Don't Look Behind You

A previous poster called her Madge "Batman" Kennedy. Madge Blake played Aunt Harriet Cooper on Batman. Madge Kennedy played Aunt Martha on Leave It To Beaver.

Eeeeeerie tale (for all us late, late show addicts), only one debit. Should have been the premier episode.

British playwright Barre Lyndon wrote this fade to black mystery, known for some offbeat stories, including WAR OF THE WORLDS. There's a maniac on the loose, the campus killer, who attacks women in the woods in a small college town. Extremely atmospheric, directed by John Brahm, who effectively used the Universal backlot late at night.

It all centers around professor Jeffrey Hunter and his fiancee, played by Vera Miles, who Hitch also used in his films. She MAY be next-- and WHO could it be? Hunter is quite good as the gentleman of science looking into the minds of homicidal maniacs, and what makes them tick. As they gather with friends, suspicions are cast on just about everybody.

Spicing up the scenery is veteran actor Abraham Sofaer, playing the wise professor, and good guy slash bad guy Alf Kjellin. Lyndon wrote two episodes for Hitch, and without too much surprise, wrote for Boris Karloff's tv show, THRILLER. Has the feel of something Karloff would have done, possible outlined for his show originally.

FYI; A Season Three episode would have a very similar slant, only with the mad killer of nurses. Watch for it. Hitch used the LEAVE IT TO BEAVER set at Universal. Often wonder if that wasn't a dark comedy reach, because the set turned up more than once in the series. Brooding music score by Lynn Murray, who worked on IT TAKES A THIEF for Hitch.

SEASON 1 EPISODE 2 remastered dvd box set. Some of the dvd boxes were produced in Europe and will not play on American made players. Check with the seller regarding Region 2 playback.

"Don't Look Behind You" is a very flawed episode of "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour". While the plot idea itself isn't bad, the characters are mostly awful...one dimensional weirdos who just don't exist in the real world. This alone ruined the episode for me.

Daphne (Vera Miles) is supposed to go to a faculty dinner at some college and her boyfriend Harold (Jeffrey Hunter) is supposed to escort her there. But he's late, and she goes through the woods to get to the dinner. On the way through these woods, she feels as though someone is following her and towards the end, she rushes through the place as quickly as she can. Now this makes no sense, as apparently a woman was slashed to death in these same woods....and so Daphne goes there?? What also doesn't make sense are the weird professors at the party....who talk about the murder and say all sorts of things that would seem to incriminate themselves! As for Harold, she shows up a bit late and is the weirdest of all...talking with a strange earnestness which is just baffling. Sure, he's a psychology professor, but he sounds so excited about the killing that it's just creepy and makes little sense. Later, he and Daphne go through the woods AGAIN and find a woman who's been attacked and bloodied but is still alive. Again...why go through these woods...especially at night?! What's next? Well, rest assured none of it makes a lot of sense and the characters are just plain weird.

While the episode did a great job in setting a scary situation, it really fell down when it came to the characters in the show. I really felt bad for some of the actors as they could act given better material...and Jeffrey Hunter...well...he was amazingly goofy...even more than the rest of these knuckleheads. The show also had no idea when to end and really could have used a trimming. Overall, a really poor installment...one that really annoyed me because it was so shoddy and didn't need to be.

I remember Jeffrey Hunter when he played Christopher Pike on the fStar Trek pilot episode, The Menagerie. He was a painful character then and here again. Here he is involved with the beautiful Vera Miles. There have been attacks on young women in a college town and he has decided to capture the perpetrator. He is a specialist in abnormal psychology and wants to invade the psyche of the killer. She is involved with two other men in a casual way. One is a co-worker and the other a concert pianist. They both have bland personalities. One of them is Dick Sargent who became the second Darren on Bewitched after Dick York left. The problem with this one is bad acting and a slow, ponderous pace which may be a problem with the full hour Hitchcock episodes.

The plot is a bit contrived and confusing but those 2 make up for it. Rest in peace Jeffrey Hunter and may Vera Miles continue to be blessed and alive.