The Caterpillar story
A British expatriate (Laurence Harvey) in Borneo plots a gruesome assassination of a romantic rival (Tom Helmore). Note: Based on the short story "Boomerang" by Oscar Cook Directed by: Jeannot Szwarc. Story by: Rod Serling.
12 total · 9 major · 3 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| coming to terms with one's own death | major | Macy suffered a slow death, recovered, and learned he was about to suffer a slow death again. |
| coping with excruciating pain | major | Macy was in utter agony while an earwig was creeping around in his brain. |
| coping with living in a foreign culture | major | Steven Macy moaned about living on miserable Borneo. |
| husband and wife | major | The older man John Warwick and his younger wife Rhona. |
| killing for personal advantage | major | Macy wrestled with his conscience regarding having his elderly rival assassinated. |
| matrimonial love | major | The young wife made clear that she loved her aged husband. |
| poetic justice | major | Macy intended to kill John using an earwig but ended up suffering the fate himself. |
| unrequited love | major | Macy for John's young wife Rhona. |
| young and old romance | major | Sixty-six year old John Warwick was married to the under 28 year old Rhona. |
| boredom | minor | Macy complained of boredom on Borneo. |