Happy Halloween

 

Afred Hitchcock Presents: Salvage (1955)

 

Salvage marks the 6th episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. 

In this episode a gangster (Gene Berry) who has just been released from prison, goes searching for the woman (Nancy Gates), who he believes is responsible for his brother's death.  

This is truly an excellent episode. Starting off right in the middle of the action proves to be a perfect way to tell this story as we fill out the backstory for the characters more and more as the story goes on. As we do this we discover that the characters are much more complex than we originally thought. The more we learn about these characters, the more invested in them we become. Because of this for characters we only spend less than a half hour with, we feel like we know them completely. The story is also incredibly well written. At first, we seem to think we know where it is going but it surprises us while still making perfect sense. 

The real reason this episode works so well is because of the acting. Of course, such reliable actors as Gene Berry (in his second appearance on this show) and Elisha Cook Jr. are excellent. However it is the relatively unknown Nancy Gates, who steals the show with her very emotionally vulnerable performance.

The opening and closing bits with Hitchcock on a film set are delightfully fun and silly, contrasting perfectly with the darker main story. 

This is the first episode of this show directed by Justus Addiss. He would direct a total of ten episodes. His other episodes would include A Bullet for Baldwin (1956), Safe Conduct (1956), Nightmare in 4-D (1957), The Night the World Ended (1957), Martha Mason, Movie Star (1957), The West Warlock Time Capsule (1957), The Indestructible Mr. Weems (1957), Miss Paisley's Cat (1957) and Night of the Execution (1957). Other TV series he directed for include Rawhide, Mister Ed, The Restless Gun, The Twilight Zone and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.  

-Michael J. Ruhland

Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Into Thin Air (1955)

 

Into Thin Air marks the 5th episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents and aired on October 30th, 1955.

In this episode, a young woman (Patrica Hitchcock) leaves her sick mother (Mary Forbes) in a hotel room. However, when the young woman returns to the hotel, she finds her mother is missing and no one remembers either her or her mother. 

I really liked this episode. The main reason for this is Patricia Hitchcock in the main role. This may be her career best performance as she really draws us in making us believe every second of this implausible story. The rest of the cast is excellent as well including a very good performance from Alan Napier, best known for playing Alfred on the 60's Batman TV show. While the story itself feels familiar, it is quite well handled with a great twist at the end. The episode also does a fantastic job of creating a bit of suspense and keeping you wondering what exactly is going on

This episode's storyline very much resembles the Alfred Hitchcock film, The Lady Vanishes (1938), something Hitch himself acknowledged in his introduction.

Hitch's daughter Patricia Hitchcock stars in this episode. This is the first of ten Alfred Hitchcock Presents episodes she would appear in. The other episodes were The Older Sister (1956), The Belfry (1956), I Killed the Count Part 1 (1957), The Glass Eye (1957), Silent Witness (1957), The Crocodile Case (1958), The Morning of the Bride (1959), The Cuckoo-Clock (1960) and The Schartz-Metterklume Method (1960). She also appeared in her father's movies, Stage Fright (1950), Strangers on a Train (1951) and Psycho (1960). When Alfred Hitchcock gives his closing remarks, he tells us "I thought the little leading lady was rather good didn't you?" 

This is one of only two episodes directed by Dan Medford (the other was Triggers in Leash (1955)), a very prolific TV director. Some of the other TV series he worked on include Climax!, The Riffleman, The Untouchables, The Twighlight Zone, The F.B.I., The Fall Guy and Dynasty.

This is the first episode written by Marian B. Cockrell, who would go on to write ten more episodes. These episodes were Santa Claus and the Tenth Avenue Kid (1955), There Was an Old Woman (1956), Whodonit (1956), Wet Saturday (1956), Conversation Over a Corpse (1956), The Rose Garden (1956), The West Warlock Time Capsule (1957), Miss Paisley's Cat (1957), Miss Bracegirdle Does Her Duty (1958) and The Schartz-Metterklume Method (1960). 

