START. Sidney: Deathtrap. (Myra turns) A thriller in two acts. One set, five characters. (Lifts a manuscript in a paperboard binder) A juicy murder in Act Two. Sound construction, good dialogue, laughs in the right places. Highly commercial. (Tosses the manuscript on the desk)

Myra: Why--that’s wonderful, darling! I’m so happy for you! For both of us!

Sidney: Happy? Why on earth happy?

Myra: But--it’s yours, isn’t it? The idea you had in August?

[... … …]

END. Myra: Maybe you could do something based on Helga ten Dorp. But not called The Frowning Wife.

Sidney: The Smiling Wife, a cheerful up kind of thriller. (He gives Myra another kiss and they separate.) You know, there could be an idea in this. A playwright who’s--undergoing a dry period, is sent a newly hatched play by a twerp who