The Dusty Drawer

I am not a great comedy lover, but this one, definitely light hearted from the very beginning, is very pleasant to watch, entertaining, funny and perfectly pulled by Dick York, for whom this role suits like a glove. I won't spoil you the details of this amusing story. A great little AH PRESENTS plot that I recommend to any one.

This is Dick York's second appearance on AHP (three more to come). In his first, he played a wise guy. This one seems a little more natural for him. I have to say, he really gives me a Jim Carrey vibe.

In a bit of period detail, we have two men (with jobs, nonetheless) living in a boarding house. York wants to get his vengeance on a stuffy bank teller. We only hear about and don't see the original transgression, and I think this is what made me sympathetic to the bank teller. The revenge goes too far, but we are also made to see that York's character has no selfish motive beyond that. The story also seems unrealistic, the way the gun is handled.

Ultimately, it plays for kicks, and is fairly effective at that. By Season 4, AHP risked repeating itself, and this episode at least isn't guilty of that.

A youthful Dick York,later of "Bewitched" fame, plays a professor residing in a boarding house. One of his fellow boarders is a stuffy bank teller (Coolidge) whom the professor is convinced cheated him on a deposit some months before. The professor keeps after the teller to own up to it and return the money. The teller refuses and the professor decides to ratchet matters up a notch, which involves a toy gun and a forgotten desk drawer at the bank. Since the episode was less than a half hour in length, events are compacted, such as the initial deposit snafu, which takes place before the episode begins. So when the curtain goes up, the professor is already trying various means to get the teller to fess up. This is a relatively lighthearted story, although pulling out a toy gun in a crowded bank won't go over well in our violent modern times. York is charming and affable and the prissy Coolidge makes the perfect foil.

Fuddy-duddy banker Tritt (Coolidge) and droll Professor Logan (York) share a dinner table at a respectable boarding house. Logan claims Tritt has shorted him two hundred-dollars to cover a mistake at the bank. Tritt however denies it, but judging from his smug demeanor we suspect the worst. Still, Logan is not one to forgive; plus, he's resourceful as heck. If I were Tritt, I'd give the money back, as the next 20-minutes shows.

Cleverly offbeat premise plays out rather humorously. York is so good at being sly, while Coolidge is perfectly cast as a priggish banker. Suspense comes from wondering what Logan will do next since the twists are anything but predictable. All in all, the entry fits in perfectly with the series emphasis on dark humor.

'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' "The Dusty Drawer" (1959)

Opening thoughts: Herschel Daugherty was responsible for some exceptional 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' episodes, standouts being "The Creeper", "Little White Frock" and "The Last Dark Step". He was though also responsible for the disappointing "Father and Son" and the big time miss "Sylvia" (one of my least favourites of the series). He really excelled in the creepier episodes and he also excelled in the few that had more of an emotional impact, less so in the slighter plotted, more soapy ones.

"The Dusty Drawer" is good, though does fall short of greatness. It is not one of Daugherty's very best 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' episodes and is not in the same league as the mentioned exceptional episodes. It is also nowhere near close to being one of the disappointments. As far as Season 4 goes, "The Dusty Drawer" is not one of the high points. Instead it is somewhere around solid middle. It is also not one of the low points. It is not exactly for those who don't like characters being treated or behaving too cruelly, but it is interesting to see a lighter side to Daugherty.

Bad things: The weak link is the ending, which for my tastes is rather too cruel and doesn't really resolve (almost anti-climactic).

As a result it is very difficult to feel much sympathy for the person we are supposed yo feel sympathy for because of how far the cruelty goes.

Good things:It, the epsode that is, does have in its favour though a lot of intrigue and suspense. And further elevated by the wonderfully sly lead performance of Dick York. Daugherty's direction never tries to do too much while keeping the drama tight.

Furthermore, the production values are slick and atmospheric enough and Hitchcock's bookending is suitably droll. Gounod's "Funeral March of a Marionette" is a great choice for the theme music. Most of the writing is thought provoking and intrigues, nothing coming over as superfluous. Hitchcock's bookending is typically droll and fun, in perfect keeping with the episode's tone. Moreover, the story always compels and the light heartedness is done amusingly and charmingly.

Closing thoughts: Good if not great.

7/10.