Malice Domestic

All the elements of an AH PRESENTS show episode are here, all the ingredients. Poison, suspicion, twist ending, good direction, splendid acting, especially Ralph Meeker and Phyllis Thaxter, so I have nothing to say except maybe I have seen more surprising stories, more unexpected. But if the writers wanted the most audiences possible, they had to follow the same most wanted recipes, and maybe not try some new ones for which those same audiences would have had some difficulties to understand or accept them.

This is the prototypical Hitchcock episode. It involves the setting up of a series of red herrings designed to take us off the scent. We are treated to the deterioration of a man, seemingly through arsenic poisoning. It's about a dog and a triangle and some pretty tricky moves. Of course, we are treated to the "Alfred Hitchcock" ending. There are some pretty convincing performances which lead us to several wrong conclusions. When I saw this I hadn't watched a Hitchcock show for quite a while, so I was taken in. By the way, watch the way the man strokes the collar of the great Dane. That's what really distracted me. The other serious thing has to do with the wife's profession and her outside contacts. Well done.

John Meredyth Lucas directed this OUTRAGEOUS tale, or should we say it has an outrageous ending. Lucas later turned to cop shows, like MANNIX, and was the stepson of legendary director Michael Curtiz. Like father, like son.

Ralph Meeker returns to the series as does Phyllis Thaxter, playing husband (Carl) and wife (Annette) who seem to have a happy life together --until he starts getting sick. The doc is called in, only to discover Carl is slowly being poisoned? How can that be?

If you're a true Hitchcock fan, you wouldn't want it any other way. Exceptional writing by Victor Wolfson, who penned many mysteries for the early tv show SUSPENSE. Perhaps a re-working of one of his stories. Beautifully done.

I agree with the last reviewer; there was (and still is) a CODE on tv where a murderer is NOT supposed to get away with a crime.... Hitch does conclude at the end the killer got their just reward! That's all we'll tell you.

Only debit: it's kind of strange to see two-fisted Meeker playing an artist? Meeker would have been more convincing as an athlete, like a high school or college coach. He's a tough guy, so it would take a lot of poison to knock him down.

A classic mystery for a late night. And once again, unless you've seen this, you will never guess the ending. From SEASON 2 remastered Universal dvd box set. 2006.

John Meredyth Lucas directed two 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' episodes prior to "Malice Domestic". The first was the very underrated "Jonathan", one of the fairly lowly rated episodes this reviewer actually liked. The other was the underwhelming "Crackpot", saved from total mediocrity from one truly great performance despite having one of the season's most preposterous stories. "Malice Domestic", his third and last episode for the series, sounded like it would be a very good episode.

And it was. To me, "Malice Domestic" to me is the best of Lucas' three 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' episodes, even better than "Jonathan" and leagues better than "Crackpot". Is it a series high point? No. Is it a season high point? Again no. Is it worth watching. Absolutely yes and actually in my view as far as this up and down season goes "Malice Domestic", even when not being perfect itself, is one of the better episodes while not being a high point (although it actually almost was).

It is only let down a little by having a little too much padding, will agree that the art studio and orange juice scenes were irrelevant and felt like padding.

Otherwise, "Malice Domestic" is very good. It really is enlivened by the acting, with scorching performances from Ralph Meeker and Phyllis Thaxter that have a lot of intensity without veering into melodrama. Their characters were ones that would have been easy to overact in lesser hands, but the two have the right amount of intensity and vulnerability. The character interaction similarly is intense. Even with the padding, the story still manages to be very suspenseful and not too typical. It really kept me guessing throughout and for me the ending was a big surprise. Despite not being directed by Hitchcock, it was a story and premise worthy of him and actually wasn't too far off his level when he is not quite on top form but with plenty of what made him so great.

Lucas gives his most assured direction of his three outings here and does really well at keeping the tension afloat, to me despite "Crackpot" being disappointing he did show signs of having potential of being a more regular director for the series but wasn't given a chance (or at least enough of one). It's slickly made with some nice atmospheric shots. The audio is suitably ominous and will never stop raving about the haunting use of "Funeral March of a Marionette" for the series' main theme. Hitchcock's bookending is typically droll in writing and delivery.

"Malice Domestic" is thoughtfully written without being talky or too melodramatic as well.

Concluding, very good episode. 8/10.

Husband Carl (Meeker) keeps having stomach pains and it isn't Gas-Ex. Suspicion falls on wife Annette (Thaxter) who may have more than pottery on her mind. Maybe it's because he pays more attention to the Great Dane than he does to the wife.

Reviewer Hitchcoc is right—this is the sort of entry that won the series a loyal following and classic status. It's not exceptional, but is very well done in all departments. Note how subtly the screenplay hints at an extra-marital attraction between the silver-haired Perry and wife Annette, supplying her with needed motivation. Note also the effective way director Lucas uses blended close-ups of Meeker to stage the final scene, underscored with a lightly humorous touch—perfect for the Hitchcock style.

The athletic, muscular Meeker would seem an odd casting choice for a stay-at-home writer, but I guess it makes sense when you think about it. Thaxter was an early Hitchcock favorite, being so good at suggesting inner conflict. But it's really Lily Kardell's Lorna that I watched. She's a terrible actress but has the kind of dimples a guy could get lost in.