What was the meaning of what Bailey told Noodles at the end of Once Upon a Time in America?

What was the meaning of what Bailey told Noodles at the end of Once Upon a Time in America? - Text

In the final conversation between Noodles and Max, Max says to him: "You failed to realize that the cops were in it too", and that it was a syndicate operation. What does that mean? That It wasn't a real betrayal and that Max has staged this anyway with the police?



Best Answer

NOODLES - "Many years ago I tried to save a friend of mine by turning him in. He was a very close friend. Things worked out bad for him and for me."

Noodles betrayed his friend to try and save him, however the cops were on the payroll of Max, and helped in his faked death. So the last years in hiding were all for nothing, Noodles was just a pawn in Max's plan, not someone doing a heroic sacrifice (of his life by hiding as a nobody for 35 years) as a result of trying to help his friend.




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Why was Noodles smiling at the end of Once Upon a Time in America?

His facial expression as he viewed the body indicates some sort of realization, but it is unclear what. If so, he could have been smiling because he saw the beauty of Max's plan to escape and start a new life, therefore, Noodles' realization is that he had succeeded in his goal of saving Max's life.

What did the ending mean in Once Upon a Time in America?

He learns that Max faked his own death with the help of the cops and spent the last 30 years rising in the Teamsters Union under the identity of Christopher Bailey, going so high he became the U.S. Secretary of Commerce.

What does Noodles smoke at the end of Once Upon a Time in America?

When you consider that the film is set in 1933 and that Noodles is hiding in an opium den from syndicate hitmen at the end, and that the final shot of the film is of Noodles in an opium-soaked high, it is possible to interpret the film as having been a drug-induced dream in which Noodles remembers the past and imagines ...

Why did Noodles go to jail in Once Upon a Time in America?

Character Analysis As kids, \u201cNoodles\u201d and his friends made money by working for a small-time hustler named Bugsy. However, when the teenagers start their own operation, Noodles and Bugsy are forced into a deadly confrontation. Not even twenty at the time, Noodles is promptly sent to prison for Bugsy's murder.



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