Scene-by-scene breakdown of "The Ladykillers" (1955)

This film was written (story and screenplay) by William Rose and directed by Alexander Mackendrick (who also directed The Sweet Smell of Success, a film written by Ernest Lehman, also covered in this blog).

Scene-by-scene breakdown

1. Widow Mrs Wilberforce exits from her home on the edge of town. Her backyard looks over train tracks leading to a nearby train station. Walking through town, she greets townspeople, such as a beggar selling paintings and a street sweeper. She then goes to the police station to report a spaceship landing in her neighbor's yard. The Police Superintendent politely thanks her but, secretly, they think she is crazy. She leaves but forgets her umbrella. When a kind (fat) policeman reminds her, she says it’s old and she doesn’t like it but takes it with her.
2.  She returns home, where she lives alone with her parrots. She's followed home by a man who seems to be a mysterious stranger he rings the doorbell and asks about her room to rent this is Professor Marcus he asked to move in and to practice music with his friends in his room she is delighted he then leaves
3.  Marcus's friends arrive, four in total, all carrying musical instrument cases. They go upstairs to Marcus's room. They shut the door, put on a record of classical music and pretend to practice. Instead, they plot an armed robbery. They plan to have Mrs Wilberforce unwittingly help them get the money out of town.
4.  Mrs Wilberforce knocks and the Gang comically gets set up to appear as though they have been practicing. They stop the record and answer the door. Mrs Wilberforce offers tea. When she leaves they argue about leaving her out of their plans after all. They take a vote. It turns out that one of them, the “muscular dumb” Lawson, indicates he likes Mrs Wilberforce. That swings the vote back to their original plan.
5.  At the train station, Marcus spies on the movement of the money on the trains
6.  Back at Mrs Wilberforce’s house, she knocks on Marcus's door and offers tea to his four remaining friends. Then she asked for help giving her bird it’s medicine. Mr Robinson (played by Peter Sellers) volunteers to help her with her bird. In a comical scene, he is bitten by the bird and the bird flies away. Mr Lawson agrees to help with the bird but he only makes things worse. It's a scene of slapstick comedy.
7. This is the robbery scene. Using a coordination of cars and trucks, the gang (1) blocks policeman from the armored truck, (2) take over the armored truck using guns, (3) knock out the two drivers of the truck, (4) pry open the back of the truck, (5) transfer the money into a large shipping crate (a 4 ft tall trunk). This trunk is taken away in their car
8.  The getaway car with the trunk goes to the train station where Mr Robinson is disguised as a shipping clerk. He puts the trunk in with the other incoming crates and luggage.
9.  The police actively search all over town for the robbery suspects.
10.  Mrs Wilberforce unwittingly helps Marcus by collecting his trunk from the train station. He gave her the excuse that these are his books from Cambridge, but he will be unable to collect them. She leaves with the trunk but then returns to the train station because she forgot her umbrella. Again, she comments that she forgets it because it’s old and she doesn’t like it. She leaves again from the train station but stops in the street to help a horse being tormented by a man selling apples from his cart. A slapstick comedy scene involving policemen ensues. She then gets back in her car and the police help her deliver the trunk to her house
11.  The Gang reunites at the house of Mrs Wilberforce and carry the trunk upstairs. The police do not suspect Mrs Wilberforce or Marcus's friends of putting the money in the trunk. As Marcus and his friends prepare to leave, on the way out Lawson gets his cello case stuck in the front door. As he yanks hard to free it, the case spills open and cash falls out. Mrs Wilburforce sees this and becomes suspicious.
12. The Gang rushes back inside and tries to convince Mrs Wilberforce that the money she saw was obtained legally. She doesn't believe their story. The doorbell rings and four of Mrs Wilberforce's friends arrive for a pre-scheduled tea party. These are all elderly women and are delighted to see Marcus and his friends there to join them in their tea party. Now Marcus and his friends don't know what to do – they can't kidnap all these women. One of the ladies invited over for tea has brought a newspaper. The newspaper informs them of all of the robbery and the amount of money stolen. Mrs Wilberforce now knows what Marcus and his friends have done. Without telling her tea party friends, she ushers the ladies all into the sitting room with the parrots. She then returns to the hallway to confront Marcus and his friends.
13. At this point Mrs Wilberforce, treats Marcus and his friends as though they are young children even though in fact they are older men. She tells Marcus and his friends that she is shocked and appalled at their behavior. They pretend to be ashamed and embarrassed at being caught. It is clear from her attitude she knows what they did but the robbery is never discussed explicitly. She explains to them that they must act like gentlemen and have tea with her friends. Lawson is especially impressed with her charm and grace.
14. Marcus and his friends enter the sitting room and have tea with the ladies and listen to one of the ladies sing a song.
15. The tea party over, the ladies have left, and Mrs Wilberforce confronts the Gang, again treating them again as little children. Marcus pretends to be ashamed and explains the money was insured and the bank doesn't want the money back. He explains the insurance company will simply distribute the cost of its loss throughout all of its customers, amounting to merely a farthing each. They tell Mrs Wilberforce a sad story of an invalid that the money is needed for. Mrs Wilberforce does not believe the story or at least says it doesn’t matter - it’s still wrong.
16.  Before Lewis, the most violent of the friends of Marcus, can do anything the doorbell rings. The same (fat) policeman who returned Mrs Wilberforce’s forgotten umbrella at the station is at the door. (It is now night outside.) Before she answers the door, Marcus and his friends convince Mrs Wilberforce that the police will think she is involved with the robbery. She believes them and is worried what the police will think (as though they were her friends) will think of her. Marcus says to tell the policeman nothing and convince him to go away. She accepts this and so she answers the door in an unfriendly manner. The policeman just says that he wants to check in on her. She tells him to go away. The policeman is surprised at her gruff attitude but then leaves.
17.  Again, she addresses Marcus and his friends and she insists that the money they stole be returned. They all get upset, but act ashamed. She says they should go to the police station and turn themselves in. She says if they don't she will go by herself and turn herself in.
18. Upstairs in Marcus's room with the door closed, the Gang discusses killing her. Mrs Wilberforce knocks and interrupts them saying they should go now to the police station. They say it's still raining outside and they will go when it stops raining. She agrees and leaves. Once Mrs Wilberforce is gone, Marcus and his friends draw straws for who should kill her (this is at approximately minute 63 of the 90 minute movie).
19. The Major, the kindest of Marcus' friends, draws the short straw but begs off the job of killing Mrs Wilberforce. Lewis, the most violent of them, threatens the major with a knife. So the Major is forced to go downstairs. He returns upstairs and tells them to tell Mrs Wilberforce that he wants to talk with her upstairs in their room. They all leave and Mrs Wilberforce comes upstairs. The Major tells her that he will go to the police and escapes out the upstairs window taking the money with him
20.  The others discover that he is on the roof and chase after the Major. They catch him and recover the money but Mrs Wilberforce takes the money and locks it away in a storage trunk. Lewis kills the major without Mrs Wilberforce seeing that he's done this. Mrs Wilburforce goes to her sitting room and tells Marcus she's exhausted and will nap until the rain stops and the police arrive. She still thinks that the Major has gone to the police.
21.  Marcus and the remaining Gang draw straws again to decide who will kill Mrs Wilberforce. However, Lawson refuses to comply and insists that no one hurt Mrs Wilberforce. Marcus tricks Lawson, who's not very bright, and tells him to go put the Major in a wheelbarrow so they can dispose of his body. Once Lawson leaves, the others draw straws and Mr Robinson gets the short straw.
22.  Marcus and Lawson dispose of the Major by dumping his body into a passing empty train container as the trains pass through a tunnel going underneath Mrs Wilberforce's backyard.
23. Mr Robinson enters the sitting room where Mrs Wilberforce is sleeping. Instead of killing her, he sees the key to the trunk that she locked the money in. He takes the key, opens the trunk, steals the money, and escapes out the door.
24. Lawson returns and sees Mrs Wilberforce asleep but he thinks that she is dead. He's enraged that someone has killed Mrs Wilberforce. Afraid for his life, Lewis points to Mr Robinson who is running away outside. Lawson chases Mr Robinson down and kills him. The case with the money is left outside.
25. Lawson then runs inside to kill Marcus and Lewis but the noise awakens Mrs Wilberforce. Lawson, stunned that she is alive, stops attacking Marcus and Lewis. She asks where the cello case went. Lawson tells her that it is outside. He goes and gets the cello case with the money and gives it back to her. She puts it back in the sitting room.
26. Mrs Wilberforce is very disappointed with Marcus, again treating them as children. She returns to the sitting room to guard the cello case with all the money while she waits for the police.
27. Marcus, out in the hallway, privately whispers to Lawson to put Mr Robinson's body in the wheelbarrow to dispose of it, just as they disposed of the Major. Lawson refuses, saying he will stay with Mrs Wilberforce to protect her.
28. Mrs Wilburforce in the sitting room tells Lawson the story of her husband, who passed away many years ago at sea. She tells him that the parents that she keeps were his parrots. They remind her of her dead husband, who was a decent man. She wonders why the police are taking so long to arrive but then falls asleep for another nap.
29. Out in the hallway, Marcus and Lewis go out back to dispose of Mr Robinson in the wheelbarrow. While they are dumping Mr Robinson's body into an empty train container, they plot to kill Lawson and Mrs Wilberforce together. However, Lawson appears behind them and tells them he heard their entire conversation. He points to the gun that he holds in his hand and says “who looks stupid now?” then pulls the trigger to kill them. Nothing happens. The gun won’t fire.
30. Marcus and Lewis have killed Lawson and are disposing of his body. Lewis examines Lawson's gun and tells Marcus “he left his safety catch on” as they dump Lawson into an empty train container. The steam from the steam train engulfs them and Marcus escapes (knowing that Lewis wants to kill him to keep all the money for himself).
31. Lewis hunts for Marcus outside around the train station but Marcus has hidden behind some bushes. In this scene, they chase each other in the dark but eventually Marcus kills Lewis. A moment later a train signal falls on Marcus's head and he too dies.
32.  Mrs Wilberforce awakes the next morning and goes to the police. She tells the police about the money and the robbery. They don't believe her. She asks what she should do with the money they say to keep it.
33. She walks through town. S gives the begger selling paintings a bill of money. It's so much he calls after her thinking she's made a mistake. She ignores him. She's very happy because now she has enough money to buy a new umbrella.

