“It worked perfectly, and nobody can prove what really happened here. Nobody!”
Por qué es buena
The repeated Nobody turns a quiet claim into a boast no one can challenge.
Registro
Informal
Úsala tú
It worked, and nobody can prove I was even there.
00:00 / 03:03
00:00 / 03:03
Clifford Wants a Shortcut, Explained
Deathtrap · 1982
Capítulo 22 de 30 · 3'03"
Two men who staged a murder now fight over the play it could become. Clifford wants the story on stage no matter whose life it exposes: "I want a shortcut, Sidney..." Sidney, guarding his name and reputation, would rather burn the manuscript than let it be staged.
Key moments
Start here, then watch the full scene- 0:36–0:59
❝ Monólogo · 4 frases Nobody Can Prove What Happened
23s - 1:28–1:48
A Threat to Burn the Manuscript
21s
Clifford Wants a Shortcut, explained
What happens
After Myra's death, Clifford and Sidney turn on each other over the manuscript. Clifford calls it his way out - "I want a shortcut" - and refuses to let it go; Sidney says he has a name and reputation to protect and threatens to burn the play in the fireplace. Calmer, they analyze why the story would hold an audience.
What's really going on
The argument isn't really about a play; it's about who gets to survive what they did. Clifford holds the one thing that could make him famous, and for him Myra's death is simply material; he will not let the manuscript go. Sidney answers with the identity he has spent a career building - "I have a name and a reputation," he insists, however tattered - and he would rather destroy the play than be remembered as the man who killed his wife. Then the scene turns strange and professional: the two of them discuss the murder like a script, weighing whether it could convince an audience, and one of them notes that "nobody can prove what really happened here." The cruelty is how good both men are at this.
Key lines & what they mean
- “It worked perfectly, and nobody can prove what really happened here. Nobody!”
- The staged event was flawless, and there is no evidence to expose it. The speaker turns a murder into a matter of airtight execution.
- “I want a shortcut, Sidney...”
- A blunt admission: he wants success the fast way, and he won't worry about who gets hurt on the way there.
- “To persuade an audience to suspend it's disbelief.”
- The goal of any story: to get the audience to set aside doubt and buy what they're watching.
- “And I don't give a shit whose property it cuts through, if you understand me.”
- He states his ruthlessness outright - he truly does not care whose life or secrets the shortcut damages.
Theme
- Ambition — Clifford is willing to expose a real killing to get ahead, and calls it exactly what it is: a shortcut.
- Lies — The two men argue over how to package a murder as fiction, while each insists on his own version of the truth.
Qué aprendes en este capítulo
Puntos de enseñanza
Repasa justo después de verMi nivel4/6
A1–C2 es la escala MCER. Las tarjetas por encima del nivel elegido se atenúan y la reproducción no se pausa en ellas.
Puntos de lengua
Toca una tarjeta para saltar a ese momentoFrases de oro
Una gran frase en sí misma: por qué y cómo usarla“I want a shortcut, Sidney...”
Por qué es buena
It states the selfish aim plainly, and the honesty is what makes it sting.
Registro
Informal
Úsala tú
I want a shortcut, but not one that breaks the rules.
“To persuade an audience to suspend it's disbelief.”
Por qué es buena
A piece of theatre jargon that names the audience's willing bargain.
Registro
Formal
Úsala tú
Good acting persuades us to suspend disbelief.
“And I don't give a shit whose property it cuts through, if you understand me.”
Por qué es buena
It admits pure self-interest without apology, and the blunt vulgarity makes the ambition clear.
Registro
Informal
Úsala tú
I don't care whose toes I step on to get this done.
Monólogo
Un personaje sostiene la escena: practícalo entero❝ The case to Sidney
Would have exactly the same effect on an audience, wouldn't it? Didn't we write a play, rehearse it? Didn't we plan it? Didn't we execute it? Wasn't she the audience? We did it! And it worked. It worked perfectly, and nobody can prove what really happened here. Nobody!
A chain of rhetorical questions reframes the killing as a hit show no one can disprove.
Siguiente · 23be in on itLa escena: Clifford Talks Sidney Into DeathtrapIdeas clave
Lo que te llevas- Clifford sells the crime as a story no one can disprove.
- Sidney's vanity is the lever Clifford pulls.
- A reputation is treated here as a marketable asset.
- The shortcut is moral as much as practical.
Preguntas frecuentes
La pregunta, luego la fraseWhy does Sidney want to burn the manuscript?
He says he has a name and a reputation left, and he refuses to be remembered as the man who killed his wife. Burning the play is how he tries to keep the murder from becoming public.
Is Clifford being fair to Sidney?
No. Clifford treats the death as his material and never looks past his own success. When Sidney calls the play too dangerous, Clifford only presses that he wants a shortcut and will write it somewhere else.
Why does Clifford insist on staging the play?
For him the manuscript is a shortcut to fame, and he says so bluntly. He threatens to leave and write it elsewhere if Sidney burns it, because he won't give up that chance.
Was the play really based on what happened?
That's the argument. The men say the facts are outlandish and preposterous, yet entertaining enough to fool an audience - which is exactly why Sidney fears it and Clifford wants it.
Who actually wrote The Murder Game?
Sidney did; it's the hit that made his name. That's why he wants to be remembered for it rather than for the crime - and why a play about his real life cuts so close.