A murderer has been strangling people in the London fog. A reporter manages to continually make it to the crime scene before the police.A murderer has been strangling people in the London fog. A reporter manages to continually make it to the crime scene before the police.A murderer has been strangling people in the London fog. A reporter manages to continually make it to the crime scene before the police.
- Herbert Whybrow
- (as A.E. Gould-Porter)
- Flower Lady
- (as Nora O'Mahony)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis episode takes place in London in 1919.
- GoofsAlthough set in 1919, Herbert Whybrow walks past a small car from the mid-1930s on his way home.
- Quotes
[first lines]
Himself - Host: [Standing in front of a full-length mirror with a chair to the side, Hitchcock is tying up his dressing gown; he notices the audience in the mirror and turns to them] Good evening. I hope you'll excuse me for not being ready at show time, but my watch is slow.
[Looks at wrist - but there is no watch on it]
Himself - Host: As a matter of fact, it hasn't even gotten here yet. First I would like to announce a change in our program. Shakespeare's Hamlet will not be presented tonight. We don't feel it's suitable to show in the home - all those corpses, you know. Instead we are offering a story entitled, "The Hands of Mr. Ottermole". Most of our stories have taken place in the United States, or one of the other colonies, but tonight we offer a new locale. "The Hands of Mr. Ottermole" is laid in a far-off land of mystery and enchantment - England. And now suppose you continue squinting at this little screen while I slip into something more uncomfortable.
[inclines his head slightly and walks off]
- ConnectionsVersion of Suspense: The Hands of Mr. Ottermole (1949)
- SoundtracksGreensleeves
(uncredited)
Whistled by the strangler
"The Hands of Mr Ottermole" is a very, very good episode and nearly great, because the good things are so good. To me, it is one of the better, most gripping and most suspenseful episodes of Season 2 and one of Stevens' best 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents' episodes (his best too since "The Manacled"). It does a very Hitchcockian premise justice and at its best the execution is worthy of Hitchcock too, which is a big compliment to give and not a compliment given a lot to other non-Hitchcock directed episodes.
Getting the not so good things out of the way first, "The Hands of Mr Ottermole" did for my tastes go a little too far on making the reporter as annoying as possible, have not seen over-zealousness so overdone in a while.
Some of the more philosophical dialogue rambles a little, particularly towards the end.
However, the good things are many and most are great in execution. It is a very well acted episode for one, with Theodore Bikel captivating in a performance that lives long in the memory for its unsettlement. His character is also interesting. Stevens directs with confidence and a great feel for creepiness and suspense that was missing from him for a while. It is well made, with some suitably moody noir-ish visuals.
Also thought the music was well used, enhancing the atmosphere while not over-bearing it. Have always gone on about how inspired a choice it was to have Gounod's "Funeral March of a Marionette" as the theme music, and one may not be able to hear "Greensleeves" in the same way again. The script provokes a lot of thought and is mostly tight, Hitchcock's bookending is wonderfully droll. The story is diverting throughout, is full of twists (all surprising and plausible, thanks to clever use of misdirection) and is rich in dark creepiness and suspense, with a clever ending that took me by surprise.
Overall, very, very good and nearly great. 8/10.
- TheLittleSongbird
- Jul 27, 2022
Details
- Runtime30 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1