Vicious Circle

Actor/director Paul Henreid, first introduced to me through one of my all time favourite films 'Casablanca', directed 28 episodes of 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents'. Of which "Vicious Circle" is the first. Like all the regular directors for the series (none of the prolific directors had all their episodes being consistently good and more, including Hitchcock himself), Henreid's 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' outings were up and down with none of them being as good as the best of Hitchcock and Robert Stevens for instance.

"Vicious Circle" is a less than promising start for Henreid's 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' and is a disappointing episode on the whole. Especially after being so blown away by the previous episode "One More Mile to Go", which was one of the best of the series whereas this was an undistinguished middling effort. It starts off great, but unfortunately goes downhill quite quickly and the rest of "Vicious Circle" doesn't live up to the opening's quality (the ending for example being the complete opposite).

The best thing about "Vicious Circle" is the opening, which is extremely effectively gritty and atmospheric. Not far behind is the suitably moody photography, with some nice stylish shots that show a higher budget than most episodes. The audio haunts and the theme music is some of the best use of pre existing music in television.

Furthermore, the supporting cast do well. The best performance coming from George Macready, effectively sinister. The bookending is suitably ironic.

Dick York for me however came over as out of his depth, the role required a grittier and more intense presence than what he gives. Here he came over as anaemic and one dimensional. His character is not as interesting as the synopsis indicated, very little complex or rootable here and too much of one shade. The script lacks tautness and can ramble, also leaving character motivations (especially the big one that is heavily centered around) too vague.

Moreover, the story doesn't contain that many surprises and is lacking in tension and suspense, atmosphere wise excepting the opening it's bland, too safe and needed a tighter pace. The showdown is agreed awkwardly staged and nothing really stands out about Henreid's direction. Worst of all is the ending, which is a damp squib anti-climax introduced too late and is incredibly predictable.

Watchable for completest sake but pretty forgettable. 5/10.

I found Vicious Circle to be just a so-so entry in the Hitchcock series. Overall, it's below par in my book because while the story its adapted from, written by Evan Hunter, may be first rate the script for the television adaptation is simply below par, unusual for a Hitch half-hour.

The episode is also vague as to the precise nature of its villain's apparently small and tidy empire of crime. Is it a hit man for hire service,--that's all? It appears that way. Yet honcho George Macready seems an incongruously patrician and Ivy League type to be running such an enterprise.

That Macready's character comes off as unambiguously gay makes the episode unique but doesn't raise it in quality. His hit men,--nearer to hit boys, it appears, as they're all quite young--are, it's inferred in the script but not stated outright, his boy toys as well. He appears jealous of his new kid on the block Dick York's girlfriend, who's also threatening to start a one woman campaign against him and his criminal operation, and he orders York to kill her!

This is where the episode falls apart in feeling unreal and contrived. It shies away from the provocativeness inherent in its setup in favor of extreme and difficult to swallow melodrama. That the story is melodrama to begin with makes this "doubling up" of improbabilities too much for it to bear. The ending feels both telegraphed and hurried.

Still, flawed as it is, there are good things in this one, among them the performances of Dick York, an unlikely seeming criminal at first, especially if one is familiar with his later work in comedy, he handles his part well; and George Macready, with his sunglasses,--nicely suggestive of his lifestyle of concealment and secrecy--and his need for eye drops, symbolic of moral blindness and possibly sexual difficulties most of us would rather not dwell upon.

Excellent episode featuring Dick York in a non-comedic role. George Macready also stars in this chilling story about a weak man who cannot say no to his boss, in this case, a criminal. In a way, it is study of the mentality of those who will commit murder on command. Now, Dick York's character has misgivings and even warns his next victim, in this case his own fiancé, but that does not stop him from obeying orders. The story has larger political implications. History is replete with those who will do the most awful things, commit the most heinous crimes, if ordered to do so. They will act without hesitation or regrets, based on the belief that they do not bear final responsibility. Well, that just does not wash. What goes around comes around, as the saying goes. Today the executioner, tomorrow the executed, while those in charge keep control. As this episode so explicitly dramatizes, the hitman is merely the agent and is not indispensable. Just the opposite is the case. The episode leaves us asking this question: why do such awful work?

This is pretty lightweight. Dick York plays the new favorite hit man for a sociopathic boss. He does well on a couple jobs and replaces his predecessor who carries a grudge. His girlfriend knows what he does for a living and does all she can to talk him into a new job. Of course, the big boss knows she has been blabbing and wants her gone. Guess who gets the job. Fate steps in and business is taken care of but it seems to put an end to the effectiveness of the young murderer. He becomes less than desirable to the boss. What strength this episode has is in some halfway decent acting and a fairly clever, though predictable, plot development. Dick York looks pretty buff as the murderer. The non- comedic role suited him pretty well. Otherwise, it's pretty forgettable.

Reviewer rd finch puts the subtext quite nicely, and that subtext remains about the only reason to catch up with this otherwise flaccid episode. The storyline has potential, but except for the riveting opening scene, the remainder flattens out before reaching an all-too predictable climax. Even Dick York's showdown with his girl is awkwardly staged. Light comedy was York's specialty, so fans of Bewitched (1964-69) may enjoy watching the zany comic as an almost cold-blooded killer, which he manages to bring off in suitably boyish fashion.

Younger viewers may not be aware of how forbidden the whole topic of homosexuality was in both movies and TV of the 1950's. In short, the topic was treated as though it simply didn't exist. A more obvious censorship example is the A-budget Cat on a Hoot Tin Roof (1958) in which the theme from the Tennessee Williams play is airbrushed from the screenplay, rendering the movie itself darn near incomprehensible. Now, I'm sure I saw this Hitchcock entry the first time around, but it was only on recent viewing that the subtext jumped out at me. Then too, I don't see how the innuendo could have been unintentional on the part of writer and producer, which makes me wonder why such a risk with time and money was taken. I expect there is an inside story here. But what would it be, except as another instance of this cutting-edge series pushing the envelope.