MovieChat Forums > Dog Day Afternoon (1975) Discussion > The ending

The ending

posted 8 years ago by mercury4
16 replies | jump to latest

I always hated the ending to this movie. Did they really have to shoot Sal in the end? It was uncalled for and there was no reason for it. They could've taken both guys alive in the end. Neither one of them killed anyone or even hurt anyone. As a matter of fact, just before Sal gets shot, one of the hostages tells Sal she will pray for him and she gives him her rosary beads to take with him for his first time on an airplane. The ending was very sad and makes me mad. The agent Lance Henriksen played was a real a******. He didn't even try to take Sal alive. He tricked him and then shot him with no hesitation right through the head. Sal was murdered. In real life, I read there was a struggle and Sal was shot. Well, so they say. In the movie, Sal was executed. Last time I checked, the penalty for armed robbery is not death.

[–] McCartney42 8 years ago

Just out of curiosity, how would you have taken Sal into custody with him sitting in the back of the limo holding that gun at everyone without putting the hostages lives in more danger?

[–] mercury4 8 years ago

So you're saying there was no way to take him alive?

[–] McCartney42 8 years ago

No, not at all. I'm simply asking how you would've handled Sal in that situation?

[–] mercury4 8 years ago

Well, for one, I don't think there ever was a plan to take Sal alive. I think they had it in their heads from the start to just kill him. In like a split second, the agent shot him and he shot him right through the head. I didn't think Sal deserved to die. He didn't kill anyone or even hurt anyone. When the real Sonny went to jail, he was sentenced to 20 years, but only served 5 years. I doubt they would've went any harder on Sal. It was sad how right before he died, one of the hostages gave him her rosary beads to take with him and she said she would pray for him. The fact that the hostages got to like both guys and they also would've testified that none of them were hurt and they were treated good would've also helped. According to the agent in real life, there was a struggle before Sal was shot. That doesn't mean that's really how it happened. It could've happened just the way it did in the movie.

The agent, in the movie, could've pulled out his gun and wounded Sal just to disarm him. He could've told Sal to drop it. The agent obviously wasn't a mind reader. I doubt he knew Sal would resist and figured he had to shoot him or Sal would kill him or someone else. This is nothing new. Police today are so quick to shoot and when they shoot, they shoot to kill.

[–] McCartney42 8 years ago

Ok, well I really don't think it would've worked if the agent tried doing it your way because: 1) If the agent just turned around and told Sal to drop it, freeze, don't move etc... all Sal had to do was grab the women sitting right in front of him put his gun to her head. Now Sal would've been in a much more bargaining position. 2) I don't think trying to just wound Sal would have worked either because now, the agent is risking hitting one of the hostages even more so. The agent had to shoot high so he wouldn't hit any of the hostages and therefore, hit him in the head. Don't get me wrong, I hated to see Sal shot dead as well. I don't think he deserved it either. But, I just don't see how the agents could've handled Sal and Sonny any differently in the bus the way they were.

[–] mercury4 8 years ago

You make good points, but long before they were even on the bus, they already planned on killing Sal. Remember when they were talking to Sonny outside and they tell him, "We'll take care of Sal." They were basically telling Sonny that they wouldn't hurt him, but Sal was going down. Sonny asks them if they think he would sell him out. Then when Sonny goes back inside, Sal asks him what they were saying outside and Sonny doesn't tell him. I read this never happened and that this being in the movie made a lot of trouble for the real Sonny. Who knows what happened in real life? Maybe they could've taken both guys alive. Maybe it happened the way it did in the movie. I just watched the scene over again and I still think it makes the agents look bad. The agent that fatally shoots Sal could've easily said "drop it," or just held the gun on him. If Sal tried anything, the agent would've had no choice. But we'll never know what Sal would've done. Either way, Sal was going down. I don't know why. He wasn't all there, but he never killed anyone or hurt anyone. I didn't see anything that made him so dangerous and undeserving of quarter.

[–] bohunkchicklet 8 years ago

Just a fyi, irl, he got shot in the gut, not the head. He was really 18 years old.
From the research I did, it never mentions if there was a struggle or not.
Cheers!

[–] SamGGD 8 years ago

That girl who gave him the beads wasn't in a sound state of mind. Stockholm syndrome.

But yeah, the way they handled Sal was BS.

[–] somesunnyday 8 years ago

Sal would not have hesitated to take an innocent hostage out if the s*hit hit the fan. He even says so himself at one stage in the bank to Sonny. Sonny knew this, Sal knew this and I believe the cops knew too.

[–] Itsmecindybee 8 years ago

I think Sal was definitely a loose cannon, even if there were little bits of humanity here and there. Also, well Sal wasn't too bright. Did he deserve to die? I don't know. If he would have dodged the bullet in the bus, he could might opened fire on everyone, just out of fear and surprise. Poor Sal.

[–] dmode112378 8 years ago

Can't change what really happened.

[–] jwalsh67 8 years ago

I was just about to mention this fact. The FBI killed the gunman during the actual event that spawned the movie.

He who conquers himself is mightier than he who conquers a city.

[–] l4-2 8 years ago

Sal was not "penalized"- he had deadly force inflicted on him. Big difference .

Sal was an unstable hothead- with a machine gun. Inside a bus full of innocent people. It would be incredibly ridiculous for that agent to turn around and say "drop it". Sal would have killed at least one person- perhaps the agent himself

The first agent "sized up" Sal when he entered the bank. You may choose not to believe it- but agents have that knack, of knowing a dangerous person when they see them. The agents knew there were two ways out- the gunmen give up- or someone has to die. They were listening to conversations Sonny had on the phone- notably with his boyfriend- when he was saying repeatedly " I can't/won't give up". Every one of those hostages were in grave danger. So......Sal goes on a slab in the morgue, Sonny goes to prison, the hostages go home safe. Success.

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Ashaod43 8 years ago

He was a nut job. And thats what they did in the 70's!!!!!!!!!!! Thats what they should still do. But all you PC tree hugers think every life is precious and we should save everyone, some people are just crazy. Hey OP, did you watch this movie and see how stupid and crazy this guy was. Those 2 traits are a bad combination. Wake up.

[–] liscarkat (18536) 2 years ago

Killing Sal was called for and there was plenty of reason for it. He was a halfwitted psycho who had held innocent hostages at gunpoint all day, and by the testimony of his partner, Sonny, he was unstable and unpredictable. The only practical thing to be done to save innocent lives was to end the threat as quickly and efficiently as possible, and the only way to accomplish that was to stop Sal's brain from functioning by putting a bullet in it at the first opportunity. There was no time to fiddle around attempting a shoulder shot or some other compassionate method of sparing the criminal's life, and after terrorizing eight innocent people for hours Sal certainly hadn't earned such consideration. My only disappointment was that they didn't put Sonny down, too. Other than that, the ending was very satisfying.