Just saw this movie for the first time and really enjoyed it. One thing I wasn’t clear about is just how much Sen. Carmichael knew about Joseph and how the changeling ended up with the inheritance. Curious what people think, obviously the senator is shown as an unfavorable figure but I’d have some sympathy for him if he didn’t know about the murder.
So, did he know there was a Joseph Carmichael before him? Did he know Joseph had been murdered?
I don't think he knew about the murder. His adoptive father, Richard, probably told him about the real Joseph and that how he was a sick child and died of "natural causes" at the age of six. Richard probably told adopted Joseph to never reveal the fact that he was an orphan and adopted by Richard or mention the death of the real Joseph and just pretend that he is indeed his natural son and that he will inherit a great deal of money when he turns 21. The senator probably wanted to keep the fact that he was adopted a secret and that is probably why there are no records of the house prior to 1921 and the reason the Spencer-Carmichael foundation bought the house. Near the end of the movie where the senator stares at Richards portrait and has a vision about what really happened to Joseph proves to be too much for the senator to bear and he dies (or Joseph's ghost kills him).
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