Dip in the Pool (1 Jun. 1958)

William Botibol is a compulsive gambler. While on a cruise he enters a betting pool to guess the number of miles the ship will travel in the course of twenty four hours. William gains some ... See full summary »

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Robert C. Dennis (teleplay), Roald Dahl (story)

Stars:

Alfred Hitchcock, Keenan Wynn, Fay Wray

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Alfred Hitchcock	...	Himself - Host
Keenan Wynn	...	William Botibol
Fay Wray	...	Mrs. Renshaw
Philip Bourneuf	...	Mr. Renshaw
Louise Platt	...	Ethel Botibol
Doreen Lang	...	Emily
Ralph Clanton	...	Ship's Purser
Doris Lloyd	...	Emily's Mother
Ashley Cowan	...	Captain
Owen Cunningham	...	Auctioneer
Barry Harvey	...	Steward
Michael Hadlow	...	Waiter
Margaret Curtis	...	Passenger
Judith Brian	...	Passenger
William Hughes	...	Bidder

Storyline

William Botibol is a compulsive gambler. While on a cruise he enters a betting pool to guess the number of miles the ship will travel in the course of twenty four hours. William gains some inside information when he learns that the ship is going to slow down to avoid an upcoming storm. Unfortunately, the storm passes, and the ship continues to speed on its course. He decides to force the ship to slow down by throwing himself overboard. He figures that when word gets out of someone going overboard the ship will slow down to get him. He picks out a witness and jumps overboard. The witness doesn't say a word. She's mentally ill and does not alert anyone to Williams' plight.

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Plot Keywords:

betting pool | jumping from ship | dry martini | cruise ship

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 June 1958 (USA)

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shamley Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

26 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is the only episode where Alfred Hitchcock actually had a cameo (not counting his opening remarks).

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Connections

Version of Uit de wereld van Roald Dahl: Een frisse duik (1975)

User Reviews

"A Dip in the Pool" was one of the more underwhelming eps of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" for me

As this ep begins, we find Hitch on a ship (the S.S. Hitchcock) telling us he's on vacation. He also tells us the captain told him that switching channels is a dangerous thing. In the actual story, Keenan Wynn is William Botibol, a compulsive gambler. So much so, he's willing to spend nearly all his and his wife's savings at an auction that makes guesses as to how many miles the ship is going to travel for the next day. It seems he miscalculated when the stormy weather did not slow down the ship enough to delay any more scheduled miles. So he decides to pretend to fall overboard in front of a witness to force the boat to stop. Unfortunately, the elderly woman who saw him do it was not of the mentally well...I have to admit, I was only slightly amused by this ep. Maybe it was the slow pace or I just wasn't getting the rhythm of the timing of certain things. Anyway, I was just underwhelmed watching this. And I was surprised Hitch directed this one. Still, "A Dip in the Pool" was still interesting to watch especially having just found out that one of the guests-a Mrs. Renshaw-was played by the original King Kong damsel-in-distress Fay Wray!