R.I.P. VIII Peril ON The Screen : Alfred Hitchcock Presents

I’ve been smiling a lot while Binge Watching this show. Strange reaction? Not really. This was my mothers favorite show and I spent a lot of hours watching it with her so I’ve been laughing when I come across our favorites and thinking about how much fun we had watching them together. I credit Hitchcock with setting the stage for my love of celluloid chills, from the TV set to the big screen.

Here is a little bit of info on the show from Wikipedia:

“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 theme music for the show was suggested by Hitchcock's long-time musical collaborator, Bernard Herrmann.)

The caricature drawing, which Hitchcock created himself, and the use of Gounod's Funeral March of a Marionette as theme music have become indelibly associated with Hitchcock in popular culture.”

 

Watching the show again I’ve been struck by several things. One, this show really stands the test of time. Which says a lot since the show first aired in October of 1955.

Two, that good suspense and great acting lends a lot to creating an  atmosphere of suspense and horror.Three  less is definitely MORE is what I’ve found being a Horror fan for so long. Many of today’s films are more about shock and gore than the type of suspense Hitchcock and his writing team excelled at in this stories.

It’s hard to watch just one! I’m already into season Two since the older shows are only about 26 minutes long but boy do they fit a lot of great chills into every episode. Here are  some of my favorites:

Wet Saturday

A family goes to any means to protect their family name after their psychotic daughter kills a man that rejects her.

Conversation Over A Corpse

Two sisters try to murder a man who they owe money to with hilarious results!

The Rose Garden

Does a debut novel hold the secret to a murder? One editor is on the trail to find out.

 

Hitchcock’s opening and closing skits and remarks are the highlight of this show, his wonderful deadpan humor, accent, and murderous props are lots of fun!  

70 plus episodes of this show are available on Netflix streaming right now! Hope you give them a try.