Kill with Kindness

Looks like this entry was reaching for a façade of black humor. The Oldhams, brother and sister, are aging and barely getting by. Unless they figure something out, their old age looks bleak. What they do have is a life insurance policy on brother Fitzhugh (Cronyn). Then along comes homeless old guy Gyorgy (Gleason). Nobody would miss him were he to disappear, so putting on their best face, they invite him in.

The entry depends more on character interest than suspense. Bird-watcher and butterfly-fancier Fitzhugh is too ditzy and bumbling to generate menace. That's left to sister Katherine (Mathews) who squashes butterflies rather than petting them. Trouble is she relies on her bumbling brother to do the dirty work. So we wonder just how much danger old Gyorgy is really in.

Cronyn specialized in eccentric parts and is clearly enjoying this ripe slice of ditz. Mathews was an early Hitch favorite, especially as Lizzie Borden's sinister sister, The Older Sister (1956). At the same time, Gleason makes a convincing penniless old man. The upshot however is fairly mild, while the episode as a whole remains largely a quirky Hume Cronyn showcase.

Herschel Daugherty's previous three 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' episodes are well worth the watch. Especially "The Creeper", which is not just one of the best and creepiest episodes of Season 1 but of the entire series. While his third was the second episode of Season 2, and although it was a long way from flawless it was leagues better than the season opener. Hume Cronyn, already a Hitchcock regular, deserves more credit as an actor today and James Gleason was always watchable and more.

"Kill with Kindness" is not one of his best episodes however, actually consider it his weakest episode up to this point. It is one of those episodes with a fine cast that are better than the story, which is really not the strongest story of 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' and that is putting it mildly. "Kill with Kindness" is far from a bad episode and there are definitely worse episodes of the series, but it did feel like something was missing and it's fairly middling.

Am going to start with the good. The best thing about it is Cronyn, who is absolutely excellent in a role that is perfect for him (eccentric but also with intense edge). He really dominates the episode while not completely swamping it. Carmen Matthews matches him beautifully for pretty much the same reasons. Really loved their psychologically interesting characters and they are entertaining and unsettling together. Gleason is well cast too in a role that was quite different for him.

There are other things that "Kill with Kindness" does well. The black humour is deliciously dark at its best and effectively unsettles, it did amuse me though it won't be for those that don't like or get dark humour. The production values are solid enough, while the main theme is still haunting and Hitchcock's dry humour amuses just as much. The characters are interesting psychologically.

Really do wish however that the story was much better, it just came over as too far fetched, with some serious credibility straining needed later on, and bland with far too little suspense. This is a kind of story that calls for sinister creepiness and suspense, and there is not enough of that. The ending was also flat and more a going out on a whimper rather than a bang.

Furthermore, some of the writing veers on being too talky and the pacing could have been a good deal tighter. Daugherty's direction is rather workmanlike.

Summing up, a little above average but nothing special. 6/10.

I agree with many of my fellow reviewers, it's the acting. So truly impossible to beat the likes of Hume Cronyn and Carmen Matthews, playing a very pleasant, generous and diabolical brother and sister. Only with Hitch.

Emmy award winning writter AJ Russell wrote this gem, who ironically majored in comedy material. AJ was a frequent writer for Jackie Gleason and his HONEYMOONERS sitcom, and also won an Emmy for his work on the PHIL SILVERS SHOW. Later a senior writer for GENERAL HOSPITAL.

The bottom line is the all mighty dollar, as usual. It seems the brother and sister's old house is insured (and so is the brother), so why not burn it down to the ground and collect. To throw the insurance investigator's off, they decide to toss in a body -- such as a homeless man ( played by James Gleason), who would be mistaken for the brother as well. Cha-CHING.

Can you beat that?

One you have to see, and see again, expertly directed by Herschel Daugherty, who fronted endless cop shows and dramas throughout his long career.

Not to be missed for these three unforgetable actors.

Gleason would retire not to long after this episode with the iconic film, THE LAST HURRAH, starring Spencer Tracy.

SEASON 2 EPISODE 4 remastered Universal dvd box set. 5 dvd set. 2006.

We can tell by his hair that Hume Cronyn is playing an eccentric (and Hitch's intro suggests there's a fire involved).

Cronyn's Fitzhugh is soft spoken and into birds and butterflies, but his sister (with whom he lives) has a more serious interest. She kindly brings an old drifter to their home and feeds him, but the conversation suggests something else is afoot. Perhaps a bit too obviously so ("we're impoverished, nothing left but this house and our insurance policy").

The setup is fun and there's definitely a comic tone to this one, but the ending falls completely flat for me.

Pretty much a black comedy episode and a showcase for Hume Cronyn who plays a ditzy bird and butterfly collector, he and his sister plan to burn there house down with Cronyn dying in the fire so they can collect the insurance. They find a kindly homeless man to act in his place, as usual it doesn't quite work like they plan. Like said decent black comedic episode with Cronyn and Carmen Mathews putting up fun nutty performances there more interesting here then the story itself.