One More Mile to Go

One More Mile To Go is a superb episode of Hitchcock's half-hour series, and this comes as no surprise, as it was directed by the Master himself. As the plot revolves around a man driving along lonely roads in the dead of night with the body of his wife, whom he murdered in the opening scene, in the trunk, and Mr. Hitchcock didn't drive, it seems an odd choice of subject matter.

For all this, the director knows the rules of the road where suspense and directing are concerned. The killer is, as is so often the case in Hitchcock's tales, a rather sympathetic sort, especially as played by David Wayne. His smiling and often too helpful nemesis, a motorcycle cop, as played by Steve Brodie, makes for a nice contrast in character types. Both actors are good without drawing too much attention to themselves.

I see no reason to give away or even hint at how the story ends except to say that while it doesn't come as the least bit shocking it's so low key, almost unemphatic, as to come as somewhat of a surprise. For those who like their films and TV shows dark this one should come as a treat: everything happens at night.

This is my ninth favorite episode of the show, it's pretty much your getaway story, what I like is the suspense is once again different as it's double layered. I like how throughout the episode we are in the guilty party's perspective as he is traveling to a location to cover up his crime, this would seem like smooth sailing except for one little thing that could ruin his plans.

You're really in this guy's shoes where you almost want this guy to get away, as he is just coming so close. And this one thing results in a close call with a police officer and mechanic we're hoping he can some how talk his way out of or have at least have a little luck left to bail him out.

But of course, the other layer of suspense is we already know this guy isn't going to get away with it, nor do we feel he deserves to, but the question is when is going to get caught.

Will he get away or won't he, you'll just have to wait and see. But as an old saying goes, it's always the littlest things that can derail the best laid plans.

Rating: 4 stars

I agree with those who say this is one of the best episodes. Hitchcock himself directs, and begins with us spying on a couple from outside. They argue, he grabs a poker from the fire and bludgeons her to death. Now he has to dispose of the body. It's more than 10 minutes in before we hear anything other than the soundtrack (first a siren, then a voice).

The whole episode is an exercise in tension. It's hard not to find ourselves rooting for the protagonist (the killer, played by David Wayne), we've been with him from the start.

There are only two other characters, the police officer and a garage mechanic (still working at night). The ending is understated, as was often the case in the series.

This is a a mini-version of many of the Hitchcock thrillers. The murder is committed and becomes the pivotal act. We don't know anything about the victim other than she seems to be a virago. David Wayne obviously has had enough and kills her. He moves her to the trunk of his car and spends the entire episode seeking a place to dump the body. What he doesn't count on is a broken tail light and Javert type motorcycle patrolman (second prize winner in a Rod Steiger look-alike contest) who insists that it get fixed immediately. Unfortunately, changing a bulb doesn't do the job. There is a short and to repair it they must get into the trunk. Hitchcock is great at getting us caught up in the plight of the poor boob who has pretty much closed the door to any hopeful outcome. We do actually root for him all the way; why can't that damned cop leave him alone? Of course, the fates take over and we really know what will eventually happen.

I disagree with the other review for this episode.

"One More Mile to Go" is a fine addition to the works of Alfred Hitchcock, and is leaps and bounds better than many of the instalments of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and other shows of the time.

The story is simple: Sam Jacoby (the ever-excellent David Wayne) kills his wife, and intends to dispose of her corpse. He loads her into the trunk of his car, and sets off to ditch her where she'll never be found. Along the way, a motorcycle cop pulls him over for a faulty tail light. Will the cop discover the body?

Aside from Wayne's superb performance, the show has all the hallmarks of great Hitchcock: almost the entire first act is silent, as Hitch finds interesting ways to tell the story, keeping himself (and the audience) amused. He must also have taken much delight from the scenario: he places the audience firmly on the side of David Wayne's character... we are on the edge of our seat every time the cop or the mechanic comes close to that trunk, every time they try to pry it open, and therefore we are as guilty by implication as he is!

Along with Hitchcock's other forays into television, this segment shows him to be a masterly -- and somewhat subversive -- director, whose only concern was to tell a good story visually. He was so far ahead of his time it just isn't funny, and this and his other episodes hold up exceptionally well. Highly recommended.