Alfred Hitchcock Presents (TV Series) And So Died Riabouchinska (1956) User Reviews

Creepy and well worth seeing.

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 18 February 2021]

Creepy ventriloquist dummies are a common theme in horror and anthology programs. "Twilight Zone" did it...now "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" takes on the creepy dummy in "And So Died Riabouchinska"...a very good episode starring Claude Rains, Charles Bronson and it's from a story by Ray Bradbury.

A dead body is discovered at a vaudeville house. Not surprisingly, a detective (Bronson) soon arrives and begins questioning folks. But when he comes to John Fabian (Rains), things get REALLY weird. As they are talking, you can hear the muffled voice of Madame Riabouchinska from inside a trunk...and Fabian brings her out. This ventriloquist dummy seems to have a mind of its own and you hardly ever see Rains' lips move at all. That and the fact it's clearly a woman's voice are the big problems with the episode...though what follows is really unique and well worth seeing...both for the story AND for the wonderful acting by Rains. One of the better episodes despite its faults.

I've seen enough of your dummy act on stage without getting more of it here!

[sol1218 · 7/10 · 7 October 2011]

***SPOILERS*** Called over to the theater to check out the possible murder of juggler Luke Ockham, Chicago Detective Krovitch, Charles Bronson, keys in on one of the prime suspects in Ockham's death world famous ventriloquist John Fabian,Clude Rains.

Really having nothing at all to go on Det.Krovitch is fascinated by Fabian's dummy that he uses in his act that he calls Riaboushinska! It seem that Riaboushinska has a mind of her own in bringing out facts about Fabian that he's too afraid to revile himself. It also seems that Fabian has become totally obsessed with Riaboushinska to the point that he left his wife and assistant in his act Alice, Claire Clarleton,for the wooden dummy! The fact that Alice is now having an affair with the theater manager Mel Douglas,Lowell Gilmore, doesn't at all faze Fabian a bit. That's as long as he with the dummy Riaboushinska whom he considers to be the love of his life!

***SPOILERS*** It's in fact from Riabouchinska not Fabian that Det. Krovitch gets to the bottom of who murdered Luke Ockham. And that strange and off the wall revelation completely blows his mind! Ockham was trying to blackmail Fabian in revealing the true relationship that he has with his hand carved wooden dummy that he's been keeping secret all these years. A relationship so weird and bizarre that if revealed it would not only destroy Fabian's career but have him committed at the same time!

It was the guilt ridden Riabushinska who in a way felt responsible for her masters strange and bizarre behavior who finally spilled the beans on him. In doing that Riaboushinska had to also end up killing herself, by not pretending to be alive, in order to achieve that aim! And with his beloved Riaboushinska no longer around Fabian saw that there was nothing left for him to do but give himself up to Det.Krovitch and confess his crime and face the music for committing it!

The Best of Everything

[DKosty123 · 8/10 · 27 May 2011]

This is a Ray Bradbury story adapted by Bradbury for television. This makes it a better than normal adaptation for the small screen.

Claude Rains, one of Hollywoods class actors is the central person here as a Ventriloquist whose in love with his female dummy. He molded her out of a woman he is in love with who has left his life.

Charles Bronson is excellent as the police Detective who is after the person who murdered a juggler who had worked for years with Rains. As Bronson suspects lies on Rains part, he keeps digging to find out more and more about whether he is being told the truth.

This one plays very well as it is amazing how this much talent got put together for a 30 minute show. Hitchcock earned so much respect from others in the entertainment profession that he could get almost anyone available to work for him.

Interesting Ray Bradbury Story Highlighted By Claude Rains's Fine Performance

[Snow Leopard · 6 March 2006]

This episode of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" features an interesting Ray Bradbury story of murder and psychology, plus a fine performance by Claude Rains. The theater setting and the troubled main character make it a very good fit for the series, and the story is adapted efficiently into the show's format.

