"The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" Good-Bye, George (1963)

Director:

Robert Stevens

Writers:

Robert Arthur (story)
William Fay (teleplay)

TV Series:

"The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" (1962)

Original Air Date:

13 December 1963 (Season 2, Episode 10)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

The husband of a successful actress, thought for years to be dead, suddenly returns and demands money. Things get complicated as she accidentally kills him when he attacks her. |

Plot Keywords:

Male Female Relationship | Character Name In Title

Cast

Alfred Hitchcock	...	Himself - Host
Robert Culp	...	Harry Lawrence
Stubby Kaye	...	George Cassidy
Elliott Reid	...	Dave Dennis
Patricia Barry	...	Lana Layne / Rosemary 'Peaches' Cassidy
Kreg Martin	...	Patrol officer
Holly Bane	...	Bartender (as Mike Ragan)
Sally Carter-Ihnat	...	Starlet (as Sally Carter)
Jimmy Joyce	...	Photographer
Bernie Kopell	...	Director
Alice Pearce	...	Haila French

Runtime:

60 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:

Shamley Productions

A Top-Notch, Forgotten Episode

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

"Good-Bye, George" is a case of TV doing a fine job of emulating the movies. Not only is the story set in the Hollywood movie industry, but in its pacing and variety it comes closer to feature film than most TV shows ever did.

Lana Layne (Patricia Barry) is a big movie star who is about to have her greatest triumph: she's up for the Academy Award this year. On top of that, she's engaged to smart and successful Harry Lawrence (Robert Culp). Managing her career and the childish demands of gossip columnist Haila French (Alice Pearce, in a rare substantial role) is full-time work for Lana. She's got it all under control until one day in walks George (Stubby Kaye) the husband she has long thought was dead. Could Lana and George ever really have been married? That's something that might require a leap of imagination, but there it is. George informs Lana (he knew her when, under a different name) that, in California, since they are still married, what's his is hers and what's hers is his. And with Lana on the verge of super-stardom and great financial rewards, George sees himself rather well-placed. Not finding this an acceptable situation, Lana, in a moment of panic, smashes George in the head with one of her previous award statues. Resourceful Harry comes to Lana's aid with a clever plan to dispose of George's corpse and have their wedding and honeymoon, all in one night. Another leap of imagination is needed to understand why Harry doesn't dump George in Mexico when they cross the border instead of waiting until they reach the honeymoon bungalow.

Patricia Barry was a regularly seen beauty of early 60s television. She had memorable appearances on The Twilight Zone and other great series, but she never achieved true fame. As Lana, Barry seems perfectly cast. Robert Culp and Stubby Kaye are more than adequate in their parts, and so is Alice Pearce as the often drunk, mean-mouthed gossip columnist who holds Lana's career in the palm of her hand.