Observations on second to last scene (Junior+Ennis in trailer)

[Penthesilea]

I noticed something in Ennis's trailer a while ago and while looking it up at the screencaps at stripedwall today, I made two new observations (at least new to me).

All three observations take all place in the second to last scene, when Alma jr visits her daddy at his trailer.

Purple plaid in Ennis's trailer:

We all know the famous purple chairs at the Twist home in Childress:



I think there's a visual bookend to Ennis's trailer: Ennis has a purple plaid covering his bed:



The purple is almost the same color as the chairs, only a bit darker. It strikes me strange for Ennis to have purple plaid, and therefore it cought my attention. I think the color is chosen by purpose (therefore it's a bookend).
Within the story the best explanation for it is that it's probably a hand-me-down from whoever, just like the rest of the trailer's interior.

Junior's handbag:

Junior arrives, leaves the car, greets her daddy and they walk together towards the trailer. Junior has no handbag; I checked the scene at the DVD. But later, when she sits on the bed, there's a thing lying between her and the huge fan of which I'm pretty sure it's a handbag:





What do you think? Is it a handbag? If not, what else could it be?
Its position in both pics is slightly different, too.


Ennis's hat:

In this pic, Ennis's hat hangs behind him, at the wall between the "bathroom" and the rest of the trailer.It's above the blue rack in the background:



But when he comes back into the trailer after Junior has left, Ennis hangs it at the left outside wall:



I don't know why and whether this is important at all, but I noticed.

[jpwagoneer1964]

Think Ennis had more than one hat. He like jack wore several throughout the film.

[Katie77]

Looks like the same hat to me....................

And yep....that sure looks like a handbag......

Not sure about the "bookends".........

wow, you are certainly very observant...

[Front-Ranger]

Chrissi, I'll check the propmaster's book about the handbag.

[Ellemeno]

Very nice work, Frau Detectiv! 

What do you think? Is it a handbag? If not, what else could it be?

It looks like tooled leather and I would say it's more masculine than feminine.  It's obviously the finest thing in the trailer.  Let's see, it's obviously for storing something very, very important.  Something flat.  Meaningful mementos.  Ennis's most treasured possessions.... 







Thanks to Toast for these great screencaps, posted in this thread:
http://72.232.132.224/forum/index.php/topic,7284.msg137501.html#msg137501

[Ellemeno]

'Course it could also be what Heath kept his script in.

[Shakesthecoffecan]

Good work, the hats I think, Ennis could have been hung when he came in with Alma, Jr. and then when he went out as she drove away, he had it on, maybe hung it in a different place? The handbag is a new one.

This reminds me of a scifi series I saw recently about "objects" from an non existant motel room where and event occured that gave them all different powers.....

[nakymaton]

Hmmmm. I disagree that the tooled leather object looks masculine. The style looks like some deliberately Western handbags that I've seen. I know places in my town that sell purses that look like that... though my town caters to tourists, and this was 20 years ago.

I think it's actually consistent with Junior's style... the flounced shirt she's wearing, for instance. I remember those shirts from the early 80's, though I was never much of one for ornate purses, so I don't know if they were part of the style or not.

[Penthesilea]

Thank you all for your input.

Think Ennis had more than one hat. He like jack wore several throughout the film.

Yep. Could be another hat. Yet the hook at the left outside wall is empty while he talks to Junior.

Chrissi, I'll check the propmaster's book about the handbag.

Yes, please to that. I'm curious.

Very nice work, Frau Detectiv! 

Thank you.

It looks like tooled leather and I would say it's more masculine than feminine.  It's obviously the finest thing in the trailer.  Let's see, it's obviously for storing something very, very important.  Something flat.  Meaningful mementos.  Ennis's most treasured possessions.... 

Would have been nice. Although I don't believe it, it's a very nice thought.

Hmmmm. I disagree that the tooled leather object looks masculine. The style looks like some deliberately Western handbags that I've seen. I know places in my town that sell purses that look like that... though my town caters to tourists, and this was 20 years ago.

I think it's actually consistent with Junior's style... the flounced shirt she's wearing, for instance. I remember those shirts from the early 80's, though I was never much of one for ornate purses, so I don't know if they were part of the style or not.

I'm with you here, Mel. I still think it's a handbag and I think it's a goof/mistake in the movie, that she didn't carry it with her when leaving the car.
I remember those flounced blouses from the 80s, too. I liked them very much and even had one of them. Back then, I would have loved Junior's blouse, but today: *uuuurrrgh* 

[Meryl]

I'm with you here, Mel. I still think it's a handbag and I think it's a goof/mistake in the movie, that she didn't carry it with her when leaving the car.
I remember those flounced blouses from the 80s, too. I liked them very much and even had one of them. Back then, I would have loved Junior's blouse, but today: *uuuurrrgh*

I hadn't noticed the handbag, either, Chrissi.  I agree that it's probably a continuity error.

