"Well if you killed him I'll kill you. I'll stab you in your sleep and then I'll tie your body to two wild horses 'til you're pulled apart!"
What a little psycho, whatever you do, don't touch her cat. It's brushed over jokingly but this seems massively out of place in this film. Future bunny boiler much?
Would be even funnier if this line was ad-libbed by the kid herself.
Not to mention her sister saying her doll has 4 fatal diseases. This film is harrowing.
shareWhat about her accusing Charles Drake of beating her when she was trying to make the trolley crash? This lie caused Garland to punch her boy next-door and almost spoiled her relationship. Tootie could be sweet but had a vivid imagination and maybe she needed counseling at the least. I think she needed attention which she wasn't getting so she made-up tales and uttered absurdities.
shareNeeded attention? This Kid was spoiled by the whole Family. Esther said the Brother was the main influence on teaching Her blue humor, and Tootie felt free to grab food from Esther's plate, so that tells Me that the rest of the Family would allow it too.
shareJust an all around terrible child in this film. Can't believe they tried to pass her off as 'sweet and mischievous'. She's a future criminal.
shareThis part of the movie did bother me. What a despicable thing to do. Even for a kid. If I had done that my Mom would have killed me.
http://moviecostumelovers.tumblr.com/
That's TOM Drake, not Charles!
shareDon't forget that Tootie was planning to hold a funeral for as well as bury her 'dead' doll in the very beginnning, either. And I couldn't BELIEVE how long she kept up the "John Truett tried to kill me" bit. I know she was very young, but didn't she know at that point that Esther and he were a bit more than an item? Also, let's not forget her (with Agnes as her sidekick) charming little stunt of placing a stuffed dress on the trolley tracks!
I definitely agree that this film was pretty dark in these spots. I loved it, though. Judy looked gorgeous in this. Her hairdo was especially very flattering.
Officer Krupke, what are we to dooooo?!?
Gee, Officer Krupke -- KRUP YOU!!!
It is fairly obvious that Tootie wanted to be just like Esther. Remember she wanted to wear Esther's nightgown after the whole raucous she caused. She probably had a baby crush on John Truett.
shareWell they can't blame how Her dark sinister mind works on television because, they didn't have TV in the early 20th century, the time frame when this movie was set. As a matter of fact TV wasn't available in private Homes in 1944 the year this Film was released.
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Lol, just saw the movie today (for the nth time), that line got my attention for the first time and I was thinking the same thing! Pretty violent stuff and she spews it at the housekeeper. No wonder she wanted a hunting knife for Christmas! Those two younger daughters were nut jobs!
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Get me a bromide - and put some gin in it!
The screenplay is based on stories written by Sally Benson about growing up in St. Louis. There's apparently a pretty close match between the Smith family and the Benson family - indeed the address given for the Smith's house is the address the Bensons lived at. The one difference is that the Bensons did move to NY and didn't see the world's fair.
But Sally Benson was the model for Tootsie - she was the youngest in her family.
Just caught this line: Tootie is riding in the ice wagon with Mr. Neely and discussing the proper pronunciation of "St.Louis." Mr. Neely says he has a cousin whose name is spelled the same and they have always called him "Loo-eee." Tootie calmly asks, "is he sane?" Mr. Neely acknowledges he may not be.
Tootie is also planning to bury the doll with four fatal diseases in a cigar box. It's a big doll; must have been a big cigar box.
Agnes asked for a hunting knife for Christmas. These girls act more like rough boys.
shareIt's hard to believe that Tootie's conduct would have been considered cute or charming in 1944, much less 1903-04. Nowadays she would be deemed a psychopath, and rightly so.
shareOnly if she acted on those outbursts. Honestly, I feel bad for kids these days if people automatically assume outbursts=psychopathic behavior.
There's a difference between screaming children in public venues and normal anger in private homes.
Trying to derail a trolley and kill people isn't "acting on those outbursts"?
shareThey were doing stuff that kids often did. Think about it. The idea that they thought throwing flour on neighbors was "killing" them was simply a symbolic act on Halloween. Neighbors that encourages bonfires?
We never let kids use their imaginations or run around anymore. Instead, we fill their heads with boogeymen who are going to snatch them from their families.
And now when we watch a movie made during the early 40's the about the early 20th century era, we project so much paranoia and faux psychology and we forget to just enjoy the musical. It's just a movie.
Make no mistake, I love this movie, but what Agnes and Tootie did could not be dismissed as a "childish prank", but as a criminal offense.
And the fact that Rose and Esther also laughed made it even worse.
Let's not forget that the OP is referring to Agnes, not Tootie.
But both sisters were psycho; it was both of them who put the stuffed dress on the trolley track.
Which wouldn't have derailed the trolley by any means.
shareTootie was based on Sally Benson. Sally's nickname was Tootie. Sally grew up to be a writer. So Tootie's imagination and Sally's ability to remember and capture memories and stories brought us all a great classic film. So Tootie wasn't too bad. Agnes, we'll never know how she turned out I guess.
shareActually, it was Sally Benson's older sister Agnes who was the "imaginative" one. The movie writers changed the characters around most likely to showcase Margaret O'Brien's acting ability and her justifiable popularity.
I just LOVE this movie!!!
"You cannot boil a llama and expect it to taste like a grilled monkey".