The Hitchcock Project-Joel Murcott Part Nine: The Dividing Wall [9.9] and Wrapup

by Jack Seabrook

"The Dividing Wall" opens with a shot that pans along a glass case displaying Halloween masks until the camera comes to rest on the face of a pretty shop girl named Carol Brandt, who looks out from behind the case as she waits for two children to choose a mask; the gag is an old one, going back at least as far as the films of Abbott and Costello, and it suggests that the story that follows will be comic, which it definitely is not. The boy chooses a mask and chases the girl out of the candy store and down the sidewalk. Carol follows them outside and glances at an auto repair garage next door.

There is a cut to inside the garage, where three mechanics work on a car. Terry, the youngest of the trio, climbs down into a repair pit and has an attack of claustrophobia; he sweats profusely as the camera zooms in on each of the walls to make it look as if they are closing in on him. A car pulls over the top of the pit to complete his terror and he scrambles out of the pit to safety. It seems that Terry has been out of prison for only a month and the two other mechanics, Fred Kruger and Al Norman, discuss his condition. Terry escapes the dark garage out onto the sidewalk, where he encounters Carol, also outside and enjoying the sun.

James Gregory as Fred Kruger

Terry and Carol shyly converse and it is clear that they know each other; her father Otto runs the candy store. They make plans to go to the park that afternoon and there is a dissolve to a shot of them walking into the park later that day. Terry explains that he was raised in an orphanage and his claustrophobia prevents him from taking the subway back to the candy shop and the garage. He admits that he was in prison and she admits that she has not dated since high school. They spend time talking together and he tells her about his time at the orphanage. The only time he was allowed outside was for an occasional bus trip; eventually, he stole a bus and was sent to a reformatory. Unable to get a job on release, Terry stole more cars and went to prison.

Carol dreams of getting a job so that her father can close the candy store; she only keeps working there because she is all he has. The duo walk back to the store together and, once they are inside, Terry grabs Carol and kisses her. She resists; he reacts badly and walks out.

Act one of "The Dividing Wall" is lovely, as two lonely young people tentatively come together and we learn about Terry's troubled past. Details of Carol's past will have to wait until later in the show, but she has a secret of her own.

Chris Robinson as Terry

The second act begins at the garage, as Fred lays out his plans to rob a safe, despite Al's misgivings. Fred is impatient and hot-headed, insisting that his plan is flawless. The trio then carry out the robbery late at night, with Terry as the driver. To conceal their identities, they wear Halloween masks similar to those seen in the show's first shot; the effect is to transform their faces into those of eerie creatures in the nighttime shadows. When they reach the safe, they find that it is unexpectedly heavy and difficult to move, requiring the use of a forklift to load it onto the back of their truck. A suspension spring breaks due to the weight and the truck is chased by a police car; they barely make it over railroad tracks just ahead of an onrushing train.

Once they cross the tracks, there is a sudden cut to the inside of the garage, where Al uses a welding torch to open the safe. Inside they find a payroll, totaling $112,000, and an unexpectedly heavy object--a small cylinder that Al opens and then probes inside with his fingers, trying to determine what it contains. They notice a warning label and realize that the cylinder houses Cobalt 60, a dangerous, radioactive material. Terry, Fred, and Al quickly vacate the garage, with Al terrified at having touched the radioactive material.

Katherine Ross as Carol Brandt

The second act of "The Dividing Wall" is thrilling and very different in tone from the first act. The contrast of the two acts sets up the second half of the show as one where the viewer wonders how the two storylines will converge. Terry is likeable and vulnerable when he is with Carol, yet he drives the truck in the robbery, despite his earlier protestations of having been pushed into a life of crime as a young man. How will his claustrophobia figure into the denouement and what will happen to Al as a result of radiation exposure?

Unfortunately, Act three adds a third group to the increasingly complex narrative, as agents of the Atomic Energy Commission, including Frank Ludden, investigate the robbery of Cobalt 60. They identify the location of the events as Long Island City, a section of Queens on New York's Long Island that is represented by a nondescript street on a Hollywood soundstage. There is nothing in "The Dividing Wall" that looks remotely like a New York location; the only way viewers know where the events take place is this one offhand remark and a sign on a door near the end of this act. 

There is then a cut to the robbers, who are hiding out in what appears to be a basement apartment, watching a television news report about the robbery and the Cobalt 60. Now that they understand the danger of their situation, Al wants to see a doctor, but Fred resists, promising that they will fly to Mexico City, where Al can seek treatment for his radiation burn. Fred downplays the injury and the danger and finally punches Al in the stomach when Al insists on seeing a doctor. Fred is an amoral criminal who has no concern for anyone or anything other than himself and his desire for financial gain. In contrast, Terry expresses concern about Carol and her father having been exposed to radiation by being in the candy shop on the other side of the titular "Dividing Wall," yet Fred brushes off Terry's concerns.

Norman Fell as Al Norman

Ignoring Fred's wishes, Terry visits the candy store on his own to borrow a hammer and tacks from Carol in order to put a sign on the door to the garage to tell the public that it is closed. Terry lies and tells Carol that he has landed a new job in Mexico and will not return to New York. Carol reveals that she went to the garage around midnight to look for him; of course, this is precisely when he and his co-workers were out committing the robbery. There is a bit of business with another customer, Mrs. Collucci, who enters the store to use the telephone; Terry hangs the sign on the front door of the garage and a cut to the interior demonstrates that the Cobalt 60 remains inside, silently emitting dangerous radiation.

