Alfred Hitchcock Apresenta

When it premiered on CBS on October 2, 1955, Alfred Hitchcock Presents was an instant hit destined for long-term popularity. The series' original half-hour anthology format provided a perfect showcase for stories of mystery, suspense, and the macabre that reflected Hitchcock's established persona. Every Sunday at 9:30 p.m., the series began with the familiar theme of Gounod's "Funeral March of a Marionette" (which would thereafter be inextricably linked with Hitchcock), and as Hitchcock's trademark profile sketch was overshadowed by the familiar silhouette of Hitchcock himself, the weekly "play" opened and closed with the series' most popular feature: As a good-natured host whose inimitable presence made him a global celebrity, Hitchcock delivered droll, dryly sardonic introductions and epilogues to each week's episode, flawlessly written by James Allardyce and frequently taking polite pot-shots at CBS sponsors, or skirting around broadcast standards (which demanded that no crime could go unpunished) by humorously explaining how the show's killers and criminals were always brought to justice... though always with a nod and a wink to the viewer. This knowing complicity was Hitchcock's pact with his audience, and the secret to his (and the series') long-term success. It's also what attracted a stable of talented writers whose tele plays, both original and adapted, maintained a high standard of excellence. Hitchcock directed four of the first season's 39 episodes, including the premiere episode "Revenge" (a fan favorite, with future Psycho costar Vera Miles) and the season highlight "Breakdown," with Joseph Cotten as a car-accident victim, paralyzed and motionless, who's nearly left for dead; it's a perfect example of visual and narrative economy, executed with a master's touch. (The fourth episode, "Don't Come Back Alive," is also a popular favorite, with the kind of sinister twist that became a series trademark.) Robert Stevenson directed the majority of the remaining episodes with similar skill, serving tightly plotted tales (selected by associate producers Joan Harrison and Norman Lloyd) by such literary greats as Ray Bradbury, Robert Bloch, Cornell Woolrich, Dorothy L. Sayers, and John Collier. Adding to the series' prestige was a weekly roster of new and seasoned stars, with first-season appearances by Cloris Leachman, Darren McGavin, Everett Sloane, Peter Lawford, Charles Bronson, Barry Fitzgerald, John Cassavetes, Joanne Woodward, Thelma Ritter, and a host of Hollywood's best-known character players. With such stellar talent on weekly display, Alfred Hitchcock Presents paved the way for Thriller, The Twilight Zone, and other series that maximized the anthology format's storytelling potential.

Packed onto three double-sided DVDs, these 39 episodes hold up remarkably well, and while some prints show the wear and tear of syndication, they look and sound surprisingly good (although audio compression will cause many viewers to turn up the volume). The 15-minute bonus featurette, "Alfred Hitchcock Presents: A Look Back" is perfunctory at best, but it's nice to see new anecdotal interviews with Norman Lloyd, assistant director Hilton Green, and Hitchcock's daughter Pat (a frequent performer on these episodes), who survived to see their popular series benefit from the archival convenience of DVD.

Starring: Alred Hitchcock (Host) Director: Robert Stevens.

Television in the 1950's,was pretty bland by almost any yardstick. During that period,you had the opportunity to see either detective dramas,and family comedies not to mention all of the above. That's not to say that certain series,such as the early Gunsmoke were not daring and edgy in their own way. Or that the early Ozzie and Harriet or the early I Love Lucy did not have its hilarious moments. After all, not matter how good some of the episodes were,either the adventures of a typical suburban family,bringing law and order to the Old West or following the humorous escapades of a zany housewife were not exactly novel concepts in television programming. Even the typical variety show had some flaws in them too,but sometimes was rarely notice.

Two series,however did come along to challenge convertion. The Twilight Zone,by the end of the decade,attacked frontally with huge doses of imagination and exotic story lines that often overwhelmed viewers,thereby opening America's living rooms to the expanding world of unthought not to mention unheard of possibilities. It was an original,and it remains to this day a standard classic appreciated by one and all. However,the ground breaking series did not attack frontally. Instead in true fashion,it snuck past the guardians of Good Taste and Morality,otherwise known as the Department of Standards and Practices. This was during the opening of each episode was introduced by a chubby guy with a British accent who could give a brilliant introduction while cracking a few bad jokes and abuse the sponsors. This is what Alfred Hitchcock's half-hour anthology series did.

"Alfred Hitchcock Presents" made its premiere on CBS-TV on October 2, 1955,and from the opening sequence became an instant hit that stayed on the network for seven seasons(CBS-TV from 1955 to 1960,and later went to NBC-TV for its final two seasons from 1960 until 1962,all in classic black and white). A total of 270 episodes were produced for this half-hour series that was produced by Norman Lloyd and Joan Harrison,under Hitchcock's production company,Shamley Productions for Revue Studios/MCA-TV-Universal. Hitchcock himself was not only a master showman,but he was an original in which each week was for its time slyly revolutionary-to transpose within the comeuppance from the story to Hitchcock's often humorous epilogue. There the audience would learn that the culprit was punished and that justice have once again prevailed,apparently to keep the censors at bay. The storyline might end up on screen with a gruesome murder while only later would the audience be told by Hitchcock that justice had indeed caught up with the suspect of the crime. Maybe that seems like a minor change,but in fact was highly innovative not to mention significant. For now the audience could follow the plot developments,without knowing how the story itself would end,while the deadening element of predictability was transferred to the easily ignored epilogue. For its time,it was truly ground-breaking event in the history of television. And still holds that title today,and it continues to entertain,and remains one of the few television series of long ago to still be.

