Mark,
Re your question below:
> This [discussion of outmoded attitudes] kind
of
> reminds me of a particular old plot point: If a
body
> has its face blown off, the corpse isn't
who
everyone
> assumes it is. Now
> this would never work with today's forensics
(unless
> maybe its a twin),
> but when did this plot start, and when did it
reach
> saturation point and
> become a cliche?
SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT
I don't know if it's the first, but surely the most famous
example is Vera Caspary's LAURA, in which the corpse,
presumed to be the titular character, turns out to be someone
else entirely.
END SPOILER ALERT END SPOILER ALERT END SPOILER ALERT
It was probably the popularity of that novel, and
particularly the film made from it, that hastened its overuse
to the saturation point.
JIM DOHERTY
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