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Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Season 01
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Alfred Hitchcock Presents [TV Series]
The first major Hollywood film director to venture into the world of series television, Alfred Hitchcock hosted this long-running dramatic anthology, which was seen on two different networks for ten seasons beginning October 2, 1955. While Hitchcock's films were generally suspense hrillers or omantic melodramas, most of the playlets on Alfred Hitchcock Presents were macabre character studies and mysteries with twist endings. The stories, written by the talented likes of Roald Dahl, Cornell Woolrich, Francis Cockrell, Henry Slesar, and Robert Bloch, trafficked heavily in faithless spouses, world-weary blackmailers, neurotic "innocents" trapped in horrible circumstances, and meticulous murderers who tirelessly plotted "the perfect crime." Intoning his trademarked "Good e-v-ening," the cherubic Hitchcock would appear at the beginning of each episode in a wryly humorous prologue setting up the basic situation, with occasional barbs at the intrusions of his sponsors' commercials, and would return for the epilogue to tie up loose plot ends, make a few more comical observations, and bid the audiences a fond "Good night." In those episodes in which the criminal or murderer seemingly got away with his or her crimes scot-free, Hitchcock would show up at the end to calmly assure the viewer -- and the network censors -- that justice had eventually been meted out and the villain had been punished, though no one was really fooled by these cynical codas. When the series expanded from 30 to 60 minutes at the outset of its eighth season, Hitchcock added a third appearance per episode just before station break, in which he would generally rip his sponsor for the "tiresome" advertisements to follow. All of these act breaks were written without screen credit by James Allardice, who'd been instructed in the satirical approach he was supposed to take via compulsory screenings of Hitch's 1955 lack comedy theatrical feature The Trouble with Harry. Since he was still quite busy with his film career throughout the run of his TV series, Hitchcock himself directed a mere handful of the half-hour programs, and only one of the hour-long episodes. Arguably the best and most famous of Hitchcock's TV directorial efforts was the third-season "Lamb to the Slaughter," in which a housewife murders her cheating husband with a frozen leg of lamb -- and then cooks up and serves the "evidence" to the unwitting police investigators. The talent roster on Alfred Hitchcock Presents including several of The Master's movie colleagues, among them actors Vera Miles, John Forsythe, Judith Evelyn, John Williams, Patricia Collinge, Hume Cronyn, Jessica Tandy, Edmund Gwenn, Oscar Homolka, Barbara Bel Geddes, Bruce Dern, Peter Lorre, Claude Rains, Mildred Natwick, Herbert Marshall, Ray Milland, and musical composer Bernard Herrmann. Norman Lloyd, who had appeared as the slimy title character in Hitch's 1942 feature Saboteur, directed and produced a number of episodes. Other frequent directors included Robert Stevens, Paul Henreid, Arthur Hiller, Boris Sagal, and John Brahm. The series was executive-produced by Joan Harrison (who had started her career as Hitchcock's secretary in 1933) and utilized Gounod's Funeral March of a Marionette as its theme music. Seen on CBS for its first five seasons, Alfred Hitchcock Presents moved to NBC for its sixth and seventh years on the air, then back to CBS in 1962, when the series was reformatted as The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. The program was brought back to NBC for its tenth and final season, which ended in September of 1965. Twenty years later, Alfred Hitchcock Presents was revived for a four-season run on both NBC and the USA cable network. Though Hitchcock had died in 1980, he remained a presence on the series via colorized reruns of his original opening and closing remarks -- a rather ghoulish creative decision that Hitch might well have approved of. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Includes Seasons:
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Season 01
Season one of the long-running suspense anthology Alfred Hitchcock Presents opens with one of the four half-hour episodes actually directed by Hitchcock this year: "Revenge," starring Vera Miles (who went on to appear in Hitch's theatrical features The Wrong Man and Psycho) as a traumatized rape victim whose identification of her assailant leads to the first of dozens of macabre twist endings. Hitchcock's other two directorial contributions this season are the classic "Breakdown," starring Joseph Cotten (Shadow of a Doubt) as a paralyzed accident victim who comes perilously close to being dissected on the autopsy table while still alive; "The Case of Mr. Pelham," with Tom Ewell as a snobbish aristocrat plagued by an exact lookalike; and "Back for Christmas," a wry "perfect-murder" yarn starring John Williams (Dial M for Murder). Many of the first season's best episodes were directed by Robert Stevens, including "Premonition," "Shopping for Death," "The Gentleman from America," and "The Hidden Thing." The casts featured a number of talented young actors on their way up the ladder to stardom: Gene Barry in "Triggers in Leash," John Cassavetes in "You Got to Have Luck," and Joanne Woodward in the season's 39th and final episode, "Momentum." Also, The Master's own daughter, Patricia Hitchcock, is seen to excellent advantage in "The Vanishing Lady" (based on a famous urban legend set during the 1893 Paris Exposition) and "The Belfry." Although Alfred Hitchcock Presents did not set any ratings records during its freshman season, the series easily out-ranked its Sunday-night competition, The Original Amateur Hour and The Goodyear Playhouse/Alcoa Hour. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Includes Episodes:
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Revenge
Alfred Hitchcock himself directed the first half-hour episode of his long-running suspense anthology. Heading the cast of Revenge is Ralph Meeker as aircraft worker Carl Spann and Vera Miles (The Wrong Man, Psycho) as Carl's ballerina wife Elsa. Having given up his job to care for Elsa after she suffers a nervous breakdown, Carl comes home one day to find all the furniture overturned and his wife in a state of near-shock. She tells Carl that a man had broken into their home and assaulted her, but cannot remember any other details. Later on, while out on a drive with Carl, Elsa stares at a passing pedestrian and whispers, "That's him! That's the man!" -- whereupon the vengeful Carl prepares to take the law into his own hands. "Revenge" was re-filmed as part of the 1985 Alfred Hitchcock Presents revival, featuring Linda Purl in the Vera Miles role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Premonition
