walking his dog in the park, and Scotty gets away from him. He calls Scotty’s name and runs into Ruby, who, based on what he wrote, no longer remembers her past with him. She says it’s curious that she is reading a book that has a dog named “Scotty” in it. Of course, it is his novel, and she realizes that he looks familiar because his picture is at the back. She feels badly because she mentioned before she knew he was the writer that a friend thought the story was pretentious. She then asks if they could “start over.” Hopefully the man who wrote about his own history has learned not to repeat it.

The next film is Cold Mountain.

Picnic

 

SPOILER ALERT! The plot will be discussed.

 

Picnic (1955) explores the various stages of youth and maturity mostly during one day in a Kansas town. The film comments on how being attractive is an overrated commodity. It addresses change versus the status quo and socioeconomic class differences.

 The first sounds and images are that of a train stopping in a Kansas town. The engineer paused there so that Hal Carter (William Holden, in a very physical role compared to his laid-back coolness in other performances) can get off. That Hal has convinced the man to give him a free ride and let him off where he wants points to Hal’s persuasive, charismatic personality. Hitchcock used a train as a symbol of male sexuality in North by Northwest, and, as we see here, Hal has a great deal of sex appeal. Also, he is a drifter, an outsider, an agent for change or disruption who upends the staid plans of a community. He is sort of a human monkey wrench in the romantic chemistry machinery. He tells the engineer he is there because he knows a young man whose father is rich and owns the grain elevator business in those parts. But the engineer is skeptical of this grimy poor fellow’s aspirations and is sarcastic by saying the governor is a friend of his and that’s how he got his railroad job.

 

Hal washes himself off in a nearby stream, a way of making himself presentable. He takes out of a bag a pair of shiny boots, and he later puts on a suede jacket. They are sort of a costume to make him look more appealing. As he enters the town, he encounters the older Helen Potts (Verna Felton) and her neighbor, the very young Millie Owens (Susan Strasberg), whose gazing at Hal shows the alluring effect he immediately has on women. He asks Helen if he could do some chores for her, but she says it’s Labor Day, and nobody is working. Labor Day can be seen as a metaphor for the passing of time. It announces the unofficial end of summer, a time of youthful fun and vacations, and is the prelude to the next natural cycles consisting of autumn decline and the subsequent cold death of winter. Helen asks if Hal is hungry and he flashes her a smile and smoothly says that he guesses his “stomach didn’t know it was Labor Day.” It’s an effective line, showing his hunger doesn’t stop for a holiday, but the humor, along with his offer of work, shows he seeks no pity. She invites him in for breakfast.

 

Millie sits outside her house, smoking a cigarette, which shows her unfeminine ways. given the time. She reads the book The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, which was also made into a film, and which suggests the desire of people to connect to others, although there is futility in trying to do so, and that theme appears here. The shot also has Millie dressed in what appear to be work clothes, so she is not trying to stress her looks. She is also reading literature, demonstrating her interest in using her mind. Her sister, Madge (Kim Novak) sticks her head out of the second-floor window, drying her wet hair (a step in displaying her good looks). Drops of water fall onto the page of Millie’s book, possibly implying how Madge dampens her sister’s life. 

 

Their mother, Flo Owens (Betty Field) comes outside and compliments Madge’s hair. That there is a rivalry between the sisters is evident when Millie complains that Madge “primps and fusses” as if she were, “the Queen of Sheba.” There is to be a Labor Day picnic, and Madge says that Millie could get a date if she dressed and acted properly. In defiance, Millie puts a hat on and wears her glasses. Madge is condescending toward her sister when she sings, “Beggars can’t be choosers.” By appearing the opposite of Madge, Millie allows herself to not compete with her attractive sister. It is funny that later she meets Hal, who is a beggar, and who seems to be able to choose the women he desires.

