What a STUPID ending!

True, it's a schmaltzy ending - but that was exactly the ending that people expected: that Stephen was having a midlife crisis and that Crystal was only a fling, even if he did marry her - the marriage lasted about 2 years.

The whole "set-up" in the ladies room was a bit farcical but that was the only way to get the slate clean, so to speak.

And there's Shearer chewing scenery as only she can - but again, it is exactly the ending that people expected to see back then. Stephen's return to the good woman he so wronged - the penitent and loving prodigal husband returning to home and hearth. The villainess - the "shop girl" - gets her comeuppance and slinks off to the perfume counter. But you know Crystal will snag someone else's husband before too long.

Yes it is formulaic - and that's kind of why we fans of the 1939 original love the schmaltz. It's that "he done her wrong, and he's back to atone" thing.

"...truth against the world..." - attributed to Boudicca of the Iceni

It really wasn't the five minutes or the sentence that finished off Crystal's character. Mary had been told from when she first found out about Crystal that the way to deal with Steven's bit of fun on the side was not to leave him and give the likes of Crystal a clear field with him. In other words Mary should have stayed with Steven, he was hers, she should have fought for him.

It was pretty clear Steven didn't really want to leave Mary or marry Crystal but with Mary divorcing him, he had no get out clause. Crystal was just a fling, never wife material for a man like Steven Haines.

She may have worked too hard for the meal ticket, but from what we know of Crystal's character, she'd find another meal ticket pretty soon and probably from the same perfume counter she came from....and like you say, she doesn't really care, all she is really looking for is a meal ticket and it doesn't matter who they are or if they are married or not. It's very apparent that duriing Steven and Crystal's very short marriage they that they have never been happy and Crystal can't stand little Mary. It was only a matter of time before Steven would have left Crystal.

Whatever Crystal was, she was a realist she knew when the game was up, she had had all she wanted of Steven.

You must remember this film is 70 yearls old and considered quite risque when it was made. I think it stands the test of time, vewing this film is still a lovely way to spend a winter's afternoon.

After all, it's not like Mary was the first women to forgive an erring creep of a husband and she certainly hasn't been the last. Surprisingly even the modern day women are doing exactly the same thing. Sex in the City's Carrie for example?

Dude, you not liking the ending is your opinion, because I loved this movie & even though the ending is a little weird, the performances of the actresses and the overall message makes up for it.
But I do have some advice:

Calm down, seriously. It's just a movie

The ending was great and very satisfying and certainly what 1939 audiences would have wanted - for the Haines marriage to be restored and for "bad woman" Crystal to get her comeuppance.

By your post it appears you may not have paid too much attention to some of the turns in the story near the end. Crystal was cheating on Stephen with Buck, the Countess' cowboy singing husband. Stephen is miserable in the marriage to Crystal, presumably he now realizes how she really is and what she was after. That night at the nightclub Buck got drunk and blabbed all about the affair to everyone - this is the real bustup of the Crystal-Stephen marriage. Crystal doesn't care about it because she was only wanted Stephen for his money and she has the mistaken impression that Buck is rich from his radio gig but the Countess, grieving over the breakup of her marriage tells her friends Buck is not wealthy and indeed wouldn't be on the radio at all except for the fact that she owned the company that sponsored his show, which she bought because no company saw anything in Buck to warrant their sponsoring his show. So Crystal is now up a creek - her marriage to Stephen has been destroyed, her lover has no money. So she's back to square one - she's going back to the perfume counter but don't feel sorry for her - she'll no doubt find another sucker in her web before long.

There's nothing Crystal could say to Stephen to keep their marriage - he's been unhappy with her and now she has publicly ridiculed him with the exposure of her affair. Stephen has always regretted the divorce from Mary, didn't even want it at first. Stephen is asking if Mary will see him because he knows what a fool he has been and hoping for another chance. Mary has finally forgiven him; she never stopped loving him. Mary's arms wide open final scene is a clear signal to the audience that both Mary and Stephen are still in love with each other (one presumes Stephen is likewise coming forward with open arms) and will now live happily ever after. It's a bit dramatic but a highly effective ending.

Why did Mary forgive Stephen? Why did Hillary forgive Bill? To get or keep the position of wife of a powerful man, of course.

The problem was there was endless amounts of excessive fluff, and not just the fashion show, that could have been removed to balance this movie out a bit better to, if nothing else, give more of a confrontational ending there with these women than that.
I've heard about this movie for decades and finally watched it. Hitchcock it wasn't.

Russell was by far the best part of the film. But yea, I totally agree about that ending. It looked like some strange film experiment (same for the fashion show, which of course was like Wizard of Oz with its color sequence, but it worked in Wizard of Oz, of course, but yea, it could just be removed here) to just resolve everything as quickly as possible.

But it would be like watching Steel Magnolias (not a fave of mine, by the way) and having that cemetery scene cut to five minutes.

And yea, the dialogue, Crystal got Buck, Buck has no money, well back to the perfume counter for Crystal, that was lame. I was expecting a scene like Sarah Michelle Gellar in I Know What You Did Last Summer. That would have been a real confrontation.

But it seems the ending had to be in this woman's powder room, like that was the ideal place for the final confrontation. It totally reeked.

Mad magazine did an 'edited' version of Gone With the Wind.

Ashley's off to war. Boom! Thank goodness that bloody war is over.

That's what that ending reminded me of.

It was just too cut and dry.

It sends out a very bad message: Be patient, bide your time, close your eyes and pretend nothing is happening and your husband will come back to you.

If I pulled that crap on my wife, I'd be looking for a surgeon to reattach my testicles.

You're right about that expression on her face. It was so bad it was nearly comical.