House Guest story
A man gets more than he bargained for when he offers a younger man a fresh start. Directed by: Alan Crosland, Jr. Story by: Andrew Garve.
16 total · 6 major · 10 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| be wary of strangers | major | The Mitchells' welcomed the stranger who saved their son's life into their home, and were nearly extorted out of $20,000 by him for their trouble. In his closing remarks, Alfred Hitchcock summed up moral of the story as follows: "If a stranger offers to save your life, think it over." |
| blackmail | major | Ray tried to blackmail the Mitchells' out of $20,000. Ray threatened to make his story public if the Mitchells' threw him out of the house. |
| con artistry | major | The central events of the story were revealed all to have been part of an elaborate con orchestrated by Ray and his cronies in order to extort $20,000 from the Mitchell couple. |
| coping with an unwelcome house guest | major | As alluded to in the title, the story concerns a couple who's straddled themselves with a freeloader house guest who reveals himself to be an unsavory blackmailer and very hard to get rid of. |
| husband and wife | major | John and Sally Mitchell's lives were turned upside down by a blackmailing freeloader. George and Eve Sherston from allegedly campers from Washington. |
| murder | major | Ray and his accomplice arranged for John to think that he had punched Ray so hard that it killed him. |
| coping with a loved one being in peril | minor | Sally got a bit flustered when she thought her son was drowning in front of her eyes, as she couldn't swim. |
| coping with unwelcome romantic attention | minor | Mrs. Mitchell rebuffed Ray as he lewdly propositioned her. |
| father and son | minor | John interacted with his young son, Tony. |
| forbidden love | minor | John threatened to kick Ray out of the house if he continued to romance the young maid, Kira. |