A college boy with an unnaturally close relationship to his father suspects his stepmother of foul play.A college boy with an unnaturally close relationship to his father suspects his stepmother of foul play.A college boy with an unnaturally close relationship to his father suspects his stepmother of foul play.
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThree characters - Dr. Mack, the nurse, and Mrs. Duffin - do not appear in the episode, despite being listed in the credits.
- GoofsRosine says she poured Jonathan a single drink, but a substantial amount is missing from the bottle.
- Quotes
[opening narration]
Hitchcock's Stand-In: [Chewing gum, Hitchcock's stand-in looks like a college kid with a light-coloured jacket, white shirt, checkered bow tie, slicked back hair, and an American drawl] Hiya.
[holds up a finger briefly]
Hitchcock's Stand-In: I'm not Hitchcock. I'm Alfred, his stand-in. Someone has to stand here while the lights and the cameras are adjusted and all that stuff, see? And the old boy just don't have the time. I got the job 'cause I look like him. That's what they say, but not to my face.
[looks off-camera briefly and nods in that direction]
Hitchcock's Stand-In: I see they're rolling him in. You suppose I'll look like that when I'm his age?
Alfred Hitchcock: [the real Hitchcock walks into frame] That will be all, Alfred.
Hitchcock's Stand-In: Arrivederci, daddy-O.
[Hitchcock's stand-n saunters off after an exaggerated bow]
Alfred Hitchcock: Cheeky fellow, isn't he? Unfortunately, he may soon be more than a stand-in. We are planning to send out a second company to tour the provinces, and Alfred will play my part. Which brings us to tonight's thrilling shocker. It is called "Jonathan."
- SoundtracksFuneral March of a Marionette
Written by Charles Gounod
It is a shame that "Jonathan" isn't rated higher. It is not one of the 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' classics and the pacing is uneven. But there are a lot of strong qualities, such as the fascinating lead character, the performances and the atmosphere. As far as Season 2 up to this point goes, "Jonathan" to me is actually one of the better episodes and is also up there with the season's creepiest. Which for the first half of Season 2 is saying a good deal.
Will agree that "Jonathan" is a little too talky at points, especially in the early portions.
Also did think that the final quarter, while extremely clever and the ending was not expected, was on the rushed and this is one of the episodes of the series that would have benefitted from being at least 15 minutes longer in order to flesh out more the more complex elements of the story.
There is a lot to recommend about "Jonathan" having said all of that. It's slickly made with some nice atmospheric shots. The audio is suitably ominous and will never stop raving about the haunting use of "Funeral March of a Marionette" for the series' main theme. Hitchcock's bookending is typically droll in writing and delivery. Lucas directs assuredly, it really shines in the rapport between Corey Allen and Georgann Johnson which at its best really unsettles.
Despite saying that it is talky, "Jonathan" is intriguingly and intelligently written. The story, even with the pacing not always being even, does have suspense and a suitable amount of dark dread and creepiness, the second half is creepy atmospherically and the character of Gil is very psychologically chilling and interesting, one of the more complex lead characters of Season 2. The episode benefits hugely from the very impressive and even excellent performances of Allen and Johnson, Allen especially is quite frightening.
Very good and undervalued episode. 8/10.
- TheLittleSongbird
- May 11, 2022
Details
- Runtime30 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1