Terry returns to the candy store and, after Mrs. Collucci leaves, he and Carol embrace and kiss; he tells her that he loves her for the first time. Their moment of bliss is interrupted when Carol notices that a bird in a cage inside the store is dead. Otto emerges from the back room and Terry suddenly begs Carol to come with him to Mexico City, where they can get married. Otto cryptically tells her to be sure this time, and Carol confesses to Terry that she, too, has a secret in her past: she met a boy when she was 15 years old and ran away with him to get married. They were divorced three months later, but she went on to have a baby boy who was given up for adoption right after he was born. Seeing his own unhappy childhood reflected in the situation, Terry gets angry at Carol and rushes out of the store.

Simon Scott as Durrell

That night, Fred follows Al to the emergency room (whose front door bears a sign identifying the location as Long Island City), shooting him dead as he enters the hospital. Act three of "The Dividing Wall" is not as tight as the first two acts, with dull staging of the opening scene at the Atomic Energy Commission and the unbelievable shooting of Al adding an unexpected jolt right before the commercial break. The two shots fired don't seem to go anywhere near him and no one in the hospital seems concerned by his murder at the ER door.

The final act begins as an Army truck rolls into the neighborhood. In the back are two of the three agents seen earlier in the office at the Atomic Energy Commission; they are desperately trying to locate the Cobalt 60. The third agent, Larry, calls from the ER to say that Al died of a gunshot wound and his hand displayed evidence of radiation exposure. Meanwhile, Terry sits at home watching TV when Fred returns. Once again displaying empathy that Fred lacks, Terry remarks that the next day is Saturday and neighborhood kids will be home from school and outside playing near the garage, where they will be exposed to radiation. Fred reassures him, lying that Al is okay, but soon Terry hears the truth from a TV news bulletin that reveals that, while Al was shot and killed, he also had radiation burns. The news report also reveals that a manhunt is on for Terry and Fred.

Robert Kelljan as Frank Ludden

The two men argue and Fred locks Terry in a closet, where his claustrophobia again surfaces. Terry will agree to anything in order to be let out. Elsewhere, the federal agents locate the Cobalt 60. Later that evening, Fred returns to the apartment to find Terry gone. Carol is tending to Otto, who suffers from the effects of radiation poisoning, and when Terry arrives and tries to get her to leave with him, she resists. She says that she also has been sick and Otto emerges from the rooms behind the store to order Terry to leave.

Terry goes outside and chases away kids who were playing in front of the garage. He then goes inside and tries to lift the heavy canister without touching it so he can load it into the back of a van and remove it from the area. Fred surprises him, insisting that Terry, an expert driver, come outside and drive Fred to safety. Terry says that he will call the police, so Fred knocks him back into the grease pit, where another attack of claustrophobia cripples the conflicted hero. Fred drives a vehicle over the top of the pit, sealing Terry in before leaving the garage just as Army trucks and a police car cordon off the neighborhood. Fred tries to walk away but is ordered to stop; he whirls and tries to shoot it out with one of the agents but is shot and killed.

Rusty Lane as
Otto Brandt

Carol runs into the garage and Terry calls out from the pit, warning her and telling her to leave and call the police. Terry is later brought out onto the sidewalk, where Carol asks the agent to show mercy on the troubled young man. She sits down on the curb next to Terry, who apologizes, and the show ends as they silently contemplate their uncertain future together.

Act four of "The Dividing Wall" is unsatisfying because there is too much happening and the story is wrapped up too quickly. The eruptions of gunfire at the end of Acts three and four are unnecessary and feel tacked on. Terry and Carol's story is intriguing, but Fred is a one-dimensional character and Terry's claustrophobia is overplayed. Perhaps the two times that Terry descends into the grease pit represent his own personal descent into Hell; each time, he has a terrifying experience and each time he emerges and goes out into the sunlight, where he is met by Carol, who seems to represent a potentially good future for him.

The credits for "The Dividing Wall" state that the teleplay by Joel Murcott is based on a story by George Bellak, but it must have been either an unpublished story or (more likely) a teleplay that Murcott was hired to revise. George Bellak (1919-2002) wrote a handful of plays beginning in the late 1940s but was most prolific as a TV scriptwriter from 1951 to 1982. He wrote two films, in 1958 and 1966, but most of his writing was for episodic television, including an episode of Thriller and the pilot for Space: 1999. Bellak also wrote two novels in the 1980s. "The Dividing Wall" is his only credit on the Hitchcock series.

Director Bernard Girard (1918-1997) was born Bernard Goldstein and worked as both a writer and a director of movies and TV from the late 1940s to the mid-1970s. He directed a Twilight Zone as well as four half-hour Hitchcock episodes and eight hour-length Hitchcock episodes, including the Robert Bloch classic, "Water's Edge."

James Gregory (1911-2002) receives top billing as the murderous, amoral Fred Kruger. He started on Broadway in 1939 and served in the Navy during WWII. Gregory appeared in films from 1948 to 1979, including Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970), and was very busy on television from 1950 to 1986, including roles on The Twilight Zone, Thriller, Star Trek, Night Gallery, The Night Stalker, and Barney Miller, where he was a semi-regular from 1975 to 1982. He was also on Alfred Hitchcock Presents three times, including "The Cream of the Jest."

