Set in 1940s New York, this story by James Thurber is a not-so-gentle satire of the lengths to which desperate people will go to resist change. A meek, solitary man believes the brash efficiency expert brought in to streamline his employer’s workflows threatens his job and must be “rubbed out”. He plans what he considers an almost perfect murder, only to be thwarted at the last moment by lack of a weapon. Fortunately, in a moment of inspiration, he turns the tables and puts himself in the “Catbird Seat”. Themes: workplace gender stereotypes, alienation, change, insecurity, desperation, revenge.
Original Text / PDF / Audio (3800 words)
Video Version
This short film overlooks Mr Martin’s detailed initial planning for the murder, but is otherwise quite true to the plot. The only negative is that Mrs Barrows speech is sometimes hard to understand. In the original she is described as “shouting” or “braying”, whereas here it comes across more as shrieking and screaming. Watch and enjoy!