"Alfred Hitchcock Presents" The Belfry (1956)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Herschel Daugherty

Writers:

Robert C. Dennis (teleplay)
Allan Vaughan Elston (story)

TV Series:

"Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (1955)

Original Air Date:

13 May 1956 (Season 1, Episode 33)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

When Clint learns that the schoolteacher whom he loves is engaged to another man, he kills his rival and then hides in the schoolhouse's bell tower, waiting for his chance to exact further revenge.

Plot Keywords:

Bell Tower | Schoolteacher | Schoolhouse | Revenge Motive | Hiding Place

Cast

Alfred Hitchcock	...	Himself - Host
Jack Mullaney	...	Clint Ringle
Patricia Hitchcock	...	Ellie Marsh (as Pat Hitchcock)
Dabbs Greer	...	The Sheriff
Ross Evans		(as Horst Ehrhardt)
Jim Hayward	...	Preacher
Ralph Moody	...	Local Citizen
John Compton	...	Walt Norton
Norman Leavitt	...	Elmer
David Saber
Rudy Lee
Kathleen Hartnagel

Runtime:

USA:30 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Filming Locations:

Republic Studios - 4024 Radford Avenue, North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Shamley Productions

"The Belfry" is hiding a maniacal killer

Against typecasting, Jack Mullaney plays a country bumpkin turned psychotic named Clint Ringle who impulsively murders the rival for his girlfriend's affections. Hitchcock's daughter (Patricia) plays Mullaney's erstwhile love interest (Ellie Marsh) and she also happens to be the local schoolmarm. Mullaney is able to escape justice by conveniently hiding in the belfry of Ms. Hitchcock's school, but he's far from satisfied with one death. His intent now is to kill his poor unsuspecting former girlfriend for her supposed duplicity. Safely ensconced in the belfry, Mullaney imagination takes hold and his evil and demented thoughts are conveyed to the audience. His original "act of passion" merely disguised his twisted and mentally deranged mind.

Hitchcock had an affinity for locating many episodes of his series out in the boondocks and inhabited them with simple but devious characters. It was his way of telling the viewing audience that escaping to the countryside wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. He also used his daughter Patricia on occasion and she gave an exceptional performance in this suspenseful entry. Mullaney (as always) played the killer (Ringle) for all it's worth. Needless to say, justice "rings" its tune for poor Jack.