Dead Right story
In 1950, gold-digging secretary Cathy Finch marries Charlie Marno, an overweight, unhygienic, and grotesque slob of a man after being told by a fortune teller, Madame Vorna, that he will die shortly after inheriting a large sum of money. Vorna's prediction does come true, but not in the way that Cathy expects. Directed by: Howard Deutch. Story by: Andy Wolk.
16 total · 1 choice · 8 major · 7 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| greed for riches | choice | The story follows Cathy Finch as she marries an overweight slob of a man because she expected him soon to receive a lot of money and then die. |
| coping with unwelcome romantic attention | major | The beautiful young strip-club waitress Cathy fended off the overweight slob of a man Charlie's crude romantic overtures in the early part of the story. |
| fortune telling | major | Cathy made the mistake of consulting the accurate, but untrustworthy fortune teller Madame Vorna about her love life. |
| husband and wife | major | The story explores the young and beautiful waitress Cathy's miserable marriage to the overweight slob of a man Charlie, who she was waiting for to drop dead and leave her a large sum of money. |
| ironic twist of fate | major | In avarice, Cathy married Charlie because a fortune teller told her Charlie would inherit a lot of money and then die soon. Through an ironic twist of fate that bordered on the poetic, Charlie did just so by stabbing Cathy to death after she won $1,000,000 on the lottery, upon which he then inherited her winnings but was executed as a murderer. |
| prophetic ability | major | The plot turns on the fortune teller Madame Vorna correctly foretelling that the overweight slob of a man Charlie would soon inherit a large sum of money die shortly thereafter. |
| self-fulfilling prophesy | major | Because Madame Vorna prophesied that Cathy would soon marry and quickly inherit a large sum of money, Cathy set into motion a series of events that culminated in the ironic fulfillment of that very prophesy. |
| spouse murder | major | When Cathy tried to walk out on her overweight slob of a husband, he bludgeoned her to death in a jealous rage so that nobody else could have her. |
| unrequited love | major | The overweight slob of a man Charlie fell madly in love with the beautiful young woman Cathy and resolved to make her his wife. Cathy married him, thinking he would soon inherit a fortune and subsequently die a violent death, but he could hardly miss the revulsion she exuded in his presence. |
| boss and employee | minor | Mr. Clayton fired Cathy on the spot, ostensibly for taking an extended lunch break, but the viewer is left to ponder whether it had more to do with her calling him an "asshole" within earshot. |