 

Flo’s boarder, Rosemary Sydney (Rosalind Russell) pops her head out of a downstairs window with her hair in rollers and she is smearing moisturizing cream on her face. She is older, but like Madge, she feels required to work on her appearance. She says, “Anybody mind if an old maid schoolteacher joins their company?” It is an obvious bit of exposition. But it goes along with the scene’s stress on how a woman feels obligated to attract a man. Rosemary says she doesn’t like it when a man wants to get “serious,” and notes “I lived this long without a man. What’s to keep me from getting on without one.” She may be “independent,” as Flo notes, but Rosemary still is aware of the judgment of others by calling herself “an old maid” and she continues to pretend that she can act younger than her years. Flo mentions Howard Beavens (Arthur O’Connell), but Rosemary shrugs him off as a romantic possibility by calling him a “friend-boy, not a boyfriend,” suggesting that Howard is just a friend who happens to be male and his gender is a secondary factor in their acquaintanceship.

 

After breakfast, Hal starts to help Helen, and asks about his college pal, Alan Benson (Cliff Robertson). Helen informs him that Alan visits her pretty neighbor, Madge, often. Helen tells Hal he should take off his jacket. When he says he has a dirty shirt, she volunteers to wash it for him. He asks if it's okay to remove his clothing, and she says he’s just a man. Helen doesn’t realize the emotional power she is unleashing. This baring of his muscular chest attracts the attention of the peeping Rosemary. However, when Hal sees her and offers a smile, she is embarrassed, given her unglamorous appearance. Rosemary hides her interest by complaining to Nellie that Hal shouldn't go around half-naked, dismissing his supposed arrogance by saying “who does he think he is?” Nellie wants to know who’s not wearing much clothing. The sexual tension that Hal brings to the town begins to build. 

 

The scruffy teenager Bomber (Nick Adams), with a name that shows he has no subtlety, is riding his bike on a paper route (an activity reserved for boys his age), and wants to know where Nellie’s sister is because, “It’s no fun looking at you, goonface!” It is an adolescent insult. He says she dresses like a man, and the two get into a fight. Nellie seems to be constantly reminded of how she doesn’t measure up to Madge in the looks department. She says that, “The ones we love are always pretty, but the ones who are pretty to begin with, everyone loves them.” Beauty may derive from love, but the innately attractive have an advantage up front. 

 Madge rejects Bomber’s clumsy advances about riding in a hot rod he only co-owns. The older Alan has progressed in the romantic process because he sends flowers to win her acceptance. She expects a man to be a “gentleman,” with the proper decorum that implies. Bomber accuses her of being snobby, and chases her around the yard, pleading for her to give him a shot at being her boyfriend. His childishness is offset by the older, “bigger” Hal who arrives and intimidates Bomber by bouncing a basketball found in the yard off of Bomber’s head. The humiliated boy leaves. Madge averts her eyes, partly embarrassed by Hal’s lack of clothing, but also probably not wanting to stare. Flo comes out and sharply asks what Hal is doing there. When he asks if she is the mother, he gives a smile and a nod that shows he thinks Flo looks good for her age. As Hal leaves, his complimentary gesture has the proper effect as Flo’s coldness seems to melt a little. Helen calls Madge over and says that Hal knows Alan. Madge is proud to know the well-to-do Alan, and tells Hal where he lives, but she is flirtatious with Hal, smiling and brushing her hair. 

 Hal and Alan have a male bonding reunion as the latter is being taught by his father, Mr. Benson (Raymond Bailey) how to play golf on the spacious lawn in front of their mansion-size house. It emphasizes the difference in the socioeconomic positions between the Bensons and others in the story. Hal doesn’t try to hide his modest background. He says he didn’t come right over when he arrived in town because he looked like a bum. He says he worked at the gas station back home and then went into the military. But, Alan doesn’t seem to care about economic deficiencies and is genuinely happy to see Hal. Alan remembers that Hal planned on going to Hollywood, most likely to cash in on his rugged good looks. There is a bit of a comic jab at the movie industry’s overemphasis on appearance when Hal says that he had a screen test but despite his handsome appearance, the studio still wanted him to get new teeth. He says a “babe” landed him the test, and Alan says, “Same old Hal,” which implies that Hal has used his influence with women for quite a while. Hal, trying to show that he can be a decent person. says he was at a ranch in Nevada and worked hard there, not womanizing or drinking, and saved some money to participate in a deal in Texas. But his baser instincts kicked in when two beautiful women in a convertible lured him with backseat martinis and they partied. After getting him drunk, they robbed him. Apparently his attractiveness can’t protect him from bad things happening. Hal is envious of Alan’s wealth, but conversely, it appears that the conservative Alan wishes that some of Hal’s amorous adventures would happen to him. Mr. Benson, before driving off, expects Alan to meet him at the country club, but Allan says he has a date with Madge. His father gives a disapproving look, so we know he does not think Madge comes from a family that is good enough for his son.