The real star of "The Dividing Wall" is Chris Robinson (1938- ), as Terry. He started out on Broadway in 1954, then began acting in films in 1957, including a role as the title monster in Beast from Haunted Cave (1959). He appeared frequently on episodic TV during the 1960s, including two episodes of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. He wrote the screenplays for three films in the mid-1970s and also directed movies and TV shows during that period. As an actor, he had long-running roles on two soap operas: General Hospital, from 1978 to 2002, and The Bold and the Beautiful, from 1992 to 2005. Robinson is still acting today, in his 80s.

Norman Fell, Chris Robinson, and James Gregory (L to R)

Not surprisingly, Bernard Girard's camera lingers on beautiful Katherine Ross (1940- ) (as Carol Brandt), who was born in Hollywood and who was just beginning an acting career that would last from 1957 until 2019. Although this was the only episode of the Hitchcock show in which she appeared, she would become a big star just a few years later with her role in The Graduate (1967), followed by such notable films as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) and The Stepford Wives (1975). She was also a regular on a TV series, The Colbys, from 1985 to 1987.

The unfortunate Al Norman is played by Norman Fell (1924-1988), who was born Norman Feld and who served in the Air Force in WWII. He later joined the Actors Studio before embarking on a career on the big and small screens that ran from 1954 until his death. Fell was Juror Number One in the original Studio One TV broadcast of Twelve Angry Men (1954) and he was a regular on the TV version of Ed McBain's 87th Precinct (1961-1962). This was the only episode of the Hitchcock show in which he appeared. He later was seen with Katherine Ross in The Graduate and he was a regular on the TV series Dan August (1970-1971) and Needles and Pins (1973-1974). However, Fell is best-remembered as the leering Mr. Roper on Three's Company (1976-1981) and its spinoff, The Ropers (1979-1980).

In smaller roles:

• Simon Scott (1920-1991) as Durrell, the federal agent who shoots Fred at the end; he was on screen from 1952 to 1985, appeared in three episodes of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour and one episode of The Twilight Zone, and was a regular on the TV series, Trapper John, M.D. (1979-1985).
• Robert Kelljan (1930-1982) as Agent Frank Ludden, who takes the first telephone call about the robbery of Cobalt 60; he acted on screen from 1960 to 1969 and directed for film and TV from 1969 to 1982. Kelljan also appeared in "Forty Detectives Later" on Alfred Hitchcock Presents and was seen on The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits. In addition, he wrote and direct the horror classic, Count Yorga, Vampire (1970), and its sequel, Return of Count Yorga (1971).
• Rusty Lane (1899-1986) as Carol's father, Otto Brandt; born James Russell Lane, he was in nine episodes of the Hitchcock series, including "The Manacled."

Watch "The Dividing Wall" for free online here.

Sources:

"The Dividing Wall." The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, season 9, episode 9, CBS, 6 Dec. 1963. 

The FICTIONMAGS Index, www.philsp.com/homeville/FMI/0start.htm. 

Grams, Martin, and Patrik Wikstrom. The Alfred HITCHCOCK Presents Companion. OTR Pub., 2001. 

IMDb, IMDb.com, www.imdb.com/. 

Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, www.wikipedia.org/. 

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Joel Murcott on Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour: An Overview and Episode Guide

Joel Murcott began writing teleplays for Alfred Hitchcock Presents midway through the second season with "Number Twenty-Two," an outstanding adaptation of a short story by Evan Hunter. The show features great acting and direction.

Murcott contributed four scripts to the show's third season. In "Enough Rope for Two," he made some changes to Clark Howard's story that lessened its effectiveness. However, he improved "Last Request," expanding a very short tale and examining a pathological misogynist. In "Flight to the East," Murcott made major changes when adapting a very short story, but events come at the viewer so fast toward the end of the show that it's hard to keep up. "Death Sentence" adds scenes and themes to the short story but is, in the end, an unsatisfying adaptation.

For season four, Murcott wrote the teleplay for "Man with a Problem," one of the most memorable half-hours of the entire series, bolstered by superb acting and effective direction. His other script for this season, "A Personal Matter," is less successful and does not work as well as the story on which it is based.

Murcott wrote nothing for season five, but in season six he wrote the teleplay for "Ambition," an episode where the changes to the story don't improve upon it. His single script for season seven is "What Frightened You, Fred?" where a good story becomes an excellent episode in large part due to the changes and additions made by Murcott.

For The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Joel Murcott wrote two teleplays and co-wrote a third. In season eight, "The Black Curtain" does a poor job of adapting a flawed novel by Cornell Woolrich, while the ninth-season episode, "The Dividing Wall," starts well but goes off track in its second half. Finally, Murcott is credited as co-writer of the teleplay for "Behind the Locked Door," with Henry Slesar. A terrific performance by Gloria Swanson and a haunting score by Bernard Herrmann help make this a classic hour-long episode, and a brilliant change to the end of the story makes the show unforgettable.