Ernest Lehman and "The Prize"

Ernest Lehman wrote the screenplay for the 1963 movie The Prize, starring Paul Newman, Elke Sommer, and Edward G. Robinson. While the plot follows activities surrounding a fictional Nobel Prize ceremony, the genre (a spy thriller with a romance B-story) is similar to the 1959 film North by Northwest, which Lehman also wrote. North by Northwest was an original story, while The Prize is based on the novel of the same name by Irving Wallace.

While some have called The Prize derivative of North by Northwest, I'm not sure I will go so far. However, there are a few scenes in each that closely parallel each other. For example, in North by Northwest, Thornhill (played by Cary Grant), to escape being killed by the spies in the room of the Antique Auction, causes a fight and the police are called to arrest him. There is a similar scene in The Prize where Craig (played by Paul Newman) is chased by spies trying to kill him. He escapes into a meeting room of a Swedish nudist society (to be shot in a way that "good taste will prevail", according to Lehman's screenplay). There again, to avoid death at the hands of these spies, he raises a confict requiring the police to come and arrest him.

However, there are some interesting aspects what make The Prize worth studying, and here is one lesson to take away from the screenplay. To set this up, Emily (played by Diane Baker) has taken an interest in Andrew Craig. She has been introduced as the sweet niece of a Nobel prize scientist (played by Edward G. Robinson).

This is how Ernest Lehman describes a secret conversation. At this point, only "Ivar" is known by the audience to be a "bad guy" and likely an enemy spy. So this scene is important to the plot as it reveals to the audience that Emily is not the sweet woman we've been led to believe.

EMILY AND IVAR - ON THE DANCE FLOOR

They dance in silence until they are on the far side
of the floor. Casually, they glance in the direction
of the Berghs’ table. (We will INTERCUT one or two
POV SHOTS from the dance floor. These shots will
indicate that Emily and Ivar know they cannot be
seen, through the intervening dancers, from the table.)
The dance MUSIC is very loud. We will not hear words.
But we will *see* lips moving now. First Emily says 
something to Ivar. He replies at some length. Emily
nods, speaks to him again. He addresses several
sentences to her. She makes a final remark. Then their
lips fall silent and they continue to dance as before.
Throughout this exchange, their faces have been
without expression.
 

For more on Ernest Lehman, read the excellent book "Ernest Lehman: The Sweet Smell of Success" by Jon Krampner.

Professor Kappa's Killer Quizzes (short story 20)

Over a year ago, as an exercise, I started writing one short story a week. This was something Harlan Ellison (I think) suggested to one of his fans, his reasoning being "You can't write 52 bad short stories in a row." I'm not sure about that, but here's one of those stories.



*It was the moronic answer that did it.

With a gin and tonic on the side and a King Crimson song playing low in the background, Professor Kappa grades a quiz from his calculus class with a green pen. Not red but green, because he'd a nice guy and someone said red adds to math phobias. His sensitive brain froze on seeing the answer, written by an overly confident student in blue pen, in pen for Pete's sake:

As if the "+C" made up for the horrid stupidity of the answer. "So stupid. I swear they get dumber every year!" He'd told his students over and over again that the integral of the exponential function is that function back again. He'd told them ad nauseum that the only function whose integral was x times that function was the constant function. Is the exponential function a constant function? No!

