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Alfred Hitchcock Presents
S5.E12
All episodesAll
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Specialty of the House

  • Episode aired Dec 13, 1959
  • 30m
IMDb RATING
8.1/10
840
YOUR RATING
Kenneth Haigh and Robert Morley in Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955)
Dark ComedyCrimeDramaMysteryThriller

Mr. Laffler invites Mr. Costain to join him for dinner at a private club that he describes as a very special experience. To his disappointment, Laffler is informed that the house specialty, ... Read allMr. Laffler invites Mr. Costain to join him for dinner at a private club that he describes as a very special experience. To his disappointment, Laffler is informed that the house specialty, a lamb dish, is not being served. They continue to visit the club and one evening, the fam... Read allMr. Laffler invites Mr. Costain to join him for dinner at a private club that he describes as a very special experience. To his disappointment, Laffler is informed that the house specialty, a lamb dish, is not being served. They continue to visit the club and one evening, the famous dish is served. It also happens that a long-time member has resigned. What, if anythin... Read all

  • Director
    • Robert Stevens
  • Writers
    • Victor Wolfson
    • Bernard C. Schoenfeld
    • Stanley Ellin
  • Stars
    • Alfred Hitchcock
    • Robert Morley
    • Kenneth Haigh
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • IMDb RATING
    8.1/10
    840
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Robert Stevens
    • Writers
      • Victor Wolfson
      • Bernard C. Schoenfeld
      • Stanley Ellin
    • Stars
      • Alfred Hitchcock
      • Robert Morley
      • Kenneth Haigh
    • 14User reviews
    • 1Critic review
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro

    • Photos3

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    Top Cast18

    Edit
    Alfred Hitchcock
    Alfred Hitchcock
    • Self - Host
    Robert Morley
    Robert Morley
    • Mr. Laffler
    Kenneth Haigh
    Kenneth Haigh
    • Mr. Costain
    George Keymas
    George Keymas
    • Paul
    Bettye Ackerman
    Bettye Ackerman
    • Mrs. Inkel
    Charles Wagenheim
    Charles Wagenheim
    • Henlein
    Tetsu Komai
    • Lum Fong Ho
    Lee Turnbull
    • The Chef
    Madame Spivy
    Madame Spivy
    • Spirro
    • (as Spivy)
    Jack Chefe
    • Waiter
    • (uncredited)
    Cyril Delevanti
    Cyril Delevanti
    • Club Member
    • (uncredited)
    Robert Haines
    • Club Member
    • (uncredited)
    Joe Hinds
    • Club Member
    • (uncredited)
    Kenner G. Kemp
    Kenner G. Kemp
    • Club Member
    • (uncredited)
    Carl M. Leviness
    Carl M. Leviness
    • Club Member
    • (uncredited)
    William Meader
    • Club Member
    • (uncredited)
    Spec O'Donnell
    Spec O'Donnell
    • Club Member
    • (uncredited)
    Arthur Tovey
    • Club Member
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Robert Stevens
    • Writers
      • Victor Wolfson
      • Bernard C. Schoenfeld
      • Stanley Ellin
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews14

    8.1840
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    10

    Featured reviews

    9Archbishop_Laud

    Our Absent Friends

    This is all Robert Morley. I mean, the plot is good and perfect for the series (and a bit on the dark side for its day). Is the ending a surprise? I don't know... it's one of those where, if given enough guesses, you'd probably figure it out. Such is the problem with a series like this. You *know* that there's a twist coming, which only undercuts the twist. My advice is, don't play guessing games.

    Morley is the perfect combination of refinement and entitlement. He's a cultured little child. Kenneth Haigh is fine as the straight man lead. Madame Spivvy comes across as Kathy Bates at her hammiest. And the voice on Paul (George Keymas), oh my! Even the\ club members play their small parts well.

