The Hands of Mr. Ottermole

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.

Hitchcock sends us to England for a Jack the Ripper type tale. I think they overdo the Britishness a bit for the sake of American audiences ("Wonder what she's got for Tea? Kippers.")

The killing(s) are shot from the perspective of the strangler, which is a nice directorial touch. However, it's tough doing a whodunit in 25 minutes, because there's no time to introduce many characters. Of course, it also may be that the killer isn't someone we see.

But this isn't primarily a story of suspense (the title kind of hints at that). Instead, it is atmospheric and somewhat talky, with some philosophical discussions added in. I thought the ending was OK.

After getting past the overripe 'cock-er-nee' accents and the 'what the... ?' moment when the police sergeant first opens his mouth and sounds just like Gregor Fisher in full Utter Hebrides Broadcasting Co mode (Scot/Brit ref), this episode delivers not a bad measure of suspense. Scots, and anyone else with an ear for regional accents, will probably spend a bit of time wondering how likely it was for someone from the Western Isles (or perhaps the Highlands) to be working as a police sergeant in London, in 1919? Possible, or maybe a literal joke as he was working for Scotland Yard? Actually, the accent was convincing and remained consistent (the actor in question Theodore Bikel, master of numerous languages, accents and dialects) so we can let that one go.

Another slightly jarring aspect is some of the weird non sequitur dialogue: 'Maybe the reason for there being no reason is that there is no reason' or 'How did the ham get into the sandwich? Because someone had to put it there' (that particular piece of philosophy bizarrely leading to the mystery being solved). Dostoevsky it ain't!

It appears to have the hands of Mr Hitchcock (as well as Mr Ottermole) all over it, so it was quite a surprise to see Robert Stevens directed. I was getting homage to the big man's early Blighty based catalogue which isn't a bad thing. Overall though, pretty much style over substance with a reveal that's been a staple of many a Hammer Horror/Ripper movie since. Way better than some of the other 'wackier' episodes in series 2 of AHP though.

**Lookalike corner* Anyone else think the murdered couple's nephew looked like a young Roger Daltrey?