Under the Influence

=Summary= Rigsby is having trouble getting the rent from Ambrose, a so-called mystic. They get talking about the lodger’s supposed talents, but Rigsby is the greatest cynic. Ambrose says he’s most successful with his hypnosis, but can’t convince Rigsby to try it out. When Philip enters the room, Rigsby suggests he’s a willing patient for Ambrose to test out his skills on. During the experiment Ambrose fails to hypnotize Philip, but accidentally hypnotizes Rigsby instead, taking him back to his childhood, when he caught butterﬂies and pulled their wings off.

When Ambrose releases him from his hypnotic powers, Rigsby doesn’t know anything about it until he ﬁnds himself in his long johns. Ambrose’s hypnotic powers come in useful again when he helps Rigsby overcome his nerves and tendency to become tongue-tied in the presence of Miss Jones. Rigsby sets about winning her affections with the help of Charles Boyer’s accent, but ends up with a cream cake pushed in his face.