A Bottle of Wine story
Wealthy, elderly Judge Connors's wife, Grace, is leaving him for a younger man, Wallace Donaldson. Connors invites Wallace into his home, pretends to poison him and locks him in a room in an attempt to show Grace what kind of man Wallace is. Wallace shoots the door in order to get out, and accidentally kills Connors. Directed by: Herschel Daugherty. Story by: Borden Deal, Stirling Silliphant.
13 total · 1 choice · 7 major · 5 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| coping with getting dumped | choice | Judge was in a wistful mood as his wife was walking out on him. |
| extramarital affair | major | Donaldson confronted his wife's lover Donaldson. |
| gastronomy | major | Alfred Hitchcock spoke about wine, Champagne, and root beer in the intro. The story centered on a bottle of particularly exclusive sherry - the quasi eponymous title of the story. |
| husband and wife | major | Judge was desperate to prevent his young wife, Grace, from leaving him for her new lover. |
| love triangle | major | Grace was walking out on her husband, Judge, to be with her new lover Donaldson. Judge and Donaldson got acquainted. |
| poison murder | major | Judge hatched an elaborate plot to made Donaldson believe that Judge had poisoned him with tainted wine. |
| romantic love | major | Judge confided in Donaldson that he dearly loved Grace, though she did not love him, and Donaldson likewise expressed that he loved her. |
| young and old romance | major | Judge commented on the fact that he was so much older than Grace. |
| crime and punishment | minor | Judge noted that no jury would convict him if he shot Donaldson, and reflected "that is not the law but just how it is" or something along those lines. |
| facing death | minor | The story of Socrates' last hours was recited. |