At the Astoria Studios, Goff met Ben Roberts, a fellow writer who had also worked at Republic. One day over lunch Roberts told Goff of an idea he had for a short story that lacked an ending. Goff came up with an ending and suggested that they turn it into a play instead of a short story. Working at night over a period of 13 months, they completed the play, which was called "Portrait in Black" and had runs in London and Broadway. It also sold to the movies for $100,000.