Conflict 1945 Movie: How To Know If Your Own Husband Will Betray Your Trust?

(*Warning for possible spoilers for Conflict, a black-and-white suspense film noir made by Warner Brothers)

Conflict (1945) (#ad) is a murder mystery that doesn’t seek to answer the question of who committed the crime because we already know the culprit and we even see him do the evil deed. Rather, the film seeks to answer the question of what happens now after the crime has been committed and on whether or not the criminal can get away with what he did.

Kathryn Mason travels alone

One of the scenes in the Conflict movie involves Kathryn Mason (played by Rose Hobart), the wife of the main character, driving through mountain roads all by herself since her husband couldn’t accompany her on this trip due to the occurrence of some unforeseen events.

Meeting a stranger

The ride to her destination seems all right at first. However, when she gets to a certain spot, she discovers a car blocking her way.

She notices a man, who appears to be the driver of said car, standing nearby. She calls out to him, asking him to move the car, but the man doesn’t respond so she just decided to turn around and find another way to get to where she wanted to go.

Unexpected surprise in Conflict

As the man moves to approach her, Kathryn looks and feels scared and apprehensive, so much so that even the audience fear for her safety and worry about what will happen to her.

But then the man comes into view and both viewers and Kathryn breath a huge sigh of relief as the supposed stranger is revealed to be Richard Mason (played by Humphrey Bogart), Kathryn’s husband.

No reason to be afraid

Kathryn looks highly relieved at seeing that it’s just her husband who’s now standing in front of her and not some stranger who might do her harm or hurt her or even kill her or something. She isn’t scared anymore and her relief is palpable and understandable because this is her own husband that’s right in front of her, so what reason would she have to be afraid?

Reason to be scared of your own husband?

Who would have thought that Kathryn would have been so much safer if the man before her had been a total stranger because Richard had evil intentions towards her? Who would have expected that you’d have something to fear from the people that you know and the people that you trust?

Kathryn had no idea what her husband was planning to do to her and Richard was someone that she knew and trusted, so it was only understandable that she relaxed and was unafraid when she saw him.

But, as soon as it became apparent that Richard was planning something sinister, Kathryn’s entire demeanor changes and she is suddenly afraid and apprehensive and worried about what might happen to her.

What do you think she felt when she realized that she was in danger from someone that she actually knew and thought that she could trust?


*Notes:
- Image with added text was modified by Freya Yuki based on the image by Rusembell (CC:BY) from deviantArt
- Image of car is meant to symbolize how Kathryn also drove in a car before she was killed
- Second pic is from Amazon.com; link shown above
- YouTube video features the trailer for the Conflict 1945 movie

The Scarlet Flower Movie Review: Why You Should Watch This Soviet Animated Film?

The Scarlet Flower (#ad) (Аленький цветочек, Alenkiy Tsvetochek in Russian) is a 1952 Soviet animated film. It is based on a book of the same name by Sergey Aksakov. Said book is an adaptation of the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale.

The movie itself, while similar to the aforementioned fairytale, does have quite a number of differences.

And that helped to make this film even more enjoyable and interesting because what’s the point of watching something if it will be just a complete rehash of what you already know, unless you really want to anyway, right?

Because of its basis in the Beauty and the Beast story, The Scarlet Flower is rather predictable, but not that much especially when you compare it to the Disney version of the Beauty and the Beast.

Besides, much of the predictability stems from the main plot, which those who know about Beauty and the Beast should already know by heart. The differences come into play with how the main characters are brought together and with how the other characters act.

The art of the film is pretty good. It’s not anime or any of the usual kinds that I’ve seen, but I like the art just fine. I thought the Beast wasn’t all that scary though, certainly not when compared to Disney’s version of the Beast.

In fact, this Beast just looks kind of laughable and quite ugly. But, then again, this is an older movie, so it’s understandable that they still don’t have all the technology and special effects that we expect films of today to have.

I also like how the flower in the film wasn’t specified to be a red rose, as that seemed way too common, and how it was referred to simply as 'the scarlet flower.'

So, technically, it could be any red-colored flower or it could be a magical one that doesn’t exist in the world, which is more fitting since it is a flower with magical properties.

Those who like fairy tales and are especially fond of the Beauty and the Beast story and are interested in seeing different variations of it would surely find this film interesting and even entertaining.

But it’s not without its flaws as it’s certainly not perfect. There are some plot holes and some things that don’t make sense, but a lot of that stems from its basis on the source material.

For instance, having Nastenka, the 'Beauty,' in this film, overhear her father talking about going to see the Beast was a necessary plot contrivance since, in the fairy tale, Beauty has to end up going to where the Beast was.

The ending of The Scarlet Flower is to be expected, of course, but I like it just fine. I didn’t mind at all that there was no kiss between Nastenka and the Beast when he turned back into a handsome guy again.

It surprised me at first, but, considering the story and what we saw, this seemed much preferable and believable than having them kiss. So, what about you? Have you watched this movie? What do you think about it?


*Notes:
- Image with added text was modified by Freya Yuki (CC:BY-SA) based on the image by hayashinomura (CC:BY-SA) from deviantArt
- Red-colored flower in the image is meant to represent the scarlet flower while the figure is meant to symbolize Nastenka
- YouTube video features a scene from the aforementioned film
- First pic is from Amazon.com; link shown above

Reason Why You’ll Never Guess The Plot Of Conflict 1945 Movie

(*Warning for possible spoilers for Conflict, a black-and-white suspense film noir made by Warner Brothers)

Conflict (1945) (#ad) is about an engineer, named Richard Mason (played by Humphrey Bogart), who kills his own wife, Kathryn Mason (played by Rose Hobart). But who would have thought that that would be the plot of this movie or that it would actually be a murder mystery? Could you have guessed the genre of this film based on its title or its first few scenes?

The genre of Conflict

I didn’t know this was going to be a murder mystery when I first saw this movie.

It wasn’t because I didn’t get to watch this film from the beginning since I don’t think I missed much at all; probably just the first few or the opening scenes since I got to see the part where the Masons were talking and getting ready to go to their 5th wedding anniversary dinner party.