So, when Kappa gave the quiz question,

he thought it was about the kindest question he could create. Who couldn't get that correct? The answer to Professor Kappa was clear: Only someone who knew that his end of the year teacher rating was dependent on their test scores being "above average." Only someone who knew that the midterm and final were machine-graded, then automatically entered into a database, the same database that determined his end of the year rating. Only someone who thought that his kindness and generosity in asking such a brain-dead simple question was a weakness to be exploited and twisted to their own evil student ends. Yes, the devious student who would give such an answer clearly hated him. Such a student was obviously self-centered beyond measure, and undoubtedly evil to the core of their being. That student must die.

But how? What's a fitting way for an evil idiot, who knows nothing of calculus, to die? They don't know how to compute an area or a volume, a standard calculus application, so they could be smashed to death. He smiled at that. Satisfied with his solution, he gulped his gin. They don't know how to compute speed or acceleration, another use of calculus, so they could die in a car accident. He smiled at that too. Another gulp. But eventually that smile turned into a frown. The problem with those methods of murder, the eminent Professor Kappa reasoned, was that they were disconnected from the question itself. The question involved an exponential function. Being smashed to death, or dying in a car accident, didn't seem to be associated with the exponential function in any way. The kinds of applications one naturally connects with the exponential function are things like grown of a bacteria population. The astute reader will know that the decay of a radio-active substance, balance in a bank account with a fixed interest rate, and heat dissipation are also exponential. (If you don't know that, you could die as well, but finish this story first.) Professor Kappa imagined poisoning the student with a deadly virus, a thought that brought a smug, satisfied smile to his face. Of course, it has to be administered carefully to avoid killing any students who got the correct quiz answer, but he'll worry about those minutia later. Prof Kappa took another sip of his gin and went to grade the next quiz question. Eventually, Professor Kappa finished grading that student's quiz and gave the student a big red F. On Kappa's killer quiz, the F was usually stood for Fatal.

By the end of the semester, the F was indeed fatal, but that student was not the only one in the class that died. There were a few other Fs on Kappa's quiz. However, none of them survived long enough to take the machine-graded midterm whose grade would determine Prof Kappa's end of the year rating. Of course, these deaths were carefully planned out, to avoid attracting attention and raising suspicions. But one student, Alice was her name, did grow suspicious. Alice was the best of the best, getting 100 percent on every quiz. So good, in fact, that the weaker students often asked her for help. And she was so kind that, in fact, she tried to help them. Some she helped learned the material, while others she helped just didn't. She noticed who was learning and who wasn't and who died mysteriously and who didn't. It was a pretty straightforward correlation, so naturally Alice's suspicions grew (but not exponentially, ha, ha).

After the final example for the class, Alice calls up her bestie Becky to touch base. Becky went the police academy route, instead of the college student one that Alice took. Becky takes off her badge, puts on a preppy outfit, tells her supervisor she's visiting her sick grandma for a few days, and drives to the sleepy university town that Alice calls home.

Becky learns from Alice that Prof Kappa is teaching a calculus course at night that is still open for late enrollment. The next day, Becky is a student in Professor Kappa's class. She finds a cute little one-room log cabin for rent at a local resort. It's so cute she has to brag about it out loud just before the bell rings to start Prof Kappa's class. The bell rings and he announces a quiz in a few days then starts to lecture them on logarithmic integrals. "Remember, the integral of one over cabin dee cabin is log cabin, ha, ha!" Yes, he's very funny when he wants to be. (Yes, that's sarcasm.)

Later, bestie Alice comes over to the log cabin rental and helps Becky cram for the quiz. A few days later, on that fateful quiz there's this question:

Becky and Alice have prepared for this. Becky thinks carefully and the writes, in bold pen stokes,

Becky turns in her quiz and goes back to her cute little cabin.

That night, Becky tosses and turns and, around midnight, realizes she can't sleep, so she turns on the lights, puts on a light jacket, and wanders around the resort. Around that time Alice decided to visit her (what a coincidence!) and, together, they roam the resort. As they wander back in view of Becky's front door, they sees, in the moon light, Professor Kappa, wearing dark clothes and a black ski mask, sneaking into her cabin. Sadly, he trips over the cans of gasoline and falls into the fireplace. "Look at that," Alice says. "Clumsy me," Becky says dramatically. They smile at each other. "Did you buy accidental fire insurance?" Alice asks. "Of course. With a log cabin, one can never be too careful," Becky says.

The town newspaper's headline told the story the next day: "Calculus professor cremated in cabin combustion."

The moral of the story: calculus quizzes can kill in more ways that you can count.

k1ng Pe5T (short story 13)

Over a year ago, as an exercise, I started writing one short story a week. This was something Harlan Ellison (I think) suggested to one of his fans, his reasoning being "You can't write 52 bad short stories in a row." I'm not sure about that, but here's one of those stories.

The story below was inspired by Poe's short King Pest, 1835.

*A majestic night has descended over the neo-noir city of downtown Baltimore. A soft rain falls, reflecting the bluer blues and yellower yellows in the sidewalks. Vibrant colors everywhere. An art deco sign over the neon-lit entrance screams “Hard Knock Bar”. An Uber drops off two sisters, Mattie and Tam, at the sidewalk in front. They wear short skirts and tight short-sleeve tops. Even out on the street, you can feel the bass and hear the pounding trance music coming from inside. Neither girl is even 18, but they have perfectly good fake IDs from the great state of Washington that swears they're 21. Looking stylish, they somehow don't get wet as they walk the sidewalk, even thought waters drops off the bouncers outside. The girls smile to the bouncers and breeze through the club entrance.
Tam whispers to Mattie, "We're late because of you."
"It's not my fault, Tam,'' pleads Mattie. "The game box spazzed out when I started surfing.''
"Surfing for what?'' Tam asks.
"I was downloading “Serial Mom”. I had a  coupon code k1ng_Pe5T for a free copy,'' Mattie says. ``After I downloaded it the whole thing rebooted.''
"We'll watch it later. Who doesn't love John Waters?'' Tam admits.
Just as they enter into the large room with the long bar everything goes black for a split second. When lights go up, the trance music gets louder, and colors get even more vivid than they already were. 
"Did you see that?'' Tam asks.
"Weird lighting is all. Relax,'' Mattie says. 
Tam ogles a 20-something year old muscular bartender is busy behind the bar cleaning up.  "I have to admit, for once you chose a good place to play. Lots of cute guys,'' Tam says.
Mattie winks at him. "Oh, bartender! Give me a double gin and tonic.'' Tam smiles and asks him, "And can I have a beer, please?". The bartender comes over, checks their ID, looks at them, then serves them their drinks. "You're cute,'' Mattie says with a smile. The bartender smiles politely then leaves and flirts with a cute young girl at the other end of the bar.
Mattie takes a long gulp. "He's probably gay anyway. Pay the tab. Let's go.'' Mattie stands.
"You invited me. You pay. I don't have any money.''
"Since when have I ever paid? I'm going to the powder room.'' Tam and Mattie sneak down the hallway leading to the bathrooms and some storage rooms.
"That bartender's going to find out any minute that we left without paying,'' Tam says.
"Quiet, I'm trying to think. We need to hide.'' Mattie tests the storage room doors but they're all locked.
"How about the bathroom?'' Tam asks.
"No, stupid, that's the first place they'll look!''
A barback carrying a case of beer exits a storage room nearby and heads towards the bar. Mattie pushes Tam through the storage room door before it closes. Tam and Mattie are alone, surrounded by rows and rows of stacked boxes of beer, wine, gin, and vodka. There's a small light near the door but the overhead lights are out. Mattie pulls out her cellphone and uses it as a flashlight.
"This place must have a back door,'' Mattie says. They sneak along until they spot a door in the back of the room. Mattie opens it, and they step into another hallway.
This hallway is much nicer, with decorative wallpaper and deco-style lighting.The door clicks shut behind them. Tam tries the door but it's locked. No way to for but forward. Three other doors are further down the hall.
Legs, a tall woman in her 30s, and Huge, a very short man about the same age, stand outside one of the doors. Huge puckers his lips and winks at Legs. Smooch.
"Huge, go to hell. Give me that wink one more time I will clock you,'' Legs says.
Tam and Mattie approach them.
Signaling stop with one arm, Legs confronts Mattie. "Hold your horses, you two.''
"I'll handle this, Legs. Can I help you ladies?''
"We were just looking for --'' Tam timidly begins.
"Some action,'' Mattie confidently finished.
"What kind of action?'' Huge asks.
Mattie points to the nearest door. ``The fun through that door there.''
``That the ladies bathroom,'' Legs says.
Tam runs for it and slams the door behind her.
``I meant that other door,'' Mattie says, pointing to another one.
``The men's room?'' Huge asks.
Tam exits the bathroom and walks back to Mattie. "No toilets? Nothing in there but four white walls.''
"It's under construction,'' Legs says.
Mattie points to the third door. "What about that door?''
"Oh, that door. Say the magic word and you're in,'' Huge says.
Tam looks at Mattie. "Magic word? What does that mean?" Tam asks. 
Mattie smiles - a lightbulb goes off. "King Pest.''
"She knows the magic word,'' Legs says.