-Michael J. Ruhland

The Lodger (1927)

 

 

Note: This post includes spoilers for the film.

In his book length interview with Francois Truffaut, Hitch stated, "The Lodger was the first true 'Hitchcock movie.'" This may not have been Hitch's first film, but it was the first that felt like the type of movie Hitch would become known for. This was no longer the romantic melodrama that characterized his career before this, this was a suspense film, whose plot revolved around murder and mistaken identities. Such a view of this film would be shared by critic and biographer Donald Spoto, who would state that this was the first time Hitchcock, “revealed his psychological attraction to the association between sex and murder, between ecstasy and death”.

In this film, a serial killer, known as The Avenger, is murdering innocent blond women. Meanwhile a lodger (Ivor Novello) moves into a house where a happy family lives. Because of the lodger's strange behavior, the landlady (Marie Ault) starts to believe that he is perhaps the serial killer. When he starts spending time with her blonde daughter (June Tripp) she grows very nervous. 

A few months ago, I took some friends to see this film at a movie theatre that plays classic films (Old Town Music Hall in El Segundo, CA). Some of them had never seen a silent film before and some only had a passing familiarity with Alfred Hitchcock. Yet they all found themselves very much enjoying the movie and some admitted that they were surprised by some of the turns the story took. That this movie can still surprise and grip modern audiences with little to no familiarity with silent movies speaks to the power of Hitch's filmmaking. 

This movie grips its audience from the very start. The opening shot is a close-up of a woman screaming. We have no context for this at first. This shot is followed by a montage of images. First, we see the words "to-night golden curls" in flashing lights. Then we see a woman's body lying dead on the floor. Afterwards is an older woman reacting in horror. Then we see a policeman taking down notes. Through these images our minds start to do detective work piecing together a story from images. This causes us to immediately become mentally absorbed in the film before we even meet the main characters. A similar opening would later take place in Rear Window (1954) as the camera pans across L.B. Jeffries apartment giving us views of various photographs and newspaper clippings that cause us paste together what has happened to the main character before a single word of dialogue is spoken. Both scenes are also a great example of Hitchcock's ideal view of "pure cinema," where the story is told through various images rather than dialogue or intertitles. It is also fascinating that the opening shot is from the point of view of the serial killer, a character who we will never once see onscreen. In his book, Hitchcock the Murderous Gaze, William Rothman examines this theme writing, "The opening shot shows us what the Avenger sees, even if it withholds all views of this figure from us (in particular, it withholds the woman's frightful vision). Within the world of the film, the Avenger is a viewer, The scene of which this is shot is a fragment is rooted in our own role of viewers. We possess views of this world, while necessarily remaining unseen by the being who dwell within it."

Many films with this great of an opening fail to live up to the great start. That is not the case with this movie at all. Hitch's passion for visual filmmaking is striking throughout. As can be seen in his films from this period, the influence of German expressionism is very clear. This can be seen in the ways each of the shots are set up, the various sets and the great stylized intertitles. Many of the shots here are just as perfectly framed as those in Hitch's later more popular films. As is true of many of Hitch's best films, there are shots that will stay with you long after you finish watching. Though Hitch would sometimes refer to his British work as the work of a talented amateur, the visual storytelling in this film prove that he was far from an amateur. At the same time these visuals are not only here to look great but also to help tell the story. Thanks to these visuals, there is a great sense of atmosphere throughout the whole film. 

Yet this movie is not only worth watching for its visuals. While its story is rather simple (especially compared to Hitch's later work), it is quite engaging. We care about these characters. They may not be complex, but they are likable, and the happy ending (even if Hitch himself wasn't a fan) feels completely deserved and satisfying. There are also enough twists and turns to keep the audience guessing throughout. 

About the formation of this film Hitch stated, "I had seen a play called Who is He?, based on Mrs. Belloc Lowndes's novel, The Lodger. The action was set in a house that took roomers, and the landlady wondered whether the new boarder was Jack the Ripper or not. I treated it very simply, purely from her point of view. Since then, there have been two or three remakes, but they are too elaborate."

