Some films give away their ending based on the very genre they fall into; the couple puts aside their differences for love in the romantic comedy and the hero wins at the end of an action movie. There are those that play upon these tropes to purposefully subvert the reader’s expectations of course, but the more interesting cases lie in those films that aren’t attempting to subvert the genre, yet somehow manage to subtly and unintentionally undermine themselves through conflicting messages over the course of the film. King Vidor’s 1937 maternal melodrama Stella Dallas is the perfect example of a film whose ending message is preceded by so many contradicting elements, that its intended conclusion to the audience is not resolutely “earned” but
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Some of the most striking moments in the film occur between the film’s three core females . One such scene occurs between Stella and Laurel on the train following Stella’s humiliation at the hands of the cruel upper-class girls. While neither Laurel, nor Stella, are aware of the other’s knowledge of the cruel comments, Laurel descends from her bed above to “cuddle” with Stella. As this scene follows shortly after Laurel’s first resolutely romantic and physical moment with Dick (Tim Holt)—her eventual husband—it is nearly impossible to not compare the two. While the moment with Dick is obviously pleasurable for Laurel, and the moment with her mother is nearly painful, there can be no question of which relationship resonates more—both with Laurel, and the with audience. Even if it was not the film nor actors intent, the physical contact between Dick and Laurel is overdone, and conveys a distinctly staged feel such as that of the silent movie Stella and Stephen watched themselves at the start of the film. The overwrought movements, and blatant perfection of it all can render the scene almost comical. The scene with Stella and Laurel however, though nearly equally without words, slow, and tender. Laurel comes to her mother—even though she does not know Stella had heard the hurtful words—and peers upon her with more love than ever before. At first, she merely sits there and gazes down at her mother’s sleeping form, she then closes the distance between them to place her head upon her mother’s, and to bestow a small kiss upon her cheek. When Stella awakens to “Lolly” Laurel simply states “it’s lonely up there mother, I want to come down here and cuddle with you” and slowly crawls under the blankets and into the arms
Some of the most striking moments in the film occur between the film’s three core females . One such scene occurs between Stella and Laurel on the train following Stella’s humiliation at the hands of the cruel upper-class girls. While neither Laurel, nor Stella, are aware of the other’s knowledge of the cruel comments, Laurel descends from her bed above to “cuddle” with Stella. As this scene follows shortly after Laurel’s first resolutely romantic and physical moment with Dick (Tim Holt)—her eventual husband—it is nearly impossible to not compare the two. While the moment with Dick is obviously pleasurable for Laurel, and the moment with her mother is nearly painful, there can be no question of which relationship resonates more—both with Laurel, and the with audience. Even if it was not the film nor actors intent, the physical contact between Dick and Laurel is overdone, and conveys a distinctly staged feel such as that of the silent movie Stella and Stephen watched themselves at the start of the film. The overwrought movements, and blatant perfection of it all can render the scene almost comical. The scene with Stella and Laurel however, though nearly equally without words, slow, and tender. Laurel comes to her mother—even though she does not know Stella had heard the hurtful words—and peers upon her with more love than ever before. At first, she merely sits there and gazes down at her mother’s sleeping form, she then closes the distance between them to place her head upon her mother’s, and to bestow a small kiss upon her cheek. When Stella awakens to “Lolly” Laurel simply states “it’s lonely up there mother, I want to come down here and cuddle with you” and slowly crawls under the blankets and into the arms