The story starts with a murder at a theater, with the investigation centering around Fabian, a ventriloquist played by Rains. Fabian displays an excessive attachment to his female dummy ('Riabouchinska'), and it quickly becomes obvious that he has something verging on a split personality, speaking truthfully only through the dummy. It's a weird and intriguing situation, and it is also interesting to see a young Charles Bronson as the detective who has to make sense of it all.

Bradbury's imaginative and thought-provoking stories do not necessarily lend themselves easily to screen adaptations, but this one overcomes the challenges pretty well. Rains has just the right approach and screen persona to make the challenging character work convincingly, and in particular it is worth watching him closely during the scenes when the dummy 'talks'. The somber story and the disturbed central character fit together well.

"Yes, things are beginning to shape up now."

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 22 July 2021]

Gee, couldn't writer Ray Bradbury come up with an easier name to pronounce than Riabouchinska? I had to go back and forth to the title page a half dozen times to spell it right. (Just kidding, I know how to copy and paste).

Even though this Hitchcock episode dealt with a ventriloquist with a split personality, it comes across as one of the more credible stories so far in the first season which I'm watching now in order. A lot of it has to do with Claude Rains' superb performance, 'in love' with a dummy he created which has over the years, come to replace even his own wife (Claire Carleton) as the center of his attention. Without trying to be crass, the dummy actually was better looking, which was only fair I guess, because the theater manager John Fabian (Rains) was working for was a better looking guy than him, and that's who Alice Fabian (Claire Carleton) was having her own affair with.

Anyway, like George Washington, Riabouchinska could not tell a lie, and so, coming up with the one who killed a juggler and budding ventriloquist wasn't too tough for one detective Krovitch (Charles Bronson) to sort out. The guy intended to blackmail Fabian over his relationship with Riabouchinska, which back in the Fifties, would have amounted to a fairly big scandal. Today of course, having a relationship with a dummy would no longer be considered that unusual, what with stories of people marrying their sexbots because they found them to be better companions than real human beings of the opposite sex. But I digress.

I liked Charles Bronson in this one, having seen him now in three other very old television episodes, one of which was a 'One Step Beyond' story titled 'The Last Round' in which he portrayed a boxer. He did the same almost a decade earlier in a Roy Rogers TV episode titled 'The Knockout', in which he's credited under his real name of Chas. Buchinsky. There was also that Twilight Zone episode 'Two' in which he's 'The Man' faced with the prospect of restoring humanity as Adam with Elizabeth Montgomery's Eve following a world wide holocaust.

Fans of old shows like 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' will also probably recall a couple of Twilight Zone entries involving ventriloquists and their dummies. You had a third season episode appropriately titled 'The Dummy' with Cliff Robertson, and a fifth season story with Jackie Cooper titled 'Caesar and Me'. Like this one, they offered up unique stories of ventriloquists with a split personality, and one would be hard pressed to decide which of the three was the most tragic.

Another haunting story from the prolific Ray Bradbury!!!

[elo-equipamentos · 7/10 · 25 January 2021]

A.H. intro talking about a ectoplasm and phenomenon psychic to explain this haunting episode that brings the legendary Claude Rains to main role as John Fabian as an old ventriloquist in another Ray Bradbury story, due a murder that took place at theatre and dully scrutinized by the tireless Det. Krovitch (Charles Bronson), all clues lead to believe in crime of passion, on account of Fabian's wife Alice has a hidden affair with his manager Mel Douglas, after exhaustive research Krovitch keeps focused on Fabian when enters in the scene the female dummy Riabouchinska who seemingly spoke by herself, for the distress and the unflagging Krovitch who warns Fabian to stop misleading him over the dummy speaking, however the bewildered Detective starts realizing that Riabouchinska has her own personality and also has an inconceivable love affair with Fabian, as mooted by Hitchcock in early submission, this unusual case of reincarnation gets shape in the course of time and allowing us an unprecedented ending, I've already watched many Ray Bradbury's novel took the screen on several movie's adaptation, nonetheless baffled me such higher number of them, indeed a true prolific writer, don't you???