Though today, Alfred Hitchcock is the name that most will know going into this film. The big name attached to this movie at the time was Ivor Novello, who played the title character. An actor, songwriter and singer, he was a very well-known name in the U.K. at this time. It was on this film that Hitch learned one of the most difficult aspects with working with popular stars, wasn't the stars themselves but the public perception of them. Simply put, a matinee idol like Novello could not be a villain. Because of this Hitch had to make it very clear by the end that Novello was in fact completely innocent of the crimes. This is not to say that Hitch planned to make the character an outright villain though. He had in fact wanted to end the movie with the audience still wondering whether or not the lodger was the killer. Later he ran into the same trouble making Suspicion (1941), when having Cary Grant play a character, who the audience was supposed to whether or not he was a killer. Explaining his desire to not answer the question of whether or not the lodger was a killer, Hitch told Truffaut, "In this case, if your suspense revolves around the question: 'Is he or is he not Jack the Ripper?' and you reply, 'Yes, he is Jack the Ripper,' you merely confirmed a suspicion. To me, this is not dramatic. But here we went in the other direction and showed that he wasn't Jack the Ripper at all." 

The theme of an innocent man being wrongful accused and finding themselves in danger would become one of Hitchcock's favorite motifs. It would be reused in such Hitchcock films as The 39 Steps (1935), Young and Innocent (1937), Suspicion, Saboteur (1942), Spellbound (1945), Strangers on a Train (1951), To Catch a Thief (1955), The Wrong Man (1956), North by Northwest (1959) and Frenzy (1972). In his book, Hitchcock's Films Revisited, Film Scholar Robin Wood writes, "The 'falsely accused man' films typically take the form of what Andrew Britton has termed the 'double chase' plot structure: the hero pursued by the police, pursues the real villain(s)." In this Hitch's first movie with this motif, he already has established this "double chase" formula. Of these "falsely accused man" films the closest in spirit to The Lodger is his last to use this theme, Frenzy. Both have an unmistakably British setting, both feature a serial killer who is going around and killing women as well as an innocent man falsely accused of the crime and both balance out their darker story lines with a sense of humor. Frenzy however takes this plot in a much more violent and sexual nature (it is a rare Hitchcock movie ton receive an R rating). Nevertheless, it is fascinating to compare these two films and see the work of an ever-evolving filmmaker at two different points in his career. 

That the killer's victims are blonds also looks forward to future work of the great filmmaker. Hitchcock would later state, "Blondes make the best victims. They're like virgin snow that shows up the bloody footprints." Hitch would continue using blondes both as heroines and femme fatales. Due to their work with Hitch such actresses as Grace Kelly, Kim Novack, Eva Marie Saint, Janet Leigh and Tippi Hedren have all been referred to as Hitchcock Blondes. The term has become part of the common vernacular among cinephiles.    

Upon its initial release, this film was hailed by critics as a landmark in British Cinema. Its 1928 release in America would receive less positive attention from critics. A reviewer from Variety was especially harsh stating, "They took a smashing theme, gummed it up with cheap and shoddy catering to the lowest taste of what they supposed to be their public, and then further smeared it with acting and photography that belongs to the American studio of 10 years ago."  

This movie would later be remade multiple times. The Lodger (1932) would even once again star Ivor Novello. Probably the best known of these remakes is Fox's 1944 version of the same name which was directed by John Brahm (who directed multiple episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour) and starred Laird Cregar, Merle Oberon, George Sanders (who appeared in Hitch's Rebecca (1940) and Foreign Correspondent (1940)), Cedric Hardwicke (who acted in Hitch's Suspicion and Rope (1948) as well as two episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents (Wet Saturday (1956) and A Man Greatly Beloved (1957))) and Sara Allgood (who appeared in Hitch's Blackmail (1929) and Juno and the Paycock (1930)). The film would also be remade again as Man in the Attic (1953), which was directed by Hugo Fregonese. The story would also be reworked in a more contemporary setting with The Lodger (2009), which was directed by David Ondaatje and starred Alfred Molina, Hope Davis and Simon Baker. 

