"Alfred Hitchcock Presents" Arthur (1959)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

James P. Cavanagh (teleplay)
Arthur Williams (story)

TV Series:

"Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (1955)

Original Air Date:

27 September 1959 (Season 5, Episode 1)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

When his fiancée Helen leaves chicken farmer Arthur for another man, he accepts her decision by conveniently enjoying the life of a bachelor...

Plot Keywords:

Alfred Hitchcock | Famous Opening Theme | Murder | Looking At Camera | Performer Name In Title

Cast

Alfred Hitchcock	...	Himself - Host
Laurence Harvey	...	Arthur Williams
Hazel Court	...	Helen Brathwaite
Patrick Macnee	...	Sergeant Farrell
Robert Douglas	...	Inspector Ben Liebenberg
Barry Harvey	...	Constable Barry

Runtime:

30 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Revue Studios, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Shamley Productions

Trivia:

This was the first episode to be filmed at Revue Studios on the Universal Studios backlot.

Have Another Drumstick

One of the most talked-about of the Hitchcock entries. At the time (1959), Laurence Harvey was about to become a star in America after a career on British stage and screen. Here he gets to camp it up shamelessly as the unlikely proprietor of a one-man chicken farm-- it's automated, you see. He walks around in a white lab coat, conversing with the camera as he explains the plot to us. The problem is that he's got this on-again off-again romance with the delectably ripened Hazel Court. At present it's off-again and in an outrage against lovers of voluptuous women everywhere, he confuses her with a chicken by wringing her neck. E-gad!

There's some suspense and an amusing climax, but the main draw (for me, at least) is watching the epicene Harvey obviously enjoying himself in the role. Likely he and Hitch enjoyed a claret or two along with some of the feathered props after a short day of shooting. Too bad Harvey died young. Probably no one could be more cold-heartedly nasty on screen than he.