Your Witness story
Arnold Shawn is a ruthless defense lawyer who uses his arguing skills to put down his wife, Naomi and defend his cheating on her. When Arnold refuses to divorce Naomi, she hits him with her car, killing him. The only witness of the "accident" is Henry Babcock, a man that Arnold had just destroyed the credibility of as an eyewitness in court. Directed by: Norman Lloyd. Story by: Helen Nielsen, William Fay.
12 total · 6 major · 6 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| extramarital affair | major | Arnold had cheated on his wife and defended his actions. It turns out that he was still cheating. Naomi killed him because of it. |
| humans in group | major | The lawyer Arnold was using his rhetorical skills to to defend his cheating on her. |
| husband and wife | major | Arnold and Naomi Shawn were at the center of the story. |
| legal occupation | major | Arnold was a defense lawyer. We saw other legal professionals in court. In his sketch, Alfred Hitchcock pretended to be a old timey legal professional, perhaps a judge. |
| spouse murder | major | In the end Naomi ran over Arnold with a car, killing him. |
| what it is like in a legal proceeding | major | We saw many stereotypical scenes from an American trial. |
| coping with aging | minor | Naomi didn't take it well when Arnold explained that he was cheating on her because she was too old. |
| dangerous driving | minor | Mrs. Thompson had been hit and killed by a man who was on trial for his presumably dangerous driving. |
| divorce | minor | Arnold refused to divorce Naomi. |
| ironic twist of fate | minor | Arnold was murdered and there was a witness. But through an ironic twist of fate, that witness was a man whose reputation as a witness Arnold himself had recently, cleverly, and quite incorrectly, ruined. |