Thanks for reading.

Resume:

First watch: 2021 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.5

Death comes to the theatre

[TheLittleSongbird · 10/10 · 2 March 2022]

Ray Bradbury returns to 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' after the disappointing "Shopping for Death", this time in a setting that suits his writing and how he brought to life the characters and their psychology in a way that that episode did not. Another interest point is Claude Rains, a wonderful actor and one of the finest actors in his day who was ofen in scene stealing supporting roles but equally able in lead roles. Which is proven here in "And So Died Riabouchinska."

Which was to me a wonderful episode and worthy of Hitchcock. One of my very easy favourites of Season 1 and of the early seasons and up to this stage of the series it is the best in quite some time. It is set in a setting that is such a perfect fit for the series, a perfect fit for Bradbury's character writing to shine and perfect for the type of story it is. It is one of Robert Stevenson's best directed episodes for 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' that sees a darker side to him than usual.

It is a well made episode, with some very stylish and haunting close ups standing out. Particularly of the titular character, one that both disturbs and enchants. Not to mention some nice eerie lighting. Scoring is not intrusive and is not discordant with the mood. The series' main theme has lost none of its devillish quality and it is one of those pieces of pre-existing classical music that one doesn't look at in the same way again after watching at least one episode of 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents'.

"And So Died Riabouchinska" is beautifully directed by Stevenson, in one of his most atmospheric and accomplished directing jobs of all his outings for the series. He does taut and suspenseful better than any episode of his that he directed before and since, takes full advantage of the setting and story, gets bolder with each scene and he lets the tale breathe too. Bradbury's work is adapted spot on here, it doesn't come over as too talky and it always intrigues. The human psychology is very vivid, insightful and haunting, as well as unmistakably Bradbury, things that were not there in "Shopping for Death".

Hitchcock's bookending is as droll as ever, while the story is the creepiest one since "The Case of Mr Pelham" and is in places tragic. Rains is in a challenging and different role and does an absolutely fantastic job in a portrayal that wrenches the gut. The titular character is used to great effect and the chemistry between her and Rains contribute towards many memorable parts. Look out for young and vigorous Charles Bronson.

Summing up, wonderful. 10/10.

And so died Riabochinska

[coltras35 · 7/10 · 10 May 2022]

Detective Krovitch ( a young Charles Bronson) investigates a murder at a run-down vaudeville theater and gets a hot lead from the ventriloquist's dummy. An interesting and tragic story that boasts a great performance from Claude Rains. He plays a ventriloquist who is quite troubled and is obsessed by the dummy who resembles his previous lover. Most likely he has a split personality but it sometimes feels like it's speaking, like the spirit of his lover is inside the dummy. Bronson puts in a fine performance as the detective trying to make a sense of all of this.

Claude Rains excels

[joclmct · 9/10 · 12 June 2020]

A sad & creepy Bradbury story well adapted. The dummy is one of the most lifelike and she is a beauty. Claude Rains is superb and his final scene is heartbreaking. I found myself missing her when she dies and is dropped onto the floor and left there. I love this episode and only wish it had been on the Alfred Hitchcock Hour. I would've liked to have seen more of it. There was more to be told.

And So Died Riabouchinska

[bombersflyup · 6/10 · 29 February 2020]

Hah! I guess if you truly believe, there's no filter. Well played by the detective. It's funny in its ridiculousness, after though, not during.

Lesser Entry.

[rmax304823 · 5/10 · 27 February 2012]

I guess even Ray Bradbury has to eat. The eerie relationship between a ventriloquist and his puppet who is alive, or who the ventriloquist at least thinks is alive, is already familiar, but even if it weren't, nothing could out-do the horrifying story of Michael Redgrave and his little wooden pal in "Dead of Night" from 1945.

