Alfred Hitchcock Presents: The Big Switch (1956)

 

Airing on January 1, 1956, The Big Switch marked the first episode of 1956.

In this episode a gangster (George Matthews) plans to murder his girlfriend (Beverly Michaels) and hires a friend (George E. Stone) set up an airtight alibi so he can get away with it. 

Much of what makes this episode work is the lead performance by George Matthews (in his first of two episodes). The craggily tough guy character actor is perfectly cast as this hard-boiled gangster. He is completely gripping in this role making him fun to watch in the old-fashioned gangster tradition. As much of a stereotypical of gangster as this character is at first, we later learn that he has more of a heart than it at first seems. 

The storyline is pretty basic. It is hard not to guess how it will end and there is little here that we haven't seen before. However, due to a great lead performance and some well written dialogue the episode is still quite effective. 

This is the second of five episodes directed by Don Weis (who previously directed Santa Claus and the Tenth Avenue Kid (1955)). This is the last of three episodes written by Richard Carr (he previously wrote Triggers in Leash (1955) and Salvage (1955), whose screenplay was based off a story by Cornell Woolrich. 

-Michael J. Ruhland 

Book Review: Criss-Cross: The Making of Hitchcock’s Dazzling, Subversive Masterpiece Strangers on a Train (2025)

 

Strangers on a Train (1951) may be my favorite of Hitch's American films. Naturally with this in mind, a book about the making of the movie was a must read for me. I ended up finding Stephen Rebello's recent book even more fascinating than I could have hoped it to be. 

Stephen Robello is a film historian that I have only discovered recently, and I have been incredibly impressed with his work. This book is no exception.

Rebello has the same passion for this movie that many of us film buffs do and that passion can be seen on every page of this book. In the introduction, the author discusses his long fascination with this film and how even when he was working on his 1990 book on Psycho (1960), this book was in the back of his mind. Rebello discusses how this book has haunted him for decades and how many of the themes and set pieces (this movie definitely features some of Hitch's greatest set pieces) have stayed with him. He is very talented writer with a great way with words. Because of this he knows exactly how to express his passion in way that gives us an even greater appreciation for the movie. His discussions of various themes also give the whole film a new dimension to us, making it a deeper and more rewarding experience. 

As well as being a great critical examination of this great movie, this book also is an extremely detailed look at the making of the film. This book goes into more detail than you would ever think possible, giving great insight into every inch of production and insight to a great many of the cast and the crew members. Reading this I knew a great deal about every major contributor to this film, even some whose contributions I was not fully aware of. 

If you love this movie as much as I do, this is simply a must read that you will hate to put down. 

-Michael J. Ruhland