 SPOILER: The original ending had Rhoda surviving, and her mother  dying. The Motion Picture Production Code in effect at the time,  however, required that "Crime shall never be presented in such a way  as to throw sympathy with the crime as against law and order." The  usual interpretation of this was that criminals werent allowed to  "get away with it." Because of this, the ending was changed: Rhodas  mother survived being shot in the head, and Rhoda herself was killed  by a bolt of lighting by a lake.