In early 1942 the Los Angeles Times stated that Hitchcock himself was interested in a color remake of the movie following the completion of Saboteur. However, by the end of 1942, Fox would have already obtained the film rights to the story. However, Hitch had already been at least somewhat involved in a radio adaption of the story with a 1940 radio adaption. Produced by Walter Wagner (who produced Hitch's Foreign Correspondent), it was Hitchcock's idea to adapt the original novel as a radio play. This was an audition for a series called Suspense, which was originally intended as a series that would adapt Alfred Hitchcock films. As almost a forerunner to Hitch's later TV work, this series supposedly would have Hitchcock as the host. Actually, beyond suggesting this adaption and lending his name to the production, Hitchcock had little to do with the actual making of the production. Actor Joseph Kearns would even voice Alfred Hitchcock for the introduction. The stars of the radio play would be Herbert Marshall and Edmund Gwenn (both of whom appeared in Foreign Correspondent). This radio adaption would not reveal the true identity of the killer, leaving many listeners very disappointed. Suspense would actually be picked up as a radio series in 1942 but without any Alfred Hitchcock connection. You can listen to this radio production below. 

   

-Michael J. Ruhland

Resources Used

Hitchcock by Francios Truffaut

The Alfred Hitchcock Story by Ken Mogg.

Hitchcock on Hitchcock Edited by Sidney Gottlieb

 Hitchcock's Films Revisited by Robin Wood

Hitchcock: The Murderous Gaze by William Rothman

https://www.socratic-method.com/quote-meanings-english/alfred-hitchcock-blondes-make-the-best-victims-theyre-like-virgin-snow-that-shows-up-the-bloody-footprints

https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/449308/the-lodger#articles-reviews?articleId=78344

https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/lodger-serial-killer-thriller-alfred-hitchcock

https://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/The_Lodger_(Suspense,_22/Jul/1940)

Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Don't Come Back Alive (1955)

 

In this episode married couple Frank and Mildred are in desperate need for money. Frank comes up with an idea for Mildred to disappear for seven years. He would declare her dead and they could collect her insurance money. However, he soon finds himself accused of killing his wife. 

This is a wonderful episode. The very premise is intriguing and just the type of dark but fun story, we have already come to expect for this series. Yet the execution is even better. Sidney Blackmer (who would go on to appear in one more episode, The Faith of Aaron Menefee (1962)) is very compelling in the lead role. He adds an even greater intensity to the story as he feels completely real every moment he is on screen. Robert Emhardt (who appeared in six Alfred Hitchcock Presents episodes and one The Alfred Hitchcock Hour) is equally wonderful as the detective who thinks that Frank killed his wife. The story is full of very clever little moments that keep one guessing what will happen next. The dialogue is also very smart and well written. The final twist at the end is perfect and there is no better way for such a story to end. Alfred Hitchcock's intro and outro are as great as ever and his dry sense of humor is truly hilarious here. 

This is the first episode directed by Robert Stevenson. Stevenson is best known as a Disney director. In fact, he was one of the studio's finest live action directors, having directed such Disney films as Johnny Tremain (1957), Old Yeller (1957), Darby O'Gill and the Little People (1959), The Absent Minded Professor (1961), Mary Poppins (1964), That Darn Cat (1965), The Love Bug (1969), Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971) and Herbie Rides Again (1974) among many others. Stevenson directed seven episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. His other television work includes episodes of Calvacade of America, Gunsmoke, General Electric Theatre and Disney's Zorro. This is the first episode for writer, Robert C. Dennis who wrote a total of thirty episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Dennis was a very prolific TV writer, whose TV career began in the 1950's and ran through the 1980's. TV shows he was written for include China Smith, Mike Hammer, Peter Gun, The Untouchables, 77 Sunset Strip, Perry Mason, Batman, Hawaii Five-O, Dragnet, Barnaby Jones and Charlie's Angels. 

