"Alfred Hitchcock Presents" Whodunit (1956)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Francis M. Cockrell

Writers:

Francis M. Cockrell (teleplay) and
Marian B. Cockrell (teleplay) ...

TV Series:

"Alfred Hitchcock Presents" (1955)

Original Air Date:

25 March 1956 (Season 1, Episode 26)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

A recently deceased mystery writer receives permission from the recording angel to relive his last day on earth, so that he can find out who murdered him.

Plot Keywords:

Angel | Mystery Writer | Writer | Heaven | Nephew

Cast

John Williams	...	Alexander Penn Arlington
Amanda Blake	...	Carol Arlington
Jerry Paris	...	Wally Benson
Philip Coolidge	...	Talbot
Alan Napier	...	Wilfred
Bill Slack	...	Vincent
Ruta Lee	...	Angel
Rudy Robles	...	Horace
Alfred Hitchcock	...	Himself - Host

Runtime:

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

Quotes:

Himself - Host: Good evening, fellow necromaniacs.

They Can't Mess With Time

There have been lots of stories of people who are allowed to come back for one more day after their deaths. This one is pretty tame. A mystery writer who has been murdered begs the admitting angel to let him know who killed him. They agree that he will go back to the time before his death and try to figure it out, hence the title. This then gets a bit dull. Like most mystery stories, a group of suspects soon materializes. They all have motives. He is such a pompous ass that they may be doing us a favor. Anyway, we know that when all is said and done there is going to be a bit of disappointment. The acting is OK. It has that real fifties feel to it. As it turns out, most of the suspects would probably have allied themselves with this man if he had just been a bit kinder. It's a decent entry into the canon, but didn't grab me that much.