A Night with the Boys

It is a really intriguing, intelligent and not that foreseeable plot where you wonder what the next scene will provide. No murder at all but a good suspense which you won't regret. Maybe not the best episode ever but still a very good surprise. Many twists and that's we all expect in this wonderful anthology crime show.

Having briefly worked at Universal Studios, one thing we were taught is to ALWAYS mention Alfred Hitchcock to tourists. Never to be forgotten. Hitch dressing up as a beatnik to intro this story is the reason. A showman, and as many of us would suspect, a part-time ham actor who loved being a ham.

Point #2. I would bet this story was taken from real events; the young husband who loses his dough and gets a heck of a surprise. Murphys Law 101. Cowboy tv star John Smith (LARAMIE) is appropriately cast as a handsome gent with a problem. He gambles, also having a wife (Joyce Meadows) to support and a baby on the way.

What to do? To make up an excuse for his little habit, Irving (Smith) invents the wild story about being mugged -- replete with phony baloney scratches. And is that lipstick on his head? He files a report to the police (to make it all look good), and low and behold, the coppers find the mugger? How can that be? Wait and see, and Irving has lots of splainin' to do.

Real life, possibly, with a chuckle. Had Irving actually been beat up and robbed, the cops would have found NO ONE. Welcome to the real world, however this is Hitch's world.

Wonderful direction by John Brahm, lead director for TWILIGHT ZONE, adding a little TZ touch here. Thank you.

SEASON 4 EPISODE 30 remastered CBS dvd box set. All seven seasons are now on dvd in a mega box set. Released 2022. Super duper gift.

A guy sneaks off to play poker with the boys and is the big loser. But instead of telling the wife what happened, he concocts a tale about being mugged in order to explain away losing his paycheck. But when the wife insists he report this to the police, all sorts of unexpected things happen. And, fortunately, it also has a nice twist that I am pretty sure you'll appreciate.

In addition to the nice story, I really enjoyed Alfred Hitchcock's introduction...even more than usual. In this case, he's dressed like a beatnik and you just have to see it to appreciate it!

As a previous reviewer put it, "At least we don't know where it's going." This is the simple story of an elaborate cover-up by a young man who has been taken to the cleaners by his boss on poker night. The young couple is living hand to mouth and this is a devastating situation. Traveling through a tough part of the city, the young guy pretends he is mugged, hoping to convince his wife that this was how he lost his money. He tears up a really nice suit (another expense in the offing) and dirties himself up. Of course, eventually the police get involved as well as a young delinquent who, obviously, has no inkling why he is being brought in, other than his history. The story is about guilt and life lessons. It's also about love and forgiveness and second chances.

Nice young husband (Smith) loses week's paycheck to bullying boss in a poker game. Embarrassed, he fakes a robbery so his pregnant wife (Meadows) won't know his foolish actions. But then the cops (De Santis) bring in a kid they say did it. So what's nice young husband to do now that he's lied to everyone.

It's a slender story with a mildly ironic payoff. The good thing is we can't tell where the story's going. Smith is excellent as the hesitant young guy, and we sympathize, though his sudden misgivings seem a stretch. Buffington's also persuasive as the obnoxious boss. But make-up should have done a better job with the cut that looks like a plastic paste-on. All in all, an average entry, at best.

(In passing— Catch hipster Hitch doing a jive-talking, bearded beatnik, circa 1959. It's a gas, daddy-o.)