Customer Reviews

Alfred Hitchcock Presents - Season Three

5 star:		(33)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Three of the episodes in the third season of ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS were directed by Hitchcock himself: "The Perfect Crime," "Lamb to the Slaughter" and "Dip in the Pool." The rest were overseen by a number of fine directors, including Robert Altman, Arthur Hiller and Don Taylor. MCA/Universal's large talent pool supplied the many fine actors who appeared in this and all the other seasons the show was in production.

By season #3, ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS had really hit its stride. This DVD set is a terrific package of some of the finest programming the Golden Age of Televison ever produced. The first two years of the show are also available in complete season box sets.

For a fine bargain-priced compilation of Hitch's British-era movies, try the ULTIMATE HITCHCOCK COLLECTION. It offers 18 vintage titles as well as two TV episodes.

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This program list is sequential by airdate. Included on it are 1 to 10 viewer poll ratings, titles and the most prominent actors for each episode.

(9.1) (.#1) The Glass Eye (10/6/57) - Billy Barty/William Shatner/Jessica Tandy
(8.6) (.#2) The Mail Order Prophet (10/13/57) - Jack Klugman/E.G. Marshall
(8.3) (.#3) The Perfect Crime (10/20/57) - Vincent Price/James Gregory
(8.6) (.#4) Heart of Gold (10/27/57) - Daryl Hickman/Nehemiah Persoff/Mildred Dunnock
(9.0) (.#5) Silent Witness (11/3/57) - Don Taylor/Patricia Hitchcock
(8.9) (.#6) Reward To Finder (11/10/57) - Oskar Homolka/Jo Van Fleet/Claude Akins
(9.0) (.#7) Enough Rope For Two (11/17/57) - Steven Hill/Jean Hagen/Steve Brodie
(8.6) (.#8) The Last Request (11/24/57) - Harry Guardino/Cara Williams/Hugh Marlowe
(9.0) (.#9) The Young One (12/1/57) - Carol Lynley/Vince Edwards/Jeanette Nolan
(8.8) (#10) The Diplomatic Corpse (12/8/57) - Peter Lorre/George Peppard/Mary Scott
(8.8) (#11) The Deadly (12/15/57) - Phyllis Thaxter/Craig Stevens/Frank Gerstle
(8.8) (#12) Miss Paisley's Cat (12/22/57) - Dorothy Stickney/Raymond Bailey
(8.8) (#13) Night of the Execution (12/29/57) - Vinton Haworth/Pat Hingle
(8.8) (#14) The Percentage (1/5/58) - Don Keefer/Walter Woolf King/Carole Mathews
(8.8) (#15) Together (1/12/58) - Joseph Cotten/Florence MacAfee/Christine White
(8.3) (#16) Sylvia (1/19/58) - Ann Todd/Phillip Reed/John McIntire/Raymond Bailey
(8.8) (#17) The Motive (1/26/58) - Skip Homeier/Carl Betz/Kay Stewart
(8.3) (#18) Miss Bracegirdle Does Her Duty (2/2/58) - Mildred Natwick/Gavin Muir
(8.4) (#19) The Equalizer (2/9/58) - Leif Erickson/Martin Balsam/Norma Crane
(???) (#20) On the Nose (2/15/58) - Jan Sterling/Carl Betz/Holly Bane
(8.9) (#21) Guest for Breakfast (2/23/58) - Joan Tetzel/Scott McKay/Richard Shepard
(8.2) (#22) The Return of the Hero (3/2/58) - Jacques Bergerac/Susan Kohner
(8.7) (#23) The Right Kind of House (3/9/58) - Jeanette Nolan/James Drury/Robert Emhardt
(8.5) (#24) The Foghorn (3/16/58) - Barbara Bel Geddes/Michael Rennie
(???) (#25) Flight to the East (3/23/58) - Gary Merrill/Harvey Stephans
(7.4) (#26) Bull in a China Shop (3/30/58) - Dennis Morgan/Estelle Winwood/Ellen Corby
(8.6) (#27) Disappearing Trick (4/6/58) - Robert Horton/Raymond Bailey/Jack Albertson
(9.0) (#28) Lamb to the Slaughter (4/13/58) - Barbara Bel Geddes/Harold J. Stone
(???) (#29) Fatal Figures (4/20/58) - John McGiver/Vivian Nathan
(???) (#30) Death Sentence (4/27/57) - James Best/Steve Brodie/Frank Gerstle
(???) (#31) The Festive Season (5/4/58) - Richard Waring/Carmen Mathews
(7.6) (#32) Listen, Listen! (5/11/58) - James Westmoreland/Adam Williams/Kitty Kelly
(9.0) (#33) Post Mortem (5/18/58) - Steve Forrest/Joanna Cook Moore/James Gregory
(8.0) (#34) The Crocodile Case (5/25/58) - Denholm Elliot/Patricia Hitchcock
(7.9) (#35) Dip in the Pool (6/1/58) - Keenan Wynn/Fay Wray
(???) (#36) The Safe Place (6/8/58) - Robert H. Harris/Jerry Paris
(8.2) (#37) The Canary Sedan (6/15/58) - Jessica Tandy/Gavin Muir
(???) (#38) The Impromptu Murder (6/22/58) - Hume Cronyn/Doris Lloyd
(8.8) (#39) Little White Frock (6/29/58) - Herbert Marshall/Tom Helmore/Julie Adams

"Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Season 3" contains several of my personal favorite episodes from Mr. Hitchcock's long-running anthology series from the 1950s and 1960s, such as "The Perfect Crime", "Dip In The Pool", and the classic tale of a housewife scorned (and armed with frozen meat), "Lamb To The Slaughter".

Coincidentally (well, probably not), all three of the above-mentioned episodes were directed by Mr. Hitchcock himself, which tends to make this writer think that when Hitch himself is at the helm, a certain extra "something" is added to that particular program. It's hard to define what it is, though. It seems to be a special "Hitch Quality" that raises the level of the episode a notch or two.

The list of guest stars that put in appearances in this third season of "AHP" is fairly impressive indeed, including one of the "masters of horror", Vincent Price, who (as usual) is very good in "The Perfect Crime".

And what better guest star could there possibly be for an episode of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" than Mr. Price? Vincent's very presence in a TV show or motion picture conjures up in the viewer's mind ample thoughts of suspense, mystery, and murder, which makes him made to order for Mr. Hitchcock's television series.

Other familiar faces that can be found in this third-season collection are:

Joseph Cotten, Jack Klugman, Mildred Natwick, William Shatner, Jeanette Nolan, E.G. Marshall, Herbert Marshall, Vince Edwards, Michael Rennie, Jessica Tandy, Barbara Bel Geddes, Fay Wray, Steve Forrest, Claude Akins, Hume Cronyn, James Gregory, Gary Merrill, Carol Lynley, Joanna Moore, Pat Hingle, Jerry Paris, Keenan Wynn, Jack Albertson, Martin Balsam, plus (like Vincent Price) another one of Hollywood's all-time top kings of fright -- Peter Lorre, who shows up in the episode "The Diplomatic Corpse", which co-stars George Peppard.

We'll also find Lorre popping up in a very intriguing and creepy 5th-season "Hitchcock Presents" episode when Universal releases that boxed box in the future (knock wood) -- which is an episode that definitely makes my "Top 10" list of all-time AHP faves, "Man From The South".

DVD INFO:

Universal Studios Home Entertainment delivers "Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Season Three" in a 5-Disc DVD set, with single-sided discs, Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono audio, and the appropriate video (screen) shape of 1.33:1 (Full-Frame). The B&W picture and the sound are pretty darn good here too, in my opinion.

Like each of the first two seasons, there are 39 total shows in AHP-3. These episodes, which were originally seen on CBS-TV way back in 1957 and 1958, appear to be full and uncut on these DVDs, with running times that average about 26 minutes per show.

