Don't Come Back Alive story
Financially strapped couple Frank and Mildred Partridge scheme to have Mildred "disappear" for seven years and declared legally dead in order to collect Frank's insurance pay-off. Insurance investigator Mr. Kettle suspects that Frank killed Mildred, and his constant hounding of Frank means that the couple cannot be in contact with each other. The night before the seven years is up, Frank is visited by Mildred, who has moved on with life, and she declares that she wants a divorce and an end to the scheme. In a rage, Frank kills her and buries her in his garden. The next day Kettle apologizes to Frank for his assumption, and offers to help him with his garden. Directed by: Robert Stevenson. Story by: Robert Dennis.
9 total · 1 choice · 3 major · 5 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| insurance fraud | choice | Frank and Mildred hatched an elaborate plot to defraud their life insurance company. |
| coping with being separated from someone you love | major | A happily married couple resolved to spend seven long years apart as part of a plot to pull off a life insurance fraud scheme. |
| husband and wife | major | Frank and Mildred Partridge. |
| spouse murder | major | Mr. Kettle was convinced that Frank had killed his wife, as in the end he did. |
| divorce | minor | Just as they were nearly in the clear, Mildred said she wanted a legal divorce instead. |
| facing being evicted from one's home | minor | Frank and Mildred were on the verge of being evicted from their home on account of being behind on their mortgage payments. |
| facing financial ruin | minor | Frank and Mildred were low on cash to the extent that they thought they would lose their house and insurance, and be destitute in old age. |
| ironic twist of fate | minor | As a token of apology for having incorrectly suspected Frank of killing Mildred, Mr. Kettle started digging where he had once dug before and found nothing. By an ironic twist of fate, Frank had in fact killed and buried Mildred there just the other night. |
| what if I was accused of a crime that I didn't commit | minor | Frank was a little taken aback to be accused of murder when all he did was insurance fraud. |