The Day of the Bullet story

ahp5x20 · 1960-02-14

Young best friends Iggy and Clete witness mobster Mr. Rose beating up a frightened man. Iggy insists on reporting the incident to the police, but is heartbroken when the police refuse to take him seriously, and his father is too frightened to stand up for him. 35 years later, Iggy has become a mobster himself, and Clete sees a newspaper article of his death by gunshot. Directed by: Norman Lloyd. Story by: Stanley Ellin, Bill S. Ballinger.

15 total · 1 choice · 7 major · 7 minor

Theme	Level	Motivation
disillusionment	choice	Central to the story was the once bright eyed and law abiding Iggy had become a gangster after getting disillusioned as a child.
descent into crime	major	As a child, Iggy had a noted interest in turning a dime. We understand that receiving a whooping $10 from Mr. Rose may have been the turning point that set Iggy on the path of crime, where many years later he was shot dead.
friendship	major	Iggy and Clete were childhood chums.
greed for riches	major	Iggy had a noted interest in turning a dime. We understand that receiving a whooping $10 from Mr. Rose may have been the turning point that set Iggy on the path of crime, where many years later he was shot dead.
human childhood	major	Iggy and Clete were two kids playing as kids do.
organized crime	major	The various criminals in the story are understood to be mobsters.
violent crime	major	Two mobsters beat up a man they said had double crossed them. Iggy and Clete tried to report this crime, but the police wouldn't have it.
what if I told the truth and nobody would believe me	major	Iggy and Clete were crestfallen when the police wouldn't take their testimony seriously.
alcohol in society	minor	The gangster Mr. Rose admitted to being a bootlegger to a man he was roughing up.
corruption in society	minor	When the two policemen heard Mr. Rose's name they changed their demeanor quickly. They told the boys to keep their mouths shut.