As for the hat, he could have hung it by the kitchen when he came in because he was heading there to heat up some coffee, then retrieved it before Jr. left.  When he returns to the trailer, the film cuts away after he enters.  The next shot begins with him coming past the kitchen, hat still on, toward the nail by the door.  Did he use the bathroom?

The bedspread doesn't look either plaid or purple to me, though.  It seems to be a solid burgundy color.  Even so, it could still be a bookend, since burgundy has purplish overtones and is worn by Jack several times.  Casey Cornelius noted that purple is a blend of red and blue, and thus recalls the red blood on Jack's blue shirt.  It's mostly associated with Jack: he wears a purplish bandanna on the way down the mountain, wears burgundy at the reunion, wears a purple shirt in the scene with Lureen and her adding machine, and of course has those purple dining room chairs. 

There's another little continuity error I've noticed in the trailer scene.  As Ennis pours the wine, the cabinet above the sink is open.  A second later he is walking toward Jr. with the glasses, and the cabinet is closed.

[Toast]

Your questions about the final trailer scenes:

• Does Ennis have two visible hats in his trailer?
• What is that [hand]bag on the bed?
• Is there a continuity error about the cupboard doors?
• Does Ennis have a purple plaid bed covering like the chairs in Childress?

Here we see into Ennis' foyer.  Atop the blue "utility" shelf we see two items that are later visible inside the trailer.  The grey one on the left would be directly under the hanging hat.
At least one third of the hat would be visible above the shelf in this shot, if it were already hanging there. 
So there is no hat there before Ennis enters the trailer.



Ennis is in the trailer, coffee heated and the hat is hanging above the blue shelf. 
The cupboard doors are closed.  Note the bag to the left of Junior.  [see below]



Ennis has gone to the fridge and is pouring wine into glasses.
We didn't see him open the cupboard door, but obviously that's where he keeps his glasses.
(There is a transition shot showing Junior with sound effects that could represent opening the cupboard, etc.)



We didn't see him close the cupboard door, but his left hand could do it easilly.
(There is a transition shot showing Junior with sound effects that could represent closing the cupboard, etc.)   Note the bag still to the left of Junior.  [see below]



Here we see Ennis re-entering the trailer after Junior has left.  He has worn his hat outside to see her off.



Here Ennis has walked down the trailer and is putting the same hat on the hook which is beside the other door to his trailer.


My answers about the final trailer scenes:

• Does Ennis have two visible hats in his trailer?  NO
• What is that [hand]bag on the bed?  - The bag on the bed did not come in with Junior and appears to be a heavilly tooled leather bag similar to a purse/handbag.  I think it is a "range bag" used by a cowboy/shooter to carry things, often shooting supples like cartridges, gun tools, cleaning supplies, etc. It could also be a saddlebag of some sort, not showing it's fastening straps.  Cowboys were macho enough to have a 'manbag' along with all the other saddle bags.  The position of the bag does change as we observe it either from the front or rear of Junior. (Not shown in these images)
• Is there a continuity error about the cupboard doors? I think NOT
• Does Ennis have a purple plaid bed covering like the chairs in Childress? NO, not plaid, but if we give Jack credit for the burgundy/purple color, does that mean that Jack picked these god-awful lurid chairs in Childress.  Jack as interior decorator - mmm.  Did he paint that bedroom pink?

ps.  These screen captures are from the full screen version, and are considerably brightened to show details.

Front-Ranger, what is this about the "propmaster's book"?   How do I find this book/information?

[Meryl]

Thanks for the clarification, Toast.  Those are really nice caps. 
I'm still willing to leave some open space between what we see and what we try to believe, though.    Let's say I'll grant you the man-bag, but I think you're being generous about the cabinet door. 
I do agree about Jack's lack of qualifications for a career in interior decorating. 

[jpwagoneer1964]

I do agree about Jack's lack of qualifications for a career in interior decorating. 

I think Lureen did the decorating.

[Toast]

By the way, I should have agreed that the bed covering (blanket or whatever) is from the range of colours that we see Jack wearing in the later years.

In fact when Jack returns in 1967 (at his most kissable moment), he is wearing a fetching shirt in a shade quite close to that of the blanket. 

I like that colour being linked to Ennis' bed where he does dream of Jack. 

