Appointment at Eleven

Not a particularly effective effort. It is about an incredibly emotional young man who carries great hatred toward his father. We hear of an appointment that he has at 11:OO. Of course, we are left in the dark as to what is going to happen at that time. While we wait he engages in a series of destructive acts. The odd thing is the patience shown by the people he encounters. Personally, no matter what his father was, the apple settles right next to the trunk. It's hare to empathize with this childish rant, and when things are finally explained, it's a disappointment. One interesting figure is that of Clu Guligar, who often played young toughs, sort of a poor man's James Dean. He did a lot of snarling, sort of that gunfighter who seeks out the old gunman so he can get himself killed.

'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' "Appointment at Eleven" (1959)

Opening thoughts: Although anybody who hated "Appointment at Eleven" without seeing any other Robert Stevens-directed 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' episode may find it hard to believe, the series' most regular director (with 44 episodes under his belt) actually did direct some fine episodes. "Our Cook's a Treasure", "The Manacled", "The Dangerous People", "The Glass Eye" and "The Motive" notably. And most of his episodes ranged between at least watchable and good.

This however is a complete and utter mess in almost every way. No episode of 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' is irredeemable, but "Appointment at Eleven" is one of the few to come very close. When it comes to picking a contender for Stevens' worst episode, this is a strong contender. Yes worse than other misfires of his such as "Shopping for Death", "The Hidden Thing" and "Don't Interrupt", and among the very worst of the entire series.

Good things: There are only two redeeming features. One is the as ever wonderfully macabre theme tune.

The other is the moderately interesting beginning.

Bad things: However, nothing else works and most of the bad things are unbelievably awful. This is one of the few 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' episodes to have not a single halfway decent performance, an episode rife with embarrassing, amateur hour over-acting. Also, one of the few where one hates every single character in it. The lead is insufferably annoying, the most annoying character of the series since the boy in "Don't Interrupt" and a contender for the most irritating of the whole series. He is also unintentionally creepy and the attempts to act younger comes over as affected.

Stevens directs with no life whatsoever and is well out of his depth, this is not indicative of a seasoned director who had already directed more episodes of the series than any other regular but instead of a failed experiment. "Appointment at Eleven" looks cheap, with a very stock under-budget look. It is very slow moving and very flimsily plotted, with too much of the second half being excessively dragged-out filler.

Moreover, the script is too neurotic, repetitive and too talk heavy, none of it intrigues and parts are even irrelevant. As well as very flimsy and dull, the story has no surprises or suspense with the ending being one that can be seen from miles away. The two feelings felt watching this were annoyance and boredom, two feelings never felt with any of the previous episodes.

Closing thoughts: Overall, very bad indeed. Have been known to not find low rated films, shows, cartoons and episodes that bad, but in this case the panning is deserved.

2/10.

Big fan of this series, but this entry was beyond weak. No suspense, no mystery -- so to compensate, they add in heaping tablespoons of the worst overacting you could possibly imagine. This is almost unwatchable, and if you've had the pleasure of viewing it, you will see what I mean.

Probably the most unrealistic episode of the series... a train wreck of a performance by the lead actor.

The story picks up vignettes in the life of a emotional 17 year old. You begin to imagine that these vignettes have a point -- that there is some sort of irony or Hitchcockian twist on the way. But no. This was based on a short story that I now must find and read, because I cannot believe that what I just saw on screen is what the author intended. Least I hope not.

I haven't seen every single episode yet, so I can't say if this is the worst of the series... but I can say that all the low ratings and negative reviews are accurate.

There is an interesting idea in the episode, but terrible execution. Most episodes of AHP have an interesting idea that isn't enough to fill 24 minutes, leading to a lot of meandering between the set-up and the resolution. Sometimes a great twist ending can save a mediocre episode, but the real strength in this series lies in the interesting characters and captivating performances carrying the bulk of the runtime. Unfortunately, this episode has an obnoxious lead character and terrible lead performance.

I don't put the blame entirely on the lead actor. The character was written poorly, and he was directed poorly. The whole episode is filled with terrible writing and direction. Not a single character behaves like an actual human being in this episode.

There is a twist at the end, and it could have been very satisfying if anything leading up to it mattered. This could have been a really tense, slow burn of a story, if only the main character were written to be subtle and sympathetic, and the events of the night built and unravelled. Instead, it's a pointless slog.

The one highlight of the episode (for me) is seeing Clu Gulager in a very early role. Even with material as bad as this, he is always fun to watch.

This is without a doubt the most poorly written, acted and directed Alfred Hitchock episode I've ever seen. Regardless of some hidden purpose some may think they had for having the most annoying main charcter ever, which I don't believe is so, it doesn't take away from the fact that watching it just once is more than enough.