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Noirdame79's Replies
Here's the board for it:
https://moviechat.org/tt3074694/Flowers-in-the-Attic
For future reference, in the search box, type The Dollanganger Saga, and then the title of the film whose board you want to access.
The ending that is in the finished film is not the original ending and was hastily written by someone who had never read the novel and had no involvement in the film's original production, so I doubt he even stopped to think about that. Corrine didn't die until the third book in the series, and that's why the original screenwriter and director, Jeffrey Bloom, refused to make an ending where Corrine would die, he knew it would upset fans of the novel, which is one of the reasons he walked off the film and had no part of the final edit. The original cut didn't test well, and the test audience disliked the original ending (which did involve the kids exposing her mother at the wedding, but Corrine did live in Bloom's original ending), so the studio decided that the audience would want Corrine to die. While you can argue that Corrine deserved that ending, there are problems with it and rightly, angered a lot of fans.
Greystone Mansion was used for the theatrical ending, specifically the wedding scene where the kids confront Corrine, she and Cathy get into a fight and Corrine falls off the trellis. The reason why Greystone was used is that it was decided to change the film's original ending because it didn't test well, but by the time they had a new ending written, they couldn't afford to go back to the Crane estate in Massachusetts, which had served as the exterior of Foxworth Hall in the movie (some of the interiors were used as well). In fact, several different locations were used for the mansion's interiors; the Pasadena Historical Society aka the Fenyes Mansion in Pasadena (which had dark red paneling) was used for the grandfather's bedroom, the dining room, Corrine's bedroom, and a few of the corridors. The ballroom scene was filmed at the Doheny Mansion at Mout St. Mary's College in Los Angeles, while the attic, bathroom, and bedroom where the kids were imprisoned were on a Hollywood soundstage.
This video shows the parts of Greystone that were used in the film:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsP_CP_RxGY
Again, it didn't originate with her. Do research. Oh, wait, that would require you to actually get out of your misogynistic mindset. Ah, the life of an internet troll.
Minors can't consent, it's sexual assault. Period. Gender makes no difference. The whole "any straight man wouldn't complain" is beyond ignorant. Is that your way of saying that males can't be sexually assaulted?
This did not originate with Lana. Get that through your head.
We now know more about sexual assault and harassment. It's only people who have predatory tendencies who complain about how unfair it is that they don't have to respect other people's personal space and boundaries. If you haven't done anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about
No, her death cause was changed in 2012 from accidental to "drowning and other undetermined factors", not in the 1980s. The case was re-opened (for the first time) in 2011.
https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2020/03/natalie-wood-death-murder-robert-wagner-book
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/nov/18/natalie-wood-case-reopened
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/natalie-woods-death-certificate-changed-from-accident-to-undetermined/
Notice that one of the links about the re-opened investigation is dated 2011. The other states that 2011 was when the LASD re-opened the case. The link regarding the cause of death change states 2012.
You could at least get those details right by using Google.
It's not the fourth time the case was re-opened. It was re-opened once in 2011.
Again, the lead detectives on the case never cleared Wagner. When they retired (one of them had to retire early for medical reasons), the LASD decided to throw in the towel, the case is still open. Robert Wagner remains the one and only person of interest in this case. That has not changed.
The police did not do a proper investigation in 1981, and the re-opened investigation showed that. 'Nuff said.
https://radaronline.com/p/robert-wagner-natalie-wood-death-retired-detective-cold-case/
He did not fully cooperate. The detectives in the re-opened investigation repeatedly stated that Wagner refused to speak with them.
It didn't originate with Lana. Biographer Suzanne Finstad was the first to bring it up in her 2001 biography of Natalie. It was corroborated by the late Bobby Hyatt and his mother.
Bisexual, not gay.
Yes indeed, as Lana Wood has confirmed.
As far as I know, there is nothing to suggest that KD had any involvement in the murder of the Black Dahlia (Elizabeth Short). He was at one time, suspected of at least having knowledge of the disappearance of bit player Jean Spangler, who went missing in 1949 and has never been found. She was an extra on one of his films. In his first autobiography (published in 1988) he gave a very different version of events than what the police stated at the time. First, he claimed that Spangler's body was found near the Mexican border (he had joked about her disappearance prior to this) and this is what prompted him to speak to the police. Spangler has never been found, dead or alive. Some of her friends stated that Spangler had told them that she was three months pregnant just prior to her disappearance (and yes her purse, found in Griffith Park, did have a note addressed to a Kirk and that she was going to see a Dr. Scott). It's worth noting that KD's retelling of events reeks of misogyny, and this is notable considering that he claims to have barely known her, yet he went out of his way to smear Spangler. Hmm.
I think the reason why you got the two cases confused is that it was speculated that there was a possible link between the murder of Elizabeth Short and the disappearance of Jean Spangler (there was even a newspaper headline about Spangler that read, "Authorities Fear New Dahlia Death").
I don't know if Kirk Douglas had anything to do with Jean Spangler's disappearance or not, or if he knew more than he let on, but his behavior is suspect.