EPISODE GUIDE-JOEL MURCOTT ON ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS and THE ALFRED HITCHCOCK HOUR

Episode title-"Number Twenty-Two" [2.21]
Broadcast date-17 February 1957
Teleplay by-Joel Murcott
Based on "First Offense" by Evan Hunter

First print appearance-Manhunt, December 1955
Notes
Watch episode-here
Available on DVD?-yes

Episode title-"Enough Rope for Two" [3.7]
Broadcast date-17 November 1957
Teleplay by-Joel Murcott
Based on "Enough Rope for Two" by Clark Howard

First print appearance-Manhunt, February 1957
Notes
Watch episode-here
Available on DVD?-yes

Episode title-"Last Request" [3.8]
Broadcast date-24 November 1957
Teleplay by-Joel Murcott
Based on "Last Request" by Helen Fislar Brooks

First print appearance-Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, January 1957
Notes
Watch episode-here
Available on DVD?-yes

Episode title-"Flight to the East" [3.25]
Broadcast date-23 March 1958
Teleplay by-Joel Murcott
Based on "Night Flight" by Bevil Charles

First print appearance-The Creasey Mystery Magazine, August 1957
Notes
Watch episode-here
Available on DVD?-yes

Episode title-"Death Sentence" [3.30]
Broadcast date-27 April 1958
Teleplay by-Joel Murcott
Based on "Death Sentence" by Miriam Allen de Ford

First print appearance-Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, May 1948
Notes
Watch episode-here
Available on DVD?-yes

Episode title-"Man with a Problem" [4.7]
Broadcast date-16 Nov. 1958
Teleplay by-Joel Murcott
Based on "Man with a Problem" by Donald Honig

First print appearance-Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, July 1958
Notes
Watch episode-here
Available on DVD?-yes

Episode title-"A Personal Matter" [4.15]
Broadcast date-18 Jan. 1959
Teleplay by-Joel Murcott
Based on "Human Interest Stuff" by Davis Dressler

First print appearance-Adventure, Sept. 1938
Notes
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Available on DVD?-yes

Episode title-"Ambition" [6.38]
Broadcast date-4 July 1961
Teleplay by-Joel Murcott
Based on "Ambition" by Charles Boeckman

First print appearance-Keyhole Mystery Magazine, Aug. 1960
Notes
Watch episode-here
Available on DVD?-no

Episode title-"What Frightened You, Fred?" [7.30]
Broadcast date-1 May 1962
Teleplay by-Joel Murcott
Based on "What Frightened You, Fred?" by Jack Ritchie

First print appearance-Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, May 1958
Notes
Watch episode-here
Available on DVD?-no

Episode title-"The Black Curtain" [8.9]
Broadcast date-15 Nov. 1962
Teleplay by-Joel Murcott
Based on The Black Curtain by Cornell Woolrich

First print appearance-1941 novel
Notes
Watch episode-here
Available on DVD?-no

Episode title-"The Dividing Wall" [9.9]
Broadcast date-6 Dec. 1963
Teleplay by-Joel Murcott
Based on an unpublished story by George Bellak

First print appearance-none
Notes
Watch episode-here
Available on DVD?-no

Episode title-"Behind the Locked Door" [9.22]
Broadcast date-27 March 1964
Teleplay by-Henry Slesar and Joel Murcott
Based on "Behind the Locked Door" by Henry Slesar

First print appearance-Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, January 1961
Notes
Watch episode-here
Available on DVD?-no

In two weeks: Our coverage of William Gordon begins with "The Lonely Hours," starring Nancy Kelly and Gena Rowlands!

Listen to Al Sjoerdsma discuss "Momentum" here!

Listen to Annie and Kathryn discuss "Sybilla" here!

The Hitchcock Project-Joel Murcott Part Eight: What Frightened You, Fred? [7.30]

by Jack Seabrook

"What Frightened You, Fred?" begins with the title character back in prison, less than 48 hours after he was released, being questioned by Warden Bragan and a psychiatrist named Dr. Cullen. The psychiatrist asks probing questions to try to find out what drove Fred to commit an act that would land him back in jail. Fred is 55 years old and he has been in prison on and off for 25 years. He has been a typist and file clerk for the warden, who recently announced that he is running for governor.

Fred recalls walking out of the prison gates on Thursday, hoping that Tony Wando might have sent a car to pick him up for old time's sake after he had been in prison for four years. No car arrives, so Fred takes a two-hour train ride back home and approaches Big Mike Kowalski's bar, but he refuses to go inside for a drink because he is on parole and he is supposed to report to work at a warehouse the following Monday.

Back in the present, Dr. Cullen and Warden Bragan continue speaking with Fred, who got drunk and broke a tavern window, a parole violation that will result in him spending another fourteen months in jail. The warden recalls that Fred's only trouble during his prior four-year stint in prison occurred when he was caught hiding a knife in his mattress; Fred recalls that he intended to kill another inmate, but someone else did the job first. Dr. Cullen theorizes that Fred was frightened of the outside world and wanted to be back in prison where he felt comfortable. Bragan does not believe it and the two men argue about Cullen's theory.

"What Frightened You, Fred?"
was first published here

Fred recalls going back to his old rooming house and convincing Mrs. Carr to let him stay. He lay in bed, alone in his room, listening to sounds inside and outside the rooming house and thinking about how they differ from the sounds inside the prison. Back in the present, Dr. Cullen continues to explain Fred's situation and motivation; Fred's four-year jail term was punishment for armed robbery and Bragan insists that Fred is back because he is "'plain stupid.'"

Fred remembers that, on Friday, Tony Wando telephoned him and he visited Wando at his apartment on the top floor of the Sheldon Building. Fred told Tony that he sweats when he thinks of being in prison and Tony told Fred about a job that he wanted Fred to do, adding that Fred is perfect for the job because he is good with a knife and will be able to direct suspicion away from the syndicate. The victim is getting independent ideas and will start his own organization if he gets to the state capitol. "'Bragan was nothing when I picked him up,'" says Tony, who promised to pay Fred $1000 per month for his fourteen months in prison. After this conversation, Fred left Wando's apartment, got drunk, "smashed a tavern window and waited for the cops to pick me up. I had a job to do inside the walls."

