Talk:Sweet Bird of Youth (1962 film)

Plot summary

Just watched this film and the description of the ending is completely wrong, as is the claim that there is no mention of Heavenly’s surgery. After the Princess cuts Chance loose, he runs to the Finley mansion and calls for Heavenly. Tom Jr. and the henchmen show up and beat Chance and stretch him across the hood of a car. Then Tom Jr. says he’s going to get rid of Chance’s “moneymaker” and smashes his face with a broken cane. Heavenly and the rest of the Finley clan arrive. She sees Chance lying in the dirt, cradles him and sees what has happened to his face. As Boss Finley takes a call from the governor, Chance and Heavenly drive away. Heavenly’s aunt is happy to see them go and when Boss Finley asks what will happen to him if Heavenly is not on the campaign trail, the aunt says, “What about you? You can go to hell.”

Also, during the political rally Boss Finley’s opponents inquire about an illegal operation the Boss arranged for Heavenly. When one citizen calls the Boss a “baby killer,” it’s clear that she had an abortion. This is not the same operation as in the play (which was to address a venereal disease she got from Chance), and no mention is made of her becoming infertile, but this is still a fairly controversial plot point for the time and this change should not be characterized as having been whitewashed. Instead, it was made less explicit and actually stakes were raised as it now amounts to an illegal act. ElBrooklyn (talk) 21:52, 29 November 2018 (UTC)