Did Scott commit suicide?
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — The Poseidon Adventure
ricky_may1 — 15 years ago(December 14, 2010 08:16 AM)
I know in the novel he did but in the film its not quite clear i think he did but with good intent. ill explain:
he leapt onto the wheel and turned off the steam while denouncing God and then asked "You want another life? then take me!" pretty much the same as novel. then he turned around and couldve easily swung back over i believe but instead he intentionally let go of the wheel and fell into the pit. he did committ suicide but he saved the others in the process. -
scruffy58 — 15 years ago(December 20, 2010 05:17 PM)
I see it more as he offered himself up as a sacrifice. He questioned his faith right from his very first scene, so, in a way, it was if he were saying "If you really exist, prove it by taking me and letting the others live."
"Thus, we began our longest journey together."
Adult Scout, 'To Kill A Mockingbird' -
ricky_may1 — 15 years ago(December 21, 2010 03:30 PM)
exactly! just likethe character in the novel cause he pretty much did the exact same thing except the guy was a lot younger in the novel (29 i think) Hackman's character seems to be in his mid 30's i think (not that far apart then) also i think they spliced Martin and Muller together cause in the novel Hubie Muller is the one who falls in love with Nonnie (Martin has a wife already) and he acts more like Muller in the movie (suave dapper sophisticated)
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Emory_Kris_Aaron — 15 years ago(January 23, 2011 02:28 AM)
Did he really commit suicide? I did not see that at all, but then I did not read the novel. As played by Gene Hackman the character seemed so vital and full of life. I saw it as he could not hang onto that wheel any longer, and let go. But it was worth it to him to save the others. They had been climbing and falling and swimming for hours with no food, and he just couldn't do it anymore. (I know, I take these things way too literal.) Just did not fit with Gene Hackman's wonderful life-affirming character that he'd kill himself after all that work to get them outta there
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PillowRock — 15 years ago(February 17, 2011 04:03 PM)
He committed suicide in the same sense that a soldier throwing himself on a grenade in the middle of a group can be said to have committed suicide.
Where my view of the scene differs from yours is in your perception that he "could've easily swung back". It has been a while since I last saw it, but my impression was always that he didn't have any realistic shot at the return; that he was effectively dead the moment that he committed to the leap to the valve wheel. (Especially given the state of exhaustion by that point in the movie.) -
peacedovey2003 — 15 years ago(February 25, 2011 11:59 PM)
Reverand Scott was a Catholic Priest with a very strong will. John 15:13 states "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends". Scott saw that in order to save the others, this had to be done and he could do it. There would be no turning back for the person who did it and that to save the remaining survivors it had to be done. He cared about the group of people he was leading.
This was the first movie I ever saw Gene Hackman in and I really liked his portayal of the Priest. I did not care to watch the remake. I like the original too well to see how badly the remake got twisted to please cynical Hollywood. -
Eric-62-2 — 9 years ago(June 29, 2016 07:54 PM)
Reverand Scott was a Catholic Priest with a very strong will. John 15:13 states "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends". Scott saw that in order to save the others, this had to be done and he could do it. There would be no turning back for the person who did it and that to save the remaining survivors it had to be done. He cared about the group of people he was leading.
I like your interpretation that tries to see something more positive and faith-affirming ultimately in Scott's sacrifice, but one correction is that Scott is clearly not Catholic, he's more likely an Episcopalian because he's called "Reverend" not "Father" as a Catholic priest was (and doesn't wear a clerical collar). -
glennh69 — 9 years ago(June 30, 2016 10:36 AM)
Scott is clearly not Catholic, he's more likely an Episcopalian because he's called "Reverend" not "Father" as a Catholic priest was (and doesn't wear a clerical collar).
Clergy in the Episcopal Church USA are called "Priests" (rather than "Ministers"), wear a collar, and (more often than not) are referred to as "Father" or "Mother", although their official title is
Reverend
____. Episcopal (Anglo-Catholic) congregations are similar to Roman Catholic in that some parishes practice a higher Church ("smells & bells") liturgy than others. However, in general, the Episcopal Church rarely adopted the "contemporary/ folk mass" in the 60s/70s, as the Roman church in the US did. Even today, it has retained many more of the traditional elements of the Eucharist than the Roman church has.
My take on Scott is that he was from a more low-church Protestant denomination: Methodist, Presbyterian, perhaps even Lutheran. I get the impression he was of the same denomination/colleague of the Arthur O'Connell character. O'Connell represented the previous generation of the church (staid, traditional, ritualistic), whereas Scott was the hip, "non-conformist" rebelhe even wore a turtleneck & long sideburns! -
masterjedi-2 — 14 years ago(December 27, 2011 01:40 PM)
Even though it looks like he could have made it back with some help, there are some things to note. The wheel valve was extremely hot from the steam. He probably couldn't hold on any longer, due to the burning of his hands and exhaustion. And his will was spent. I don't think he denounced God, but I do think that he was angry with their situation and the lack of "help" that God could have provided throughout their journey. He was convinced that if somebody else was going to die, it was going to be him.
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Mr_Blonde3 — 14 years ago(January 12, 2012 07:45 PM)
He sacrificed himself. Technically, it was suicide, but he didn't off himself out of depression. He offed himself as a "sacrifice" to grant the other safe passage to the propeller room.
I love to love my Lisa. -
westal_sage — 11 years ago(July 05, 2014 12:33 AM)
Right - he was doomed and wouldn't have been able to make it back over and didn't just let go. However, he knew that when he went to the wheel in the first place, so in that sense he did ultimately sacrifice himself for the others.
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richard.fuller1 — 9 years ago(June 25, 2016 06:10 PM)
My brother actually did feel this way; that Scott took the coward's way out, as he put it.
I saw it as Scott didn't want them to waste time trying to rescue him from the wheel, so he took himself out of the equation, so to speak. -
wallacesawyer — 9 years ago(October 13, 2016 11:54 AM)
I think he knew the wheel valve was hot, but it had to be turned in order to switch off the steam system. So he probably knew he could have died, but was doing it to help the others. His hands looked like they were peeling, so he was probably fighting through great pain until he finally let go. He landed in the water below, and I'm actually a little surprised he didn't survive, just with wounded hands.
http://www.freewebs.com/demonictoys/ -
ronaldt49 — 9 years ago(November 08, 2016 12:23 PM)
As it took them several hours to get to the ship's hull, you might think that the steam system might have bled off by then thus little pressure would be left in the system. Remember that the ship flipped at midnight and it was well after daylight (I'm guessing 9 a.m. at least) when they reached the hull. Also with the stress on the various systems throughout the ship, that was probably not the only leak in the system.
Did none of the others have a belt, bra, dress, shirt, pants, etc. that might have been usable to fashion a rope of sorts to reach out to the preacher to at least attempt a rescue?