The Alfred Hitchcock Presents Companion (Paperback)

by Martin Grams (Author), Patrik Wikstrom (Author) "When television was ready to grace the national scene, it borrowed rather liberally two of Hollywood's major resources: its money and its mediocricy..." (more)
Key Phrases: teleplay written, concludes our show, subsequently anthologized, Norman Lloyd, Joan Harrison, Henry Slesar (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"I should add that this far-ranging, miscellaneous quality makes the book a fascinating companion." -- The Hitchcock Annual, 2001-2002

"Is a treasure trove of information and lore, based on enormous research and a number of interviews." -- Leonard Maltin, Entertainment Tonight & Movie Crazy

"This book was worth the anxious wait by Alfred Hitchcock fans worldwide." -- The Delta Star, October 2002

"contains an enormous amount of material on Hitchcock's activities apart from his role as a film director." -- Hitchcock Annual, 2001-02

Product Description
"Alfred Hitchcock Presents" and "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" are considered by far, the most successful mystery anthology to grace the picture tube. "The Alfred Hitchcock Presents Companion" is the first and only "official" book documenting the entire history of the television program, complete with an episode-by-episode broadcast guide. The popularity of the program itself is evident among multiple reruns, now syndicated on local and cable stations around the world. This book presents a complete study of the series, both informative and scholarly, including a behind-the-scenes sneak peak at the production of these broadcasts.

Recollections and memories from the script writers, directors and actors are included. Both the original and the 1980's remake series are covered in detail, with all production credits, complete cast list (including actors uncredited), plot descriptions, Hitchcock's opening and closing remarks (including alternative remarks filmed but never shown during the initial telecasts), and insightful trivia throughout.

A section about Hitchcock's other productions and directorial efforts include "Tactic", Ford Startime's "Incident at a Corner", Alcoa Premiere's "The Jail", "Dark Intruder", "Suspicion" (TV series), "Psycho", and more are discussed in length, also with production credits. Spoofs, rip-offs, print media and collectables are also covered in detail. Hundreds of photos included.

This book covers most of the over-looked topics relating to Alfred Hitchcock's career, making this publication a must for your book shelf.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 660 pages
• Publisher: OTR Publishing, LLC; 1st edition (April 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0970331010
• ISBN-13: 978-0970331014
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #376,012 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "Oh yeah...they were called 'editors'", January 11, 2003

By A Customer

First, let me say that there's a lot to like about this book. It's very obvious that an exhausting amount of effort was involved in researching it, and for that the authors are to be warmly commended. One would guess that every scintilla of data related to "TV Hitchcock" has been unearthed and accounted for. This project was very obviously a labor of love.
Unfortunately, this book has an amateurish flavor that's very distracting. For one thing--as has been mentioned by other reviewers--the illustrations are evidently photocopies of photographs; they're really nasty. However, that's not the worst of it.
These guys can't write. PERIOD.
Not only is this work rife with typos, but the prose itself is awful. Grammatical errors abound, punctuation is tossed about with abandon (particularly commas), and vocabulary is misused. An editor brandishing a blue pencil in one hand and a whip in the other is DESPERATELY needed to pull this book into shape.
It hurts me to trash this book, as so much work went into it. But the fact of the matter is that literature (even popular) needs to be held to standards, and this book just doesn't meet them. I see a lot of this deterioration in contemporary writing--it's scarier than anything Hitchcock ever committed to celluloid, that's for sure. Please, bring back good editors. If one had been available to the authors of this work, it would probably have merited a 5-star rating.
Addendum--I'm editing my previous review by way of self-defense: "James Barton creditable as Hobbs (or rather Hobbs' body - since he's actually playing Fortnum for much of the show), and convinces you that he's actually suffering. Most of the acting from him was showing emotion and facial features, since the most of the dialogue was from thoughts, more so a recording of his voice."
Oh, my.
The above passage was chosen by opening the book to a random page; I believe this is from page 75 (many of the pages aren't numbered--go figure). I seem to recall encountering even more obtuse examples, e.g., the synopsis of [the original] Specialty of the House, but I thought my case was stronger for having used the method described. I took the time to revise my review in response to somewhat puzzling assertions from other reviewers (which, astonishingly, bear a remarkable stylistic similarity to each other) that this book represents a pinnacle of grammatical perfection and "proper" usage of our fair tongue. I'm willing to entertain the possibility that my own copy is unique, but common sense dictates that the odds don't favor it. Turn to any page--the whole book (my copy, anyway) is like this. And if despite all this I still haven't convinced you, check out Amazon's own editorial "From the Publisher." Clearly, given the laughable prose, "publisher" and "authors" are one (two?) and the same. BELIEVE them when they write that they "spent no expense on a project that is highly agreed by all to be long over-due."
Sigh.

13 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Very Poorly Written, December 29, 2006

By	Queequeg (West Hollywood, CA) - See all my reviews

This book is so poorly written, it is no wonder that it has fallen out of print. The writing is horrendous, the photos (or photocopies) are beyond laughable, and the research is at best shallow. My elementary school students could have done a better job. Don't bother with this book (if you can even locate a copy now). "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" was a classy show with high quality writing, and and any book about it ought to be on par with those standards of excellence. Fans of the show should organize a class action lawsuit against the publisher for breach of compentency. Please someone, write an "unauthorized" companion reference guide, and give this series the tribute it truly deserves.

10 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Quite a tome, but somewhat wearying., August 29, 2001

By	Patrick F. Carella (Beacon, NY USA) - See all my reviews

I awaited the arrival of this book with great eagerness. Alas,
I was somewhat dissapointed. While it is a comprehensive guide to all th episodes and includes interviews with the makers of the show, plus Hitchcock filmography, the individual synopsis'
could have been written with a little more familiarity to the plot. Furthermore, the authors reviews on each plot could have been written with more description and commentary. It certainly isn't a Twilight Zone companion by Marc Scott Zicree, that's for sure.However, that being said, it was a major undertaking and it will serve as a great resource. One more thing: the all the photos look like cheap xeroxes. A worthy purchase for all you Hitchcock Presents afficionados.