Triumph

Ed Begley has several scenes here as an impassioned lover type at heart. He actually handles this pretty well despite severe miscasting. The Jungle atmosphere is well done and especially well photographed. There is a long early sequence on a boat at night that is beautiful to look at.

But it's true the twists don't really hold up once you know what is going on and the final fade out is almost totally baffling despite some repeated shots and off camera lines to try to help it. It's kind of a mess this episode really, starting with the title that seems to have nothing to do with the show, and a lot of it is slow melodrama. It doesn't feel like a Hitchcock episode, to its credit it feels like a feature, but one that doesn't add up. The sum is less than the total of the parts.

I don't know where to begin. To start with, Jeanette Nolan is a vicious beast. She has no kindness in her. I guess, discussion makes her out to be quite a good doctor, but she has no compassion for anyone and reputation is everyone. Ed Begley is her husband. They are missionaries in a jungle in India. When a young couple show up to help them, she sees the young woman as the devil. But what happens next is so obtuse as to ruin anything. If the older lady went in with the scalpel....? What was in the grave? Couldn't Begley have yelled out that it's not his wife? And what the hell is going on in that place. How could the two of them stand to be around each other. She offers him nothing but criticism. Not well written and only put together for shock value.

I gotta tell you that I watch this episode nightly!!

I love the intrigue and undertow of desire and emotions that the players evoke. I LOVE this episode and give it all stars!!

I am addicted to watching it every night!

Brenda Easter.

An interesting study of human nature in a savage land, where Begley presents the survival of the fittest while visiting missionary egghead married to sexy Lucy is more of an idealist, unable to accept that the natives or his hosts could be anything but good-hearted.

Begleyis a doctor and Lucy helps him in operations on the ailing native patients. Jeanette Nolan is terrific as Nolan's strong-willed and jealous wife. Dramatic secrets are kept hidden but inevitably will come out. Fitting the theme of missionaries, the dialogue is quie flowery and philosophical, but easy to take in context.

It adds up to a suspenseful, dramatic tale of people under pressure (in this case fighting a cholera outbreak in the area, quite well acted.

Not worthy of Hitch's reputation. The same guy who did masterpieces such as Psycho, Marnie, The Birds, The Man Who Knew Too Much et al, allows his name to be attached to this??

Most of his TV series episodes were at least fair to good, and a few even great, but this is one of the absolute worst (along with "Misadventure" which is one of the most atrocious things I've ever seen in my life).

Reading these reviews for this one makes it so apparent how much the imdb message boards are needed, missed, and should be resurrected. They're necessary, especially, with shows like this where help is needed from other viewers to attempt to put the puzzle pieces together to hopefully form a whole, although in this case that would be impossible due to the huge plot holes and continuity gaps.

Rated 3 only because of Nolan's acting - otherwise would be 2.

3 out of 10 / Grade D