Whodunit

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.

This entertaining mini-mystery is characterized by its dry British sense of humor, and by the occasional friendly witticisms about the murder mystery genre. John Williams, with his quintessentially British screen persona, was a good choice for the leading role. The script (by two of the show's regular screenwriters) efficiently adapts the original story into the program's format.

Williams plays a recently-deceased mystery writer who bargains with the recording angel, wanting to return to earth to find out who murdered him. The main story is patterned after the classic style of so many popular British-style detective novels, with some lighter touches that fit in with the premise. Williams does a good job of playing the amateur detective, gently parodying the way that such a character might appear in a book.

The main plot is framed by the two scenes in heaven, with Williams and Alan Napier (as the angel). In these scenes, as in the rest of the episode, the humor is understated and ironic, rather than openly funny. The tone is consistent throughout the story, and it works well if you enjoy the style.

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.

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.

The entry doesn't come off despite some promising ingredients. The clever premise would make an engaging Twilight Zone, minus Hitch's whimsy, of course. Mystery writer Arlington (Williams) is murdered in bed, but heaven's admitting angel (Napier) gives him a few minutes reprieve to return to earth and find out who the culprit is. Trouble is there's no shortage of suspects, including the writer's wife (Blake). Seems our sleuth was not a very nice guy in real life. So which suspect is it.

Some Hitch favorites are in the cast, including Williams, Napier, and the sour-looking Coolidge. But I did expect Marshal Dillon to stride in and rescue Miss Kitty, oops, right era, wrong series. But it was unusual seeing Blake in a role outside of Dodge City. Frankly, I didn't think the rather listless payoff measured up to the opening. Plus, the suspects' portrayals are colorless, probably so that the culprit will be hard to detect. Anyhow, if heaven is anything like Hitch's version, I'm ready, especially if Ruta Lee is my angel escort.