Hangover story
A man wakes up with a hangover and realizes that his wife is missing, while another woman is in his room. Directed by: Bernard Girard. Story by: Charles Runyon (short story).
11 total · 1 choice · 6 major · 4 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| alcohol abuse | choice | Hadley was addicted to alcohol to the extent that he lost his job for making a drunken fool of himself, and killed his wife in an alcohol fumed bout of depression. In his closing remarks, Alfred Hitchcock chastised his own show for making light of such a serious topic, and hoped that it would better itself in future. |
| disintegrating romantic relationship | major | Hadley's marriage with Sandra was coming to pieces due to his excessive drinking. She was about to leave him when he strangled her instead. |
| getting fired from one's job | major | Hadley learned that he had been fired for making a drunken fool of himself at a big shareholder presentation. |
| husband and wife | major | The story concerned Hadley and Sandra's alcohol wrecked marriage. |
| spouse murder | major | The story culminated with the revelation that Hadley had strangled his wife, Sandra, with a silk scarf and stashed her body in the basement before forgetting all about it. |
| substance intoxication | major | There were several scenes in which Hadley acted a near pantomime drunken fool. In one lengthy scene, he gave a humiliating and drunken marketing presentation that cost him his job. |
| what if I had amnesia | major | Hadley had an alcohol induced blackout and woke up the next day not remembering any of his drunken shenanigans. |
| coping with a bad hangover | minor | The story opens with Hadley waking up with a zinger of a hangover. |
| divorce | minor | Sandra threatened to leave Hadley, and was about to do so. |
| romantic infidelity | minor | Hadley had picked up a blonde babe and was worried about his wife finding out. |