Huge opens the door and looks in. A pudgy middle-aged man with a large forehead, King Pest, sits at a card table covered with money, drinks and cards. Next to his is the very tall Queen Pest, with a round face and a velvet dress. The other card players drink and rearrange their cards. Bottles of wine and various drinks are on a nearby wooden table. At the edge of the space people watch the game. A few people of them have passed out drunk.

Print by James Ensor, 1895.

Tam, Mattie, Huge and Legs enter. "King Pest, these girls want to play,'' Legs says.

"Look, some lovelies!'' King Pest says, looking Tam and Mattie up and down.

"But they don't have money to buy a seat,'' Queen Pest warns.

"How did she know that?'' Tam asks.

"Wait. We really want to play. Isn't there something we can do? Anything at all?'' Mattie asks.

"There is something you can do,'' King Pest says. King Pest tosses Mattie and Tam glittery server costumes which leave very little to the imagination. "Put these on and serve us drinks. Do that and you can play the next round.''

Queen Pest holds up her glass. "Fill 'er up, girls.''

Tam and Mattie nods and instantly don the skimpy server outfits. They refill the glasses of the card players.

Queen Pest slams her cards down, shouting "I fold.'' The red-headed card player raises a hand as if to ask Queen Pest a question, then passes out, falling to the floor. The blond card player laughs loudly at the red-head, then belches and passes out, also dropping to the floor. 

"Lucky you, looks like we're two players short. You girls are in,'' King Pest says.

Tam and Mattie step over the passed out players and sit at the card table.  "Uhmm ... can you spot us some green?'' Mattie asks.

"No,'' Queen Pest shouts.

"Hit reset,'' Tam says.

Back in the real world, Tam and Mattie are dressed as normal teenagers in t-shirts and sweatpants, sitting on the floor in front of a TV. They also wear VR headsets for a video game. The TV screen shows a freeze-frame of their an animated version of their gameplay, with “Reset” superimposed over it. They take off their headsets and stand up and stretch.

Their 40-year old mom enters with a bag of gifts in one hand and a purse in the other. "You girls sure you don't want to come to Grandma's with me? I'm leaving now.''

"Thanks Mom. We're just taking a break from studying for the big test tomorrow,'' Mattie says.

"No video games. No parties. Feed Rufus --''

"Twice a day, we know.  I'll walk him every morning. Don't worry,'' Tam says.

Mom kisses Tam and Mattie. "Call me if you need anything. Love you. Bye.'' Mom leaves out the front door. Moments later they hear the car start up and drive off.

"How do we play without money? And how did the Queen Pest player know we didn't have any? That was freaky,'' Tam asks.

"Simple. You went in the wrong door. That short guy offers you one door but you have to look for another one. We'll have money in that door.''

"What other door? There wasn't another one. And what's up with the password being the movie download coupon code?''

"You're just jealous I guessed it instead of you," Mattie says.

"I don't like it. Something weird's going on,'' Tam says.

"Don't chicken out on me,'' Mattie warns. "Let's play." They don their headsets.

Tam and Mattie sit at the Hard Knock bar again, wearing their short skirts as before. The bartender, with a spikier hairdo than last time, is busy behind the bar cleaning up. He turns to Mattie as she sits down. The bartender winks at Mattie. "Sex on the beach?''

"Excuse me?'' Mattie replies.

The bartender points to a sign over the bar listing tonight's specials. Next to the pink-lettered "Sex on the Beach" is a line drawing of a couple having sex on a beach. "It's the drink special tonight.''

Mattie nods. "One for each of us.''

"That's not supposed to happen, is it?'' Tam asks.

"He winked at me. Big deal. Maybe he's not gay after all.''

"That's the same bartender. He shouldn't say that after a reset.''

The bartender brings over the drinks. "Enjoy, ladies.'' He moves off and starts to clean the far end of the bar.

"I want to hit reset,'' Tam says.

"No. Don't be a buzzkill," Mattie says.

Tam looks around. Her sight settles on the hallway to the bathrooms. "We go to that bathroom hallway again. You'll see there are only three doors, like I said. Then we're quitting.''

"Now you're talking," Mattie says. "And type k1ng Pe5T as the cheat code this time.''

Tam and Mattie sneak down the hallway and wait near the ladies room. The same barback emerges from the storeroom, acknowledges Tam and Mattie with a smirk, and heads to the bar. Tam pushes Mattie through the open door. Tam and Mattie are alone in the storeroom, surrounded by stacked boxes of beer, wine and vodka. Mattie pulls out her cellphone and uses it as a flashlight and they walk to the door in the back of the room. They open the door and step into the hallway, as before.

This hallway is nicer, with decorative wallpaper and deco-style lighting, but the color palette and decor is slightly different. As the door clicks shut behind them, Legs and Huge look their way.

"They're different,'' Tam says. "Now, let's go.''

"No they aren't,'' Mattie says.

"I'll handle this, Legs. Can I help you ladies?'' Huge asks.

"See? What did I tell you? Three doors, you lose,'' Tam says. "Let's quit.''

