Summer Shade

Episode aired Jan 10, 1961
TV-14
30m

IMDb RATING

7.1/10

523

YOUR RATING

James Franciscus and Julie Adams in Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955)

Crime Drama Mystery Thriller

Parents living in modern Salem, think their lonely 9-year-old daughter might need an evil spirit driven from her, when she seems to have made up a girlfriend with a witchcraft ancestry.Parents living in modern Salem, think their lonely 9-year-old daughter might need an evil spirit driven from her, when she seems to have made up a girlfriend with a witchcraft ancestry.Parents living in modern Salem, think their lonely 9-year-old daughter might need an evil spirit driven from her, when she seems to have made up a girlfriend with a witchcraft ancestry.

Director
- Herschel Daugherty
Writers
- Harold Swanton
- Nora H. Caplan
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.1/10

523

YOUR RATING

Director
- Herschel Daugherty
Writers
- Harold Swanton
- Nora H. Caplan
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Photos5

User reviews6

7.1523

Featured reviews

8planktonrules

Cute and enjoyable.

This episode of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" stars James Franciscus and Julie Adams as parents who have decided to move to a quaint colonial home in New England. Soon after moving in, their daughter begins acting strangely...talking about her new friend 'Lettie". The problem is that Lettie is either not real OR the ghost of a long-dead little girl from the late 17th century! Either way, the parents are confused about what to do next.

While ghosts and Salem all sound very scary, this is a cute episode of the show....nice and not at all scary or forboding. And, it makes for a really nice change of pace. Clever and worth seeing.

10tcchelsey

IN THE SHADE WITH A GHOST.

Harold Swanton's story is true to life, especially if you ever talked with ghost hunters. I had the honor of interviewing Ed and Lorrain Warren many years ago on my radio show, and they recounted strange tales similar to this, even warning listeners that it could happen to anyone of us. Scary stuff that got Hitch's blessing.

Mom and dad Julie Adams and James Franciscus move into a quaint 17th century house in Massachusetts, only to have their daughter (Susan Gordon) strike up a friendship with a girl who happens to be a ghost. Should you be a ONE STEP BEYOND fan, yes, this eerie story was also done, although based on an actual incident.

At first, Adams and Franciscus believe their daughter has an "imaginary" friend who will just disappear one day. Don't count on it, because the girl's spirit (called Lettie) has been hanging around the place for centuries. Kind of a DEAD FILES or GHOST ADVENTURES feel for a few minutes. Adams is very believable in the role of Gordon's concerned mother.

Look for Veronica Cartwright as Judy. This episode may have lead to Hitch casting her in THE BIRDS. Charity Grace plays Amelia. The story goes that when Charity retired as a school teacher, she headed for Hollywood and became an actress. Best decision she ever made.

Best of SEASON 6 EPISODE 15 remastered Universal dvd box set. The famous yellow box with frowning Hitch.

Best Emmys Moments

Trivia
In the opening scene the family are taking their leave of a severe-looking lady realtor, identified on a sign as "Miss Grimalkin", and the father refers to "Miss Grimalkin's entire staff of witches". "Graymalkin" is the First Witch's cat in Shakespeare's "Macbeth".

Quotes
[introduction]
Self - Host: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Do you have the feeling that we are moving ahead too swiftly? That in our quest for fame, for material wealth, we are neglecting some of the old traditions? The old customs from whence we once drew our strength? This, for example.
[walks over to a contraption]
Self - Host: This may look like a seesaw built for one, but it is a dunking stool. In Puritan times, if a woman were a scold or a gossip, she was placed here.
[gestures to the chair]
Self - Host: The seatbelt was fastened securely and a number of brave men and true proceeded to dunk her in a pond as though she were a donut. It was most invigorating, I'm sure. Unhappily, in modern day, we have no such convenience. Today, if a woman is a gossip, she isn't dunked. She's syndicated. Tonight's story has a connection, however remote, to the proceeding while our sponsor has a connection, however, obviously to the following.