john allen is a hunched, nervous depressed wreck, with shirley nagging him. shirley: "how long you gonna keep on being like this? makes me sick to look at ya. why don't you go out and get yourself a job?". john allen: "i can't get one. i tried". shirley: "you can go back to riveting". john: "i can't go back to that" "not ever since bud .. i can't climb .. when i get up there, my head swims, i get sick, afraid, i gotta hold on. one minute he was standing there talking to me and the next he was flying through space, his fingers clawing, trying to catch hold of something and nothing for him to grab. and then when he "hit"". shirley mocks his nervous condition, sneering, mimicking him: "i can't do it, i can't climb, i'm afraid". she asks him if he's got any insurance. a kindly doctor (harry beresford) is called and gives him a tonic. john allen says that it's his nerves. the doctor says that john allen's problem is psychological.