R.G. Armstrong as Fred Riordan

"What Frightened You, Fred?" was written by prolific short story author Jack Ritchie and was published in the May 1958 issue of Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine. Told in the first person by Fred, the story alternates between scenes in the present, as Bragan and Cullen speak with Fred, and scenes in the days before that, between Fred's release from prison and his impending return to prison. The title is ironic; it turns out that nothing frightened Fred! Dr. Cullen is wrong in his assessment of Fred's reasons for returning so quickly to jail. Warden Bragan's assessment is closer to the truth, but Fred is not stupid; his act was calculated and intentional, driven by greed and a life of crime.

Joel Murcott adapted the story for Alfred Hitchcock Presents and it aired on NBC on Tuesday, May 1, 1962, near the end of season seven. The title question has a much different answer in the TV version than it does in the short story.

While the story begins after Fred has already smashed the bar window, been arrested, and been taken to prison, the TV show begins with two policemen sitting in a patrol car as they observe Fred stagger out of the bar, take a drink from a bottle, then turn and throw the bottle, smashing the front window. He is arrested on the spot and found to be a parole violator.

Edward Asner as Warden Bragan

Fred is brought into the warden's office and the scene closely follows the first part of the corresponding scene in the short story, though it ends before any discussion of Fred's former job in prison or the warden's plan to run for governor. Instead, there is a dissolve to Fred preparing to leave the prison. He signs for his possessions and speaks with Bragan; Fred's demeanor and mood are noticeably brighter than they were in the first scene, which took place after his arrest. It is immediately clear that he and the warden have a friendly relationship; he was the warden's clerk and his boss made sure he had a suit that fit when he was released. Bragan compliments Fred and encourages him to succeed, adding that they were raised in the same neighborhood and mentioning that he is running for governor. Fred says that he would vote for Bragan if he had a vote and, in this scene, Fred's future looks as bright as possible under the circumstances.

There is another dissolve (the way scenes move between the present and the past) to the sidewalk in front of the bar, where Kowalski, the bartender, is much friendlier and more welcoming on Fred's arrival after his release from prison than he is in the short story. Kowalski's attitude toward Fred makes life outside the prison walls look promising, if only for a moment. Another dissolve returns to the present in the warden's office as Dr. Cullen probes, trying to discover what happened while Fred was outside that led him to act in a way certain to send him back inside. For the TV show, this scene is shortened from what it is on the page. The TV version presents a clear contrast between the scenes inside and outside the prison, though the welcome greeting Fred receives from Kowalski is not to be repeated when he gets to his old rooming house.

Adam Williams as Dr. Cullen

The short story's Mrs. Carr becomes Mae in the TV show, and she is a middle-aged, attractive woman who is not happy to see Fred. He is surprised and disappointed but he keeps at it until she relents a bit and invites him into the kitchen for coffee. It becomes apparent that the two had a romantic relationship before he went to prison--she tells him that she was "'not waiting for you'" and when he mentions that he wrote to her she says that she used his letters to light the fire. He puts his hand on top of hers but she pushes it off and, when she stands up, he grabs her from behind and kisses her neck. She pulls away and tells him, "'You're a roomer, Fred--that's all.'" This scene demonstrates that life on the outside may not be so great for Fred; Joel Murcott's decision to expand this scene from the short story is an effective way to show that Fred's life outside the prison walls may not be all that he had hoped for.

There is another dissolve back to the warden's office, where it is established that Bragan will let Fred resume his job as the warden's clerk. Cullen asks once again, "'What frightened you out there?'" but Fred lies and says that nothing happened. After another dissolve, the scene returns to the rooming house, where Mae takes a telephone call for Fred, who comes downstairs and speaks to Tony Wando. Wando asks Fred to meet him at the cemetery where he visits the grave of his mother every Wednesday; the gangster tells Fred that there is a grave next to the grave of Wando's mother that nobody ever visits. The scene that follows replaces the scene that ends the short story and takes the show in a new direction.

Steven Peccaro as Tony Wando

There is no dissolve from one scene to another this time, since the scene does not switch back to the present in the warden's office. Instead, there is a fade out and then a fade in to the cemetery, where Tony approaches his mother's grave and places a bouquet of flowers on the ground. Fred soon follows and stands in front of the adjoining grave. Tony offers Fred $25,000 for the two years he will spend in prison for violating parole but, unlike the story, where Fred does not reject the offer, in the TV show he initially refuses. Tony then threatens Fred, telling him that he knows about the only job Fred ever got away with, when he held up a delicatessen and killed a man with a knife. Tony tells Fred:

"I could send you to the death house with a ten-cent phone call. A guy saw you throw a paper bag down the sewer the night that delicatessen owner was murdered. A guy who works for me. There was a knife in the bag, Fred. I still got it. I'll bet your fingerprints are still on it. ... Whose grave will I put flowers on the next time, Fred? Yours, or Warden Bragan's?"

With this scene, Joel Murcott makes a significant change to the story. In Ritchie's short story, Fred was not frightened at all and Dr. Cullen was off the mark in his assessment of his reasons for returning to prison. In the TV show, Cullen is correct--Wando's threat did frighten Fred and that's why he's back in jail. Fred's past criminal activity has him in a moral dilemma. Should he accede to Wando's wishes and earn $25,000 for murdering a man who has been a friend to him, or should he refuse to do the gangster's bidding and face the death penalty for a crime he committed in the past? The decision seems obvious for Fred, who long ago went down the wrong path in his life and now finds himself unable to break the cycle of crime and prison.

