Breakdown story
Movie producer Mr. Callew fires a long-time employee on the phone and scoffs at his crying. Callew later gets into a car accident and is completely paralyzed. He is assumed to be dead and is ignored by everyone, and only gets the mortician's attentions with his tears. Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock. Story by: Louis Pollock, Francis Cockrell & Louis Pollock.
8 total · 1 choice · 1 major · 6 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| what if I were in a coma-like state | choice | Callew became comatose due to a car accident, except that his mind worked - the point of the story was to make us imagine what this might be like. |
| compassion | major | The hard-hearted business man Callew learned the value of having compassion toward others after he found himself paralyzed from head to toe in the wake of an automobile accident. |
| boss and employee | minor | Callew and his colleague callously cut Mr. Hubka from the payroll. |
| getting fired from one's job | minor | The devoted company man Mr. Hubka was devastated upon being summarily laid off over the phone. |
| loneliness | minor | Callew twice spoke of feeling lonely while lying in a come-like state. |
| medical occupation | minor | A coroner came to inspect what he thought to be Callew's dead body, although it turned out that Callew was still alive. |
| ruthlessness | minor | Callew and his colleague callously cut Mr. Hubka from the payroll. |
| theft | minor | Thieves stripped Callew's car and body after the accident. |