Lamb to the Slaughter

Although Alfred Hitchcock is one of my all time favourite directors, not everything he did was great and he did some misfires too. This is true with his episodes of 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' as director as well. While there were fantastic episodes (that were season and series high points), such as Season 1's "Breakdown", there were also misfires such as Season 2's "Wet Saturday" (which also boasted one of the series' worst performances). Have always liked Barbara Bel Geddes.

Those that do so as well will not be disappointed by her performance here in "Lamb to the Slaughter". The episode is one of the most talked about of 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' and it's no wonder. For me, "Lamb to the Slaughter" is absolutely fantastic and not just one of the best episodes of Season 3 (which had some great episodes) but also one of the best of the whole of 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents'. Not to mention one of Hitchcock's best of the series as director.

First and foremost, Bel Geddes is a revelation in an example of how to showcase an actor's/actress' talents by playing to their strengths, stretching them or showing different sides to them. Bel Geddes' performance is a powerhouse in a complex role and one of my favourite individual performances of 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents'. Harold J Stone is excellent too and his chemistry with Bel Geddes carries the episode beautifully.

Hitchcock demonstrates perfectly why he was coined the master of suspense for good reasons. His bookending is humorously ironic and gels with the story with ease, with no sense of jarring or disjointed-ness. It is more than solidly made visually, not looking cheap and boasting some nice atmosphere in the photography. "Funeral March of a Marionette" was an inspired and perfect choice for the series' main theme.

"Lamb to the Slaughter" is an extremely well written episode. Loved its ironic approach to the material that did amuse. Some of it is also darkly comic, that is a perfect mix of humorous and unsettling. While not as sinister as episodes like "Breakdown" or "The Creeper", there is suspense that gives the story an appropriate amount of unease. The story didn't to me feel padded or over-stuffed, while also being easy to follow without being simplistic, and Bel Geddes' character fascinates psychologically. The ending stayed with me for a long time after and is genius.

Wonderful episode all in all and not to be missed. 10/10.

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.

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

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