A Very Moral Theft story
Spinster Helen is dating Harry Wade, a rude lumber yard owner who Helen's brother, John, believes is a crook. When Harry is about to lose his business, Helen "borrows" $8,000 from her office in order to help Harry. When Harry learns about this, he pays her back the money by borrowing from his "friends". A week later, Helen learns that Harry died to get the money for her. Directed by: Norman Lloyd. Story by: Jack Dillon, Allan Gordon.
15 total · 9 major · 6 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| appearances can be deceiving | major | Harry appeared to be a thoroughly unsavory character, but when he realized Helen was had actually committed a crime for him, he risked his life to get her the money back rather than let her take the fall. |
| brother and sister | major | Helen and her brother, John, came into conflict of Helen's choice in men. |
| coping with a family issue | major | John disapproved of his sister, Helen, running around with the shady lumberyard owner Harry. Although Harry proved himself to be an honorable man in the end. |
| engaged couple | major | Helen and Harry were engaged to be married, but things ended tragically for them. |
| facing the demise of a personal enterprise | major | Harry stood to lose his lumberyard business unless he got his hands on $8000. |
| sacrifice for a loved one | major | Helen committed theft to help Harry (although arguably she just wanted to get married and have somewhere to live). Harry risked and lost his life to get Helen the money back when he learned she had committed theft to obtain it. |
| theft | major | Helen stole $8000 to keep her fiancé, Harry, from going out of business. |
| trust | major | Harry had unwisely trusted his business partner with $8000 of goods. Helen took a risk by trusting that Harry would pay her back the $8000 she'd pilfered for him. Later there was lengthy discussion about young women trusting men with money because they think they'll get married. |
| unrequited love | major | The viewer was left hanging regarding whether Helen's feelings for Harry were reciprocated. |
| con artistry | minor | John wrongly accused Harry of having swindled Helen out of $8000. |