Hitchcock’s “Man from the South”

By

There are lots of things to be happy about today.

For instance, Open Culture unearthed Alfred Hitchcock’s adaptation of Roald Dahl’s dark short story “Man from the South” starring a young Steve McQueen who makes a wager for a convertible. Also starring a hatchet and several severed pinky fingers.

Alfred Hitchcock Presents ran from 1955 to 1962 and featured stories from several famed writers, including John Cheever. The “Man from the South” episode was AHP‘s most popular episode. This particular story of Dahl’s was adapted to television and movies a few times and also inspired Tarantino’s segment from 1995’s Four Rooms.

Graham Todd is an intern at The Rumpus. He spends his mornings writing post-apocalyptic, vaguely biblical sci-fi horror comedy, his evenings tutoring the wide-eyed youth of the Palo Alto area, and his Thursdays at The Rumpus office, effectively “off the streets”. Beyond this weekly ritual, he enjoys karaoke, the movies, and jogging. More from this author →