If the lighter should fail to light even once, then Peter will cut off Steve’s pinky. He then strikes up a diabolical bet: if the young man can light his Zippo ten times in a row, he wins a convertible. The story begins with a man in a tropical resort lounge (played by a young Steve McQueen, before he was famous)cozying up to a beautiful young woman, when, all of a sudden, a creepy, tuxedoed old codger (superbly played by Peter Lorre*) inserts himself into the conversation, noticing the apparent pride Steve’s character takes in lighting the woman’s cigarette with his Zippo. If you don’t have half an hour to spare, I’ll briefly summarize it here. If you’d like, now would be a good time to simply watch the episode. It also contains veiled illusions to the legacy of Nazism post-WW2. At the same time, on another level, Man from the South can be analyzed for themes involving male insecurity and the allure of wealth. On one level, it’s a wonderfully effective and devilish little thriller, executed without a single instance of blood or special effects. Perhaps that’s the reason why I love it so. ![]() If the name sounds familiar, Roald Dahl is also the writer who gave the world classic kids’ books like James and the Giant Peach and The Fantastic Mister Fox.īe forewarned though, Man from the South is hardly kiddie-fair. The episode itself is fairly closely adapted from a story of the same name by Roald Dahl (which can be found in the story collection Someone Like You). As it turns out, Man from the South was from season 5, which has yet to be given a new lease on life in DVD.īut worry not! Some kind person took the time out to load the entire episode onto Youtube, where it can be streamed for free.ĭespite its decades of obscurity, Man From the South has managed to carve out its own niche in pop culture, inspiring both remakes and clever adaptations. ![]() Several years ago, I happened to catch “Man From the South” during a marathon of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, loved it, then suffered the fate of not being able to find it again, going so far as to scan through the descriptions of every episode of the 4 seasons available on Netflix.
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