English subtitles are provided....and a "Play All" option is available from either the Main Menu on each DVD or via the "Episode Index" Sub-Menu on each of the five discs. Chapter breaks have been inserted into each episode too (four chapter stops per program). No bonus supplements are included in this set.

The DVD packaging consists of a three-panel "Digipak" inner case that holds the five discs, plus an outer box for the folding Digipak to comfortably slide into.

Each of the disc-holding panels sports a third-season publicity photo (revealed when the DVDs are removed from their respective trays), including a playful pose of a wide-eyed Vincent Price in the process of strangling Mr. Hitchcock.

And just in case anyone is keeping track of such things, I'll add this trivial packaging note: this set's inner case slides out from its outer slipcase box on the left-hand side (when looking at the front of the box, that is), which is the same design as Season #2, and it definitely feels backwards to me. I think the DVD innards should slide out on the right-hand side. But, it's not exactly worth throwing a fit over.

Anyway, just thought I'd mention it, for those keeping a "box" score at home. (BTW, the inner portion of the Season-One "AHP" DVD set slides out from the right-hand side of the case, just the opposite from Seasons 2 and 3. I guess Universal just likes to keep us guessing as to which end will be open on its DVD cases.) ~wink~

Another minor gripe I have with this third-season packaging is the fact that the text written on both of the spines of the box is too dark and totally unreadable when looking at the box from certain angles. I think Universal should have used lighter-colored lettering on the black spines, like they did for the first two Hitchcock season sets.

SOME FINAL "AHP" THOUGHTS:

With Universal's release of this third Hitchcock season on DVD on October 9, 2007, it now means that, up to the date of this review, 117 episodes of this spooky black-and-white television series (which ran for 7 seasons) have been digitally preserved on the DVD format. And a lot of good Hitchcock-flavored stories can be found within those first three full-season collections.

So, I'd positively recommend picking up a copy of "ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS: SEASON THREE". And I'd also recommend something else too -- after purchasing this DVD set, I'd strongly suggest that you immediately dispose of any and all legs of lamb that you happen to have in the freezer. (Just so your spouse won't feel tempted, you see. No sense in taking any chances.) ;)

David Von Pein
October 2007

Featuring a top notch array of Hollywood actors such as Peter Lorre (who had appeared in "The Man Who Knew Too Much" and "Secret Agent" two early Hitchcock classics), Jack Klugman, William Shatner, Joseph Cotton (another Hitchcock veteran)and Fay Wray, many of the show's episodes where directed by talented folks such as John Brahm (who directed the remake of Hitch's silent classic "The Lodger"), Paul Henreid (who appeared in the classic "Casablanca" and was blacklisted in 1952. Hitch's show gave him steady employment), Robert Altman ("M*A*S*H", "McCabe and Mrs. Miller", "Short Cuts")and other talented film/TV veterans.

Alfred Hitchcock truly was the first director as celebrity. It began with the cameos, his droll sense of humor and a business deal (the opportunity to host his own TV program and make lots of money). The third season of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" remains one of the pinnacle years for the program. Although Hitch only directed three episodes, all three are classic Hitch.

Produced by Norman Lloyd (who appeared in Hitchcock's "Saboteur" and "Spellbound")and long time Hitchcock associate Joan Harrison, the series works like the best short stories--involving you in the suspense story at hand often with a droll, witty sense of humor.

The third season varies in quality but overall looks pretty good in its first ever complete presentation on DVD (there was a single disc of the TV shows available in the first Universal Hitchcock box set). It's a pity there aren't any extras or commentary tracks (particularly on the best episodes such as "Lamb to the Slaughter")but the show is presented at an affordable price. We get all 39 episodes on five discs.

I don't know about you, but this avid Alfred Hitchcock Presents fan is over the moon with the news about season three. You know, I am not sure how the business of releasing DVDs works, but the wait for this fantastic show is now available for pre-order--and don't you think I haven't already ordered mine. I am like a kid in a candy store, ready to catch up with the Master of Suspense himself, as he narrates these half-hour thrills and chills and takes us back to a time when classic television was at its best.

