Because of the selfish and arrogant tones of Mrs. Stevenson's conversations, she is not a very likeable character. She also wants the telephone operators to first re-dial a number she does not know and then to trace a phone call that has already ended. The first hint of this occurs in the beginning of the scene when Mrs. Stevenson cannot get through to her husband's office. It tells the story of a woman who overhears a murder plot. All she knows about the address of the proposed murder is that it is close to Second Avenue. Though the requests that she makes do not always make much sense, when others cannot, or do not, comply with her wishes, she calls them stupid. Mrs. Stevenson is caught off guard. Mrs. Stevenson's responses to the operator's questions do not improve the situation. The author connects the playwrights' works to their lives and the time in which they lived. ", In an obituary for the Washington Post, Adam Bernstein refers to Fletcher's play as the "venerable 1940s radio suspense drama." As the play continues, on more subtle levels, everyone Mrs. Stevenson talks to eventually abandons her in some way. Is this a possibility? The introduction sets the background and motivation for the book, starting from a brief history of measurement and describing the political and social conditions that give rise to the current situation. The house on Staten Island has burned down, and three men, including one named Morano have been arrested. The call cuts off without Leona learning very much other than it is scheduled for 11:15pm, when a passing train will hide any sounds. Ask them to write their age and their greatest fear on a piece of paper and submit it to you anonymously. This made the first half of the decade very trying. She is unable to reach her husband and spends most of her time talking to various operators. This week, we're taking a look at some of the first titles from Imprint Films, a new premium-label Blu-ray series from Via Vision Entertainment, featuring world-first releases of classic films. When someone acts arrogantly, it is easy to dismiss that person's concern. In the final moments, when the intruder is heard inside Mrs. Stevenson's home and she finally realizes that she is the victim, the suspense reaches a climax. In the course of the conversation, Mrs. Stevenson learns that the second man's name is George. https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/sorry-wrong-number, "Sorry, Wrong Number The receptionist at the hospital that Mrs. Stevenson telephones explains to Mrs. Stevenson that she is under orders not to send out any nurses to private homes unless that request has been made by a doctor. She asks for details from Mrs. Stevenson. Many of the published scripts for Fletcher's play provide stage directions, but the original production of Sorry, Wrong Number was written for the radio. Mrs. Elbert Smythe Stevenson. However, it is Duffy who first plants the idea in Mrs. Stevenson's head that the murder plot she overheard might be focused on her. Write an analytical essay about your findings. One of the great contemporary American playwrights is. ." When reviewers discuss Fletcher's play, they often refer to the fear of the unknown. Watson, Wilbur, "Death by Wire," in the New York Times, March 21, 1948, p. BR25. In lines 28–29, Mrs. Stevenson is described as “a querulous, self-centered neurotic.” What effect does her character have on the plot? Mr. Stevenson explains in the telegram that he is sorry, but he is not coming home that night. When the chief operator discovers that Mrs. Stevenson has no official police or government title, that she is just an ordinary private citizen, she tells Mrs. Stevenson that she should call the police first. show: sorry, wrong number ( a second transcript) date: aug 21 1943 cast: the man in black mrs. stevenson operator 1st man george chief operator sergeant martin 3rd man information woman announcer music: bernard herrmann's suspense theme Take a survey of students at your school. Can you distinguish between fears of things known versus fears of the unknown? Up until that very last moment, the audience might still be wondering if she will be saved. Mrs. Stevenson finds this statement preposterous. In the preface to the published version, Fletcher writes, "This play was originally designed as an experiment in sound and not just as a murder story." But with the second half of the decade came the end of a victorious but bloody war and a time of prosperity. However, when her play was performed, the playwright realized that the drama had even more potential. ———, Sorry, Wrong Number and The Hitch-Hiker, Dramatists Play Service, 1980. When Sgt. Examining the progression of Fletcher's dramatic tension reveals the critical role of the audience in giving the events meaning. Fletcher, Lucille, Preface to Sorry, Wrong Number, in Sorry, Wrong Number and The Hitch-Hiker, Dramatists Play Service, 1980, p. 3. Mrs. Stevenson says as an exclamation of her inability to connect with her husband's office. Sorry, Wrong Number is a 1948 American thriller film noir directed by