 

Flo tells the nineteen-year-old Madge she better get moving to land Alan. Flo doesn’t seem to be speaking to Madge, but to herself, as she stares straight ahead and appears to be summing up her own plight when she says that “a pretty girl doesn’t have long. Just a few years.” If a young woman loses her window of opportunity, “she might as well throw all her prettiness away.” Her assessment of how women have a short shelf life because their beauty fades along with their chances to succeed in life stresses what a narrow path there is for females to get ahead at this time. Flo is making sure Madge has a lovely dress to package her goods for the day’s celebrations. 

 

Millie continues to show her disdain for her sister who gets to dress up and go places. Madge retaliates by saying how Millie is not interested in boys. She does not understand that her sister is just putting on an act because she doesn't feel secure enough to compete with her sister to attract males. Madge emphasizes the superficial interests of men as they like what a woman wears and how she smells. Millie, again holding a book, is stressing how beauty wins out over intelligence when it comes to getting attention from boys. She says sarcastically that her sister is “so dumb, they almost had to burn the schoolhouse to get her out of it.” Madge is stung by her sister’s accusation and they fight with Millie running off in tears. But then in a reversal of how it appears, it is Madge who is envious that Millie has earned a scholarship to go to college. Her mother lists all of the material things Alan can give Madge as she points a large mirror at her, as if the only important thing in her life is how she looks. But Madge admits that she doesn't feel comfortable with high society types, and then shows she is not just a shallow beauty when she says, “What good is it just to be pretty?” Flo is confused by her statement, not understanding why her daughter doesn’t value the gift she was given. 

 

Flo begins to ask if Madge has kissed Alan, whether she enjoyed it, and if Alan wanted to go further than just kissing. Flo doesn’t believe Madge sounds enthusiastic enough about showing passion for Alan. At this point it seems as if she is trying to pimp her out, and Madge appears to understand the implication and goes to her room crying. Flo seems upset with herself but takes it out on Madge by warning her not to be so negative toward Millie. We now learn that Flo has actually seemed to favor Millie, which reveals more of why Madge envies her sister. Flo explains that when Madge was born both her parents idolized her, and her father carried her on his shoulders suggesting she was a prize to be elevated above others. Men viewing females as prizes is noted elsewhere in the movie. But, he eventually looked elsewhere for his satisfaction and left the family. So, when Millie was born, Flo felt she had to double the attention to be paid to her because she lost out on a father’s love.

 

In Alan’s car, Hal echoes Madge as he says he was a hero on campus, but his acclaim was only “between the goal posts.” (We find out later that he received an athletic scholarship but flunked out in his junior year). Just as Madge admires Millie’s brains, so does Hal express his envy of Alan’s intellectual achievement in college. Both he and Madge are similar in that they get noticed for their physical attributes, but they find that particular success is too limiting. Hal admits alcoholism finally ruined his father and he died in jail. In contrast to that sad story of defeat there are the massive grain storage facilities that Alan’s father owns, stressing his economic success. Alan’s father didn’t want his son to just have a cushy position as the owner's son and made him work with the other employees so he could learn the business. His knowledge of the operation is obvious as he takes Hal for a tour. Hal hopes that Alan and his father can get him a job. But, instead of expressing thanks for even a low-level position, he voices the desire for an office job with “a sweet little secretary.” He still thinks he can rise above his current station in life based on his charisma in lieu of other talents and hard work. Alan politely tells him that he has to be patient if he wants to work his way up the corporate ladder. Hal is impatient to finally make something of himself after wasting so much time being a drifter who didn’t want to grow up.

