The Cheney Vase

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

When you have someone in a wheelchair being taken advantage of, you know that at some point the bad guys are going to pay. In this case a man finagles his way into a vulnerable woman's confidence in order to steal a valuable vase. He manipulates her every way he can, employing a confidante, and getting ready to strike. The old girl isn't dumb and evidence begins to build. As with many of these people, the man has a flaw and doesn't play things out to the end. The episode has a satisfying ending where justice is served. The acting is reasonably good and the story has some credibility. It calls for some pretty drastic action and things like this often get in the way, but it's a pretty good Hitchcock effort.

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.

The play and later film of KIND LADY was an interesting piece of writing. The imprisoning of a helpless wheelchair bound old woman in her mansion, systematically cutting off all means of communication with the outside world - for nefarious purposes - was borrowed for this half hour adaptation and although the premise is different, so is the twist at the end.

The production belongs to Patricia Collinge, who is excellent as the matron, so good that one wanted it to last an hour so she had more time to show her stuff. McGavin plays the kind of role he was always good at - a sleaze. Carolyn Jones is impressive as his disapproving girlfriend.

Worth a look!

The cast is as notable as the story, which is okay even if a bit fragmented. Slimeball Lyle (McGavin) charms his way into wealthy old Martha's (Collinge) mansion with an eye on stealing a valuable hidden vase. The antique is there somewhere, but where. The old lady won't tell, especially after she finds out what a manipulator Lyle is. But what can she do, alone with him in the house. Good to see old pro's like Macready and Collinge picking up paydays, and for once Macready doesn't even have to be the bad guy. And, guys, what about the great eye- candy. Not just one shapely blonde, but two (Jones and Lee), though Jones's career success would come as a brunette. Also, good to see that underrated Mc Gavin showing a charming side, especially with no vampires for Kolchak to hunt down. Anyhow, it's an unexpected ending even if not very plausible. But to me it's the array of performers that remains most memorable.