Two episodes,both directed by Hitchcock himself are consider the best out of the entire series: "The Case of Mr. Pelham" with Tom Ewell,and "Lamb to the Slaughter" with Barbara Bel Geddes,were simply brilliant along with "The Glass Eye","Breakdown","Special Delivery",are just to name a few.

I am a massive Hitchcock fan and would argue that his creative peak in features was in the mid-late 50's, ironically just at the time he commenced production of this short-form series bearing his imprimatur, even if he only had time to personally direct a handful of episodes. Of the first four episodes I've watched from series 1, I've been impressed by their coherence, consistency and diversity, for instance one was set in the wild west, a genre you can hardly imagine the Master covering in his own work. Snappily scripted, plotted and edited, these short programmes prefigure the likes of "Twilight Zone" in the 60's and "Tales Of The Unexpected" in the 70's. The production values are high as is the acting talent involved; famously this is how Hitch discovered Vera Miles, who was to feature in two of his features in the years ahead as well as a penchant for a low budget, black and white shoot which would result in a certain movie centring on a psychologically disturbed motel owner, the title of which escapes me. All the episodes benefit from acerbic intros and outros by the man himself, playing up to his curmudgeonly persona while the sinisterly jocular theme music still conjures up that famous pencil-profile image which he would fill over the titles. I think it's great that a top Hollywood director in his prime could make time to adapt so well to the TV market as Hitchcock did here. These programmes are fun, pithy and entertaining and still worth watching today.

You can catch this on 'Chiller' channel in many areas....via satellite. This classic series from 1955-1965 features the most varied suspense, horror and curious human behavior, as Hitchcock was so adept at portraying.

Better than some of the Twilight Zone stories as there is less science fiction, more study of human behavior, psychology and murder. A few of the more intriguing vignettes come to mind. One episode involves a murderer and his wife Jocelyn, who believed to be dead, mysteriously returns to the scene of the crime, a seaside village. Another episode is with Margaret Natwick and Hurd Hatfield ("The Picture of Dorian Gray" lead). He plays a scheming nephew attempting to gain his inheritance through murder of his elderly aunt. There is a twist.

As only Hitchcock can, there is suspense to the end of the story, keeping the audience guessing. Hitchcock once said the element of horror is not the actual blood and gore, but the suspense and mystery leading up to it. The finest director we have seen, and this series is a do not miss. Highly recommended. 10/10.

While the films of Alfred Hitchcock are still widely celebrated decades after the legendary director himself has been gone, many people often gloss over his work in television, which is a really big mistake. When this show hit the scene in the 1950s, tv was new, and everybody seemed to like the idea of Alfred's engaging, crime related dramas being condensed into a more easy to understand format. Each episode of this show is like its own, small Hitchcock movie, some good and some not so good. This is the price you pay for Hitchcock Presents being an anthology show, meaning the storylines for the episodes are all disconnected and have nothing to do with one another. This allowed the show to gather a truly impressive range of guest stars, some of them being among the all time best classic Hollywood had to offer, such as Bette Davis, Clint Eastwood, Cedric Hardwicke, Steve McQueen, Robert Duvall, Charles Bronson, Burt Reynolds, Vera Miles, John Cassavetes and Peter Lorre just to name a few. Before The Twilight Zone pushed the boundaries of fantastic stories that often couldn't be explained by anyone, this series was basically doing the same, minus some of the fantasy elements. Basically all the episodes of this show are grounded in reality and deal with events that can possibly take place, but they will usually contain strange coincidences or Hitchcock's signature use of suspense to keep the viewers guessing (not to mention interested). Just like any other show like this, people love to discuss their favorites and point out everything the series has to offer in great detail. Among the literal hundreds of episodes Hitchcock's female companion Joan Harrison produced (along with Norman Lloyd), I will never forget how creepy the one involving the car accident is. If you've seen it already, you'll know what I'm talking about, and Hitchcock is one of the few people to make an audience feel real fear through a tv screen. Not by using cheap jumpscares that you can't predict, but by taking advantage of the fact that everyone is afraid of being paralyzed. The only thing worse than an impossibly bad situation is not even being able to remove yourself from it. That being said, there are definitely way too many other great episodes of this show to mention here, and many of them are complicated, so you'll need to see them yourself to get the full effect. Overall, I would say that Alfred Hitchcock Presents is a classic show that still entertains decades later because it takes back the talent of telling interesting, crime related stories: something that is often left by the wayside in tv now.