"Alfred Hitchcock Presents" Help Wanted (1956)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

James Neilson

Writers:

Robert C. Dennis (teleplay)
Mary Orr (adaptation) ...

TV Series:

"Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (1955)

Original Air Date:

1 April 1956 (Season 1, Episode 27)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

Mr. Crabtree is grateful to find a new job, until his new employer gives him a most unexpected assignment.

Plot Keywords:

Employer | Office | New Job | Financial | Illness

Cast

Alfred Hitchcock	...	Himself - Host
John Qualen	...	Mr. Crabtree
Lorne Greene	...	Mr. X
Madge Kennedy	...	Laura Crabtree
Ruth Swanson	...	Mrs. Brown
John Harmon	...	Police Officer
Malcolm Atterbury	...	The blackmailer
Parley Baer	...	Police Detective Gryar
Paul Brinegar	...	Donations Collector

Runtime:

Finland:25 min | USA:30 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Shamley Productions

Only a Pawn in the Game

This is a bit remindful of Conan-Doyle's "The Red-Headed League." It involves a man who is a bit desperate for employment who takes a job where he goes to work all by himself and carries out his orders. He is confused but his wife is ill and he is always paid right on schedule. He continues to do what is asked of him until one day a man comes to him and asks him to commit a murder. At first he is absolutely opposed to it, but when a large cash settlement is involved it gets him to thinking. He is a little milquetoast and a rule follower, but he has been given a chance to prosper. As it turns out, there are a series of twist from this point on and it has a pretty satisfying ending. This involves one of those moral decisions that many are forced to make at times. It's a good episode that starts slowly and then picks up steam.