Mad Men: Wee Small Hours

October 21st, 2009

Season 3, Episode 9

Synopsis

Betty, dreaming of being seduced on her fainting couch, is awakened by a ringing phone. It’s Connie Hilton wanting Don’s advice in the middle of the night. He plans to build a Hilton hotel on the moon.

While driving to work, Don sees Miss Farrell (Sally’s teacher) out for an early morning jog. He offers her a ride to her humble apartment over a garage. They listen to Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech on the radio.

Betty writes a letter asking “Does anyone else read this?” and addresses it to Henry.

Don rejects Hilton campaign ideas from Peggy, Kurt, and Smitty. He orders them to come up with more ideas, saying he can’t do this alone.

Sal directs a Lucky Strike commercial while Lee Garner Jr., the client, offers suggestions.

After Betty picks up the kids from school, she receives a letter from Henry containing an address to write to.

In an editing room, Sal reviews the ad while Lee pours a drink. Inebriated, he comes onto Sal, and offers to lock the door. Sal turns him down, saying he’s married.

Betty writes a letter to Henry saying she has thoughts, wonders where he is and what he’s doing.

Lee calls Harry and asks for Sal to be removed from the project. After he hangs up, Harry tells Paul that Lee sounded really drunk and brushes off the request.

Late that evening, Conrad Hilton invites Don for a drink in his hotel room. Conrad waxes philosophical about how hard he works. He believes his hotels bring America to the world as a force of good, backed by God and generosity. Don takes notes. Conrad admires how Don worked hard for his success unlike his own sons.

The next day, Henry drops by to visit Betty. She is surprised. When Carla the maid arrives, he pretends to be evaluating the house for a potential fundraiser.

Lee sees Sal at the Lucky Strike ad screening and rushes out of the room. After Roger angrily demands to know why, Harry meekly admits Lee asked Sal to be removed from the project. Roger fires Sal on the spot.

Don asks Sal what happened between him and Lee. Sal says Lee was drunk and “cornered” him in the editing room. Don considers the $25 million Lucky Strike account too important, therefore Sal has to go.

That night, Betty tells Don about Henry’s fundraising plans, clumsily ensuring Carla overhears their conversation.

Don presents a compelling ad campaign to Conrad Hilton, using the word “Hilton” as a translation for home comforts. Connie likes the idea, but wonders where the “moon” is – he wanted it in the campaign. Don says he misunderstood.

At Betty’s fundraiser, some of the women worry about “Negroes” descending on the nation’s capitol. Henry sends a woman as a representative, much to Betty’s disappointment. She puts the donations in a box, drives to his office, and violently hurls the box at him. Henry says he wanted her to come to him. They kiss, but Betty feels uncomfortable in his dark office, changes her mind, and apologizes.

Roger reprimands Don for disappointing both Lee and Hilton, saying Don is in over his head.

Betty overhears Carla listening to Martin Luther King Jr. on the radio. Betty says maybe now isn’t the right time for Civil Rights.

Sal tells Kitty from a phone booth that he’s working late.

Late that night, Don leaves Betty, saying he has to meet with Hilton. Instead, he visits Miss Farrell. He says she’s been flirting with him for months, and he can’t stop thinking about her. They kiss and spend the night together.

Then And Now

Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech was broadcast on August 28, 1963.
The “career girls” murdered in their apartment are referred to as the “Wylie-Hoffert” case.
The Marshall Plan was a foreign policy in Europe after World War II that focused on reconstruction with American values of capitalism and democracy modeled after the United States.
The 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Alabama killed four girls. It occurred on September 15 and was racially motivated.
Without email or cell phones, Betty resorts to “snail mail” and silly games on the home’s single line to correspond with Henry.
Breaking news disseminates over radio, newspaper, and television – no Internet, iPhones, or Twitter here.
Sexual harrassment in the workplace; neither Lee, Sal, or Don seem to have heard of it.

Thoughts

Several characters reach for things and fail: Betty tries awkwardly to initiate an affair with Henry, Lee Garner Jr. woos Sal, and Conrad Hilton wants the moon in his ad campaign. But only Don – intrigued by Sally’s teacher Miss Farrell ever since that phallic maypole – succeeds.

Then there’s Don’s apathetic reaction to Sal’s predicament, where Don chooses profit over personal morals. Yet both men’s reaction is consistent with past behavior. Don bedded Bonnie Barrett and Rachel Menken, brazenly mixing business with pleasure. Meanwhile, Sal discreetly turned down business acquaintance Elliot. Perhaps Sal thought Don would be sympathetic based on his nonchalant reaction to the run-in with the bellhop. But Don considers the client too important and implies Sal should literally, have bent over backwards to satisfy the client.

For that choice and the bedding of Miss Farrell, Don’s behavior has become personally distasteful. I don’t think work pressure and disappointing a father figure are a valid excuse for the latter; both Sal and Betty held back because of “marriage.” I hope Don soon pays a hefty price.

Next Episode: The Color Blue
Previous Episode: Souvenir

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