# What are some earlier films with twist endings? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 16, 2006, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-earlier-films-with-twist-endings/380734 "2006-11-16T20:51:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-earlier-films-with-twist-endings/380734/21 "2006-11-17T02:20:20Z")
\*\*Rough Cut (1980) Dressed to Kill (1980) Blow Out Obsession Mirage\*\* ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-earlier-films-with-twist-endings/380734/22 "2006-11-17T02:21:53Z")
**Robocop** has a cute little twist at the end, but it’s minor. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-earlier-films-with-twist-endings/380734/23 "2006-11-17T02:39:58Z")
Forget it, Jake. It’s **Chinatown**. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-earlier-films-with-twist-endings/380734/24 "2006-11-17T03:29:33Z")
The Other (1970something) ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-earlier-films-with-twist-endings/380734/25 "2006-11-17T03:32:53Z")
The Bat (1926) partial inspiration for Batman. Policeman hunts for masked criminal. At the end, the bat is captured and unmasked to reveal … the policeman. ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-earlier-films-with-twist-endings/380734/26 "2006-11-17T03:58:26Z")
_West of Zanzibar_, 1928: The girl that the villian of the piece has been mistreating for many years turns out to be his daughter ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-earlier-films-with-twist-endings/380734/27 "2006-11-17T04:28:02Z")
[QUOTE=The New and Improved Superman] Hmmmnnn. The way I remember it, the film starts with an overhead shot looking down at the body (which is face down). You don’t see the face until the end of the film, after he’s been shot. I could be wrong though. Been a long time. [/QUOTE] Nope, there’s a very clear shot of his face from underwater at the beginning of the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Marlitharn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/779978/32.png) [@Marlitharn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marlitharn)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-earlier-films-with-twist-endings/380734/28 "2006-11-17T05:35:04Z")
_The House on Haunted Hill_ You find out fairly early on that Vincent Price’s wife and her lover the shrink guy are plotting to kill Vincent, but it’s not until the end that it’s revealed Vincent knew about it all along and managed to skillfully turn the tables on wife and shrink guy. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-earlier-films-with-twist-endings/380734/29 "2006-11-17T05:38:26Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] Soy? [/QUOTE] Lentils? ---
**Author:** ![SkiDemon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90db22/32.png) [@SkiDemon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkiDemon)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-earlier-films-with-twist-endings/380734/30 "2006-11-17T08:05:14Z")
> [@](#): > > The Other (1970something) Love that movie and book. I really think they should remake it… ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-earlier-films-with-twist-endings/380734/31 "2006-11-17T09:58:32Z")
High and Low by Akira Kurosawa (1963) had one of the more surprising suprise endings I’ve seen in the last several years. The rich guy was innocent, and lived happily ever after. The guy we thought was the bad guy, really was the bad guy, and went to jail. The police officers were all honest and diligent, tracking down the bad guy. It honestly did catch me flat footed. ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-earlier-films-with-twist-endings/380734/32 "2006-11-17T12:03:22Z")
Just for the sake of being an intellectual wanker, I’ll bring up the earliest movie yet: [Oedipus Rex (1909)](http://imdb.com/title/tt0189850/) The twist: OMG Oedipus killed his father and married his mother!!!1!!one (And yes, I know that not even the spectators of Sophocles’ show were surprised. But it’s not as if the twist in, say, Taking Lives, caught me completely off guard.) ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-earlier-films-with-twist-endings/380734/33 "2006-11-17T16:06:14Z")
[QUOTE=Rodgers01] This thread should come with a spoilers tag, because even if you don’t specify the what a particular twist ending _is_, the mere fact of knowing a movie has one can be a spoiler in itself. Anyways, the first golden oldie with a twist ending that I can think of is The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. [/QUOTE] That’s true, but then again how in the world can I know whether I can look at the spoiler or not without knowing the movie? ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-earlier-films-with-twist-endings/380734/34 "2006-11-17T16:10:59Z")
