STORIES that have Outcome of Success:
A Clockwork Orange: Alex achieves his goal of regaining his freedom and self-identity. Ultimately, Alex’s steadfastness pays off as society changes in the form of the politicians adapting to his needs, curing him of the Ludovico treatment and putting away Mr. Alexander, while his parents also try to reconcile with him.
The Age of Innocence: The characters are successful in maintaining the status quo of the past: Through the successful marriage of Newland and May they have joined two leading families in a effort to perpetuate their class and social hierarchy; through the joint efforts of the families they were able to keep Ellen’s past relatively quiet.
All About Eve: Eve becomes a successful actress, awarded a prestigious theater prize and is about to make a Hollywood film; Margo is to become a married woman who will no longer be alone with only a career; Bill is to become a groom, having finally won the woman he loves; Lloyd becomes an even more popular playwright with the success of his new play; Karen becomes secure in her marriage to Lloyd and in her friendship with Margo.
Apt Pupil: Todd’s goal in obtaining Dussander’s memories of Nazi Germany is attained; Morris Heisel is finally able to recall the identity of his hospital roommate and “‘feels that God allowed him the sublime privilege of breaking his back so that he could be instrumental in the capture of one of the greatest butchers of human beings ever to live'” (King, 1982, p. 262); after Heisel recollects Dussander’s true identity, he passes on the information to Israeli special operative Weiskopf, yet before Dussander can be brought to justice he escapes retribution for his crimes by committing suicide; and so forth.
Barefoot in the Park: The objective characters attain love and happiness; Paul and Corie’s marriage-as well as Ethel and Victor’s imminent courtship-are marked for success.
Being There: Benjamin Rand is at peace when he dies, knowing Chance and Eve will be together and his associates will put Chance in the White House; Dr. Allenby is satisfied that Chance loves his dear friend, Eve; men of influence are satisfied that Chance, the man who has no past, will make a good candidate for President of the United States.
Body Heat: Mattie gets away with the murder(s) and the money. Because she is thought to be dead, no one is even trying to find out how she secretly escaped to Tahiti with ALL of the inheritance money. This complete success is mitigated in the epilogue/author’s proof by leaving Mattie’s subsequent “happiness” ambiguous. Does she regret her past actions as she lies there in the sun drinking exotic drinks with a handsome man, or is that neutral expression due to some other unrelated thoughts she has on her mind?
Boyz N The Hood: Tre and Brandi get outta the hood.
Braveheart: Wallace’s goal is taken up with success by Robert the Bruce, and Scotland’s freedom is secured.
Bringing Up Baby: Susan announces to David that she’s received the million dollars from Aunt Elizabeth and is giving it to David for the museum. She also tells him that she has found his missing intercostal clavicle.
Bull Durham: Annie and Crash succeed in getting Nuke into the majors.
Candida: The Morells’ marriage survives Marchbanks’s efforts at disruption; Marchbanks comes to realize his true nature; Burgess is welcomed back into his daughter and son-in-law’s good graces; and so forth.
Casablanca: Laszlo finally escapes Casablanca — with Rick’s help and Ugarte’s Letters of Transit — to continue his freedom fighting, taking the woman he loves with him.
Charlotte’s Web: Wilbur is allowed to live out his life; Mr. Zuckerman enjoys his proudest moment at the fair when Wilbur receives a medal of honor; Fern grows up and acquires a beau; Mrs. Arable stops worrying about Fern spending so much time with farm animals; Charlotte’s children are born safely; and so forth.
Chinatown: Jake discovers the identity and location of Noah Cross’ granddaughter.
The Client: The location of the senator’s body is revealed.
Four Weddings And A Funeral: Everybody becomes happily “committed” — they each find a long-term relationship to which they can commit themselves.
The Fugitive: The actual murderer is discovered and the forces behind the murder revealed and brought to justice.
The Godfather: A new “Godfather,” who will keep the Corleone family and the power structure of New York’s underground soundly preserved, is found in Michael.
I Love Lucy: Ricky comes to the happy realization he and Lucy will become parents in nine months time; Fred and Ethel understand they are chosen as godparents of the Ricardo’s baby; Ricky’s and his band’s performance meets with resounding applause; and so forth.
Klute: The plan that Klute implements to find out what happened to Tom–sticking close to the girl–succeeds in unearthing Tom’s killer Cable, who confesses all to Bree before committing suicide.