In this case, a man is found murdered and the ventriloquist, Raines, seems to be concealing something. His wife is suspicious too. Detective Bronson finally hears a long tale of intrigue and murder from the persona who really knows. Guess who. I thought it dragged, despite the decent performances.

"And So Died Riabouchinska" is psychological episode

[chuck-reilly · 8/10 · 28 July 2013]

This Ray Bradbury story emphasized the psychological over the usual Hitchcock mystery and suspense, although the episode contains a bit of all three. Ventriloquist Fabian (Claude Rains) has become far too attached with his female dummy (the Riabouchinska of the title) and it's causing major problems with his wife and manager. After a dead body is found near one of the venues for their act, a detective (Charles Bronson) is called in to investigate what looks like "foul play." The rest of this entry involves Bronson "interviewing" the dummy for clues and motives and finally talking to her lover and chief spokesman, Rains himself. It seems that Rains has indeed fallen in love with the dummy protruding from his left arm, and she (or it) seems to be the only one who volunteers any useful information. But Riabouchinska is very unhappy with Rains' recent behavior and slide into criminality and she just wants out of their "relationship" as soon as possible. "And So Died Riabouchinka" is mostly a bravura performance from Rains who was one of the great actors of his generation. The disbelieving and incredulous look on his face at the end when he gets "dumped" by his own creation is worth the price of admission. There's also good work from a young Charles Bronson who was an up-and-comer at this point in his career. He went on to become an international star and one of Hollywood's great action heroes.

And So Died Riabouchinska

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 11 December 2023]

Detective Krovitch (Charles Bronson) is no dummy when a man called Ockham is found dead in a vaudeville theatre.

The main suspects turn out to be ventriloquist John Fabian (Claude Rains) and his jealous wife Alice.

Both deny knowing Ockham but later Krovitch discovers that Ockham was a juggler who once worked on the same bill as Fabian.

However it Fabian's female dummy, Riabouchinska that seems to have a life of her own. She is modelled on a real life woman that Fabian was once infatuated with.

She tells Krovitch that Alice is having an affair with a man called Mel Douglas. While Alice tells Krovitch that Fabian has long neglected her. That he is infatuated with someone else.

Based on a story by Ray Bradbury. A ventriloquist obsessed by his dummy is nothing knew. The British movie Dead of Night had a segment with a similar theme. A dummy taking a life of his own.

I just think that after a promising start, this did not translate well on screen and ended up too talky.

Watching every episode in order

[sdot8787 · 3/10 · 22 March 2021]

Acting is fine in this episode but overall this is not a good episode at all in my opinion.

Fine Cast, Memorable Episode

[dougdoepke · 8 February 2016]

A detective is called to a backstage theatre after a body is discovered in the cellar. His investigation takes him into the weird world of an aging ventriloquist and his female dummy.

Another memorable episode from that marvelous first year. And what a casting coup thanks to the producers and probably the Hitchcock name—it's a subtly persuasive Claude Rains, a distinctive looking Charles Bronson, and a strangely sultry ventriloquist's dummy. Then too, I knew I was in trouble when I went looking for the dummy's name in the credit-roll. Seems ventriloquist Fabian (Rains) is having the same problem since his truth-telling super-ego is splitting off and entering the lovely dummy. Sometimes it's even hard to know who's doing the talking.

Okay, you've likely seen this "live" dummy premise before. But it's very well done here, thanks mainly to Rains who refuses to go over the top. Also, Bronson, as a cop, gets lots of close- ups, the camera seemingly fascinated with his unusual features. That's likely no accident since an ordinary looking cop would not fit the exotic theme nearly as well. Anyway, it's a subtly weird slice of abnormal psychology, along with a fine screenplay from noir veteran Mel Dinelli.

A relative of Maxwell Freer perhaps?

