Conversation Over a Corpse story
Mr. Brenner threatens to take sisters Cissie and Joanna to court unless they sell him their home. The domineering Joanna orders Cissie to poison Brenner, but Cissie allows him to live just long enough so that he can kill Joanna before succumbing to the poison, thus leaving Cissie alone with the house. Directed by: Jules Bricken. Story by: Norman Daniels, Marian Cockrell and Norman Daniels.
9 total · 7 major · 2 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| facing being evicted from one's home | major | Cissie and Joanna resorted to murder rather than be evicted. |
| mental illness | major | It was certainly suggested many times that Cissie was crazy and could be committed. |
| poison murder | major | Cissie and Joanna poisoned Mr. Brenner, albeit ineffectually at first. |
| ruthless character vs. merciful character | major | Initially, Joanna was ruthless and Cissie notably soft, but later we learn that Cissie is in fact even more calculating and ruthless. |
| ruthlessness | major | The callous businessman Mr. Brenner had no compunctions about throwing two old ladies out of their home, while each of the two old ladies resorted to cold blooded tactics in order to keep the place. |
| sister and sister | major | The viewer is led to believe that Cissie and Joanna were sisters, though it transpires that Joanna was merely impersonating Cissie's sister. |
| unethical business practices | major | The callous businessman Mr. Brenner had no compunctions about throwing two old ladies out of their home in order to turn a nice profit. |
| cooking | minor | Alfred Hitchcock jested about cooking in front of a chemistry bench in the intro. |
| facing death | minor | Mr. Brenner was very upset about being about to be killed. |