Triumph (14 Dec. 1964)

Two new missionaries, the Spragues, arrive at the Fitzgibbons' medical mission in the Indian jungle. John Sprague is a physician and Lucy a nurse. Mary Fitzgibbons suspects that they were ... See full summary »

Director:

Harvey Hart

Writers:

Robert Branson (story), Arthur A. Ross (teleplay)

Stars:

Alfred Hitchcock, Ed Begley, Jeanette Nolan

Cast

Episode cast overview:
Alfred Hitchcock	...	Himself - Host
Ed Begley	...	Brother Thomas Fitzgibbons
Jeanette Nolan	...	Mary Fitzgibbons
Maggie Pierce	...	Mrs. Lucy Sprague
Tom Simcox	...	Brother John Sprague
Than Wyenn	...	Ramna
Tony Scott	...	The Indian Employee

Storyline

Two new missionaries, the Spragues, arrive at the Fitzgibbons' medical mission in the Indian jungle. John Sprague is a physician and Lucy a nurse. Mary Fitzgibbons suspects that they were sent to check up on them, and that they want the mission for themselves. Thomas Fitzgibbons is not medically competent, and Mary must perform difficult procedures for him. When John leaves to attend to a cholera outbreak, Thomas takes Lucy for an evening canoe ride on the river. They discuss philosophy and her beauty. Mary sees them together, and becomes jealous. Early in the morning, she grabs a scalpel and enters Lucy's bedroom. A piercing scream resounds. A messenger is sent to inform John of his wife's sudden death from cholera. He rushes back, but the Fitzgibbons have gone down-river for several days. He asks the Indian employees to help find the grave of his wife, which was hidden to prevent the spread of cholera, because he suspects that she was not a cholera victim. When he opens the coffin, ...

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Plot Keywords:

cholera | missionary | canoe | nurse | insect | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 December 1964 (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

User Reviews

I'm stumped

This is not a review, it's a question. Can someone explain the plot to me? I don't get it.

We see the older woman sneak into the younger woman's bedroom with the scalpel. Then we hear a scream, and see someone collapse behind the bed screens. The doctor sees this, but visibly does not participate in any way. But in the end, we find out that the young woman is NOT dead, she's masquerading as the older woman and running off with the doctor. This leaves a couple big questions unanswered: 1) HOW????? How on earth did the sleeping younger woman somehow kill the older woman, who was armed with the scalpel? Huh??? 2) When the young woman's husband digs up the grave and opens the coffin, how did he not *notice* that it wasn't his wife in the coffin, but in fact the older woman? I mean, come on, they didn't look anything alike, and surely he can recognize his *own wife* or not! 3) If the younger woman did somehow manage to kill the older woman, why is she secretly running away and all? She's innocent, it was legitimate self-defense.

In short, I don't get this episode. I've searched the net and cannot find a full plot summary that explains it. I was hoping to find one here, but no such luck. Anyone with answers, please post an explanatory review!

ADDENDUM: I thank patricw for the reply. I've since watched the episode again, and it still doesn't hang together for me. How could the young woman be prepared for the older woman's attack? How could she have known it was going to happen that night? Short of being armed with a gun (we don't hear any shot), how could she have been assured of safely defending herself against a scalpel?

The cut up face is an interesting idea for why the husband doesn't recognize the corpse as not being his wife. Not sure I fully buy it, but at least it's a good attempt at an explanation.