Kill with Kindness

The best on this episode quite sure is the intro of master Hitchcock tie up in a stake about to be burned igniting a matchstick to light a cigarette dropped the flaming matchstick to start a fire the smoke rising at Hitchcock's face pretending blame a possible technical obfuscation on the camera.

The story is pointless where the elder brother Fitzhugh (Hume Cronyn) and sister Katherine (Carmen Mathews) living together in an old house, they'd bought an insurance police which if one of them comes to die, whom stays alive will got the money, however the overbearing Katherine overpowers a faltering Fitzhugh, manages a bold plan to kill someone else in place of Fitzhugh, the cold Katherine finds a perfect victim the wanderer Mr. Jorgy (Jackie Gleason) in a nearby park, she invites him to got a supper aiming for cheating the old Jorgy that starts distrust over such goodness.

Meanwhile Katherine put a sleeping bill a couple of milk of Jorgy to taking him to upstairs at Fitzhugh's room to let him sleeping in the bed and sets fire in a house whilst Fitzhugh flees in order to aftermaths the fire the police finds out the incinerated body of the jinxed Jorgy, not so fast some unexpected facts will spoil the whole thing.

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First Watch: 2023 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD /Rating: 7.

Hard to believe this was the same Cronyn who played the sadistic, manipulative Capt. Munsey in "Brute Force" and the morally ambiguous lawyer in "The Postman Always Rings Twice" - that's what made him a superb actor.

And I enjoyed seeing Mathews' sweet old lady facade crack and show her true spirit when she shared with Gleason her secret glee at squashing one of her brother's beloved butterflies.

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.

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.

Exquisite story without any death. It is sweet, not at all brutal nor downbeat or depressing, just the perfect entertainment for the whole family. The climax is excellent. The story telling is however a bit too "gentle", you may wonder where this story leads you to. Sometimes, this feeling is agreeable, not to know exactly where you go, but sometimes you may feel confused. Just a bit concerning here. I will put it in the medium batch, just in between. There has been better, and there has been worse. Arson scheme is not that used so far in the series. And, again, I repeat that this story ends in a very amusing way, very moral. It's an unusual ending actually.