Those Pesky Loose Ends


Last night I was watching Imitation of Life before I went to bed, not the original from 1934, but the glossy remake from 1959, Lana Turner's first part after the scandal that nearly ruined her career (that would be when her daughter stabbed and killed her thug boyfriend.) I've seen the movie a million times, and find it entertaining (except for the cringe-worthy parts, like when Juanita Moore's character says to that of Lana Turner, "Just let me do for you.") But last night I noticed something that slipped past me before.


Lana Turner is in a restaurant with John Gavin when another woman comes up to her and says, "Nothing in it for me, honey, but I hear that they're casting for Tennessee Williams' new play." Lana Turner immediately goes to see the agent to get a reading.


So what was wrong with that scene? Well, the woman who gave her the tip was young and attractive, and I started wondering why she said there wasn't anything in it for her. She was obviously a struggling actress, too. What actor wouldn't want to be a Tennessee Williams play (Streetcar, anyone)? This playwright launched Marlon Brando and made Jessica Tandy the toast of the town.


I think it would have been much better to have the woman say something like, "Since I've got a gig I can't audition, but . . . ." or even, "I hear they're looking for a blonde . . . ." (the other woman was dark-haired, while the originally red-haired Lana Turner was blond for most of her career). That tells the audience why this lady isn't hightailing it to the agent's office to finagle a reading.

Now, you might be thinking that I've got a touch of compulsive disorder to be worrying about a character with two lines (and you may be right), but I like for everything to make sense in my movies, and my books, too.

Now, I know that everything can't be explained in a book. It's most important to tie up loose plot points than address every little thing. But sometimes those little details get readers to wondering. A friend was reading my manuscript, and when she read in my narrative that one of my main characters' parents had a stormy marriage, she scribbled ("What went wrong? They loved each other enough to get married, didn't they?") She had a special interest about this because, like the characters' parents, she is in an interracial marriage. I told her that the book wasn't about the parents' relationship, but about their daughter, and that it wasn't important. But I understand what she meant. Sometimes you just want to know why.

Already, just one month after turning in my manuscript, I'm starting to think of multiple points that need to be addressed in further depth, just in case there are any other I-want-to-know-the-reason-for-this readers like me who will pick up my book.

A writer's work is never done.