One for the Road

There are problems with this episode in both script and technical aspects. The technical problem occurs when Marsha Hendricks makes one phone call and then another. When she speaks with her husband's secretary, we only hear Marsha's voice. Then she calls the woman she eventually realizes is her husband's girlfriend and we hear both sides of the conversation clearly. When Marsha learns her husband, on whom she dotes, is having an affair, her reaction is rather dull and his reaction is bizarre in its lack of sensitivity. "So I see another woman?" he brusquely asks. "What of it?" There are positives. The actress who plays girlfriend Beryl is needy, almost pitiful in her neediness. Louise Platt as Marsha Hendricks takes time to size up the competition and she is believably warped enough when she turns murderous, not out of jealousy, but out of the believe the other woman threatened husband Charles. The husband is handsome and completely selfish. It also has a twist that fits together with the whole story and is quite chilling.

Smug, suburban husband cheats on his long-suffering wife.

Vintage Hitchcock. It's a stellar cast, but I particularly like Louise Platt as the dowdy, put- upon wife. Her eyes are especially expressive. Watch her emotions run the gamut from abject devotion to hardened resolve, all in convincing fashion. Her character is the epitome of the wronged woman. Actress Platt had an odd, abbreviated career that peaked with the classic Stagecoach (1939), but she definitely had the talent as demonstrated here.

And what a perfect two-timing louse Baragrey makes. There's enough oil in his performance to create a major spill. Wondering how poetic justice will eventually deal with his smug self- absorption is worth waiting for. And Georgeann Johnson as the blonde "other woman" creates a surprisingly sympathetic character who also believes in one last chance.

Anyway, in my book, this is classic 50's Hitchcock, with its suggestion of criminal potential among non-criminal types as mundane as a suburban family. It's an episode that may also make you think twice about that last cup of coffee.

(In passing—if you were the law, how would you apportion guilt. Seems to me like it's something of a legal conundrum, given the facts of who did what.)

Alfred Hitchcock Presents' is a very interesting and very well done, if not consistent, series that ran for seven seasons between 1955 and 1962. Every season had some truly fine episodes, and they all had some not so good episodes. Something that was obvious in Season 2's twenty third episode "One for the Road", luckily in a good way. Season 2 did not start off great, or even particularly good, at all, and there were misfires in the season but the best episodes were great.

"One for the Road" is not one of the great episodes of Season 2 and of 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' in general. It is also a long way from being among the worst on both counts. Director Robert Stevens (the most prolific director for 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents') is not at his worst or at his best for the series here. "One for the Road" is not a great episode, though the performances fit that definition, but to me it is still a well above average one that is somewhere around solid middle in ranking in regard to this less consistent season.

Much is good here. The production values are suitably moody and professional looking. Have always loved the series' theme tune, with Gounod's "Funeral March of a Marionette" being for me one of the best uses of pre-existing classical music on television (bravo to Bernard Hermmann for suggesting it).

It is tautly scripted and avoids being too melodramatic, which was a danger with this type of story. The story is crisply paced and there is a lot going on without feeling too over-crowded. Lots is intriguing here. The atmosphere is suitably suspenseful and there is a lot of it. Stevens directs with a sure hand and a steely Louise Platt is the standout in an episode that is extremely well acted.

Having said all of that, "One for the Road" has a few things that could have been better. Hitchcock's epilogue didn't feel necessary and the ending generally felt unsatisfying due to feeling that the wrong person was targeted.

Concluding, good if not great. 7/10.

Another Robert C. Dennis gem, author of 30 tv episodes for Hitchcock, later 22 episodes for PERRY MASON, and countless cop shows. This may be one of his best dark comedies, and with a fitting ending.

John Baragrey plays Charles, an everyday Hitchcock gentleman who just happens to be cheating on his wife. Louise Platt is Marsha, the wife who suspects something's not quite right, ya know? The hilarious take-away from all this is the fact Charles is yet another character without any shame. He's out and about everyday, and what ensues is tough luck for his wife.

Marsha does, however, take matters in her own hands and goes so far as to pay a visit to the "other" woman (which shifts things in gear), played by Georgann Johnson. Johnson was a versatile actress who did many memorable roles.

A wonderful game of cat and mouse because both women keep you guessing --due to the fact the man in their life is a work of art. This guy has been walking on thin ice for a long, long time.

I agree with the last reviewer, and its a good point; many of Hitchcock's tv plots employed poison. There's some truth to that because (statistically) there were less red flags in the 50s, as compared today, concerning what you could purchase. Indeed, you probably would have had more success poisoning someone than shooting them. All this must have impressed the master of suspense and his writers.

Superb late night entertainment. SEASON 2 EPISODE 23 remastered Universal dvd box set. 2006. Running time, 16 hrs, 52 min. All 7 seasons are now on dvd in a single box set. Released 2022.

The scheme is here not surprising in such an anthology show. Cheated woman, revenge, poison, all the ingredients which you are used to since so many episodes. It is still riveting, not boring at all, a routine that you will never get tired of. It is pretty well done, perfectly acted, flawless for me. Now, if you are bored with such plots, make a break in this kind of show.