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"Alfred Hitchcock Presents" And So Died Riabouchinska (1956)


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"Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (1955): Season 1: Episode 20 -- Academy Award® nominee Claude Rains guest stars as a ventriloquist who has a somewhat unnatural relationship with his marionette.

Overview

User Rating:
7.5/10   112 votes
Director:
Writers:
Mel Dinelli (teleplay)
Ray Bradbury (story)
Contact:
View company contact information for And So Died Riabouchinska on IMDbPro.
Original Air Date:
12 February 1956 (Season 1, Episode 20)
Plot:
While investigating a murder in a theater, a detective uncovers a strange web of tensions revolving around a ventriloquist and his female dummy. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
User Reviews:
Interesting Ray Bradbury Story Highlighted By Claude Rains's Fine Performance more (3 total)

Cast

  (Episode Complete credited cast)

Alfred Hitchcock ... Himself - Host

Claude Rains ... John Fabian

Charles Bronson ... Det. Krovitch
Claire Carleton ... Alice Fabian
Lowell Gilmore ... Mel Douglas
Charles Cantor ... Zander
Harry Tyler ... Dan Sill
Iris Adrian ... Macey
William Haade ... Stagehand (as Bill Haade)
Virginia Gregg ... Riabouchinska (voice)
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Additional Details

Runtime:
USA:30 min
Country:
Language:
Aspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Fun Stuff

Quotes:
Himself - Host: Good evening. This misty bit of ectoplasm forming on the inside of your television screen is one Alfred Hitchcock, coming to you tonight from across that great barrier that divides the quick from the dead: the Atlantic Ocean. I have materialized tonight for the express purpose of warning you; that during tonight's seance, you will witness a playlet entitled "And So Died Riabouchinska". But first, I would like to make an announcement to those of you who can't stay until the end... more

FAQ

List: Ventriloquists who have disturbing relationships with their dummies
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13 out of 13 people found the following review useful.
Interesting Ray Bradbury Story Highlighted By Claude Rains's Fine Performance, 6 March 2006
Author: Snow Leopard from Ohio

This episode of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" features an interesting Ray Bradbury story of murder and psychology, plus a fine performance by Claude Rains. The theater setting and the troubled main character make it a very good fit for the series, and the story is adapted efficiently into the show's format.

The story starts with a murder at a theater, with the investigation centering around Fabian, a ventriloquist played by Rains. Fabian displays an excessive attachment to his female dummy ('Riabouchinska'), and it quickly becomes obvious that he has something verging on a split personality, speaking truthfully only through the dummy. It's a weird and intriguing situation, and it is also interesting to see a young Charles Bronson as the detective who has to make sense of it all.

Bradbury's imaginative and thought-provoking stories do not necessarily lend themselves easily to screen adaptations, but this one overcomes the challenges pretty well. Rains has just the right approach and screen persona to make the challenging character work convincingly, and in particular it is worth watching him closely during the scenes when the dummy 'talks'. The somber story and the disturbed central character fit together well.

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