What does the movie title tell you?

However, even knowing the title really doesn’t tell you much at all. Would you think that the word or title 'Conflict' could pertain or refer to a murder mystery or imply that a murder was going to happen? Maybe, perhaps, but, then again, it could pertain to many other things as well since stories should have conflict.

Conflict’s storyline possibilities are endless

Knowing nothing about the Conflict movie, I had no idea what was going to happen as I continued to watch it. It seemed as if the film had endless possibilities and that many different scenarios could take place.

When Kathryn was accusing her husband of falling in love with her own sister, Evelyn Turner (played by Alexis Smith), and Richard wasn’t denying it, I thought that maybe Richard was going to start an affair with Evelyn or that Kathryn would do more to keep the 2 apart like how she suggested that her little sister should go back home to their mother.

I even had to wonder if perhaps Evelyn would also fall for Richard or if she would actually end up rejecting him.

Even when Richard got his leg broken due to a car accident, I had no idea that murder was about to occur.

The film didn’t really give an indication of that happening though maybe Doctor Mark Hamilton’s (played by Sydney Greenstreet), a good friend of the Masons’, psychological words might count as a hint since he said something about how thoughts can get stuck in your head.

When Richard pretended that he still couldn’t walk and when he made sure that he remained home while his wife went alone to the springs resort, I thought that he did that so that he could go visit Kathryn’s sister and maybe court her or have an affair with her or something.

I didn’t know that he was actually going to go and kill his own wife. Who would have thought, right? After all, he even told her to be careful while driving through the mountain roads.

So, it came as a shock and surprise when we soon see Richard murdering Kathryn. Now, I wondered if that meant that Richard was now free to get together with Evelyn and if that was what was going to happen.

After all, it seemed like he had committed the perfect crime. There’s no evidence against him and he has the perfect alibi or so it seems.

But Conflict continues to surprise its audience, seemingly at every turn, because, just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, scenes happen that prove otherwise and show that you got it all wrong.


*Notes:
- Image with added text was modified by Freya Yuki based on the image by Rusembell (CC:BY) from deviantArt
- Image is meant to symbolize how Richard murdered his own wife, Kathryn
- First pic is from Amazon.com; link shown above
- YouTube video features the trailer for the Conflict 1945 movie

Similarities between The Scarlet Flower 1952 Soviet animated movie and the Cupid and Psyche myth

(Warning: possible spoilers for the 1952 Soviet animated film The Scarlet Flower (Аленький цветочек, Alenkiy Tsvetochek in Russian) and the Greek or Roman myth about Cupid and Psyche)

It’s not really that the two stories in question are very similar to each other because they’re not. In fact, The Scarlet Flower (#ad) is actually based on a book with the same name and that book is based on the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale. But, when I was watching this film, there were some parts that just made me think of or reminded me of the story of Cupid (Eros in Greek Mythology) and Psyche because it seemed similar somehow.

How Nastenka (Beauty) and Psyche are similar to each other?

For instance, when Nastenka, the female main character and the 'Beauty' in The Scarlet Flower movie, returned home to her family after having to stay with the Beast on his island for a quite a while, her 2 older sisters tried to persuade her not to go back to the Beast.

They told her to just stay with them and that there was no need for her to go back there.

That part reminded me of how Psyche was persuaded by her 2 older sisters (look, both even have the same number of sisters and they’re both the youngest) to try and find out Cupid’s identity and how he really looked like.

The 2 women also have their differences

The difference was that Nastenka didn’t let herself be persuaded by her sisters. She still had every intention of returning to the island where the Beast was (of course, that didn’t mean her sisters wouldn’t try and stop her somehow, but that’s not a part of this post). But Psyche was eventually convinced by her sisters to do as they wanted and that caused much trouble for her.

Cupid and the Beast are also similar to each other

Another similarity between the two stories was how Cupid refused to show himself to Psyche. He would talk to her, but she couldn’t see him.

In the same way, the Beast also refused to show himself to Nastenka on account of how hideous he looked, but he still spoke to her.

Both the heroines of The Scarlet Flower and Cupid and Psyche search for the one they love

Another thing that made me to think of the Cupid and Psyche story was when Nastenka was finally able to return to the island where the Beast was after her sisters attempted to stop her.

It seemed like she was too late in getting back because the beautiful and bright island was now shrouded in darkness and everything just looked gloomy and sad.

I thought that she would have a hard time looking for the Beast similar to how Pscyhe had to face several difficult trials before finally being reunited with Cupid.

That was what it seemed like, but I knew that couldn’t happen since The Scarlet Flower wasn’t that long a movie and we were already near the ending so, naturally, Nastenka soon found the Beast.

Of course, just like how Cupid and Psyche eventually got their happy ending, Nastenka and the Beast also got theirs. What do you think about these 2 stories?


*Notes:
- Image with added text was modified by Freya Yuki (CC:BY-SA) based on the image by hayashinomura (CC:BY-SA) from deviantArt
- Couple in the image is meant to represent Cupid and Psyche and Nastenka or Beauty and the Beast while the red flower in said image is meant to symbolize the scarlet flower
- YouTube video features a scene from the aforementioned film
- Second pic is from Amazon.com; link shown above

Conflict 1945 Movie: How To Solve The Perfect Crime?

(*Warning for possible spoilers for Conflict, a black-and-white suspense film noir made by Warner Brothers)

Conflict (1945) (#ad) introduces us to Richard Mason (played by Humphrey Bogart), an engineer, who is married to Kathryn Mason (played by Rose Hobart). However, he’s actually in love with his wife’s younger sister, Evelyn Turner (played by Alexis Smith). So he plots to get rid of Kathryn so he can be free to be with Evelyn instead.

Is it possible to commit the perfect crime?

Since this is a murder mystery, Richard’s way of getting his wife out of the way is, of course, by killing her.

The question now is if the engineer was able to commit the perfect crime and if he could actually get away with what he did.

If not, then how can he be caught or apprehended if there are seemingly no clues or evidence that would point to him being the culprit?

