Man with a Problem story
Carl climbs out a window onto the ledge of a high rise Chicago hotel. He is disconsolate over his wife Karen's recent death; she committed suicide when her lover abandoned her. After some banter, the patrolman on duty, joins Carl on the ledge to rescue him, but this turns out to fulfill Carl's plot: this police officer is Steve, Karen's lover; he had recently spurned her precipitating her suicide. Once Carl is secured by a rope lasso, he tells Steve of the plot and who he really is, then pushes Steve off the ledge. Directed by: Robert Stevens. Story by: Donald Martin, Joel Murcott.
16 total · 1 choice · 8 major · 6 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| suicide | choice | Karen had committed suicide. Carl pretended to be about to. The entire story centered around this. |
| coping with romantic rejection | major | Carl was rejected by his wife, Karen. Karen committed suicide after she was rejected by her lover, Steve. |
| coping with suicide | major | Carl was upset after his wife had committed suicide, and ostensibly seemed to be about to kill himself. |
| extramarital affair | major | Karen and Steve were carrying on behind the backs of their spouses. |
| husband and wife | major | Carl and Karen Adams. |
| law enforcement | major | Steve was a police officer. |
| talking someone out of suicide | major | Steve tried to talk Carl out of jumping to his death. |
| the desire for vengeance | major | It transpires that the whole act was an elaborate ruse for Carl to avenge himself on Steve. |
| unrequited love | major | Carl clearly loved Karen, but Karen had lost her feelings for Carl. It also became clear that Steve was not nearly as devoted to Karen as she was to Steve. |
| divorce | minor | Carl shot down Karen when she proposed they get a divorce. According to Karen, Steve was getting a divorce from his wife to be with her. |