The Better Bargain

An aging mobster who has gone more or less legit marries a beautiful woman more than half his age. When he suspects she is cheating on him, he hires a notorious hit man to do her and her mystery lover in. He soon finds he has gotten more than he bargained for. This episode is what I call a lazy script. We know the truth minutes into the plot. Also, the entire episode takes place on one set, so it's very stagey. The one glimmer of hope is the performance by Henry Silva as the poetry-spouting hit man. Silva's character clearly was patterned on the legendary Jack Palance, and he is very young and suave and sinister here. If you must watch the episode, savor Silva's snake-like performance. The rest is filler.

This is a very predictable little vignette about a rich crook who has a young gold digging wife. The gangster is very jealous and wants to control the young woman, but he knows that his hold is limited. He brings in a cold blooded hit man to kill both the wife and her lover, but his emotion gets the best of him. This is what sets up the eventual resolution. Lost in all of this is the poetry of the person with whom the wife is having an affair. The pompous gangster is not very bright and doesn't see some things that would have clued him in. The most interesting part of the episode is the byplay between the two men as they discuss what is going to happen, the bargaining, and the deal they consummate. I have this one figured out way ahead of time, but the Alfred Hitchcock episodes make on suspicious of the apparent truths. This is a pretty minor effort for the series.

Robert Middleton is back (he appeared just a couple of episodes ago) as a man who suspects that his much younger wife is having an affair. He has hired a private investigator (an unassuming man, "like a bug on a patch of grass") and soon hires a killer (a smooth one).

A lot of the fun is the conversation between the investigator and our protagonist, who doesn't get the poetic references. Francois Villon is name-checked and quoted. When the wife appears, she's wearing a stunning hat. It looks like leaves or feathers are sticking out of the sides. She seems a bit spoiled, wanting him to buy her a car.

I didn't see the ending coming, but this, to me, is less about twists than about characters. It's also entirely in one room, with the protagonist always there and the others coming and going.

Herschel Daugherty was one of the most prolific directors on 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents'. While not being a fan of all of his episodes, his best ones are outstanding. One of the prime examples being "The Creeper", which to me is among the best and creepiest 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' episodes, and his first episode "The Belfry" is one of the better debut outings of the series' most frequent directors. His previous four outings for the series are all worth a look, with only "Kill with Kindness" disappointing a bit.

"The Better Bargain" is not one of his best episodes, comparing this to Daugherty's previous four episodes this gets my vote as the weakest by quite some way. It is a long way from bad, far from being one of the worst episodes of Season 2 or of the whole of 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' and definitely worth the look, but it is a case of one great performance being quite a lot better than the episode itself. As far as Season 2 goes, "The Better Bargain" is neither one of the best or worst.

What raises "The Better Bargain" from being a potentially mediocre episode to a slightly above average one is the performance of Henry Silva, who is wonderfully serpentine. His character is on the obvious side, but Silva really unnerves and has strong chemistry with a solid (if not quite inducing the same amount of fireworks) Robert Middleton. Daugherty does direct more than competently, not exceptional but it is a long way from a hack job.

It is a slick looking episode, with some atmospheric shots and lighting. The audio has enough atmosphere too and the main theme never fails to haunt and fits the tone of the series perfectly. Hitchcock's bookending is entertainingly ironic. Enough of the script is thought provoking and it starts off well.

Did feel though that "The Better Bargain" could have done from a lot of tautness and suspense and the second half felt too routine for my tastes.

Moreover, the final quarter did ramble a bit (again personal opinion) from the story starting to feel over-stretched, all the way to the too predictable conclusion.

Overall, slightly above average but only just. 6/10 (was debating whether to give 5 or 6 but Silva is so good that part of me couldn't be too hard on it)

A middle-aged gangster (Robert Middleton) suspects that his wife might be unfaithful. So he pays a private detective to follow her and see what she's up to. He also consults with a top hitman (Henry Silva)...just in case it turns out that it's true and she is cheating. And, she's cheating with a guy who, uggh, loves poetry!

This is only an okay episode. It's quite talky...especially at the end. Not a terrible episode but also one that just isn't all that good.