Lamb to the Slaughter

I have seen every episode more then once. This is the best IMO.

The master of suspense took over directing responsibilities for this one and turns on the macabre charm. Look no further.

We all remember this tale as kids, more than likely due to the dark comedy ending, and yes, I agree with the last reviewer -- everyone had a good laugh over the dead guy. Now that's a first.

Perfectly cast as the young mother to be is Barbara Bel Geddes, cooking a nice dinner for her cop husband -- only to barge through the front door and announce there's someone else, he wants an ASAP divorce, goodbye forever, and what's for dinner? Cowboy hero Allan "Rocky" Lane plays Patrick, a real work of art -- who gets whats coming to him.

I truly believe, after all these years, Hitch's tv show was the only one where you could actually root for the killer and NOT the victim. I'm sure that's the way Hitch wanted it, sometimes. May also be a re-working (of sorts) of another episode in which a man killed his wife and attempted to hide her body in the trunk of his car. He didn't make it, but sure could have.

Big guy Harold J. Stone plays the probing cop, Lieutenant Noonan, who -- you think -- may even suspect the honorable wife. Not to happen, and very cleverly done, without giving the rest away.

Written by Ronald Dahl, a pioneer in writing popular children's books, including WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY. Dahl has long since passed, but his stories have attracted a new generation.

On a historical note, the same year of this episode, Barbara Bel Geddes co-starred in Hitchcock's VERTIGO, opposite James Stewart and Kim Novak.

One for devout Hithcock fans, and some new joiners to the elite club. From SEASON 3 remastered Universal dvd box set. 2007 release. Thank you METV for rerunning this classic.

When Mary Maloney's husband comes home in time for dinner, he consistently ignores her and eventually admits that he's leaving her for someone else. She grabs up a leg of lamb from the freezer and bashes him on the back of his head. He's dead, and this will be investigated... can she prevent the police from discovering the truth? Being a great fan of the original short story, I had hoped for a better adaptation. Don't get me wrong, it's well-produced. It's simply not done in very fitting manner. The husband arrives too soon and with too little build-up towards it. Bel Geddes does a phenomenal job as the wife(the acting in general is quite good), but this doesn't put us in her head as it ought to. She comes off as less brilliant and downright needy("if I can't have him, no one can") and the murder comes off as a crime of passion driven by jealousy. Such a dichotomy when it should strongly resonate as the rebellion by someone who's given everything she could to please another human being, only to be discarded for that very effort and gusto. This attempts to stir up suspense and tension, when the plot neither calls for it nor supports it. Though it does fine at that(you can tell Hitchcock directed this), it doesn't gel. This is filmed and edited well. Dialog is slightly repetitious(saying the exact same sentence without varying it any is used for emphasis, in place of, well, something creative, or relying on performances), and otherwise it's quality work(if not holding any memorable lines, other than the absolute killer it ends on, which is from the literary version). Perhaps Dahl shouldn't have done the teleplay? Being an impressive author doesn't mean you can write for TV. This is disturbing throughout. I recommend this to those who can't be bothered to track down and read the dozen or so pages of the proper form of this tale. 7/10

I love the Lamb to the Slaughter one too, but honestly every episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents was just great!

I love b/w TV and movies as well. I love all the Twilight zone episodes too, ahhhh back then they made great TV. Too bad TV is not like that now, now you see guts everywhere, blood splattering, rape you name it; back then the censors forced TV and movies to use a lot of imagination and cool techniques to create feelings of horror or eeriness and sexuality. there was so much more creativity back then!

I recall having this episode described to me when I was quite young. It is probably the most famous of all the Alfred Hitchcock Presents stories. It involves another cad of a husband, a police officer, who comes home late and announces to his loving wife that he has had enough of her and is going to demand a divorce. He is a complete ass in doing this, showing no sympathy toward her, despite the fact that she adores him. She takes a leg of lamb out of the freezer in the garage, and when his back is turned, smashes in his skull. The remainder of the episode involves her covering up her crime as the police comb the house looking for the murder weapon. Before leaving the house to provide an alibi, she puts the lamb in the oven, frozen, and allows it to slow bake. Barbara Bel Geddes is excellent as the somewhat vacuous woman who holds in her emotions. At times it looks as if she will explode. She stays at the scene as the coroner and the crime scene guys work everything over. The last five minutes are really choice. Bel Geddes dominates every moment.