"Toby" is director Robert Stevens' second 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' episode in a row and his third one of Season 2 (the first one being "De Mortuis"). The previous one being the previous episode "None are So Blind". The premise sounded very interesting and potentially suspenseful and Jessica Tandy was a fine actress. Robert H. Harris was no stranger to 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' and nearly always delivered in a good way, even in episodes beneath him.
While all the previous Season 2 are watchable or more, though the season did get off to an underwhelming start with "Wet Saturday", none of them wowed me. Even the best one, the pretty good "De Mortuis". "Toby" is another one of the Season 2 episodes that is worth a one time watch, but not wow-worthy. Not much wows here either, other than the cast in yet another Season 2 outing where the cast are better than the episode itself.
Am going to start with the good. Tandy is marvellous, alluring yet suitably enigmatic, and the main reason to see "Toby". Harris also comes off very well, bringing grit and also an affecting quality that makes him easy to sympathise with. The supporting cast are a very colourful lot, and the characters are all psychologically intriguing (a lot more so than the story).
Hitchcock's bookending is amusing and typically dry-humoured. The episode starts off quite well, the production values have some nice atmosphere and the main theme is haunting.
On the other hand, the story could have been a lot better. It could have had a good deal more tension and didn't feel that suspenseful. It is also rather safe and predictable with an ending that is not a surprise at all. More could have been done with the psychological aspect of it, the set up is intriguing and neat but it isn't fully explored and is not insightful enough.
Stevens' direction is competent but also undistinguished. The script could have been tauter and not felt as over-heated. It would have benefitted from being longer, 30 minutes is not long enough for a story like this and that's why the psychological aspect of the story suffered.
In conclusion, a rather mixed bag. 5/10.
While all the previous Season 2 are watchable or more, though the season did get off to an underwhelming start with "Wet Saturday", none of them wowed me. Even the best one, the pretty good "De Mortuis". "Toby" is another one of the Season 2 episodes that is worth a one time watch, but not wow-worthy. Not much wows here either, other than the cast in yet another Season 2 outing where the cast are better than the episode itself.
Am going to start with the good. Tandy is marvellous, alluring yet suitably enigmatic, and the main reason to see "Toby". Harris also comes off very well, bringing grit and also an affecting quality that makes him easy to sympathise with. The supporting cast are a very colourful lot, and the characters are all psychologically intriguing (a lot more so than the story).
Hitchcock's bookending is amusing and typically dry-humoured. The episode starts off quite well, the production values have some nice atmosphere and the main theme is haunting.
On the other hand, the story could have been a lot better. It could have had a good deal more tension and didn't feel that suspenseful. It is also rather safe and predictable with an ending that is not a surprise at all. More could have been done with the psychological aspect of it, the set up is intriguing and neat but it isn't fully explored and is not insightful enough.
Stevens' direction is competent but also undistinguished. The script could have been tauter and not felt as over-heated. It would have benefitted from being longer, 30 minutes is not long enough for a story like this and that's why the psychological aspect of the story suffered.
In conclusion, a rather mixed bag. 5/10.