Foreshadowing and Chekhov’s Gun

One of the really good things about this movie is how it employs the proper use of foreshadowing (a clue that can indicate or predict what might possibly happen, but doesn’t make the show any less suspenseful or surprising for you) and what is known as a Chekhov’s Gun (don’t include useless or pointless things in the plot; if a detail, no matter how seemingly insignificant is mentioned or shown, it must have a purpose that is relevant to what will happen in the story).

Pay attention to all the details

The Conflict movie really makes you pay attention to all the little details because they can serve as very important clues to help you figure things out. For example, who would have thought that something as seemingly insignificant as a flower would have any bearing on the plot of this film or that it actually had any use aside from simply being a flower?

Importance of a flower in Conflict

Near the beginning of the movie, Richard and Kathryn attend a party to celebrate their 5th wedding anniversary. Doctor Mark Hamilton (played by Sydney Greenstreet), a very good friend of theirs, gives Kathryn a flower, a rose, as a gift.

This flower is quickly forgotten and even the audience wouldn’t think much of it since it’s just a rose and how could it be important or even relevant to the plot? At first glance, it seemed that the only purpose of this flower was so that Doctor Hamilton could give Kathryn a gift.

But, later on, we see the appearance of yet another rose. Kathryn is on the way to a mountain resort, but she visits the doctor first before heading to her destination. Doctor Hamilton gives her a rose before she leaves. At this point, viewers wouldn’t think much of this gesture at all since we previously saw how the doctor gave Kathryn a flower in an earlier scene.

So it’s not strange or odd to see the doctor doing the same thing again. In fact, this act seems perfectly natural and, in the face of the events that soon follow, is quickly forgotten and deemed too unimportant to even be something that one should dwell on.

Who would have thought that this rose was actually very significant and would play an important role in getting Richard Mason apprehended as the criminal who killed his wife?

Richard said that his wife was wearing the rose flower the last time he saw her, but he shouldn’t have seen or even known about this because Kathryn only got that rose from Doctor Hamilton after she left Richard in their house and went off to see the doctor before heading for the mountain resort.


*Notes:
- Image with added text was modified by Freya Yuki (CC:BY-SA) based on the image by hayashinomura (CC:BY-SA) from deviantArt
- Rose in the image is meant to symbolize the rose flower that became an important clue in the movie
- Second pic is from Amazon.com; link shown above
- YouTube video features the Conflict trailer

The Scarlet Flower 1952 Soviet Animated Movie: What To Like And Dislike About The Beast?

I’d put a possible spoilers warning here, but, if you know about the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale or the Disney version, then you’ll already know about this part of the movie that this article will talk about since the 1952 Soviet animated film The Scarlet Flower (#ad) (Аленький цветочек, Alenkiy Tsvetochek in Russian) is based on said fairytale though there are differences.

The Beast in The Scarlet Flower does not get angry without reason

I thought that the Beast in this story was an okay character, but he wasn’t perfect.

I like how he didn’t have any anger management issues unlike the Beast in the Disney version (remember the times he would shout and growl and just generally be angry about a lot of things?) because it makes it slightly less unbelievable that the 'Beauty' in the story (in The Scarlet Flower, that would be Nastenka) would eventually fall in love with him.

The Beast isn’t perfect

But I didn’t like the way that he was trying to guilt-trip Nastenka into staying with him in his island. The Beast said things like, "You can use the ring to return home," and then, when Nastenka was actually considering doing so, he added, "But, remember, your father promised (pertaining to how either the dad, Stefan, or one of his 3 daughters would return to stay with the Beast)."

That caused Nastenka to stay in the island. Later on, when she accidentally saw the Beast and how ugly he looked, he told her to "use the ring and leave, go away from me because I have scared you," but then he added that "if you leave, I will die of grief." So, of course, she didn’t leave.

I know part of the reason why she stayed was because she is a really kind and good-hearted person and because she was starting to see the Beast as a friend, but I still didn’t like how she was guilt-tripped into staying. What do you think about this?


*Notes:
- Image with added text was modified by Freya Yuki (CC:BY-SA) based on the image by hayashinomura (CC:BY-SA) from deviantArt
- Flowers in the image are meant to symbolize the scarlet flower and the scary-looking figure is meant to represent the Beast
- YouTube video features a scene from said film

How The Conflict 1945 Movie Scares You Into Thinking That A Character Is Going To Die?

(*Warning for possible spoilers for Conflict, a black-and-white suspense film noir made by Warner Brothers)

Conflict (1945) (#ad) is a murder mystery featuring the story of a man who kills his own wife. Has he managed to commit the perfect crime or will he be caught in the end? One of the scenes in this movie might have you worrying for the safety of one of the characters as you fear that the criminal or the killer might commit yet another murder.

Reason to kill your own wife

Richard Mason (played by Humphrey Bogart), an engineer, murdered his wife, Kathryn Mason (played by Rose Hobart), because he was in love with Evelyn Turner (played by Alexis Smith), Kathryn’s younger sister.

After Kathryn’s death, Richard should have been free to court Evelyn, but many events occur that seem to indicate that his wife was still very much alive.

Does Evelyn know what happened to her sister in Conflict?

Just when you think that that was really the case, other incidents happen in the Conflict movie that now seem to indicate that Evelyn was the one responsible for making it look like her older sister was still alive.

For example, she actually has the same perfume as Kathryn, which can explain why Richard gets a whiff of the scent in his bedroom even though this should not have been possible since his wife was supposedly already dead. This and other such events make it seem as if Turner knew what Richard did to her sister and is now trying to scare him or something.

Is Richard planning to kill Evelyn?

When Richard sees this connection, he immediately heads over to where Evelyn was to confront her about it. He finds her packing and getting ready to leave. While the 2 are talking, she gets a phone call, but it is the engineer who answers it.

It’s the driver that Evelyn sent for. Richard sends this driver away as he insisted on being the one to drive Turner to wherever she wanted to go.

She protests this and is reluctant to have the engineer drive her, telling him that he shouldn’t have sent the driver away. She came across as being suspicious, scared and apprehensive with how reluctant she was to let Richard drive her.