 

Alan takes Hal to the local lake for some swimming. Hal’s magnetism is on display as he dives perfectly into the water. The young women can’t keep their eyes off of him and Millie brags that he will be taking her to the Labor Day picnic. In that way, she gets some of that envy that was mostly reserved for her sister. The older young man, Hal, causes the insecure teenage Boomer to gripe about the fuss being made over Hal. The sexy outsider injects a fresh sensuality into this staid community. Alan is alone with Madge and wants to have time with her later by themselves saying he wants to make sure she is “real” in the “moonlight.” For him, she is almost too beautiful to be true. Madge again shows her reluctance to be categorized only by her looks. 

 There are shots of the lower legs and feet of the men and women changing in their respective locker rooms. It is voyeuristic camera work for its time and adds to the charged sexuality that has been ignited by Hal’s presence. While getting changed, Hal expresses reservations about going to the picnic. He says he never went to one and when he was growing up he was “shooting craps or stealing milk bottles” instead. His reluctance being with those of a respectable social class mirrors Madge’s feeling uncomfortable with Alan’s country club circle, and shows more similarities between the two. The conversation between Hal and Alan is reflected in Madge and Millie talking in the women’s locker room. Millie, too, is uncomfortable about socializing, but for her it’s because she is not sure how to be with boys. When Millie overhears Hal talking, we realize they are just on the other side of a wall from each other, which accentuates the intimacy of the moment. Hal even stresses that point when he tells Millie she better “get away from this wall. You’re liable to get educated.” That would be knowledge in the biblical sense. Then there is an even more erotic shot showing how the women and the men are next to each other in changing rooms. The nerdy Millie seems to want to expand her learning beyond books as she tries to peep into the men’s side, but Madge thwarts her attempt.

 

Rosemary returns to Flo’s house accompanied by fellow teachers Irma (Reta Shaw) and Christine (Elizabeth Wilson), who teaches the course entitled Feminine Hygiene, another reference to female sexuality. Rosemary acts uninterested in Howard’s phone call and seems like she doesn’t care to dress up for him. Millie has traded in her work clothes look for a lovely dress and lets her hair flow. Hal and Alan arrive and even though Hal admires Millie’s appearance, he still calls her “kid,” which shows how he does not consider her a romantic interest (and rightly so, given her age. Even Madge is too young for him, although Novak does not appear to be nineteen). 

 

Hal is muscular and energetic as he loads the car with items for the picnic and his effect on the women, including Rosemary, is obvious. When a horn honks, Rosemary is hoping another man is showing up, but she is disappointed that it’s middle-aged, average looking Howard. She shows her feelings when he compliments her appearance but she is critical of his lack of a sports jacket. Alan calls upstairs to get Madge to hurry up, but addresses her as “Delilah.” Is that how men see her, as being similar to the woman whose beauty is so magnificent she takes male power away? When Alan escorts Madge down the stairs, the other women sing “Here Comes the Bride,” adding that marital pressure that Flo applied earlier. Madge’s mother wonders why her daughter didn’t wear the more glamorous dress she tried on earlier. Madge most likely is doing what Millie had been doing, dressing down, but here it is because she doesn’t wish to just be assessed because of her appearance. Hal meets Madge and comments how the borrowed clothes look tight on him because he’s “kind of beefy through the shoulders.” Obviously the women admire that aspect of him, and even the elderly Helen once again says, “nobody would mind if you took it off.” So he loses the jacket and then speeds off with Millie as if the car was fuel injected with testosterone. 