"If you'd have typed in the cheat code like I told you to, there'd be another door,'' Mattie says.

Back in reality, an empty driveway with weeds popping through cracks in the concrete leads up to a peach-colored rancher. A bluejay kaws in an apple tree in the front yard. Through the living room window to see Tam and Mattie sitting in front of a computer with VR headsets and hand controllers.

"I don't even know how to enter a cheat code,'' Tam confesses, taking a sip from a can of diet coke.

"Wait just one second.'' Mattie enters the cheat code into her controller. "And, restart.''

"This is cheating,'' Tam says

"Duh.''

This hallway has the same decorative wallpaper and deco-style lighting, same characters Huge and Legs, but now there are four doors. "I'll handle this, Legs. Can I help you ladies?'' Huge asks.

"We were looking for some action,'' Mattie says.

"Well, this is the place.'' Legs smiles and leads them to the third door. "Have fun, girls.'' Legs opens the door for them, steps aside, and Tam and Mattie enter.

Before the door closes behind them, Huge says "No fair cheating now.''

King Pest and Queen Pest greet them, looking uglier and more grotesque than ever. "Welcome back, my lovelies,'' Queen Pest slurs.

"So, you want some action? You've met my Queen. Now you talk to me. I am King Pest. ''

Queen Pest sneers.

``You like "Serial Mom"?''

``Who doesn't love John Waters?'' King Pest asks.

``Hit reset. Mattie, hit reset,'' Tam yells.

``How did you know about that?'' Mattie asks.

Queen Pest laughs. "You're not the only one with cheat codes.'' Queen Pest pulls a controller from a pocket of her dress. After a few clicks, the outfits Tam and Mattie wear instantly change to the glittery server outfits, which seem even skimpier this time.

"Whoa, what happened? ... Oh, no,'' Mattie says.

"Oh, yes,'' Queen Pest says. 

"We're stuck in the game,'' Tam says.

*

The driveway with weeds popping through cracks in the concrete leads to a big rectangular patch of dirt and rocks where the peach-colored rancher once stood. A bluejay kaws and flies from the apple tree to the dirt patch, and digs for seeds. 

"Yes, you are. Now, pour me a drink, lovelies. Pour us all a drink,'' says the voice of King Pest.

"His Girl Friday" (1940) and the Nutshell Technique

Recently, Jill Chamberlain wrote a book called "The nutshell technique: crack the secret of successful screenwriting" (link to her website). While I'm not yet done reading it, I like this book. As an exercise to understand this book, and to better delve into my favorite movie His Girl Friday (HGF), I wrote this post. Hope it helps someone out there.

Note:

1. HGF is in the public domain, so you can read its script and watch it for free. I'm going to assume you've watched the movie in this post.
   
2. Jill Chamberlain wrote a blog article describing Jordan Peele's Get Out using her Nutshell Technique. Check it out for more details on the method.
   

There are two flavors of the Nutshell Technique, one for Comedy (in the Aristotelean sense, where the protagonist gets what they want) and one for Tragedy (where the protag doesn't). We'll deal only with the comedy version in this post, since that's what HGF is.

The Nutshell Technique is a way to describe a feature film story using seven story elements which the protagonist (the main character that drives most of the action) has or experiences.

• Flaw
  This is a weakness of the protagonist, a character trait which causes the protagonist to react negatively towards the "catch."
  
  In HGF, Hildy Johnson's "flaw" is her "external need" (in "the hero's journey" paradigm): she wants to be a conventional housewife, with a 9-to-5 husband, 3 kids and a house in the suburbs. As a result, she gets engaged to Bruce.
  
  
• Point of no return (PONR)
  As with the "inciting incident" (in "the hero's journey" template of a screenplay) the PONR happens to the protagonist and is not an event created by the protagonists' actions. The PONR can occur after the inciting incident, but the PONR has to be connected with the SUW and the Catch (see below).
  
  In HGF, Hildy's PONR is her engagement followed immediately by the chance to write a newspaper article that saves someone's (the escaped convict) life. (One could also say, she got engaged and this immediately caused Walter Burns to interfere by giving her the article assignment. So the engagement is the PONR/inciting incident.)
  
  
• Set-up want (SUW)
  In "the hero's journey", the "external want" of the protagonist motivates action until the midpoint, after which the "internal need" becomes more of a driving force.
  Here, the SUW is the protagonist's want that the PONR delivers to them; typically it corresponds to the internal need.
  
  In HGF, Hildy's SUW = internal need is to be great reporter, being thought of as an equal or better by the other newspapermen.
  
  
• Catch
  This is a plot point something else delivered by the PONR but it is something the protagonist doesn't want. It's a counter-balance to the SUW and a test of the "flaw."
  
  In HGF, the catch is that Bruce's mom plans to live with them and interfere with the marriage.
  
  
• Crisis
  This is the low point of the protagonist's arc (often marking the end of act 2). It is in some sense the worst thing that could happen to the protagonist, from the perspective of the SUW.
  
  In HGF, Hildy's crisis is when she and Walter Burns are both arrested by the Sheriff (for aiding an escaped criminal and kidnapping Bruce's mom), supporting the crooked Mayor.
  
  
• Climactic choice
  This is a choice made by the protagonist which is counter-indicated by the FLAW. In "the hero's journey", it can be a choice determined by the "internal need," as opposed to the "external want."
  
  In HGF, Hildy's climactic choice is to ignore the objections of Bruce's mom and to pursue her newspaper article instead of following Bruce to the train station.
  
  
• Final step
  This is a more emphatic choice made by the protagonist which is counter-indicated by the "flaw." It is a consequence, or at least dependent on, the climactic choice.
  
  In HGF, Hildy's final step is to reunite with Walter Burns and to return to work on the newspaper, but this time as the top reporter.
  
  
• Strength
  The strength is the protagonist's characteristic that is achieved at the end of the character arc. It is a natural progression from the perspective of the climactic choice and the final step. In some sense, it is opposite to the "flaw."
  
  In HGF, Hildy's strength is that she is an independent woman, as capable or better than any man on the newspaper reporting staff.
  
  

Breakdown of "The Red House Mystery" by A.A. Milne (1922)

"The Red House Mystery" by A.A. Milne (1922) is in the public domain.

