Night Watch.

by Lucille Fletcher

A drama for a cast of 5 men and 4 women. Unable to sleep, Elaine Wheeler paces the living room of her Manhattan townhouse, troubled by unsettling memories and vague fears. Her husband tries to comfort her, but when he steps away for a moment Elaine screams as she sees (or believes she sees) the body of a dead man in the window across the way. The police are called, but find nothing except an empty chair. Elaine's terror grows as shortly thereafter she sees still another body—this time a woman's—but by now the police are skeptical and pay no heed to her frantic pleas. Her husband, claiming that Elaine may be on the verge of a breakdown, calls in a lady psychiatrist, who agrees with his suggestion that Elaine should commit herself to a sanitarium for treatment. From this point on, the plot moves quickly and grippingly as those involved—Elaine's old friend and house guest Blanche; the inquisitive and rather sinister man who lives next door; and the nosy German maid Helga—all contribute to the deepening suspense and mystery of the play as it draws towards its riveting and chilling climax.

Genres: Plays

72 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Lucille Fletcher is best known for her suspense classic Sorry, Wrong Number, originally a radio play, later a novel, TV play and motion picture. She has written extensively for both screen and television, and is the author of several successful mystery novels, including Blindfold, . . . And Presumed Dead, The Strange Blue Yawl and The Girl in Cabin B54. She is the author of the recently successful Broadway play Night Watch, which was also a motion picture starring Elizabeth Taylor. A native of Brooklyn and a graduate of Vassar College, Lucille Fletcher lived on the eastern shore of Maryland with her husband, novelist Douglass Wallop, until his death in 1985.

This author bio was adapted from the bio on the dust jacket of an Eighty Dollars to Stamford hardcover.

Reviews

[Bryan Edelmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Character-wise I think there's a lot of fun going on here. I'm a sucker for the "gas-lighty" kind of shows, so I would definitely love to see it staged... ... . . . That said, this plot is both too basic and tropey and then too different for difference sake at the same time. For spoilers sake, I won't get into it but if you know you know. Still it's a fun read and I would recommend 5/10

[Robert LoCicero · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been following this author since I heard an old time radio broadcast in which she was the screenwriter. This is a quick read; a two act suspense story in which the main character appears as a paranoid, hysterical woman bothered by past memories of death and a current feeling that a murder has been committed in the adjacent building. Her apartment has a view of the two windows in that building. Her spouse and female friend seemingly appear to be solicitous of her and make attempts to calm her down. The situation becomes fairly anxiety producing for all the participants in the drama including a maid, a neighbor and a "psychiatrist" and culminates in a further revelation of marital infidelity and violence. This kind of suspense and literary narrative seems to be par for the course for author Fletcher. For this reason I am continuing to read other of her works and recommend her writings for those who appreciate a modern mystery writer in the more classical sense (creating a suspense mood and detailed imagery, often beautiful but frightful at the same time).

[Jesse Stoddard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great suspense! Fun characters too.

[Hilal Işık · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining

[Prof. Cue · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.75/5 Stars.

Read this because this is the next show I'll be working on, although I didn't really care for it much. I gave it a slightly higher rating though because I enjoyed the ending.

[Lee-Anna Semenyna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the twist in this!

[William Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fletcher’s most well known work is likely the radio play SORRY, WRONG NUMBER, which worked decently on film in 1948—though even there one could feel its original radio play roots. The radio play background and the period are relevant to why NIGHT WATCH didn’t ultimately work for me. Plays often are less compelling on the page than on screen, but the plot, the hysterical woman trope, and set up feel like they’d work better in the 1950s, even 1960s, whereas by the 1980s, this comes off as dated and creaky. I workship Joan Hackett, and I can see her playing the lead role to the hilt. Think THE LAST OF SHEILA. NIGHT WATCH feels like a pale imitation of DEATHTRAP, and concocts a complex but finally obvious solution. Stagecraft-wise, the excessive exits and entrances got a bit exhausting too, after a while, for some reason.

A slight but not memorable piece.

[Kathy Pero · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good play - popular with community theater groups. Especially good around this time of year.

[Gypsysoul_ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite the "classic" language, a perfectly entertaining thriller

[Amanda Keck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth it for the last ten pages!

[Tiffany Day · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little dated; repetitive - could be enjoyable with a strong lead. Great part for middle-aged actress. 3 1/2 stars