Eve McVeagh as Mae

Murcott adds one more short scene, back in the warden's office. Fred maintains that he did not see or speak to anyone before getting drunk and Bragan promises to reassign the convict to his office as a clerk. Fred smiles and thanks the warden, and the viewer understands what Bragan and Cullen do not--that Fred plans to carry out Wando's order and murder the man who has helped him.

"What Frightened You, Fred?" is a good short story that was adapted into an excellent episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Joel Murcott's changes to the story expand its scope, make it more visually interesting, and make the title, Dr. Cullen's questions, and Fred's motivations more clear.

The show is directed by Paul Henreid (1908-1992), who began his career as a film actor. His career as a director started in the early 1950s and he directed 29 episodes of the Hitchcock show, including "A Little Sleep."

Jack Ritchie (1922-1983), who wrote the short story on which the TV show was based, was born John Reitci and had over 500 short stories published between 1953 and 1983. Three of his stories were adapted for the Hitchcock show, including "Anyone for Murder?" He won an Edgar Award in 1982 and there is an extensive website dedicated to him here.

Kreg Martin as Kowalski

R.G. Armstrong (1917-2012) stars as Fred Riordan. Armstrong was on four Hitchcock shows, including "Final Vow," and had a long career, spanning the years from 1954-2001. He was in many westerns. Online sources report that he grew up in a family of fundamentalists and that his mother wanted him to be a pastor, but he became an actor instead and his onscreen roles sometimes played off the tension between his upbringing and his profession.

Co-starring as Warden Bragan is Edward Asner (1929-2021), whose long career on screen lasted from 1957 until his death. Asner appeared in one other episode of the Hitchcock TV show, along with an episode of The Outer Limits, but he is best known for his role as the crusty news editor Lou Grant, first on The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970-1977) and then on Lou Grant (1977-1982). In his career, Asner won an impressive seven Emmy Awards.

Adam Williams (1922-2006) plays Dr. Cullen; a Navy pilot in World War Two, he was on screen from 1951 to 1978. He appeared in Fritz Lang's The Big Heat (1953) and he had a memorable role in Hitchcock's North By Northwest (1959). He was in one other episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents ("Listen, Listen.....!") as well as episodes of The Twilight Zone and Thriller.

In smaller roles:

• Steven Peccaro (1929-2005) as Tony Wando; born Ignacio Pecoraro, he also acted under the name Steven Peck. He was a choreographer who ran a dance studio in the 1950s before embarking on a screen acting career that lasted from 1958 to 1986.
• Eve McVeagh (1919-1997) as Mae; she acted on Broadway and on radio and had a screen career from 1946 to 1987. She was on The Twilight Zone and Thriller and she appeared in six episodes of the Hitchcock show, including "The Gloating Place."
• Kreg Martin as Kowalski; in a short TV career from 1962-1963 he was seen on The Twilight Zone and in seven episodes of the Hitchcock show, including "Maria."

Watch "What Frightened You, Fred?" for free online here.

Thanks to Peter Enfantino for providing a copy of the short story!

Sources:

The FICTIONMAGS Index, www.philsp.com/homeville/FMI/0start.htm.

Grams, Martin, and Patrik Wikstrom. The Alfred HITCHCOCK Presents Companion. OTR Pub., 2001.

IMDb, IMDb.com, www.imdb.com/.

Ritchie, Jack. "What Frightened You, Fred?" Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, May 1958, pp. 15-21.

Stephensen-Payne, Phil. "Galactic Central." Galactic Central, philsp.com/. 

"Steven Peck (1929-2005) - Find a Grave Memorial." Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/213823953/steven-peck.

"What Frightened You, Fred?" Alfred Hitchcock Presents, season 7, episode 30, NBC, 1 May 1962.

Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, www.wikipedia.org/.

In two weeks: Our series on Joel Murcott concludes with "The Dividing Wall," starring James Gregory!

Listen to Al Sjoerdsma discuss "Momentum" here!

Listen to Annie and Kathryn discuss "What Frightened You, Fred?" here!

The Hitchcock Project-Joel Murcott Part Seven: Ambition [6.38]

by Jack Seabrook

"Ambition" is the driving force behind the actions of assistant district attorney Rudolf Cox, who visits a shabby brownstone where a nervous man named Lou Heintz is staying. Heintz is afraid of a criminal named "Big Mac" Lackey and shows Cox a gold cigarette lighter that Mac left behind after searching Heintz's rooms while Lou was out buying liquor. Heintz fears that he'll be killed by Big Mac or his partner, Ernie Stillinger, before he can testify against them in court, so Cox assures Heintz that he'll station men to watch his building and keep him safe.

Cox leaves Heintz's room and drives a short distance before Big Mac unexpectedly appears and climbs into the car beside him. Big Mac tells Cox that he knows there is no solid evidence against him; he realizes that Rudy is ambitious and has his eye on a career in politics. Big Mac announces that he plans to get married and give up his life of crime. The two men grew up together and Mac saved Rudy's life during the war; Rudy gave Mac the gold cigarette lighter to thank him. Their lives then went in opposite directions--Mac toward crime and Rudy toward law enforcement. Rudy knows that putting Mac in jail would help his own career and Mac's plan to give up on crime could make that difficult.

"Ambition" was first published here.

