Thou Still Unravished Bride (22 Mar. 1965)

Tommy Bonn returns to London amidst a pleasure cruise, during which he met his American fiancée, Sally Benner. On the Soho riverfront, his Scotland Yard colleague, Stephen, shows him the ... See full summary »

Director:

David Friedkin

Writers:

Avram Davidson (story), Morton S. Fine (teleplay),

Stars:

Alfred Hitchcock, Ron Randell, David Carradine

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Alfred Hitchcock	...	Himself - Host
Ron Randell	...	Tommy Bonn
David Carradine	...	Edward Clarke
Sally Kellerman	...	Sally Benner
Michael Pate	...	Stephen Leslie
Kent Smith	...	Mr. Benner
Edith Atwater	...	Mrs. Benner
Virginia Gregg	...	Mrs. Essie Setlin
Howard Caine	...	Mr. Setlin
Ben Wright	...	Mr. Sutherland
Richard Lupino	...	Guerny, Jr.
Betty Harford	...	The Woman
Victor Rogers	...	Bobbie
George Pelling	...	Sergeant
Ted Bessell	...	Elliott Setlin

Storyline

Tommy Bonn returns to London amidst a pleasure cruise, during which he met his American fiancée, Sally Benner. On the Soho riverfront, his Scotland Yard colleague, Stephen, shows him the latest victim in a series of four silk stocking strangulations, all of whom were thirtyish women roaming the streets alone. The wedding guests begin to arrive, beginning with the Setlins, shipboard acquaintances of the Benners, including Elliot Benner, the best man. Although matrimony is only four hours away, Sally insists upon taking a walk to assuage her premarital jitters. First she visits Guerney and Son Chemists to pick up some cosmetics and a candy bar. Guerney Jr. follows her when she leaves the pharmacy and watches as she passes an antique shop followed by a hi-fi store, briefly chats with a streetwalker, then enters Sutherland's Book Shop. Sutherland recites some Keats to her, the first time a customer has asked for a reading in years; then she buys a rare poetry edition. She then goes to a ...

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Plot Keywords:

pub | chemist | maid of honor | poetry | taking a walk | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 March 1965 (USA)

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions, Shamley Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

48 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

'Kent Smith' and Edith Atwater, who played Mr. and Mrs. Benner, were actually husband and wife in real life since 1962 until 1985, Mr. Smiths death.

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Quotes

Sally Benner: The guidebook says Shelley once walked here.
Woman: Who?

User Reviews

Atmospheric but a bit dull

I had seen some of the Hitchcock Hour episodes when I was a kid and they always made an impression on me. "Thou Still Unravished Bride" is one that I hadn't seen, before watching it just now on hulu.com, and I must admit that while the story sounded very promising, the episode itself was kind of disappointing. It starts off well: the two converging story lines, of the serial killer preying on women in London, and the English policeman and American tourist about to marry, are both set up very nicely. The first half of the episode is actually quite good, but in the second half, when it feels like the suspense and action should kick into higher gear, the pacing becomes almost bizarrely lethargic instead. Although everyone talks as if they're in a near-panic about the missing bride-to-be's whereabouts and the possible grisly fate that could have befallen her, no one seems to be in any great hurry to actually find her, which IMO seriously undercuts the believability factor. The groom-to-be and his police colleague begin to try and retrace her footsteps, but they do so in a very slow and leisurely manner - the prevailing attitude is sort of akin to "Oh my God, she might be dead!... that's too bad." The bride's disappearance is ultimately resolved very undramatically, and in the meantime the cops meet up with the serial killer and immediately focus on him as a suspect for no real reason other than that he's just a bit odd (but really no more so than anyone else in the story). The sets and the photography do create a nice atmosphere, and there are very good performances from Sally Kellerman, David Carradine (whose role should really have been bigger), and Michael Pate, as well as a host of character actors in small, "eccentric" supporting roles. As the policeman/groom though, Ron Randell is rather stiff and uncharismatic for a leading man. I was really hoping this episode would deliver on suspense and scares, but it was surprisingly calm and benign overall.