The Cheney Vase

Lyle Endicott (Darren McGavin) is a shifty museum curator who has just been fired from his job, due to laziness. However, he sees dollar signs if he can obtain and old Cheney vase from the wealthy Martha Cheney (Patricia Collinge) who offers a lot of her old belongings to the museum. Lyle manages to take full advantage of the vulnerable Martha, but, he will learn taking the vase won't be as easy as he thinks.

This is just and all around fun episode with Darren McGavin returning to the series to play a wonderfully awesome scumbag manipulator. Everything from the cast to just the way the episode builds itself up in its 25 short minutes in great. As for the twist its defiantly pretty clever. This one also seems to be the most easily obtainable outside of the series itself because I'm pretty certain its in the public domain. Also nice to see a young pre-Addams Family Carolyn Jones as McGavin's girlfriend in this to.

I felt sad watching the friendly Darren McGavin playing a crook in this episode, acquainted to see Kolchak as hero sounds weird he as bad guy, whatever as Lyle Endicott works at Museum when his tired Boss Hebert Koether (George Macready) after many warnings fired him, due he quite often was absent at work, however an old lady Martha Cheney (Patricia Collinge) whom just passing through to there receives another offer for his valuable antique vase, what is prompt refuses by her, Lyle has a phony letter of reference made by his blonde lover Pamela (Carolyn Jones), then he introduces himself to take care of his business, Martha accepts just for a little while as probationary period, slowly Lyle was handling all situations, getting rid of the old maid and having all control of Martha's life, searching there for the vase, nevertheless the old lady is smarter that he could imagine!!!

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First watch: 2020 / How many: 1 / DVD / Rating: 7.5

Film fans will remember Patricia Collinge as featherheaded Aunt Birdie in The Little Foxes, but for a different Collinge one should look at this episode from the Alfred Hitchcock Presents series, The Cheney Vase.

The vase is Hitchcock's McGuffin here, a valuable antique in the Cheney family for years. George MacReady who is the head of a museum wants Collinge to sell it to him, but she prefers to keep it until she dies.

Which might not be long if Darren McGavin has his way. McGavin was fired by MacReady, but he fakes a letter of recommendation from his former boss and insinuates himself into Collinge's household. He even plants Ruta Lee there as a maid.

Collinge turns out not to be so featherheaded in the end however.

McGavin plays a nasty piece of work, but he didn't see what Collinge had in the way of wits by any means.

Definitely, though not personally directed by Hitchcock, in the spirit of the master of suspense.

This early Hitchcock episode stars a young Darren McGavin in a decent Shatner-type toupee as an out-of-work museum assistant and all-around cad and hustler. He befriends an old woman (Collinge, who steals the show) and talks his way into becoming her caretaker. She owns an antique vase worth a pretty penny for its day, which he intends to steal and sell. He turns the old lady into a prisoner in her own home as he plots the theft. OK episode, nothing particularly special about it, and the half hour format makes the episode feel rushed. For instance, while the bad guy has a very sexy blonde girlfriend with whom he intends to run away with (Jones), he replaces the old lady's longtime maid with an even sexier blonde maid (Lee) Unfortunately, we learn nothing about her, other than she is loyal to our heel. I thought for a moment he was going to doublecross the girlfriend and run off with the maid, but this element is not developed. Maybe he planned to run off with both. I know I would have. A clever ending and Collinge's savvy performance make this one worth a look. Just don't expect the superior production and expanded script values that would come some years later with many of the Alfred Hitchcock Hour episodes.

After he is fired from a New York City art museum for lateness (and not showing up at all), womanizing drifter Darren McGavin (as Lyle Endicott) moves in on one of the museum's patrons, elderly and disabled Patricia Collinge (as Martha Cheney). Quickly, Mr. McGavin takes over Ms. Collinge's home. He gets rid of her loyal maid, and cuts Collinge off from the world outside. Next, McGavin plots to run off with shapely blond Carolyn Jones, after selling Collinge's most valuable possession: "The Cheney Vase". It being Christmas, presenter Alfred Hitchcock sells several unbreakable replicas of the $45,000 "Cheney Vase" during his closing remarks. Collinge and a great cast make this "Kind Lady" swipe a nice way to spend your half hour.

******* The Cheney Vase (12/25/55) Alfred Hitchcock : Robert Stevens ~ Patricia Collinge, Darren McGavin, Carolyn Jones