The Changing Heart

Hitch and Robert Bloch go together. Yes, it's about an elderly gentleman whose life is clocks -- but don't get fooled. In fact, this borders on TWILIGHT ZONE, without giving too much away. Additionally, you may be able to put two and two together fairly quickly with this mystery... Regardless, it's Memorable Entertainment.

Nicholas Pryor (who passed in 2024) plays an earnest chap who is a customer of diligent watchmaker Abraham Sofaer. The two hit it off together, so much as he's invited to his home where he can share dinner with his lovely daughter, Lisa (played by Anne Helm). Now at this stage, you presume a healthy relationship is about to bloom. Think again, and this is when Hitch (or Bloch) start playing mind games with you. Love it.

Dane (Pryor) and Anne enjoy each others company, but that's about as far as it goes. Could they become more than friends? Dane even asks Ulrich's (Sofaer) permission to marry her, which is NO. Everything spirals downward and its fairly dark. Agreed, you may be able to piece it together, the question is comparing notes to see how close you were to the sobering finale.

Tag this the ultimate macabre Hitch puzzler.

Robert Florey, veteran of several classic B films, runs with the eerie atmosphere. He sets it all up at the beginning in Ulrich's shop. You can feel it. Anne Helm is at her best, known to all us Elvis fans for FOLLOW THAT DREAM. You may remember Nicholas Pryor from BEVERLY HILLS 90210.

Always a treat to see Abraham Sofaer, dean of professors, doctors, and many other tv professionals. SEASON 6 EPISODE 14 remastered Universal dvd box set. 16 hrs running time. The famous yellow box, and one of the most popular.

Intriguing little half-hour from horror-master Robert Bloch. Kindly old watchmaker Abraham Sofaer invites polite young customer Nicholas Pryor to share dinner with him and his comely daughter Anne Helm. Pryor is immediately taken with Helm and jumps at the invite. Afterwards, he tries to line her up for a date even though she hesitates because of her father. They apparently meet on the sly, though this is never made clear. Since his intentions are honorable, Pryor asks the father's permission to marry the daughter. Sofaer emotionally refuses-- but why? Pryor is an obviously decent sort, but must leave town on business. While he's away, bad things happen.

Intrigue is with mysterious old man and his unusual clock shop. We know something is wrong, but what. Sofaer is a weird looking guy and is well cast. I wonder, however, why he would invite Pryor for dinner being as possessive as he is and knowing the good-looking young man would share time with the fetching Helm. Story holes aside, the ending is genuinely creepy and is likely to stay with you. All in all-- vintage Hitchcock.

A young man, Dane, enters Mr. Klemm's watch shop because his pocket watch needs to be repaired. Once inside, he's invited to dinner with Klemm and his granddaughter, Lisa. He's immediately captivated by the young lady and later he and Lisa sneak away to spend time together. Soon Dane tells Klemm he wants to marry Lisa...and Klemm is adamant that he will not give his approval...and Dane is sent packing. However, he doesn't give up and eventually he learns the truth about the lady.

This is a great idea for a story...and very similar to Hoffmann's "Coppélia". But it also suffers from a huge problem...the twist is something that is telegraphed again and again throughout the story and the ending isn't really much of a surprise. Still worth watching but not a great episode.

I agree with Mr. Haffner in that the conclusion is hinted at too many times and in a heavy handed way. When our young fellow falls for the lovely granddaughter, he should have realized how utterly weird she was. Also, his demands should be inappropriate if she were any other woman. This is much more like an episode of The Twilight Zone. It also reminds me of Ray Bradbury's story "Marionettes, Inc."