-Michael J. Ruhland 

The Mountain Eagle (1926)

 

The Mountain Eagle is the only movie with Alfred Hitchcock as sole director that is considered lost today. Hitch would be dismissive about the film telling Francios Truffaut (in Truffaut's book long interview with Hitch), "It was a very bad movie." Even if this film were as terrible as Hitch felt, for movie lovers, this is one of the holy grails of lost silent films, simply because it is one of the few missing pieces from the filmography of one of the most acclaimed directors of all time.  

Once again, this film was a romantic melodrama. The movie took place in Kentucky and centers around a widower (Bernhard Goetzke), who falls for a schoolteacher (Nita Naldi). Unfortunately, he has to compete for her love with his crippled son (John F. Hamilton) and a man he hates (Malcolm Keen). When Truffaut summarized the story and asked if he got it correct, Hitch replied that unfortunately he did.  

More elaborate story summaries appeared in 1926 issues of The Bioscope and the Kinematograph Weekly. Here is the Bioscope summary. "Beatrice Brent, school teacher in a small mountain village, incurs the enmity of Pettigrew, the local Justice of the Peace and owner of the village stores, because he believes that she encourages the attentions of his son Edward, a cripple, who takes evening lessons. Pettigrew, while questioning Beatrice, is himself influenced by her charm and attempts liberties which she strongly resents. He is so furious at the rebuff that he proclaims her as a wanton and she is driven from the village by the inhabitants. Beatrice is saved from their fury by a mysterious stranger known as Fearogod, who lives a solitary life in a cabin to which he takes her for shelter. To stop all scandal, Fearogod takes Beatrice down to the village and compels Pettigrew to marry them, explaining to her that he will help her to get a divorce. Beatrice, however, is content to leave the situation as it is, but Pettigrew, furious with rage, takes advantage of the fact that his son has left the village and arrests Fearogod for his murder. In spite of the fact that there is no vestige of evidence that young Pettigrew has been murdered, Fearogod is kept in prison for over a year, when he decides to escape. He finds that his wife has a baby and he goes off with them to the mountains. When they find that the baby is taken ill, Fearogod goes back to the village for a doctor, where he sees old Pettigrew. Some doubt as to which of the men is going to attack the other first is settled by an onlooker firing off a gun which wounds Pettigrew in the shoulder. The sudden return of his son Edward convinces the old man of the futility of proceeding with his accusation of murder, so he makes the best of matters by shaking hands with the man he has persecuted and all is supposed to end happily." And here is the Kinematograph summary. "Pettigrew, J.P. of a small mountain village, hates John Fulton, a lonely dweller in the mountains, known as Fearogod to the inhabitants, as much as he loves his son Edward, who was born a cripple as his mother, whom Fulton has also loved, died. Pettigrew sees his son apparently making love to Beatrice Talbot, the village schoolmistress, and, going to reprove her, he tries to take her in his arms. The son sees this, and leaves the village. Pettigrew determines to have Beatrice thrown out, but Fearogod intervenes, and takes her to his cabin. Pettigrew here sees the chance to arrest Fearogod for abduction and Beatrice as a wanton, but Fearogod forestalls him by coming and demanding that Pettigrew marry them. The pair then fall in love, but Pettigrew has Fearogod arrested and thrown into prison on a charge of murdering his son, who has not returned. Fearogod breaks out of prison after a year, and attempts to fly with his wife and child, but the latter falls sick, and Fearogod returns to the village for a doctor. There he finds Edward has returned, and his affairs cleared up. Pettigrew is accidentally shot." 

