The Belfry

This episode of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" is an excellent short thriller filled with suspense. The direction by Herschel Daugherty, who went on to direct a good number of episodes in the series, is worthy of Hitchcock himself, and Allan Vaughan Elston's story is adapted very nicely to the half-hour television format by one of the show's regular scriptwriters.

Pat Hitchcock is well-cast as a country schoolteacher, but Jack Mullaney is the star of the episode, as her violently disappointed suitor. The story follows Mullaney's character as he flees from justice by hiding in a bell tower, and Mullaney really makes the character come alive, giving him a childlike personality combined with a vengeful anger and a certain animal cunning. His mannerisms and facial expressions help to create an unusual and unsettling character.

There are a lot of nice touches that build up the tension, and it works very well in combining anxiety for the schoolteacher with an interest in whether or not the fugitive will be discovered. There are a lot of small details with props or minor actions that are used resourcefully to add to the suspense. The sets, particularly Mullaney's tiny hideout, are straightforward, but they are nicely designed and quite effective. The whole episode is of high quality.

I just couldn't get into this one. It is really over the top with the Southern hick mentality. The guy murders a man right in front of his fiancée. He then takes off, telling her that they will be together in his little love nest. The guy, of course, is a psychotic moron. He ends up hiding in the belfry of the one room school where she is a schoolmarm. He has a tough time when someone rings the bell, but, otherwise, seems perfectly comfortable. Can you say "bathroom"? Of course, people didn't think of this much. There is a place where a softball ends up in the belfry and he is about to ax a young boy. Anyway, we know that at some point he is going to screw. I guess the voice over of his deranged mind got on my nerves. Quasimodo makes a fatal mistake which is what we knew he would do.

Against typecasting, Jack Mullaney plays a country bumpkin turned psychotic named Clint Ringle who impulsively murders the rival for his girlfriend's affections. Hitchcock's daughter (Patricia) plays Mullaney's erstwhile love interest (Ellie Marsh) and she also happens to be the local schoolmarm. Mullaney is able to escape justice by conveniently hiding in the belfry of Ms. Hitchcock's school, but he's far from satisfied with one death. His intent now is to kill his poor unsuspecting former girlfriend for her supposed duplicity. Safely ensconced in the belfry, Mullaney imagination takes hold and his evil and demented thoughts are conveyed to the audience (similar to Anthony Perkins in "Psycho"). His original "act of passion" merely disguised his twisted and mentally deranged mind.

Hitchcock had an affinity for locating many episodes of his series out in the boondocks and inhabited them with simple but devious characters. It was his way of telling the viewing audience that escaping to the countryside wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. He also used his daughter Patricia on occasion and she gives an exceptional performance in this suspenseful entry. Mullaney, usually fitted for "nice guy" roles, plays the killer (Ringle) for all it's worth. Needless to say, justice "rings" its tune for poor Jack.

"The Belfry" is notable for having Hitchcock's own daughter Patricia Hitchcock play her second 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' lead role. The first one being "Into Thin Air", which she was very good in despite having a mixed view on that episode overall. It also is the first episode of the series for the series' third most prolific director Herschel Daugherty (after Robert Stevens and Paul Henreid). Almost every episode has an interest point, and "The Belfry" has two.

Absolutely do think that the rating here is too low. To me, "The Belfry" is a very good episode, while not one of the 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' classics it is one of the better Season 1 episodes in my view and a lot better than most episodes rated higher. Sure "The Belfry" is not for everybody, with a wackiness that some may find on the over the top side, but there are a lot of good things that far outweigh what is not quite so good.

Which is really not much, in terms of what could have been done better. More could have been done with the ending, which felt rushed and anaemic and is actually quite forgettable and anti-climactic as well.

So much is good though. Patricia Hitchcock is alluring and easy to root for, while an increasingly chillingly deranged Jack Mullaney is even better. The master of suspense's wonderfully ironic delivery of the dry-humoured and intriguing bookending never fails to shine. Daugherty does a more than solid job directing and one would never know that this was only his first episode for the series.

Moreover, the production values have a good deal of style and atmosphere, with only the sparse sets (at times) showing any signs of cheapness. Still love the series' main theme. The script is lean and thought provoking, without being melodramatic, the main character is very interesting psychologically the more he unravels and the story while slight has a creepiness and unease that were not there enough in the previous two episodes.

Concluding, very good. 8/10.

This whole episode is great except the last 20 seconds or so. Great acting and story but trust me you'll hate the ending.