Alfred Hitchcock Presents (TV Series) Night of the Execution (1957) User Reviews

Hard to imagine that any politician can be dishonest!!

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 9 March 2021]

Warren (Pat Hingle) is a very ineffectual and meek prosecutor. It's a shame, as he is talented and would love a career in politics...but his track record prosecuting cases is poor. Well, after receiving a pep talk from some friends, it seems to do the trick and he soon gives a dandy summation in the murder trial he's prosecuting. He's so convincing that the man is found guilty and sentenced to death. Suddenly there's talk about his running for office...and he's a hero.

Shortly after this, he's approached by a scruffy old man. The man is insistent on seeing him, as the man reports that HE is the murderer...not the man who was convicted. But faced with a wife with even stronger ambitions than himself, he agrees to forget about the old man's confession...allowing the convicted man to remain on death row. What's next?

This is a very good episode of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", though the finale has a bit of a loophole...Warren could easily have explained what happened by saying the old man broke in to the apartment and attacked him...which is sort of like what happened...sort of. Still, well done and well worth seeing.

Very well executed

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 28 October 2022]

"Night of the Execution" is the last of Justus Addiss' ten 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' episodes. His episodes varied in quality, with very good episodes like "Salvage" (one of the best first episodes of the series' most frequent directors) and "Martha Mason Movie Star" and also misfires such as "Miss Paisley's Cat" and particularly "Nightmare in 4D". The other episodes were uneven but well above average. Loved the premise for this which is very Hitchcockian and Pat Hingle was always worth watching.

Luckily, the premise is lived up to and made the most of and the episode showcases Hingle's talents incredibly well. As far as Addiss' 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' episodes go, "Night of the Execution" is one of his best along with "Salvage" and "Martha Mason Movie Star" and is one of the better faring final episodes of the series' prolific directors (a list that included Robert Stevens, Paul Henreid, Herschel Daugherty and Hitchcock himself). Not one of the series' best, but still a very good outing.

It does have some credibility straining here and there, such as the sketchy portrayal of the justice system and some rash decision making.

Yet it also has the bravura performance of Hingle as its primary best asset. It shows great authoritative presence, nuance and a character that comes over as a real person and not a caricature. Georgann Johnson is very good as well as is Russell Collins, who expertly makes one unsure of whether he's guilty or not. Addiss directs with confidence and a feel for suspense.

Visually, it is not lavish but it is slick and has a lot of atmosphere. Gounod's theme music is still timeless and Hitchcock's humorous irony shines in his bookending. "Night of the Execution" is tautly scripted and explores the topic and moral dilemmas of justice and fate very intriguingly yet with enough nuance to stop heavy handedness.

The story is compelling and suspenseful throughout, with more than enough to keep one guessing. The ending was not an obvious one and is believably executed.

Concluding, very well done. 8/10.

"Someday your name's gonna be important in this state."

[classicsoncall · 6/10 · 9 September 2021]

A red flag should go up while watching this episode when Ed Barnes (Russell Collins) shows up out of nowhere to claim he killed the wife of a man who was convicted for her murder. Who does that? Yet it was enough to get Assistant DA Warren Selvy (Pat Hingle) questioning his own judgment about prosecuting the case. On the flip side, if Selvy hadn't gotten the conviction, his society climbing wife (Georgann Johnson) might be willing to call it quits on the marriage, supported by her father (Vinton Hayworth), who's Selvy's boss. It doesn't take much for Barnes to change his story when Selvy outlines the consequences of his admitting to the murder. How dumb was this guy to think he could get away with killing someone if he simply confessed?

Well, we eventually find out Barnes wasn't dumb, just a bit of a nut case. Because after thinking about it for a while, he comes back to say he killed the convicted man Rodman's wife and was willing to face the consequences. Faced with a physical confrontation, Selvy knocks out Barnes, only a little too forcefully, killing the deluded man. With the tables now turned, Warren Selvy finds himself with the prospect of going nowhere at all in what now is his dismal future.

