Craig's Will

Hardly worth the effort. A will is read and Dick Van Dyke, a playboy and another of those profligates who think they are going to get a bunch of money, is cut out. His rich uncle leaves a fortune to the dog. The nephew will receive the money when the dog dies, but it is only two years old. Stella Stevens is the gold digging girlfriend who is much more direct in her approach. The nephew tries to shoot the dog (but can't), and drown the dog (but can't). They even hire a private investigator to do the dirty work, but he ends up being saved by the dog and can't do anything to harm him. It's a dull, overdone offering. And even with Van Dyke, not funny.

Interestingly, comedy writer Albert Lewin wrote this episode, lead writer for Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Groucho Marx, many others. Lewin wrote two episodes for Hitch, perhaps because they were fans of each other. We all know Hitch liked a good laugh. Here it comes...

An early role for Dick Van Dyke, minus the comedy, nevertheless displaying his fine acting skills. He plays Thomas Craig, a lucky guy who will inherit his late uncle's fortune --and the most unlucky --who will ONLY receive it once a prize French poodle, ( the beneficiary!) dies a natural death. Holy Smokes.

Best thing about this episode; Dick plays it serious, same for Stella Stevens (Judy), a comedian in her own right. Both are utterly FLOORED as to what has happened, and what to do about the prize pooch? By the way, the dog is only two years old.

Good support from Paul Stewart ( Vincent), famous for playing "gentlemen" mob bosses. He's hired to get rid of the dog, looking more astonished than sinister, but the accent is comedy. The scene with him with the dog in a row boat is probably the most fun bit, something borrowed from the Three Stooges? Deep down inside you know this is one dog who ain't going nowhere.

Safe to say this episode (which has been telecast for decades) could have inspired some wealthy folks to leave (or at least attempt to leave) their fortune with a pet of their choosing.

Yes, I agree with the last reviewer, the poodle takes on the same mannerisms as LASSIE. Rudd Weatherwax trained both dogs. Rudd and his brother trained Lassie, whose real name was Pal. Dedicated to all us dog lovers.

From SEASON 5 remastered Universal dvd box set. 5 dvds. 16 hrs running time. All seven half hour seasons are in a single box set. Released 2022.

Since Dick Van Dyke is turning 99 today, I thought I'd see some of his early work like his turn here in "Alfred Hitchcock Presents". In the beginning, Hitch is with three dogs. The actual story begins with Dick's character at a will reading waiting to inherit his uncle's vast fortune. Unfortunately for him, that uncle left his life savings to his dog! That's certainly not good news for Van Dyke's fiancé, Stella Stevens. So she suggests to him what can be done about that...This mostly takes a humorous turn that I mostly laughed at even the ending which is admittedly quite dumb. I also liked the hit man character Ms. Stevens' hired. Oh, and as usual, Hitch has a funny way of ending his shows...

In one of his earliest TV roles, DIck Van Dyke plays Thomas Craig, a reprehensible man who is happy at his uncle's death. This is because the uncle was rich....and as the man's only surviving heir, Thomas assumes he'd just inherit everything. But this cocky guy is in for a surprise when he learns that the uncle knew EXACTLY what sort of man Thomas is...and he leaves him a dollar! Instead, the fortune goes to the uncle's dog...that is, until the animal's death...at which point Thomas will inherit everything.

Thomas' girlfriend (Stella Stevens) is naturally unhappy...but she's a real piece of work and insists that Thomas kill the dog. He takes the dog hunting and plans on shooting it 'by mistake'...but ultimately he can't bring himself to do it. So, it looks as if she'll have to solve this problem herself.

"Craig's Will" is an amazingly frustrating episode. While the first 90% is terrific and cute, it's obvious that the writer had no idea how to end the show. The ending, to put it blunt, is awfully dumb....not funny dumb...just dumb. A shame as with the rest of the show, it was quite captivating....but the end,...uggh!!!