Combine that with how Mason kept insisting that he would drive her and with how he pretty much didn’t give her a choice on the matter, it really seemed like the engineer was planning something sinister. I thought that he was going to murder Evelyn just like how he killed his own wife.

This is further reinforced when we hear Evelyn Turner telling Richard to please be careful in driving since the roads can be dangerous.

She sounds really scared, so the audience might start fearing for her life and her safety with Richard right next to her and sitting on the driver’s side of the car as the 2 are getting ready to leave.

However, before they can leave, Richard gets a phone call. He leaves the car and tells Evelyn to wait for him as he goes to answer said phone call. I thought Turner could use this opportunity to leave or drive away before Mason could get to her. Of course, things actually happen differently as we soon find out.


*Notes:
- Image with added text was modified by Freya Yuki based on the image by Rusembell (CC:BY) from deviantArt
- Image of the car is meant to represent the part in the Conflict movie wherein we see Evelyn and Richard in a car and they’re about to drive off when the latter is called away to answer a phone call
- Second pic is from Amazon.com; link shown above
- YouTube video features the Conflict movie trailer

The Scarlet Flower 1952 Soviet Animated Movie: How Much Should You Sacrifice For The 1 You Love?

(Warning: possible spoilers for the 1952 Soviet animated film The Scarlet Flower (Аленький цветочек, Alenkiy Tsvetochek in Russian))

The Scarlet Flower (#ad) is based on a story with the same name, however, both film and story are actually a variation or retelling of the fairytale of the Beauty and the Beast with some differences.

In this particular article, I’d like to focus on one of the characters in this movie that I found very likable and admirable. This is Stefan, a merchant with three daughters. Before leaving on a trip, he asked his children what gifts they wanted him to bring back for them when he returned.

A father willingly searches for practically impossible things as gifts for his 3 daughters

Even though they didn’t exactly ask him for things that could easily be obtained (yes, even the youngest daughter’s request for the scarlet flower wasn’t exactly easy to find), he didn’t complain or tell them that he can’t get them those things.

He left on his trip, and, alongside doing his business, he also took the time to find the gifts that his daughters wanted. When he finished with his job and when he’d found the gifts his two older daughters had asked for, he refused to go back home because he still hadn’t found the scarlet flower that Nastenka, his youngest daughter, wanted.

How Stefan shows that he really loves and cares about his daughters?

All this really shows that he loves his daughters very much. But if that’s not enough proof for you, well, that’s all right because Stefan does so much more that can easily prove just how much a father can love his children.

Stefan soon gets stranded on a strange and mysterious island where he eventually finds The Scarlet Flower that his youngest wants. It was a mistake to take this flower though, as he soon found out, because the one who inhabited this island was a scary and horrible-looking Beast.

A father willing to die for his daughters

The Beast gave Stefan a choice: either he stayed on the island and be killed or he send one of his daughters in his place. When this choice was given to him, Stefan didn’t even need to think twice about it. He immediately gave a resounding 'no.'

This act was even more admirable because his refusal to let one of his daughters stay with the Beast would mean his death. He didn’t care about dying as long as his daughters were unharmed.

The Beast eventually gave him a magical ring that would allow whoever was wearing it to return to the island. He let Stefan leave with the promise that either he or one of his daughters would return. Stefan willingly bears the burden that should have been imposed on his daughters.

Once back in his house and with his daughters, Stefan gave them their gifts, but he didn’t tell them about his encounter with the Beast. He could have told them and he could have asked one of them to take his place. In fact, he could have made Nastenka go, since, if you really look at it, it was her fault that her father got into this mess in the first place (Stefan obviously wouldn’t be going around picking random flowers if his daughter hadn’t wanted one).

However, Stefan loved his children too much to do any of that, so he told them nothing and kept his troubles to himself. He was heading to his death and yet the only thing he could think about were his daughters and their welfare.

He entrusted them to his friend, so that there would be someone who would look after them even with him gone. Stefan is really one likable and admirable father who genuinely and sincerely loves his children very much and is ready to sacrifice himself and do all that he can for their sake.

And I find it wonderful how a pretty short film was able to develop Stefan’s character and personality enough for viewers to like him and feel for him even though he’s not really the main focus of The Scarlet Flower movie.

If there’s one flaw that can be said about Stefan, it might be how Nastenka is so obviously his favorite daughter and that he clearly loves her more than her two older sisters. But, then again, considering how greedy, selfish and materialistic those two were as well as the things that they did, it’s a wonder why anyone would care about them.


*Notes:
- Image with added text was modified by Freya Yuki (CC:BY-SA) based on the image by mikanxsakura (CC:BY-SA) from deviantArt
- Image is meant to symbolize Stefan and Nastenka
- Second pic is from Amazon.com; link shown above
- YouTube video features a scene from The Scarlet Flower

Reasons Why Conflict 1945 Murder Mystery Movie Is Different And Unique?

(*Warning for possible spoilers for Conflict, a 1945 black-and-white suspense film noir made by Warner Brothers)

Conflict (1945) (#ad) is a movie that belongs to the mystery genre. To be more precise, it’s a murder mystery. But what makes this film interesting, unique and original is how it differs from the formula of other mysteries out there.

Plot of a usual murder mystery

Usually, when you watch a mystery movie or read a mystery novel, a crime will happen, such as a murder, and the challenge is trying to figure out who the culprit is as we follow the story of the protagonist, such as a detective or police officer, tasked with solving the mystery.

We see the main character looking for clues and trying to decipher them, interpret them and understand them.

He or she will consider all the suspects, looking for the motive for the crime, etc until we eventually find out who the culprit is.

How Conflict’s plot differs from the usual?

But in the Conflict movie, it’s different. We already know who the culprit is as we practically saw Richard Mason (played by Humphrey Bogart), one of the main characters, kill Kathryn Mason (played by Rose Hobart), his wife. So, now, the question is not who killed the victim and who the culprit is, but on what happens after the crime.

Questions Conflict makes us ask

Instead of having the audience try to figure out who the killer is from a list of possible suspects, we’re now left wondering what will happen after Richard killed his wife as we are presented with many other questions that need to be answered.

