Breakdown

In one of the first episodes of the "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" TV series, we once again get to see - and feel - all of his irony and mastery at keeping us in an almost painful state of suspense for thirty (in this case LONG) minutes - but he also gives us a VERY unusual lesson in morals; and in the most unusual way, too...

The beginning of the whole story has got a special meaning: a heartless businessman on holiday has just given one of his oldest employees the sack without any warning, and the desperate man calls him on the phone, begging him and crying - and yet, all he does is make fun of his 'childish' behavior, remarking that there was no need for him to cry like a baby... BUT a little while later, he finds himself in a VERY desperate situation as well: after an accident, he's stuck behind the wheel of his luxury limousine, looking like he was dead - and he can't move, he can't talk, he can't give a sign of life; and so they take him to the morgue...

This has DEFINITELY got a touch of Edgar Allan Poe, and it's REALLY chilling to 'live' those dreadful hours (even 'crammed' into a 30-minute TV episode); but it also contains a PRETTY clear social and moral lesson... Joseph Cotten is simply EXCELLENT in a quite unusual role; and Hitch's directing is, to say the least, more breathtaking than in many of his most famous movies!

Exceptional episode, directed by Hitchcock himself and starring an old Hitchcock familiar (Cotton), about a businessman on his way back from a vacation. He ends up in a terrible accident and essentially is left for dead. When his body is finally retrieved from the wreck, he is taken to the nearest county morgue. There's only one problem: he isn't dead, just paralyzed, the result of the steering wheel crushing his chest (remember those days?) and the force of the impact breaking his neck. Cotton spends most of the episode with eyes open, unblinking and mouth agape, as we listen to his anguished thoughts via voice-over. This is an absolutely unnerving episode, and has to be among the 10 best from this series.

This is an episode that I saw when I was a small child. It involves a cold blooded businessman who fires a long time employee and then chastises him for his tears. He is a bitter, mean man who looks only at the bottom line. One day, driving impatiently, he is left in his convertible, paralyzed. Unfortunately for him, the only people around are a bunch of prisoners on a work detail. They loot his car and steal his clothes. They don't check on him. The entire episode is told from Joseph Cotten's mind as he attempts to come to grips with his situation. He hopes to have someone help him but realizes he has no way of letting them know he is alive. There are some real problems with the medical people who show up. Did anyone notice that there was no rigor and that his skin was warm. If he were dead, why did he look so fresh. Nevertheless, the point is made at the very end. A remarkable lesson here.

After firing an employee who gets choked up about it(practicing for his acceptance speech for the Academy, perhaps... or, more likely, his identity is closely tied to his job) and briely discussing the matter with Mr. Ed(not a horse, of course), William Callew goes for a drive. He is forced to take a detour, and crashes on a rural road, where not many come by. This leaves him paralyzed, and several of the few that come by mistake him for dead, and present a revealing look into how uncaring and callous some people can be. I'm not certain if this is meant to be a sort of Karmic retribution(since our lead is not established as a real jerk, just someone uncomfortable with others losing control of their emotions), though there is a kind of moral lesson. And even if you don't enjoy that aspect, this is incredible. The acting is phenomenal; Cotten, who portrays our protagonist, is literally limited to his voice in getting across every single feeling(and the lines are impeccably written, they hit the nail on the head for what one would be thinking, and make for some of the best monologing in this medium) he experiences for most of this(and yes, that's slightly less than half an hour, but it is still an accomplishment... and the pacing is spot-on, and kudos to them for adapting this to this length, it would have been excessive otherwise... rather than perfect). For the duration, this remains on his "lifeless" body, the camera not leaving his side(and only showing a minimal amount that he himself does not see or otherwise realize), forcing the desperation, isolation and absolute hopelessness of his situation to sink in completely. This is extremely creepy and builds suspense expertly. There is a bit of disturbing and violent content in this. I recommend this to anyone who can handle it. 10/10

A "water-cooler" entry-- I expect people all over the country were talking about this tense 30 minutes the next day. Big-wig executive Joseph Cotton is mistaken for dead, and he better figure out a way to let the authorities know before they begin the slice and dice of the coroner's table. Trouble is that he's totally paralyzed except for gradual movement in a little finger. Will that be enough? We suffer bucket-loads with him as the gurney edges ever closer to the coroner's scalpel.

Really off-beat and well-thought-out premise with fine ironical ending. Don't overlook the first five minutes even though it's an uneventful set-up for what follows. Because there we understand that Cotton really does deserve to suffer some poetic justice, extreme though it is. If you think about it, there's a moral here. Anyway this is one of the initial episodes that really put the series on the TV map and continues to pack a wallop fifty years later.