In the dramatic scene, the crazed Riggs used an unconventional strategy of handcuffing himself to the suicidal man (a salesman named McCleary (Michael Shaner)), when he shared a cigarette.The escapist theme of the film, appropriate during he Depression Era, is the story of the unlikely romantic pairing of a mis-matched couple - a gruff and indifferent, recently-fired newspaper man (Gable) and a snobbish, superior-acting heiress (Colbert) - a runaway on the lam.He asked Conklin: "Are you Treadstone?" as the CIA project director realized: "You don""t have a goddamn clue...I""ve been waiting over an hour.We made a date, remember? We""re having supper tonight!Carol explained that she had completely forgotten - clearly signaling that she wasn""t interested in him.