 

There are cuts between the car Hal is driving, the one Alan, Flo, and Helen are in, and Howard’s auto with Rosemary as passenger. Flo is surprised at Hal’s lack of “breeding” since he went to the same college as Alan, but he then tells her of his lack of academic skills. That condescending view made by Flo is appropriately followed by Hal and Millie singing the “oink-oink” sounds from the song about Old MacDonald’s farm. He’s ready to sing a song his father taught him, but then changes his mind, which suggests that it was obscene and should not be repeated in front of a young girl. Alan says he didn’t like how Hal “bragged and swaggered,” but then he roomed with him and they became acquainted. Could it be that there is envy here, too, on the part of Alan who wishes he could exhibit Hal’s virility? Howard sees nothing wrong with doing a little drinking on the way to the picnic, and considers Rosemary an “old poke” for criticizing his alcoholic intake. He says he went down a side street so she can have a drink with nobody seeing it. She is funny when she finally gives in by hunkering down with her coat over her and takes a gulp while at the same time being worried that she could lose her job as a schoolteacher. She is caught between acting on her passionate nature and meeting the moral standards that restrict that nature. 

 

A picnic sounds like wholesome fun, and there are three-legged races, water sports, a pie eating contest, music, etc., but it does involve eating, which suggests satisfying one's appetites, which include sexual ones. Hal has to edit himself again when he talks about the fun he had once in the past but realizes the anecdote would be indelicate for these upstanding citizens. Hal and Millie didn’t win the three-legged race, and Helen says that Millie isn’t into sports because she “cultivates her mind,” another reference to the theme of the body versus intelligence. Howard invites Hal and Alan to visit his general store, and adds he lives upstairs by himself in a small apartment, right next to the bank. These simple lines show his static, economically modest life and the mention of the bank contrasts the economic disparity between the working man and the affluent. 

 Rosemary asks where Hal acquired his boots. He readily admits that they are the only things his father left him. We know his father was an alcoholic, and Hal’s financial situation is even more deprived than the other working-class people. He says his father said a person needs boots because one has to do a great deal of “kicking,” suggesting the need for fighting for oneself. He also said that the boots let people know he is approaching, which means announcing his presence, and not staying in the background. Hal says his father also said the boots let others “know you mean business when you get there.” His words echo Alan’s earlier assessment of Hal’s macho swaggering. He stands up and towers over the others with his feet spread apart, taking up as much territory as he can. He leans his body against a tree, visually suggesting his strength is as strong as the wooden bark. He stands over Rosemary, who sensually eyes him up and down, and Howard is next to her, looking up as Hal’s manliness overshadows him. 

 Alan haltingly says that Hal is shy around people at first and then once he gets to know them, “you can’t keep him still.” Alan’s face registers embarrassment because of his friend’s boasting and maybe he feels overshadowed by Hal’s larger-than-life performance. Hal’s face shows that he knows Alan is making apologies for him, and he appears hurt by the remark. What follows is a verbal duel between Alan and Hal, who says his father didn’t come from millionaires (suggesting Alan has had it easy because of his birthright). He then says that his dad did have connections and wanted Hal to get involved in the oil business. Allan interrupts and cuts him down to size by saying they “found a place for Hal scooping wheat.” Hal again shows momentary dismay, and then says he wants to start from the bottom up, stealing what Alan said about his father wanting his boy to learn the business that way. Helen suggests it would be nice if Hal could join the country club and play golf, but Alan quickly announces that Hal will not be able to afford that. Again, the sting is mirrored on Hal’s face as he hides it, his good looks now in his arms as he leans against the tree, as if his handsomeness is in retreat. Rosemary, liking Hal’s raw manliness, suggests an alternative for Hal, saying, “The bowling team’s a rowdy gang.” Hal then says by going to this picnic he learned that maybe it’s time he stopped bouncing around like a “pinball” and settle down in a town with good people like this place. His statements about letting go of childish ways is contradicted by his actions as he stretches his arms wide and holds the ropes that hold Madge in a wide swing. He looks commandingly down upon her and they simply say “Hi” to each other. The looks on some of the others present, especially the alarmed Flo, show they recognize there is chemistry between the two. Still showing off youthful exuberance, Hal then starts to climb up one of the ropes, his gymnastic abilities on display. 

