Tales of the Unexpected (TV Series) Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel's Coat (1979) User Reviews

A very cleverly crafted tale.

[Sleepin_Dragon · 7/10 · 8 February 2016]

Mrs Bixby has been having an affair with a wealthy man, and when he gifts her a valuable fur coat, she has to find a way to explain how she came to possess such a valuable item.

Quite an enjoyable tale from the pen of Roald Dahl himself, I'm something of a fan of this story, it's a clever one, an exploration of human behaviour, it gives us a glimpse of the future, the show was perhaps best known for it's darker stories, murders and mysteries etc, but sometimes the tails were less sinister.

It's beautifully performed, Michael Hordern is excellent, but it's stolen by Julie Harris, who is just wonderful, she'd soon return in one of my favourite episodes, The Way up to Heaven, no wonder she was brought back so quickly.

7/10.

"Not everyone has a mink, my dear."

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 9 August 2021]

Well, wasn't that a kick in the head for good old Mrs. Bixby (Julie Harris)? Although for the viewer, the twist ending wasn't quite as unexpected as the title of the series suggests. Another scenario that I thought was in play had Cyril Bixby (Michael Hordern) selling the original mink coat and getting something prestigious for himself. For the Mrs. It was a double whammy, as her rich suitor (Richard Greene) gave her the brush off along with the mink. Seeing her husband's dental assistant get on the elevator wearing 'her' coat had to be the ultimate irony, as well as realizing that all those late night inlays turned out to be something quite different than she was led to believe.

Mink-redible

[xmasdaybaby1966 · 6/10 · 23 March 2021]

Not as strong as the first episode but all the twists and turns are there. A good cast and well executed.

Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel's Coat

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 25 February 2020]

Mrs Bixby is married to a staid husband who is a dentist.

She is having an affair and her lover gives her an expensive mink coat as a parting gift.

Unsure how Mrs Bixby will explain such a mink coat to her husband, she draws up an elaborate plan and goes to a pawn shop.

In his introduction Roald Dahl explains that it took him months to write the short story. He had to work on the miniature rather than a broad canvas.

Of course Mrs Bixby's plan will not work out, the husband goes to to the pawnbrokers. The dull dentist also has a bit on the side.

Although it is only the second episode, the series could be in danger of being called the Tales of the Expected!

Mrs Bixby her lover and the fur coat

[jn-91348 · 10/10 · 7 October 2021]

Mrs Bixby is having an affair with the lord of the manior when the lord gives her a fur coat Mrs Bixby tries to hide the fur coat from her husband by giving it to the pawnbroker.

OK tale of the unexpected.

[poolandrews · 5/10 · 13 April 2007]

Tales of the Unexpected: Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel's Coat tells the story of Mrs. Bixby (Julie Harris) an American lady of leisure now living in England & married to a dentist named Cyril (the late Sir Michael Horden), however every three months she flies off to Ireland to be with her lover the Colonel (the late Richard Greene) for the weekend under the pretence of visiting her 84 year old mother Maud. As usual things go like clockwork & she spends a great weekend with the Colonel but he has some bad news, he has decided to call the affair off & gives her an expensive mink fur coat as a present but how will she explain it to her husband Cyril without giving her affair away? She comes up with an elaborate plan which backfires...

This Tales of the Unexpected story was episode 2 from season 1 that aired here in the UK originally during March 1979, the first of two Tales of the Unexpected episodes to be directed by Simon Langton this felt like an average drama as opposed to twisted horror. The script by Ronald Harwood was based on a short story by Roald Dahl & in his introduction states that it took him five months to write it & that he kept taking the plot down blind alleys & dead ends in an attempt to get it right. This one has no horror or supernatural elements at all & is more of a love triangle based drama where one of the guilty party gets their comeuppance at the end, the actual ending itself isn't that great & is a bit forgettable which makes me feel guilty because Dahl seems so sincere in his introductions & the amount of time & effort he claims to have spent on it would suggest he tried very hard on every last detail. Still when all said & done I thought it was an OK way to pass 25 odd minutes but nothing more, I much prefer the creepy horror inspired supernatural tales than this simplistic tale of affairs.

This is actually the third time Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel's Coat has been adapted into a TV show following episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1960) & Thirty-Minute Theatre (1965). This has dated quite a lot but I like the 70's look here. The basic story centers around an expensive mink fur coat so one could say that this story isn't exactly politically correct these days. This boasts a good cast including distinguished actors Hordern & Greene along with Julie Harris.

Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel's Coat is an OK way pass 25 minutes but it isn't really the type of story I like & it's hardly original, one for fans of the show really.

bad or worse

[mrdonleone · 4/10 · 21 January 2010]

I can tell a lot of things about women and their little crimes... doesn't every one of them is a little bit a tease? and if they are a tease, aren't they excited when a man does something terribly wrong, or even bad? now, if you watch this episode of 'Tales of the Unexpected', you'll discover that some women skip the male element of the exciting crime and become criminals themselves. but where male criminals often are experts of committing a crime, a female thug is more likely to make mistakes in it. so you want to know what I'm talking about? well, I won't reveal much, you'll have to watch this episode for your own good. but, so much I can say, you'll be disappointed, because what you just read, is a perfect synopsis of it, without revealing one thing about it.