Don Taylor directed three 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' episodes prior to "Listen, Listen", the best being by far "The Right Kind of House" due to it being the only great one of the three. The other two, "The Deadly" and "Fatal Figures" being decent and above average if unexceptional. This reviewer has always had a thing for good premises, with that and talented casts being my frequent main reasons for seeing anything, and "Listen, Listen" did have that despite the trap of being potentially silly and over-stretched.
"Listen, Listen" is one of the high middle episodes of Season 3. It doesn't waste its premise, while also not quite living up to it with it not escaping properly the potential traps it had. It is well done and has a lot to like, but for me there were also a few quite major issues that stopped it from being more than very good. When it comes to comparing it with Taylor's previous 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' episodes, "Listen, Listen" is not on the same level of "The Right Kind of House" while also being better than "The Deadly" and "Fatal Figures".
There are plenty of good things here. It is well acted, with Edgar Stehli being not too hard to get behind and Dayton Lummis being delightfully indignant. The chemistry also compels and intrigues. Hitchcock's bookending is droll and amusing as to be expected and Taylor's direction is assured enough and generates enough suspense.
Also did find the story very interesting on the whole, with some nice suspense and a twist that was a surprise and quite well done. It is not too simple while not being convoluted either. The dialogue provokes enough thought, while it is atmospherically made and the theme tune deserves its classic status.
On the other hand, there are things that could have been done better. Didn't like how short sighted and idiotic the police were portrayed. Or that the script tended to over explain too much and at times too early.
Furthermore, did feel that despite liking the premise on paper the execution did become too on the over stretched side when what is revealed could have been said more directly a good deal earlier. So the pacing had a padded feel later.
Concluding, a lot to admire while not living to full potential. 7/10.
"Listen, Listen" is one of the high middle episodes of Season 3. It doesn't waste its premise, while also not quite living up to it with it not escaping properly the potential traps it had. It is well done and has a lot to like, but for me there were also a few quite major issues that stopped it from being more than very good. When it comes to comparing it with Taylor's previous 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' episodes, "Listen, Listen" is not on the same level of "The Right Kind of House" while also being better than "The Deadly" and "Fatal Figures".
There are plenty of good things here. It is well acted, with Edgar Stehli being not too hard to get behind and Dayton Lummis being delightfully indignant. The chemistry also compels and intrigues. Hitchcock's bookending is droll and amusing as to be expected and Taylor's direction is assured enough and generates enough suspense.
Also did find the story very interesting on the whole, with some nice suspense and a twist that was a surprise and quite well done. It is not too simple while not being convoluted either. The dialogue provokes enough thought, while it is atmospherically made and the theme tune deserves its classic status.
On the other hand, there are things that could have been done better. Didn't like how short sighted and idiotic the police were portrayed. Or that the script tended to over explain too much and at times too early.
Furthermore, did feel that despite liking the premise on paper the execution did become too on the over stretched side when what is revealed could have been said more directly a good deal earlier. So the pacing had a padded feel later.
Concluding, a lot to admire while not living to full potential. 7/10.