The Case of Mr. Pelham
- Episode aired Dec 4, 1955
- TV-14
- 30m
A series of troubling incidents lead Mr. Pelham to believe that he has a double who is deliberately impersonating him.A series of troubling incidents lead Mr. Pelham to believe that he has a double who is deliberately impersonating him.A series of troubling incidents lead Mr. Pelham to believe that he has a double who is deliberately impersonating him.
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn 1956, Alfred Hitchcock was nominated for a Best Director - Film Series Primetime Emmy for this. He lost to Nat Hiken for directing The Phil Silvers Show, best remembered as Sgt. Bilko.
- Quotes
[first lines]
Himself - Host: [introduction] Good evening. Due to circumstances beyond our control, tragedy will not strike tonight. I'm dreadfully sorry, perhaps some other time. However, I've just witnessed a sneak preview of this evening's story and I found it simply frightening. Sometimes, death is not the worst that can befall a man. And I don't refer to torture or any type of violence. I mean the quiet, little insidious devices that can drive a man out of his mind, like putting bubble gum in someone's coat pocket. Tonight's little frolic is called 'The Case of Mr. Pelham'.
- ConnectionsReferences The Lieutenant Wore Skirts (1956)
- SoundtracksFuneral March of a Marionette
Written by Charles Gounod
Those expectations were absolutely filled and very nearly exceeded with "The Case of Mr Pelham". While not quite as brilliant as Hitchcock's previous entry, it has all of the things that made that episode so good and executes them just as well. "Breakdown" gets the slight edge for the atmosphere being a little more chilling and for having a more satisfying ending. "The Case of Mr Pelham" is still an excellent episode and one of Season 1's best overall, and certainly up to this point.
Some people might like that the ending is open to interpretation and ambiguous, while that was intriguing to me there was too much of an abrupt and incompletely inconclusive feel in a case where a well rounded off conclusion was needed.
Everything else is fantastic. It is stylishly and atmospherically made and Hitchcock's direction is typically exemplary. His bookending is also wonderfully droll and interesting. The music adds well to the ominous unease and have said a lot in reviews for the previous episodes about the theme tune being such a perfect pick for the series and can't get enough of it.
Furthermore, the script is lean and thoughtful and the story is laden with uneasy suspense and a truly scary atmosphere that is enough to give the chills. A good deal goes on but it doesn't feel over-stuffed and it is neither too simple or over-complicated. Flashbacks have the dangers of bogging down the momentum or distracting from the story without adding much, "The Case of Mr Pelham" does neither.
The titular character is one worth rooting for, while not being too passive, and played with absolute conviction by Tom Ewell, here playing it straight in an atypical dramatic role that could easily have been played blandly but isn't. Raymond Bailey is perfectly cast as well.
In summary, excellent. 9/10.
- TheLittleSongbird
- Feb 9, 2022
Details
- Runtime30 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1