Cell 227 story
Herbert Morrison is on death row for murder and wants to die with dignity, refusing his lawyer's attempt for a stay of execution. When Herbert is taken to the gas chamber, he kills a guard and is taken away. Afterward the warden tells Herbert that his lawyer obtained a stay and found a witness to clear his name, but since Herbert killed the guard, he will never be pardoned. Directed by: Paul Henreid. Story by: Bryce Walton, Bill S. Ballinger.
11 total · 2 choice · 6 major · 3 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| facing one's own execution | choice | Men were on death row and awaited execution with either trepidation or stoicism. |
| what it is like in prison | choice | The story concerned prisoners on death row and how they faced their fate. In his monologue, Alfred Hitchcock feigned to be incarcerated and briefly explained what that was like. |
| human self-esteem need | major | The story was in part about a condemned man's need/desire for dignity in his final moments. |
| human vs. captivity | major | The story follows Herbert's experience on death row in the lead up to date with the gas chamber. |
| ironic twist of fate | major | Herbert was exonerated for the crime he was originally in for, but had just then killed a guard to escape from the gas chamber. |
| law enforcement | major | Prison guards in uniform tended to Herbert's execution. |
| murder | major | Men were on death row because of murders committed, we heard. |
| the need for self-vindication | major | Herbert refused his lawyer's attempt to secure for him a stay of execution, preferring instead to either die in the gas chamber with dignity or else be exonerated. |
| perjury | minor | Herbert's lawyer spoke of a perjured witness. |
| religious occupation | minor | A prison priest tended to the souls of the condemned. |