"Alfred Hitchcock Presents", with its tight half-hour story lines and ironic/twist endings, remains one of TV's iconic anthology series.
"The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" is a major step down. It's difficult to maintain tension over an hour, and few of these episodes are memorable (or merely good). Even one of the best, "An Open Window", is ten minutes too long.
"The Sign of Satan" holds great promise. With a script by Lyndon Barré from a story by Robert Bloch, and starring a young Christopher Lee, you expect something at least a little unnerving.
Unfortunately, 90% of the proceedings are Lee repeatedly telling the producer that he's quite capable of taking care of himself, thank you. The ambiguity of his eventual death comes out of nowhere, and is annoying rather than satisfying.
The only good thing is Lee's performance. He's made up to look Eastern-European threatening, and the character is thoroughly convincing.
Not really recommended, unless you have a hour to kill.
"The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" is a major step down. It's difficult to maintain tension over an hour, and few of these episodes are memorable (or merely good). Even one of the best, "An Open Window", is ten minutes too long.
"The Sign of Satan" holds great promise. With a script by Lyndon Barré from a story by Robert Bloch, and starring a young Christopher Lee, you expect something at least a little unnerving.
Unfortunately, 90% of the proceedings are Lee repeatedly telling the producer that he's quite capable of taking care of himself, thank you. The ambiguity of his eventual death comes out of nowhere, and is annoying rather than satisfying.
The only good thing is Lee's performance. He's made up to look Eastern-European threatening, and the character is thoroughly convincing.
Not really recommended, unless you have a hour to kill.