There is no doubt in my mind that Douglas was a sexual predator. In this same autobiography (The Ragman's Son) he admitted to taking out his anger out on women (including during sex) and preying on young girls. The sexual assault he committed on a teenage Natalie Wood has been confirmed by her sister and several of her friends.
There are other possibilities in the case (such as her ex-husband killing her, because he wanted sole custody of their daughter), but KD's actions are suspicious, as well as his referring to what happened to her as a "murder".
Not only does KD's version of events differ from that of the police, but note the misogynistic tone throughout, and his attempts to portray himself as a victim of Spangler, her family, and friends, as if they were out to get him.
The most disturbing thing is his claim to have heard about Spangler's murder on television, and this is what prompted him to return to Beverly Hills, talk to his stand-in, and "clear his name". Spangler has never been found, dead or alive. He said he joked about the note that was found in her purse until he heard that she was murdered, and then it was "Oh, she was a liar, trying to frame me," etc. Also, Spangler's family and friends told the police that while she had briefly dated a man named Kirk, they never saw him and she never mentioned his last name. They never said that she dated Kirk Douglas. The police, including two retired detectives who were interviewed for a TV segment about the case, confirmed that Douglas contacted them and that they only spoke to him over the phone. He gave them an alibi - that he was recovering from the flu in Palm Springs. While in his book he mentions being in Palm Springs at the time, he never mentioned anything about recovering from the flu and that was his alibi. Even the comment he attributed to the police chief, that Spangler was a "psychopathic liar" - there's nothing that indicates that she lied about anything concerning him. Even if you believe his version, it was her mother and her friends who claimed she was dating him. He made quite a bit of effort to smear a woman whom he supposedly barely knew. The murder part stands out, even if you concede that it was a mistake, as he was writing about this nearly 40 years later, but it's an odd mistake, not only because he claimed to have heard about it on the news but this was what panicked him about being "associated" with her. Even if he had no involvement in her going missing, I'm inclined to think that he knew more than he let on.
Yes, that's what I mean. I will comment more about this in my reply to the last post.
"Larry, do I know a Jean Spangler?"
"Yes," he answered.
"I do! Where?"
"Don't you remember the afternoon that you shot a scene with that beautiful extra and made a date with her?"
"Oh yes, but you talked me out of it."
"That's right. I told you that she's a star-f****r and bad news."
I remembered, I called. Jean was not there. I left a message that something had come up and I wouldn't be able to see her that night. I never saw or spoke to her again.
I told all of this to the detectives when they questioned me. They looked at their notes.
"Mrs. Spangler said you called many times."
"That's ridiculous. I called once."
The detective kept looking at his notes.
"Some of her friends said that you dated her often."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. He flipped a page.
"One of her friends said that she was at a party with both of you."
I was bewildered. "Do you have the exact date of the party?"
They had a date, and I was able to prove where I had been that night and with whom.
Meanwhile, the newspapers discovered that Jean had played a bit part in [b][i]Young Man With A Horn[/b][/i] and my name began to pop up in articles about the murder. Eventually, I learned from Thad Brown that they knew that the girl was a psychopathic liar, and I was not involved in the case. I was thankful to Thad Brown - for the considerate way he protected me. The case was never solved.
(Comments in next post)
<blockquote>Spangler's body was never found. She is still considered missing.
Kirk Douglas was never a police suspect. When he heard a Kirk was mentioned in the note, he went to the police to clear himself. They cleared him. I don't have access to the records, so I don't know why and won't speculate. Because Kirk took the effort to clear himself the uninformed make baseless accusations. </blockquote>
I know it's been a while since this thread has been commented on, but fasten your seatbelts!
Direct quotes from Kirk Douglas's 1988 autobiography, [b][i]The Ragman's Son[/b][/i]
Crazier things have happened. While I was shooting "Young Man With A Horn" (1949), I spent a weekend in Palm Springs with actress Evelyn Keyes (keep in mind, Douglas was still married to his first wife, Diana Dill, at this time). We were sitting around the pool, reading the morning newspapers. Evelyn gasped and said, "Look at this!" There was a photograph of a statuesque starlet who had mysteriously disappeared. Her purse was found in Griffith Park. Inside was a note, "Dear Kirk . . . . mother knows about it . . . I can't wait . . . . Jean." I grabbed the paper. "Actor Kirk Douglas enters investigation of the disappearance of actress Jean Spangler."
We joked about it until we heard on TV that the girl's murdered body was found near the Mexican border.
I rushed back to Beverly Hills. There was a call from Thad Brown, chief of the Homicide Bureau. He was sending over a couple of his men to question me. There were photographers at the precinct waiting for me to be brought in. He wanted to spare me that until he had more information.
Needless to say, I became alarmed. I called my stand-in.
(Continued in next post)
The Crane mansion is closer to the description Cathy gives of Foxworth Hall in Petals On The Wind. The interiors were pretty close too.
Again, this is from the book, just a few excerpts.
Dunne was a gossip-monger. That is well-known.