Major characters:

• Mark Ablett (40), owner of Red House, unmarried, mustasch and beard, independently wealthy, and his
father was a parson
• Bill Beverley, friend of Mark and Antony, guest at Red House
• Antony Gillingham, friend of Bill and guest at “The George” until after the murder, then a guest at the Red House until the inquest
• Mrs. Stevens, housekeeper and aunt to Audrey, lives at Red House
• Audrey Stevens, parlor maid, lives at Red House
• Elsie Wood, housemaid (also eferred to as second parlor maid)
• Matthew Cayley (28), cousin of Mark Ablet, lives in room on first floor of Red House (others live upstairs)
• Robert Ablett, brother of Mark, clean shaven. Arrived from Australia (he was there for 15 years) the day he was killed.
• Miss Betty Calladine (18), guest at Red House
• Mrs. John Calladine, mother of Betty and driver of the car (owned by Mark?), guest at Red House
• Major Rumbold, retired, guest at Red House
• Miss Ruth Norris, actress, guest at Red House
• Inspector Birch, policeman from Middleston
• Angela Norbury, a young (single) lady living nearby, possibly a romantic interest of Cayley
• Mrs Norbury, owner of Jallands (a neighboring cottage) and Angela’s mother
• the Coroner, presumably from Middleston

Minor characters:

• Joe Turner, boyfriend of Audrey (mentioned only)
• landlord and landlady of The George
• police associates of Inspector Birch
• train station employees
• inquest witnesses: Andrew Amos (lives in the “inner lodge” of the Red House estate), Parsons (a gardener who lives in the “outer lodge” of the Red House estate), John Borden (a local man who happened to be on the train station platform when someone who might have been Mark was seen boarding a train)
• inquest jury (no names but listening to evidence collected at the inquest)

Locations:

• Red House, interior (kitchen, dining room, library and underground tunnel, bedrooms, housekeeper’s room, suite of 3 rooms: office and Cayley’s room and bathroom) and exterior (the Temple, bowling green and lake/pond, all on the estate)
• Waldheim (the closest town), in particular The George inn
• Stanton train station (Robert arrives there from Australia)
• golf course
• police station in Middleston
• Jallands, a neighboring country cottage belonging to a widow Mrs Norbury (it is 600 yards from the nearest road, with no driveway)
• The Lamb, an inn/meeting house/theater in Stanton (where the inquest takes place)

(click to enlarge)

The Red House is about a half-mile from the nearest town of Waldheim (which has no police station) and about 3 miles from the next largest town of Stanton (which has no police station either). The nearest police station is in Middleston, about twenty miles away.

The timeline is not linear. Chapter 1 begins after breakfast. Chapter 2 covers who was at breakfast.

Chapter 1. Mrs. Stevens is Frightened.
Location(s): The Red House, housekeeper’s room
Characters: Mrs. Stevens, Audrey Stevens, Elsie, Robert Ablett, Matthew Cayley
Summary: Audrey and her aunt talk about the arrival of Mark Ablett’s brother, Robert Ablett. Robert arrives and waits for Mark in Mark’s home office. While Audrey is searching for Mark, a gunshot is heard from within the house. Audrey was out of the house at the time. The chapter ends with someone banging on the front door.

Chapter 2. Mr. Gillingham Gets Out at the Wrong Station
Location(s): The Red House, kitchen/dining room
Characters: Major Rumbold, Mrs Calladine, Betty Calladine, Bill Beverley, Ruth Norris, Antony Gillingham, landlord and landlady of The George, Matthew Cayley
Summary: Background on Mark and Cayley. Introduction to Mark’s guests (Major Rumbold, Mrs Calladine, Betty Calladine, Bill Beverley, Ruth Norris). Mark, Cayley and the guests have breakfast. After that, except for Mrs Calladine, the guests play golf at the golf course (driven to by Mrs Calladine, who eats lunch with friends instead). Mark and Cayley stay at the Red House. Antony arrives while they are out to visit with friend Bill. Chapter 2 ends at the same time that chapter 1 ends: with banging on the front door. This time we learn it is Cayley who is doing that.

Chapter 3. Two Men and a Body
Location(s): The Red House, exterior, office and Cayley’s room.
Characters: Antony Gillingham, Matthew Cayley
Summary: We get a good read on the geometry of Red House (see the diagram on page 2). Cayley and Antony break into the office via the rear window. They discover Robert shot between the eyes, dead. Antony agrees to stay at the Red House during the police investigation. Antony sees the window to Cayley’s room open and suggests to Cayley that the killer might have escaped out the window into the back bushes and gardens.

Chapter 4. The Brother from Australia
Location(s): Golf course, tea at golf course (in a club house?), car (back to the Red House), Red House (various), exterior
Characters: Major Rumbold, Mrs Calladine, Betty Calladine, Bill Beverley, Ruth Norris, Antony Gillingham, Inspector Birch
Summary: The guests finish their golf match, have tea at the golf course, and drive back to Red House in Mrs Calladine’s car. When they arrive, Antony explains the situation. Mrs Calladine, her daughter Betty, and Ruth Norris decide to leave for London. The Inspector does over the clues with Antony and Cayley.

Chapter 5. Mr. Gillingham Chooses a New Profession
Location(s): Red House
Characters: Antony Gillingham, Inspector Birch, Matthew Cayley, Elsie, Audrey, Mrs. Stevens,
Summary: Inspector interviews Cayley, Audrey, Elsie. Elsie told him she overheard Mark say to Robert 'It's my turn now. You wait.' Facts of the case so far: Robert had been shown into the office (witness Audrey); Mark had gone in to Robert (witness Cayley); Mark and Robert had been heard talking (witness Elsie); there was a shot (witness everybody); the office had been entered and Robert's body had been found (witness Cayley and Gillingham). And Mark was missing.

Chapter 6. Outside Or Inside?
Location(s): Red House exterior (front garden), car, at the end of the scene Antony and Bill start along path towards The George in Waldheim
Characters: Major Rumbold, Mrs Calladine, Betty Calladine, Ruth Norris, Bill Beverley, Antony Gillingham, Matthew Cayley,
Summary: Every one of the guests except for Bill leaves. Antony and Bill decide to walk to The George, pay Antony’s bill and get his things.

Chapter 7. Portrait of a Gentleman
Location(s): Red House exterior from front garden of house along path towards The George in Waldheim
Characters: Bill Beverley, Antony Gillingham
Summary: Antony and Bill discuss the character of Mark (somewhat controlling, set in his ways) and of Cayley (loner but hard working). For example, Mark believed in ghosts and thought the house was haunted. One night, for fun, guests devised a ghost character played by Ruth Norris who appeared in costume on the bowling green. This upset Mark so much he left and went to his room, calling for Cayley. Bill was there and assumed Cayley calmed him down. This clue plays a role in chapter 9. Antony suspects Cayley is complicit in the murder somehow.

Chapter 8. "Do You Follow Me, Watson?"
Location(s): Red House interior (Antony’s bedroom upstairs, hall downstairs) and exterior (path to “bowling green” still on the estate)
Characters: Matthew Cayley, Bill Beverley, Antony Gillingham
Summary: Antony and Bill talk in Antony’s bedroom, while Antony gets dressed for dinner, then go down to the hall and smoke a cigar. They talk to Cayley and they discuss what Elsie told the Inspector. Cayley thinks it was accidental. Cayley leaves then Antony and Bill walk from the Red House to the “bowling green” (still on the estate) to talk privately. Bill shows he can imitate Mark’s rather monotonous, high-pitched voice. Antony asks Bill to be Watson to his Sherlock. They discuss the case. In particular, they notice each room has a lockable door with a skeleton key on a hook hanging either inside or outside the room, depending on the room.

