Whodunit (25 Mar. 1956)

Recently deceased mystery writer Alexander Penn Arlington gets permission from the recording angel to relive his last day on earth, so that he can find out who murdered him.

Director:

Francis M. Cockrell

Writers:

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

Stars:

Alfred Hitchcock, John Williams, Amanda Blake

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Alfred Hitchcock	...	Himself - Host
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

Storyline

Recently deceased mystery writer Alexander Arlington appears before the recording angel in heaven. All goes well until he learns that his death was a murder, rather than a heart attack, as he had imagined. He receives permission from the angel to live his last day over again, so that he can find out who killed him. Back in his home, he relives a bitter fight with his assistant, and is certain that the assistant is the murderer. But when his nephew makes some threatening statements, and then he catches a glimpse of his wife warmly kissing a male friend, he starts to realize that almost everyone he knows has a motive for killing him.

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Plot Keywords:

angel | mystery writer | writer | murder | heaven | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 March 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

Himself - Host: Good evening, fellow necromaniacs. I'm glad so many of you could come. I should explain that the word has nothing to do with necking. I'm awfully sorry. I haven't time to explain it now. You'll just have to look it up in the dictionary.

User Reviews

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.