Never Again

A recovering alcoholic, Karen, comes-to in a strange bed with a terrible hangover. Through her clouded mind she struggles to recall what happened the night before. With her supportive husband Jeff, she's been so good at leaving off the juice, so what could have happened. Slowly events come back. It was a party, Jeff's sophisticated co-workers were there. Drinks were everywhere, but she kept saying no thanks. Trouble is she didn't seem to fit in among the guests; worse, why was Jeff paying so much attention to that tall, middle-age woman. The only person paying Karen any mind was this weird guy, Marlowe. Maybe that means she is weird too. Maybe too, that's why she's in this strange bed-- but why is her hand so heavily bandaged. If only she could remember.

That fine actress Phyllis Thaxter specialized in troubled women like Karen , e.g. Bewitched (1947). Here she runs a gamut of emotions, even allowing her good looks to turn haggard and disheveled. The entry's heart is in the right place— a dramatic warning against the destructive effects of alcohol. However, the logic of Karen's rejection at the party, plus Jeff's keeping company with Renee, aren't really accounted for. Thus, the fateful events seem more contrived than necessary. Too bad these holes weren't filled. Anyway, there's a good ironic kicker that certainly underlines the entry's message, narrative flaws or not.

An excellent sketch from the first season. Seems to be essaying the cocktail culture of the organizational man. We see the pressures wrought by the Madison Avenue set of the high 50s and how only a few were allowed to feel comfortable there.

Phyllis Thaxter, as the protagonist Karen Stewart, got her start in some Peyton Place type movies of the 1940s and then quickly moved into early television theater, performing multiple stints on venerable TV drama showcases as both the Ford and Motorola playhouses.

She does a spectacular job here as a woman past her youth who does not belong to the "smart talk" of the account exec peers of her fiancé, Jeff, played by a natty Warren Stevens. Her fight to stay whole is beclouded by a desperate descent into drink.

She staves it off through most of the sketch, but the inevitable incursion of an aggressive Madison paramoor, competing for the attentions of Jeff, pushes her over the edge and she goes into a violent drinking rampage.

I'm rooting for Karen until the end, seeing her basic intentions and sincerity as the match for any of those fast-talking ad ladies. And yet she has no sense of how to use that gift to compete. She simply panics and eventually turns to the martini for protection.

Hitchcock often created highly neatened vignettes about murder and personal sabotage, but in this one, he lets all the messiness hang out, the rage and the raw feelings of self doubt, to great effect. It is one of the most shocking of all Hitch's TV efforts because of the way the unprotected self is stripped down to its bare bones to survive, brilliantly demonstrated by Ms. Thaxter.

In the epilogue, the master provides an apologia for the power of the episode, saying he will not go into his usual tongue in cheek bit about the fate of a deserving antagonist. Instead, he suggests this is more of a cautionary outing in the hopes that it will prevent some struggling soul from a similar fate.

Unforgettable.

Never Again is a curiosity for Alfred Hitchcock Presents. The epilogue lacks the humorous sign off. The reason is that it is a drama that takes a dark turn.

Karen Stewart (Phyllis Thaxter) is an alcoholic. She tries to quit the booze but can never stay away for long.

She has a boyfriend Jeff Simmons (Warren Stevens) who seemingly loves her. At a party Karen things that Jeff is a bit too close with Renee Marlow.

The story really gets going when Karen wakes up with bandages in her arm and then wondering what happened.

She went on a bender with Renee's brother who is also an alcoholic. It ended in tragedy as Karen is told she is in a police cell.

It did not work for me and really was not a good fit for this type of show. Despite the serious message about alcoholism.

This is a bit different for this series. It's the story of a neurotic woman who is an alcoholic. It begins as she lies in a hospital bed, trying to put the pieces together of an evening she can't really remember. She has been injured with cuts and just can't remember. We are taken in flashback to the events of the previous days and that evening. She is consumed with jealousy and self doubt and makes life miserable for all around her. Obviously, Hitchcock is going to put a zinger at the end, but this is more "Lost Weekend" or "Days of Wine and Roses" than the usual ironic fare that was this TV show. It is pretty penetrating. At this time, most didn't know what an alcoholic was. Most thought they were those men hanging from lamp poles singing Sweet Adeline. This is really quite well done and quite tragic.

Karen (Phyllis Thaxter) awakens in the hospital...her arm bandaged and she's in bed. But she cannot recall how she's gotten there. And, through the course of her time there, she thinks back to the events that MIGHT have gotten her there.

Soon you learn in the flashbacks that Karen is an alcoholic. During much of the flashback, she's dry...but the underlying issues and problems that get her to drink aren't addressed at all...and you see it's only a matter of time before she drinks again. And, when she does start drinking, she's totally out of control. But how exactly did she end up in the hospital??

This is one of the most unusual episodes I've ever seen. It's not like others, as it lacks the usual 'Hitchcockian' twist and is a pretty straight-forward show about the dangers of alcoholism. And, as such, Hitchcock himself is very restrained and says as much. Well handled.