 

As day begins to turn into night, Helen notes that people seem to disappear at a picnic, suggesting couples seek privacy. Rosemary and Howard look at the sunset, and Rosemary compares the end of the day to a fight, the sun going out in a fiery blaze “to keep the nighttime from creeping on.” With these comments, the picnic, like summer, is a metaphor for life, with people wanting to enjoy being alive before the festivities end. 

 

Millie sketches Hal, and he notices, complimenting her work. He then says he was a model once, and others painted him almost “raw,'' a good word that means nakedness but also describes Hal’s unpolished ways. He is the object of art, not the artist, which points to his lack of higher aspirations that would lead to a more satisfying life. He admits to his shortcomings and says, “I sure do admire people who are artistic,” and those who can appreciate good books and music. He is very impressed that Millie memorized all of Shakespeare’s sonnets (now that is impressive), and even writes poetry herself.

 

Adding to those who have broken down into couples are Alan and Madge. She thinks his father will feel that winning the Queen of Neewollah (Halloween backwards) contest is silly. But Alan’s father is impressed by “people who win things, or make the most money.” He then looks at Madge to see if his reference is understood by adding, “or score the most points at a football game.” He obviously wants to see if she is attracted to Hal. But, his words also point to how success is acknowledged by awards and competitive wins, as opposed to the intangible quality of one’s character. He keeps calling Madge the prettiest girl in town, and he is like his father, wanting to win her as a trophy.

 People come together again as a band plays and those in attendance dance. Madge wins the Queen contest, and she rides a boat as the rest of the celebrants sing her praise. It is a spectacle and Hal, being a person used to displays that attract attention, is impressed. Howard says to Hal he always likes seeing Madge but then admits he knows he couldn’t touch her with a “ten-foot pole.” Given his age, he shouldn’t be any closer, but it reflects the romantic compromises that aging enforces. His words just make Hal want to boost his self-confidence by being able to win Madge as a prize, similar at this point to how Alan perceives her. There is a shot of him in an adoring stance in the foreground with the slouching Millie in the background as she no longer has Hal’s eye. Rosemary shows her envy of Madge and Hal’s interest in her when she scoffs at the young woman’s winning the title when she says that she was that pretty when she was younger. Rosemary seems to want to live in the past.

 Madge says she will try not to become “conceited,” since she is finding all of the emphasis on her being the most beautiful girl in town as shallow praise. She even takes off the cape and crown right after her short speech. Hal wants to dance with Millie, but she’s never danced with a boy and is used to leading. But her inability to be figuratively subservient to a male means she doesn’t have the right mating “rhythm.” But Madge does. She sways in the background seductively drawing Hal toward her and away from the resentful Millie and Rosemary. Despite Madge’s saying all of the attention paid to her is “silly,” she is drawn to the new handsome man. In this case it is not opposites that attract. Hal and Madge then start dancing close to each other and a worried Flo observes the couple with Helen noting that Flo used to dance as well as Madge. But that probably reminds Flo that if her daughter doesn’t get involved with the right guy then she will live a deprived financial life, like her own. 

 

Rosemary is inwardly depressed about her aging, and wishes she could get Hal’s attention, but is stuck with Howard’s lousy dancing. After complaining about Howard’s drinking, she is now drunk herself. She starts kicking up her legs. Howard says they are shapely, and even though she wants attention, she berates Howard as representing how men only are interested in a woman’s looks. She is getting older so she wants to downplay appearance, but really wishes she could be young and beautiful. After Howard jokingly reveals his legs, Rosemary becomes embarrassingly sexually aggressive, trying to expose Hal’s legs. She then grabs a hold of him and dances with him, asserting her attractiveness by talking about a cowboy who was once in love with her. He liked her because she was older and had sexual experience. She is trying to use her age as a plus to compete with younger women. But her self-esteem is suffering as she repeats again that she is an “old maid schoolteacher.” Hal tries to free himself from her, and she is pathetic as she clings to him with desperation, ripping his shirt as he pushes her away. 

