The Game

It's a new plot wrinkle for me—insurance companies paying off thieves for stolen goods at a lesser rate than what they'd have to pay the beneficiary. There's a couple contortions to the storyline that get Pete involved, surprise, surprise. And how about that surprise party for Pete, where he shows up-- sort of. I'm glad he at least got a taste of the cake. Of course, no entry's complete without at least one colorful character, so chalk one up for the diminutive Billy Barty who's trying to throw some cools on a sexy girl at the party. And who but this 50's series would think of including a health food bar in the story. After all, this was the decade of TV dinners. Also, note presence of the poor man's Sydney Greenstreet when the great Robert Emhardt gets to play an ordinary crook for a change. He was a favorite of Hitchcock Presents usually as some kind of real weirdo, but not here. All in all, fellow reviewer Gordon's on target—it's a mid-level entry. But in this exceptional series, that means a stylishly compelling half-hour.