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Reviews
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: None Are So Blind (1956)
Better than other reviews would lead you to believe
You'll probably have to watch this one twice. Some may notice something is off during the episode. Some may not. Either way, once the ending is revealed you'll probably want to go back and watch it again.
I have no clue what the other poster is talking about with the drawer. It certainly is not empty when it is first opened.
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Never Again (1956)
Not sure what show some of the other reviewers watched
Never Again was definitely groundbreaking for its time. Not only did it show alcoholism, but its author and main character were women.
Karen awakens in a strange place, in a bed with her right hand and arm heavily bandaged. She struggles to remember what happened the previous evening and how she ended up there.
Through flashbacks, we see that Karen has recently gotten on the wagon. She is being reassured by a friend as she prepares for a party. She uses a wine glass as an ashtray, not to drink. seeming to have her problem under control. Her boyfriend Jeff shows and she is in a fragile state regardless of how kind, gentle and reassuring he is. She claims he isn't interested in her job since his is seemingly more interesting. The fact that people at the party know about her alcoholism doesn't help the situation. After much coaxing and reassurance from Jeff's side, they go off to the party.
Once at the party, Karen seems to be fine and not at all interested in drinking. However, she soon becomes jealous of Jeff when he goes off with a female associate. She meets a Jerry Lewis type guy briefly who gives her a drink that she doesn't intend to imbibe. However, her insecurities surface and she ends up throwing a drink in the face of Renee (the female host) and running out with Jeff close behind.
Once at her apartment, Jeff, forever the patient one, asks why she did what she did while assuring her that her jealousy is unwarranted. Karen is a mess to the point that she tears her own pearls off her neck. Jeff reveals that no matter what she did or does that he intends on marrying her. She is incredibly happy at this news and when he reminds her that they haven't eaten, she states she'd rather go back to the party. He happily agrees, stating that no one there would expect that from her.
Back at the party, Renee once again greets Karen warmly, having changed her dress and moved on from the incident. Jeff has to mingle for work and the strange young man named Marlow finds Karen again. At first she refuses on the strength that he accidentally reveals that Jeff told Renee (Marlow's sister) that he intended to marry her. However, she soon turns cold again when he also reveals that Renee stated that she was against the marriage due to her drinking - Marlow is an alcoholic, too). This sends her into a drinking binge along with her new friend, comparing where they like to drink.
The next scene shows them both inebriated at a bar. A drunk and disheveled Karen fights the bartender for a bottle when he attempts to cut her off. Jeff then enters with Renee in tow. Karen ignores his pleading for her to leave with him. She fights him and ends up falling and slicing her wrist. Jeff gets her to her feet, then his face goes blurry.
Back at the hospital, a nurse comes in as Karen struggles to remember what happened after Renee and Jeff found her and wonders why Jeff isn't with her. She inquires with the nurse about the hospital that she is in. She is then told that she isn't in a regular hospital. She is in the hospital wing of the jail for killing Jeff with the glass she slit her wrist with. Karen screams in agony at the news.
I thought it was unique for its time especially that it was written by a woman. Hitchcock's normally humorous epilogue was instead a plea to those who saw themselves in Marlow or Karen to seek help. Given the Mad Men like atmosphere back then and the fact that the word alcoholism wasn't even uttered once shows how different things were back then.
The only question I have is why Jeff stayed by Karen's side even when she went off the rails. She didn't seem to be much of a catch without alcohol or with it.