Death of an Old-Fashioned Girl story
After the wife of a famous artist is stabbed to death, the police investigate four people connected to the case, and present in the building when the murder happened: the artist himself, his gallery manager, his old friend and fellow artist, and the latter's wife. From their recollections emerge the image of a shrewd and manipulative woman, who ingrained herself into the artist's life, destroyed his previous marriage and drove that wife to suicide, and then completely took over his life and financial situation, alienating him from his friends. It seems everyone had a reason to kill her, but perhaps, it wasn't any of them who held the knife. Directed by: Alan Gibson. Story by: Anthony Fowles, based on the short story by Stanley Ellin.
18 total · 2 choice · 10 major · 6 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| murder | choice | The plot turns on identifying the the person who'd stabbed Elizabeth Ann to death. In a surprise twist, the killer turned out to be none other than Elizabeth Ann, who had fatally stabbed herself in a fit of jealous rage. |
| romantic jealousy | choice | Nicole was jealous of Elizabeth Ann for being her husband Paul's new favorite. Elizabeth Ann flew into a jealously fueled tantrum after beholding Paul's shrine to her deceased rival, Nicole. She ended up accidentally stabbing herself in the stomach while in that jealous rage. |
| controlling partner | major | Elizabeth Ann insinuated herself into Paul's life, destroyed his marriage, alienated him from his old friends, and then completely took over his life and financial situation. |
| coping with someone controlling your life | major | Elizabeth Ann insinuated herself into Paul's life, destroyed his marriage, alienated him from his old friends, and then completely took over his life and financial situation. |
| extramarital affair | major | Paul and Elizabeth Ann were running around under Nicole's nose. |
| falling out of friendship | major | Elizabeth Ann worked in the background to alienate Paul from his old friends, David and Mr. Goldsmith. |
| husband and wife | major | Paul and Nicole Zachary were happily married until Elizabeth Ann entered the picture. David and Janet Belcito were happily married. Paul and Elizabeth Ann had a troubled marriage. |
| ironic twist of fate | major | Elizabeth Ann's heart burned with hatred for Paul's dear ex-wife, Nicole, for whose tragic suicide she was as much to blame as anyone. In a jealous rage, she lunged at Nicole's portrait, knife in hand. But when she slashed at what she thought was canvas, the blade glanced off the surface and plunged into her own abdomen, killing her. Unbeknownst to her, the painting had been done on masonite. In this way, Elizabeth Ann got her comeuppance for driving Nicole to suicide. |
| law enforcement | major | The story was told from the perspective of a police sergeant who was investigating the stabbing death of Elizabeth Ann. |
| love triangle | major | Elizabeth Ann came between Paul and Nicole. |