Who gave the order to shoot and kill Coallhouse Walker? Was it Commissioner Waldo?
Did the mother(Mary Steenburgen) leave the father(James Olson) for Mandy Patinkin? The last scene Steenburgen is seen getting into a car with Patinkin and her husband James Olson is watching from the bedroom and with a sad look on his face closes the curtain. Why did this happen? Olson seemed dedicated to his wife and did what she desired.
Yes, he did seem to be devoted however, he also controlled everything. In the beginning of the film when the abandoned baby is found, it's Mother who is the compassionate one; Father merely says to the effect "you're bringing THAT into the house?"
Steenburgen's character is a compassionate one and to me, seems to be looking past the era in which she lives. I think she felt smothered.
I agree with your conclusion! Thank You!
Do you know the answer to my first question: Who gave the order to shoot and kill Coallhouse Walker? Was it Commissioner Waldo?
i can't answer your question but i hav one u probably can answer:
we are performing the musical ragtime at my school. is this movie the musical? i never even really heard of Ragtime til about a year ago, but never watched the film, just got the cd.
Adam Long: I'll hit you so hard, I'll kill your whole family.
the movie is not a musical
possilbe spoiler down below*****
the book ended with a lot fewer loopholes. in the book, the father dies, and after a year of grieving, she agrees to marry the socialist. It also cleared up the whole shooting Coalhouse problem.
This is not the musical! It's heavy drama and features icon James Cagney in his last role.
sharethank you for answering my question. now i know wat i am getting when i rent it.
Adam Long: I'll hit you so hard, I'll kill your whole family.
RAGTIME…Director Milos Forman…
Cast Inc… JAMES CAGNEY…Pat O’Brien…Donald O’Connor…
This cast is a blast from the past…
We film for a few days at Oxford and for me it doesn’t get any better than this.
The scenes are interior of a big office and I’m dressed as a US cop.
Pat O’Brien came onto the set first and shook hands with many of the Supporting Artists (Including me) ‘’How are you son, you look good’’ he said..
Well that’s the best way for me to start the day because now I felt good that this man had taken time to welcome all of us.
Pat moved around the room chatting to cast and crew alike and we were all waiting for the main man to arrive on set..
The noise was quite deafening until someone said ‘’He’s here’’.
You could have heard a pin drop as the main man entered the set.
Everyone stood and applauded and waited for James Cagney to take his position on the set before silence resumed.
There they were in front of me my two heroes of the black and white days of cinema.
I think I’ve seen every film that James has made (Some of them many times)
I feel sorry for the kids of today that never got to see he’s early films and think a good film today has to be bombarded with special effects to make it work.
Let me list some of films of James Cagney to let the kids of today and tomorrow know what they have missed.
The Public Enemy (1931), Scarface (1932), Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), White Heat (1949). Then in the 50s Love Me Or Leave Me (With Doris Day), Mr Roberts. (With a young Jack Lemmon).
I could watch all these films again and never tire.
This was to be James Cagney’s last film and I would like to say, thank you Mr Cagney for entertaining me for so many years.
Aitch,UK
http://web.ask.co.uk/web?q=%22Harry+Fielder%22
ragtime is such a good movie... i just love the story in general, the book, the movie, and the musical. jealous u got to work with James Cagney.
Don't play with fire. You Will burn.
Aitch UK-I appreciate your kind words for Cagney and O'Brien and you were actually on set with them.However,you made a error when suggesting Cagney movies to see.He wasn't in the original SCARFACE-that was Pau
Muni and George Raft....but a good movie to suggest
No, this is not the musical version of Ragtime. This is the 1981 film version directed by Milos Foreman. Foreman basically concentrated on the Coalhouse Walker story so a lot of the other stuff is window dressing.
shareYes, she leaves Father for Tateh. I think that is due to them growing apart on issues. Of course, in the musical, Father is killed when he was on a ship and then Tateh proposed marriage after a year of mourning.
shareI wondered about that too. .. if Mother left Father for Tateh. She didn't seem to be taking any luggage with her....
And yes, I played the scene about the shooting over and over, and came to the conclusion that it was Comm. Waldo. His assistant who did the shooting was obviously surprised when he replied "What??" and Waldo repeated the order to shoot.
She does leave him-she had her own father and child as well as Coalhouses orphan with them
shareWaldo knew that Walker would hang for his crimes, killing several firemen in the course of his bombings. While Waldo did not agree with Walker's tactics, he clearly believed that Walker had been done wrong by the fire chief Willie Conklin, whose actions precipitated everything, and he didn't want to see Walker suffer.
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