[theowinthrop · 8/10 · 21 December 2008]

The episodes of ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS were among the fondest memories of television fans from the 1950s, and since Hitch was involved in the production of the series (and actually directed twenty or so episodes himself) they were preserved more than most of the drama series of the 1950s. Only THE TWILIGHT ZONE and some of the westerns remain as available today for watching.

This episode happens also to be one of the ones currently on this web site. So I was watching it this evening, and comparing it to the two movies and one television show that I recall having similar plots. The first was DEAD OF NIGHT, wherein a neurotic ventriloquist gets jealous of another ventriloquist regarding his dummy. That particular sequence is possibly the best recalled movie performance of Sir Michael Redgrave as Maxwell Freer the said ventriloquist. The second is a kind of comic turn on it, in the film KNOCK ON WOOD, wherein Danny Kaye has problems keeping his Id quiet: the Id keeps putting in its two cents through the mouth of Kaye's dummy. The third is a Twilight Zone episode with Cliff Robinson about a dummy who not only takes over the life of his owner, but changes places with said owner.

As you can see, surprisingly, there are variations on this story line. The present show is another version (from a story by Ray Bradbury). A murder is discovered in a variety act theater and it is being investigated by a police detective played by Charles Bronson. The murdered man turns out to have been asking about the lead on the theater's program, a ventriloquist played by Claude Rains who has a female dummy called Riabouchinska. Rains is married to Alice Fabian, but she has long since been disillusioned by him and his extra-marital affair. She is currently having one with the manager of the act (Lowell Gilmore). Since the dead man was down on his luck he may have come on a blackmail expedition that ended badly, and there are two possibilities.

Only gradually does Bronson figure out who was the lover of Rains: it's the dummy. Unlike the connotations in DEAD OF NIGHT of Redgrave's feelings to his dummy "Hugo", this time it's a weird heterosexual relationship. And Bronson has to figure out how this odd situation may have played a role in the death of the blackmailer.

These episodes were interesting because they have several familiar faces (Iris Adrian has a bit part as a woman who discovers the frightening results of a coin toss). The director is Robert Stevenson, usually found directing films for Walt Disney. Bronson's performance is vigorous as a determined policeman who ends up somewhat regretting what he unleashes. But acting honors remain with the great Rains - here a sad little man, incapable of successful relations with female humans, who briefly snatches happiness and just as quickly loses it.

A greatly adapted Bradberry tale, with a fine performance from Claude Rains.

[b_kite · 9/10 · 7 June 2019]

Detective Krovitch investigates the murder of juggler Luke Ockham in a theatre. His suspicions fall on John Fabian, a ventriloquist with a fixation on his female dummy, Riabouchinska. Riabouchinska, seemingly acting independent of Fabian's control, insists on telling Krovitch the truth, but, can Fabian handle it.

Just two episodes later we get another more well known Ray Bradberry story. This one holds more weight then the last and is really executed quite well. The story starts out with our murder then slowly progresses to a slow burn conclusion, made great by the interactions of a very young Charles Bronson who was hardly known at the time, but, holds very good weight with his performance, and the veteran Claude Rains, who puts in what maybe one of the finest acting performances from this series yet, The final is really moving and is were Rains puts forth some really powerful acting, which leads to my only real complaint with the episode. the last scene could have been really strong if they hadn't thrown in some extremely stupid zingy goody carnival style music which almost kills the mood of the whole episode. Other then that the whole multiple personalities thing is a nice change of pace for the series, and the overall episode a really great one.

Fascinatingly ridiculous

[robpark-92290 · 2/10 · 11 September 2021]

So bad, it's good? Rains seems to forget his lips should be moving slightly, remembers again briefly and then stops again in the final scene. Bronson shows way too much overdone credulity & compassion in his face at the end.

