"Make My Death Bed" was adapted from the short story of the same name by Babs Deal that was first published in the April 1960 issue of Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine.
The story begins as Bob Hudson, the coroner in Bellefonte, Alabama, is awoken at two a.m. by a telephone call. His wife Della answers and tells him that Ken Taylor shot and killed Bishop Darby. As they drive through the fog, Della is certain that Elise Taylor was the cause of the murder. Bish, as he was nicknamed, had been staying at the Taylors' home while his wife Jackie was spending the summer with her children at her parents' house.
 |
| "Make My Death Bed" was first published here |
The Darbys were a young couple who had moved south from New England; Bish, who looked like a Greek god, liked to sing folk songs and accompany himself on the guitar. Before long, he and his wife had joined the local clubs and his wife Jackie became best friends with Elise Taylor, the most beautiful woman in town. Bob and Della arrive at the Taylor house, where they meet the sheriff and find Bish "sprawled across the hearth," wearing only a T-shirt and shorts. Elise sits at the table, drinking coffee. She blames herself for seducing her best friend's husband and feels sorry for Jackie.
Elise begins to look pale and remarks that she feels odd. She explains that her husband came home early from a J.C. meeting due to the fog, surprised her and Bish together, and shot Bish. Della recalls taking Jackie to the train station earlier in the summer and being concerned about leaving her husband home in the presence of Elise. Elise drinks more coffee and Bob telephones Jackie, with Della on the extension. Elise reminds Della of the old folk song, "Barbara Allen," that Bish used to sing; the lyrics include: "Sweet William died for me today; I'll die for him tomorrow."
 |
| Diana van der Vlis as Elise |
On the telephone, Bob tells Jackie that her husband is dead and she asks if she should turn herself over to the authorities where she is or come home to be arrested. Surprised to hear that Bish was shot, she tells Bob that he should do something about the saccharin. Della rushes to Elise, who is breathing shallowly; she tells Bob to call the doctor and examines the bottle of saccharin pills, one or two of which have poisoned Elise, who is dead by the time the doctor arrives.
In his brief introduction to "Make My Death Bed" in the collection Best Detective Stories of the Year, 16th Annual Collection, Brett Halliday wrote that "It is beautifully told, with a lovely sockeroo for its climax." Deal builds tension slowly throughout the story and plants clues to its surprise ending along the way by subtly showing Elise's decline and her excessive coffee drinking. Saccharin, which turns out to be deadly in this instance, was first produced in 1879 but gained popularity in the 1960s as a diet aid. In the story, the fact that Bish was dieting is mentioned offhandedly by Jackie as she prepares to leave on vacation; the revelation that Elise has been poisoned by the artificial sweetener that Jackie left for her husband comes as a complete surprise.
 |
| James Best as Bish |
"Barbara Allen," which Elise tells Della is a "'song Bish used to sing'" and which she then sings herself, was an old ballad that was known at least as far back as the seventeenth century. In it, a dying man calls his lover to his side but she is indifferent to his suffering; after he dies, she feels guilt and repents before dying herself. The song became popular during the folk music revival that had begun in the 1940s and that was peaking by the late 1950s and early 1960s, when "Make My Death Bed" was published; the Everly Brothers released a version in 1958 and Joan Baez released another one in 1961.
The short story is set in a suburb in 1960, following a decade that saw more and more people moving out of cities to new, affluent communities. The bleak suburban lifestyle is contrasted with the passionate affair between the story's doomed lovers; one housewife unintentionally kills her husband's lover after having meant to kill her unfaithful husband.
 |
| The Deal family in 1960 |
"Make My Death Bed" is the first story by Babs Deal (1929-2004) to be published, according to the FictionMags Index. Born and raised in Alabama, she wrote short stories until 1967 but was best known as a novelist, writing books from 1959 to 1978. Other than this single episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, the only other adaptation of one of her works was a 1979 TV movie that was adapted from one of her novels. From 1952 to 1975, she was married to Borden Deal, who was also a writer, and whose short story, "A Bottle of Wine," had been adapted for Alfred Hitchcock Presents in 1957. According to a biography of the writer John D. MacDonald, the MacDonalds and the Deals became friends after the Deals moved to Florida in 1964; MacDonald later wrote to Borden Deal that Babs Deal had made sexual advances to him, a situation that suggests parallels to the relationship between Bish and Elise in "Make My Death Bed." There is a photograph online, dated February 1960, of Babs Deal and her children looking on as Borden Deal strums an acoustic guitar; perhaps he was entertaining them with a rendition of "Barbara Allen."
