The Case of Mr. Pelham

I have been feeding on these small adventures. Even though i had obviously heard about this show, i had never tried it. Right now i have seen a handful of episodes, and incidentally i've been hitting many directed by Hitchcock. This is such one. After having seen these episodes, i consider that they deserve individual commentary, even though it sounds reasonable to consider this a "show". I mean, quite beyond the immortal generic, the Hitchcock sketch that Alfred himself drew, and the by now inseparable soundtrack, we have a feel to every episode (at least those i've seen so far) that binds them together. I'm still not able to properly define what that is, but apparently, and generally speaking, every episode tries to play with the basic notions of the mystery genre (Hitch's cinematic home), mixed with nonsense and the bizarre. It doesn't press so hard on these two aspects as Twilight Zone, but it so far i reckon in it higher visual interest, or wasn't the patron of this show AH. In any case, the episodes are uneven among them, and quite different in their conception, different writers, different directors, different actors. So i look at them as short films, part of a larger universe where they exist together.

This Mr Pelham is a very good and balanced example of the different genres they use. Maybe that's why i'm starting my comments here. Hitch's direction is quite low-key. It's competent, of course, fully detached from any ordinary television values - which 50 years ago probably didn't exist so rooted on people's minds as they do today - but apart from some dolly shots, exquisitely executed, the camera work is normal. Those dolly shots are actually remarkable, so check them, they usually start a scene, with a certain framing, that indicates a certain environment, and that framing is corrected through camera movement to make us find something that matters, like when Ewell gets the first time in the club, the camera adjusts our focus to Ewell, and puts us in the action. This subtlety is remarkable.

But the interest is in the narrative, the story itself. I have the feeling the idea here was deceiving us into believing we were watching a criminal identity swap case, only to make us fall into the awkwardness of the inexplicable. In the end, we really don't know what that was all about, and may be led to mistrust what we see. Who was the real Pelham? Who was the real Hitchcock, in the end? Like this is a kind of short "being malkovich".

It works, it's not fascinating beyond the taste of the mood, but it's good. Ewell... i don't know how could he be the man peaking under Monroe's skirt. His acting is so noisy and denounced it aches. Hitch's interventions are priceless.

My opinion: 3/5

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Alfred Hitchcock's offers to us an implausible tale, but who care anyway, the Case of Mr. Pelham is original and fresh, about a man of middle age, just single (Tom Ewell) who has his own business, living in a normal and easy lifestyle, when suddenly he realizes that someone else is trying to mimic him, he already was warned by some friends that they met him in another places, however unnoticed by Mr. Pelham, who didn't remember to be there, in fact in that moment he was out of town, then he meets his Doctor to discuss such madness, the Doctor suggest some advices, however every day is getting worst, the results is unpredictable at least, nice episode!!

Resume:

First watch: 2019 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 8

I have a hard time explaining to people why I love this episode so much. Tom Ewell's friendly but oddly unattractive face (as the titular character) is certainly a major force in this first-season gem. Or perhaps it's the homey nightclub where's he a member. More obviously it could just be the story, which is simple, familiar, and yet totally uncanny: a well-adjusted man believes his doppelganger is out to ruin his life. The show is a series of flashbacks as Pelham reveals his unfolding nightmare to his mustachioed psychologist, played pitch-perfect by Raymond Bailey of Mr.Drysdale fame. (For some reason, I love watching him sip the beer from his tall glass as he listens intently to Pelham's dilemma) And my god, that gorgeous black-and-white photography has never looked more scintillating. Perhaps these are mundane items, but for me they make me yearn for the golden age of Hollywood.

With its disquieting conclusion, "The Case of Mr. Pelham" defines that beautiful bygone era.

Albert Pelham (Tom Ewell) discovers that someone has been impersonating him. Fearing his life is being taken away from him, Pelham confronts his double, only to begin doubting his own sanity.

Hitchcock returns again for his 3rd directing credit, taking on another familiar story that much like "Breakdown" has been done about a zillion times since this. The tale of a man who discovers he has a double trying to take over his life and slowly push him out or is he slowly going mad. The out come is usual always the same conclusion and the one here is no different, that's maybe why the impact of this one really didn't hit me to hard because I pretty much knew where this was going after the two Pelham's finally meet. As said before Hitch does his usual great job behind the camera and the cast is excellent here, I could defiantly see how in 1956 this was damn good television as Hitch was apparently nominated for a prime time Emmy for best directing. Not to sound harsh on this episode as it seems to be a favorite among fans of the series, and it is a very fine episode, but, I guess the fact that the story being done to death and seeing this a hundred times on other movies and series since really hurt the out come for me, and personally I believe Hitch should have got the Emmy nod for either "Revenge" or "Breakdown" as I believe those two episodes to be superior to this one. Closing note: Hitchcock's closing narration is the greatest!.

Brilliant story, new to me. I love this episode. Its one of alfreds best directions.