I got my first look at actor Pat Hingle way back in a Clint Eastwood Western from 1968 titled "Hang 'Em High" where he portrayed a hanging judge. Director Eastwood must have liked him well enough, bringing him along for a couple more projects, 1977's "The Gauntlet", and 1983's "Sudden Impact". I always liked Hingle, and it was cool seeing him show up in an episode of this series.

just wondering

[viapetty · 2 October 2019]

Why go confess to the prosecuting lawyer? why not the police? the lawyer can't do anything about it other than going to the police themselves. just like... why?

Bravura performance from Pat Hingle

[Scaarge · 6/10 · 23 August 2010]

A slightly above average episode with an exploration of morality versus expediency, though both elements are well played against each other. Plotting and performance are smooth, moving easily from the expected to the unexpected and the ultimate scene where it all comes together.

The real treat here is the performance by Pat Hingle. Like most of you, I knew him as Commissioner Gordon from the Tim Burton Batman films, where he was a reliable but unexciting presence. Here, he quietly gives it his all, neither too dull or too stagy, being all too humanly real, making at least me wonder what else he might have done before he became ossified in a handful of camp classics. Need to click on his name and see what else he's done...

Guilt takes a turn the tables of justice flip!

[blanbrn · 7/10 · 29 July 2017]

This "Alfred Hitchcock Presents: episode called "Night of the Execution" is a pretty good one it's a tale that teaches a moral lesson and flips as justice is served rightfully. The late Pat Hingle(from Tim Burton's "Batman" films)is Warren Selvey a struggling D.A. who's losing case after case so finally he changes up his approach on a current murder case only to convict an innocent man named Rodman. After this Warren feels the power to run for congress, yet slowly but surely truth is revealed someone else committed murder on the case not Rodamn and this haunts Warren causing a reaction that puts Warren in the guilty chair! Overall slick and sly episode that proves that justice and fate twist when you do something wrong! It teaches a good lesson to be honest.

What did you think you'd get for a murder! A gold medal!

[sol-kay · 6/10 · 18 May 2012]

***SPOILERS*** Just when it looked like assistant D.A Warren Selvy, Pat Hingle, was going to get a conviction on a capital case that he was prosecuting up pops this old geezer Ed Barnes, Russell Collins,claiming he's he one who murdered the accused murderer Rodman's, Edward Schaaf, wife! This case is Selvy's last chance to get promoted to district attorney after losing a string of capital case for the state he's now not going to let Barnes in for whatever reason he has in trying to save Rodman's life talk him into blowing it.

It's when Selvy questions Barnes on the case and what he had to do with murdering Mrs. Rodman that he somehow becomes convinced that he in fact is telling the truth! That's after he finally got a convection against Rodman who's to be sentenced to the state electric chair! The fact that Barnes only knew what the newspapers wrote of the Rodamn case and not anything new didn't seem to have any effect of Selvey's decision to drop the murder conviction against him. It's only when what seemed like the muddled brain Barnes realized that he's fact facing the death penalty that he suddenly changed his mind and claimed that he did't do it! kill Mrs Rodman.

***SPOILERS*** Going from one extreme to another,yes he did no he didn't and now yes he did again, the final chapter to this murder mystery ends with a by now crazed Barnes who had since admitted he didn't murder Mrs. Rodman now claiming that he did murder her and better yet attacking a stunned Warren Selvy with a table clock in attempting to murder him as well! The end to this story is that Barnes is soon exposed by Selvy's father in law Sidney, Vinton Hayworth, as a first class nut case who likes to confess to murders that he didn't commit! But by him overplaying his hand in the Rodman murder case Barnes finally in an upside down way had his wish come true. Where this time around he ended up being the murder victim instead of the murderer!

More Executions

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 25 June 2013]

Once again, an episode that strains reality a bit. There are several forces working here. There is the man of ethics who has a decent but not outstanding career. There is his boss who want more out of this talented man. There is the social climbing wife who wants to be the big time politician's partner. Then there is the guy who claims to have murdered the alleged victim of a man on death row. This puts the seed of doubt in the prosecutor's mind and he begins to wonder if he got the right man. I don't mean to be unkind, but I often think that the writer's of these episodes were writing for a simpleminded, unsophisticated audience. Even worse than they are today. The portrayal of the justice system was so poorly drawn. There was none of the negotiating or investigating. Criminals were always convicted so easily. The other downfall of this episode is the rashness of a successful man, so out of character. Oh, well, my mother would say. It's a Hitchcock ending.