The Rose Garden (16 Dec. 1956)

A book publisher visits two elderly sisters at their Louisiana mansion. One of them has written a murder mystery. And he learns that it may contain more fact than fiction.

Director:

Francis M. Cockrell

Writers:

Marian B. Cockrell (teleplay), Vincent Fotre (story)

Stars:

Alfred Hitchcock, John Williams, Patricia Collinge

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Alfred Hitchcock	...	Himself - Host
John Williams	...	Alexander Vinton
Patricia Collinge	...	Julia Pickering
Evelyn Varden	...	Mrs. Cordelia Welles
Ralph Peters	...	Cab Driver Barney

Storyline

The cab driver taking Mr. Vinton to his destination is surprised to see he has business with Miss Julia Pickering and not her sister, Miss Cordelia. Miss Cordelia, aka Mrs. Welles, has her sister under her thumb. He's even more surprised to find that Miss Julia has written a book that Mr. Vinton wants to publish. When Mr. Vinton arrives at the elderly sisters' magnolia-scented Louisiana mansion, he's the one surprised, finding that the house perfectly matches the one Miss Julia had described in her story. As a guest in the house, he finds old furniture carved with lion's heads, brass cherubs, a stone bench in a rose garden -- all things from the book. Mr. Vinton's mind becomes troubled as he wonders how much the rest of Miss Julia's murder mystery might be true.

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Plot Keywords:

stone bench | garden | publisher | pistol | sister sister relationship | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 December 1956 (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]
Cab Driver Barney: You say you come all the way to New York to see Miss Julia on business? You sure you ain't got them mixed up? You didn't come to see Miss Cordelia?
Alexander Vinton: No, who is Miss Cordelia?

User Reviews

Muted

A publisher's rep pays a visit to an elderly Southern lady who has written a riveting murder mystery. He finds 'this prim and proper spinster woman lives with her bossy and unpleasant sister, a widow, and that elements of the manuscript appear to have been drawn from the very home the sisters occupy. He begins to wonder how much of the novel is fiction. This is a very low=key episode that stars the urbane John Williams of "Dial 'M' For Murder" fame as the publisher's rep. Nothing all that dramatic or exciting happens, so don't go expecting shootouts or any sort of sudden violence. As I mentioned in my review of one other "A.H. Presents" episode, they can't all be winners.