A mysterious writer named Henry A. Cogge is credited with adapting "Make My Death Bed" for television; I have been unable to find anything at all about Cogge and he has no other credits. The writer of the Wikipedia entry on Babs Deal writes that she adapted her own story for TV, but this is unlikely, since she has no other TV or film credits and this was her first published short story. Babs Deal's papers are at the University of Alabama and Boston University, but the online details of their contents provide no clues as to whether Henry Cogge is a pen name for Babs Deal.
 |
| Jocelyn Brando as Della |
As often happens with short stories adapted for Alfred Hitchcock Presents, past events that are described in the short story are rearranged and shown in sequence in the TV version. The show begins with a New Year's Eve party at the Taylor house, where Elise gets close to Bish, who plays guitar and sings part of "Barbara Allen." Jackie and Ken watch their spouses flirt with each other and Ken remarks that Bish "'seems to be quite a salesman.'" At midnight, Ken breaks up Bish and Elise and all of the couples kiss and wish each other a happy new year. This initial scene quickly establishes the characters and their relationships.
In the scene that follows, Bish and Ken play darts in Ken's living room as their wives look on; Elise and Bish leave together, ostensibly to get cigarettes, but Ken quickly notices that the cigarette case is full. Dialogue between Ken and Jackie establishes that the Taylors helped the Darbys get established in town and there is unspoken tension due to the obvious infidelity.
The third scene shows Jackie packing for summer vacation and chatting with Elise. Jackie asks her friend to keep an eye on Bish and to make sure he sticks to his diet, including using saccharin to sweeten his coffee; the scene ends with Jackie giving an ominous look as Elise departs. This is followed by another scene in the Taylors' living room, where Bish sings more of "Barbara Allen" to Elise. Ken is at the Junior Chamber of Commerce meeting and Bob and Della are sitting on the sofa, watching Elise and Bish. Elise asks Bish for the bottle of saccharin pills, having promised Jackie to keep him on his diet; Bob and Della leave to drive home in the fog. Bish and Elise are left alone and are soon kissing.
 |
| Biff Elliot as Bob |
The next scene is the one that opens the short story, as the telephone awakens Bob and Della and she tells him that "'Ken Taylor just shot and killed Bish Darby.'" This statement ends the first half of the show. The short story's car ride from the Hudson house to the Taylor house is deleted; in the story, much of the background on the characters' relationships is provided during this ride, but in the TV show it is conveyed directly in the first four scenes.
The second half opens as Bob and Della arrive at the scene of the crime, where they find Bish dead and fully clothed. Elise says that she can't drink coffee without sugar and uses saccharin pills from the bottle she had taken from Bish earlier that evening. For the rest of the show, the dialogue and events follow those of the short story closely. While the story has two medical characters--Bob Hudson, the coroner, and Dr. Clifton, who is at the scene of the crime, leaves, and is called back in the end--the TV show conflates them and Bob is the only doctor.
There is an effective close-up on Jackie's face as she speaks on the phone and is unsurprised to hear that her husband is dead; this choice by the director underscores the importance of her lack of reaction. To make sure that the viewers get the point, Jackie tells Bob, "'The saccharin that I left for Bish? It was poisoned.'" This direct explanation is absent from the short story, where the message is delivered more subtly. When Bob hangs up and rushes to Elise, his foot knocks over Bish's guitar, reminding the viewer of the dead man and his role in the proceedings, and the camera slowly zooms in on Elise, who is lying on the sofa, her eyes closed. The shot freezes on her and Bob's voice is heard in voice over saying, "'She's dead.'" The show ends with an abrupt fade to black.
While the short story moves inexorably from start to finish, filling in details about the characters and their relationships along the way, the TV version plods from one scene to another without creating much suspense. The most effective moments occur during the telephone call between Bob and Jackie, but there has not been enough character development to make the viewers care very much about the people on screen.
 |
| Joe Flynn as Ken |
"Make My Death Bed" is the last episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents to be broadcast that was directed by Arthur Hiller (1923-2016). Born in Canada, he had a long career as a director, from 1954 to 2006, starting out in TV and ending up in film. He was president of the Director's Guild of America from 1989 to 1993 and directed 17 episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, including "Disappearing Trick." He also directed three episodes of Thriller and the classic comedy, The In-Laws (1979).
