Appropriate for such a dark episode, The Cheney Vase first aired on December 25, 1955. What could be more Christmas-y?
In this episode Martha Cheney (Patricia Collinge) is elderly and in a wheelchair but has one main thing on her mind a priceless vase that is a family heirloom. Meanwhile Lyle Endicott (Darren McGavin), a dishonest man who has just been fired from his job, forges a letter to get close to her and get his hands on the vase.
This is a fun episode. It benefits most of all from a wonderful villainous performance by Darren McGavin (in his second and final appearance on Alfred Hitchcock Presents (after Triggers in the Leash (1955)). He perfectly captures just how much of a slimeball this character is, making us hate him very early on. The ways he treats the old woman are legitimately disturbing. The other thing that makes this episode is a very satisfying ending that never fails to put a smile on my face.
The episode does have its flaws though. Chief among them is that the love interest (played by a young Carolyn Jones (best known for playing Matricia Addams in the classic TV show, The Adams Family and later to appear in the Alfred Hitchcock movie, The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)) is very underdeveloped. We really never get to know anything about her or why she is so devoted to such an evil man. Carolyn Jones is wasted in this thankless role. The story also would have benefited from a longer runtime as it seems like the bad guy wins the old lady's trust way too quickly.
My favorite thing about this episode is Hitch's introduction, which perfectly captures the master's great dry and dark sense of humor. Hitch holds a voodoo doll and a hypodermic needle and states, "Oh, oh, good evening. I was just about to send greetings to an old friend. I'm sure modern, civilized methods of homicide are much more efficient, but I don't care for them. I abhor violence. That is why on this program, we use stabbings, shootings, and garrotings only when they are absolutely essential to the plot, or when the whim strikes us. Tonight's play begins in a museum. And the title is "The Cheney Vase." That's all I intend to tell you. You'll have to figure the rest out for yourselves. And now our sponsor wishes to say a few words designed to send you rushing out immediately to buy his products. But please endeavor to restrain yourselves. I don't want you to miss our story."
This is the 4th of 44 Alfred Hitchcock Presents episodes directed by Robert Stevens (who would also direct five episodes of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. On the other hand, this is the only episode to be written by Robert Bless. Bless wrote such movies as All I Desire (1953), Magnificent Obsession (1954), Autum Leaves (1956) and High School Confidential (1958).
-Michael J. Ruhland
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