MovieChat Forums > In the Heat of the Night (1967) Discussion > Why the hell would the diner be open tha...

Why the hell would the diner be open that late?

posted 9 years ago by jgroub
8 replies | jump to latest

Sam is there having is coke and not-pie at 2:40am the night of the murder, and it's clear both nights that not only was he the only customer at that time, but for quite sometime. The pool hall closed at 1, so if anyone wanted a bite to eat, they'd be there and gone by 2.

Ralph apparently started his shift sometime around 1-ish, after killing the guy, and was set to work straight through 'til morning. Why? A small town like that, he'd have zero customers the whole shift. Why have a 24-hour diner in a small town with 5 cops?

I want the doctor to take your picture so I can look at you from inside as well.

[–] ck1-5 9 years ago

I grew up in a small town in upstate NY, certainly no larger that Sparta, and the diner was open 24 hours.

[–] spookyrat1 9 years ago

An all night diner, on a main road. They do exist.🐭

[–] mobocracy 8 years ago

I don't have a problem with the diner being open 24 hours, just the location seems bad. I would have expected it to have been close to the train station, since the train actually stops at 0-early-30 in the morning.

[–] pucks-2 8 years ago

It would be open for few reasons. At that time the interstate system wasn't nearly as developed as it is today so many travelers used the two laners to get from point a to b. Goods and products were cheaper as were labor costs especially in the agricultural south so Ralph worked for peanuts at the diner AND taxes were lower too. All that coupled together allowed places such as the Compton Diner to be open 24 hrs.

The Great & Powerful "OZ" has spoken!

[–] I_Created_U 8 years ago

Goods and products were cheaper as were labor costs especially in the agricultural south so Ralph worked for peanuts at the diner AND taxes were lower too. All that coupled together allowed places such as the Compton Diner to be open 24 hrs.

Yes, of course, but if everything was cheaper, that means that the income was necessarily lower too, which means that in proportion, it would be the same predicament as today.

Also, there is no form of business model aside from slavery that can sustain paying an employee for hours with hardly any money coming in, because whatever those coffee and pies cost, it will always be a fraction of the salary the employee gets, no matter the era we are considering.

Unless they make that much money during the day, in which case, why keep it open at night when it's clearly not profitable? Isn't that what capitalism has always been about, minimizing the costs and maximizing the benefits? Wouldn't any business owner come to the same conclusion? I dunno, i'm asking here.

Or is there some kind of law requiring that every town should have at least one 24H establishment? If not, i don't see why this thing was open... But the fact that according to others such places do exist is i guess proof enough that i am missing something.

People who don't like their beliefs being laughed at shouldn't have such funny beliefs

[–] I_Created_U 8 years ago

At first, i was inclined to agree with you, your reasoning makes sense, i don't see the utility nor the profitability of having a 24H dinner in such a small town.

Also, i live in Europe where such things aren't common at all, the closest thing there is to that here are highway petrol stations that'd be open till say midnight and a few maybe 24/7 on large frequented highways between countries, but certainly not in such deserted parts of the country.

But after seeing the others not being surprised, i guess this is a pretty common practice in the US.

PS: Dinners, such an American thing popularized in the rest of the world through movies and series. Especially the 50's/60's style of dinners which are all over pop-culture and have become an identifying trademark of American culture.

People who don't like their beliefs being laughed at shouldn't have such funny beliefs

[–] shoobe01-1 8 years ago

In the US today, the only guaranteed 24 hour places are gas stations with their attached snack aisles, on major interstate highways. Same thing as I see in Europe, though a little less formal and organized.

This took place in the 1960s, when (as stated above) there were not interstate highways everywhere, or hardly anywhere. So you took these little two lane roads which ran through towns. There were tiny motels, diners, etc. to service that business. Yes, sometimes they would have no business for hours and hours. Sometimes, a bus or truck or car will stop by and you get business.

[–] PussyCrusher_Principal 7 years ago

The counterman was a Foul Owl On The Prowl, and owls do their "foulness" at night. Like boning underage girls and stuff like that.

If yuh pass his tree...Flee!