Night Must Fall - Dan

Dan

Dan is an intelligent young man with a slightly Welsh accent. His good looks only mask his wile. He is a cool and calculating liar and greatly skilled at improvising. He is very observant and has an uncanny ability to read people.

Dan is first mentioned in the play when Dora is question by Mrs Bramson about her pregnancy. He is the father of Dora's unborn child as a result of a one night stand and is brought to see Mrs Bramson in order for her to persuade him to marry Dora. Dan remains very indifferent to Dora right to the end of the play.

He comes off as easy-going. He is friendly and cheerful with everyone around him and constantly grinning (artificially nonetheless). He is overly polite, unassuming, and apologetic, which is of course all an act.

He almost immediately endears himself to the unbearable and cynical Mrs Bramson, a testimony of his brilliant acting ability. He recognizes Mrs Bramson's relentless self-pity and plays up to her by passionately acknowledging and sympathizing with her. Going so far as to tell her she reminds him of his mother who was also sick (despite the fact that he never knew his mother). He fully realizes Mrs Bramson's belief that she is an invalid and that other people should do things for her, and he plays on this fact to get hired by her as her caretaker. He is successful at this to the point where Mrs Bramson offers him to call her "mother". As he charms Mrs Bramson more and more, he taunts Olivia (who is outspoken about her disliking him from the beginning) with sarcastic remarks.

The act he puts on is good enough to fool anyone except for Olivia who almost immediately senses the artificiality of his exaggerated amiability. Dan in turn recognizes Olivia's discontent and boredom at her life. At one point Olivia comments on the blankness of Dan's look. Since he knows Olivia does not buy his act, and upon her probing, Dan privately reveals to Olivia that he enjoys his act, much to Olivia's fascination. Dan claims he has been acting for so long that he doesn’t remember what he was "really" like. Olivia goes on to say her diagnosis of Dan would be that he has "no feelings at all".

Olivia openly tells Danny that she suspects him of being the killer. Danny confesses nothing but continues to taunt Olivia by provoking her suspicion with sarcastic remarks.

Dan has a fondness for alcohol and is slightly more open when drunk. At one point in the play a drunken Dan confides in Olivia about his true past and jokingly compliments her that she's the only woman he has ever told it to. He goes on to describe his laborious and undignified life as a pageboy, becoming more and more furious as he does. He finally breaks down in tears stating that nothing in the world troubles him except "a pair of eyes staring at "

When Belsize arrives at the murder scene Olivia means to cover up for him (despite the fact that he openly intended to kill her). Dan however does not allow her to get mixed up and takes full responsibility for the murders; his only noble act. In the end it is revealed the "eyes" that torment him are his own empty eyes.

Dan is a chain smoker and has a habit of putting the stub behind his ear. He can read but does so rather laboriously.

Dan hums and sings the following verses throughout the play, to the tune Mighty Lak' a Rose.

"I'm a pretty little feller ... everybody knows ... Don't know what to call me--but I'm mighty lak a rose...."

"Their home addresses ... and their caresses ... linger in my memory of ... those beautiful dames"