Another Dummy Story

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 9 October 2008]

This is a Ray Bradbury story. As I was watching the video, I realized I had read this story long ago. It involves a murder being investigated by a detective played by Charles Bronson. Claude Raines, a heavyweight actor, plays a cracked ventriloquist who is having an affair with his own dummy. She is the reincarnation of woman he loved, but who became abusive and left him. Most of the episode is about Bronson, trying to get the ventriloquist to open up. Of course, at some point we have his hidden personality inside his wooden creature. The suspense builds and the lies build and eventually it all comes tumbling down. Raines is is excellent in this little performance, showing what a fine actor he was. Bronson is also very photogenic. His career was just starting and we can see that there was something there. It works out very well and it's a really gut wrenching story.

Insanity plea!!

[david111478 · 1/10 · 8 September 2022]

Fabian. ( Claude Rains. ) could get off with an insanity plea!! The psychological explanation for his behaviour is clearly insanity. !! Charles Bronson is good as a detective hunting a murderer! The trail leads to Fabian and his oddly named dummy. !! Claire Carleton is also in it as Fabian's wife. Her best part was probably as a female sheriff in a episode of Maverick. She's in this one mainly to drag out the inconsequential plot!

As another reviewer said it definitely drags!! If it weren't Claude Rains I wouldn't have got to the end! The episode is a terrible drag! Bronson turns in the best performance of the episode. The two characters at the beginning discover the body! Another function is to drag out a threadbare plot.

I have enjoyed episodes of this series in the past. Sky arts are presently showing series one. (. September. 2022. ). I'm finding it a mixed bag so far! Good episodes and bad alternate with alarming frequency.

Holy...

[ileas · 22 May 2019]

Whoa. Just whoa. That was my only thought upon seeing the ending of this. I love, love, love Claude Raines. He's good whether he's playing a nice stable character, a mean character, even a side character where he's not the star, (like in Now, Voyager), or a crazy character. Here, he's crazy(not as crazy as when he was the phantom in the 1950s Phantom of the Opera, but that's kind of a given). Even when he's the "bad guy", I feel sorry for him, and I feel sorry for his character here, John Fabian. Since this is Hitchcock, we go right to the scene of a murder. The detective comes, (I don't remember the character's name, but he's played by Charles Bronson, and while I normally don't say this about him, since I've never seen him so young before, I gotta say it now...hubba-hubba!) He first talks to one of the people who found the body, who directs him to the ventriloquist, Fabian, saying that the deceased had been wanting to talk to him. So he goes to talk to him. His wife is also there, and just one look at her, you know it's not a happy marriage. Fabian denies knowing the dead man's name, but the dummy (who's name I cannot even hope to properly spell) demands (politely of course) to be let out of her box, (in case this is your first time watching anything with a dummy, spoiler alert; this is a very bad sign). At first, the dectective is annoyed (instead of properly creeped out). The wife makes it known how much she hates the thing. The doll is actually quite beautiful, and realistic, but in a non-creepy way (believe it or not). Anyway, the dummy suggests the detective talk to Fabian's manager. This angers the wife more, and the detective, possibly to cool down the situation, and talk to the wife alone, asks Fabian to get him. We learn that she has been his assistant for 8 years, and has been married to him for nearly the same amount of time, but she says he's more in love with his work than her, and largely ignores her. The manager comes, and it's revealed they're having an affair, giving the manager a motive, only he says that Fabian already knows all about it, so it didn't have to be kept a secret. Fabian concurs, then for some reason, laughs (and is properly chastised by his dummy for it) Now, this part is a little unclear, the inspiration for the dummy. He fashioned it after a previous assist, who he was in love with, when he was using a male dummy. Now, I can't figure out who was abusing who, or even what happened to the girl. Something is said about amnesia, but that's not explained, she might have been killed, but suddenly, that's dismissed. At any rate, she's gone. Fabian tried to find her, even getting the police involved, but she was never found. It was at that time, that he decided a male dummy wasn't working anymore, too many copy cats, so he made the female dummy himself, making it look and sound like his lost love. The way he describes how he made it, how it came to life in his hands is super creepy. Spoiler: In the end, the dummy tattles on him. Raines is brilliant in this. The close up is just of him and the dummy. His mouth moves ever so slightly, like a real ventriloquist, even though an actress is providing the voice for the dummy. You see the conflict on his face, he wants to tell, but he doesn't want to at the same time. The dummy describes the murder as she 'heard' it in her box. The detective at first thinks it was because he knew that he murdered his lost love, but she says he didn't murder her. The detective asks for a motive, and with the dummy's prompting, Fabian himself tells it. How they got away with this in 1955, i'll never know. The victim wanted $1,000 to keep quiet about Fabian's relationship with the dummy. That's right folks, he'd rather get it on with the dummy he created than with his wife. What he says next shows that on some level, he understands that this is wrong, very twisted behavior. Tears in his eyes, he says that if that got out, it would ruin their relationship. They'd be mocked, ridiculed, called freaks trying to be some version of Romeo and Juliet. He couldn't have that, it would ruin the best thing in his life. The dummy says it's already ruined. At this point, the detective just plain looks embarrassed to be there. If this were in color, he'd probably be blushing. He wanders off to a corner, maybe to give them privacy so the dummy can 'break up with him'. Fabian pleads with her not to leave him, but she says she may have been able to live with his lies, but she can't live with something (that's right, something) that kills. Her voice begins to fade away as she mutter 'how can I live' and her eyelids flutter close. The deceive reluctantly, or sadly, takes the crazy man to jail, (or the looney bin) as he drops the doll to the floor in despair. So, in summary, the ventriloquist would rather be with his dummy than a real woman, like his wife, and after he murders, the dummy would rather 'kill herself' than be with him, (hence th title of the episode). Yikes! Not even Romeo and Juliet had it this bad!

