| Alfred Hitchcock Presents | |
|---|---|
Screen shot of opening sequence of Alfred Hitchcock Presents |
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| Also known as | The Alfred Hitchcock Hour (1962–1965) |
| Genre | Anthology |
| Created by | Alfred Hitchcock |
| Presented by | Alfred Hitchcock |
| Theme music composer | Charles Gounod |
| Opening theme | "Funeral March of a Marionette" |
| Composer(s) | Stanley Wilson (music supervisor) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 10 |
| No. of episodes | 363 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Alfred Hitchcock |
| Producer(s) | Joan Harrison |
| Editor(s) | Edward W. Williams |
| Location(s) | Universal Studios, California |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time |
25-26 minutes (Seasons 1–7) |
| Production company(s) | Revue Studios (1955–1963) Universal TV (1963–1965) Shamley Productions |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | CBS (1955–1960; 1962–1964) NBC (1960–1962; 1964–1965) |
| Picture format | Black-and-white 4:3 |
| Audio format | Monaural sound |
| Original run | October 2, 1955 – May 10, 1965 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents |
Alfred Hitchcock Presents was an American television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock. The series featured dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. By the premiere of the show on October 2, 1955, Hitchcock had been directing films for over three decades. Time magazine named Alfred Hitchcock Presents one of "The 100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME".[1]
Contents |
Alfred Hitchcock Presents is well known for its title sequence. The camera fades in on a simple line-drawing caricature of Hitchcock's rotund profile. As the program's theme music, Charles Gounod's "Funeral March of a Marionette", plays, Hitchcock appears in silhouette from the right edge of the screen, and then walks to center screen to eclipse the caricature. He then almost always says "Good evening."
The caricature drawing — composed of just nine strokes — was the work of Hitchcock himself.[2] The sequence has been parodied countless times in films and on television. The caricature and the use of Gounod's "Funeral March of a Marionette" as theme music have become indelibly associated with Hitchcock in popular culture.
Hitchcock appears again after the title sequence, and drolly introduces the story from a mostly empty studio or from the set of the current episode; his monologues were written especially for him by James B. Allardice. At least two versions of the opening were shot for every episode. A version intended for the American audience would often spoof a recent popular commercial or poke fun at the sponsor, leading into the commercial.[2] An alternative version for European audiences would instead include jokes at the expense of Americans in general.[3] For later seasons, opening remarks were also filmed with Hitchcock speaking in French and German for the show's international presentations, reflecting his real-life fluency in both languages.[3]
Hitchcock closed the show in much the same way as it opened, but mainly to tie up loose ends rather than joke. He told TV Guide that his reassurances that the criminal had been apprehended were "a necessary gesture to morality."
Originally 25 minutes per episode, the series was expanded to 50 minutes in 1962 and retitled The Alfred Hitchcock Hour.[4] Hitchcock only directed 17 of the 270 filmed episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents[3] and only one of the 50 minutes episodes, "I Saw the Whole Thing" with John Forsythe.
The last new episode aired on June 26, 1965, but the series continued to be popular in syndication for decades. It is currently syndicated on Antenna TV.[5] The first season was released on DVD in 2005, the second season in 2006, the third in October 2007, the fourth in November 2009, and the fifth in January 2012. Episodes from select seasons are also available on Hulu, the iTunes Store, Netflix streaming, and on NBC's website.
In 1985, NBC aired a new TV movie based upon the series, combining newly-filmed stories with colorized footage of Hitchcock from the original series to introduce each segment. The movie was a huge ratings success, and sparked a brief revival of the anthology series genre that included a new version of The Twilight Zone amongst others. The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents series debuted in the fall of 1985 and retained the same format as the movie: newly filmed stories (a mixture of original works and updated remakes of original series episodes) with colorized introductions by Hitchcock. The new series lasted only one season before NBC cancelled it, but it was then produced for two more years by USA Network (which is now co-owned with NBC under NBC Universal).
