The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1962-1965)

Good afternoon!

Here I am agazin, slinking over to Blogger in the middle of the late afternoon to send you a missive from the library trenches...once again, we are relocating service desks, avoiding adhesive patches where the new carpet's going, and generally trying to keep business rolling in a workplace in flux! I've been listening to what I think is a circular saw for the last forty minutes, and people...I'm ready to go home already. However! I wouldn't dream of not checking in with you of a Thursday. With the scant time I have left in the day, let me spread the good word about The Alfred Hitchcock Hour.

So you've seen Alfred Hitchcock's masterworks like Notorious, Vertigo, North by Northwest, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and Psycho (I love ALL his movies, but those are my top five). You've probably seen a couple episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, which bonded his name inextricably with the "Funeral March of a Marionette" by Charles Gounod (one of the most genius uses of public domain classical pieces as theme music, um, ever). BUT! Have you seen the three seasons of his last television series, The Alfred Hitchcock Hour? If not, goody for you, as I've found a slew of them on the world wide internet, free for all to see, that I thought I might tell you about. I've been watching the hello out of these lately since we cancelled our Hulu, and they stand up admirably well compared to a lot of other programming from the same time period!

Tell you what though...can you spot the celebrity (or celebrities!) in each one of the stills from the episodes below? Click on each of the titles to see the episode on Youtube, and scroll down to the bottom to see if your answers were correct! Ready...steady...go:

1) The Alfred Hitchcock Hour: "Captive Audience" (1962)

IMDB description: 

A mystery novelist sends a series of weird audiotapes to his publisher. On the first tape, the author boasts that the publisher won't be able to discern if the story he narrates is the history of an imminent murder - or a mere fantasy.

Who's the mystery movie star and mystery blonde in the screen cap?

2)The Alfred Hitchcock Hour: "A Tangled Web" (1963)

IMDB description:

A very sweet French maid runs away with, and marries a professional burglar with hopes of making him honest.

Recognize the hunk of handsome in the suit, center?

3) The Alfred Hitchcock Hour: "Ride the Nightmare" (1962)

IMDB synopsis:

A perfect couple's content suburban world is interrupted by a telephone threat ("I'm going to kill you") against the cocksure husband. His past misdeeds unravel his new life, terrifying his unknowing wife.

Who is this well dressed, unknowing wife? Also, will she let me borrow that dress?

4) Alfred Hitchcock Hour - The Gentleman Caller (1964)

IMDB synopsis:

Gerald Musgrove shoots and kills a night watchman while stealing $100,000 from a bank. On the street nearby, while eluding police, he meets elderly Emmy Rice, and befriends her. Since he is on parole, he must launder the loot, so he stows it in some of Emmy's old magazines...

I'm sure that works out well for him. Who's the murderin' bank robber in the tender scene above?

5) The Alfred Hitchcock Hour: "Bonfire" (1962)

IMDB synopsis:

A lonely young woman moves into her newly-deceased aunt's home in a small town. A way-too-helpful next-door neighbor becomes her guardian angel. He's a lay preacher, who's determined not to go back to being a coal miner.

And the preacher/coalminer iiiis.....?

Did you guess 'em all? 

Bet you already knew this one

Answers:

1. Angie Dickinson (left) and James Mason (swoon, right).
2. An impossibly young Robert Redford, center.
3. Gorgeous Gena Rowland (star of several of husband John Cassevetes's ground breaking independent films; also, a little movie called The Notebook).
4. Roddy McDowall, English child star, lifelong friend of Elizabeth Taylor, veteran film actor, and Cornelius of Planet of the Apes fame.
5. Peter Falk, who you might know as titular star of Columbo (hard to recognize him without the trench coat).

How'd you do? Now, go watch the episodes and tell me what you think of them! Did you ever watch Alfred Hitchcock's television properties either when they aired or in reruns? What is it about the devilish sense of irony or turnaround that makes these great even fifty years later?

I've gotta run, but have yourself a wonderful little Thursday night, and I'll see you tomorrow for Photo Friday! Take care; til then! :)