I had to leave the room and when I came back the young fella (who was he?) had killed Cantrell and told Julie that Cantrell had said something like he knew what she did...What did she do? Why did they feel so determined to fight a duel?
shareSPOILER ALERT!!! I came to the board to discuss the same question. The only difference is that I have seen this movie many times and I still don't understand why Ted and Buck had to fight and I don't see why it was Julie's fault.
Julie was crushed when she learned that Pres was married. She tried to fight back by flirting with Buck and by instigating fights between Pres and Buck about abolition and then against Pres' wife. Julie was trying to stir things up. She didn't really care what and she wasn't thinking clearly because she was so hurt to find out Pres was married.
After Pres leaves to return to New Orleans, Ted steps in to Pres' role as protector of his wife. But being kind of a hot-head he ends up challenging Buck to a duel. We know from earlier that Buck duels on very slight provocation and this seems very slight indeed. As soon as the duel has been declared, Julie tries to stop it. She is sincere in this. Ted refuses to back down and will not accept Buck's apology either. Julie is unhappy about this but Aunt Belle tells her that women can start fights between men but they can't stop them. (This is chivalry at it's most idiotic if you ask me).
Ted kills Buck. When he returns he tells Julie that before Buck died he told Ted what Julie had done. We all know what Julie had done! She had stirred up a fight and then tried to stop it. She had behaved badly and had found it impossible to put it right afterwards. But Ted is the guy who went out in a field and shot his friend.
Thanks! That's sort of what I thought must have happened, but still, this was a very poor reason to go out and try to kill each other-a bit of a plot contrivance. I wonder if that would have happened in real life. Julie should not have been trying to stir up trouble, especially considering the unlikelihood of Pres getting a divorce, but on the other hand it seems like someone should have given Julie some kind of warning that Pres had gotten married. It was a different world, I guess-or maybe they got married right before they left for their trip. I also wonder if that's how Julie would really have reacted to the news. After staying in the house for a year and hardly speaking to anyone, I'm surprise she held it together as well as she did. I would have thought she would have retreated to her room until she could divise a way to poison the wife or push her down the stairs. Maybe that would have been too over the top... :) Oh, and I don't think that it was really in character that Buck's last words would be that it was all Julie's doing. Hmm, I can't believe I'm defending Julie so much, I really didn't like her at all. She was an insufferable foolish brat. Come to think of it, I'm not so sure I like Pres either-he should never have taken her to the ball in that red dress...If he was going to do it he should have stuck by her all the way.
shareDon't forget earlier in the movie Julie tried to get Buck to take her to the ball before Pres was going to pick her up. As it turned out, Buck wanted no part of her scheme. So it's no surprise he dies with that bit about Julie on his lips.
She only wore the red dress in the end because Pres came to her house and was going to whip her with the cane and also he told her he would not take her if she was wearing that dress when he picked her up at 10 pm sharp...they would "stay at home with their embroidery". Which is why she gives the maid the needlepoint to give Pres when she tries to sneak out with Buck.
The duel occured because of whatever slight Buck made against Pres (in absentia) and his wife, and Ted took offense to. Believe it or not, fighting duels was indeed the norm in the 18th & 19th centuries and in many more places than the Old South. Kind of weird when you think about it...today we bemoan how today's youth settle things with guns instead of their fists, when a mere 150 years ago people were indeed settling small issues with guns. Call it stupid or call it chivalry, it was simply the way things were done.
LLR
I was just going to point out the same thing you have - that dueling was considered part of the gentleman's code at the time. Earlier in the film we saw Buck challenge a man to a duel for mentioning Julie's name in a barroom. It really didn't take much to get two men pointing pistols at each other. And so true, things haven't changed much. Certain men still believe that using a gun makes them a man.
shareTrue; the only difference is that back then they were "gentlemen" and today they're just thugs.
shareOne reason the South lost the war - their gentlemen had shot each other !
shareYou mention plot contrivances and this movie is full of them. The idea that Pres would show up as a guest at Julie's house without sending word that he had married is unbelievably stupid and mean. Anyone who knew Julie and her history would never have allowed such a humiliating event but it serves to drive the plot along at a reckless pace.
shareJulie caused the duel by telling Buck that Pres was drunk and made unwelcome advances to her, which was a lie. Buck felt he had to defend Julie's "honour," though he later realizes she was just using him.
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