Santa Claus and the Tenth Avenue Kid

Harold 'Stretch' Sears (Barry Fitzgerald) is a habitual criminal now on parole. The veteran burglar only got caught five times in a career of crime.

Out on parole, Miss Clementine Webster sets the curmudgeonly Sears as a Santa Claus at a department store in the run up to Christmas.

It is not a kind of job that Sears is looking forward to, but at least he is not the store cleaner.

On Christmas Eve Sears steals an expensive model plane for a boy who does not believe in Christmas or that he is Santa Claus.

It is not long before the police catch up on Sears.

This might have worked better if Sears learned the true meaning of Christmas. Instead he just mindlessly robs his temporary employer on his final day.

There was not much of an Alfred Hitchcock twist. The police were overzealous as they also wanted to book Sears for taking the Santa costume.

It was nice to know that in the good old days, it was ok for habitual criminals to get jobs as Santa Claus in a children's department.

This is a very nice change-of-pace episode of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", with a typically good starring performance by Barry Fitzgerald, plus Virginia Gregg and child actor Bobby Clark getting some good moments of their own during their scenes of give-and-take with Fitzgerald. The story combines a relatively standard holiday theme with a dose of practical cynicism, and Hitchcock himself adds to it with his sardonic opening and closing remarks.

The story actually has a positive theme to it, and the more sarcastic moments actually serve to make the upbeat point more believable. The setup has Fitzgerald as a recently paroled petty criminal, who is given holiday employment as a department store 'Santa Claus'. Gregg is the overly cheerful employment agent who takes an interest in him, while Clark is a bad-tempered boy whom the equally grouchy 'Santa' views as a personal challenge. The story line is concise and the script is carefully written, fitting perfectly into the half-hour television format.

Fitzgerald was excellent at portraying this kind of hardened character who nevertheless has something good somewhere inside him. He makes the character likable and sympathetic even when he is behaving in a disreputable fashion, and he never overdoes things in either direction. There are many similar holiday-themed features that are based on similar ideas, yet this one is still worth seeing for the simple yet skillful way that it presents its story and its characters.

I grew up watching Alfred Hitchcock with my brothers, a weekly ritual. But I must have missed this one until streaming it recently and glad I went back to watch it now. And I always enjoy seeing the attractive Virginia Gregg in anything, who was a guest several times on this series, and appeared in just about every other TV series of the 50's, 60's and 70's. And knowing her steamy history with Medal of Honor winner John Basilone during their WWII bond drive only enhances her appeal every time I see her. Barry Fitzgerald really plays against his usual type in this role, nothing like his roles in Going My Way or How Green Was my Valley.

Hitchcock and Santa Claus. That's like pairing a glass of lemonade with a lump of sugar. But leave it to curmudgeonly actor Fitzgerald to bridge the gap, which he does in slyly fine fashion. Seems he's a petty criminal on parole, something of a habit over a long lifetime. But he better straighten out this time or it's the slammer for his remaining years. So what job does the parole assistant (Gregg) find for him. Why it's a Santa Claus gig in a big department store. After all, what's more appropriate than lining up the old sourpuss with a string of adoring kids who can't wait to sit on his lap. Well, you can imagine the rest.

Okay, I'm drawn to X-mas shows like a fly to a swatter. But this one's a goodie, hitting the right non-sappy notes. Fitz is perfect for the role, looking like he's just come off a two week bender; plus, I like the way they've supplied deeper motivation for his swiping the jet plane. After all, why should a kid follow him down the same rocky slope. Good also to see fine utility actress Gregg on a break from Dragnet, and looking all fresh and sparkly. All in all, it's a X- mas episode worthy of the Hitch brand and this grumpy old viewer's down time.

A perfectly unexpected and heartwarming Hitchcock episode. Both Barry Fitzgerald and Virginia Gregg are excellent and it has become one of my all time favorite Christmas programs. I watch it every Christmas Eve and it's charm never diminishes. Sorry but no murders this time and that is okay with me, but this time only!