My copy of _The Maltese Falcon_ doesn't match David's. I'm sorry to seem so stubborn, but confessions of sorts don't count. Now if Frankie had only turned herself in instead of waiting for the sheriff to lock her up and throw away the key I'd be content.
As for Rumpole, my favorite tv character, voluntary confessions occur only when someone is being set up as a patsy. And for what it's worth, though I'm not interested in this at the moment, far more British villains commit suicide when they're trapped. My impression is that they're invariably ex-officers and/or gentlemen, the Brits being partial to the myth (and fiction?) of aristocratic honor.
nm David Ritchie wrote:
Fictional Americans do confess sometimes. I'm searching memory for examples, and coming up only with "The Maltese Falcon," but it seems to me that there are a number of American detective movies that finish with dialog along the lines of:"Drop the act, doll. I know you did it.""You're right. I'm rotten to the core. I've always been rotten. I killed him because he had it coming."I write the part for a woman because I don't remember men confessing in the same manner. And then, of course, there's the "He had it coming" song in "Chicago." I bet people confessed in T.V. detective shows of a certain era. Rumpole of the Bailey is always quoting British movies of that post war era, "Cor, luv a duck, I give up, guv. You've got me bang to rights."Which is a confession, of sorts. David Ritchie, Portland, Oregon ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html
