Triggers in Leash

This well-crafted drama is one of the best of the early episodes of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents", and it is a fine example of the anthology show format. It has a compact but interesting story, with interesting characters who are well-defined, and a strong cast to portray them. The writing is tight and resourceful, getting much more out of a simple situation than you would have expected.

Ellen Corby, Gene Barry, and Darren McGavin are the stars, with Casey McGregor playing the only other on-screen character. Corby's character runs an out-of-the-way lunch counter, in which the characters played by Barry and McGavin confront each other with deadly intentions. Corby's character tries everything she can think of to cool off the two hotheads, even getting them to eat something while keeping one hand ready to draw at all times.

Although Hitchcock neither wrote nor directed the episode personally, it's well worthy of him, with a memorable situation, some very good dramatic touches, plus some psychology added in. Director Don Medford did a fine job of building up the tension, and the cast members are all in very good form. It's all resolved in a clever way that also would be worthy of Hitchcock's dry sense of humor.

Practically all of the episodes in the series were at least interesting, and many of them were memorable in one way or another. This one, though, is a particularly good example of an ideal usage of the half-hour format, and among the early episodes, it is very possibly the most efficient and effective.

A rather odd third episode for a series then in the process of establishing itself. The problem is that after about 15 minutes of macho hectoring and gunfighter's crouch, the hair-trigger face- off between Barry and McGavin goes from tense to tedious. There's still a question of how the drama will end, but the dialogue and visuals have become too familiar to sustain the initial tension. As another reviewer points out, a final twist managed to salvage what looked like a really cop-out ending. In my book, the best thing about this tepid curiosity is the featured role it gives to that fine actress Ellen Corby who spent her career playing thankless menials of one type or another. There should be a special place in Hollywood heaven for such unsung stalwarts as she. Too bad I can't say the same for this episode.

I enjoyed seeing such great actors. Gene Barry is one of my all-time favorites. Bat Masterson and Burke's Law were awesome shows. I'm a big fan of The War of the Worlds. Darrin McGavin and Ellen Corby are wonderful too.

The plot is a little thin here, but I still enjoyed it. Maybe not the best of the shows, but I still had fun watching it.

Lots of Alfred Hitchcock episodes are on YouTube. Peacock has all episodes from Season One, Episode One of Alfred Hitchcock Presents to the last episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. I've decided to start and the beginning and watch them all. I hope you enjoy the shows as much as I do.

A cook tries everything she can think of to end a dispute between two gunmen who have sworn to kill each other.

I appreciate this episode for the young Darren McGavin, who looks remarkably different than he did in the 1970s. I understand 20 years will do that to a guy, but it makes me wonder what he was doing for most of that time. Was he a big name before "Kolchak"? I am not aware of it, but then I wasn't really alive at the time.

After the first two episodes, this one is a bit of a disappointment. Not great, not terrible, just a very simple story. Maybe if I was a bigger fan of westerns I would like it more, but it just seemed like it could have used a little something more.

While the Western genre is not one of my favourite film/television genres, there is still high appreciation for it and there are a lot of classics in it. Have often liked the actors here in other things, with Gene Barry (introduced to me via his memorable turn in a 'Columbo' episode) being the most familiar name to me. 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' is a very interesting and often well done if not consistent series. So there was potential for "Triggers in Leash" to be good and the premise was not bad.

"Triggers in Leash" unfortunately struck me as disappointing. There are many fine episodes of 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents', but this is not one of them. If anything, it's one of the misfires and one of the lesser episodes of the first season. Also a big letdown after two great previous episodes. It does have its moments definitely, but "Triggers in Leash" could have been a lot better and there is just something about it that makes it feel like it doesn't belong in the series.

Am going to get the good out of the way. It is slickly photographed. The theme tune is masterly use of pre-existing classical music, one of the best. Ellen Corby gives a very strong and dignified performance, one that deserved a better episode and a better rest of the cast.

Best of all is the wonderfully acerbic epilogue, Hitchcock's bookending sequences varied throughout the series' run but the one in "Triggers in Leash" is one of the best and sticks in the memory. The twist is quite good.

Something that the rest of the episode does not sadly. Barry and Darren McGavin are not on Corby's level and both try too hard and could have done with a lot more grit in their interpretations. The character psychology is interesting but could have delved into a lot deeper, not meaty enough.

What really lets "Triggers in Leash" down in particular is that the story didn't grab me. It felt like 15 minutes over-stretched to 30, which made it drag quite a bit because of it being too thin and too often near-uneventful. There is far too little tension and a lot of it feels contrived and unintentionally silly. Something that is apparent in a lot of the dialogue too. Maggie's actions at the end also don't make sense and it is not really explained.

In conclusion, disappointing. 4/10.