Will Richard get caught? Will people, the police, his friends, Kathryn’s sister, Evelyn Turner (played by Alexis Smith), find out what Richard did or can he actually get away with it?

Was Richard able to pull off a perfect crime? And what about the victim, Richard’s wife? Is she really dead?

Or could she have possibly, somehow, survived what Richard did to her? This is what makes said 1945 murder mystery movie interesting, different and unique.


*Notes:
- Image with added text was modified by Freya Yuki based on the image by Rusembell (CC:BY) from deviantArt
- Image is meant to represent how Richard killed his own wife, Kathryn
- YouTube video features the Conflict (1945) movie trailer

The Scarlet Flower 1952 Soviet Animated Movie: How To Keep Characters Consistent?

(Warning: possible spoilers for the 1952 Soviet animated film The Scarlet Flower (Аленький цветочек, Alenkiy Tsvetochek in Russian))

Also known as, "How to stop your characters from being OOC (out of character)?" In The Scarlet Flower movie (#ad), which is loosely based on the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale, the female main character, named Nastenka, has 2 older sisters. This article focuses on the two women and their personalities.

The 2 older sisters of Nastenka – selfish and greedy doesn’t begin to cover them

From the very beginning of the film, it was already established that these 2 girls are materialistic, greedy and selfish and very, very different from their youngest sister.

It’s in the way that they asked for a crown and a mirror with all the bells and whistles as gifts from their father.

It’s in the way they didn’t seem to care about their family but themselves and how they were so enamored with their expensive presents. Anyway, we soon leave these two as Nastenka goes to the island where the Beast is.

Nastenka returns home to see her family

Later on, she returns home to see her family. Understandably, she missed them all. Her father, Stefan, missed her as well. He calls his two other daughters, telling them that their youngest sister has returned. The two women come running to where Nastenka and their father are.

Do you think Nastenka’s sisters actually missed her?

At first, it may seem as if the two are actually glad to see their youngest sister, that they actually missed her and are looking forward to seeing her again and that’s why they’re running and not looking displeased at being called by their father.

That would be odd and strange and would certainly be out of character for them. But, thankfully, none of that happens.

They’re still very much in character and you can see that right away the moment they open their mouths and come face-to-face with Nastenka.

They take her hands and hold on to them as they look at her, but it isn’t because they missed her or anything like that at all. It’s because they saw her new clothes and they wanted to get a better look at how beautiful and wonderful said clothes are.

Nastenka’s sisters are too selfish and self-centered to care about her

They didn’t even have the decency to hug her even though they hadn’t seen her in quite a while. When Nastenka saw her father again, the 2 didn’t have any qualms embracing each other and yet her 2 older sisters couldn’t even spare the time to hug her briefly.

They didn’t even bother to ask her how she was. Instead, they asked her if she brought gifts for them, implying that they would have been angry if she came back empty-handed.

The moment they saw the chests full of gifts in front of them, all their attention was taken away from Nastenka. It’s like they practically forgot that she was there as they focused on looking at the new things that they’d gotten. This definitely reinforces just how greedy, selfish and materialistic they were.

They didn’t even need to say anything to show their personalities. Their actions, what they did and what they didn’t do, the simple act of not hugging their own sister, those things are more than enough to keep them in character and to show exactly what kind of people Nastenka’s sisters are. What do you think?


*Notes:
- Image with added text was modified by Freya Yuki (CC:BY-SA) based on the image by hayashinomura (CC:BY-SA) from deviantArt
- Flowers in the image are meant to symbolize The Scarlet Flower and the figure is meant to represent the 2 older sisters of Nastenka since she doesn’t look or seem nice either
- YouTube video features a scene from said movie
- Second pic is from Amazon.com; link shown above

Conflict 1945 Movie: How To Overtake Your Wife To Kill Her?

(*Warning for possible spoilers for Conflict, a 1945 black-and-white suspense film noir made by Warner Brothers)

Conflict (1945) (#ad) is the story of a man who kills his own wife, however, what the audience wants to know isn’t who committed the crime, but what happens to the culprit after the evil deed is committed and if the criminal was able to commit the perfect crime.

An unexpected meeting between the Masons

One of the scenes in the Conflict movie involves Kathryn Mason (played by Rose Hobart), the wife of the main character, driving alone and by herself through mountain roads until she reaches a spot that is blocked by another car.

The driver is standing nearby, but the stranger refuses to move the car. As Kathryn prepares to turn around to look for another way to her destination, the stranger approaches her and is soon revealed to be Richard Mason (played by Humphrey Bogart), her husband.

How Conflict shocks its audience?

This is surprising and shocking, not just to Kathryn who wasn’t expecting her husband to be there, but also for the audience since viewers know that Richard should have been back at the Mason house, far away from where his wife currently was. Another thing to take note of in this particular scene was how Richard was able to arrive at that spot in the mountain roads before Kathryn could get there.

Is there a plot hole in Conflict?

When Kathryn left the Mason house, Richard was still there since he wasn’t supposed to be going anywhere anyway. Furthermore, even if Richard left their house as soon as his wife did, it didn’t seem as if he could drive all that well, considering that he still had a slight limp when he walked and he still had to use a cane to help him.

As such, this part of the Conflict movie might seem like a plothole to some, but there’s actually a reasonable explanation for what happened.

Kathryn stopped by to see Doctor Mark Hamilton (played by Sydney Greenstreet), a good friend of the Masons, and she even chatted with him for a few minutes.

Aside from the possibility that the doctor’s house could have been out of the way of her destination, she was also shown to be driving at a pretty slow and leisurely way as she traversed the mountain roads that led to her destination. That was understandable since she was advised to drive carefully.

As for Richard, he actually took a much shorter route than his wife, which allowed him to arrive at the place where the 2 met up before Kathryn did.


*Notes:
- Image with added text was modified by Freya Yuki based on the image by Rusembell (CC:BY) from deviantArt
- Car in the image is meant to symbolize the car that Kathryn drove when she met up with Richard
- YouTube video features the Conflict trailer

Why The Scarlet Flower 1952 Soviet Animated Movie Can't Be A Love Story?