Chapter 9. Possibilities of a Croquet Set
Location(s): Red House exterior, “bowling green”
Characters: Matthew Cayley, Bill Beverley Antony Gillingham
Summary: Antony and Bill continue to discuss the case. Antony suspects that the story of the ghost character played by Ruth Norris appeared on the bowling green (which upset Mark) lends evidence that there is a secret (very long) tunnel from the house to the bowling green. They search the shed where the croquet balls were kept (“bowling” refers to lawn bowling, related to croquet). While there, Antony hears someone coming, so they sit on a nearby bench and Bill talks as if Antony is there while Antony sneaks around looking for the spy. He sees Cayley’s head pop out of a box where croquet balls are stored. Antony goes back to Bill, they decide to play a game of bowling and then quit. As they walk back to the Red House (it’s bedtime), they run into Cayley. They innocently discuss things, with no indication from Cayley that he was spying on them and no indiction from Antony or Bill that they knew it. Antony and Bill realize that the reason Miss Norris was hurried away (by Cayley) because she knew about the secret passage.

Chapter 10. Mr. Gillingham Talks Nonsense
Location(s): Red House interior (dining room, hall, Antony’s room) and exterior (Cayley outside the dining room window, Antony and Bill walk to the park and lake).
Characters: Matthew Cayley, Bill Beverley, Antony Gillingham, Elsie
Summary: Antony comes down and talks to Cayley. Cayley tells him the police plan to drag the lake, in case the gun was dumped there or Mark drowned. Cayley leaves and Bill joins Antony. Bill and Antony have breakfast and discuss the case in guarded terms, as Cayley is smoking outside the dining room window. Antony goes up to his bedroom and meets the parlor maid Elsie there. He tells her the inquest will be the next day. Antony then goes to the hall and meets Bill again. They agree to walk in the park (in the Red House estate), but detour to the lake. They surmise Mark did not drown himself. They surmised Cayley told Ruth Norris of the tunnel, as he wanted her to like him. The chapter ends with the question: Where does the secret passage begin?

Chapter 11. The Reverend Theodore Ussher
Location(s): Red House exterior (lake) and interior (library) Characters: Bill Beverley, Antony Gillingham
Summary: At the lake, Antony and Bill decide to search the library for the beginning of the tunnel. They walk back and , making sure Cayley is not nearby, enter the library. It’s full of books and is well-organized by subject. Antony comes across a shelf of sermons (remember Mark’s father was a parson). When he sees 'The Narrow Way, being Sermons by the Rev. Theodore Ussher' he gets an inspiration. He takes out the book and tries pressing the back of the bookshelf in various places. Eventually, the shelf swings open, revealing the tunnel entrance. They close it back, agreeing to search it later in the afternoon or that night when Cayley is away.

Chapter 12. A Shadow on the Wall
Location(s): Police station in Middleston, Red House exterior (lake/pond), Red House interior (office and Cayley’s room)
Characters: Inspector Birch and other police associates, Bill Beverley, Antony Gillingham
Summary: Inspector Birch calls London police about the case, and the train station in Stanton with a description of Mark Ablett. In the afternoon, the Inspector and his associates go to the lake to drag it for a body or the gun. Antony and Bill talk with the Inspector at the lake. The Inspector does not need them there. (No mention is made of Cayley being at the lake in this chapter. However, it appears that is is there after all – see chapter 14.) So Bill and Antony go back to the Red House. Antony mentions the idea that Cayley recommended dragging the lake so might be planning on planting something there after the police are done with it. At 3pm, 24 hours after Antony and Cayley discovered the body, Antony and Bill enter the office. As Antony recreates the events, he remembers Cayley left to get “water”. He returned with a sponge and a handkerchief. Antony remembers a shadow he saw at one point that does not appear unless Cayley quietly shut his room (just beside the office) while getting the sponge and handkerchief. Why would he quietly shut his room just to “get water”?

Chapter 13. The Open Window
Location(s): Red House interior (office and Cayley’s room), Red House exterior (path to lake)
Characters: Bill Beverley, Antony Gillingham
Summary: Antony and Bill talk about what Cayley did which needed him to quietly shut his room (just beside the office) while getting the sponge and handkerchief. Bill discovers a collar at the bottom of the trash basket in the office. Bill opens the window to Cayley’s room to get some air. At that, Antony thinks it must have been Cayley wanted the door shut so he could quietly open the window. Then they agree to search the passage but first they must be sure Cayley is at the lake. Bill sneaks off to the lake to spy on the Inspector and hope to catch and eye of Cayley, then rush back. Antony will wait for Bill in the library. Bill leaves for the lake.

Chapter 14. Mr. Beverley Qualifies for the Stage
Location(s): Red House exterior (path to lake, car in driveway) and interior (library, hall)
Characters: Bill Beverley, Antony Gillingham, (in the distance) Inspector Birch, Matthew Cayley
Summary: Bill returns from the lake to meet Antony in the library to tell him Cayley is indeed with the Inspector at the lake, as expected. They open the shelf door to the tunnel. Antony decides to go in to see if it’s safe. As soon as he does, Bill hears Cayley outside. He has just enough time to close the door, straighten the sermon shelf, move over to another shelf and make up an excuse for being in the library (he’s trying to verify a quotation on a bet with Antony), when Cayley opens the door. Cayley says that nothing was found at the lake so far but mud. Cayley stays to write a letter (before he takes the car to Stanton) so Bill tries tapping a Morse code message to Antony (annoying Cayley in the process, as he thinks it is merely nervous tapping). It seems to work. Bill tells Cayley he’s waiting for Antony as they plan to walk into town. Cayley finishes his letter and Antony doesn’t open the tunnel door while Cayley is there. Cayley gets in the car. Antony walks up to them, apologizing to Bill for being late. Cayley asks them to deliver his letter to Jallands in town and then he leaves in the car. Antony and Bill decide to deliver the letter instead of investigating the tunnel. Antony tells Bill that he took the length or the tunnel to the bowling green, then ran back. In the tunnel, he discovered in the passage a large locked cupboard.

Chapter 15. Mrs. Norbury Confides in Dear Mr. Gillingham
Location(s): Path from the Red House to Jallands, Jallands interiors (living room)
Characters: Bill Beverley, Antony Gillingham, Matthew Cayley (in the car in the distance), Angela Norbury, Mrs Norbury (her mother)
Summary: Antony and Bill walk to Jallands to the letter. They see Cayley in the car in the distance returning to the Red House. Antony surmises that Cayley just wants to get back into the tunnel and wrote the letter to make sure they were gone from the house while he did. They meet (beautiful) Angela and her mother. Bill and Antony discover that the mother nearly arranged the engagement between Angela and Mark (before he disappeared, that is). They assumed it was Cayley that was interested in Angela. In fact, Angela was not interested in Mark (nor Cayley, except as a friend) but when she turned to Cayley for support, he apparently fell in love with her. Now she has his letter, which she dreads opening. They learn from Mrs Norbury that Mark went to Middleston the day before yesterday, But why? Bill and Antony leave Jallands, and head back to the Red House.

