The Hands of Mr. Ottermole

This is one of those Jack the Ripper stories that were often filmed in the 1940's. It is set in the foggy London nights with all manner of personage lurking in the shadows. What we have is a strangler who can't control himself. The police are up a tree and are being hounded by reporters, one in particular that is sort of hard on them. While the story doesn't offer much, it has quality performances and fits well in the genre. The scene at the police station is nicely done and in typical Hitchcock fashion throws a few red herrings in our path. Theodore Bikel, a great actor, is at his best here. I recommend this one.

Fairly suspenseful episode. We wonder who's behind the hands of a strangler throttling the latest victim, hands and head being all we see from the camera set-up. That way the anguished grimaces of the victim fill the screen in riveting fashion. Meanwhile, London bobbies have no clues to the strangler, even as public panic mounts. The crimes seem unrelated and motiveless. And darned if this isn't about the foggiest studio set on record. No wonder the cops are having a hard time.

It doesn't help the stoical precinct sergeant (Bikel) that annoying reporter Summers keeps riding him and his men about their lack of progress. Then too, why does the nosy newspaperman keep turning up at the murder sites before the cops. Clearly, there's more to the case than meets the eye. Of course, there's the London fog on- screen. But now, there's a mental fog kicked up by the story since we can't be sure where it's going. I like the solution. It's a little on the philosophical side. Sill it's an interesting idea that raises, in its own way, the conundrum of mind versus matter. All in all, a thought-provoking Hitch entry.

A solid, rather modest Hitchcock entry, The Hands Of Mr. Ottermole delivers the goods in its own solid way, rises to the occasion, of being an engrossing "Ripper tale" thanks to its slow, steady presentation and some first rate acting. Somehow, for all the pussyfooting around in the London fog, the ending manages to feel shocking. The Hitchcock crew knew how to make something out of what might have at first glance seemed like nothing. It's how the tale was told that makes this one work more than the tale itself.

And the answer to it wasn't adequate... heck, he wasn't even the cop murdered... they're literally just talking about English serial killers, but noooo they can't possibly do it according to Dunce Cop. One other episode where xenophobia was displayed ended in the death of the person, so at least there's that (it's not like this series isn't full of death, of course). Also, not sure if this was their intention, but perhaps he had some faux Scottish accent for some xenophobic reason too (even though, for now and back then, Scotland is part of the UK, but you know little England and all.........)

Like all the regular directors for 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents', the most prolific of them all Robert Stevens' output was inconsistent. In his case most of his 44 episodes were above average, and the best of them were great (while not quite show high points), but there were misfires like for example "Shopping for Death". "The Hands of Mr Ottermole" had one of the most appealing premises of the season, while not innovative it is the sort of story that has always fascinated me and very Hitchcockian.

"The Hands of Mr Ottermole" is a very, very good episode and nearly great, because the good things are so good. To me, it is one of the better, most gripping and most suspenseful episodes of Season 2 and one of Stevens' best 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' episodes (his best too since "The Manacled"). It does a very Hitchcockian premise justice and at its best the execution is worthy of Hitchcock too, which is a big compliment to give and not a compliment given a lot to other non-Hitchcock directed episodes.

Getting the not so good things out of the way first, "The Hands of Mr Ottermole" did for my tastes go a little too far on making the reporter as annoying as possible, have not seen over-zealousness so overdone in a while.

Some of the more philosophical dialogue rambles a little, particularly towards the end.

However, the good things are many and most are great in execution. It is a very well acted episode for one, with Theodore Bikel captivating in a performance that lives long in the memory for its unsettlement. His character is also interesting. Stevens directs with confidence and a great feel for creepiness and suspense that was missing from him for a while. It is well made, with some suitably moody noir-ish visuals.

Also thought the music was well used, enhancing the atmosphere while not over-bearing it. Have always gone on about how inspired a choice it was to have Gounod's "Funeral March of a Marionette" as the theme music, and one may not be able to hear "Greensleeves" in the same way again. The script provokes a lot of thought and is mostly tight, Hitchcock's bookending is wonderfully droll. The story is diverting throughout, is full of twists (all surprising and plausible, thanks to clever use of misdirection) and is rich in dark creepiness and suspense, with a clever ending that took me by surprise.

Overall, very, very good and nearly great. 8/10.