The attic is the location of the traumatic events that set the story in motion it has a door that is firmly locked with a key that has been lost. The attic in Composition for Four Hands is both a place and a symbol, representing Nora's mind. ![]() Milly Sills, the young night nurse who is devoted to caring for Nora and who acts as her replacement, going up to the attic to uncover the truth.Nora Manson, the invalid who struggles to remember what happened to her and to her son as she also struggles to recover enough movement to tell someone before she is killed.The story itself unfolds over a short period of time, starting after lunch on Saturday afternoon and ending on Sunday night. Hilda Lawrence, the author, uses a non-linear approach to her narrative. Very much a novel for women, the story is suspenseful and the plotting complex. It was then published in book form in 1949, as the second novel in Lawrence's Duet of Death. Just in time, it turns out, because the killer is back and his attempt to murder Nora is foiled by timely intervention by a neighbor.Ĭomposition for Four Hands was first published as a two-part novel in the April and May 1947 issues of Good Housekeeping, one of the most popular "slick" women's magazines of mid-century America. By Sunday night, Nora has recovered enough movement in one hand to provide clues to her nurse, who ventures into the attic and begins to piece together the truth. Nora survives Saturday night and, on Sunday, those around her have reason to suspect that there had been an intruder the night before. She refuses to drink her nightly glass of milk for fear that it has been poisoned. On Saturday night, she is frightened by the strange sight of a shapeless mass that seems to creep about her room on four large, yellow hands. Now, over the course of one terrifying weekend, Nora struggles to communicate the truth, while Robbie's killer is among the people gathered at her house. To prevent Nora from revealing his crimes, he pushed her down the stairs, leaving her paralyzed and in shock. ![]() He had framed Robbie and murdered him, staging the killing to look like a suicide. Not long after that, Nora heard movement in the attic and found that a man she knew well was spending time up there with the large sum of cash he had stolen from the bank. When the crime was discovered, Robbie could not be found, until Nora discovered him dead, hanging from the rafters in his attic room. Tragedy struck when her 18-year-old son Robbie, who had been working at the bank, was accused of stealing over $200,000. When he died, she married Ralph Manson, who had worked his way up to a position of importance in the bank. Her first husband was the scion of a wealthy family that owned and ran a bank in the city. He inadvertently became a casualty of the war and should be remembered for his patriotism.Pity poor Nora Manson! Day by day she sits at the window of her home in Larchville, a suburb of New York City, unable to move or speak but able to see and hear all that goes on around her. Tully unfortunately contracted a very serious infection while touring with Bob Hope in Vietnam that cut his life short. ![]() ![]() No nonsense Alan Baxter is excellent as the skeptical sheriff and Tom Tully matches him with a superb performance as the accused man. This episode was handled by the prolific Stuart Rosenberg who ended up directing many of Paul Newman's better movies including "Cool Hand Luke." Actress Phyllis Love is Tully's young love interest and although she's already 35, she's able to effectively play a 19-year-old with surprising ease. Since the screen time for the show is only about 23 minutes, it doesn't take too long for this to happen. He does some digging and soon arrives at a different conclusion. However, the town sheriff (Alan Baxter) is not quite convinced despite the fact that the murderer (Tully) has already been deemed guilty-as-hell and convicted in the eyes of everyone. Tully killed the man because he was dead set against the relationship and was doing everything in his power to stop it. The murder weapon has been found and the motive is clear. Tom Tully is accused of killing the father of his teenage lover and all the evidence points to him. an older man having conjugal relations with a much younger woman). It explores very much a taboo subject for its time (i.e. The 1960 Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode "Backward, Turn Backward" is one of the more compelling and thought-provoking entries in the series.
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