Man with a Problem

It's sometimes the last thing we would always think about but it something that can happen to anyone. When it seems all hope is completely lost and there is just no salvation, no where to go but down.

This is my third favorite tale in the show, there isn't much to say it's a simple man on ledge premise which has been done many times on other shows but this was one of the first and still the best.

This mainly comes more to our fear of heights. I really like the cinematography of the episode it really feels like your up there and I remember half the time I was just griping my seat hoping I won't fall off. You almost feel like any moment something or should I say someone is about to drop.

There is this one blackly funny moment and suspenseful at the same time when we see there is this group of idiotic teenagers just goading the guy to jump. And at that moment you can just see the fear in the guy's face as there is one part of him that does but another part that doesn't.

The interplay between both the policeman and the guy is solid as you are constantly hopping the cop will be able to talk the guy out of it, get him to have a change of heart. It's sort of a character drama as we discover details about both parties. For the guy it's understandable on his troubles, the loss he's going though down to discovering a terrible secret like that could push anyone over the edge (no pun intended) it's like everything that held your world together is just gone. I kinda like that we see that the cop's life has troubles of his own. Hearing that just goes to show that the guy isn't alone in the matter because everyone that we pass by is troubled in one way or another, I honestly don't know anyone that isn't; but it's how we deal or get through it that matters and keeps us going on.

Will he or won't he jump, you'll have to wait and see.

Rating: 4 stars

Great cast, good episode but has anyone else realized how similar it is to that film from 1951 called 14 Hours? I know there's some differences but there's some dialogue that's nearly word for word. Are they both based off the same story or something? I can't find anything mentioning the extreme similarities, it's driving me nuts lol. Gary Merrill is always fantastic, huge fan of him, and I usually like Elizabeth Montgomery but she was kinda blah in this TBH. Back to the similarities with the 14 Hours film, even down to the scene of the cabbies placing bets on if he's going to jump or not , the one genuine cop who wants to help Gary, the psychiatrist, SO many scenes are almost word for word to the film, it's nuts!

This is an excellent story but that's all I'm saying. Those kids yelling"jump" ought to be put in jail.

Also physical violence against a woman is improperly condoned in this episode. The woman even states that she deserved it.

This is worth your time.

'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' may not have been a consistently great series, with some misses in all the seasons, but when it was at its best it was absolutely brilliant. Had no doubt that "Man with a Problem" would work. While Robert Stevens was not always consistent in his output for the series, he did do some great work. The premise is one of Season 4's most intriguing ones and very Hitchcockian and have liked what has been seen of Gary Merrill's work.

"Man with a Problem" to me was an excellent episode with only one real problem. Even that one real problem wasn't enough to stop it from being one of the best episodes of Season 4's first half and one of Stevens' best Season 4 outings. When ranking it with his other 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' episodes, "Man with a Problem" is in the top tier. Maybe not one of my very favourite 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' episodes, but it is a very strong example of how good the series is when on form.

For me, the only issue with "Man with a Problem" is the epilogue, which felt too much like an unnecessary cop out and one of the epilogues to feel tacked on.

However, a lot is excellent. Everything else is absolutely splendid. Especially the acting, Merrill is perfectly cast and is suitably unsettling in an unnerving and oddly moving way. Mark Richmond is a sympathetic contrast and their chemistry is dynamite, with a large part of the suspense being whether the jumper would go through with it. Stevens' direction is some of his most accomplished and inspired, in full control of the material and with full understanding of it.

It helps too that the material is so good. The dialogue is thoughtful and haunting, not coming over as too rambling and it doesn't come over as melodramatic. The story is darkly suspenseful and has emotional impact, with great tension between Merrill and Richmond and a shocking mind-blower of a twist that was pull-the-rug-from-under-the-viewer quality. Personally didn't think it was far fetched. It is a well made episode, with some very stylish and haunting close ups standing out. It is suitably eerie audibly too and "Funeral March of a Marionette" continues to be an inspired choice for theme music.

Concluding, wonderful. 9/10.

Good little pot about which it is impossible to say any harm. It is short, shaarp, leaving you always on the edge, as the main character, the razor's edge. The finale could have been a bit better, but it remains a twist. Gary Merrill is excellent as this desperate man, so close to commit suicide. Watch it.