The following is a review from the Bakersfield California, "The latest picture to star Nita Naldi is 'The Mountain Eagle.' It's one of the best this popular star has ever appeared in. Primitive passion's play a strong part in the lawless country where the mountains rear their majestic peaks, and the eternal snows menace the unwary and where the bullet is a law unto itself. Miss Naldi is cast as a primitive mountain lass and her work is all that could be desired. There are more than the usual number of thrills even for a Naldi picture and the picture, in addition, offers some scenic gems." The following is the British Daily Mail review, "It is full of character though undramatic, and reveals the screen-charm and considerable talent for film acting of Mr. Malcolm Keen. Mr. Bernhard Goetzke, well remembered for his appearance as Death in 'Destiny,' is sincere and powerful as Mr. Keen's protagonist, whilst Miss Nita Naldi gives the only human performance in all her career and does not 'vamp' at all" The Bioscope review was even more critical, "Director Alfred Hitchcock has not been particularly well served by his author, and in spite of skillful, and at times brilliant direction, the story has an air of unreality. Bernard Goetzke gives a fine performance; Malcolm Keen is admirable, and Nita Naldi achieves considerable success. Many small character parts are admirably played and skillfully directed. There are some unusual lighting effects and excellent photography by Baron Ventigmilia."

Having Nita Naldi lead the cast continued the tradition of producer Michael Balcon importing a popular American movies star to play the female lead. Though many of her films are lost, silent film buffs today will still know her for her roles in such beloved silent classics as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920), Blood and Sand (1922) and The Ten Commandments (1923). The Mountain Eagle marked her only film with Alfred Hitchcock. 

Though his name may not be familiar Bernhard Goetzke is an actor that film buffs will have seen elsewhere. He is best known for his work with the legendary German director Fritz Lang. His work with Lang includes Destiny (1921), Dr. Mabuse the Gambler (1922), and Die Nibelungen (1924), all of which he was given supporting roles. 

John F. Hamilton had done much more work as a stage actor than on film. However, his filmography is quite impressive and includes such movies as Allegheny Uprising (1939), The Saint's Double Trouble (1940), Gold Rush Maisie (1940), The Amazing Mrs. Holliday (1943), Headin' for God's Country (1943) and most importantly On the Waterfront (1954). In the last of those films, he played Eve Saint's father and is incredibly memorable in that Best Picture winner. On the Waterfront is still considered one of the all-time great movies. 

Newspaper Advertisement, 1926 

It has been stated that this film was released in the U.S. under the title, Fear o' God. However, there is little to no proof to confirm this as true. In fact, a surviving US lobby card calls this movie, The Mountain Eagle.

Though this film takes place in Kentucky, it was mostly filmed in Obergurgl, Austria.

It has long been said that though this was Hitch's second completed film, the distributors were wary about releasing it and it didn't get a release until three months after the success of Hitch's next film, The Lodger. However, this point is debatable. Film Historian L. Kuhns noted that the film received a trade show screening on October 1, 1926. It also received trade show screenings in Manchester (October 6th), Newcastle (October 8th), Liverpool (October 12th), Birmingham (October 15th), Cardiff (October 19th), Glascow (October 22nd) and Leeds (October 26th). It was slated for a big UK theatrical release on May 23, 1927. However, Kuhns found no evidence that this UK release ever happened. Film historian Jenny Hammerton speculated that the studio felt that Hitch's fourth film as a full director (Downhill (1927)) was more commercial and decided to give Downhill the big theatrical release instead of The Mountain Eagle. This proved to be not quite true either. Dave Pattern for The Hitchcock Zone website has found through British newspapers that the film played in at least 15 theaters (probably more though that is not confirmed) in England between June and December 1927. Newspaper and movie magazine clippings also lets us know that the film received at least a small release in the United States. Nearly all the advertisements for the film didn't mention Hitch at all, instead advertising this as a Nati Nadi movie. 

