"The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" Nothing Ever Happens in Linvale (1963)

User Rating:

8.7/10   

Director:

Herschel Daugherty

Writers:

Richard Levinson (teleplay)
William Link (teleplay)

TV Series:

"The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" (1962)

Original Air Date:

8 November 1963 (Season 2, Episode 6)

Genre:

Mystery | Romance | Thriller

Plot:

A sheriff investigates the disappearance of the wife of a man who has been acting suspiciously. |

Plot Keywords:

Male Female Relationship | Character Name In Title

Cast

Alfred Hitchcock	...	Himself - Host
Gary Merrill	...	Harry Jarvis
Phyllis Thaxter	...	Mrs. Logan
Fess Parker	...	Sheriff Ben Wister
George Furth	...	Charlie
Robert P. Lieb	...	Dr. Wyatt
Burt Mustin	...	Mr. Bell
Jan Arvan	...	Al
Cathie Merchant	...	The Receptionist
Sammy Reese	...	Henry (as Sam Reese)
Robert Roter	...	The Boy
Martine Bartlett	...	Mrs. Bergen

Runtime:

60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Shamley Productions

"Nothing Ever Happens in Linvale"...except murder

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Above average Hithcock entry in the hour-long series with Fess Parker playing a good-natured local sheriff going about his normal boring business when he receives a strange complaint from a widow (Phyllis Thaxter). She's convinced that her next door neighbor (Gary Merrill) has murdered his wife. The woman hasn't been seen around the house in weeks and the nosy Ms. Thaxter has noticed some unusual late-night gardening from Mr. Merrill. Parker isn't too worried about these events because "Nothing ever happens in Linvale" to begin with. It's a nice quiet town and he aims to keep it that way.

Phyllis Thaxter, a Hitchcock regular in her day, carries this tale with her combination of emotions ranging from fear to quasi-hysteria. She does her utmost to make sure that old Fess thoroughly investigates the disappearance of Merrill's wife, and all within the boundaries of the law. Unfortunately for her, Fess does his job all too well. "Nothing Ever Happens..." succeeds on the performances of the stellar cast as the plot is mostly standard Hithcock fodder. It's too bad that Parker was typecast too often as a frontiersman (e.g. Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone etc.). He was an excellent actor in his heyday and could actually handle a wide range of roles. He's quite good here as a laid-back sheriff who's a lot smarter than he looks.