"The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" Consider Her Ways (1964)

Director:

Robert Stevens

Writers:

Oscar Millard (teleplay)
John Wyndham (story)

TV Series:

"The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" (1962)

Original Air Date:

28 December 1964 (Season 3, Episode 11)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

Dr. Jane Waterleigh wakes to find herself in an obese body, having just given birth to her fourth baby...

Plot Keywords:

Amnesia | Biologist | Doctor | Virus | Narcotic

Cast

Alfred Hitchcock	...	Himself - Host
Barbara Barrie	...	Dr. Jane Waterleigh
Gladys Cooper	...	Laura
Robert H. Harris	...	Dr. Perrigan
Gene Lyons	...	Max Wilding
Ellen Corby	...	Chief Nurse
Virginia Gregg	...	Third Doctor
Carmen Phillips	...	Mother Daisy
Diane Sayer	...	Mother Hazel
Dee J. Thompson	...	First Doctor
Alice Backes	...	Second Doctor
Eve Bruce	...	Amazon
Ivy Bethune	...	Nurse
Jennifer Gan	...	First Worker (as Ginny Gan)
Stacy King	...	Female Worker

Runtime:

48 min

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:

Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions

Quotes:

Dr. Jane Waterleigh: Suppose that in ridding society of a pest it has gotten along with for centuries, you also destroyed society.
Dr. Perrigan: Sort of throwing the baby out with the bath water, hmm?
Dr. Jane Waterleigh: Or the operation was successful, but the patient died.

One of the Great Hitchcock Hours

I can't add much to the other comment here. This is one of the few truly classic Alfred Hitchcock Hour episodes, along with "The Jar", "Final Escape" and "An Unlocked Window". "Consider Her Ways" tends to be overlooked, but it certainly deserves attention. This is surely one of the most sustained hours of strangeness ever made for television. Veteran TV director Robert Stevens must have been working at his peak: the Twilight Zone-like atmosphere is remarkably convincing as is acting. Especially noteworthy is the lead, Barbara Barrie, who deserves recognition for this impressive work. Fans of John Wyndham's writing should be pleased with this adaptation as well. Absolutely not to be missed.