'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' is a very interesting and very well done, if not consistent, series that ran for seven seasons between 1955 and 1962. Every season had some truly fine episodes, and they all had some not so good episodes. This was all obvious in Season 4, that had some real highs and some real lows and sometimes in quite quick succession to each other. Loved the premise for the second Arthur-Hiller directed episode in a row "Mrs Herman and Mrs Fenimore."
The good news is that "Mrs Herman and Mrs Fenimore" didn't disappoint me. It is an improvement over the still pretty decent previous Hiller directed 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' episode "And the Desert Shall Blossom" and for me it is one of Hiller's better episodes. Up to this point his second best after "Post Mortem". For me, "Mrs Herman and Mrs Fenimore" is very good and nearly great, if not one of the 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' classics of Season 4 and overall.
It is a little bit of a slow starter, with the set up being a little too slight.
Maybe it could have done with a little suspense.
So much is great about "Mrs Herman and Mrs Fenimore". The acting is extremely good from all, especially from Mary Astor who balances darkly amusing comic timing and even darker calculation expertly. Doro Merande more than holds her own and has great chemistry with both her and equally strong Russell Collins. Hitchcock's bookending is amusingly ironic and Hiller directs with more confidence and edge.
Furthermore, it's solidly made with some atmospheric photography. The series theme music is one of the best and most inspired examples of pre-existing classical music being used as a main theme, fitting perfectly with the series' overall tone. The writing is thought provoking, fun and unsettling, with no over-talkiness and there is a good deal of intrigue and unsettlement. The ending is not earth shattering as such, when it comes to originality that is, but it is very well executed, eerily calculating and didn't feel too predictable.
Concluding, very well done. 8/10.