Shadow Play story

tz1959e2x26 · 1961-05-05

A man convicted of murder and awaiting execution insists that everything happening is just a dream. Directed by: John Brahm. Story by: Charles Beaumont.

13 total · 2 choice · 5 major · 6 minor

ThemeLevelMotivation
the universe is a dream choice Everything we saw was apparently just Adam's recurring bad dream.
what if I repeated a portion of my life over again choice Adam kept reliving his conviction and execution over and over, albeit in a dream.
capital punishment major Adam faced execution for murder. There was talk about making mentally unfit people be executed.
facing one's own execution major Adam faced execution for murder.
solipsism syndrome major People summarily dismissed Adam's assertion that they were figments of his imagination, leaving them left to think he was suffering from an elaborate delusion.
to kill or to spare major Should District Attorney Ritchie call the judge to stay Adam's execution?
what if I told the truth and nobody would believe me major Everyone thought Adam was mad when he insisted that reality was merely his dream.
carpe diem minor Someone said "drink and be merry for tomorrow" (we shall die).
Catholicism minor A Catholic priest attempted to comfort Adam prior to Adam's execution.
cracking under pressure minor A month on death row had turned Phillips into a nervous, rambling, wreck of a man.