Anatole Litvak and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Burt Lancaster. As the hour of the proposed murder draws near, the suspense increases. Thus she rightfully feels abandoned. Miss Phillips never makes an appearance in the play. Author Biography The main ingredient in Mrs. Stevenson's terror in Fletcher's play is that of helplessness. Without a name, a face, or a shared history, the woman who is the focus of this murder remains an abstraction. The first operator that Mrs. Stevenson talks to attempts to help Mrs. Stevenson get through to Mr. Stevenson's office. She begins to look down on everyone she talks to. Her husband's business line continues to be busy, so she cannot get through to him. "Sorry, Wrong Number This is because it uses filmmaking techniques such as lighting, sound, and editing to build suspense while the story depends on the reader’s imagination, which is not always good because not everyone has a good/creative imagination. This story by Lucille Fletcher went on to be considered one of the greatest radio drama episodes. Sources The details of this overheard conversation are vague. What was the impact of politics? This question hangs in the air. Direct dialing, sophisticated touch-tone voice menus, and the Internet have made telephone operators almost obsolete. This is a strange reaction. No one takes her seriously. By the 1950s, television virtually replaced the radio as the main instrument of communication in the homes of many Americans, and the radio was slowly relegated to the sidelines. Wallop was made famous by his 1954 novel The Year the Yankees Lost the Pennant, upon which the 1955 Broadway musical Damn Yankees was based. Lothario SORRY, WRONG NUMBER— ( Paramount ) . Fear has been stirred again. Eddie Muller Introduction (Previously Unreleased) Hold The Phone: The Making Of “Sorry Wrong Number” (Previously Unreleased) “Sorry Wrong Number” Radio Play; Theatrical Trailer; Optional English subtitles; Limited Edition slipcase on the first 1500 copies; Imprint No 2 Mrs. Stevenson now knows that her husband is gone. The play was reprised seven times (on August 21, 1943, then in 1944, 1945, 1948, 1952, 1957 and 1960), each starring Moorehead. Sgt. The radio play was later adapted into a novel and a film. Lucille Fletcher's drama Sorry, Wrong Numberwas first performed as a radio play in 1943. Whether the protagonist's dependence is caused by real or imagined illness, Mrs. Stevenson believes she is at the mercy of those around her. While the audience once thought Mrs. Stevenson was attempting to save another woman's life, and so were invested in her cause, she now seems to be a fool. Mrs. Stevenson is the main character in Fletcher's play. Mr. Elbert Stevenson is Mrs. Stevenson's husband. Surely there must be something wrong with the phone. She is quick to find fault with the answers people give her. She is a sickly woman who tends to blame those around her for her frustrations. Alexander reveals that he gave Henry her prognosis ten days before, something that Henry kept from her. Footsteps, the closing of a door, the ringing of a telephone, the roar of a subway train, and, naturally, the sound of different voices are the ingredients necessary to make the radio play come alive. The author suggests that Mrs. Stevenson is "overcome for a few seconds.". She becomes haughty. However, the receptionist who answers the phone tells Mrs. Stevenson that their nursing staff is short of people and she has been told to send out nurses only in cases of emergency. He first found out when she had a heart attack after they quarreled about his attempt to get a job on his own, rather than being a do-nothing vice president in his father-in-law's business. George is the murderer. Fletcher's Sorry, Wrong Number begins with directions for the one and only act and scene of the play. The audience at this point of the play is more annoyed than fearful. Van Gelder, Lawrence, "Lucille Fletcher, 88, Author of ‘Sorry, Wrong Number,’" in the New York Times, September 6, 2000, p. C24. Which is scarier? The operator must have mistakenly dialed a different number when Mrs. Stevenson overheard the conversation about the murder. One of the greater attractions on radio was the production of plays. Many Jewish scientists, escaping from Nazi Germany, immigrated to the United States and helped to boost U.S. efforts to develop the most powerful of weapons, the atomic bomb. Bernstein, Adam, "Lucille Fletcher Dies; Radio Suspense Writer," in the Washington Post, September 4, 2000, p. B06. She is unable to take care of herself. The film was adapted by Lucille Fletcher from her 1943 radio play. Stanwyck was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Mrs. Stevenson would like to help this woman by preventing the murder, but at this point there is no danger for her. From the war age to the atomic age, great changes were taking place. In a radio play, one person might play different roles by altering the pitch of their voice or creating a new accent. Mrs. Stevenson calls this operator near the end of the play. This man states