Diana van der Vlis (1935-2001) gets top billing as Elise. She was born in Toronto and had roles on TV and film from 1954 to 1989, including a starring role on the soap opera, Where the Heart Is, from 1969 to 1973. She also played recurring roles on another soap, Ryan's Hope, between 1975 and 1989. She appeared in Roger Corman's X: The Man With the X-Ray Eyes (1963). This was her only role on the Hitchcock TV show.
 |
| Madeleine Sherwood as Jackie |
Jocelyn Brando (1919-2005), Marlon's older sister, plays Della Hudson. Trained at the Actors Studio, she was on stage from 1942 and on screen from 1945 to 1983. She was in Fritz Lang's The Big Heat (1953) as well as two episodes of Thriller and four episodes of the Hitchcock show, most notably "The Jar."
Her husband Bob is played by Biff Elliot (1923-2012), who was born Leon Shalek and who served in World War Two. He was on screen from 1950 to 1986 and played Mike Hammer in I, the Jury (1953). He was also on Star Trek and he was seen in five episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, including "The Day of the Bullet." A website is devoted to him here.
Joe Flynn (1924-1974) plays Ken Taylor, who married the wrong woman. He started his career as a ventriloquist and a radio performer before appearing in numerous films and TV shows between 1948 and 1977, including The Twilight Zone, Batman, and Night Gallery. He was a regular on McHale's Navy from 1962 to 1966.
Finally, Jackie Darby is played by Madeleine Sherwood (1922-2016), who played supporting roles on Broadway in the 1950s and was an original cast member of the plays, The Crucible (1953), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955), and Sweet Bird of Youth (1959). Her TV and film career spanned the years from 1952 to 1993 and she is most familiar for her regular role on The Flying Nun (1967-1970).
"Make My Death Bed" aired on NBC on Tuesday, June 27, 1961. Watch this episode online here or order the DVD here. Read the short story online here.
Sources:
"Babs H(odges) Deal." Gale Literature: Contemporary Authors, Gale, 2004. Gale Literature: Contemporary Authors, link.gale.com/apps/doc/H1000023978/CA?u=lawr69060&sid=bookmark-CA&xid=a2a0047b. Accessed 26 Dec. 2024.
Deal, Babs. "Make My Death Bed." Best Detective Stories of the Year, 16th Annual Collection, Dutton, New York, 1961, pp. 39–52.
The FICTIONMAGS Index, www.philsp.com/homeville/fmi/0start.htm.
Grams, Martin, and Patrik Wikstrom. The Alfred Hitchcock Presents Companion. OTR Pub., 2001.
IBDB, www.ibdb.com/.
IMDb, www.imdb.com.
Limited, Alamy. “Borden Deal, Novelist, Plays Guitar, as His Wife, Babs, and Children Sit by His Side Boy Is Named Brett. Older Daughter Is Named Ashley. Younger Daughter Is Named Shane. (AP Photo Stock Photo.” Alamy, www.alamy.com/borden-deal-novelist-plays-guitar-as-his-wife-babs-and-children-sit-by-his-side-boy-is-named-brett-older-daughter-is-named-ashley-younger-daughter-is-named-shane-ap-photo-image526221613.html. Accessed 28 Dec. 2024.
"Madeleine Sherwood, Staple in Tennessee Williams Plays and Films, Dies at 93." Playbill, playbill.com/article/madeleine-sherwood-staple-in-tennessee-williams-plays-and-films-dies-at-93.
"Make My Death Bed." Alfred Hitchcock Presents, season 6, episode 37, NBC, 27 June 1961.
"The Red Hot Typewriter." Google Books, Google, www.google.com/books/edition/The_Red_Hot_Typewriter/6muNo0ykt54C?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=red%2Bhot%2Btypewriter&printsec=frontcover.
Scott, Steve. Profile: John D McDonald, thetrapofsolidgold.blogspot.com/2015/12/profile-john-d-mcdonald.html.
Stephensen-Payne, Phil. Galactic Central, www.philsp.com/.
Wikipedia, www.wikipedia.org.
Listen to Al Sjoerdsma discuss "Martha Mason, Movie Star" here!
In two weeks: "The Motive," starring Skip Homeier!
No comments:
Post a Comment