The Hero

Episode aired May 1, 1960
TV-14
30m

IMDb RATING

6.5/10

485

YOUR RATING

Eric Portman and Irene Tedrow in Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955)

Crime Drama Mystery Thriller

While on a sea cruise, Richard Musgrave meets his former business partner, whom he once robbed and left for dead, traveling under an assumed name. His task is now to convince the man to reve... Read allWhile on a sea cruise, Richard Musgrave meets his former business partner, whom he once robbed and left for dead, traveling under an assumed name. His task is now to convince the man to reveal his true identity.While on a sea cruise, Richard Musgrave meets his former business partner, whom he once robbed and left for dead, traveling under an assumed name. His task is now to convince the man to reveal his true identity.

Director
- John Brahm
Writers
- Bill S. Ballinger
- Henry De Vere Stacpoole
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.5/10

485

YOUR RATING

Director
- John Brahm
Writers
- Bill S. Ballinger
- Henry De Vere Stacpoole
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Photos1

User reviews9

6.5485

Featured reviews

10tcchelsey

FOOL ME ONCE, FOOL ME TWICE.

The best part of this case of mistaken identity, so it appears, is the battle of wits between two superior screen bad guys; Oscar Homolka, who always looked crafty to the core, and British Eric Portman, remembered for playing Nazi officers.

One of those "mystery cruises" we all love involving distinguished Sir Richard Musgrave (Portman) who stumbles upon his old partner, Vander Klaue (Homolka) who he thought he murdered, and should have been dead and buried years ago. Did he make a horrible mistake, or does this guy have nine lives? Talk about an awk-weird confrontation.

That's the Hitch clincher, exceptionally written by Bill S. Ballinger, who wrote the cult film, THE STRANGLER, based on the Boston Strangler in the 60s. Again, a genuine tug of war between Portman and Homolka, and just to see who gets the last laugh. Generally, it's Hitch, right?

Irene Tedrow, a staple in dramas and sitcoms, plays Mrs. Musgrave. And did Ballinger get that name from a Sherlock Holmes mystery, SHERLOCK HOLMES FACES DEATH, one of the more eerie Basil Rathbone adventures.

SEASON 5 EPISODE 29 remastered Universal dvd box set. The classic gold cover. All seven season half hour episodes are on dvd in a single box.

6planktonrules

An okay twist....with some decent acting.

Sir Richard Musgrave is on a cruise when he sees someone he recognizes, Jan Vander Klaue. This is quite a shock, as decades before, Musgrave thought that he'd killed his old partner, Vander Klaue...but here he appears to be on the ship. Musgrave meets with the man and explains the past...and tries to make some sort of financial settlement with him to keep his mouth shut. But is this really Vander Klaue AND what's going to happen next? Plus the man insists he's NOT Jan Vander Klaue.

So is "The Hero" very good? Well, it has some good acting. As for the twist, it's okay...not bad, not great. In other words, it's worth seeing but certainly isn't exactly a memorable episode.

Goofs
The newspaper clipping left under the stateroom door was dateline "Kimberly -- October 19, 1939". The city in South Africa is "Kimberley".

Quotes
[introduction - Hitchcock is sitting at a desk]
Self - Host: Good evening. I thought you might be interested in seeing one of the world's first television tubes.
[close-up of ship in a bottle]
Self - Host: In those days, everything was in glorious color. Repairs were unheard of and the tube never wore out. But, of course, we've managed to improve those details. A few of you may consider staring at this a rather limited form of entertainment, but our ancestors found this bottle quite exciting. But, of course, they were the ones who had emptied it. And now, ladies and gentlemen, our play.