(Warning: possible spoilers for the 1952 Soviet animated film The Scarlet Flower (Аленький цветочек, Alenkiy Tsvetochek in Russian))

The Scarlet Flower (#ad) is a variation of the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale with a number of notable differences. In the aforementioned fairytale, Beauty has to stay with the Beast and they eventually end up getting together. The same can be said regarding the main characters of this film. The question now is if what happened in said movie can properly be classified as a love story.

Why this movie and fairy tale can’t be a love story?

It doesn’t seem right to do so just as the story it was based on doesn’t seem like a love story either. The only reason Nastenka, the ‘Beauty’ in the movie, goes to live on the island where the Beast resides is because she felt that she had to for her father’s sake.

Once there, she doesn’t see how the Beast really looks like until much later. As the film progressed, it didn’t seem like the 2 characters really got to know each other all that well. Sure, they talked, but it wasn’t face-to-face.

The Beast was kind to Nastenka and didn’t mistreat her, which can explain why she didn’t mind returning and staying with him and why she’d started to call him as her friend. But it’s also true that the Beast guilt-trips her into staying with him and not leaving by saying that he will surely die of grief should she go away.

Why does the Beast love Nastenka?

It’s easy to see why and how the Beast can fall in love with Nastenka. She’s beautiful, but she also has a kind heart and a great personality.

What does Nastenka love about the Beast?

It’s harder to see what she might like about the Beast though. Sure, he treats her kindly and doesn’t hurt her and they talk sometimes, but is that enough for her to fall in love with him so easily and so soon after they just met?

Maybe if the passage of time was more clearly shown and maybe if we had seen more interaction between the 2 as they got to know each other more, the fact that they actually ended up falling in love with each other could be more believable and plausible.

Do those 2 know each other enough to be able to start a believable romantic relationship?

As it is, you can’t help but wonder if they really know each other all that well to start having romantic feelings for one another.

But, then again, this is a fairy tale story so it seems to be the norm to have characters meet and fall in love practically at first sight.

Still, sometimes, it can be hard to suspend your disbelief regarding matters like this. And that’s why I’m glad that The Scarlet Flower didn’t end with Nastenka and the Beast (who has now returned to his true form) sharing a kiss. It didn’t seem right for them to kiss. It seemed far more believable to think of them as friends (at least for now) especially since that’s what Nastenka’s been saying anyway before she supposedly fell in love with him.


*Notes:
- Image with added text was modified by Freya Yuki based on the image by Rusembell (CC:BY) from deviantArt
- Couple in the image is meant to represent Nastenka and the Beast while the red flower they’re holding is meant to symbolize the scarlet flower
- YouTube video features a scene from said movie

Conflict 1945 Movie: Reason Why You’d Kill Your Own Wife?

(*Warning for possible spoilers for Conflict, a black-and-white suspense film noir made by Warner Brothers)

Conflict (1945) (#ad) is about Richard Mason (played by Humphrey Bogart), an engineer, who kills his own wife, Kathryn Mason (played by Rose Hobart). Aside from wondering if the engineer was able to commit the perfect crime, the audience might also find themselves wondering exactly what Richard hoped to achieve by killing his wife.

The reason why you’d kill your own wife?

The question isn’t why Richard would kill Kathryn because there’s a readily available answer to that.

The engineer is actually in love with Evelyn Turner (played by Alexis Smith), Kathryn’s younger sister. To get Kathryn out of the way, he chose to murder her.

What should happen after you killed your wife?

But one has to wonder exactly what Richard thought was going to happen after he killed his wife.

This isn’t in terms of whether or not he would get caught because he believed that he was able to commit the perfect crime. Rather, this is in terms of what will happen between Evelyn and him.

Does he think that he’ll be able to get Evelyn Turner once Kathryn is out of the way? But why? Just because his wife died, why would that automatically mean that Turner would fall for him? Was Richard so sure that he could get Evelyn to fall for him? Did he really believe that she was already in love with him?

Can Richard and Evelyn get together after Kathryn’s death in Conflict?

In the first place, Kathryn and Evelyn are sisters. It’s only natural for Evelyn to be worried about her sister and to care about her. Even if she didn’t know that it was Richard who killed her older sister, would she really willingly get into a relationship with her sister’s husband just because Kathryn is now dead? Wouldn’t she perceive that as somehow betraying her sister?

Who is Evelyn in love with?

Furthermore, it seemed that she actually likes and is in love with Professor Norman Holdsworth (played by Charles Drake), the colleague of Doctor Mark Hamilton (played by Sydney Greenstreet. He’s a psychologist and family friend of the Masons), even though she might not be ready to settle down or get married yet.

This can be one possible reason why she turned down his marriage proposal; that and Richard confused her with him going on about how he loves her and how she is apparently in love with him too.

Pointless murder in Conflict?

Looking at it in this way, it does seem pretty pointless and useless to kill Kathryn, but maybe Richard did it anyway because he was so consumed with the thought of loving Evelyn and wanting to be with her that he believed that the only way to achieve that was to get rid of his wife. What do you think?


*Notes:
- Image with added text was modified by Freya Yuki based on the image by Rusembell (CC:BY) from deviantArt
- Image is meant to symbolize how Richard killed Kathryn
- YouTube video features the trailer for the Conflict film

The Scarlet Flower 1952 Soviet Animated Movie: Why You Should Ask For Permission Before Taking Things That Don't Belong To You?

The Scarlet Flower (#ad) (Аленький цветочек, Alenkiy Tsvetochek in Russian) is a 1952 Soviet animated film that is loosely based on the fairy tale story of Beauty and the Beast.

If you know said fairytale or even the Disney version, there might be no need to consider the scenes discussed here as possible spoilers for the movie. This is about an incident that happens in the film and that seems like it could be classified as a plothole of sorts.

Is there a plot hole in The Scarlet Flower movie?

Stefan, the father of the female main character, arrives on an island where he soon finds the scarlet flower that his youngest daughter wants.

