Summary
Back in the present day, we see Mildred in Inspector Peterson's office, telling him that that was the first night she knew she was in love with Monte Beragon, saying, "But now he's dead, and I'm not sorry. He wasn't worth it." Peterson says that she still hasn't given a good reason why Bert isn't the murderer. Peterson looks at the facts, that Bert doesn't have an alibi, that Mildred just supplied him with a motive—jealousy—and that Monte was killed with Bert's gun.
Suddenly, a man walks in with a report for Peterson. In the report, Ida has said that Mildred called her at 11:45 that evening, asking where Beragon was, and seeming upset. "That was just a business call," Mildred says, insisting that she was not upset at the time. Peterson comes and sits next to Mildred, questioning her more aggressively, suggesting that Mildred knew that Beragon's body was at the beach house when she brought Wally there that evening, and questioning her about why she did not confess to having been at the beach house until now. "And if you did know, why were you trying to pin the murder onto Fay?" Peterson asks.
"I did it. I killed him," Mildred says, before continuing her story. She tells Peterson that profits were even greater than she knew after opening the first restaurant, and soon she had opened a chain. "In three years, I'd built up five restaurants. Everywhere you went, I had a restaurant," she says. She tells Peterson that she made a lot of money, all of which she used to support Veda's expensive habits. We see Veda running to congratulate Beragon after a polo match.
The flashback shifts and we see a large ballroom, where Veda is dancing with a man named Ted Forrester, as Mildred and Beragon watch them from a nearby booth. Mildred tells Beragon that Veda likes Ted, to which Beragon replies, "Who wouldn't? He has a million dollars." Beragon is in a bad mood, and reveals that he's run into some financial troubles and won't be able to afford big nights out anymore. "Do you need money?" Mildred asks, handing Beragon some money, who insists that it's just a loan.
Beragon continues to take money from Mildred, until Wally confronts her about how much money she's giving away. When she insists to Wally that Beragon is why they have the restaurant to begin with, he tells her that they don't owe him any money and that "keeping Monte Beragon in monogrammed shirts is not my idea of business." Wally then scolds Mildred for being so generous, and tells her that the only reason he stuck around was in hopes that Mildred would eventually fall in love with him. "This Beragon is no good. He'll bleed you dry," he says, and Mildred tells Wally that she's in love with Beragon. Miffed, Wally leaves just as Ida is entering, and tells her, "I hate all women, thank goodness you aren't one."
Mildred tells Ida that Wally is jealous because she just told him that she's in love with Monte Beragon, but when Ida asks if that's true, Mildred says that it used to be, but isn't anymore. "Good," says Ida, before telling Mildred that the $1,800 car that Mildred is giving Veda for her birthday has arrived. Mildred rushes to the window to see it, then signs the bill of sale for it. As she does, Ida tells her that Veda has been borrowing money from "anybody who'll give it to her, waitresses mostly." Mildred looks distressed, and tells Ida she'll make sure Veda pays the waitresses back.
Just then, Veda enters with Beragon, greeting them sunnily. When Ida pulls a bill out from under Veda, Veda calls her provincial, and Ida leaves, making sarcastic remarks. Veda smokes a cigarette from a cigarette case that Beragon gave her, and Mildred tells Veda that she has a car outside. Delighted, Veda thanks her mother for the car, but Beragon takes credit for helping to pick it out. "Let's go for a drive!" Veda says to Beragon, but as they leave, Mildred asks to speak with him. Veda leaves to go for a drive by herself.
Alone with Beragon, Mildred tells him that she wants him to spend less time with Veda, as she is only 17 years old and "spoiled rotten." When he resists, she tells him that he is partially to blame for the fact that Veda is pulling away from her and being disrespectful. He tells Mildred that Veda is different from her and will never become a waitress like her mother. "You look down on me because I work for a living, don't you?" Mildred asks. Beragon agrees that he doesn't like kitchens or grease, and Mildred gets angry with him for being so hypocritical and selfish.
"I always knew that someday we'd come to this particular moment in the scheme of things," he says to her, menacingly. He then tells her they are through, and goes to leave, but before he goes, Mildred writes him a check for everything she owes him. "Thank you. I've always wondered how it felt to take a tip," he says, leaving.
That night, Wally has a drink with Veda and Ted, the man to whom she is betrothed. Wally makes a toast and they all drink champagne "to true love."
The scene shifts and we see a man telling Mildred about her finances, when Ida enters and tells Mildred that Mrs. Forrester, Ted's mother, is waiting to speak with her on the patio. Mildred goes out quickly to meet with Mrs. Forrester, who introduces herself and tells her that she hopes they will work out their "little problem splendidly." When Mildred doesn't understand, Mrs. Forrester tells her that Veda and Ted are engaged, but that it isn't appropriate, given their class differences. Mildred is surprised to hear that Veda is engaged, and wonders why Veda would want to marry Ted if he doesn't want to marry her. "If you or this girl or anybody employs any more tricks trying to blackmail my son..." says Mrs. Forrester, which causes Mildred to stand, offended by the suggestion, and insisting that Mrs. Forrester need not worry about the marriage, adding, "Having you in my family is a pretty dismal prospect."