 

Millie feels sick from drinking, and yells at Madge for being the pretty one and undermining her time with Hal. To get revenge for her own rejection, Rosemary blames Hal for giving liquor to the underaged Millie. She then angrily indicts Hal for betraying Millie for Madge, and goes on to say that he thinks he’s an “Apollo,” but he really doesn't know how to act like an adult. Because she knows the pain of getting older and losing the benefits of being young, she is like a grim reaper telling him he’ll be gray sooner than he realizes and will not amount to anything because, “The gutter’s where you came from, and the gutter’s where you belong.” What she says is what Hal fears the most. A spotlight shines on them to illuminate the uproar, but it symbolically exposes the fears of Hal, Rosemary, Madge, and Flo. Alan sees the ripped shirt on Hal, which shows that his sexual power can’t be covered up. Alan now sees what he wanted to suppress about his old friend, and announces, “I should have known better than to trust him.” 

 

Hal runs off in shame and Alan and Flo go to see how Millie is doing. Rosemary almost screeches that she wanted to have a good time and is upset that she spoiled things. Howard blames it on the harvest moon which is pictured in the sky. It is another symbol of aging, alluding to how what has grown must be cut down. Howard suggests going for a ride and Rosemary manically agrees to the idea as a last chance at excitement before she has to go back to the drudgery of her job. 

 

Madge follows the upset Hal to the car and refuses his attempt to send her away. They drive off and when he stops, he angrily takes off his shirt, washes himself in the river, and talks about a train coming soon. He has circled back to the beginning, having made no progress in his situation. He admits that Rosemary saw through him like an “x-ray machine,'' and says he is just a “bum” with no place for him in the world. Madge offers encouragement, saying he is young, “but not so young you’re not a man, too.” She doesn’t like the kind of woman Rosemary represents, implying that the older woman’s resentment of youth and beauty as she ages is wrongheaded. She is supportive when she says he is a good dancer, and “entertaining.” She seems to want to find worthwhile qualities in him just as others have overlooked her attributes. In this way she sees him as a kindred spirit. He wants to deflate her attempts at positivity, admitting he was in reform school for a year for stealing a motorcycle, most likely stealing the bike because he wanted to escape his life. For him, the facility was like a prison. His mother turned him in and when he was released, she didn’t want him because he was in the way of her relationship with her new boyfriend. Madge connects with him on this point because of her mother and father’s problems, as she says, “It’s awful when parents don’t get along.” He says he never confessed his past to anyone, and he expects her to run off. She instead kisses him. She says she gets “so tired of just being told I’m pretty,” which is what she feels has happened to Hal. A train is passing by, and Madge says they must go back to the picnic, but he asks, “Do we?” He is suggesting that this place is not where they fit in.

 

Rosemary and Howard return to Flo’s house after their drive. Rosemary is still distraught as she is now looking behind the rowdy, fun façade she maintained since her youth to face the fact that she is getting old. She has gone from one man to another without finding satisfaction in a long-term relationship. She hasn’t put down roots somewhere that would give her the kind of home that fits her maturing age. Her going from one rented room to another shows her clinging to a youthful lifestyle. She wants Howard to take her with him and reminds him of his promise to marry her. But he admits that when one reaches a certain age there is a tendency to settle in and stick with the security of the status quo. She understands what he is saying, but she says there must still be room for change. As she has become older she is feeling the vulnerability of aging alone. She clings to Howard like a lifeboat and tells him she must marry him. She even gets down on her knees to plead for him to take her away from her emotional solitude. However, he rejects her because he most likely sees her wanting him out of desperation and not because of love.

 

Madge and Hal are behind her house as she hopes to sneak in because it’s very late. He wants to continue being together because she makes him feel “patient.” It’s the word that Alan used to advise Hal what he needed to succeed. He’s saying she helps him to slow down his impetuous youthful urges so he can work and wait to earn her love. This scene contrasts with the previous one in that Rosemary’s life is a cautionary tale for Hal because she was not patient and has waited too long to be mature enough to act her age. Rosemary is now impatient to fix what she didn’t do earlier with relationships. 