Naturally, he goes and gets the flower, and, of course, immediately gets into trouble for it as the island and flower belong to the Beast. It was wrong of Stefan to try and take the flower even if he has a good reason for doing so. But I wonder if he can really be blamed for what he did.

Was Stefan being invited to steal the scarlet flower?

Prior to him finding the item in question, Stefan was exploring and walking around the house. Doors readily opened as he walked by, allowing him to pass through until he got to where The Scarlet Flower was.

Doesn’t that seem like an invitation to you? It’s like he was being invited to come and see the flower and even try and obtain it. After all, if the Beast didn’t want anyone touching or even being near his flower, then why would he let Stefan find it?

Why didn’t Stefan ask for permission before taking something that doesn’t belong to him?

Of course, Stefan was at fault too. He could and should have asked for permission before picking the flower.

After all, he knew there was an unseen host somewhere and that the entire place was magical what with the food suddenly showing up in front of him and the floating music and the like.

But, then again, this is a fairytale story so perhaps these kinds of things are to be expected since, obviously, Stefan needed to take the flower so that he could get in trouble and so that his daughter, Nastenka, the ‘Beauty’ in the film, could eventually meet up with the Beast.


*Notes:
- Image with added text was modified by Freya Yuki (CC:BY-SA) based on the image by MizuSasori (CC:BY-SA) from deviantArt
- Red flowers in the image are meant to symbolize the scarlet flower while the figure in said pic is meant to represent Nastenka
- YouTube video features a scene from said film

Conflict 1945 Movie: Reason Why You Don’t Want To Marry For Love?

(*Warning for possible spoilers for Conflict, a 1945 black-and-white suspense film noir made by Warner Brothers)

Conflict (1945) (#ad) introduces us to an engineer, named Richard Mason (played by Humphrey Bogart), who decides to kill his own wife, Kathryn Mason (played by Rose Hobart). Was he able to commit the perfect crime or will he eventually get caught? If so, how?

Why did Richard and Kathryn get married?

It’s easy enough to see the reason why Richard killed his own wife. It’s because he’s in love with her younger sister, Evelyn Turner (played by Alexis Smith). But it’s harder to see exactly why Richard and Kathryn got married in the first place.

I’m not sure if this is because I missed this part of the Conflict movie since I didn’t get to start it from the beginning (though it doesn’t feel like I missed all that much at all) or if there really is no real reason why the two got married.

Maybe their marriage only happened for plot convenience because the plot demanded that they get married in order to move the story along.

Would you marry someone you don’t even love?

From what I saw, the marriage between the 2 was loveless. They didn’t seem to love each other at all. One of the first few scenes that I saw was Kathryn and Richard conversing with one another as they got ready to attend a party to celebrate their 5th wedding anniversary.

Did the Masons get married because the Conflict plot said that they should?

In this scene, we see Kathryn nagging Richard and then confronting him about how he’s apparently in love with her own little sister. She sounds like she doesn’t want to let him go, but it’s not because she loves him.

And Richard wasn’t denying his wife’s accusations at all. He wasn’t trying to or even making an effort to defend himself or win back Kathryn’s love and affection by saying things like ‘no, I’m not in love with your sister. It’s you that I love’.

This shows that he doesn’t care what his wife thinks and that he doesn’t love her at all. All this seems to reinforce the possibility that the Masons got married to each for no real reason or that they only got married because the plot said so. What do you think?


*Notes:
- Image with added text was modified by Freya Yuki (CC:BY-SA) based on the image by hayashinomura (CC:BY-SA) from deviantArt
- Wedding image is meant to represent Kathryn and Richard who got married to each other
- YouTube video features the Conflict movie trailer

The Scarlet Flower 1952 Soviet Animated Movie: Why You Should Not Talk About Important Things Where Anyone Can Hear You?

(Warning: possible spoilers for the 1952 Soviet animated film The Scarlet Flower (Аленький цветочек, Alenkiy Tsvetochek in Russian))

The Scarlet Flower’s (#ad) basic plot is a variation of the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale with a number of differences. This article focuses on one particular scene that made me think and ask some questions about it.

A private conversation between Stefan and his friend

Stefan, the merchant and father of Nastenka (the ‘Beauty’ in this story), entrusts his 3 daughters to his friend as he speaks of having to return to the island where the Beast is (he has to return there as payment for the scarlet flower that he took without permission).

Should you be surprised that the main character overhears a private conversation?

The 2 talk near the staircase and Nastenka happens to overhear their conversation. When this scene happened, I wasn’t at all surprised that Nastenka overheard her father and his friend, considering how near they were to where she was. I thought her two older sisters would have surely overheard the conversation too if they hadn’t been so preoccupied with their presents.

Is this a plot hole in The Scarlet Flower movie?

I know one reason for that scene was to have Nastenka hear all about what’s going on (the other points being to show just how much Stefan loves his daughters since he won’t let any of them be the ones to go to the island to be with the Beast).

But that scene seems somewhat contrived, since, with Stefan and his friend talking about important matters that Stefan clearly didn’t want his daughters to know about, you’d think that the 2 would have enough sense not to talk about such things while they were out in the open.

What was wrong with having that discussion in some other part of the house where Stefan’s daughters wouldn’t be around to accidentally overhear their entire conversation? What do you think?


*Notes:
- Image with added text was modified by Freya Yuki (CC:BY-SA) based on the image by CoDLia (CC:BY-SA) from deviantArt
- Flowers in the image are meant to represent The Scarlet Flower
- YouTube video features a scene from the aforementioned movie

Conflict 1945 Movie: How To Choose Between 2 Love Interests?

(*Warning for possible spoilers for Conflict, a 1945 black-and-white suspense film noir made by Warner Brothers)

Conflict (1945) (#ad) is about an engineer, named Richard Mason (played by Humphrey Bogart), who kills his own wife, named Kathryn Mason (played by Rose Hobart). Was he able to commit the perfect crime or will he eventually get caught?

Who is Evelyn Turner?

Evelyn Turner (played by Alexis Smith) is the reason why Richard kills his own wife. She’s the younger sister of Kathryn and Richard is madly in love with her. He believes that getting rid of Kathryn will give him a chance to be with Evelyn.

