AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |
Back to Blog
Best alfred hitchcock presents episodes3/18/2024 ![]() Serling, however, wanted to take audiences to different planets (at a time when the moon landing was still a decade away) and to different eras (via time travel). Hitchcock was trafficking in fiction, yes, but his stories weren’t supernatural. Part of the problem, as you can see from that last sentence, was the subject matter of Serling’s proposed series. “I wanted to do it for years, but they said no, no, no. “It was a show no one wanted to buy,” Serling later said. The writer then known as “TV’s angry young man” had to fight for it. You’d think the success of Hitchcock’s show (it had been on the air for exactly four years when The Twilight Zone premiered on October 2, 1959) would make CBS’s decision to approve Serling’s show an easy one. ![]() Sure, AHP lacked the color and wide-screen glamor of Hitchcock’s theatrical releases, but it brought the same cheeky attitude he was famous for to more modest tales of greed, obsession, and homicide. Hitchcock’s name on a movie meant long lines at the box office, so they banked on his name on a weekly TV show translating into people tuning him in at home. CBS was willing to take a gamble on Alfred Hitchcock Presents because the portly director’s fame would draw in curious viewers who had eagerly flocked to such thrillers as “Notorious”, “Strangers on a Train”, and “Rear Window”. That calls for a lot of trust on the part of the audience. Every episode brings a totally new cast and setup. They prefer to hook viewers with a strong situation and memorable characters - ones the audience can be sure will be there week after week. The networks have never been crazy about putting anthologies on the air. That’s really saying something, by the way. So it’s hardly surprising that they were behind the two most successful anthologies in the history of television. If anything, the intervening years have deepened my appreciation for their work. It’s hard to beat Rod Serling and Alfred Hitchcock. But you know what? My top answers are still the same today. If I were to list all of my favorites now, it would take a while. I’ve seen the work of many more directors since then, and quite a few more TV series. If you’d asked me to name my favorite director, I’d have said the man behind Alfred Hitchcock Presents. 2008 Universal.If you’d asked me when I was a teenager to name my favorite TV series, I’d have said The Twilight Zone. From SEASON 4 EPISODE 22 remastered dvd box set. Not too long after this episode, Eddie Foy appeared in BELLS ARE RINGING, starring Judy Holliday. Outstanding, and as always, wait for that sly Hitchcock ending. Allyn Joslyn is the whole show, the epitome of the unhappy man who wants a change in his life, albeit economically. Foy reminded me, slightly, of Phil Silvers. Eddie Foy, Jr., whose father was a famous vaudevillian, plays a guy named "the Cat", as in cat burglar, who sneaks into the house and has some financial suggestions for Joslyn while trying to rob him at the same time? Their middle of the night talk together is fascinating. There's also an insurance policy hanging around someplace. ![]() Oddly, his wife (also his business partner) seems to be cramping his style. Joslyn is looking for a way out, even though he appears to be a successful businessman. ![]() I say marvelously, because Jane was best at playing similar type characters, quite popular on tv sitcoms. This time, he's complaining about his wife (marvelously played by Jane Dulo). For years, Joslyn was a standout at playing brooding, complaining, snobby types (and in some classic films), not to let all his fans down here. This was an exceptionally cast dark comedy, and with Allyn Joslyn in the lead. ![]()
0 Comments
Read More
Leave a Reply. |