Touché story
Bill Fleming is upset that his wife, Laura, is cheating on him with a man named Baxter. Bill's new friend, Phil, points out a Californian law on duels that could work in his favor, so Bill challenges Baxter to a duel and kills him. Bill is acquitted, but has to pay a hefty allowance to Baxter's only child for life. Bill then learns that Phil is Baxter's son, and is also Laura's lover; Phil and Laura plotted together to gain Bill's money and get Baxter out of the way. Directed by: John Brahm. Story by: Bryce Walton, William Fay.
17 total · 1 choice · 10 major · 6 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| what if I had to fight to the death | choice | Bill and Baxter had a short, but plot driving, duel to the death which culminated with Bill running Baxter through with a sword. |
| betrayal | major | Baxter betrayed his old friend Bill by carrying on a rather public affair with his wife. Phil cultivated a friendship with Bill only to back stab him in the end. |
| coping with having a bad reputation | major | Bill was upset because everyone knew he was being cuckolded. |
| extramarital affair | major | Bill complained that his wife was carrying on with a man named Baxter. She had other flings too, but the one with Baxter was apparently lasting. Laura was having a secret affair with Baxter's own son, Phil. |
| false friend | major | Phil cultivated a friendship with Bill and subsequently manipulated him into killing his Phil's own father in a duel. In the end, it was revealed that this was all in an effort to secure a large sum of Bill's money. |
| friendship | major | Bill took exception to his old friend Baxter carrying on a rather public affair with his young wife. |
| husband and wife | major | Central to the story was Laura carrying on an affair with her husband Bill's old friend Baxter. |
| love triangle | major | Laura was openly cheating on Bill with Bill's old friend Baxter. |
| male-male rivalry | major | Bill bested his romantic rival Baxter in a duel with swords. |
| murder | major | After a lengthy discussing with his lawyer friend, Bill came up with an elaborate plan to kill his rival without being convicted of murder. He was later acquitted of murder. |