Night Must Fall

Night Must Fall is a play, a psychological thriller, by Emlyn Williams, first performed in 1935. There have been three filmed adaptations: Night Must Fall (1937); a 1954 adaptation on the television anthology series Ponds Theater starring Terry Kilburn, Una O'Connor, and Evelyn Varden; and Night Must Fall (1964). Play Mrs. Bramson, a bitter, fussy, self-pitying elderly woman, resides in a remote part of Essex, with her intelligent yet subdued niece, Olivia. Mrs Bramson spends all her time complaining while sitting in a wheelchair (although it is revealed during the play that she has in fact no disability whatsoever). She is thoroughly disliked by her two servants, Dora, a young, sensitive maid and Mrs Terrence, the cook, as well as Olivia, whom Mrs. Bramson also treats as a servant. One day, Dora reveals she is pregnant. Mrs Bramson considers dismissing her, but then decides to persuade the father of Dora's unborn child to marry her. The father turns out to be a suave, handsome young man named Dan. He almost immediately charms Mrs Bramson, causing her to forget all about Dora's pregnancy and take Dan on as her private assistant. Olivia, however, isn't as taken in by the charming Dan as her aunt is; she feels that he is putting on a facade and lying to hide something sinister. Her suspicions grow when, a few days later, it is reported that a local beauty has gone missing. Believing Dan to be involved, she, the servants, and her pompous admirer, Hubert, go through Dan's things when he is not around, finding a picture of him and the missing woman buried among his belongings. This shocking discovery strengthens Olivia's suspicions and determination to prove that Dan is not what he seems.