T.B. Grant
7.22.07

I never got to see this show when it aired in the 50's and 60's. I had to go to bed early. So finally seeing these magnificent episodes is like finding a buried treasure. The stories are great (they have that devious little twist at the end), the actors are top-notch, and for me, they are nostalgic time capsules of the world of my childhood days.
The first 3 seasons were just marvelous, and I devoured them with great relish, and happily looked forward to the many upcoming seasons, to be released, I thought, on DVD. Well....it's autumn (same time of year that the first three seasons were released on DVD), and Season Four ain't nowhere to be seen. Was it too good to last? Or are WE the ones this time, who are victims of a Hitchcockian plot? Is this the perverse twist at the end of OUR story?

Great program, no doubt. But I have to mention one particular episode, The Glass Eye. I saw it once on Nick at Nite several years ago, and it stayed with me since. It has one of those amazing endings that leaves your mouth open. Those who have seen it know what I am talking about. Worth it for this episode alone.

This is one of my favorite anthology programs, just as fun as The Twilight Zone. A bit more macabre, definitely.

Universal has a track record for releasing this TV programs slowly and in many cases, stopping early before the entire series is available on DVD. Seasons three, four and five were the best of the bunch and it appears season four is not going to be available. More sad is the lack of extras. Heck, I can Youtube and find bonus film shorts related to the series. Recorded interviews and so on. Thankfully I have The Alfred Hitchcock Presents Companion (a superb book also available on Amazon.com) that helps me learn more behind-the-scenes details I wish were on these discs. Quality of transfers was excellent and each episode is complete and uncut.

I've been collecting all of the season packages of ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS as they've become available, and this 3rd season is my favorite so far. There is an unusual level of excellence in these 39 episodes, even higher than seasons 1 and 2. With a lot of famous writers (Stirling Silliphant!) and directors (Robert Altman!), and a Who's Who of the best actors from stage and screen, this season is something to see. Only Hitchcock could have attracted a lot of these people to the new medium in the '50s--many stars and writers at that time thought TV was beneath them, and people who worked in it were considered to be "slumming." But they all agreed to work for the Master, and the results are impressive.

Everyone will have a fave episode (mine is the famous "Lamb To The Slaughter" with a terrifically subversive Roald Dahl script and a great performance by Barbara Bel Geddes, directed by Hitch himself), and they're all worth watching more than once. This series set an early standard for excellence in TV, and I just wish there were more shows of this quality around now. We can't have everything--but we have ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS, preserved on DVD. I can't wait for Season 4!

Yes indeed thanks. I can never get enough of Alfred Hitchcock. I love him and his television shows. A great line up. With all my people in check. People like Peter Lorre, William Shatner, Vincent Price, Joe Cotton, Jack Klugmen, Jessica Tandy, Keenan Wynn, and the list goes on. Hitchcock's presentations are just like him. About as odd as you can get. Yet there is a lesson in every one of his television shows. I grew up watching his shows. My sister used to say he looked like Mr. Sollie, our next door neighbor.

Alfred Hitchcock Presents is a big batch of wonderfulness. I, like all other Hitchcock fans, zealously grabbed up the first three releases and have enjoyed them over and over again. But look, Universal...there was an implicit promise that we'd get one of these per year, right around Halloween. And you've dropped the ball with Season Four. You have an obligation to keep these coming until all of them, every season, every episode, are beautifully restored and available for collectors and murder-mystery fans. You owe it to Hitch!

Whatever the delay is, overcome it. Get these out, if possible faster.

And if you happen to be a shopper mulling over this purchase, I can't recommend it strongly enough. Alfred Hitchcock's wraparound segments are worth the price of admission alone. He's warm, darkly amusing, and often downright hilarious. The shows themselves are clever, and often ingenious. Get all three seasons, and help us convince Universal DVD to keep them coming!!