The non-diagetic use of New York composer Gershwin""s music was deliberately placed throughout the film to metaphorically extend the character of the main protagonist, to serve as a counterpoint to the hero’s life, and to provide more meaning to the scenes.I could go anywhere.I could do anything.I knew everybody and everybody knew me...I was part of something.And I belonged.I was treated like a grown-up.Every day, I was learning to score.A dollar here.A dollar there.I was living a fantasy.When confronted with his school truancy record by his harsh, miserably unhappy, "pissed off" father, Henry is beaten with a belt - the image freeze-frames, leaving its impression on Henry""s consciousness and a bruise on his face.He flashes his money and orders a jigger of "straight rye...on a cash basis." Don""s imprisoning struggle with alcohol is signified by the concentric shot-glass circles left on the bar counter - a round impression created by the damp base of the jigger.They need to find time for another face-changing operation ("this time, I want the face of an absolute non-entity"), and to dispose of the "hot stiff" body of ""Mr.Sister Ruth lost her own balance and fell to her death into the chasm during he lethal struggle.The classic, taut and tense film also prominently displayed elements of horror, noirish expressionistic chiaroscuro photography, and dark fantasy with its lyrical vision of an enchanted Himalayan locale.