On the Nose story
Gambling-addicted housewife Fran Holland rushes to raise $25 to pay a bookie before her husband comes home. Fran uses various tactics that nearly get her in trouble with the police, but just manages to pay off the debt in time. She promises to never gamble again, but soon after succumbs to temptation and places a new bet. Directed by: James Neilson. Story by: Henry Slesar, Irving Elman.
11 total · 1 choice · 7 major · 2 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| problem gambling | choice | Fran's marriage was jeopardized by her gambling addiction. |
| compromising one's ethical principles vs. great need | major | Fran was tempted to steal, and briefly to sell her body, in order to get the money she owed and to save her marriage. |
| coping with being in debt | major | Fran was scrambling to pay off a $25 gambling debt before her husband came home from work. |
| desperation | major | Central to the story was Fran's desperation to save her marriage after her husband gave her an ultimatum. |
| human life choice | major | Should the hopeless gambling addict Fran follow her desire to bet on the horse races at the risk of her husband walking out on her? |
| husband and wife | major | Ed and Fran Holland. |
| resisting a temptation | major | Fran ultimately succumbed to the temptation to place a bet on a horse race in spite of her husband's ultimatum that he'd walk out on her if he ever again caught her gambling. |
| romantic love | major | Fran loved her husband so much that the thought of him leaving her was unbearable. Ed told Fran that he loved her. |
| law enforcement | minor | Fran was "arrested" by a man who was impersonating a police detective. A couple of real police officers spoke with Fran about why she'd fled the scene of an automobile accident. |
| theft | minor | Fran shoplifted a compact makeup mirror, which was valued at $49.50, from a department store. |