Upon returning home, Mildred finds Veda sitting with Wally and tells Veda that Mrs. Forrester visited her at work. When Mildred asks her if Wally already knows about her engagement, Veda tells her that she and Ted are already married, that they eloped on her birthday. Mildred asks her why she didn't tell her and Veda admits that she was afraid of her judgment, before telling her that she doesn't actually love Ted. Wally recommends they settle the mistake out of court.
We see Wally, Mildred, and Veda in an office with Ted and his mother. Ted seems not to want to separate, but his mother tells him to be quiet, as Wally tries to strike a settlement for $10,000 with the Forresters. Mildred speaks up, saying that they don't actually need a settlement, but Veda insists that she needs the money, clearly having talked through the plan with Wally. She then reveals that she's pregnant, startling everyone. "This is moral blackmail, sir," says the lawyer, and Wally insists that they must pay Veda $10,000.
Back at the house, Veda looks glowingly at her settlement check, as Mildred tries to talk about the heartbreak of the separation with Ted. Veda has no interest, however, seemingly unconcerned with Ted's emotional state. "I wish you wouldn't joke about it," says Mildred, as Veda tells her that the pregnancy was a lie all along. Mildred is shocked and confronts her daughter about her blind greed, the fact that she would do anything for money. Veda tells her mother that she's going to use the money to get away from her, and insults everything about her mother, calling her house ugly and calling Mildred a "common frump."
As Veda goes up the stairs, Mildred follows her and rips the check out of her hands, tearing it up. Suddenly, Veda slaps Mildred in the face, and Mildred tells her to get out of the house. "Get out before I kill you," she says, angrily, as Veda stares at her.
The scene shifts and we see a train as Mildred narrates that she traveled for a while after that. "Something kept pulling me back. Finally, I gave in, I went home," she says. We see Mildred's restaurant, as Mildred pulls up and greets Lottie, telling her she was in Mexico. Inside Mildred greets Ida, who tells her business is good. Mildred orders a drink, and tells Ida that she's picked up the habit of drinking from the men in her life. Ida complains that men always treat her like a big sister, and the two women sit down to share a drink. Mildred asks Ida if she's seen Veda recently, and Ida recommends she forget about her. "You don't know what it's like being a mother, Ida. Veda's a part of me," says Mildred. She says that she wants to reconnect with Veda, when suddenly the telephone rings.
It's Bert, who Ida tells Mildred has been calling "every day on the hour for a month." When Mildred answers the phone, Bert asks her to dinner and tells her that Maggie Biederhof recently got married. They make a date, and Mildred hangs up and tells Ida that Bert is working at Condor Aircraft.
Analysis
Rather shockingly, the tables turn in Inspector Peterson's office when Mildred reveals that she is the one who killed Monte Beragon. The story told in flashback goes from one that seeks to preserve Bert's good name to one that seeks to tell Mildred's story, and show how she came to kill Beragon. Mildred remains calm even in her moment of confession, and as a way of justifying herself to the hard-nosed Peterson, she launches immediately back into the story, telling him about her success as a restauranteur.
While it had seemed that Monte Beragon was the wealthy society man who would help Mildred out of her economic slump, things change when Mildred achieves great success as a restaurant owner. Beragon initially put down the money to help Mildred open the restaurant and find success, but her hard work pays off and she is soon outpacing him financially, and funneling money towards his more elite habits. The viewer sees Mildred go through a huge financial transformation, from desperate single woman forced to learn waitressing from the bottom up, to wealthy entrepreneur loaning money to her fancy boyfriend. Mildred loves nothing more than to sacrifice and to give to others, a trait that both redeems her and also gets her into trouble throughout the film.
Veda proves to be even more spoiled then originally believed, when Ida reveals that she is borrowing money from waitresses, in spite of being regularly lavished with gifts by her mother. While Mildred had thought that she could buy Veda's favor, she finds that the more she provides, the greedier Veda becomes, and the less credit Mildred receives. Veda's greed is bolstered by Beragon, who has no concept of the value of things, and takes and gives recklessly. Meanwhile, Mildred must put in the work and pick up the pieces from their recklessness.
Mildred remains a tragic figure not only because she is being taken advantage of by her teenaged daughter, but also because Veda's callousness and coldness only make Mildred long for her affection more. Rather than internalize that Veda is a disrespectful child, and try to provide for herself rather than others for once, Mildred perceives Veda's association with Beragon as the root cause of her spoiled nature. It is true that Beragon is not a good influence on Veda, but Veda's spoiled attitude stems from her mother's showering her with gifts. While Mildred could easily cut Veda off or try and teach Veda how to take care of herself, she longs to buy Veda's affection with material possessions, which only alienates her from her daughter more.
For the first time in the film, Mildred sees just how horrible Veda really is, and doesn't take the blame for her behavior. In the scene after Veda cons the Forresters into handing over a settlement check, Veda is chillingly unfeeling about having conned the boy she allegedly loved, and Mildred is shocked to see her daughter behaving so callously. Veda then launches into a disparaging monologue, calling her mother a frump, insulting all the work she has done for her, and slapping her mother in the face. In this moment, the viewer sees how rotten Veda is, how opportunistic and manipulative she can be, and Mildred sees it too, sending Veda out into the streets.
