And the Desert Shall Blossom

It is a very agreeable plot, this one which gives you a good surprise, rather cliché ridden, and also providing an exquisite ending. I don't know why, but I thought of Roger Corman's LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS; though the plot is not the same; but the tone, atmosphere. A better episode that is eems at first sight.

When this episode begins, you see that two old prospectors are living together and have shunned civilization. Instead, they live in the middle of no where and live in a crappy old shack together and are quite happy there. But somehow some local government wants the two old men in a nursing home...which really makes no sense. What makes even less sense is when the sheriff delivering the ultimatum agrees that if the men can actually make something grow, like their withered rose bush, that they can stay there unmolested. Huh?! Oddly, the way out of this mess arrives in the form of a wanted criminal. His car is undrivable and he demands the pair escort him through the desert to Reno. How does this help them in their efforts to get a rose to grow??!!

The acting by William Demarest and Roscoe Ates is by far the best thing about the show. As for the plot, it's silly and trivial and a rather poor episode apart from the acting.

All five of Arthur Hiller's previous episodes are watchable, though only "Post Mortem" really was great. Likewise with all the other eleven episodes that followed "And the Desert Shall Blossom". His output (seventeen episodes altogether) was inconsistent, not unexpected as none of the regular directors for 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' were consistent, but none of his episodes misfired massively or season or series low points. The premise was one of those could go either way ones, but the episode was still seen for the cast and as someone who likes the series a lot.

Seeing it, "And the Desert Shall Blossom" left me a little mixed. It's a fun episode that knows exactly what it's doing in tone, but there are episodes of 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' that have much stronger and far more plausible stories. Anybody who likes light hearted are likely to love it, personally am one of those people and the series has plenty of good light-hearted entries. There are also episodes that don't sound appealing, but manage to be a lot more entertaining and suspenseful than they sound and was hoping "And the Desert Shall Blossom" would be one of those. Something it doesn't quite do.

The best aspect is the acting, which is absolutely great. Especially William Demarest, who was clearly having a lot of fun. The chemistry between the actors also entertains. As said, "And the Desert Shall Blossom" takes a light hearted approach and it's executed very amusingly and playfully. Loved the droll irony of Hitchcock's bookending and Hitchcock's wry delivery of it.

Furthermore, the production values are slick and atmospheric, neither overblown or cheap. The theme music is still a classic. The dialogue is entertaining and thought provoking, while not being too reliant on too much talk. It also doesn't come over as dull.

Did, as said, find the story patchy. It sounds quite silly on paper, and in execution not only does it go overboard on the silliness the whole premise is one big stretch stretched to the limit. A lot of it doesn't make much sense and requires some serious suspension of disbelief.

Was disappointed by the ending, which for my tastes was very prematurely predictable and indifferently staged. The music has too much of a recycled quality and despite the light hearted-ness of the episode's tone, there is an offbeat-ness that doesn't always gel.

Overall, decent if unexceptional. 6/10.

This was an excellent show. William Demarest and Roscoe Ates were so funny. They loved their freedom and had their miracle. The humor is subtle but hilarious. I'm thankful for the reruns.

Somewhere in Nevada two old codgers eke out a living, but they face their greatest challenge when a stranger from the East shows up in a broken-down car. The local sheriff advises them to abandon their digs in favor of what we would called "assisted living." But, one of the old men dismisses the notion of being among a bunch of old folks, "just sitting around waiting to die." The other man is none other than "Uncle Charley" (actor William Demarest) seven years prior to his My Three Sons run.

The stranger is played by actor Mike Kellin, who was featured on the New York stage in Rodgers' & Hammerstein's often-overlooked Pipe Dream.

The usual Hitchcock ingredients are here, especially humor, colorful dialog, and serviceable scene music which has been recycled from other similarly light-hearted episodes. And, as per usual, someone meets death.