Whodunit story
Dead mystery writer Alexander Penn Arlington is distraught when he arrives in Heaven not knowing who killed him. His angel, Wilfred, returns Alexander to Earth to repeat his last day to investigate. Alexander's assistant, nephew, wife and her lover all have motives. In his study, he tells them all that one of them is planning his death. His wife's lover turns off the light and Alexander is killed in the dark without seeing who did it. Returning to Heaven, Wilfred points out that the killer must have trusted the person who turned off the light, so it must have been Alexander's wife. Directed by: Francis Cockrell. Story by: C. B. Gilford, Francis Cockrell & Marian Cockrell.
14 total · 2 choice · 8 major · 4 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| murder | choice | Alexander had been murdered and was posthumously trying to solve the riddle of whodunit. |
| the need for closure | choice | Central to this story was Alexander's need to know the circumstances of his own demise in order to be content. |
| angel | major | The archangel Wilfred helped Alexander to solve his own murder. |
| creative writing | major | Alexander was a renowned writer of the mystery genre. |
| extramarital affair | major | Alexander's wife had a lover. |
| greedy heir | major | Vincent pressured his uncle Alexander to give him part of his inheritance early. |
| husband and wife | major | Alexander and Carol Arlington. |
| spouse murder | major | It would seem in the end that Alexander's wife did it as she alone had the opportunity. |
| the afterlife | major | The viewer is shown a caricatured depiction of Heaven that included such things as angels with little wings, puffy white clouds, and harps. |
| uncle and nephew | major | Alexander his early inheritance seeking nephew Vincent. |