**The Murder Man** , a 1935 crime drama starring Spencer Tracy as a crusading newspaperman on the trail of a killer, is best remembered for the debut of a lanky, drawling be-hatted city desk reporter named James Stewart. But during the trial of a murder suspect, Tracy is brought before the court to reveal that… …he did it. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-earlier-films-with-twist-endings/380734/35 "2006-11-17T16:13:34Z")
For “_a_ murder suspect” above read “_the_ murder suspect”. Doesn’t blow the ending. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-earlier-films-with-twist-endings/380734/36 "2006-11-17T17:44:57Z")
The 39 steps. 1935 Hitchcock film. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-earlier-films-with-twist-endings/380734/37 "2006-11-17T17:55:36Z")
[QUOTE=kaylasdad99] Does _Vertigo_ qualify? [/QUOTE] I would say No, simply because the “reveal” re: Judy/Madeline is made pretty early; Hitch’s intentions are obviously not to pull a fast one on the audience, but to highlight Scotty’s emotional downward spiral. Another one I remember with some great twists is Fritz Lang’s **Beyond a Reasonable Doubt** ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-earlier-films-with-twist-endings/380734/38 "2006-11-17T18:41:41Z")
Damn! How could I forget? A lot of Jules Verne novels had twists, and practically everything by Frederick Forsyth does. Good twists, too. Unfortunately, most of the Verne books with twists have never been filmed. Maybe someday we’ll have versions of **captain Antifer** , **The Fur Country** , **Kereban the Inflexible** , and others. For now, there are two notable Verne flicks with twists: **Around the World in 80 Days** has a really cute twist, but mosdt people are probably familiar with it by now. (If not, go and read the book right away. Or see the Mike Todd movie). **Michael Strogoff** is the other. It’s been filmed at least twice, once as recently as the 1960s. For Forsyth: **The Day of the Jackal** – most of the suspense in this comes from “How is he going to do it?”, and the revelation isn’t really a twist. But there still _is_ a twist at the end. **The Odessa File** , on the other hand, has a significant twist at the end. so does **The Dogs of War** , although it’s not as surprising. I believe **The Fourth Protocol** does, too, but it’s been too long. One of his best was **A Careful Man** , which was done for TV, and which has appeared once on VHS. See it, if you can. If you can’t, read the story (In the collectuion “No Comebacks”) And I can’t believe no one’s mentioned **The Sting** yet. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-earlier-films-with-twist-endings/380734/39 "2006-11-17T18:43:40Z")
Another Hitchcock film: [_Suspicion._](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspicion_%28film%29) Then there’s [_The Bad Seed,_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bad_Seed_%28film%29) which has not so much a twist ending as a wussout ending. In the [novel](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bad_Seed) – and the Broadway play, I’m fairly certain – at the end, Rhoda’s mother, Christine Penmark – the only one who knows Rhoda is a murderous psychopath – dies, leaving Rhoda free to work her mischief on the world. Deliciously chilling! In the movie, Christine surives her suicide attempt while Rhoda is struck down by a _deus ex machina_ – while her mother lies in the hospital, the psycho hellbitch is fishing at the end of a pier, at night during a thunderstorm, for another kid’s swimming medal she thinks should have been hers (so she killed him), and a bolt of lightning hits a tree, knocking down a bough which kills her. Meh. No doubt a cowardly concession to the moral sensibilities of the period which produced Dr. Wertham and the Comics Code Authority. "Good shall be portrayed as triumphing over evil in every instance . . . _The Bad Seed,_ BTW, is about to be [remade.](http://www.movieweb.com/news/80/4880.php) Wonder how they’re gonna end it this time? ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-earlier-films-with-twist-endings/380734/40 "2006-11-17T20:37:31Z")
[QUOTE=spoke-] Forget it, Jake. It’s **Chinatown**. [/QUOTE] That’s more ironic than twisted. _Citizen Kane_ has kind of a twist. After spending all of his life acquring power, influence, and rare artifacts, it turns out that his most prized possession, the one he calls for with his dying breath, was his sled and the associations with the childhood innocence he could never reclaim. _Raiders of the Lost Ark_ may have one of the greatest twist endings of all time: After all of the globe-trotting adventures and death-defying feats Indiana Jones goes through to get the Ark for the U.S. Army, they generically box it up and put it in an enormous warehouse full of nearly identical crates. If Indy had just stayed home and graded term papers, we would have had essentially the same result; the Ark, even if Belloq and the Germans had found it without following Indiana, would have killed whomever opened it and the Nazis wouldn’t have an ultimate weapon anyway. “We have top men working on it…top men.” Indeed. Stranger [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-earlier-films-with-twist-endings/380734.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-some-earlier-films-with-twist-endings/380734.md?page=3)