But there are many confusing things about Evelyn’s character that it really seems like she hasn’t been properly characterized and that she’s missing a bit more depth.

There were many questions about her that just weren’t answered. There were so many things that were so vague and that hadn’t been made clear in the least.

Love in Conflict – who is in love with whom?

For example, is she in love with Richard Mason or not? There were moments when it seems like she is such as when she turns down the marriage proposal of Doctor Norman Holdsworth (played by Charles Drake), a friend of the Masons, and yet there are also other moments when it seems like she isn’t like with how she seems so indecisive about being with Richard or when she says that Kathryn will always be between them (Richard and Evelyn).

Why Richard believes that Evelyn loves him?

Part of this confusion can stem from how Richard seems inclined to believe that Evelyn is also in love with him. He tells Evelyn that the reason she refused to marry the doctor was because she was actually in love with him.

But, while that is a plausible possibility, another possibility could be that she does like the doctor. It does seem that way at times with how the 2 talk and interact.

Maybe she is just playing hard to get. Or maybe she was just unsure about suddenly being asked to get married that she couldn’t give an answer when the doctor proposed to her.

Maybe she just needed more time to think things through since this is a life-changing event. Besides, she was probably still worrying about her sister since she doesn’t know yet exactly what happened to Kathryn; she doesn’t know if her older sister is dead or alive. It’s too bad that the Conflict movie couldn’t be clearer about Evelyn’s character. What do you think?


*Notes:
- Image with added text was modified by Freya Yuki (CC:BY-SA) based on the image by hayashinomura (CC:BY-SA) from deviantArt
- Image is meant to symbolize confusion about Evelyn since the figure in said image looks confused and thoughtful
- YouTube video features the Conflict movie trailer

The Scarlet Flower 1952 Soviet Animated Movie: Why You Need To Pay Attention To Film Details?

(Warning: possible spoilers for the 1952 Soviet animated film The Scarlet Flower (Аленький цветочек, Alenkiy Tsvetochek in Russian))

While there are differences, The Scarlet Flower (#ad) movie is based on the Beauty and The Beast fairy tale.

The Scarlet Flower is very detailed

In this article, I’d like to commend this animated film for how it pays attention to detail, which really helps to add more depth to this movie as well as its characters.

Here is an example: in one scene, we see Nastenka, the main female character, singing near a body of water while the Beast watches her from afar, hiding behind and in the shadows of trees.

She’s holding a red-colored piece of cloth or scarf or handkerchief, which falls into the water below her. She leans forward to try and retrieve the item.

What you’ll miss if you blink or if you’re not paying attention

If you blink or if you’re not paying too much attention, you might miss this next part because, the next thing you know, Nastenka has apparently noticed the hideous-looking Beast and turns her head away in fright.

But then, that would make you wonder how that could happen if she wasn’t looking at where the Beast was and if the Beast was actually hiding from afar and behind the shelter of the trees.

If you go back to the part where Nastenka tries to get the red item back from the water, you can see exactly what happened.

The Beast’s ugly form is reflected in the surface of the water and Nastenka happens to see it, which is exactly why she turns her head away in fright.

Even if you miss that though, it doesn’t really take away from the story of The Scarlet Flower since some would probably think that Nastenka wouldn’t have a problem seeing the Beast hiding behind the trees because, after all, the audience themselves can easily see him so it might be the same for our female protagonist. What do you think about this?


*Notes:
- Image with added text was modified by Freya Yuki (CC:BY-SA) based on the image by CoDLia (CC:BY-SA) from deviantArt
- Red flowers in the image is meant to represent the scarlet flower while the entirety of the pic is meant to symbolize paying attention to details
- YouTube video features a scene from the aforementioned movie

Conflict 1945 Movie: How To Make People Think That Your Marriage Is Perfect?

(*Warning for possible spoilers for Conflict, a 1945 black-and-white suspense film noir made by Warner Brothers)

Conflict (1945) (#ad) is a murder mystery that tells the story of an engineer, named Richard Mason (played by Humphrey Bogart), who kills his own wife, Kathryn Mason (played by Rose Hobart). Will he be apprehended for this evil deed or has he actually managed to commit the perfect crime?

A loveless marriage

Considering how Richard plots to and actually succeeds in killing his wife, it should be obvious to anyone that he doesn’t love his wife and that he couldn’t care less about her.

To the audience, this is very much true. We are shown how the couple acts around each other, how Kathryn nags Richard and accuses him of falling in love with her little sister, Evelyn Turner (played by Alexis Smith), and how Richard doesn’t bother to correct her or deny her accusation.

Only the audience knows the truth about the Mason marriage

But, while the imperfections and the problems in the Mason marriage is very much visible and known to the Conflict movie viewers, the other characters in the film are absolutely clueless regarding this matter.

The other characters, like Evelyn and Doctor Mark Hamilton (played by Sydney Greenstreet), a very good friend of the Masons, are not privy to the details that we see and know.

They don’t get to see the Masons when it’s just the two of them, so they only have their public appearances and how they act and interact with each other in the presence of other people to base their assumption or presupposition on what the Masons’ married life is like.

The contrast between what these characters think is going on and what is really going on is striking, to say the east.

Everyone believes that the Masons are so in love with each other and that their married life is perfect. We even hear Evelyn saying that she admires the married couple and would also like to meet a guy like Richard.

Is the Mason marriage believable in Conflict?

It makes you wonder how Richard and Kathryn were able to fool everyone. How did they manage this? Is it because they’re such good actors?

If you really look at it though, it didn’t seem like the 2 were really exerting all that much effort in keeping up the façade that their marriage was nothing less than perfect. So how were they able to keep everyone from guessing the real truth about their marriage and just how much of a failure it was? What do you think about this?


*Notes:
- Image with added text was modified by Freya Yuki (CC:BY-SA) based on the image by CoDLia (CC:BY-SA) from deviantArt
- Figures in the image are meant to represent Richard and Kathryn Mason since the 2 look like they may or may not be a couple
- YouTube video features the trailer for the Conflict movie