Thanatos Palace Hotel story
A suicidal man checks into a hotel that caters to people just like him. Directed by: Laslo Benedek. Story by: Arthur A. Ross.
8 total · 1 choice · 4 major · 3 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| contemplating suicide | choice | The story opened with Robert jumping from a tall building in a failed bid to end his life. He later checked into the titular Thanatos Palace Hotel and signed a contract for the proprietor to kill him when Robert was ready to die. |
| betrayal | major | Ariane played along with Robert's escape plan, only to betray him in the end. Robert was hanged as a result. |
| human vs. captivity | major | Robert and Ariane were effectively prisoners in the Thanatos Palace Hotel. Robert plotted their escape but Ariane betrayed him in the end. |
| romantic love | major | Robert and Ariane fell in love. |
| second guessing one's self | major | Robert and Ariane came to rethink their decision to sign a suicide contract with Borchter. |
| facing financial ruin | minor | Robert made an ill-fated suicide attempt in part because the bank foreclosed on his mortgage. |
| horseback riding | minor | Robert and Ariane went horseback riding in the hills for pleasure, or so Robert wanted Borchter and his cronies to believe. In his sketch, Alfred Hitchcock spoke in glowing terms of the sport of equestrianism while mounted on the back of a horse. |
| medical occupation | minor | Robert went to the hotel doctor feigning a muscular pain in his chest. |