Cop for a Day story
Phil and Davey are two stick-up men who get into trouble when Davey shoots a bank messenger during a hold up. There is a witness to the crime and when the messenger dies Phil realizes that they now face a murder charge. He is determined to eliminate the witness. He devises a plan, but refuses to tell Davey about it. Phil disguises himself as a policeman and manages to bluff his way past the guards at the witnesses apartment. He kills the witness and makes a successful escape. Later, when he returns to his hideout he is shot by Davey who mistakes him for a real cop that is coming to arrest him. Directed by: Paul Henreid. Story by: Henry Slesar.
8 total · 5 major · 3 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| humans in pairs | major | Central to the story was the ad hoc and ill considered partnership of the two crooks Phil and Davey, the latter of which was recklessly trigger happy in the former's estimation. |
| law enforcement | major | There were cops, and Phil skillfully impersonated such an officer as alluded to in the title. |
| murder | major | The ante was severely upped when it transpired that the mugged bank messenger had died from the gunshot wound he took. Phil shot dead the witness later. |
| poetic justice | major | After shooting dead the witness, Phil was himself shot dead by his all too trigger happy crony, Davey. |
| robbery | major | The story concerns the aftermath of a violent robbery of a bank messenger carrying $18,000. |
| facing a home invader | minor | After a brief struggle, the female witness was shot dead in her home by a criminal who sneaked past her police guard by disguising himself as a cop. |
| facing organized pursuit | minor | Two criminals were hiding out from the law. |
| poison murder | minor | In his sketch, Alfred Hitchcock commented on a man who'd dropped dead after taking a single sip of (presumably poisoned) tea. |