Listen, Listen.....!

Don Taylor directed three 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' episodes prior to "Listen, Listen", the best being by far "The Right Kind of House" due to it being the only great one of the three. The other two, "The Deadly" and "Fatal Figures" being decent and above average if unexceptional. This reviewer has always had a thing for good premises, with that and talented casts being my frequent main reasons for seeing anything, and "Listen, Listen" did have that despite the trap of being potentially silly and over-stretched.

"Listen, Listen" is one of the high middle episodes of Season 3. It doesn't waste its premise, while also not quite living up to it with it not escaping properly the potential traps it had. It is well done and has a lot to like, but for me there were also a few quite major issues that stopped it from being more than very good. When it comes to comparing it with Taylor's previous 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' episodes, "Listen, Listen" is not on the same level of "The Right Kind of House" while also being better than "The Deadly" and "Fatal Figures".

There are plenty of good things here. It is well acted, with Edgar Stehli being not too hard to get behind and Dayton Lummis being delightfully indignant. The chemistry also compels and intrigues. Hitchcock's bookending is droll and amusing as to be expected and Taylor's direction is assured enough and generates enough suspense.

Also did find the story very interesting on the whole, with some nice suspense and a twist that was a surprise and quite well done. It is not too simple while not being convoluted either. The dialogue provokes enough thought, while it is atmospherically made and the theme tune deserves its classic status.

On the other hand, there are things that could have been done better. Didn't like how short sighted and idiotic the police were portrayed. Or that the script tended to over explain too much and at times too early.

Furthermore, did feel that despite liking the premise on paper the execution did become too on the over stretched side when what is revealed could have been said more directly a good deal earlier. So the pacing had a padded feel later.

Concluding, a lot to admire while not living to full potential. 7/10.

The trick to this mystery is determining how good of a detective the viewer is. Written by Bernard Schoenfeld who had Hitch's full endorsement for many classic stories. Gets my vote for one of his best. IF you do your homework, the ending (and its something to see) is not that much of a surprise, although you're to be congratulated.

Edgar Stehli, born in France and who began his long career in radio as a master of dialects, plays your everyday worried old man with a secret. He knows who is behind the "Stocking Murders" of young women. Schoenfeld paints an eerie portrait of a serial killer, which was rare for 1950s tv. The cops think he's losing his grip on reality, and even a priest (Rusty Lane) kindly dismisses the whole idea. Without giving too much away, that's an important clue. Why would Johnson go to a priest? Who needs forgiving?

10 Stars for Edgar Stehli, likely one of his best tv roles. Rusty Lane is at home playing a priest, if not judges and sheriffs in a long career also. Hitchcock veteran Edith Evanson (ROPE and MARNIE) plays Stehli's understanding wife and Adam Williams as the police lieutenant, who appeared in NORTH BY NORTHWEST.

Famous footnote; Jackie Loughery, the very first MISS USA winner (1952) plays Slats. She was married at one time to Jack Webb and passed in 2024. Jackie came up with the famous line, "You don't quit Hollywood, it quits You."

Recommended late night viewing with snacks. SEASON 3 EPISODE 32 remastered Universal dvd box set. 5 dvds. 16 hrs running time. All seven seasons are now on dvd in a single box. Released 2022.

I hate stories which rely on folks behaving atypically and strangely for the show to even work. In this case, you have an old man who goes to the police and reporters trying to talk about his theory about a recent string of murders...when he knows dark well what really happened and it isn't a theory at all. But each person he sees he talks about 'his theory' and he comes off as a nut...when had he simply talked about what he knew and why, then there would have been no need for the episode in the first place. I truly don't like a plot with such a glaring plot hole...though the acting was good enough to at least merit a 6.

This is the Cassandra plot. The old man has the information but won't be believed. He goes to every possible end to convince anyone who will listen to him that they have the wrong man, a person who uses scarves to strangle his victims. Most of the episode has him encountering one disinterested authority figure after another, from police to reporter to priest. We have the element of dramatic irony on our side, but the writer has a surprise for us. Now the question remains: How much is the old guy willing to give up if the real killer is found. This is a passable episode with interesting questions. It does portray those in authority to be incredibly shortsighted and dense. On the other hand, he is an emotional old guy whose track record isn't that great.

Good suspense. Old Edgar Stehli has a theory about three stocking murders. Trouble is no one will listen to his "theory". He keeps getting brushed off since he's old and rather addled. We don't know what to think since he may be hiding something and does keep using a different name with each interview. So what's with this old guy. He looks too old to be the culprit himself, but then looks can be deceiving.

Some good character sketches. Stehli's excellent at winning our wary sympathy. Lummis is especially good as the harried police sergeant—just the right amount of impatient indulgence. Note too how his scene ends with his taking a pill, done casually, but a nice character touch. In fact, each encounter is well handled, a credit to actor-director Don Taylor. However, what I most want to know is the location of the bar. The barfly blonde, Jackie Loughery, is an absolute knock-out. No wonder she was the first Miss USA, and even Dragnet's tough-guy Jack Webb came under her wifely spell.