Lawrence of Arabia: Through Lawrence, the British Army learns the Arabs are hungry for artillery to help defeat the Turks and later maintain independent rule of the region. Allenby denies the artillery and retains British control.
The Philadelphia Story: By the end of the story, Tracy has rediscovered the passion that was always inside of her. She announces to the wedding guests that while she may have disappointed them two years ago by eloping to Maryland, she now intends to make up for it by “going beautifully through with it nowÑ as originally Ñ and most beautifully Ñ planned.”
Pride and Prejudice: All the principal characters’ future security and happiness are assured.
Rear Window: With the help of Lisa and Stella, Jeff’s able to lure Thorwald out into the open and expose him as a murderer. Even doubting Doyle has to concede that Jeff’s ideas were right when presented with the visual evidence of a head in a hatbox.
Rebel Without a Cause: Judy falls in love with Jim and is happy, something she never thought she could be; the Stark family is united with the indication that they will be a happy family:
Jim: Mom–Dad–this is my friend. Her name is Judy.
The parents nod warmly and smile at her. She smiles shyly in response, happy at being accepted. There is a warmth emanating from the tight little group. Changes have happened to them. Things have been shed and a new start has been made. (Stern 117)
Revenge of the Nerds: The nerds establish a fraternity, get control of the Greek Council, inspire the Dean to act in their support, shame the Alpha Betas, find women to date, and win respect for themselves as nerds.
Romeo and Juliet: The grief stricken Capulets and Montagues reconcile, horrified the ancient grudge has resulted in their children’s deaths:
PRINCE
A glooming peace this morning with it brings. The sun for sorrow will not show his head (5.3.316-317).
Rosemary’s Baby: The Satanic cult has a mother for the Devil; Rosemary gets the child she longs for, and she becomes the baby’s real mother in every sense of the word.
Searching for Bobby Fischer: Josh resolves the inequity within himself and goes on to win the championship.
The Silence of the Lambs: Buffalo Bill is found and killed, the Senator’s daughter is rescued, and Clarice graduates to FBI agent status.
The Simpsons Christmas Special: Christmas is saved as the Simpson family receives the only gift it truly needs, the love for each other and “Santa’s Little Helper,” their new puppy:
Lisa: So love at first sight is possible.
All Good Things (Star Trek: The Next Generation): Picard solves the “paradox” of the spatial anomaly and closes the anti-time eruption. Therefore, the destruction of mankind is prevented.
Star Wars: The Death Star is destroyed by the Rebellion which allows the Rebellion to find another safe haven from the Empire (until the sequels).
Taxi Driver: Travis succeeds in making progress in his mission to clean up the streets by killing Sport and his cohorts, and by getting Iris out of prostitution and back to her parents in Pittsburgh. As the Screenwriter notes:
“The slaughter is the moment Travis has been heading for all his life, and where this screenplay has been heading for over 100 pages. It is the release of all that cumulative pressure; it is a reality unto itself. It is the psychopath’s Second Coming.”
(Schrader, p. 117)
Tootsie: Michael learns how to be himself without robbing others of the right to be themselves as he raises the money to finance Jeff’s play; Julie learns to be honest with herself concerning her relationships with men; Jeff gets his play produced with the possibility of being “the” new hot playwright; Sandy learns to be more assertive and professional as she accepts Michael’s rejection with her own style of grace, and decides to act in Jeff’s play with him.
Toy Story: All of Andy’s toys are successfully reunited with Andy, before his family’s move to another house progresses too far out of reach.
Unforgiven: Munny and the Kid succeed in killing Quick Mike and Davey, satisfying the whores’ appetite for revenge and “justice.” They receive the reward money from Little Sue, which they split three ways to include Ned’s widow.
The Verdict: The jury finds the doctors guilty and awards Frank’s side a huge amount of money.
When Harry Met Sally: Sally and Harry marry.
Witness: At story’s end, Samuel the Witness is safe. Fergie and McFee have been eliminated, and their mastermind Schaeffer is overpowered by force of numbers and taken into police custody. The Amish have their peaceful, isolated lifestyle intact.
X-Files: Beyond the Sea: Scully and Mulder achieve the goal of freeing the kidnap victims before they become murder victims.
Excerpted from
Dramatica Story Development Software
