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Step in the Dark, 1938, is a hilariously silly thriller where a naive young English bestselling mystery writer goes on the first vacation of her life to Belgium and is quickly charmed to fall in love with a charismatic, charming and wealthy Swedish count who happens to be staying at the same hotel in just a couple of weeks and she agrees to marry him after just 2 dates... EVEN THOUGH after the first time he officially invited her anywhere she got high as a kite from her panic attack meds and, thinking she was dreaming, climbed out the fire escape and into the vestibule of the dining room she'd just left at dinner and saw the same party minus her, playing roulette and smoking cigars while the count's young male cousin was wearing makeup and had an arm around his neck (this scene was revolting, grotesque, and the most horrifying thing she'd ever seen - obviously, the book seems to assume)... so she decided it was a dream and to forget about it the next day in spite of evidence to the contrary, apparently in self defense.
She sees him in passing twice, then he invites her to dinner and asks her to marry him. She's like "Hmm, but surely we barely know each other?" He says that he only likes people who make up their minds instantly so the offer will expire by tomorrow and she agrees. (It seems obvious that he really loves her since she already explained that she can't access her money, which is all tied up in a trust for her children, and that she thinks she's burnt out and may never write another book.) He charms all her family and friends except her children's governess, who tells the literary agent that he obviously isn't truly fond of the children he met yesterday because, unlike their family friend, he doesn't pick up the children and kiss them spontaneously but just responds positively when they come to him.
They set sail on a cruise ship for Sweden with the children, and she has doubts (for bad/wacky reasons) and then immediately changes her mind again and decides to stay about 5 times. Once they get to the private island and establish there's no way for her or the children to escape so they are wholly in the power of him and the other guests at the dinner party he reveals that they are a gang of confidence tricksters who have kidnapped her because they're desperate to raise the startup money for a big heist and so they're going to force her to write a new bestseller and give them the profits! (The young cousin is actually his wife, an offensive 'jealous Latin beauty' steretype, which explains her makeup in the drugged scene.) The count insists she write her exact situation as the book, starting in Belgium, because drawing on reality will enable her to write faster! But... what if her agent or typist notice the similarity to her situation in the manuscript, won't they suspect? But before she can get excited, the count explains that she'll make a small alteration: the protagonist of the book will be younger and childless, so nobody will suspect. And she's like, "Oh, dang, he's right." And he is. (In fact, the governess comes to visit, but she's forced to play along and the governess is fooled).
Finallly she remembers a church in Belgium where her agent told her a story about a painter whose signature was painting himself into his works, so she puts a side character exactly like herself into the next chapter. They get the hint and send a posse of musclebound young primary school teachers to Sweden to rescue her. They come to the island and do so, with the kidnappers' attempt to threaten her into sending them away by threatening to kill her kids being thwarted by their henchman's refusal to kill kids. THE END!
She sees him in passing twice, then he invites her to dinner and asks her to marry him. She's like "Hmm, but surely we barely know each other?" He says that he only likes people who make up their minds instantly so the offer will expire by tomorrow and she agrees. (It seems obvious that he really loves her since she already explained that she can't access her money, which is all tied up in a trust for her children, and that she thinks she's burnt out and may never write another book.) He charms all her family and friends except her children's governess, who tells the literary agent that he obviously isn't truly fond of the children he met yesterday because, unlike their family friend, he doesn't pick up the children and kiss them spontaneously but just responds positively when they come to him.
They set sail on a cruise ship for Sweden with the children, and she has doubts (for bad/wacky reasons) and then immediately changes her mind again and decides to stay about 5 times. Once they get to the private island and establish there's no way for her or the children to escape so they are wholly in the power of him and the other guests at the dinner party he reveals that they are a gang of confidence tricksters who have kidnapped her because they're desperate to raise the startup money for a big heist and so they're going to force her to write a new bestseller and give them the profits! (The young cousin is actually his wife, an offensive 'jealous Latin beauty' steretype, which explains her makeup in the drugged scene.) The count insists she write her exact situation as the book, starting in Belgium, because drawing on reality will enable her to write faster! But... what if her agent or typist notice the similarity to her situation in the manuscript, won't they suspect? But before she can get excited, the count explains that she'll make a small alteration: the protagonist of the book will be younger and childless, so nobody will suspect. And she's like, "Oh, dang, he's right." And he is. (In fact, the governess comes to visit, but she's forced to play along and the governess is fooled).
Finallly she remembers a church in Belgium where her agent told her a story about a painter whose signature was painting himself into his works, so she puts a side character exactly like herself into the next chapter. They get the hint and send a posse of musclebound young primary school teachers to Sweden to rescue her. They come to the island and do so, with the kidnappers' attempt to threaten her into sending them away by threatening to kill her kids being thwarted by their henchman's refusal to kill kids. THE END!
