Terror at Northfield story
The residents of a small town demand the investigation of a boy's death. Directed by: Harvey Hart. Story by: Leigh Brackett (teleplay), Ellery Queen (story).
14 total · 2 choice · 4 major · 7 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| coping with the death of a child | choice | John Cooley started killing people that he thought might have been the ones that murdered his son, thus becoming the titular "Terror of Northfield". Mrs. La Font's eyes welled up with tears as she was questioned by Sheriff Pearce over the recent murder of her lazy, irresponsible son, Frenchy. |
| the desire for vengeance | choice | John Cooley started killing people that he thought might have been the ones that murdered his son, thus becoming the titular "Terror of Northfield". |
| law enforcement | major | Sheriff Will Pearce was at the center of the story, trying to solve the murders. |
| mass hysteria | major | There was a whiff of hysteria all about the town of Northfield as people began falling victim to a mysterious murderer. People locked themselves in and were afraid to walk alone at night. People called for armed untrained men to form a guard, even though this would likely as not lead to all sorts of accidents. |
| murder | major | After Tommy had been killed, his father John began murdering people he suspected of being guilty. |
| religious point of view | major | John Cooley was going around murdering people in accordance with what he took to be the Lord's will. |
| boyfriend and girlfriend | minor | Will Pearce and Susan Marsh were an item. |
| Christianity | minor | John was a Christian fanatic who thought he was doing the Lord's work, or something along those lines. |
| coping with a loved one being missing | minor | Before Tommy's body was found, Susan was looking for him because he had not shown up for a month. His father was conspicuously sanguine about the boy being gone, but had an accusatory undertone when he addressed Susan about it. |
| drunk driving | minor | The man who killed Tommy had been driving drunk, he confessed in a secret letter that was opened by his wife after his death. |