Alfred Hitchcock Presents (TV Series) The Door Without a Key (1962) User Reviews

Heartwarmin

[Hitchcoc · 8/10 · 3 June 2021]

Formulaic little morality play. We have Claude Reins, one of our premie classic actors, showing up at a police station having lost his memory. Shortly after, a little boy played by Billy Mumy comes in, abandoned by his father. The problem is that the world doesn't always work out so nicely as this one does. Still, it does promote kindness.

"Is this the place you're supposed to come to when you're lost?"

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 19 March 2022]

I don't think that even back in the Sixties the resolution to a story like this would have been feasible in real life. But place it in a Hitchcock milieu and anything is possible. The amnesiac (Claude Rains) and the lost little boy (Billy Mumy) forge an unlikely friendship when they both show up at a police station with different tales of woe. Mickey's (Mumy) is the more heartbreaking, he was abandoned by a negligent father and his selfish girlfriend. Leonard Eldridge (Rains) is merely forgetful for the moment, his memories slowly returning as he recounts people and incidents from his past. A neighborhood drunk woman (Connie Gilchrist) appears for some needed filler before the story's eventual payoff, which finds Eldridge remembering who he is, and offering his new found friend a place to live for a touching and inspiring finish. Hitchcock apologizes for the lack of blood in his closing epilog, but he didn't have to, since a break from the normal routine of mayhem and murder wasn't such a bad idea. You can commiserate with the police desk sergeant (John Larch) when he fondly stated - "Those two got away".

One of the Best

[mfaugnos-937-704003 · 9/10 · 2 October 2018]

Everyone's alone--the well-dressed gentleman played by consumate actor Claude Rains who doesn't know (or want to know) who he is; the adorable child, Billy Mumy, who tells an all-to-common story of rejection; and poor ole sad sack drunk (reliable character actress, Connie Gilchrist) who provides pathos and comic relief.

Everyone has a sad story. But as in life, when the opportunity presents itself--the secret of Life is revealed: We all need each other. A great story, economically told by master actors.

Oddly, a heartwarming episode of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents".

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 20 April 2021]

"The Door Without a Key" is an episode of "Alfred Hitchcock Presents" that I am pretty sure will either thrill the viewer or turn them off. This is because there is no murder, mayhem or awfulness in this one and the story is a bit schmaltzy at the end. Additionally, it's far from being the most realistic and probable episode of the series....but I found I still liked it.

The episode takes place entirely within a police station. A variety of people with problems enter the place but two cases are at the forefront. One is about an old man (Claude Rains) and the other is about a lost little boy (Billy Mumy). Both have one thing in common...both cases involve liars! But they are nice liars and the ending, though contrived, is very sweet.

I am not surprised that Rains was good...he was a fine actor and all the episodes he did in this series were really excellent due to his natural and lovely acting style. As for Mumy, it was nice to see him in an episode where he isn't evil (as he was in a previous episode as well as on "The Twilight Zone")...just a cute little kid. Well worth seeing.....especially if you don't mind a bit of sentimentality and sweetness instead of the usual carnage.

Great setup, poor pay off.

[FeldsparCoogan · 5/10 · 21 March 2016]

This episode has a fascinating setup, likable characters, but an absolutely unsatisfying ending. With all the different riffraff coming into the police station, each with their own unique problems, the writer really had me wondering where they were going with this. The answer: nowhere! Not even a twist. The ending is this neat little, unrealistic bow that comes out of nowhere in the last few minutes to save the day and doesn't feel earned at all. So the amnesiac regains his memory and the lost boy finds a home; how convenient. As for the drunk lady... we don't even get a resolution for her which makes her presence in this story at all quite puzzling.

Heartwarming? Try trite, unbelievable, and out of place.

[ObscureAuteur · 5/10 · 23 March 2022]

Am I watching the right show?

Is this Alfred Hitchcock Presents or Insight?

Unwanted boy and sad old wealthy man are united by circumstances for a happy ending. It is very difficult to believe that his impromptu and informal adoption at a police station would ever actually be allowed. "Run along, we'll take care of the legal formalities, no problem."

Sure thing. It helps a bit that the amnesiac is apparently correctly identified as a well known local prominent and affluent citizen of good character and the setting is a small town not the big city.

The missing twist here seems to be that when the juvenile services officer arrives it doesn't turn out that the helpful sergeant has just turned the unfortunate lad over to a known sex offender or serial killer. Boys Town suddenly becomes M.

That it is a nice spot for the great Claude Rains is some compensation for the contrived slop I suppose, as was the comic gambling priest a few episodes before. But we do have Rains in And So Died Riabouchinska in season one to restore the balance in Rains' favor.