Post Mortem story
Judy exhumes her first husband Harry's body because a winning sweepstakes ticket was buried with him. Insurance investigator Wescott takes advantage of this to perform an autopsy on Harry, proving that he was poisoned. Judy's second husband, Steve (Forrest) murdered Harry before marrying Judy so that they could live on Harry's insurance money. Wescott helps Judy catch Steve in a failed act of trying to murder her, and Steve is arrested. Directed by: Arthur Hiller. Story by: Cornell Woolrich, Robert C. Dennis.
14 total · 5 major · 9 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| gold digging | major | It was made clear that Steve was in his marriage with Judy more for the sake of money than anything else. |
| honest character vs. deceitful character | major | Judy was notably sweet and trusting compared to devious murderer of a husband, Steve. |
| husband and wife | major | The story centered around Judy and Steve Archer coming into some money. Judy had the body of her first husband, Harry, exhumed in order to search its suit for a $133,000 sweepstakes ticket. |
| spouse murder | major | The story culminated with Steve trying to electrocute his wife, Judy, by dropping an electric heater in the bathtub while she was taking a bubble bath. |
| what if I suddenly got some free money | major | Judy found her late husband's winning sweepstakes ticket, worth $133,000 or so. Enough to buy a new house with a heated bathroom. |
| attitude towards the dead | minor | Steve feigned moral outrage at the thought of exhuming Harry's corpse. |
| gambling | minor | Judy reminded Steve about the losses he'd accrued in the past by placing bets at the horse racing track. |
| gardening | minor | Alfred Hitchcock revealed some of his horticultural secrets to some otherwise unspecified members of "the Garden Club" in his monologue. |
| insurance fraud | minor | The story concludes with the revelation that Steve had arranged a $25,000 life insurance for Harry, then murdered Harry and married his widow. |
| journalism | minor | The story involved a number of journalists who were eager to write about a horse race winner, and to dig in the past. |