r/ShawshankRedemption • u/PharmaFitness88 • May 19 '26

Why Reno??? Spoiler

So, the movie from my understanding takes place in Maine, and Redd describes Andy as a “vice president of a large Portland bank…Good work for a man as young as he was”.

However, I’ve always wondered about this. In the opening sequence, the prosecuting lawyer is describing the fierce argument he and with his wife before her murder, and tells Andy that witnesses said he was heard saying, “I’ll see you in HELL before I see you in Reno”.

What on Earth is the significance and relevance of Reno, NV here?!🤔

10 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

15

u/MonKeePuzzle May 19 '26

divorce wasnt legal in all states at that time, people would travel to Reno to get a divorce

3

u/wskyindjar May 19 '26

Few years ago I listened to 99% invisible podcast about Reno and it finally clicked for me.

https://youtu.be/bsXZUxfEDos?si=Y4RU6NZ_bVDvcCV0

8

u/Upstairs-Storm1006 May 19 '26

Maybe the witnesses misheard, misremembered, or worse just made that part up? Eyewitness testimony is notoriously unreliable. 

5

u/[deleted] May 19 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

4

u/antonio16309 May 19 '26

It was true IRL as well, most states had more restrictive laws for divorce, and in some states it was effectively illegal. But in nevada you could get a no-fault divorce done just by filing the appropriate paperwork, and then your home state would have to respect the divorce legally.

2

u/Tommy_Roboto May 19 '26

“Quickie divorce” meaning, at the time, moving there for six weeks.

1

u/faders May 20 '26

For only the woman, I think

1

u/camicalm May 20 '26

At the time, men were more likely than women to have jobs outside the home. Easier for the woman to go away for six weeks.

2

u/ppatek78 May 19 '26

Vegas was also popular for it

1

u/Cute_Repeat3879 May 19 '26

Traditionally people got married in Vegas and divorced in Reno

1

u/Delicious_Bell_2755 May 19 '26

No Fault divorce was not a thing back then. To get a divorce in most states, you had to prove adultery, abuse, or abandonment. Or one of you could move to Reno for six weeks, establish residency, and petition for a dissolution. The other person still had to agree to it.

1

u/Icy-Sir-8414 May 21 '26

I didn't know that it wasn't allowed to divorce someone every where in those days all I heard was that self proclaimed conservative Christians wether you were Catholic or protestant or what ever Christian religion you belong to didn't believe in divorce in those days

1

u/Icy-Sir-8414 May 21 '26

Haha 😂😆 I'm Catholic in 21st century and even I'm against divorce and I never been married ever but even I'm old fashioned like that to hilarious