The Three Dreams of Mr. Findlater

Bank manager Mr Findlater (John Williams) dreams of getting rid of his overbearing wife (Isobel Elston), aided by his dream woman Lalage (Barbara Baxley).

This episode is one of the more light-hearted ones. I always enjoy watching John Williams, but he really excels himself here - the way he expounds his second dream, doing all the voices, is brilliant. The whole episode is shown from his point of view, and he carries it wonderfully.

This isn't driven by atmosphere or suspense, but is great story telling. It's based on a story by A. A. Milne. I never liked Winnie the Pooh, but this makes me wonder if I should look at some of his other work.

Barbara Baxley is also good - both character-wise and physically - I wouldn't mind having her in my dreams...

Enjoy!

Jules Bricken, who produced the outstanding WWII adventure THE TRAIN, starring Burt Lancaster, brought out the very best of Barbara Baxley in this dark comedy.

A bit off the track for Hitch, but fun to watch. After all these years, it's made me wonder if this was another script he had to defend to the execs at CBS. Hitch did not like talking to the guys upstairs, being an independent producer, but he was working for CBS. Rules are rules.

John Wlliams returns, playing Mr. Findlater(?), saddled with a complaining wife (Isobel Elsom) and his escape are "risque" dreams. The dreams involve temptress Barbara Baxley, wearing a sarong, and not much anything else. His wife also disappears! Of course, it's only a dream, but what happens when Lalage (Baxley) suggests murder? Or was he thinking about murdering the old lady anyway?

Well acted by both leads, certainly restricted to 1950s censorship. And that's where the top brass may have come in to double check the script. Had this been a more contemporary story, and it does have possibilities, this would have been R-rated material for sure. Sarrett Tobias, one of the few female tv writers at the time, turned in a super script once again.

The background music is campy, and precisely at the right moments.

BEST yet opening gag has Hitch telling all his problems to psychiatrist Raymond Bailey, shades of Mr. Drysdale. You have to love it.

From SEASON 2 remastered Universal dvd box set. 2006. Famous green box with green dvds. All seven seasons are now on dvd in a single box set. Released 2022.

I have never liked this episode, not that funny, light hearted and a bit boring. I waited for the ending, to see how the husband would get - or ot - rid of his wife. I am not satisfied with this story, I guess it as nothing to do with this anthology series; It is amusing though, for elders in family. Not my favorite, I guess you have understood what I meant. But watch it, it is only twenty five minutes long.

John Williams must have appeared in more episodes of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" than nearly everyone...except for Alfred's daughter, Patricia. So, seeing Williams in an episode only a few after he starred in three straight isn't all that surprising.

In "The Three Dreams of Mr. Findlater", he plays Ernest Findlater, a mousy and rather dull man with a penchant for retreating into a dreamworld instead of interacting with his cold wife. In this dreamworld, Ernest dreams of a Polynesian girl, Lalage, and a nice tropical island. But she also appears to him at other times and they dream of being together and killing his wife. However, because Ernest is so mousy and timid, he always dreams and plans...but never actually does anything.

There is no twist, no coincidence, no 'Hitchcockian' moment in this one....just the man dreaming of being with his imaginary girlfriend and killing the wife....and nothing more. Interesting to watch but ultimately disappointing.

I keep trying to enlist the sarong-clad Lalage (Baxley) into my dreams but to no avail. But then poor businessman Findlater (Williams) probably needs her coy ministrations more than I do. What with his shrewish, ice-queen wife (Elsom), no wonder he retreats into a dream world whenever he can. Trouble is he can't seem to control the sarong temptress's comings and goings. So she keeps turning up at odd times, like hotel lobbies. Then too her half-clad posturings are about as seductive as 1950's TV gets. Anyhow, our dreamer keeps having a second unwilled fantasy where his wife dies a sudden, unproblematic death. But since that's not likely to happen, he and his dream girl embark on a murder scheme to escape the impossible wife.

It's tongue-in-cheek the whole way, with material more like The Twilight Zone than standard Hitch. It's also a slightly befuddled John Williams, unlike his usual authoritative roles. I'm not sure what the moral or lesson of the story is, unless it has to do with the power of wish-fulfillment. All in all, the story's a departure and likely a matter of audience taste.