Businessman Ralph Cowell kills his silent partner, Alfred Sloane, in order to avoid paying what he owes. The murder is witnessed by vagrant Peter J. Goodfellow, who picks up Sloane's cigarette case with the IOU inside, and uses it to blackmail Cowell. Goodfellow and his friend Fenton Shanks move into Cowell's home, much to the disgust of Cowell's wife, Herta. After months of Goodfellow and Fenton living with them and pawning almost everything in the Cowell home, Cowell is able to find the IOU and burn it. Goodfellow and Fenton leave, but we soon learn this isn' the end of Cowell's worries.
Phillip Reed returns (after starring in the earlier season episode "A Bullet for Baldwin") to carry this pretty fine tale of murder and blackmail. Everything here is the typical standard for this series, and main protagonist who is or isn't really a bad guy, but, he's in a tight spot so he does what he has to, he usually gets into so trouble, then manages to escape it only to get caught under the craziest of circumstances at the end. But, what really makes this episode though is the fine cast. Reed puts in a good performance as the fancy and proper Ralph Cowell, as does Peggy Knudsen as his money hungry wife. The star of the show however is Robert Newton who adds a touch of comedic flair to what is a rather bleak tale, it's a shame he died shortly after this as he was a pleasure to watch. Cyril Delevanti who I fondly remember playing in several episodes of both "The Twilight Zone" and "Gunsmoke" makes a nice, but, brief appearance as Alfred Sloane. All together a nice standard episode, with the standard Hitchcock formula, made by a really good cast its IMDB rating of 7.0 is appropriate.
Phillip Reed returns (after starring in the earlier season episode "A Bullet for Baldwin") to carry this pretty fine tale of murder and blackmail. Everything here is the typical standard for this series, and main protagonist who is or isn't really a bad guy, but, he's in a tight spot so he does what he has to, he usually gets into so trouble, then manages to escape it only to get caught under the craziest of circumstances at the end. But, what really makes this episode though is the fine cast. Reed puts in a good performance as the fancy and proper Ralph Cowell, as does Peggy Knudsen as his money hungry wife. The star of the show however is Robert Newton who adds a touch of comedic flair to what is a rather bleak tale, it's a shame he died shortly after this as he was a pleasure to watch. Cyril Delevanti who I fondly remember playing in several episodes of both "The Twilight Zone" and "Gunsmoke" makes a nice, but, brief appearance as Alfred Sloane. All together a nice standard episode, with the standard Hitchcock formula, made by a really good cast its IMDB rating of 7.0 is appropriate.