    The whole thing is delicious fun.
    10nancur

    My wonderful memory of this story

    I am 75. When I was 10 my father took me to the children's section of the Burbank, CA library and introduced fantasy and sci/fi to me with this short story. This was about the same time this story was shown on Alfred Hitchcock Presents though it was several years before I actually saw it in reruns. Robert Morely is excellent and I was not unhappy to see his character become a "lifetime member" with all the available benefits. : ). I am not sure if parents nowadays would be inclined to make their children aware of this genre at the age of 10, but I highly recommend it. I wound up reading fantasy and sci/fi exclusively for the next 15 years.
    9Hitchcoc

    Don't Go In the Kitchen!

    The portly Robert Morley, the ultimate symbol of pomposity, is a gourmand, who frequents a secret restaurant where he takes his business associate. The place serves only forty members. The food is phenomenal, but there is a lamb dish that everyone is nuts about. It is only served on rare occasions and no one knows in advance (well within a day or two). It is supposedly from lambs raised in Uganda that eat a unique kind of grass. It is fun watching Morley do his thing as he tells his tales to his young associate. Of course, being Hitchcock, we suspect there is something about the food, especially the Specialty of the House, that we will eventually be let in on. Unfortunately for me, I figured it all out long before the ending. But one then must savor the actors, the atmosphere, and the pacing.
    searchanddestroy-1

    Once more Robert Morley's presence means gourmet...

    I don't know if you have noticed - I suppose and guess you actually did - but Robert Morley often was in voolved in stories where it was question of gourmets...Anthology shows and of course WHO IIS KILLING THE GREATEST CHIEFS OF EUROPE? I am satisfied with this excellent piece of drama, in the pure line of AH PRESENTS policy and with the proper black humor. The plot reveals the proper ingredients for this exquisite recipe, as tasty as the meals Morley is involved in. But not the best ever in the show, however.
    10greatgatsb-76531

    Hitchcock REVEALS the illuminati and blood sacrifice!!!

    Everyone knows the ending... but yet they still don't get it!!! This episode is NOT about food at all! It's about secret societies, the elite, the wealthy, the sophisticated and the SACRIFICE an initiate must make in order to get in to the "club!" Have you ever wondered how secret societies get new members that they can trust? How do they keep the secrets of the "order" safe year after year? Why doesn't anyone squeal? What happens to those that want to "rank up"... or get to the higher levels of the society... and "see how that sausage is made"??? A wall of life members... is sold to the underlings as a status symbol to be attained... but in reality... uh-oh.

    Related interests

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    James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Sharon Angela, Max Casella, Dan Grimaldi, Joe Perrino, Donna Pescow, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Tony Sirico, and Michael Drayer in The Sopranos (1999)
    Crime
    Naomie Harris, Mahershala Ali, Janelle Monáe, André Holland, Herman Caheej McGloun, Edson Jean, Alex R. Hibbert, and Tanisha Cidel in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama
    Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway in Chinatown (1974)
    Mystery
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    Thriller

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Alfred Hitchcock said he had to overcome fierce resistance from obstinate TV executives in order to present this story.
    • Goofs
      When Laffler first tells Costain about the "specialty of the house," he twice pronounces it as "Lamb ArmiSTAN." In subsequent scenes, Laffler and the other characters all pronounce it as "ArmiSTRAN."
    • Quotes

      [afterword]

      Self - Host: I trust you understand that our having Mrs. Spirro on our program does not necessarily constitute an endorsement of her or her restaurant.

      [Hitchcock is sitting at a picnic table]

      Self - Host: You know, um, I'm wondering if picnics may not be as bad as I imagined. I haven't even seen any ants.

      [a giant ant suddenly appears]

      Self - Host: Until next time, when I shall return with another story!

      [uses bug spray to kill the giant ant]

      Self - Host: Good night.

    • Connections
      Referenced in Tomorrow Coast to Coast: Episode #1.25 (1973)
    • Soundtracks
      Funeral March of a Marionette
      Written by Charles Gounod

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 13, 1959 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Filming locations
      • Revue Studios, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions
      • Shamley Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 30m
    • Color
      • Black and White
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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