I Killed the Count: Part 1 (17 Mar. 1957)

A maid discovers the body of Count Victor Mattoni. It's up to Inspector Davidson from Scotland Yard to find the murderer, in part one of a three-part episode.

Director:

Robert Stevens

Writers:

Francis M. Cockrell (teleplay), Alec Coppel (story)

Stars:

Alfred Hitchcock, John Williams, Alan Napier

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Alfred Hitchcock	...	Himself - Host
John Williams	...	Inspector Davidson
Alan Napier	...	Lord Sorrington
Charles Cooper	...	Bernard K. Froy
Melville Cooper	...	Mullet
Charles Davis	...	Detective Raines
Patricia Hitchcock	...	Polly Stephens (as Pat Hitchcock)
Anthony Dawson	...	Count Victor Mattoni
Kendrick Huxham	...	Mr. Martin
George Pelling	...	Clifton
Arthur Gould-Porter	...	Mr. Moen (as A.E. Gould-Porter)
Jered Barclay	...	Johnson (as Jerry Barclay)

Storyline

Inspector Davidson from Scotland Yard is a little too sure of himself. As he investigates the murder of Count Victor Mattoni, nothing goes according to his expectations, beginning with the maid whom he tries to console before realizing she's quite calm about the whole thing. That morning, she discovered the count sitting in a chair and lying quite still. She assumed he passed out from too much drink, but upon closer examination it seemed he had a bullet hole through his temple. The count didn't put the bullet there himself, which means it's up to the inspector and the eager young officer Raines to find out who did. Several suspects pass by, and with each discovery, the whole business gets more mysterious. Parts two and three of the story follow this episode.

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Plot Keywords:

count | inspector | maid | mirror | american accent | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 March 1957 (USA)

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Shamley Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

[first lines]
Polly Stephens: Count Mattoni, your tea.

User Reviews

First episode of a single experiment on Alfred Hitchcock Presents

In the years that ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS was part of television the format was stories that were told in half an hour episodes. Later the episodes were expanded to full hour episodes. But only once did the show try to do this format: a three part retelling of the story, which was based on a play by Alec Coppel (who did the novel for MR. DENNING DRIVES NORTH and worked on the screenplay for VERTIGO). Coppel's play had (by 1957) been twice telecast in Great Britain, once in the late 1930s and once in 1947. But given the 30 minute episodes (actually more like 24 minutes due to commercial interruptions) there were three half-hour episodes that were made for the series. It was never repeated, possibly because it required a degree of exposition of the previous episodes before the next one could be shown.

Count Victor Mattoni (Anthony Dawson) is found shot in the head by a maid (Patricia Hitchcock - Hitch's daughter) in his London flat. The case is being handled by Inspector Davidson (John Williams) assisted by Detective Raines, a new man at the Yard (Charles Davis). In the course of the investigation Davidson constantly finds Raines an ironic counterpoint due to what he has to what they both discover, and Raines honest (perhaps too honest) reaction to the evidence or statements.

For soon they are deluged by statements. It seems that Mattoni was a bad gentleman, and he may have had more enemies than a man should. For instance, Viscount Storrington (Alan Napier) hated Mattoni for his treatment of his daughter, whom the Count has married. There is a child by the marriage. The Count wants custody of the child, and has threatened to take his bitter wife to court for a fight for the custody, unless she agrees to return to him. Then there is Bernard Froy, a wealthy American sportsman, who is in love with Countess Mattoni, and has written him a threatening note (which Mattoni is using for some blackmail) and now wants to get the letter back. Then there is Mullett (Melville Cooper) who works in the hotel, and whom Inspector Davidson claims that he seems to recall having seen before. Cooper cannot place Froy in the hotel, but he can place Storrington there.

The secret of the play is that several of the characters confess to the murder of the ogre Count. Davidson and Raines have to sort it out, in the wake of a fourth confession. In the end of Part III they have an answer, but they realize it is not an easy answer for the law to reach justice here as in a normal case.

The performances were all good, especially Williams again as a Scotland Yard Inspector. A young Rosemary Harris as another person who is in the ill-fated residential hotel rounds out the cast of this amusing play-let.