Famed pianist Kim Stanger (John Forsythe) returns to his home town after a four-year absence, acting upon a premonition that something terrible has happened. Upon his arrival, Kim is disturbed by the mysterious and secretive behavior of his friends and family members. Insisting upon seeing his father, from whom he has been long estranged, Kim is eventually informed of the old man's violent death. Obsessively, Kim seeks out the truth about his father's demise -- but he may not like what he finds. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Triggers in Leash
In a fleabitten Western town, gunslingers Dell Delaney (Gene Barry) and Red Hillman (Darren McGavin) challenge each other to a shootout. Local cook Maggie Flynn (Ellen Corby) does everything she can to talk the two cowpokes out of their challenge, but they are determined to slap leather the moment a clock on Maggie's mantle strikes the hour. Clearly, what Maggie needs to prevent bloodshed is something spectacular -- for example, a "Sign from God." And that is precisely what Maggie gets. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Don't Come Back Alive
Hoping to square his debts before his retirement, Frank Patridge (Sidney Blackmer) talks his wife Mildred (Virginia Gregg) into a scheme to defraud the insurance company. Mildred will drop out of sight for seven years, at the end of which she will be declared legally dead so that Frank can collect her life insurance. During Mildred's disappearance, a diligent insurance detective (Robert Emhardt) dogs Mr. Partridge's trail, certain that Frank killed Mildred and buried her body somewhere. As it turns out, there is a "death in the family" by episode's end, but not in a manner that either Frank or Mildred could have possibly anticipated. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: The Vanishing Lady
This episode is based on a famous urban legend, previously filmed as the 1949 theatrical feature. Patricia Hitchcock (daughter of the boss) stars as Diana Winthrop, who attends the 1899 Paris World's Exposition in the company of her mother (Mary Forbes). Having left their hotel room to fetch some medicine for her ailing mother, Diana returns a few hours later, only to be told that she has not been registered. Further investigation reveals that no one can remember ever seeing Diana or her mother -- and there is serious doubt that her mother ever existed! The key to the mystery is a patch of wallpaper...and the solution involves an elaborate ruse to save the Exposition from being closed down before it has a chance to open. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Salvage
Upon his release from prison, gangster Dan Varrel (Gene Barry) vows to kill Lois Williams (Nancy Gates), the woman responsible for his brother's death. Catching up to Lois, Dan is surprised to find a lonely, impoverished, and thoroughly depressed young woman who all but begs him to put her out of her misery. Almost instantly, Dan changes his tune and does everything he can to help Lois pull herself out of her doldrums and gain a new lease on life -- but his motives are not entirely altruistic! "Salvage" had been previously dramatized on the radio anthology Suspense, with Burt Lancaster in the leading role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Breakdown
Alfred Hitchcock's second directorial effort for his popular suspense anthology is one of the series' best ever episodes. Joseph Cotten stars as William Callew, a hard-nosed and hard-hearted businessman who holds in contempt such human failings as sentiment, pity, and tears. While racing to keep an appointment in New York, Callew is involved in a spectacular car accident. Awakening, he finds that he is completely paralyzed, unable to move or speak -- though we hear his every thought on the soundtrack. Everyone who comes across Callew assumes that he is dead, including the police and the coroner...and as the episode draws to its conclusion, the horrified Callew is being wheeled into the autopsy room of the morgue! "Breakdown" was re-filmed for the 1985 revival of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, with John Heard in the Joseph Cotten role. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Our Cook's a Treasure
As a gift to his young wife Ethel (Janet Ward), real estate agent Ralph Montgomery (Everett Sloane) hires a cook named Mrs. Sutton (Beulah Bondi). Before long, however, Ralph has reason to regret this act of extravagance, as evidence begins to pile up suggesting that Mrs. Sutton is the same woman who has recently poisoned three people. When traces of arsenic show up in Ralph's hot chocolate, it would appear that his suspicions about Mrs. Sutton have been confirmed. But, as often happens on Alfred Hitchcock Presents, the truth of the matter is something else entirely. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: The Long Shot
Forced to leave New York in a hurry, impoverished gambler Charlie Raymond (Peter Lawford) answers a newspaper ad from a fellow Londoner named Walter Hendricks (John Williams), who wants someone to drive with him to San Francisco and share expenses. En route to the West Coast, Raymond discovers that Hendricks is on his way to collect a huge inheritance. Seizing the opportunity, Raymond murders Hendricks and assumes his identity, certain that the Frisco authorities will fall for the ruse and that he will fall heir to 200,000 dollars. Want to bet that things don't quite work out as planned for our "hero"? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Guilty Witness
Judith Evelyn, who played the pathetic Miss Lonelyhearts in Alfred Hitchcock's 1954 theatrical feature Rear Window, offers a radically different characterization in this episode. Grocery store owners Stanley and Dorothy Crane (Joe Mantell, Kathleen Maguire) are fed up by the loud and ceaseless squabbling of their next-door neighbors, Dan and Amelia Verber (Ed Kemmer, Judith Evelyn). Then one night, the arguments immediately cease -- whereupon Dorothy Crane becomes convinced that Amelia has murdered Dan. As things turn out, it seems that at least one of the four principals has what could be termed a special interest in the outcome of the case. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

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Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Season One [3 Discs] DVD

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