T h e hero of Beverly Hills Cop, Axel Foley, decides to defy his boss's order, leaving his Ordinary W o r l d of the Detroit streets to investigate his friend's murder in the Special W o r l d of Beverly Hills. 6 . T E S T S , ALLIES, AND ENEMIES Once across the First Threshold, the hero naturally encounters new challenges and Tests, makes Allies and Enemies, and begins to learn the rules of the Special World. Saloons and seedy bars seem to be good places for these transactions. Countless Westerns take the hero to a saloon where his manhood and determination are tested, and where friends and villains are introduced. Bars are also useful to the hero for obtaining information, for learning the new rules that apply to the Special World. In Casablanca, Rick's Cafe is the den o f intrigue in which alliances and enmities
in the business. He was born April 13, 1889, in Worthington, Indiana, and grew up in that little Midwestern town during the tranquil, sunlit years that preceded the First World War. A popular youngster, he was president of his high-school class, editor of the school paper, and captain of the football team, and though only an average student, he had a flair for mathematics. From 16 on he frequented the poker tables of the local saloons, learning the game that was to be a passion of his life. He had wanted to become a criminal I lawyer, but instead landed at 23 as a $900-a-year code clerk in the State Department. It was a case of purest serendipity, for the man and the subject were ideally matched. His romantic mind thrilled to the stream of history that daily poured through his hands in the form of ambassadorial dispatches, and cryp-tology fired his imagination. He had heard vague tales of