The Last Dark Step

I really like most of the AHP episodes. Even the 'worst' are still well worth watching for the most part. 'The Last Dark Step' however is among my personal favorites. Imagine if you had to cram a movie length story about a cheating ne'er-do-well, his manipulative, 'ex' girlfriend, and naive girlfriend. It would probably feel rushed; the story and characters would be hard to develop. Not with TLDS. They absolute nail it and throw in an excellent ending that I didn't see coming.

I have to say I was very impressed with the acting performance in this piece. Specifically Fay Spain who plays Leslie. I've never heard of her nor seen her in anything that I can remember. Especially in this time period in USA/Hollywood productions the best acting always came from the unknowns, never from the stars. That being said I was less impressed by the story. It needed a lot more time and the ending left me wanting. It just didn't hit me at all and while I often feel many movies an tv series overexplain too much and leave to little to the imagination, in this case it's the opposite. I would have liked to dig more into story. I'd rather had seen this later on when Alfred Hitchcock Presents became an hour long.

This has all the elements of a true Hitchcock mystery. We have a man who would like to start fresh, begin a romance with a young, innocent (but rich) woman. Unfortunately for him, he has baggage up to here, most notably a sugar momma relationship with a woman writer who has him in the palm of her hand. She knows what he is and she is not going to let her go. Forward to a murder plot. He has confronted this woman and she has said she will do anything it takes to keep him on her leash. He acquiesces for the moment, but decides to take her to an ocean front property and kill her. Everything plays out nicely, but then comes the kicker. In true Hitchcock style, things never quite go the way they could have. Robert Horton is sympathetic enough for us to root for him, but his past is his past and that is going to stack the deck.

This would have been an interesting case for Perry Mason, but Hitchcock gives it a try.

Handsome Robert Horton plays Brad, one of those works of art who shamelessly juggles his life between two women. Of course, one of them (played by Fay Spain) is paying all the bills and listening to his baloney. Brad's plan is to simply dump her and go with the other. Period and no regrets.

There's only one Hitch, and pardon the pun. Leslie (Spain) is not so willing to let him go, and claims there will be dire consequences. Joyce Meadows plays Janice, his other love, who also plays for keeps.

Watch what happens, if you dare.

A fabulous tale, written by William Jerome Fay, who shot to fame after he wrote the "Man From the South" story starring Peter Lorre and Steve McQueen. Remember? He penned 14 solid episodes for the master of suspense.

Fay Spain, who began her career as a card dealer in Reno, was the queen of 50s cult films, later in many top tv shows. In the 70s, best remembered as Mrs. Roth in the GODFATHER, PART II. Fay is a knockout in this role, perhaps her best part ever on tv.

Great late night soap opera material. SEASON 4 EPISODE 18 remastered dvd box set. 2008.

Manly Robert ("Wagon Train") Horton plays a hustler who is engaged to an elegant Vassar-type beauty while still seeing his old girlfriend (Fay Spain), a bohemian writer who no longer lives up to what he has in mind for his future -- even though she has been paying all his bills. When he reveals he's leaving her to marry the Vassar babe, she swears he never will marry the gal. And she means it. He decides to take drastic action. The ending is priceless. Horton and Spain were well matched in their scenes. The plot is not exactly new, but it will keep you in suspense. And the ending will leave you gasping. By the way, and fr what its worth, Spain is a timeless beauty who died much too young..