I am sorry if this is a stupid question, but, at the end, when he goes into the house, the camera pans to an iron and then he smiles, which leads me to believe that Alma decided to stay with him and came back. Any thoughts on this?
shareI don't think so....he smirked and waved his hand...as to say 'forget you all'
I just saw this movie for the first time...surprisingly, since I am an old movie buff. First thing I said.....HEY- that is the kid from SHANE...ha,ha,ha
Shane is my all time favorite Western! I wish they had wide screen then.
shareThat's a question that will never be answered except in the viewers minds. Because there was sexual chemistry between them, there is a strong possiblity that she would come back, especially that Hud is now all alone. I watched this last night on TMC after not having seen it for a long time and it just captured me to finish it. I turned it on by accident before I was to watch a DVD, but I could not turn it off. This movie really works from all aspects.
shareAt the end, Hud smiles, yes, but it's really to show, even if only to himself, that he doesn't care.
Remember in the kitchen when Hud invites Lonnie to go out with him for the first time ever? Homer says, "Hud is probably just lonesome and trying to scare up a little company. Even Hud can get lonesome sometimes."
Well, now he's really alone, not by choice but because everyone has left him. His smiling is just a way of "whistling in the dark".
As for Alma, she knows Hud hasn't changed, even if he has apologized for nearly raping her. Notice how Lonnie carries her suitcase to the truck for her, Hud lets her carry her own suitcase onto the bus. She knows he's still a "cold-blooded bastard", like her ex. Plus, she tells him she's good at taking care of herself. Once she found out she'd be alone on the ranch with Hud, without Lon to protect her, she'd never go back.
I thought the movie was, in part, about how families break down. You can't always fix what's broken.
"Do you think I'm slipping?" Norman Maine as Fredric March
Good response. I agree. When Hud asks Alma to stay, there at the bus stop, that look in her eye says it all--Hud is a bastard, that's why she would never get together with him--it's not physical attraction--but moral character that's important. You know that Alma heard Lonnie say--after Hud's rape attempt--"yeah-- I wanted Alma--but not mean, like you."
shareI intend to buy this on DVD. It is an excellent film and in my opinion, Paul Newman should have won an Oscar. I prefer to think maybe she came back and he didn't end up alone. I think he was self destructive and blamed himself for his older brother's death.
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Why the hell did Hud deserve a happy ending? He destroyed or drove away everybody who cared about him.
It would have totally undercut the movie if Alma had come waltzing back amidst a chorus of violins. She was smart enough to know a) what a jerk he was, and b) that he wasn't going to change, so she did the smart thing and got the hell out.
Nope. She didn't (and wouldn't have) come back.
I agree with poster "njswalker' -- Hud's dismissive wave at the end meant "the hell with all of you."
Patricia Neal said that in the initial script, Hud and Alma shared a passionate kiss goodbye at the bus station.
It was pretty much vetoed by both stars.
He is left alone. Isn't the ending clear enough?
Are you gonna bark all day, little doggie, or are you gonna bite?
JacquiH wrote (on Fri Oct 9), "Patricia Neal said that in the initial script, Hud and Alma shared a passionate kiss goodbye at the bus station. It was pretty much vetoed by both stars."
You're kidding! What a dreadfully inferior scene that would have been!
No, no, it's just the way it should have gone: with Alma pointedly letting Hud know that, had he behaved himself, she might have actually entertained a little fling with him: that his physical charms impressed her, in spite of his lack of character--but that as things are, her response to his violence is to get as far from him as she can get on a bus ticket.
I don't know how anybody seeing this film could possibly think that Alma, with her strong character, would change her mind and decide to give Hud another chance. The very fact that she packed up and left at once, after the assault, is clear indication that she was not giving anybody a second chance to harm her.
You're kidding! What a dreadfully inferior scene that would have been!Agreed, but if I'd been Patricia Neal, I would have wanted to film the scene anyway. Who would pass up a chance to make out with Paul Newman?
