A hundred million movie-goers must be right... (1938)

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mother. "Why don't she come?" And just as the melodeon is tossed through a window, landing in the petunia bed, in maewests the daughter, plops a Michigan bankroll into Cribbs' greedy paws, plucks the mortgage from his pocket and tears it into confetti. The old home is saved, and all's well. But is it? What about that money and that swell get-up the daughter is wearing? "Tell me," pleads the mother. "Have you been a good girl?" "Mother," the heroine drawls, "When you can knock off a thousand bucks in the Big Town as quick as I did you gotta be good." Contained in that brief, homely but far-fetched episode is all there is to building suspense. When Cribbs first appeared, chuckling slimily, suggesting everything mean and ornery, and the mother came out of the house to express her hopes regarding her daughter and her fear of Cribbs, furtherance of both main pursuits, foreclosure and preventing foreclosure, was passive. Meaning that Cribbs' intentions were withheld, actual dispossession or paying off of the mortgage was delayed. From that point on furtherance was active. All suspense is the result of either an active or passive furtherance. In general an active furtherance means that things are happening, advancing, making ground, moving toward goal, reward, or objective, or definitely retreating, yielding, relenting, retiring, giving way or in flight. A passive furtherance means a cessation of hostilities ; a waiting for the next move from the opposition ; a withholding of aid or hindrance, concealment of purpose or intention ; mystery, secrecy, digging in, holding on, marking time ; ignoring or disregarding opposition ; uncertainty or indecision. Foreboding, anticipating, expecting, implying, suggesting, inferring may be either active or passive, depending upon what is being anticipated, implied, etc. But the moment furtherance ceases to be either active or passive, the moment a result or conclusion, decision or solution, gain or loss, failure or success is definitely scored; the moment a definite reaction, elation or dismay, antipathy or some kind of fear results, then suspense is discharged. 66