The next morning, Lt. Walker approaches Cox at home to say that Heintz was murdered the night before. Mac's lighter was found in Heintz's room and the fatal bullet came from his gun. Ernie Stillinger has an alibi and Mac claims he was riding in Cox's car at the time of the murder. Cox weighs his loyalty to the man who saved his life against his political career and claims not to have seen Mac in six months, destroying the man's alibi and ensuring his conviction.

"Ambition" is a clever story about the ease with which a man is disloyal to an old friend in order to further his own career. It was published in the August 1960 issue of Keyhole Mystery Magazine and its author, Charles Boeckman (1920-2015), was one of the few writers who came of age during the pulp era and survived long enough to see a revival of interest in his work. He wrote short stories beginning in 1945 and had his stories published in the pulps and the digests that followed. He also wrote novels under his own name and pseudonyms; his topics included crime fiction, westerns, and erotica. Boeckman was also an accomplished jazz musician. His autobiography was published in 2015 and his papers are archived at the University of Oregon.

Joel Murcott adapted "Ambition" for Alfred Hitchcock Presents and the episode aired on NBC on Tuesday, July 4, 1961, as the final show of the sixth season. The show was directed by Paul Henreid and stars Leslie Nielsen as Cox. Murcott had to expand the story to fill the TV show's running time, but the additions are not entirely successful.

Leslie Nielsen as Rudy Cox

The short story begins with Cox putting away his gardening tools and driving to see Heintz. He only learns that Heintz's location has been discovered when Heintz shows him Big Mac's lighter. In the TV show, the exposition is done in the first scene by showing Cox working in his garden when his assistant, Cliff Woodman, arrives and tells him that everybody knows that they have Lou Heinz, who has been involved with Mac Davis and Ernie Stillinger, two "'top racketeers.'" Cox is angry that his first break as district attorney has been ruined and Woodman says that the mayor is waiting to talk to him. In the TV version, Cox is already the D.A., while in the story he is still the assistant D.A., hoping to move up the ladder.

The second scene finds Mac arriving at the building where Heinz is staying and entering the man's apartment to find an agitated Stillinger searching the room. Stillinger pulls a gun and smashes an empty liquor bottle against a wall. He wants to kill Heinz to prevent him from testifying, but Mac calms him down, telling him that the D.A. owes him a favor and promising to fix the problem tonight. As they talk, Mac hands Ernie his lighter so Ernie can light a cigarette; the men are distracted by a car pulling away outside and we never see what happens to the lighter. This scene contrasts the calm Mac with the angry Ernie and shows how the lighter ends up left behind for Heinz to find.

Harold J. Stone as Mac Davis

Scene three takes place in the mayor's office as Cox and Woodman explain to the mayor how Heinz's location has been discovered. The mayor is skeptical about the value of Heinz as a witness, since he was locked up in the jail for drunkenness and kept no paper records of his accounting work for Davis. The mayor reveals that Cox and Davis are old friends, but Cox denies having seen Davis since he became D.A. The mayor needles him for a lack of major crimes uncovered on Rudy's watch and suggests that Cox is protecting his old friend from prosecution. Chiding Rudy for his lack of ambition, the mayor suggests that if Rudy can secure a conviction of Mac Davis, he could go a long way toward ensuring that he will be elected the next mayor and, eventually, governor. "'If you don't get an indictment and a conviction this time,'" says the mayor, "'you're through.'"

The fourth scene picks up where the short story left off, with Rudy visiting Heinz in his rooms. Heinz is a sweaty, nervous drunk, who immediately shows Rudy the cigarette lighter left behind by Davis--it is engraved, "To M.D. with gratitude 1944." In the short story, we learn from Rudy's thoughts that it was he who gave the lighter to Mac for saving his life during the war. In the TV show, the viewer is left to ponder what the inscription means until a later scene where it is explained. Woodman drives Cox to Heinz's location and drives away with him after Cox visits the witness in his room; thus, the incident in the short story where Big Mac gets in Cox's car after Cox leaves Heintz's room cannot happen, because Cox is with Woodman.

Ann Robinson as Helen Cox

Instead, as Woodman drives away with Cox, we see Ernie Stillinger sitting in a car outside Heinz's building, smoking a cigarette and looking menacingly up at Heinz's window. From this brief shot we can assume that it is Stillinger who later murders Heinz.

Woodman drops Cox off at home after dark where he is met by his beautiful wife, Helen, who is dressed for a dance that her husband had forgotten. She tells him that he works too hard and he remarks that the mayor said he lacks ambition, a comment that clearly rankles him. Rudy begs off and Helen goes to the dance alone. Adding the character of Rudy's wife sets up a comparison between him and Mac, who shows up at Rudy's front door just before ten o'clock, according to a clock on the kitchen wall. We don't know it yet, but the brief shot of the clock to establish the time will be important in the final scene. Rudy first tries to keep Mac from entering, then pulls a gun from a drawer and points it at Mac until the criminal shows that he is not armed.

Bernard Kates as Lou Heinz

Mac is charming and relaxed, while Rudy is nervous and jumpy at the unexpected visit from his old friend. In the kitchen, Rudy reluctantly gives Mac a cup of coffee and refuses to drop his investigation. This scene replaces the one in the short story where Rudy and Mac talk in Rudy's car. Now, Rudy tells Mac that he knows Mac was in Heinz's room because he left his lighter behind. The lighter was given in thanks for Mac saving Rudy's life, "'that night in Germany when you dragged me across that field.'" Mac understands that a big conviction could help Rudy succeed in politics, but the aging criminal says he is "'fixed for life'" and wants to get married. In short, Mac wants what Rudy has-- a safe, happy life with a beautiful wife. Mac tells Rudy that he is giving up on crime and he is confident that Rudy will convict someone else and succeed in his career. Mac wants Rudy to leave him alone, "'for old time's sake.'"