As for the search for this movie a 2010 newspaper article in the Evening Standard stated, "The British Film Institute is launching an international hunt for a missing film by Alfred Hitchcock. The Mountain Eagle disappeared not long after its release in 1926 and it is not even known whether it was shown in the UK. But it is top of a list of most wanted films unveiled today in a Long Live Film project to mark the 75th anniversary of the BFI National Archive. The Mountain Eagle was the second of two films Hitchcock made in Germany, where he had been sent after his apprenticeship at the Gainsborough Studios in London to learn at the feet of European masters Fritz Lang and Friedrich Murnau. Described by contemporary critics as imaginatively directed — if 'full of unconvincing twists' — it is possible that Hitchcock may have destroyed the prints. It is the only one of his finished films that may not have survived. Robin Baker, the archive's head curator, said its rediscovery 'would be the happiest of outcomes'." However, since it is now 2025, it is fair to access that the search was not successful. 

Though the film is considered lost, stills of it exist and you can look at those in the video below. 

-Michael J. Ruhland

Resources Used

Hitchcock by Francios Truffaut

The Alfred Hitchcock Story by Ken Mogg.

https://the.hitchcock.zone/onlyamovie/2014/07/26/the-mountain-eagle-has-been-found/

https://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/The_Mountain_Eagle_(1926)

https://mediahistoryproject.org/

https://the.hitchcock.zone/wiki/Hitchcock_Annual_(1998)_-_Hitchcock%27s_%22The_Mountain_Eagle%22

Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Triggers in Leash (1955)

 

Note: This review contains spoilers.

Though often called the Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock worked in a wide variety of genres including suspense, horror, romantic comedy, dark comedy, melodrama, action, dramatic stage and literary adaptions and even a musical biopic. One genre Hitch will never be associated with is the western. He never directed a western in his long career. However, the third episode of his TV series was in fact a western.

In this episode a local man (Darren McGavin) challenges a cowboy (Gene Barry) to a shootout. Both agree to have this duel when the big mantel clock strikes a certain time. However, the clock mysteriously stops. 

This is an excellent episode. Though when many of us think of westerns, gunfights and action come to mind, the point of this episode is actually to avoid such action. Most of the episode is spent building up tension and the characters. Though there is little to any action, this is a very tense episode. With a small cast and one setting, there is a wonderful claustrophobic feel here that puts one on the edge of their seat. This old cabin in the rain and the dirty clothes on the characters help give this episode a real tense sense of atmosphere that keeps it from feeling as stage bound as it easily could have. Though this is a dialogue heavy episode, the dialogue is very well written, and perfects sets up the characters and the sense of tension. To not have an actual shoot out is a perfect twist. Though it could have felt anti-climactic, it actually fits the story very well.  

Once again, though the story is essentially serious, Hitch's introduction takes a very tongue and cheek sense of humor, even stating that there are no horses because they couldn't remember the lines. His line about Russian roulette cracked me up being the perfect example of Hitch's dark but silly sense of humor as is what he has to say about the ending of the episode. 

This is one of only two episodes directed by Dan Medford (the other was Into Thin Air (1955)), a very prolific TV director. Some of the other TV series he worked on include Climax!, The Riffleman, The Untouchables, The Twighlight Zone, The F.B.I., The Fall Guy and Dynasty.

 The writers are Richard Carr and Allan Vaughan Elston. Richard Carr co-wrote two more episodes of the show Salvage (1955) and The Big Switch (1956). His other TV credits include such TV series as Racket Squad, Rawhide, Batman, Peyton Place, The Legend of Jessie James, The Waltons, The Six Million Dollar Man and Charlie's Angels. Allan Vaughan Elston co-wrote one more episode of the show, The Belfry (1956). Neither of the writer nor the director ever worked on one of Alfred Hitchcock's movies. 

Gene Berry appeared in one more episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents (Salvage) and an episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (Dear Uncle George (1963)). He is probably best known for his lead role in the classic sci-fi movie The War of the Worlds (1953) and his starring roles in the TV series Bat Masterson, Burke's Law and In the Name of the Game. Darren McGavin would appear in one more episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, The Cheney Vase (1955) and an episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, A Matter of Murder (1964). He is probably best known his leading role in the TV series Kolchak: The Night Stalker.

-Michael J. Ruhland