that he has been in contact with the client and that the murder should go ahead as planned. She became convinced during this time that she could write radio dramas at least as good as the plays she was typing. She cannot do anything. There is still a slight doubt that the victim is Mrs. Stevenson, but this doubt is removed when Mrs. Stevenson hears someone downstairs. Mrs. Stevenson slams down the receiver on the receptionist shortly afterward to call the telephone operator to get help. Mrs. Stevenson's first reaction is about herself and what has happened to her. Choose from 500 different sets of sorry wrong number flashcards on Quizlet. Miss Phillips is the nurse who the hospital receptionist suggests to Mrs. Stevenson as a possible candidate for coming to her house. The audience is pulled deeply into her plight. Mr. Stevenson is talked about in the phone conversation that Mrs. Stevenson overhears. That Touch of Mink DVD $14.96 The Ghost And Mrs. Muir DVD $11.21 Forbidden Hollywood: The Pre-Code Era (1930-1934): When Sin Ruled the Movies Book $22.95 Instead, it reinforces her isolation, as she is unable to make meaningful connections to the outside world. People were going through critical changes, pulling away from the Great Depression, going into the war, and then landing in one of the greatest economic booms in the country. Fletcher is best known for the thrillers she would go on to write for radio. She cannot get out of bed. She was living in Pennsylvania when she died of a stroke on August 31, 2000. How could Mr. Stevenson be so cruel? The audience is left without satisfaction. The protagonist is weak. The discovery of penicillin, which revolutionized medicine in fighting common disease and infections, came about in this decade. Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. The man then tells George to steal the woman's jewelry. In truth, Mrs. Stevenson does not live in a practical world. Duffy is the police officer on duty when Mrs. Stevenson calls the local precinct to get help in preventing the murder plan she has overheard on the telephone. When Mrs. Stevenson answers it, there is no one on the other end of the line. She is completely at the mercy of the man coming up the stairs. With thousands of men sent overseas to fight in the war, jobs in the United States were left unfilled. They know her and all her faults. Though sympathy for her may arise at the end of the play when she is murdered, up until that point, audiences may have trouble empathizing with her. In 1989, Ann Louise Bardach adapted Fletcher's play for television. He writes Mrs. Stevenson off completely. In Fletcher's radio thriller, Sorry, Wrong Number, the protagonist, Mrs. Stevenson, experiences an increasingly agitated state of mind. George is the second man in the telephone conversation that Mrs. Stevenson has overheard. While Herrmann was sick at home, Lucille went down to the corner drug store for medicine. It is interesting to note that Mrs. Stevenson's helplessness does not humble her in any way, however. When Mrs. Stevenson calls the operator to report what she has overheard, the first thing she says is, "I—I've just been cut off." Instead, the man begins a conversation with a second male, who is also not Mrs. Stevenson's husband. was produced in 1938 and unknowingly frightened some of the audience so greatly they thought the world had actually been invaded by aliens. Today: Radio stations focus on music and news to attract audiences. Despite this, Mrs. Stevenson demands that the chief operator trace the phone call. It is Mr. Stevenson that Mrs. Stevenson desperately attempts to call on the phone. Because of her helplessness, Mrs. Stevenson makes the perfect victim. Mrs. Stevenson interacts with these characters (except for the murderer) indirectly, while she is talking on the phone. The war changed the listening habits of radio audiences as they tuned in to hear the news, wanting to know how the war was progressing. 13 pages at 300 words per page) He is uninterested for most of the call, eating his pastry and talking to the delivery boy, and does not appear to take Mrs. Stevenson seriously. This new attitude of Mrs. Stevenson's grows. Mrs. Stevenson cannot believe her husband would leave her alone. Sally became so concerned that she followed her husband and two associates to a mysterious meeting in a seemingly abandoned house on Staten Island. Feb. 3, 2021. Mrs. Elbert Smythe Stevenson is the only character in Lucille Fletcher’s 1943 … Fletcher wrote the libretto for Hermann's 1951 opera, which was based on the novel Wuthering Heights. All alone, Mrs. Stevenson has just placed a call trying to get a hold of her husband. One day, while listening to what seems to be a crossed telephone connection, she hears two men planning a woman's murder. Thrillers, such as Fletcher's plays, also enjoyed enthusiastic responses. Even though Mrs. Stevenson appears to refuse the possibility, the audience might not. This is when it is revealed to the reader about Mrs. Stevenson's ill condition. Cotterell sabotaged his job interview. [citation needed].