The End of the Day (1939) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

St. Clair, desperate to reclaim his fading power and vanity, manipulates the young barmaid into a dangerous act to prove she will do anything for him. This reflects his lifelong pattern of using women as validation of his charisma, even as he faces financial ruin and irrelevance. His ego cannot accept that he has lost his former influence.

Foreshadowing: Earlier, St. Clair abandons the barmaid to chase money in Monte Carlo, showing his pattern of using people for self-gratification.

• st clair
• barmaid
• manipulation
• vanity
• control

Cabrissade's death stems from a lifetime of unfulfilled ambitions and self-deception. He spent years as an understudy never given the spotlight, and his humiliating failure, dressing as Marny and then freezing when facing the audience, breaks him. The realization that he will never achieve the greatness he chased lands him in despair, leading to his quiet death.

Foreshadowing: Cabrissade's playful defiance and big dreams throughout the film set up his devastating collapse when reality catches up.

• cabrissade
• death
• stage fright
• ambition
• understudy

The couple marries so they can remain together when the home closes and residents are dispersed to different facilities. Since married residents cannot be separated under the rules, their marriage is a practical act of defiance against the threat of being torn apart after decades of companionship.

Foreshadowing: The director's announcement of closure creates urgency for residents to find ways to stay united.

• marriage
• closure
• separation
• couple
• home

Marny intervenes because he recognizes the cruelty and manipulation in St. Clair's scheme. Despite their rivalry and Marny's own struggles with jealousy, Marny still possesses moral compass and cannot allow an innocent person to come to harm. This act defines his character as the film progresses toward its tragic conclusion.

Foreshadowing: Marny has watched St. Clair's vanity and treatment of others with quiet disapproval throughout the film.

• marny
• barmaid
• intervention
• rescue
• moral

St. Clair descends into madness after his manipulation of the barmaid fails. The failed attempt to assert control, combined with years of vanity and shattered illusions, triggers a breakdown. He spontaneously performs Don Juan, blurring reality and theater until he can no longer function, leading to his confinement.

Foreshadowing: St. Clair's obsession with his past glory and his pattern of living through romantic personas sets up his final break from reality.

• st clair
• asylum
• madness
• don juan
• breakdown

Cabrissade wrote his own eulogy before dying, praising loyalty to theater and art. When Marny reads it aloud, it becomes a tribute to unfulfilled dreams and genuine devotion. The eulogy honors a man who chased genius but found meaning in the pursuit itself, elevating Cabrissade's tragic life into something noble.

Foreshadowing: Cabrissade's lifelong love of theater and practical jokes mask his deep yearning for recognition.

• cabrissade
• eulogy
• theater
• tribute
• devotion

The home's finances are precarious throughout the film, hovering on the edge of collapse. When management can no longer make ends meet, they announce closure and plans to disperse residents to other facilities. The threat forces the actors to prove their worth to potential benefactors through staging a play.

Foreshadowing: Early scenes show the home's fragile finances, with residents sensing the danger looming over every conversation.

• home closure
• finance
• dispersal
• benefactors

St. Clair receives a windfall and immediately abandons the home and the barmaid to squander it in Monte Carlo. This impulsive retreat reflects his vanity, his inability to commit to genuine connections, and his lifelong pattern of chasing glamour over responsibility. He returns broke, resuming his old manipulations.

Foreshadowing: St. Clair's arrival at the home was already motivated by financial ruin, showing his history of poor decisions.

• monte carlo
• money
• vanity
• abandonment

Marny scoffs at Cabrissade's request because of pride and perhaps jealousy, Cabrissade, an understudy, is demanding the part that Marny, a more respected actor, believes he deserves. Their rivalry escalates when Cabrissade dresses as Marny to audition, crossing a line that deepens the conflict.

Foreshadowing: The timeline establishes both men's competing ambitions and unresolved grievances from their acting careers.

• marny
• cabrissade
• lead role
• rivalry
• play

Cabrissade dresses in Marny's costume to impersonate him and audition for the lead role, desperate to finally have his moment in the spotlight. This desperate act shows how far he will go to achieve recognition, but it backfires spectacularly when he freezes on stage, unable to perform.

Foreshadowing: Cabrissade's lifelong yearning for the lead role and his jealousy of Marny's status motivate this impersonation.

• cabrissade
• marny
• costume
• impersonation
• audition

St. Clair performs Don Juan as his mental state unravels because he has always lived as a romantic leading man, embodying the legendary seducer. As his identity disintegrates, he literally becomes the character he played throughout his career, blurring theater and reality until he cannot distinguish between them.

Foreshadowing: St. Clair is introduced as an aging romantic leading man, and his entire identity revolves around these classic roles.

• don juan
• st clair
• performance
• madness
• identity

Marny and St. Clair share a complex rivalry rooted in their shared profession and ego. Marny resents St. Clair's fame and charm while feeling overshadowed, yet he also recognizes St. Clair's cruelty and vanity. Despite this tension, Marny ultimately shows moral superiority by intervening to save the barmaid and honoring Cabrissade.

Foreshadowing: Their interactions throughout the film show Marny watching St. Clair with quiet resentment and disapproval.

• marny
• st clair
• rivalry
• jealousy
• conflict