The Night the World Ended

The Night The World Ended is one of many Hitchcock half-hours that focuses on aging, unfortunate, often poor people and the problems they face in simply living in the world. Adapted from a Fredric Brown short story, this one has an edge as well as some changes in tone that make is worth one's time. Episodic as it is it's a modest tale with real heart.

A bunch of newsman in a bar in an unnamed city are drinking and shooting the breeze and talking about the proclivity of one of them, Halloran, their apparent ringleader, for playing practical jokes. This night he has decided to play a nasty one on Johnny, an unfortunate, aging down and outer who frequents the place, appears well enough liked, is always cash poor and, one gathers, chronically unemployed.

Halloran had his newspaper print a fake headline announcing the end of the world that night, and says it's for real, and poor old Johnny believes it, gets himself a free drink at the bar, and promptly leaves. He then proceeds to steal a couple of bottles of wine from a liquor store, which he drinks in the park, and is then literally stumbled upon by a woman of about his own age, walking her dogs, who apologizes to him for causing Johnny's jacket to get soiled, takes him to her home, where she cleans the jacket and offers Johnny a cup of tea.

It's here that we learn a few things about Johnny, notably that he once had a wife and child, and that both died, thirty years ago, which explains his current state without his asking for any sympathy. The woman never married, is what they used to call an old maid; and for a few brief shining moments it appears that these two sad souls might make a genuine connection. Their idyll, such as it can be called, is brief, and when Johnny starts carrying on about the impending end of the world,--which the news headline announced was to be at 11:45 sharp--she panics.

Out the door Johnny goes when a neighbor responds to the noise in the apartment, and now Johnny, still somewhat drunk, dazed and confused, meets some boys in an alley, feels sorry for them, asks them what they would like the most, and they tell him, whereupon he takes them to a store, which he breaks into, and he and the boys proceed to play. As with his previous encounter with the spinster, there is some happiness, sadly brief, when the party is interrupted by a uniformed guard, whom Johnny shoots and kills, more from confusion and panic than in anger.

Once again, Johnny is in flight. He stops at a news stand and questions the vendor why there's nothing in the various newspapers on display that tell of the earth's imminent demise, and he soon learns the truth: he has been duped, is the victim of a not so practical joke. The man who pulled the joke on him chose someone way his social inferior: this poor soul who lacked the subtlety, sophistication, the just plain street sense to realize at any point in the previous three hours that his leg had been pulled. Johnny then returns to the bar where Halloran and his pals are still boozing, and where he decides to take his revenge.

There's no need to spoil a good story by giving away its ending but to say that its conclusion is likely to be satisfactory for most viewers. To this it's worth the time to praise the actors, especially the excellent Russell Collins, who really convinces in what is a far more complex and difficult part to play than one might imagine in his first few moments on screen. Also worthy of much praise is Edith Barrett as the sad and lonely woman who, in an alternate universe, might have been just what the doctor ordered for Johnny. Alas, there is no alternate universe that we can move to; and in the world we live in empathy is in short supply.

This is about sick people, a whole series of them. From the cruel jokester who has no respect for the feeling of even the most helpless to the poor man who is ultimately victimized by him. The man is a raging alcoholic who can't even carry on for a few minutes without a drink. He has been duped into thinking the world is going to end in about three hours. The circumstances are incredibly stupid and it seems almost impossible that one could be so incredibly dense. He makes poor use of "the last moments of his life." He is unable to even accept the kindness of a stranger without a drink. He terrifies the woman. He also breaks into a sporting goods store to help fulfill the dreams of a few poor street waifs. Unfortunately, by modern standards, he could be put in jail for endangering children. The jig is finally up and what happens is pretty predictable. The episode just stretches reality a bit too far.

A group of guys are sitting in a bar(no, there's no joke there, they're not from different cultures or anything), drinking and joking. Suddenly, another one enters, his face white. He shows the others why: the early edition of the paper, with a headline warning that the world is coming to an end, tonight. What follows is a compelling psychological study of what happens to human behavior when we believe we'll die soon. Our lead is Johnny(Collins, with regrets and loneliness painted all over his face, without him looking pitiful to the point where we can't relate to him), as he tries to enjoy his last hours, and help others to do the same. This is paced well, at 25 minutes, keeping it moving along nicely throughout, no real slumps. The filming and foreshadowing are excellent, and with clear Hitchcockian inspiration. This is not so much "scary" as it is interesting and saddening - regular life, the less pretty side. There is good tension, built up well, and there are some great, sudden shocks. Acting is solid for all - heck, even the children are fairly natural(and notice the tall one, then look in the credits afterwards), even saying things like "gee whiz", "golly", and other things no one in real life has ever said in the history of the universe. Dialog is very natural. I recommend this to any fan of this type of thing. 8/10

At a local bar, some real jerks delight in tormenting an old rummy (Russell Collins). After doing several cruel tricks on him, they reveal the cruelest....they convince him with a fake newspaper that top scientists say the world will end that night. Oddly, he actually believes it and begins living life as if there's no tomorrow...and as far as he's concerned, there isn't! First, his belief in the end of the world scares a nice, timid lady half to death. Second, he takes a group of street kids on a shopping spree after hours because, after all, the world is coming to an end! And, it all ends in tragedy.

This episode ranks high on the unbelievability factor. Had the old man been severely brain injured or developmentally delayed, the story would have made more sense....but him believing the world is ending is awfully farfetched....awfully. And, to base the story on something so ridiculous really makes this one a tough one to love, though Collins does a nice job playing the lead in this one.

Justus Addiss' ten episodes for 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' are a bit mixed. There were good ones such as "Salvage", which rescued the series after the quality briefly dipped. There were also ones that didn't quite work, such as "Nightmare in 4D". Part of me was not sure as to whether "The Night the World Ended" would appeal to me, with the premise sounding on the predictable and mean spirited side. The lead character sounded really fascinating and practical jokes worked well in Hitchcock.

"The Night the World Ended" was so much better than expected. It is a long way from a great or perfect episode, but it was not as unappealing as the plot synopsis made out, it is much more interesting and it is a long way from being one of the worst 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' episodes (despite being one of the lowest rated). Addiss did better outings in the series but he also did worse, the biggest examples on both counts have been mentioned already. This is somewhere in the middle for him.

It is definitely not an episode for everybody. The story does stretch credibility a lot and to beyond breaking point, some of it also being quite predictable. Did think that the behaviour of the characters was rather too cruel, even for behaviour intended to be.

Maybe the dialogue could have been tighter in places as well as the pace early on.

However, "The Night the World Ended" is very well acted. Russell Collins has a very difficult role here, namely on a psychological level, and he is excellent. Succeeding in creating a character that never comes over as a caricature and one that is easy to feel pity for, in fact the psychological complexity of his character is what makes the episode interesting and made it less far fetched than it could have been. Addiss directs with assurance and amps up the tension very well, of which there is quite a sizeable amount in the second half where the momentum speeds up.

As well as the tension, there is an almost surreal quality tonally that is akin to something like 'The Twilight Zone'. And parts that have emotional impact, such as with the homeless children which is very moving. The ending is enormously satisfying and the kind of ending that is rooted for early on. The writing on the whole has the right amount of edge. Hitchcock's contribution is typically ironic, while the episode looks slick. The theme music is wonderfully macabre and always was an inspired choice of music.

Concluding, a lot better than expected even if it is very easy to see why it won't click with some. 7/10.