Chapter 16. Getting Ready for the Night
Location(s): Red House exterior (path from Jallands to the lake then to the house), Red House interior (hall, bedrooms)
Characters: Bill Beverley, Antony Gillingham, Matthew Cayley
Summary: Antony meditates on how and why Cayley may have killed Robert. If Bill could imitate Mark’s voice so successfully, why not Cayley? This would explain the voice Elsie heard the day of the murder. They stop at the lake and plan their night. Cayley will likely check on them in their bedroom before leaving to take the tunnel to throw Mark’s body (they presume) in the lake. They plan to wait for his visit and for him to get into the tunnel before running to the lake to watch Cayley dump the body. They discuss using two pine trees, one for each of them, behind them and a fence on the far side of the lake to determine the position Cayley’s boat is when he dumps the body in the lake. (They need two lines to intersect in order to determine the point where the boat is located.) They decide not to call the police but to dive for the dumped body themselves. They walked back to the house together. Cayley was in the hall as they came in. They said hellos then went upstairs to dress for dinner. They dressed, discussed strategies more, then went downstairs together for dinner.

Chapter 17. Mr. Beverley Takes the Water
Location(s): Red House interior (dining room, billiard room, hall, bedrooms), Red House exterior (path around house)
Characters: Bill Beverley, Antony Gillingham, Matthew Cayley
Summary: They have dinner, take a stroll with Cayley around the house, play billiards with Cayley, have drinks with Cayley in the hall, then go to bed. They wait for Cayley to check on them (he does) then Bill dresses and goes to Antony’s room (in the dark). They leave then house via Antony’s 2nd floor bedroom window and head off for the lake. Antony points out each other’s tree to mark the boat from. After waiting for some time, Cayley arrives at the boat with a paper bag in his hand. He puts the bag in the boat with him, pushes off, rows into the middle of the lake, dumps the bag into the lake, then rows back and ties up the boat at the shore. Cayley leaves. Antony tells Bill to wait until he returns. Antony plans to follow Cayley back to the house, check everything’s okay, then return. He does. When he gets back to Bill, they do the dive. Bill dove 3 or 4 times before finding it, but gets the bag back into the boat. In the bag: (a) all of the clothes Mark wore when Robert died (including underwear but not the collar), (b) stones (for weight), (c) letters, (d) two keys including the office key and the key of the passage cupboard (see chapter 14). On the way back to the house, they unlocked the cupboard in the tunnel. It was empty.

Chapter 18. Guess-work
Location(s): Red House interior (bedrooms)
Characters: Bill Beverley, Antony Gillingham
Summary: The inquest is today at 3pm. After breakfast, Antony gets packed to be ready to go to The George after the inquest. They tell Cayley that Bill is leaving for London after the inquest and Antony is leaving for The George. In fact, Bill will go with Antony to The George. Then Bill and Antony goes to the park to talk by themselves. They have this timeline: Monday Robert's unpleasant letter came in the morning (saysing Robert would arrive the next day around 3pm) then Mark told Mrs. Norbury about Robert (the black sheep of the family), on Tuesday Mark tells his guests he got his brother's letter that morning, Robert arrived later that day, was killed about the time Antony arrived. They have the puzzle of the missing collar in the bag of clothes (see chapter 13). Also, the puzzle of why hide clothes if there is a body to hide? They surmise that Mark is alive and that Cayley helped him escape by helping disguise him with a change of clothes and hiding the clothes he wore.

Chapter 19. The Inquest
Location(s): The Lamb, an inn located in Stanton
Characters: All major characters but Mark and Robert Ablett, as well as Andrew Amos, Parsons, John Borden
Summary: The Coroner asks everyone questions about Mark and Robert. The chapter only covers interviews with Bill, Andrew Amos, Parsons, Audrey Stevens, Elsie, Cayley, Antony, Inspector Birch, and John Borden. The Coroner sums up and turns it over to the jury. They deliberate and announced that the deceased had died as the result of a bullet-wound, and that the bullet had been fired by his brother Mark Ablett. The chapter ends with Andrew Amos and Parsons going out of the room together, with Antony between them.

Chapter 20. Mr. Beverley is Tactful
Location(s): The Lamb Inn in Stanton exterior, walking along the road from the Lamb Inn to Waldheim, The George interior (dining room); implicit location: Plough and Horses Inn (pub/dining room) in Stanton
Characters: Bill Beverley, Antony Gillingham; implicit character: innkeeper of the Plough and Horses Inn
Summary: Antony tells Bill that Amos and Parsons are old friends of his (in the previous chapter he indicates he doesn’t know who they are, so perhaps this is a joke). Bill and Antony discuss a poster for a local play that Mark, Cayley and Bill acted in last December. Antony asks if they share the same dentist. Bill says yes, Cartwright, on Wimpole Street. Antony asks: was Mark fond of swimming? Bill says no. Antony asks Bill to return to Stanton and go to the other inn there, the one closest to the train station, the Plough and Horses Inn. To drink a few beers and ask if a stranger stayed there on Monday night. They agree to meet again for dinner at The George at 8pm. Bill leaves. Antony walks another 20 yards, takes a lane off to the left and stops at a gate on the right side of the lane. Time jumps to 8pm when they meet for dinner. Bill tells Antony the innkeeper told of a woman who stayed Monday night, and no one else. She had her own car and drover herself. Antony announces that Robert was not killed by Mark or Cayley, but will give other details tomorrow. They finished eating and went to bed. The morning there was a letter for Antony from Cayley.

Chapter 21. Cayley's Apology
Location(s): The George interior (dining room)
Characters: Bill Beverley, Antony Gillingham; implicitly Matthew Cayley
Summary: This whole chapter is a letter from Cayley to Antony, read over breakfast by Bill (eating with Antony at The George). The letter mentions a letter Antony wrote to Cayley, so this is a response. Cayley confesses to killing Mark (who pretended he was Robert to trick the guests, especially Ruth Norris who he was mad with) over Mark’s mistreatment of Cayley’s brother and over Cayley’s jealously regarding Mark’s relationship with Angela Norbury. Other than that, he outlines events as Antony already knows.

Chapter 22. Mr. Beverley Moves On
Location(s): The George interior (dining room)
Characters: Bill Beverley, Antony Gillingham
Summary: Antony tells Bill (they are still eating breakfast at The George) that he needed the dentist Mr. Cartwright of Wimpole Street to identify the teeth of Robert Ablett as those of Mark. Antony wrote a letter to Cayley telling him Antony was telegraphing to Cartwright to identify the body as that of Mark. Cayley knew the truth would come out then. Antony explains which clues lead him to the solution. The clothes were an important clue since (Antony reasoned) they were important for Cayley. The collar had to be taken off by Mark since otherwise Cayley would have included them in those he dumped. Antony explains more clues (but not why he stopped at the gate on the walk back from the inquest). Bill says to Antony about Cayley: "He's a clever devil. If you hadn't turned up just when you did, he would never have been found out." They wonder if Cayley has committed suicide as a result of being caught.