Into Thin Air

The story is pretty intriguing and remind me of Lady Vanishes in some way and i still enjoyed the episode. We are wondering what happened and where is the mother? We just want the explanation and now we just wait for answers for all our questions. A very good investigations story that is pleasant to follow.

Of course, it is not a surprise to find such a plot in ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS tv show, he who already gave us THE LADY VANISHES, back in 1938; the very same scheme but aboard a train instead of a Parisian hotel, as it is the case here. And this scheme will also be used many times after, since, with movies such as BREAKDOWN ( 1997), R. I. F (2011), THE VANISHING (1988), DYING ROOM ONLY (1973).... But this scheme will never get old, it will always work for generations, whatever the contry it comes from, whatever the period or settings. It is an unavoidable episode for anyone who is interested in Alfred Hitchcock's atmosphere.

A variation on a common theme, this episode from "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" attempts to provide another take in a half-hour format. Unfortunately, it falls short.

Hitchcock's daughter, Pat, plays the primary character, Diana Winthrop-a young lady traveling with her mother. Their stop at a Parisian hotel turns into a mystery. Or does the young woman suffer from a mental malady? Pat Hitchcock is convincing as the distraught daughter who may be the victim of gaslighting, but the half-hour formula can be blamed for an abrupt ending that offers no surprise, merely resolution.

When I watched "Into Thin Air", I felt annoyed. First, a similar sort of plot was used in "The Midnight Warning" back in 1932 and "The Lady Vanishes" (a Hitchcock movie) in 1938. But, as I watched, I noticed that "Into Thin Air" wasn't just a reworking of these old films but an actual remake of the 1950 movie "So Long at the Fair"! This is weird...why only five episodes into "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" would they forego making an original story and just did a retread of a 1950 film! I felt rather annoyed by this....though you might not if you haven't seen these movie.

Two British women arrive in Paris from India in order to see and experience the 1889 World's Exposition....the same international expo that debuted the Eiffel Tower. Soon after checking in to the hotel, the mother begins feeling sick. A doctor arrives and sends the daughter to get medicine. When she returns with the medicine, the hotel employees behave a if they've never seen her and they say that a her mother NEVER was in the hotel. And, the more the woman digs, the more it appears that either the daughter is insane OR there's some conspiracy afoot. What's really going on here?

As I mentioned above, this is based on a good story...it's just that if you've seen the movie, then none of this will be worth seeing. If you haven't, by all means see it...it's very interesting and the basic story is quite sound. So, a 4 if you've seen the film and an 8 if you haven't. I'll just split the difference and give this one a 6 overall.

By the way, I also really love Alfred Hitchcock's comment at the end...considering the leading lady in the episode is his daughter, Patricia.

'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' was a bit of a mixed bag up to this early stages. The first two episodes to me were great, but the next two were disappointing. The biggest interest point of "Into Thin Air" is that it stars Hitchcock's own daughter Patricia in the first of ten appearances in the series in the lead role. The story, while not novel which is acknowledged by Hitchcock himself in the bookending, was a very good idea and very Hitchcockian, even though not directed by Hitchcock.

"Into Thin Air" is neither one of the best or worst episodes of 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents', certainly better than the rating here implies (somehow managing to be rated worse than the previous episode "Don't Come Back Alive"). More of somewhere in the middle, that does a good deal right but it could have been fresher and runs out of gas at the end (which is a shame). Very neat set up, with a clear 'The Lady Vanishes' and 'So Long at the Fair' influence, with generally solid albeit not amazing execution.

Many things in "Into Thin Air" are good. The production values are solid, some stylish shots and a nice atmosphere created. The music is suitably ominous without being over-emphasised, and cannot get enough of the theme tune for reasons that have been pointed out in my reviews for the previous 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' episodes. The intro is wonderfully dry and acerbic and Don Medford directs in a way that is not static or routine, even if he is not in complete control in the latter stages.

Enough of the script intrigues and there is some nice suspense. Patricia Hitchcock does a good sympathetic job in the lead roles, one of her better performances of the series. The rest of the cast support her well. Alan Napier was always great value, always liked him in 'Batman' for instance.

However, "Into Thin Air" is another episode of 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' that tries to cram in too much in too short a duration. It feels very rushed, sprawling in structure and needed a much longer length, this is a story that would have leant itself much better as feature length. The suspense also could have been more consistent, it's there but just not enough.

Really do agree that a lot of suspension of disbelief is needed, though it is not as much as "Don't Come Back Alive" and even more so that the very abrupt and anti-climactic ending is a let down. Giving the sense that the writers didn't know how to end it so tacked one on.

Concluding, acceptable if not great. 6/10.