THE GREAT FABIAN HAS ENTERED THE ROOM!

[tcchelsey · 10/10 · 12 August 2023]

Anything with Claude Rains is a must see. Case in point, this strange little tale all about a police detective (played by a young Charles Bronson), probing a murder in a theatre. Who else to get into the mix but a ventriloquist(?) and his dummy? Simply amazing.

Definitely a Ray Bradbury story, who regularly contributed to the series. I agree with the last reviewer, there are similarities to the classic British thriller, DEAD OF NIGHT (1945), and perhaps, a dash of the TWILIGHT ZONE. Once again, a crossover between both series.

Rains plays Fabian, a ventriloquist, who has grown attached to his female dummy, so called Riabouchinska. This had to be the longest character name in the entire series. Rains is just a marvel to watch (and that voice!), at the time quite popular on tv, so Hitch wisely employed his talents. Of course, Claude Rains worked for Hitch in NOTORIOUS (1946). Watch for it.

Applause for the dummy, incidentally, who is effectively creepy.

This was the only episode written by Mel Dinelli, the author of one of the great thrillers, THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE (1946). The film was so popular that the 60s music group took the same name, although changed the spelling. Always, a super music trivia question.

By the way, the voice of Riabouchinska is Virginia Gregg, veteran radio and tv actress, popular on DRAGNET.

The very best of SEASON 1. Remastered Universal dvd box set. 4 dvds. 2005 release.

Tragic and pitiable

[beautifulcopper · 14 November 2011]

I found this episode to be really interesting in a sad way. The central character is a disturbed old man unable to cope with a failed relationship.This story shows, to what extent the human mind can go to shield itself from pain. However, the element of suspense/tension is missing.

One scene, I found a bit weird - In the beginning of the story a woman discovers a man lying face down under the staircase and screams. I could not help but wonder why she automatically assumed that its a corpse. Normally, one would check if its just a drunkard or someone lying unconscious.

Overall, a good story but not scary, suspenseful or thrilling. Rather a bizarre and heartbreaking drama. The detective reminded me a lot of Josh Hartnet :)