The Baby Sitter

A brassy older babysitter (Thelma Ritter) is speaking to a police sergeant about an unsolved murder. She relishes the attention. Much of the story is flashback: she has a crush on the father of the young woman who was killed (who, we are later informed, had a blond beaver).

Did our protagonist do it? This theory is raised by her friend early on. The ending worked for me but, ultimately, it's all on Ms. Ritter to carry this one. If nothing else, it's nice to see a woman who isn't all emotional or distressed the whole time.

Bonus: trying to lose weight, she's on the floor using the bungee-cord like contraption. I didn't know they had stuff like back then.

Hitch brought in his old friend, Thelma Ritter, from REAR WINDOW for this special treat. This episode also shows why Thelma was nominated for SIX Academy Awards in her career. And just as amazing she never won.

More character study than macabre, though it keeps your guessing... Ritter plays a middle-aged, gossipy babysitter called Lottie who has the Hitch luck of taking care of an infant whose "cheating" mother is murdered. That leaves her husband, Mr. Nash (Theodore Newton) an eligible widower? Hmmm?

Also cast is Mary Wickes, famous scene stealer, complimenting Ritter 100 percent. You can see Hitch did his homework. Wickes plays Ritter's old pal who toss theories back and forth, the sounding board for Lottie to fill her in on her importance and the fact poor Mr. Nash may need a new lady around the house?

You may figure this one out right away, if not, worth the wait to watch the star power. I agree, if Thelma Ritter read the phone book it would be a delight in itself. Film buffs may recognize Theodore Newton, featured in many B films for decades.

Wonderfully written by one of the few female tv writers at the time, Sarrett Tobias, who wrote eight other episodes for the master of suspense.

SEASON 1 EPISODE 32 remastered Universal dvd box set. All seven seasons are now on dvd in a single box set. Released 2022.

This is pretty lightweight stuff. Thelma Ritter plays a babysitter who works for a pretty wealthy family where there is a lot of tension between the husband and wife. She feels that the man is getting short changed in the family and frequently pokes her nose in where it doesn't belong. She has another old maid type sidekick who is always asking questions and tormenting her. Unfortunately for her, her bad judgment really works against her. She fancies herself as a soul mate or even the next wife of this man. She crashes and bashes her way in and out of situations that would make one cringe. Of course, most of what she has is in her head. This isn't a very good episode.

Thelma Ritter was an amazing supporting actress...so much so that she was nominated six times for the Oscar! Although she never won, she always made every film better with her wonderful acting. While not as famous, Mary Wickes was also marvelous. When I saw either in a film, I was guaranteed to enjoy it. However, this is not true in "The Baby Sitter", an episode of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" that really disappointed.

The episode begins after Mrs. Nash was murdered. Lottie (Ritter) definitely did not like the woman and now that the police are investigating her murder, Lottie is enjoying all the attention she's receiving...because apparently she is the last known person to have seen her as she was babysitting Nash's son. Unlike Mrs. Nash, Lottie really likes Mr. Nash....her ex-husband. She feels sorry for him and she entertains ideas, crazy ideas, that now he might be interested in her! Well, it turns out that he is...just not the way she hoped.

The episode gives Ritter a great chance to act...her acting was NOT a problem here. The problem was the script. The surprise twist you expected at the end came as no surprise and it just seemed like a very lazy episode...lazy as well as disappointing.

Don't forget "Sabrina", Humphrey Bogart's secretary.