He was frickin' Paul Newman for god's sake! Some guys can get away with treating women anyway that they want, and the women love it.
The sun shone, having no alternative, on the nothing new. Samuel Beckett
No way did she come back. And I hope she didn't. It would totally take away from the ending, which is already absolutely fitting for Hud's story.
"I'm f'ing busy-or vice versa" -Dorothy Parker
Yeah, she's gone for good. Don't think Hud was staring into space. He was looking in the direction of Lon walking away.
And Alma being a woman of character, sure she had strong character, but her exhanges with Hud in the past were very ambivalent to say the least. Her little byplays with Hud sent out a very positive signal - the way she would sit on the porch seat, her noticing and pointing out his sexual escapades to him while in his car, letting him into her cabin without any sign of being offended or perturbed. Those were mixed signals alright, but as she said she just wanted to be approached with a little more finesse.
I don't think Hud is anywhere near the blackguard he is made out to be. For a man who so brutally said he was waiting to take the land from his father, he cared enough to be concerned when his father got faint or collapsed, or when he watched out for Lon in his own rough offhand way. He could have been redeemed but he needed to be left alone before that.
Hud also wanted to sell the diseased cattle in a distant market knowing that they might be diseased. He was the epitome of the self-involved, uneducated, loner male who cares only for himself. I thought this was odd considering the upstanding character of his father. The fact that Hud openly carried on with the married women in a small town added to what I consider to be a "blackguard."
Newman played it magnificently. My favorite performance was that of Douglas.
No chance that Alma came back. Clearly there was a spark between her and Hud as evidenced by their flirtatious banter throughout much of the film. Alma herself even admits her attraction to Hud in their final scene at the bus station. But all that ended when Hud tried to force himself upon her.
Hud: You ain't letting that little ruckus we had run you off, are ya?
Alma: Far as I can get on a bus ticket.
Alma is smart enough and has experienced enough in her life to recognize Hud for the user he is, and also that he will never change. So, no, I don't think there is any chance that Alma came back in the end.
"I don't want any Commies in my car. No Christians, either."
Alma definitely didn't come back. The whole point of the movie was that Hud rode roughshod over everyone and everything. He accidentally caused the death of his brother, Lon told Hud that he caused the death of Homer, Lon walks away from the ranch because he is disgusted with Hud's behavior, and Alma had left because he tried to rape her. At the end of the movie, Hud is completely alone on the ranch (even the cattle are gone). He is left alone with his dreams of big oil money and a fridge full of beer.
shareAlma does not return in the film and Hud will be doing his own ironing, the iron a reminder of what was lost. The film (IMHO) portrays the destruction of the Bannon family because of Homers inability to provide the nurturing and love Hud desired and needed to be complete. We see Huds destruction but can miss how Lonnie is also damaged, walking away from his uncle, leaving Hud alone to retreat "inside" the now empty family housee...he smiles and waves his hand as if to say "who needs em"...closes the door with the shade, symbolizing his lonely retreat. Lonnie goes off alone too, . It is not a happy ending. The warmest part of the film is when Hud and Lonnie begin to connect (family love) but Homer's blind "noble principles" destroys that and infects Lonnie with his self centered heartlessness. Homer throws Hud away as he is dying and Lonnie mistakenly blames Hud for his grandfathers death. Hud only wanted Homers love but is stabbed in the heart. Alma had her own past hurt and Homers rejection of Hud was also the genisis for Huds attack. Alma and Hud never were able to find the love so needed for a full life. We would have liked Alma and Hud to find each other as well as Lonnie to provide a happier ending but thst is not what the film is portraying.
shareOh wow.
I really enjoyed reading your summary of this movie...that's exactly how I felt after it ended! :)
Thanks! Many people have a different opinion. This is wonderfully rich and well made film from every aspect. Certainly one of my very favorites. Your reply has made me want to view it again! "Rest Room Inside".
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