The Dangerous People story
Lawyer Bellefontaine and accountant Jones are waiting for their train in the station's isolated waiting room. When they learn that an inmate has escaped from a nearby criminal asylum, both men suspect the other of being said inmate. They are about to attack each other when the real inmate enters the waiting room. They work together to subdue the inmate, just long enough that the orderlies arrive to take him into custody. Directed by: Robert Stevens. Story by: Fredric Brown, Francis Cockrell.
7 total · 3 major · 4 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| coping with a bad hangover | major | Jones kept complaining what a rough night of drinking he had had the night before, and spent a good deal of time with his head in a drinking fountain. |
| mental illness | major | The story culminates with a mentally deranged man barging into a train station waiting room whereupon he quickly made his mental health issues on display to its two terrified occupants. |
| mistrust | major | Two men nearly got into a mortal fight because they (incorrectly) suspected each other of being a deranged lunatic. |
| facing organized pursuit | minor | The asylum inmate appeared and described his efforts to evade the law and the orderlies. |
| legal occupation | minor | Bellefontaine stated matter-of-factly that he worked as a lawyer. He spoke briefly about his client. |
| murder | minor | The escaped asylum inmate had murdered a policeman and stolen his uniform and police cruiser. |
| treatment of the criminally insane | minor | The story presupposes that mentally deranged criminals are to be put in asylums rather than locked in jail. |