Man from the South
| "Man from the South" | |
|---|---|
| Author | Roald Dahl |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Fiction |
| Published in | Collier's |
| Publication type | Magazine |
| Publication date | 1948 |
| Published in English | 1948 |
| "Man from the South" | |
|---|---|
| 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 5 Episode 15 |
| Directed by | Norman Lloyd |
| Story by | Roald Dahl |
| Teleplay by | William Fay |
| Original air date | January 3, 1960 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
| "Man from the South" | |
|---|---|
| 'Tales of the Unexpected' episode | |
| Story by | Roald Dahl |
| Original air date | 1979 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
| "Pilot" | |
|---|---|
| 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' episode | |
| Directed by | Steve De Jarnatt |
| Story by | Roald Dahl |
| Original air date | 1985 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
"Man from the South" is a short story by Roald Dahl originally published in Collier's in 1948. It has been adapted several times for television and film, including a 1960 version starring Steve McQueen and Peter Lorre.
This story is being narrated by an old Englishman, who tells of an elderly man named Carlos. And Carlos offers a boastful American young man his green Cadillac if the boy can strike his Zippo lighter ten times in a row. The catch is that if the lighter does not light ten times in a row, Carlos will cut off the American's left little finger. After the eighth striking of the lighter, a woman comes in the room and throws Carlos to the bed, claiming that he is mentally disturbed. He has taken forty-seven fingers from various people and has lost eleven cars—and they had to leave their country because they threatened to put Carlos away for life for this behavior. She had won everything Carlos owned long ago, including the car, and as she reaches for the car keys, the narrator sees her hand has only one finger and a thumb.
Steve McQueen
Peter Lorre
Neile Adams
Tyler McVey
Marc Cavell
Katherine Squire
Phil Gordon
Alfred Hitchcock
This short story was filmed as a 1960 episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents starring Steve McQueen as the reluctant young gambler, Peter Lorre as Carlos, the man who bets his car, and Neile Adams (McQueen's real life wife) as a woman McQueen's character meets. It takes place in Las Vegas, Nevada. The car itself is merely described as a convertible. And we could see that although she was wearing gloves, her middle and ring finger were apparently missing.
In this adaptation, as part of the dramatic denouement after the woman appears and effectively aborts the bet, the gambler (McQueen) tries to relieve the stress of the young woman (Adams) by lighting her cigarette. The lighter fails to start when flicked for this however, a sly indicator of how narrowly the gambler avoided losing the bet.
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Wikipedia