Mink

Excellent. Excellent to the highest degree!! This is what I would call a quintessential Alfred Hitchcock episode. Great, suspenseful story that keeps you guessing, from beginning to end. I must admit that I'm not too familiar with Ruth Hussey. I wouldn't mind becoming acquainted with her other work. Very nice looking lady, and a fine actress. Ruth plays Paula, who buys a "bargain" mink, not realizing that it was stolen goods. Everyone involved seems to be out to get Paula. I won't elaborate any further, as it might ruin the experience for anyone who has never seen this great episode. Great cast, including Vinton Hayworth (General Schaefer from I Dream of Jeannie!) and Vivi Janiss as a female detective. Great, great episode. I loved every minute of it!

I agree with the last reviewer how times have really changed. True, back in the 50s (when this episode was filmed, and especially in Hollywood), wearing a mink coat was a sign of social status. Today a mink hoodie would be more fashionable.

Who better to play a woman of taste than Ruth Hussey, who began her career as a fashion commentator, before becoming a star at MGM. Here, she plays a trendy lady who has an eye for a mink coat --only it happens to be stolen merchandise. Funny thing is NO ONE can varify her story. Is she a thief? What a Hitchcock dilemma that only mushrooms for your entertainment pleasure.

Also a great supporting cast; Vivi Janis plays a cop this time around. Popular 40s gangster moll Veda Ann Borg plays Lucille.

Look for Eugenia Paul (as Dolores), who played a few roles in her short career before marrying one of the famous Pep Boys, heir to the auto parts store chain.

The inside joke; Ruth Hussey appeared in THE LADY WANTS MINK (1953), a few years before this episode. She also was nominated for an Oscar in THE PHILADELPHIA STORY, playing a fashion photographer. Hitch did his homework.

For all us fans of victims of circumstances. SEASON 2 remastered Universal dvd box set. 5 dvds. All seven seasons are now in a single box set. Released 2022.

At the end when Hitchcock describes how rather than diet he is going to exercise instead, he states:

"I'm quite an athlete, you know. I particularly excel in chess, falconry, wife-beating, that sort of thing."

WHOA........WIFE BEATING!!

Nowadays that would have been the end of his career.

Mink wraps of any kind were a big status symbol in the upwardly mobile 1950's. No wonder Paula (Hussey) wants one, in this case, a mink stole. So, she buys one, and now she and hubby can show off to their peers. Trouble is her stole turns out to be stolen, at least that what the cops say. But Paula certainly looks the respectable suburban housewife. Nonetheless, the people she claims put her on to the good deal now claim never to have seen her. Oh my, so who's telling the truth. Certainly a trip to the slammer won't do her respectable standing any good.

The first half really holds interest as we wonder what the real story is. But once we're tipped off, the narrative fades into a kind of tepid resolution. Too bad the second half doesn't really keep up the interest of the first. Hussey's fine in the lead role, and I can't help thinking she resembles Lucille Ball's Lucy Ricardo in some of the shots. Maybe it's also the similar period fashions, especially the hair-do. Anyway, the entry's an okay time passer, but nothing special.

We recently inherited a mink coat. It is absolutely gorgeous. But who wears these things these days. I remember quiz shows in the fifties and sixties where this was the ultimate prize one could win. Models paraded around with them (Dicker and Dicker of Beverly Hills). This is about a woman who buys a mink stole on the cheap from some shady woman and then gets arrested because the thing is identified by the furrier who bought it. She has come for an appraisal and they recognize it. The police get involved and there is a whole secrecy thing. She is gaslighted, if you will. Nobody will take responsibility for selling it to her. Obviously, if you're a cop, you should realize right away that should you talk, you are admitting trafficking in stolen goods. Well, things get pretty intense with the woman ready to do jail time. There are further complications where things get resolved. There are some unanswered questions which people seemed happy to ignore back then.