Banquo's Chair

'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' "Banquo's Chair" (1959)

Opening thoughts: Although Alfred Hitchcock is one of my all time favourite directors, not everything he did was great and he did some misfires too. This is true with his episodes of 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' as director as well. While there were fantastic episodes (that were season and series high points), such as Season 1's "Breakdown", there were also misfires such as Season 2's "Wet Saturday" (which also boasted one of the series' worst performances). John Williams, a series regular, was always worth watching and this is a type of story that is very spooky when done well.

"Banquo's Chair" has divided people on here a bit, count me in as one of the people that liked it quite a lot. It is not as good as Hitchcock's previous 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' episode, the brilliant Season 4 opener "Poison", and is no "Breakdown" or "Lamb to the Slaughter". It is certainly nowhere near down there with the likes of "Wet Saturday" thank goodness and is a long way from being one of the worst of Season 4 either, like "Safety of the Witness" and "Don't Interrupt".

Bad things: It is not perfect. Personally did think that it was at its weakest with the ending. The twist sounded great on paper and is actually quite clever, but the whole staging of the ending was too much of a limp whimper rather than a hair raiser and can also be seen some way off.

Perhaps it could have had a little less talk.

Good things: Williams, as to be expected, is excellent, performing with his usual subtle authority. Hitchcock directs with a good deal of atmosphere and there is more than enough here to justify why he was famously coined the Master of Suspense. Hitchcock's bookending is humorously ironic, which gels with the story with ease, with no sense of jarring or disjointed-ness.

Moreover, "Banquo's Chair" is well made visually, with some effectively moody photography. "Funeral March of a Marionette" was an inspired and perfect choice for the series' main theme. The writing on the whole is fine, it flows well and it thought provokes. The story is suspenseful enough and has a suitably spooky eeriness, it is also easy to follow without being too simplistic.

Closing thoughts: Summing up, very well done.

8/10.

John Williams was one of the most frequent guest stars on "Alfred Hitchcock Presents". Additionally, the director featured him in some of his films. Often he played police detectives and "Banquo's Chair" is one such Scotland Yard episode.

It seems that two years ago, a woman was murdered but no one was arrested for the killing. So, on the second anniversary, the Inspector (Williams) has a strange plan....to invite the most likely suspect to a fake seance. The hope is that the rigged seance will get the killer to expose himself and lead to his arrest. This means the help of some other folks who knew the dead woman as well as an actress to play the murdered lady.

What made this episode so enjoyable was the great twist at the end. The best episodes of the series had such clever twists and this one was exceptionally clever. Well worth seeing and one of the better episodes of season four.

Francis M. Cockrell at the time was also writing for ONE STEP BEYOND, so there may have been some creepy inspiration to this story. Accordingly, Alfred Hitchcock directed.

Without too much surprise, Hitch cast his old friend John Williams as the eagle eye police inspector, similar to his role in DIAL M FOR MURDER. Need we say more? Willliams has his suspicions about a young gentleman (Kenneth Haigh) who --in all probability-- killed his wealthy aunt. Only it's difficult to prove. So why not invite him to dinner on the ghoulish anniversary of her death?

Very clever material, and I agree with the last reviewer, the ominous atmosphere is perfect. If you're a mystery fan, you'll love the way its all played out, sort of in the tradition of Agatha Christie. Good support from Reginald Gardiner as Major Finch, looking distinguished as always.

For movie buffs, Haigh gained acclaim for playing Brutus in CLEOPATRA, starring Liz Taylor and Richard Burton.

Stick around for the Hitch finale.

SEASON 4 EPISODE 29 remastered Universal dvd box set. 5 dvds. 15 hrs. Released 2008.

While the twist at the end of the episode is predictable, and has been done many times before, the episode was well done, mostly due to the acting.

It's hard to believe that Hitchcock himself directed this turkey. There's no flair here at all, just 30 minutes of very British palaver, with a climax more limp than scary or ironical. The trap retired Scotland Yard detective John Williams sets at a dinner party for a suspected murderer lacks suspense, wit, or even interest, while the apparition's ghostly appearance suggests something more like gastric distress than an intrusion of the supernatural. The only real suspense is why the esteemed director chose to film this unpromising material in the first place-- probably a good excuse to get together with some of his British buddies. Advice to the viewer-- skip it.