Where There's a Will story
When local lawyer Bruce Sexton reads in the newspaper that a client of his has died, he has the will opened, and he and his partner Theresa Prentice find a letter to be opened only after his death, wherein he confesses to the murder of a local prostitute known to have been blackmailing rich clients. However, the client suddenly calls them, and it turns out that, instead, a similarly named relative of his has died. Sexton, torn by duty to the client and morals, informs the police without revealing who confessed to the murder, but things get complicated when the police - and his partner - start to suspect him of being the murderer. Directed by: Michael Gilbert. Story by: Michael Gilbert.
10 total · 1 choice · 5 major · 4 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| personal ethical dilemma | choice | The solicitor Bruce Sexton Bruce Saxton was saddled with the following quandary: A client, by leaving a note in his will, had confessed a murder to Bruce. Should Bruce tell the police in order to save someone innocent from being accused, or did he have a duty of confidentially towards his client? Bruce thought the client dead when he unsealed the will, but had been mistaken. |
| covering up a crime to save a friend | major | Bruce Sexton and Theresa Prentice were partners in a law firm. When Bruce came under police suspicion for the murder of a prostitute, Theresa feared he might be guilty and forged evidence in an effort to clear him of suspicion. Although her plan succeeded, it ultimately proved unnecessary, as the police had already identified the real killer. |
| how to murder someone and get away with it | major | It was suggested that Bruce himself was the murderer, ingeniously trying to get away with it by pinning the crime on a recently deceased client. |
| law enforcement | major | Detective Superintendent Marker was investigating Mrs. Slaney's murder. |
| legal occupation | major | The story turns on the lawyer Bruce Sexton finding himself in a predicament after discovering a murder confession note in a client's file folder. |
| murder | major | Bruce Sexton came under suspicion from both the police and his own law partner for the murder of a prostitute some two years prior. |
| blackmail | minor | Mrs. Slaney, who was only talked about in the story, was said to have been a prostitute who sometimes blackmailed her clients. |
| equal career opportunities for women | minor | In his opening remarks, Orson Welles pointedly noted that, unlike in Charles Dickens' day, it was now possible for women to become solicitors. |
| master and servant | minor | Bruce took exception when his servant, Mrs. Marjoram, spoke ill of a certain woman who'd been murdered two years prior. Mrs. Marjoram fretted when Bruce didn't return home from his law office in time for the warm dinner that she'd prepared. |
| prostitution | minor | Mrs. Slaney, who was only talked about in the story, was said to have been a prostitute who sometimes blackmailed her clients. |