 

Hal returns Alan’s car to the Benson estate, but Alan, furious because he sees Hal as stealing his girl, not his car, called the police to say Hal illegally took the vehicle. Hal tries to explain what happened between him and Madge was different from his dealings with women in the past, but Alan doesn’t want to believe that Madge doesn’t really love him. Alan attacks Hal, who pushes him off. The police say they will take Hal to the jail for the night. Hal hated his time in reform school which he saw as imprisonment and refuses to go peacefully. He fights off the cops and takes Alan’s car to get away. Mr. Benson tries to discourage the cops from going after Hal. Alan makes clear his father’s motive. Mr. Benson wants Hal to take Madge away from his son since he doesn’t think she comes from that part of society that is good enough for his boy. Alan announces that he hopes Hal gets away. That way, he will not be around to get Madge’s attention. The film here is stressing the theme of class struggle. The police pursue Hal who is the outsider who has threatened the norms and plans of life in the community, and those in power want to punish him for his disruption.

 

Howard in his small, modest apartment is upset contemplating how many changes he would have to make in his living area to accommodate Rosemary’s presence if they were to marry. Hal eluded the police and seeks sanctuary at Howard’s place. Howard doesn’t need an explanation. He knows what happened at the picnic and he probably understands why Hal is on the run from the rich Alan. Howard likes his whiskey, the refuge of many of those struggling with their lives. He says they both have their troubles and need some drinks to cope with their respective problems. Howard tells Hal that there is no need to feel he must marry Madge just because he is attracted to her. Hal is quiet, so he doesn’t give Howard the permission he sought to not wed Rosemary.

 

The next morning Howard shows up at Flo’s to tell Rosemary he can’t marry her. But she is so thrilled to see him there she assumes they are to be married and announces the wedding plans to the household and her teaching colleagues who are present. He looks like a deer caught in the headlights as he is swept up by the enthusiasm of the women. However, he starts to enjoy the fact that Rosemary seems thrilled. Flo tells Madge that Alan called and said he doesn’t blame her for what happened the previous night and wants to talk with her. Flo obviously is hoping that there will still be a marriage between Alan and her daughter.

 

Howard secretly tells Madge that Hal is hiding in his car and needs to talk with her. Hal sneaks out of the car and seeks out Madge, but Millie, Flo, and Helen are also there. Hal says he is in trouble and will be leaving, but he feels that he must tell Madge he loves her. He confesses he never said that before to a woman because he would have felt like a “freak.” It’s a word a boy would use, and love must have seemed too strange for his childlike mentality until now. He wants her to run off with him, but she says she can’t, given the situation. As he goes to hop on the train he says he knows that she loves him, too.

 Flo knows that Helen liked Hal. The older woman says that everything was “so prim … and then he walked in. And it was different.” She continues by saying, “there was a man in the house. And it seemed good.” Hal brought a virile vitality that was absent from the lives of these women. Millie tells Madge that her life will consist of her going to college, living in New York City, and writing outrageous novels. She promises that getting married, having children, and living in a small town is not for her. But she seems to regret that she will probably not fall in love, which makes her a “dope,” despite her being the smart one. And she knows her sister wants romantic love and urges her to go after Hal. Just as in the beginning, the immature adolescent Boomer arrives on his bike and shouts up to Madge to let him “be next.” His words echo what Rosemary said about having a string of unsatisfying admirers without any lasting love. 

 So, Madge appears dressed carrying a bag and tells her mother she’s going to Tulsa to meet up with Hal. Flo says Hal will not be a good provider, will turn to alcohol, and there will be other women. She is concerned that Madge will repeat what happened in her life. Madge smiles and says that “You don't love someone because he’s perfect.” Her statement points to the difference between “sense and sensibility” that Jane Austin wrote about. Love can be wonderful and heartbreaking, but it is part of the human experience. Madge admits that she doesn't love Alan, and to stay would be an emotional compromise too painful for her. When she finally pulls away from Flo, it is like the cutting of an umbilical cord. Madge can’t accept living the “prim” life that her mother wants for her. She hops on a bus that heads out of town. There is an aerial shot showing a view that reveals that there is a much wider world waiting for her.

The next film is Ruby Sparks.