Help Wanted

Even Alfred Hitchcock noted that this story has a delectable sting. A rather nifty twisted one.

Mr Crabtree (John Qualen) was fired from his previous job for being too old. Now his wife is ill and she needs surgery.

So a new job offer is a lifeline for Crabtree. He will be working on his own in an office writing reports. It is all very confidential and his employer remains mysterious.

Crabtree does not think much about the reports but it is a lucrative job and will help with the medical bills.

Then one day the employer shows up at the office. The mysterious Mr X (Lorne Greene) has a deadly proposition for Mr Crabtree, a well paid one.

The story is reminiscent of a Sherlock Holmes one and then it goes its own way.

Nothing absolutely great here but quite entertaining for the audiences fond of ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS series. Good crime scheme with blackmail element and a story already told before and also after. Rather light hearted, but not a comedy either, the characters and plot will "talk" to audiences, I am sure. Many folks will more or less recognize themselves in those common American characters. Not exciting but not boring either. Not my favorite, not a milestone in the series. Not a highlight. But in a one hundred and forty episodes anthology show, it is impossible to have one hundred and forty masterpieces.

Can't get enough of this episode. 10 Stars.

Robert C. Dennis wrote this ULTRA dark comedy. Dennis had the imagination. He wrote for years at Warner Brothers/ABC TV, all the top shows of the 50s and 60s, later for BATMAN. Our hero.

Enter the "quiet man", aka Mr. Crabtree (memorably played by John Qualen), who needs money (fast!) to pay for his wife's operation. He turns to the help wanted ads and meets Lorne Greene, known to him as MR. X. And with a remarkably sinister voice. Greene was a radio announcer back in the day.

The secret here is Mister X needs someone to casually "kill" another someone --no questions asked, but done in a clever way. Of course, the payout is not a sure thing, unless Crabtree accepts the terms of the agreement. Mr. X is a smart cookie. He also has dirt on Crabtree. Get it?

John Qualen appeared in more than 100 films in his long career, often as a fall guy. He became famous in the 30s playing the father of the Dionne Quintuplets in several films about their extraordinary lives, also one of the legendary cast of CASABLANCA.

By the way. The $100 a week salary for the job, equals about 1200 dollars today. Not bad.

About as good as it gets for Hitch. Laugh out loud ending, and DON'T stand too close to that window! Best of SEASON 1, which is a box set to treasure. Episode 27 remastered/Universal. 2005 release.

This is a bit remindful of Conan-Doyle's "The Red-Headed League." It involves a man who is a bit desperate for employment who takes a job where he goes to work all by himself and carries out his orders. He is confused but his wife is ill and he is always paid right on schedule. He continues to do what is asked of him until one day a man comes to him and asks him to commit a murder. At first he is absolutely opposed to it, but when a large cash settlement is involved it gets him to thinking. He is a little milquetoast and a rule follower, but he has been given a chance to prosper. As it turns out, there are a series of twist from this point on and it has a pretty satisfying ending. This involves one of those moral decisions that many are forced to make at times. It's a good episode that starts slowly and then picks up steam.

"Help Wanted" is a remake of an episode from "Suspense" a few years earlier. I've seen both and think "Help Wanted" is a bit better. Some of this might be because John Qualen was so good in it....and this was his third "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" appearance in season 1.

Mr. Crabtree (Qualen) was fired from his last job due to his age. And, since then, he's had a horrible time trying to find work. To make matters worses, his wife is ill and needs surgery. So, when he receives a letter from one prospective employer offering work, he takes it...even though what he's going to do and why make no sense at all.

I'd say more about the plot but I don't want to spoil the suspense. All in all, a very good episode...well handled and very interesting from start to finish.