Final Arrangements story
Leonard Thompson is tired of being stuck with his invalid wife Elise and longs for adventure anywhere else. He buys poison and makes lavish arrangements with a funeral home, but it is not for her — instead, Leonard commits suicide. Directed by: Gordon Hessler. Story by: Lawrence A. Page, Robert Arthur.
13 total · 6 major · 7 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| coping with being ill and indisposed | major | Elise had been living as an invalid for 15 years. |
| feeling tied down in a relationship | major | Leonard longed for a way out of his marriage to his nagging wife, and ultimately found it through suicide. |
| husband and wife | major | Leonard sought to free himself form his wife, Elise. |
| poison murder | major | Leonard plotted to give his invalid wife some rat poison, or so we the viewer is to believe. |
| spouse murder | major | Leonard plotted to give his invalid wife some rat poison, or so the viewer is lead to believe. |
| suicide | major | In the end, Leonard did away with himself in order to escape his loathsome wife. |
| collecting objects | minor | Leonard was an avid collector of African-Caribean curios. |
| coping with a spendthrift | minor | Leonard was squandering lots of money on curios from his wife's point of view. At the same time Leonard was bothered by Elise's wasting money on snake oil remedies. |
| filmmaking | minor | In his sketch, Alfred Hitchcock jested about mass producing a movie on a conveyor belt. |
| funeral rite | minor | Leonard discussed funeral arrangements with an undertaker. |