Breakdown marked 7th episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents and the second directed by Hitch himself.
In this episode a man (Joseph Cotton) is involved in a bad car accident and becomes paralyzed. However, when he is discovered, people believe that the man is already dead.
It is a bit strange to think that this episode was directed by Hitch himself. Hitch always argued for what he called "pure cinema," which is where the story is told visually rather than through dialogue. It is true that this episode is television and not cinema, but it still is strange how far this is from pure cinema. You can close your eyes with this episode on, and you could fully appreciate it as if it was an old radio drama. The narration and dialogue tell the whole story without the visuals.
Despite how this doesn't fully fit into Hitch's usual style of filmmaking, it is a truly gripping episode. The story and writing are top notch. This episode truly puts in the place of Joseph Cotton's character. This is a truly horrifying place to be. Picturing ourselves being in the most terrifying position possible is the type of stuff nightmares are made of. Though there is nothing supernatural here, this is pure horror at its most effective. Joseph Cotton's performance is also excellent, which is incredibly important considering how much of this episode relies on narration.
Another (and often overlooked) factor to this episode is the lack of a musical score for most of the episode's runtime. When a musical score kicks in during the dramatic finale, the scene is all the more effective because of it.
Alfred Hitchcock's introduction and outro are hilarious in the typical style of dry Hitchcock humor. Him talking about how reading thrillers relaxes him and get his mind off his work as well as how he is trapped in the TV powerless are Hitch's humor at its best.
Because of this, despite its reliance on narration and dialogue, this is often considered one of the best episodes of the show. I can certainly see why.
Joseph Cotton had previously played the villainous role in the Alfred Hitchcock movie, Shadow of a Doubt (1943). That film was the one Hitch considered his favorite that he had made. It also provides Cotton with possibly his greatest acting role. Cotton would also go on to appear in two more episodes of this show (Together (1958), Dead Weight (1959)). Cotton is probably best known for his work with another great filmmaker, Orson Welles. He had important roles in what are considered two of Welles' best directorial efforts, Citizen Kane (1941) and The Magnificent Andersons (1942). He also played the lead role in the movie that had one of Welles' most famous acting roles, The Third Man (1949).
This episode was written by Francis M. Cockrell and Louis Pollock. Cockrell wrote a staggering 18 episodes of this series. He would even direct two of the episodes, Whodunit (1956) and The Rose Garden (1956). On the other hand, this is the only episode Louis Pollack receives on the show.
Editor Edward W. Williams won an Emmy for his work on this episode. Williams was the regular cinematographer for this series and its follow-up The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. Other TV shows he worked on include The Life of Reily, Suspicion, Ironside and The Invisible Man.
This episode would later be remade in 1985 for the revival series of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. That remake would be directed by Richard Pearce and star John Heard.
-Michael J. Ruhland