[Penthesilea]

Thanks Toast for your input and for the brightened pics.

About the color of the plaid: you're right, it's not purple, though I still find it pretty similar to the chairs. My dictionary offers three possible translations for the color I have in mind: burgundy, ruby-colored or cleret  . So everybody can pick wich s/he'd prefer  .

I like that colour being linked to Ennis' bed where he does dream of Jack. 

Yep, that's what I meant in my op, the color is a link between them.

About the (hand)bag: you are the second person (Clarissa was the other) who thinks it's not a female handbag, but a masculine bag.  Maybe Lee finds out something, otherwise we'll never know (guess we just gotta stand it then  ).

[Toast]

Here is Jack, at the final lake scene, picking up things to load into his pickup.
There seems to be a pair of "range bags" or saddle bags that Jack puts in his pickup.
The bags seem less ornate and are more rounded than the one in the trailer.  This pair of bags are with a case that looks like it contains a fishing rod.  And Jack did put all three in his pickup.



Makes me wonder if Jack gifted Ennis with an expensive "range bag" at some point, and having it on the bed would be very meaningful.  There is a scene in the shooting script where Jack tried to give Ennis an expensive rifle with a gold plate on it; but Ennis rejected it because he knew he couldn't justify it to Alma.
Jack might have later been generous to Ennis, when there was no Missus to explain things to.  Maybe the gun showed up again with an accompanying "range bag".

OOPs I am talking about them as though they are real people. 

[jpwagoneer1964]

I tend to go with Alma Jr's purse.

[Penthesilea]

OOPs I am talking about them as though they are real people. 

You mean they are not  ? No such cruel jokes please .

The bags seem less ornate and are more rounded than the one in the trailer. 

I counter your saddlebags/range bags with a similar handbag  :



I stick with my handbag theory (doesn't make me right, though. Maybe only stubborn  ).

[nakymaton]

The bag beside Junior looks really shiny and stiff, like new leather. I guess any leather accessory starts out that way, but take leather outside into the weather (like you would with a range bag or a saddle bag), and it changes. It gets stained by water, it gets broken in and softened up. Even if it's polished a lot, it doesn't stay looking like that for long.

Of course, those of us who spill things in our purses ( ) know that handbags can look stained and weathered after a while, too. And maybe Ennis would own something that he would keep indoors and for decoration and everything... but that doesn't fit with the character as I understand him.

[Ellemeno]

The bag beside Junior looks really shiny and stiff, like new leather. I guess any leather accessory starts out that way, but take leather outside into the weather (like you would with a range bag or a saddle bag), and it changes. It gets stained by water, it gets broken in and softened up. Even if it's polished a lot, it doesn't stay looking like that for long.

Exactly.  Even a well-used purse can lose the sharp definition that this item has.  Ergo, ipso facto, and to wit - it's Ennis's super-extra-special folder that never goes outside and that he keeps his most specialest small, flat possessions in - the postcards.

Maybe he took it out so that it could sort of be present at The Numbering of the Mailbox.  "Jack, I swear, I wish you could send me another postcard to box #17."

(Since there IS some space between what we know and what we believe, I'm going with this enjoyable imagining, at least for a while.)

Nice sleuthing, Toast and everyone.

[nakymaton]

Exactly.  Even a well-used purse can lose the sharp definition that this item has.  Ergo, ipso facto, and to wit - it's Ennis's super-extra-special folder that never goes outside and that he keeps his most specialest small, flat possessions in - the postcards.

Sorry. Too sappy for this story.  Remember, this is the story with the sink-pissing and "stink" to describe the smell of a lover. Yeah, I know those are in the story rather than the movie, but still.

[Ellemeno]

Sorry. Too sappy for this story.  Remember, this is the story with the sink-pissing and "stink" to describe the smell of a lover. Yeah, I know those are in the story rather than the movie, but still.

I know, I know.  I thought that all the hyper-Latin et al would show I wasn't serious.   

[nakymaton]

Clarissa: 

[Phillip Dampier]

From what I recall, the filmmakers hired not only a dialogue coach to deal with the accents of Wyoming vs. Texas, but also the fashions that would be time and place authentic... with extra attention paid to the hats worn.  Texans do not wear the same hats as those from Wyoming, and there was considerable attention paid to those things.

A lot of the rest of the fashions were likely more period authentic than anything.  What frightens me is that I lived through the horrid 1970s fashions once (with the print shirts, the garish colors, the scary ensembles), and for a lot of younger folks, what they might see Jack, Ennis, Alma, and more importantly Lureen wearing is probably not too far off to what is popular to wear these days.  Eeek.