Whodunit

Alfred Hitchcock presents a whodunit with difference. Alexander Penn Arlington (John Williams) is a deceased mystery writer who meets the recording angel.

Arlington learns that he had been murdered but the angel could not tell him who was the culprit.

Arlington simply wants to know. He persuades the angel to relive his final day so he can figure out the murderer.

Only to find out that Arlington was a horrid man. There was simply a queue of people who would want to kill him.

I liked how Arlington was shown to be urbane and charming up there at the beginning. Back on Earth he was a nasty piece of work. He did well with a young wife but no wonder she looked elsewhere.

The episode leaves the whodunit as a grey area but Hitchcock confirms it later.

I really didn't care so much who the killer was. The last few minutes of dialogue between Mr. Williams and Mr. Napier was so classy, so British, that any shortcomings others have described fade away. Seeing Amanda Blake, took a minute or two to realized it was her, shows there was more to her than Gunsmoke. This is a nice little story that won't give you nightmares.

One of Hitch's top writers, Francis Cockrell, got a chance to direct this episode, and did a commendable job. Francis and his wife, Marian, cranked out many A-Plus stories for the show. This is one.

Hitch's pal, John Williams, makes a return appearance as a dead man? They must have had a chuckle over this peculiar role. He plays a mystery writer who is now in Heaven, believing he died of natural causes. WRONG. The poor guy was murdered.

Accordingly, the chief angel (played by Alan Napier) gives him a chance to return to earth and expose the killer. Fantasy material, yes, even for Hitchcock, however there's something more to this as you will see.

Amanda Blake (GUNSMOKE), makes a fitting poker-face suspect, and his wife, quite naturally. Supporting cast includes series favorite Philip Coolidge as Talbot and Ruta Lee, playing an angel, in an early role. Comedian and tv director Jerry Paris plays Wally. Fun to see future BATMAN butler Alan Napier playing an angel. That's a gas.

Don't miss this. John Williams a must see.

SEASON 1 EPISODE 20 remastered Universal dvd box set. Collectors first season box. Released 2005. 3 dvds. The purple box edition.

There have been lots of stories of people who are allowed to come back for one more day after their deaths. This one is pretty tame. A mystery writer who has been murdered begs the admitting angel to let him know who killed him. They agree that he will go back to the time before his death and try to figure it out, hence the title. This then gets a bit dull. Like most mystery stories, a group of suspects soon materializes. They all have motives. He is such a pompous ass that they may be doing us a favor. Anyway, we know that when all is said and done there is going to be a bit of disappointment. The acting is OK. It has that real fifties feel to it. As it turns out, most of the suspects would probably have allied themselves with this man if he had just been a bit kinder. It's a decent entry into the canon, but didn't grab me that much.

Alfred Hitchcock liked a touch of humor in his stories, and sometimes a lot more than that. This is one example, a mystery writer who thinks he should have no trouble figuring out who murdered him given his last day to live over again. In the end he still needs help figuring it out, but also by then no longer really cares. Indeed, he now wonders how he ended up in Heaven -- only to learn that mystery writers always go there. God apparently has interesting tastes.