Sleepy Hollow (1999) - 5 questions

Question: Why did Van Garret want to keep his marriage to Widow Winship a secret?

Answer: It may have been because she was a widow. I'm not sure, but it was possibly frowned upon at the time.

Question: Who was the father of Widow Winship's child?

Answer: Peter Van Garrett was the father, he was the first person killed by the Horseman.

Question: In the movie's opening credits, Christopher Lee's name is one of the first mentioned, even though he is only in the movie for a minute. In fact, Ian McDiarmid has a bigger role, but his name is mentioned after Lee's. Why are credits arranged this way?

Answer: It has to do with how well-known the actor is, rather than the size of the role they play. Christopher Lee is a bigger star than Ian McDiarmid, and therefore he is listed higher on the marquee. It is not unusual for an actor to have it negotiated into their contract where their name will appear in the credits.

Question: I am very confused about the incentives for killing these people was, why these people in particular were killed, and in general what was going on.

Answer: The incentive is the ownership of the lands and property held initially by Peter van Garrett, the older man killed at the start of the film. Van Garrett and his son are killed first, then the widow Winship when it becomes apparent that van Garrett married her, making her a possible inheritor. Once Ichabod arrives in town to investigate, it becomes necessary to remove witnesses to these events, so that they can't give him clues to what's really going on. Jonathan Masbath is killed because he witnessed the marriage and the change of will - he would be able to testify to both. The midwife and her husband were also aware of the situation - due to the widow Winship's pregnancy - so they were eliminated as well (their son was merely in the wrong place at the wrong time). Magistrate Philipse was consulted by the widow regarding the legal status of her unborn child, plus he was actively trying to help Ichabod, so his elimination became necessary. Once the van Garretts were out of the way (plus any inconvenient witnesses), the land now belongs to the van Tassel family. Balthus van Tassel is killed first - Katrina is his first-named heir, with his wife as the second. With Katrina's removal, the wife, Mary, inherits. As she explains in the film, her reason for this is that her family originally lived on the land, only to be evicted. Acting as the van Tassel family nurse, she arranged the death of van Tassel's first wife, Katrina's mother, then seduced Balthus into marrying her, thus placing her in the line of succession - she then proceeds to use the Horseman to eliminate everyone above her in that line.

Question: What happened to Notary Hardenbrook? He just vanishes after the scene in the notary building where Ichabod finds the will, and there is no more mention of him in the film.

Answer: He hanged himself. It's mentioned in the kitchen scene where Baltus notices his wife's cut hand.