Plot

A couple driving through a rural location discover that the police and judge of the town of Robertsville are more intent on extorting money from them than being honest servants of the people.

Harry Adams and his wife are driving cross-country through a rural Deep South town when a local speed trap ensnares the young couple. The corrupt redneck police officer, Chandler, arrests them and attempts to extort money from them. The more sophisticated and civilized vacationers from the Big Apple protest their innocence. But the worse they protest, the more the charges, cost & beatings inflicted by Officer Chandler and the entire town of corrupt rednecks becomes. Even Mrs. Adams sincere attempts to mollify the highway robbery patrol doesn't work. How more bad can it get? Yet, the "victim" Mr. Adams, as well as his wife, are not who they appear to be...—David Stevens

The prologue shows Alfred Hitchcock with two police officers. Instead of being arrested, he is a contestant on a quiz show in which he has to name the commercial from which an audio track is played. "It's from..." fade to black and insert commercial.

The Crooked Road opens with a middle aged couple from New York driving on a country road that is marked at 50 mph. They see a police cruiser in front of them going slow, so they discuss what to do and think it's okay to pass it as long as they are driving at or below the speed limit afterward. The man, Harry Sampson Adams (Richard Kiley) honks and they safely pass the cruiser. The woman Mrs. Adams (Patricia Breslin) and her husband discuss the move and think they did it legally, but after they are at a safe distance well ahead, the police vehicle turns on its emergency lights and siren. Adams thinks that it received an emergency call and it passes their car up. However, the police car swerves suddenly in front of them and they are forced to off the road. There are two officers in the car and one Officer Chandler (Walter Matthau) gets out and claims they were driving crazy and wants his license and registration. Mr. Adams states they weren't and asks why the police swerved them off the road like that? Chandler doesn't answer and instead takes the key in the ignition away from them. Chandler again asks for their license and registration. Adams states that they weren't breaking any laws. However, the officer has a condescending attitude and tells them they were doing 57 mph in passing them. Adams states he only sped up to pass and he wasn't going over the limit when they turned on the siren. Chandler wants the couple to follow them back into town, but their front wheel is damaged, so he tells them that they will give them a ride back into town. Just as they are about to leave, a tow truck just happens to come up on them. The couple hears a police radio in the truck and Adams states that is illegal. The tow driver Charlie Brown (Richard Erdman) checks their wheel after Chandler says he told them the bearing was broken. He says he will tow their car back into town and gives them an estimate of $60. Adams thinks that Brown is a crook overcharging them and says that the police and Brown are in business together. Chandler demands for Adams to say it again and after he does, he hits him and knocks him down. Adams is upset, but Mrs. Adams pleads for Harry to cooperate with the officer, take the ride into town and allow for the tow.

Act 2 shows they are in the town of Robertsville and they go into a hotel where the proprietor is also the town judge. The lobby is set up like a small courtroom. The Judge (Charles Watts) walks in to conduct a hearing. Officer Chandler goes over the facts of the case and charges of reckless handling of the car and going at 57 mph and the subjects were apprehended by Officer Bleeker (Peter Dane) and himself. Adams during his testimony states that they were not going above the speed limit and did not think the siren was for them and then suddenly they were forced off the road by the two officers. He continues that they were going to follow the officers back into town, but found the front tire had to be changed. He tells the Judge that Chandler said they had a broken bearing without checking and that a tow truck just happened to magically appear and offer them a tow back into town at exorbitant rates. Chandler doesn't like being accused of working with the tow operator and hits Adams again in the stomach to stop him from his testimony. Shockingly, the Judge doesn't do anything and states that the defendant made a threatening gesture and extreme provocation. The Judge reads the charges against Adams of speeding going 57 mph in a 50 zone. He asks Adams how he pleads and while trying to catch his breath from the blow says, "Not guilty under the circumstances." The Judge says that any contesting of traffic cases is done the following Friday. The couple cannot stay that long, so Adams changes his plea to guilty. The Judge fines him $5 for every mile over the speed limit and double court costs for his lack of cooperation for $35 plus $60.35 for the court costs. Adams balks at the charges and Chandler says that Adams is acting up again. Mrs. Adams pleads with Harry to pay the costs and fine. Adams pays the fine and while walking out with Chandler, he states that the court and the police divvy up the fines and costs. Chandler sarcastically says that's right and that they are welcome to come back into town and drives away. Next, the couple goes to the repair shop where their car is. It looks repaired and Brown is finishing pumping gas into it. Adams asks for the bill and Brown states again the $5 for going out to their location, $5 per mile for towing, $10 for the bearing, $10 for labor, gas and oil for a total of $75.40. He says to call it $75 even, but Adams gives him the total amount. Before leaving Adams asks him when he's going to call the Judge and police to discuss "cutting up the loot." Brown pulls out a large wrench from his pocket and states that he doesn't like his attitude and demands the couple leave his shop. As the Adams' are back on the road and leaving Robertsville, we see Mrs. Adams look in her purse that she's been carrying everywhere all this time and we see that it's really a tape recorder. On it is a sign that reads, "State Highway Commission, Special Investigation Committee."

The epilogue has Hitchcock with two police officers again. He says they liked his first answer, but after that he said some nasty things about commercials. This infuriated the man that was asking the questions. He goes back in the booth again and now it has bars in front like a jail cell. He demands to know who the voice is and it turns out to be the sponsor. The sponsor says the gas is turned on and Hitchcock passes out. After the final commercial, Hitchcock is back in front of his cell and says he got a reprieve. He jokes that the sponsor did not like commercials either, but the public demands them. Next week will bring three more which will be popular successes along with a show.