Many notable actors appeared on the series, including Ed Asner, Mary Astor, Roscoe Ates, Gene Barry, Ed Begley, Barbara Bel Geddes, Charles Bronson, Edgar Buchanan, John Cassavetes, Jack Cassidy, Dabney Coleman, Tom Conway, Joseph Cotten, Bob Crane, Hume Cronyn, Robert Culp, Bette Davis, Francis De Sales, Bruce Dern, Brandon De Wilde, Angie Dickinson, Diana Dors, Robert Duvall, Peter Falk, John Forsythe, Anne Francis, Edmund Gwenn, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Charles Herbert, Skip Homeier, Lou Jacobi, Joyce Jameson, Carolyn Jones, Don Keefer, Brian Keith, Jack Klugman, Peter Lawford, Christopher Lee, Cloris Leachman, Peter Lorre, John McIntyre, E. G. Marshall, Herbert Marshall, Walter Matthau, Darren McGavin, John McGiver, Lee Majors, Jayne Mansfield, Steve McQueen, Tyler McVey, Joyce Meadows, Vera Miles, Vic Morrow, Robert Newton, George Peppard, James Philbrook, Sydney Pollack, Judson Pratt, Vincent Price, Robert Redford, Michael Rennie, Burt Reynolds, William Shatner, Henry Silva, Barbara Steele, Jan Sterling, Dean Stockwell, Jessica Tandy, Torin Thatcher, Dick Van Dyke, Richard Waring, Dennis Weaver, Estelle Winwood, Joanne Woodward, Fay Wray, and Keenan Wynn.
Actors appearing in the most episodes include Patricia Hitchcock (Alfred Hitchcock's daughter), Dick York, Robert Horton, James Gleason, John Williams, Robert H. Harris, Russell Collins, Claude Rains, Barbara Baxley, Ray Teal, Percy Helton, Phyllis Thaxter, Carmen Mathews, Mildred Dunnock and Alan Napier.
Alfred Hitchcock Presents, 25 minutes long, aired weekly at 9:30 on CBS on Sunday nights from 1955 to 1960, and then at 8:30 on NBC on Tuesday nights from 1960 to 1962.[6] It was followed by The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, which lasted for three seasons, September 1962 to June 1965, adding another 93 episodes to the 270 already produced for Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
Two episodes, both directed by Hitchcock himself, were nominated for Emmy Awards: "The Case of Mr. Pelham" (1955) with Tom Ewell and "Lamb to the Slaughter" (1958) with Barbara Bel Geddes. The third season opener "The Glass Eye" (1957) won an Emmy Award for director Robert Stevens. An episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour titled "An Unlocked Window" (1965) earned an Edgar Award for writer James Bridges in 1966.
Among the most famous episodes remains writer Roald Dahl's "Man from the South" (1960) starring Steve McQueen and Peter Lorre, in which a man bets his finger that he can start his lighter ten times in a row. This episode was ranked #41 on TV Guide's 100 Greatest Episodes of All Time.[7]
One 1961 episode ("The Sorcerer's Apprentice") was not initially broadcast by NBC because the sponsor felt that the ending was too gruesome. The plot has a magician's ward performing a "sawing a woman in half" trick, not knowing it's a gimmick, and he cuts the unconscious woman in half. The episode has since been shown in syndication. It has been parodied by Penn and Teller on their cable show Penn and Teller: Bullshit!.
Alfred Hitchcock regularly made cameo appearances in his films. However, only once did he appear in an installment of his Alfred Hitchcock Presents television show (aside from his personal introductions and closings). The one cameo was in the 1958 episode of the third season titled "Dip in the Pool". At 5:15 minutes into the episode, Hitchcock appears on the cover of a magazine being read by Mr. Renshaw (Philip Bourneuf).
Universal Studios Home Entertainment has released the first three seasons of Alfred Hitchcock Presents on DVD in Region 1 & 2. Season 4 was released in region 1 on November 24, 2009.[8] Season 5 will be released on January 3, 2012, after almost two years between this release and the fourth season.[9]
In Region 4, Madman Entertainment has released the first six seasons on DVD in Australia. Season 6 was released on November 16, 2011.[10]
| DVD Title | Episodes | Release Dates | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | ||
| Season One | 39 | October 4, 2005 | February 20, 2006 | July 15, 2009[11] |
| Season Two | 39 | October 17, 2006 | March 26, 2007 | November 17, 2009[12] |
| Season Three | 39 | October 9, 2007 | April 14, 2008 | May 17, 2010[13] |
| Season Four | 36 | November 24, 2009 | TBA | September 29, 2010[14] |
| Season Five | 38 | January 3, 2012 | TBA | May 18, 2011 |
| Season Six | 38 | TBA | TBA | November 16, 2011 |
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