Mac asks Rudy to get him the lighter and Rudy wishes him luck. As Mac leaves, it looks like the two men have reached an understanding, but the show's final scene demonstrates that this is not the case. The next morning, the sun is shining and Rudy is again working in his garden, with his wife Helen near him, watering the lawn. A police lieutenant arrives and the dialogue between him and Cox plays out almost verbatim when compared to the final page of the short story.

Harry Landers as Ernie Stillinger

The TV version of "Ambition" adds new scenes and new characters to flesh out the short story, but the key events do not change. The strongest scenes are those that mirror scenes in the source: the dialogue between Rudy and Mac in the car/kitchen and the final scene, when the truth of Rudy's ambition is made plain. The show's best performance comes from Harold J. Stone as Mac; he is convincing as a man who can be big and menacing but no longer has to prove his strength.

"Ambition" is directed by Paul Henreid (1908-1992), who began his career as a film actor. His career as a director started in the early 1950s and he directed 29 episodes of the Hitchcock show, including "A Little Sleep."

Leslie Nielsen (1926-2010) plays Rudy Cox, the district attorney. Nielsen was born in Canada and served in the Royal Canadian Air Force before moving to New York City and joining the Actors Studio. He appeared on TV from 1950 to 2007 and in films from 1956 to 2011, and he has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Among his many films are Forbidden Planet (1956), The Poseidon Adventure (1972), Airplane! (1980), Creepshow (1982), and The Naked Gun (1988). He was a regular on the TV series The New Breed (1961-62) and Police Squad! (1982) and he was seen on Thriller, Night Gallery, two episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and "The Magic Shop" on The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. Nielsen's mid-career switch to deadpan comedy began with Airplane! but his role in "Ambition" is completely serious.

Charles Arnt as the mayor

Mac Davis is played by Harold J. Stone (1913-2005), a familiar character actor who started on TV in 1949 and in film in 1956. He had a part in Hitchcock's The Wrong Man (1956) and another in House of Numbers (1957), based on the novel by Jack Finney. He was in three episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, including "The Night the World Ended," based on a story by Fredric Brown, as well as an episode of The Twilight Zone and two episodes of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, including Henry Slesar's "The Second Verdict." Stone also appeared in two Roger Corman films in the 1960s: X--The Man With the X-Ray Eyes (1963) and The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967). He appeared in many TV episodes well into the 1980s.

In supporting roles:

• Ann Robinson (1929- ) as Rudy's wife, Helen; born in Hollywood, she was on screen from 1949 to 2020 and her most famous role was in War of the Worlds (1953).
• Bernard Kates (1922-2010) as Lou Heinz; a bomber pilot in WWII, Kates was on screen from 1949 to 1999, including an appearance on The Outer Limits. He was in "I Kiss Your Shadow" on Bus Stop and he appeared in two other episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, including "The Right Kind of Medicine."
• Harry Landers (1921-2017) as Ernie Stillinger; born Harry Sorokin, he served in the Merchant Marine in WWII and was on screen from 1947 to 1991. He had a bit part in Rear Window (1954), appeared on Star Trek, and was a semi-regular on Ben Casey (1961-1966). This was one of his three appearances in Alfred Hitchcock Presents, including "The Day of the Bullet."
• Charles Arnt (1906-1990) as George, the mayor; he had small roles in many films between 1933 and 1962 and this episode was one of last parts.
• Charles Carlson (1906-1990) as Cliff Woodman, Rudy's assistant; he worked on TV from 1961 to 1967 and was seen on The Twilight Zone and in five episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, including "Where Beauty Lies."

Charles Carlson as Cliff Woodman

• Howard McLeod as the police lieutenant in the last scene; his brief TV career lasted only from 1960 to 1962 but he managed to play policemen in four episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents during that time, including "Burglar Proof."

Howard McLeod as the lieutenant

• Syl Lamont (1912-1982) as a hood at the beginning of the second scene who tells Mac where to find Stillinger and Heinz; he was on screen from 1950 to 1975 and appeared in six episodes of the Hitchcock series, including "A Tangled Web."

Syl Lamont as the hood

"Ambition" may be viewed online here.

Thanks to Peter Enfantino for providing a copy of the short story!

Sources:

"Ambition" Alfred Hitchcock Presents, season 6, episode 38, NBC, 4 July 1961. 

Boeckman, Charles. "Ambition." Keyhole Mystery Magazine, Aug. 1960, pp. 27-32. 

Bold Venture Press, https://www.boldventurepress.com/charles-boeckman/.

The FICTIONMAGS Index, www.philsp.com/homeville/FMI/0start.htm. 

Grams, Martin, and Patrik Wikstrom. The Alfred HITCHCOCK Presents Companion. OTR Pub., 2001.

IMDb, IMDb.com, www.imdb.com/.

Stephensen-Payne, Phil. "Galactic Central." Galactic Central, philsp.com/. 

Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, www.wikipedia.org/.

In two weeks: "What Frightened You, Fred?" starring R.G. Armstrong and Ed Asner!

Listen to Al Sjoerdsma discuss "The Creeper" here!

Listen to Annie and Kathryn discuss "Sybilla" here!